A number of centrifuge tests have been conducted to study the interaction between liquefied sand under earthquake-induced lateral spreading and pile foundations. Most of those centrifuge models resemble full-scale prototypes from case histories, usually with limited field measurements, while a few of them replicate the conditions of full-scale heavily instrumented laboratory tests. This paper presents the results of centrifuge tests modelling the single pile interaction with liquefied sand conducted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and their comparison with the respective large-scale prototype tests conducted at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention in Tsukuba, Japan. A critical analysis of the scaling laws currently used for this kind of centrifuge tests is included, focusing on the use of viscous fluid for centrifuge model saturation and the validity of the centrifuge scaling laws when shear band development plays an important role in soil–structure interaction. This paper also presents recommendations for pile foundations design against the lateral pressure associated with liquefied sand under lateral spreading.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. The effects of the hurricane were particularly devastating in the city of New Orleans. Most of the damage was due to the failure of the levee system that surrounds the city to protect it from flooding. This paper presents the results of centrifuge models conducted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers simulating the behavior of the levees at London Avenue North and South that failed during Hurricane Katrina. Those levees failed without being overtopped by the storm surge. Also included are the results of a centrifuge model of one levee section at Orleans Canal South, which did not fail during the hurricane. The key factor of the failure mechanism of the London Avenue levees was the formation of a gap between the flooded side of the levee and the sheetpile. This gap triggered a reduction of the strength at the foundation of the protected side of the levee. The results are fully consistent with field observations.

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