Abstract
Earthquake-induced soil-liquefaction is a devastating phenomenon associated with loss of soil rigidity due to seismic shaking, resulting in catastrophic liquid-like soil deformation. Traditionally, liquefaction is viewed as an effectively undrained process. However, since undrained liquefaction only initiates under high energy density, most earthquake liquefaction events remain unexplained, since they initiate far from the earthquake epicenter, under low energy density. Here we show that liquefaction can occur under drained conditions at remarkably low seismic-energy density, offering a general explanation for earthquake far-field liquefaction. Drained conditions promote interstitial fluid flow across the soil during earthquakes, leading to excess pore pressure gradients and loss of soil strength. Drained liquefaction is triggered rapidly and controlled by a propagating compaction front, whose velocity depends on the seismic-energy injection rate. Our findings highlight the importance of considering soil liquefaction under a spectrum of drainage conditions, with critical implications for liquefaction potential assessments and hazards.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 5791 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:S.B.-Z. and R.T. thank Alain Steyer and Miloud Talib for technical assistance with the experiments, Martine Trautmann for granulometry and the support of Institut Français d’Israël and Campus France via the Chateaubriand Fellowship. S.B.-Z and R.T. wish to thank Yossef Hatozr and Valérie Vidal for fruitful discussions. S.B.-Z. and E.A. wish to thank Assaf Klar and Eitan Cohen for a fruitful discussion. R.T. wishes to thank Eirik Flekkøy for fruitful discussions. L.G. acknowledges support from ISF grant 562/19. E.A. thanks ISF grant #910/17. R.T. acknowledges the support of the CNRS INSU ALÉAS and CESSUR programs, the CNRS MITI program, the Universities of Strasbourg and Oslo and the Research Council of Norway through its Centre of Excellence funding scheme, project number 262644.
Funding Information:
S.B.-Z. and R.T. thank Alain Steyer and Miloud Talib for technical assistance with the experiments, Martine Trautmann for granulometry and the support of Institut Français d’Israël and Campus France via the Chateaubriand Fellowship. S.B.-Z and R.T. wish to thank Yossef Hatozr and Valérie Vidal for fruitful discussions. S.B.-Z. and E.A. wish to thank Assaf Klar and Eitan Cohen for a fruitful discussion. R.T. wishes to thank Eirik Flekkøy for fruitful discussions. L.G. acknowledges support from ISF grant 562/19. E.A. thanks ISF grant #910/17. R.T. acknowledges the support of the CNRS INSU ALÉAS and CESSUR programs, the CNRS MITI program, the Universities of Strasbourg and Oslo and the Research Council of Norway through its Centre of Excellence funding scheme, project number 262644.
Publisher Copyright:
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