Centrifuge modelling of municipal solid waste landfills under earthquake loading

Landfills located in seismic regions can experience earthquake loadings during its lifetime, hence it is important to understand the integrity of landfills under earthquake loading as landfill failures can lead to ground water contamination and other geo-environmental disasters. This paper presents data from dynamic centrifuge testing in which a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill with a single clay liner and 45° side-slope founded on liquefiable soil is modelled and tested. Dynamic centrifuge testing was carried out at 50g. The results show that the liquefaction of soil below the side-slope clay liner results in clay liner deformation during and after earthquake loading.