The Effects of Seismic Pore Water Pressure on Ground Surface Motion

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
George(Bebe)T. Zorapapel ◽  
Mladen Vucetic

The effects of the gradual buildup of seismic pore water pressures and associated degradation of stiffness on the ground surface motion are examined for shallow saturated liquefiable deposits. Ground surface displacements and accelerations, the Fourier Transforms of the acceleration-time histories and layer gain factors are analyzed. The analysis is based on the ground surface and sub-surface accelerations and pore water pressures recorded at sites that either fully liquefied or built up considerable pore water pressures during strong earthquakes. The analysis shows that: (i) the seismic pore water pressures within the deposit and the ground surface motion are intimately related, (ii) relatively small seismic excess pore water pressures can cause a considerable lengthening of the predominant period of the ground surface motion, and (iii) these phenomena may lead to a limited maximum ground surface acceleration of approximately 0.2g, and a considerable increase of maximum ground displacements.

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1049-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
C WW Ng ◽  
B Wang ◽  
Y K Tung

Three-dimensional (3D) numerical analyses were conducted to investigate groundwater responses in an initially unsaturated cut slope at Lai Ping Road in Hong Kong subjected to rainfalls with various patterns, durations, and return periods. Initial and boundary conditions were established from field monitoring data. The computed results show that rainfall pattern has a significant influence on pore-water pressures in soil layers near the ground surface but its influence gradually diminishes with depth. Rainfall with an advanced storm pattern of 24 h duration was found to be the most critical because it results in the highest pore-water pressure in the slope. At a given depth, the influence of rainfall pattern on pore-water pressures depends on the initial groundwater conditions: the higher the initial water table, the smaller the influence of rainfall pattern on pore-water pressures. Under a given rainfall duration, the rise of pore-water pressure at the study site is significant only when the return period increases from 10 years to 100 years, but not from 100 years to 1000 years. Short-duration, intense rainfall causes larger variations in pore-water pressure at shallow depths, whereas long-duration rainfall has a greater influence on groundwater in deep soils because of the generally greater amount of rainfall. For prolonged rainfalls, the difference in pore-water pressure distribution resulting from different rainfall patterns is less significant than that from short-duration, intense rainfalls.Key words: Lai Ping Road, rainfall patterns, pore-water pressure distributions, suction, unsaturated slope.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1012-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Illias Tsaparas ◽  
Harianto Rahardjo ◽  
David G Toll ◽  
Eng-Choon Leong

This paper presents the analysis of a 12 month long field study of the infiltration characteristics of two residual soil slopes in Singapore. The field measurements consist of rainfall data, runoff data of natural and simulated rainfall events, and pore-water pressure changes during infiltration at several depths and at several locations on the two slopes. The analysis of the field measurements identifies the total rainfall and the initial pore-water pressures within the two slopes as the controlling parameters for the changes in the pore-water pressures within the slopes during infiltration.Key words: infiltration, rainfall, runoff, pore-water pressure, field measurements.


1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
K. D. Eigenbrod ◽  
J. P. Burak

Anchor forces, ground temperatures, and piezometric pressures were measured at a retaining wall in northwestern Ontario over a period of 2 years. The anchor forces were measured with strain gauges attached in pairs directly to the anchor rods. This method appeared practical in the field for time periods of less than 2 years as long as the strain gauges were carefully protected against moisture. The anchor forces increased from an average of 5 kN initially up to values of 50 kN during the winter periods and dropped during the summer periods back to the same values measured initially. The anchor forces were largely independent of pore-water pressure variations behind the wall. Rapid drawdown conditions, however, which were experienced during the second summer, were reflected in a load increase that was equivalent to the associated unloading effect in front of the wall. The pore-water pressures behind the wall were not noticeably affected by rapid drawdown, possibly due to the restraining effect of the anchors and the high rigidity of the low sheet pile wall. Ground temperatures at or below the groundwater table never dropped below 0 °C thus restricting the depth of frost penetration. Key words : anchor loads, freezing pressure, retaining walls, pore-water pressures, ground temperatures, field measurements.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.D. Eigenbrod

