Numerical Simulation of Liquefaction-Induced Settlement of Existing Structures

This study presents a numerical approach for assessment of the structure settlement problems in liquefied soils. The fluid dynamics theory was applied to model the liquefied soils and the rigid body dynamics theory was applied to compute the structure's translational and angular motions in six degrees of freedom. The dynamic mesh method was applied to modify the deformed mesh due to structure settlement. Shaking table tests were carried out to reproduce the structure's subsidence behavior and provide validation for the numerical simulations. Results show that the settlement of the structure occurred most rapidly at the very beginning of liquefaction, and then it decreased gradually. Main structure settlements occurred within 10 s after liquefaction. Regarding different structure weights, structure with larger weight yielded larger amount of settlement and higher peak settlement velocity. The results obtained in this study are beneficial for assessment of structure settlement problems in liquefaction prone areas.