• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.365-379
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• 2020

One of the leading causes for the damage of various underground structures during an earthquake is soil liquefaction, and among this liquefaction-induced uplift of these structures is a major concern. In this study, finite-difference modelling is carried out to study the liquefaction-induced uplift of an underground structure of 5 m diameter (D) with and without the replacement of the in-situ fine sand around the structure with the coarse sand. Soil replacements are carried out by three methods: replacement of soil above the structure, around the structure, and below the structure. The soil behaviour is represented using the elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb model, where the pore pressures were computed using Finn-Byrne formulation. The predicted pore pressure and uplift of the structure due to sinusoidal input motion were validated with the centrifuge tests reported in the literature. Based on numerical studies, an empirical equation is developed for the determination of liquefaction-induced maximum uplift of the underground structure without replacement of the in-situ sand. It is found that the replacement of soil around the structure with 2D width and spacing of D can reduce the maximum uplift by 50%.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2020

In metropolitan areas, the quantity and density of the underground structure increase rapidly in recent years. Even though most damage incidents of the underground structure were minor, there were still few incidents causing a great loss in lives and economy. Therefore, the safety evaluation of the underground structure becomes an important issue in the disaster prevention plan. Liquefaction induced uplift is one important factor damaging the underground structure. In order to perform a preliminary evaluation on the safety of the underground structure, simplified prediction equations were introduced to provide a first order estimation of the liquefaction induced uplift. From previous studies, the input motion is a major factor affecting the magnitude of the uplift. However, effects of the input motion were not studied and included in these equations in an appropriate and rational manner. In this article, a numerical simulation approach (FLAC program with UBCSAND model) is adopted to study effects of the input motion on the uplift. Numerical results show that the uplift and the Arias Intensity (Ia) are closely related. A simple modification procedure to include the input motion effects in the Sasaki and Tamura prediction equation is proposed in this article for engineering practices.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.5-16
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• 2012

Geotechnical buried structures with relatively light weight have been suffering from uplift damage due to liquefaction in the past earthquakes. The factor of safety approach by Koseki et al. (1997a), which is widely used in seismic design, predicts the triggering of uplift. However, a method for "quantitative" estimates of the uplift displacement has yet to be established. Estimation of the uplift displacement may be an important factor to be considered for designing underground structures under the framework of performance-based design (ISO23469, 2005). Therefore, evaluation of the uplift displacement of buried structure in liquefied ground during earthquakes is needed for a performance-based design as a practical application. In order to predict the uplift displacement quantitatively, a simplified method is derived based on the equilibrium of vertical forces acting on buried structures in backfill during earthquakes (Tobita et al., 2012). The method is verified through comparisons with results of centrifuge model tests and damaged sewerage systems after the 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu, Japan, earthquake. The proposed flow diagram for performance-based design includes estimation of the uplift displacement as well as liquefaction limit of backfill.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.3C
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• pp.85-94
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• 2012

This paper described a centrifuge study in order to investigate ground-underground hollow structure interaction-induced rocking behavior in liquefied ground. Uplift of the underground hollow structures is initiated due to liquefaction in sandy grounds when the ground is exposed to a strong shaking during earthquakes because the apparent unit weight of these structures is smaller than that of the liquefied soil. In order to evaluate the dynamic behavior of the underground hollow structure and the effects of original subsoil during the uplifting, model tests were performed by changing the relative density of the original subsoil and installing an acrylic box as a trench. The results of the present study show that rocking behavior of the underground hollow structure due to shear deformation of the surrounding subsoil or lateral movement from the original subsoil contributed to large magnitude of the uplift due to strong shaking.