Knowledge structure and research progress in earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment from 2000 to 2023: A scientometric analysis incorporating domain knowledge

Abstract

Earthquake-induced liquefaction is a severe geological hazard that poses substantial risks to human safety making its evaluation critical. Despite prolonged discussions in academia and engineering, contemporary literature on earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment primarily focuses on specific methodologies, lacking a comprehensive overviews. This study systematically analyzed 824 research publications on earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment spanning from 2000 to 2023 within the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) utilizing bibliometric approaches, including Citespace and VOSviewer. The primary objective was to meticulously analyze and explore the earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment field through bibliometric methods. The analysis reveals a steady increase in research output, transitioning from foundational theoretical development to advanced methodological innovations. Furthermore, a complete understanding of the research dynamics in this domain has been established by analyzing the publication trends, collaborative networks across journals, countries, institutions, and authors, and the evolution of significant research themes. Additionally, various techniques employed for earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment, including in-situ experiments, earthquake energy methodologies, numerical modeling approaches, and artificial intelligence methods, were explored, elucidating their characteristics and limitations. Finally, this study synthesizes the advancements and trends in earthquake-induced liquefaction assessment over recent decades, while also considering future research directions. It offers valuable insights into the methodologies for assessing earthquake-induced liquefaction and outlines potential avenues for future exploration.