Geotechnical Site Characterization and Liquefaction Potential Assessment of Reclaimed Soil in Jolshiri Abashon

Bangladesh is an earthquake-prone region. In the near future, it can witness an earthquake of magnitude 7–7.5 due to the origin of Dauki fault. Structures built on soft or loose soil can experience catastrophic damage due to liquefaction phenomenon during seismic excitation. Therefore, it is imperative to know the proper site characteristics and liquefaction susceptibility of earthquake-prone areas. Jolshiri Abashon is newly developed reclaimed land that is filled up with loose sand and has a higher chance of liquefaction. In this study, the subsoil condition and geotechnical parameters of soil have been evaluated for Jolshiri using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The evaluated soil properties indicate that there are mainly three types of soil layers, i.e., loose sand, low plastic silt, and dense silty sand. The upper layer consists of loose sand up to 7.5 m depth that is expected to have high liquefaction potential. The middle layer comprises very soft to stiff soil, which can experience large settlements. The last layer is dense to very dense silty sand with high shear strength properties and low compressibility. Moreover, this paper aims to generate a liquefaction hazard map for the studied area in ArcGIS software based on Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI) value. The LPI value obtained for different boreholes shows a range around 20–30, which delineates that Jolshiri Abashon area has very high liquefaction potential.