Slow, shallow ground movements in a slope near Yellowknife caused excessive tilting of timber piles that supported an engineering structure. To avoid damage to the structure, the pile foundations had to be replaced by rigid concrete piers that were designed to resist the forces of the moving soil mass. Downhill movements were rather slow and, during an initial inspection, were indicated only by soil that was pushed up against a series of piles on their uphill sides, while gaps had formed on their downhill sides. No open cracks or bulging was observed on the slope. A stability analysis indicated that the slope was not in a state of limit equilibrium. To obtain a better understanding of the creep movements in the slope and their effect on the rigid concrete piers, extensive instrumentation was carried out after the construction of the piers. This included slope indicators, piezometers, thermistors, and total-pressure cells against one of the concrete piers. In addition, a triaxial testing program was undertaken in which the effect of cyclic pore-water pressure changes on the long-term deformations of the shallow clay layer was investigated. From the data collected in the field and laboratory, it could be concluded that (i) tilting of the original timber piles was caused by downslope movements related to cyclic pore-water increases; (ii) the lateral soil movements increased almost linearly with depth from 2 m below the ground surface, with no indication of a slip surface; and (iii) the pressures exerted by the moving soil mass against the rigid concrete piers within the soil mass were equal to the passive resistance activated within the moving soil mass. Key words : soil creep, slope movements, soil pressures, pore-water pressures, freezing pressures, permafrost, cyclic loading.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Huang ◽  
Kejun Wen ◽  
Dongsheng Li ◽  
Xiaojia Deng ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
...  

The unloading creep behavior of soft soil under lateral unloading stress path and excess pore water pressure is the core problem of time-dependent analysis of surrounding rock deformation under excavation of soft soil. The soft soil in Shenzhen, China, was selected in this study. The triaxial unloading creep tests of soft soil under different initial excess pore water pressures (0, 20, 40, and 60 kPa) were conducted with the K0 consolidation and lateral unloading stress paths. The results show that the unloading creep of soft soil was divided into three stages: attenuation creep, constant velocity creep, and accelerated creep. The duration of creep failure is approximately 5 to 30 mins. The unloading creep behavior of soft soil is significantly affected by the deviatoric stress and time. The nonlinearity of unloading creep of soft soil is gradually enhanced with the increase of the deviatoric stress and time. The initial excess pore water pressure has an obvious weakening effect on the unloading creep of soft soil. Under the same deviatoric stress, the unloading creep of soft soil is more significant with the increase of initial excess pore water pressure. Under undrained conditions, the excess pore water pressure generally decreases during the lateral unloading process and drops sharply at the moment of unloading creep damage. The pore water pressure coefficients during the unloading process were 0.73–1.16, 0.26–1.08, and 0.35–0.96, respectively, corresponding to the initial excess pore water pressures of 20, 40, and 60 kPa.


1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (145) ◽  
pp. 495-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan A. Piotrowski ◽  
Anna M. Kraus

AbstractLaboratory tests on sediment over-ridden by the last ice sheet in north-western Germany reveal very low ice-induced pre-consolidation and high palaeo-pore-water pressures. Sediment consolidation at the base of the glacier was largely controlled by hydraulic properties of the substratum. Generally low permeabilities of the bed caused sustained high pore-water pressure in over-ridden sediments close to the flotation point. This implies a serious possibility of hydraulic lifting of the ice sheet. It is believed that the reduced basal coupling limited the transformation of glacier shear stress on to the bed sediments, which is indicated by a lack of sedimentological evidence for widespread pervasive bed deformation. Ice motion was probably focused at the glacier sole by some combination of sliding and ploughing. However, isolated spots with deformation occur, so that the subglacial system in the study area can be characterized as a stable/deforming mosaic.


