Centrifuge modeling of the dynamic response of a sloping ground – LEAP-UCD-2017 and LEAP-ASIA-2019 tests at Kyoto University

The Liquefaction Experiments and Analysis Project (LEAP) is a joint international project that pursues the verification, validation and uncertainty quantification of numerical liquefaction models. As part of this project, eight centrifuge models were developed at the facilities of Kyoto University, to simulate the dynamic behavior of a submerged, uniform-density, 20 m long, 4 m deep and 5° sloping deposit of Ottawa F-65 sand. The results are intended to compose part of a reliable database in the development of current and future V&V processes of liquefaction models. This paper presents the main characteristics of the model preparation and testing process, and an analysis of: (1) the validity of the “Generalized Scaling Law” for centrifuge modeling (2) the consistency and repeatability of the tests by means of the development of an additional repeatability-test, and numerical modelling, and (3) the importance of the viscosity of the fluid in liquefaction modelling. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd