Safety Assessment of Antiliquefaction Performance of a Constructed Reservoir Embankment. I: Experimental Assessment

Earthquake-induced liquefaction is a major threat to the safety of earth embankments. This paper presents an experiment-based safety assessment of antiliquefaction performance of a constructed reservoir embankment. This reservoir is a major project constructed in the middle of a tidal estuary in 2007 and supplies nearly half of the raw water for the Shanghai, China. The embankment was directly constructed on liquefiable foundation without reinforcement. Hence, it is essential to evaluate present antiliquefaction performance of this constructed embankment. The concept of performance-based design was introduced to the safety assessment. Dynamic centrifuge model tests are successfully applied to predict the seismic performances of the embankment. In order to reflect the real situation of the embankment, the materials and structures involved in the embankment were well replicated according to a scale rule. Moreover, the seismic wave used in model tests was determined according to the report of seismic safety of the site. Finally, the safety of antiliquefaction performance of the embankment was evaluated and discussed in light of the performance-based design concept. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.