2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (177) ◽  
pp. 175-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Truffer ◽  
William D. Harrison

AbstractA newly developed hammer was used to insert two autonomous probes 0.8 m and 2.1 m into clast-rich subglacial till under Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, USA. Both probes were instrumented with a dual-axis tilt sensor and a pore-water pressure transducer. The data are compared to a 75 day record of surface velocities. Till deformation at depth was found to be highly seasonal: it is significant during an early-season speed-up event, but during long periods thereafter measured till deformation rates are negligible. Both tilt records show rotation around the probe axis, which indicates a change in tilt direction of about 30°. The tilt records are very similar, suggesting spatial homogeneity on the scale of the probe separation (4 m horizontal and 3.3 m vertical). There is evidence that during much of the year sliding of ice over till or deformation of a thin till layer (<20 cm) accounts for at least two-thirds of total basal motion. Basal motion accounts for 50–70% of the total surface motion. The inferred amount of ice–till sliding is larger than that found at the same location in a previous study, when surface velocities were about 10% lower. We suggest that variations in ice–till coupling account for the observed variations in mean annual speed.


1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 773-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhua Yin ◽  
James Graham ◽  
Jack I. Clark ◽  
Longjun Gao

Field observations in thin soft clay layers may show pore-water pressures that increase for some time after the loading is applied. Reasons for these observations are not well understood. The paper shows how an elastic viscoplastic constitutive model incorporated into the consolidation equation can predict these pore-water pressure increases in soils that exhibit significant creep behaviour (or secondary compression). The phenomenon has been related to relaxation in regions of the profile from which drainage has not yet begun. Key words : clay, consolidation, creep, secondary compression, viscous, relaxation, pore-water pressure, elastic–plastic.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duaa Al-Jeznawi ◽  
ISMACAHYADI Mohamed Jais ◽  
Bushra S. Albusoda

Abstract Liquefaction of saturated soil layers is one of the most common causes of structural failure during earthquakes. Liquefaction occurs as a result of increasing pore water pressure, whereby the rise in water pressure occurs due to unexpected change in stress state under short-term loading, i.e., shaking during an earthquake. Thus, general failure occurs when the soil softens and eliminates its stiffness against the uplift pressure from the stability of the subsurface structure. In this case, the condition of soil strata is considered undrained because there is not enough time for the excess pore water pressure to dissipate when a sudden load is applied. To represent the non-linear characteristics of saturated sand under seismic motions in Kobe and Ali Algharbi earthquakes, the computational model was simulated using the UBCSAND model. The current study was carried out by adopting three-dimensional-based finite element models that were evaluated by shaking table tests of a single pile model erected in the saturated soil layers. The experimental data were utilized to estimate the liquefaction and seismicity of soil deposits. According to the results obtained from the physical models and simulations, this proposed model accurately simulates the liquefaction phenomenon and soil-pile response. However, there are some differences between the experiment and the computational analyses. Nonetheless, the results showed good agreement with the general trend in terms of deformation, acceleration, and liquefaction ratio. Moreover, the displacement of liquefied soil around the pile was captured by the directions of vectors generated by numerical analysis, which resembled a worldwide circular flow pattern. The results revealed that during the dynamic excitation, increased pore water pressure and subsequent liquefaction caused a significant reduction in pile frictional resistance. Despite this, positive frictional resistance was noticed through the loose sand layer (near the ground surface) until the soil softened completely. It is worth mentioning that the pile exhibited excessive settlement which may attribute to the considerable reduction, in the end, bearing forces which in turn mobilizing extra end resistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 ◽  
pp. 01015
Author(s):  
Wenjie Song ◽  
Yanyong Xiang

An analytical continuous upper bound limit analysis is developed to analyse the effects of seepage on the transverse stability of underwater shield tunnels. The approach is based on an analytical continuous upper bound limit analysis method for cohesive-frictional soils. It employs the complex variables solution of the displacement field due to tunnel deformation and movement, and the analytical solution of the pore water pressure field for steady state seepage due to pore water influx at the tunnel perimeter. The most critical slip line position and the minimum required tunnel support pressure are determined by using a particle swarm optimization scheme for various generic situations. The method is verified via finite element simulation and comparison with the solution from using rigid block upper bound limit analysis. The parametric analysis revealed among other things that both the infimum of the necessary tunnel support pressure and the most critical plastic zone increase when the hydraulic head at the ground surface increases, but decrease when the tunnel influx increases due to the fact that pore water pressure at the tunnel perimeter decreases with the tunnel influx.


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