Centrifuge Testing of Model Levees atop Peat: Experimental Data

Abstract

Four large-scale centrifuge tests were performed at the NEES@UCDavis equipment site to study the cyclic behavior of levee structures resting atop soft organic peat. The model configurations using a non-liquefiable levee focused on the seismic deformation potential of peat during primary consolidation and secondary compression. The tests performed with a sandy levee studied the liquefaction potential of saturated loose sand fill overlying soft peat as well as the levee-peat-interaction under different loading conditions. The models were subjected to scaled ground motions representative of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. System instrumentation consisted of linear potentiometers, pore pressure sensors and accelerometers. Slow data recorded at 1 Hz document the settlements during spin up, application of ground motions, and spin down. Fast data sampled at 4,167 Hz measured the dynamic response of the system, the excess pore pressure increase and immediate settlements. The project is archived at the NEES data repository under nees.org/warehouse/project/1161 .

Geotechnical lessons from the Mw 7.1 2018 Anchorage Alaska earthquake

“…These observations from the field confirm findings from laboratory and physical model tests (e.g. Boulanger et al 1998; Lemnitzer et al, 2015, 2021; Shafiee et al, 2013; Wehling et al, 2003) and suggest that engineers should consider the potential for cyclic softening in organic soils and in inorganic soils.…”