2024 Volume 10 Issue 17 Pages 585-590
Liquefaction assessments commonly utilize subsurface geotechnical data, such as the standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration test (CPT), or shear wave velocity (Vs) measurements, to characterize the soil’s resistance to liquefaction. Recently, liquefaction assessment utilizing geospatial data has been gaining attention due to the broader accessibility of data needed, such as digital elevation models (DEM) and other mapped characteristics that can influence liquefaction susceptibility, such as geology and geomorphology. The accessibility of these data makes this method easier to apply. The authors aim to develop a methodology that combines these two sets of data to provide a liquefaction assessment procedure for a vast area that can use easily accessible geospatial data along with subsurface geotechnical data to provide greater detail in the assessment of a site. Prior to developing this hybrid geotechnical-geospatial method, an investigation into the candidate representative geotechnical data (RGD) to be used alongside the geospatial data needs to be undertaken. The study details the exploration of various candidate RGDs that will transform the 3D subsurface geotechnical data – CPT data in this study – into a single parameter that characterizes the site’s vulnerability to surficial liquefaction manifestation (SLM). This transformation will allow it to be assigned to a site with a 2D coordinate along with other liquefaction-related inputs. The authors found that the normalized and clean sand equivalent of cone tip resistance can be averaged with a depth-based inverse weight function to exhibit a satisfactory correlation with SLM and pass the preliminary check for linearity as part of the requirements prior to model development. Certain liquefaction manifestation indices and modified versions of the critical zone thickness also correlate well with SLM but require transformation before they can be used in the model development.
