Abstract
In view of the significant role of the water film effect in flow failure for a liquefied sandy deposit, the mechanism of water film generation is numerically studied based on a 1-dimensional model test. The process of water film growth and decay can be simulated to a certain extent by a simple consolidation analysis, which indicates that only a small difference in permeability in layered sand is enough for a water film to develop. A 1 G shaking table test for a two-dimensional slope model with an arc of silt within a saturated sand is then addressed to discuss the dilatancy effect exerted in sheared sand during flow failure. It is possible that, once the water film is formed, the transmission of shear stress through it is interrupted, leaving the sand below free from the dilatancy ; this eventually allows the water film to stay without being absorbed during flow failure. The result of another shaking table test for a trapezoidal slope with horizontal silt seams indicate that water films beneath the seams enable the soil mass above them to laterally flow along water films very gently inclined even after shaking. If a silt seam breaks due to excessive pressure in the water film, it triggers re-liquefaction in the upper sand and leads to further instability.
