Abstract
A stress-based method (FL-method) is employed for liquefaction potential evaluations in many design codes, while an energy-based method is very limited in engineering practice, despite that close correlations between dissipated energy and liquefaction behaviors are recognized. In this paper, undrained cyclic triaxial tests on sands with varied density and fines content are first reviewed and interpreted in view of energy. Strain amplitude or pore-pressure buildup during loading is found to be uniquely related to dissipated energy in soil specimens. The energy-based method is then implemented in which liquefaction potential is evaluated by comparing dissipated energy with upward wave energy, and applied to a sand deposit shaken by a seismic motion. The result is compared with a conventional FL-method using the same seismic motion to demonstrate advantages and potentials of the energy method.
