Influence of Vertical Acceleration on Soil Liquefaction: New Findings and Implications

摘要

This paper presents a timely subject on the effects of vertical ground motion, which arises from a recent study on a case history from the Kobe earthquake of 1995. Attention is focused here on the vertical motion effect on soil liquefaction and the dependence of this effect on the saturation condition of subsoil. The analyses show that the common understanding that the influence of vertical acceleration on soil liquefaction is negligible may not always hold true; rather, the influence is found to be dependent on the saturation 'condition of soil. The underlying mechanisms for the new findings are proposed and the implications to dynamic model testing are also addressed.