Groundwater table mounding, pore pressure, and liquefaction induced by explosions: Energy-distance relations

Explosive-induced ground motion can alter well water levels and induce liquefaction in water-saturated cohesionless geological profiles. Analysis of underground detonations of chemical and nuclear explosives indicates that residual pore pressure and groundwater table mounding can be induced to maximum distances in meters equal to 0.087 J(1/3) or 14 kg(1/3), a zone where the estimated peak compressive strain exceeds 0.007% and peak particle velocity exceeds 0.11 m/s. Liquefaction can be induced to maximum distances in meters equal to 0.019 J(1/3) or 3 kg (1/3), a zone where the estimated peak compressive strain exceeds 0.07% and peak particle velocity exceeds 1.1 m/ s. These relationships are linear over 11 orders of magnitude of energy ( joules) or trinitrotoluene equivalent mass ( kilograms). Maximum distances for residual pore pressure and liquefaction for surface explosions are about one third of those found for underground explosions.