Predicting cyclic liquefaction behavior of saturated granular materials using an updated state evolution model

Abstract

Liquefaction and dynamic response of granular materials under dynamic loading has been studied intensively in field and laboratory tests. However, theoretical modeling and analytical solutions on liquefaction are still lagging and investigations are mostly restricted to laboratory observations. To investigate undrained liquefaction shear deformation and fluidity of granular material, the updated state evolution model is proposed by introducing an excess pore water pressure ratio parameter. A series of undrained cyclic triaxial tests and DEM simulations are conducted to verify the proposed model. The result indicates that the liquefaction behavior of granular materials can be captured by the updated state evolution model both at constant and varying loading frequency. Furthermore, the state parameter based on the deviatoric strain and excess pore water pressure ratio is determined to quantify assess the fluidity of granular materials. It facilitates the refinement of the discriminative criteria for cyclic liquefaction of granular materials. This parameter increases slowly at the beginning of loading, followed by a rapid and fluctuating rise, and reaches the peak before the initial liquefaction. Another significant finding is that the turning point of the state parameter range from 0.89 to 0.95 in the $\theta -t/t_0$ plane and between 0.84 and 0.94 in the $\theta -r_u$ plane, as affected by the cyclic loading conditions.