Effect of synthetic ground motions on the liquefaction induced settlements

Abstract

In the methodology of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center in the performance-based earthquake engineering, four stages must be studied: the hazard analysis, the structural analysis, the damage analysis and the loss analysis. Each stage has its own relation with the design model. The liquefaction apparition leads to several disastrous damages that are divided into four levels based on the crest settlement of the embankment and the peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the input signal. In this work, the effect of soil liquefaction-induced failure to a levee due to varied earthquake loading was assessed. A 2D finite element model of an embankment founded on a layered soil/rock profile was considered. An elastoplastic multi-mechanism model was used to represent the soil behavior. To account for the natural hazards, both real and synthetic input motions were used. To quantify the damage induced of the embankment the relative crest settlement was calculated and fragility curves were drawn in order to study a level of performance and to analyze the ground response.