NEESR: Induced Partial Saturation (LPS) Through Transport and Reactivity for Liquefaction Mitigation

Devastating effects of ground failure, due to liquefaction of water saturated sands, on the built environment has been widely observed during most moderate to large size earthquakes. There is an urgent need to develop a cost effective liquefaction prevention method that can be applied to new sites as well as sites with existing structures. Researchers at Northeastern University, the University of Texas at Austin, Boise State University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University at Buffalo and the USGS will collaborate to develop an innovative and practical field technique for liquefaction mitigation by inducing partial saturation (IPS) in otherwise fully saturated liquefiable sands. The goals of this research are twofold: 1) to conduct fundamental research exploring the feasibility of inducing partial saturation under field conditions, by injecting very low concentration of sodium percarbonate solution, and through transport and reactivity slowly generate oxygen gas bubbles in sands; and, 2) to demonstrate the effectiveness of IPS in preventing the occurrence of liquefaction. The research will take advantage of unique experimental and field facilities of NSF's Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) to acquire fundamental knowledge on the behavior of partially saturated sands and to develop enabling technologies to verify the effectiveness of IPS as a liquefaction prevention method. The research program will achieve its goal by integrating small- and large-scale laboratory investigations, field tests and numerical simulation. NEES facilities to be utilized are the 1-g laminar box at NEES@Buffalo, the T-Rex shaker at NEES@Utexas and the wildlife field site at NEES@UCSB. Data from this project will be archived and made available to the public through the NEES Project Warehouse/data repository.

The outcome of this research will have world-wide impact on human safety and protection of property from earthquake hazards. Also, this research will enhance oxygen delivery systems used in bioremediation of contaminated ground. The research is a collaboration between faculty and students in the fields of earthquake and geoenvironmental engineering. Such collaborations will benefit undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering and promote interdisciplinary education and research. Educational tools using the research facility will be developed to heighten the public's awareness of earthquake risk and promote interest in science and engineering to underrepresented communities. This award is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).