Liquefaction Potential Index: Field Assessment

Cone penetration test (CPT) soundings at historic liquefaction sites in California were used to evaluate the predictive capability of the liquefaction potential index (LPI), which was defined by Iwasaki et al. in 1978. LPI combines depth, thickness, and factor of safety of liquefiable material inferred from a CPT sounding into a single parameter. LPI data from the Monterey Bay region indicate that the probability of surface manifestations of liquefaction is 58 and 93%, respectively, when LPI equals or exceeds 5 and 15. LPI values also generally correlate with surface effects of liquefaction: Decreasing from a median of 12 for soundings in lateral spreads to 0 for soundings where no surface effects were reported. The index is particularly promising for probabilistic liquefaction hazard mapping where it may be a useful parameter for characterizing the liquefaction potential of geologic units.

[1]  Robert E. Kayen,et al.  APPENDIX : MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF LIQUEFACTION AND ASSOCIATED EFFECTS , 1998 .

[2]  Michael J. Bennett,et al.  Liquefaction and Soil Failure during 1994 Northridge Earthquake , 1999 .

[3]  G. W. Clough,et al.  Liquefaction response of San Francisco bayshore fills , 1991 .

[4]  Emir José Macari,et al.  Assessment of liquefaction potential of western Puerto Rico , 1998 .

[5]  Michael J. Bennett,et al.  Subsurface geotechnical investigations near sites of ground deformation caused by the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California, earthquake , 1998 .

[6]  I. M. Idriss,et al.  SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING SOIL LIQUEFACTION POTENTIAL , 1971 .

[7]  Robert V. Whitman,et al.  Regression Models For Evaluating Liquefaction Probability , 1988 .

[8]  J. Berrill,et al.  The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October 17, 1989 : , 1990 .

[9]  T. Holzer,et al.  Dynamics of Liquefaction During the 1987 Superstition Hills, California, Earthquake , 1989, Science.

[10]  P K Robertson,et al.  CYCLIC LIQUEFACTION AND ITS EVALUATION BASED ON THE SPT AND CPT , 1997 .

[11]  Ross W. Boulanger,et al.  Liquefaction at Moss Landing during Loma Prieta Earthquake , 1999 .

[12]  Michael J. Bennett,et al.  Subsurface investigation of liquefaction, Imperial Valley earthquake, California, October 15, 1979 , 1981 .

[13]  J. David Frost,et al.  Spatial Liquefaction Analysis System , 1998 .

[14]  M. J. Bennett,et al.  Geotechnical data from surface and subsurface samples outside of and within liquefaction-related ground failures caused by the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California , 1995 .

[15]  Michael J. Bennett,et al.  Liquefaction Analysis of the 1971 Ground Failure at the San Fernando Valley Juvenile Hall, California , 1989 .

[16]  John C. Tinsley,et al.  Liquefaction hazard and shaking amplification maps of Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont, California: a digital database , 2002 .