Assessment of the Soils’ Liquefaction Potential of the Boumerdés, Region (Algeria) in the Light of the 2023 Turkish-Syrian Earthquake
摘要
The seismic behavior of saturated ground requires consideration of the potential for liquefaction or loss of strength that can contribute to ground deformation or instability during or after an earthquake. The procedures best used to estimate potential deformations and strength loss under seismic loading are different for sand and clay. Similar to the procedures for estimating their static shear, the strength, and stiffness properties are different. However, the situation is more complicated for silts and clays with low plasticity, which approach the transition between “sandy” and “clayey” behavior. This work presents the results of an experimental study of the behavior under monotonic and cyclic stresses carried out on several types of soils (clay, silt, and sand) of the region of Boumerdés, Zemmouri in Algeria. This region has experienced in its recent history one of the deadliest earthquakes in the past century (May 21, 2003, magnitude 6.8). For this reason, this study provides an answer to the following question: how resistant is the soil in Boumerdés, Zemmouri to liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake similar to the one that hit Turkey on 06 February 2023? The mechanical behavior was studied using dynamic triaxial tests, based on the seismic recordings of the Turkish-Syrian earthquake of magnitude 7.8 (February 6, 2023). Monotonic stress tests made it possible to determine the limit state of the studied soils, as well as the Mohr–Coulomb parameters at the initial rupture and at large deformations. The study of behavior under seismic stresses has made it possible to determine the cyclic resistance of soils and also to better understand the mechanisms of resistance degradation and rupture under these stresses. The results show that the soils underwent cyclic softening with significant deformations, sometimes 80% greater than that observed with the Boumerdés, Zemmouri earthquake (Algeria) in 2003. The comparison of the results of this study with other studies on clays, in particular, made it possible to highlight the similarity of the behavior of these sensitive clays.