Physical modeling of lateral spreading induced by inclined sandy foundation in the state of zero effective stress

The state of zero effective stress is a situation at which the effective stress of saturated sand decreases to zero in the process of liquefaction. In the state of zero effective stress, sand particles suspend in water and the foundation is vulnerable to much large lateral deformation. The state of zero effective stress can be achieved through dynamic loading tests, but the obtained state is difficult to sustain a steady situation. To simulate the suspended sand in water under fully liquefied condition, plastic sand, characterized by small specific gravity, is used instead of quartz sand to build an inclined foundation. Salt water with similar density is used to pass in slowly near bottom of the foundation. As observed in tests, the plastic sand is able to suspend in sodium chloride solution (salt water) of a specific density and thus this model can be used to simulate the lateral spreading of a foundation under zero effective stress state. Lateral deformation occurs within a certain depth beneath the ground and the magnitude increases from the bottom up, showing nonlinear behaviors. This paper presents a physical modeling approach for achieving the state of zero effective stress under static laboratory condition. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.