A precalibrated rate-dependent constitutive model for cyclic softening

When an earthquake happens, the soil underneath structures loses all or parts of its resistance. This condition is called liquefaction (for loose sands) or cyclic softening (for sensitive clays) as the soil acts as water during the earthquake. Liquefaction or cyclic softening can damage considerably man-made and natural earth structures and cause serious loss of human properties and lives. Examples can be found in several earthquakes such as the 1964 Niigata earthquake, the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan, and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

My project consists of developing a predictive model which can integrate the behavior of sensitive clays at the time of earthquakes. This model can be used in practice to simulate the effect of seismic loading on sensitive clays to predict if cyclic softening happens or not, or more simply, if clays lose strength and if they can hold the structures in an earthquake or not. One of the focus of this research effort is ensuring that the model is simple to use, yet with robust predictive capabilities so that practitioners can use of the model even if they do not have a solid background in mathematical equations.

Faculty Supervisor:

Samuel Yniesta

Student:

Partner:

Northwestern University

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

Polytechnique Montréal

Program: