ARTICLE SUMMARY

SITE INVESTIGATION FOR INVOLVEMENT OF WATER FILMS IN LATERAL FLOW

IN LIQUEFIED GROUND
Takeji Kokusho, M.ASCE and Katsuhisa Fujita
This article indicates the correlation between liquefied ground that occur during earthquakes and the
water films in lateral flow and the case study is in Niigata City Japan at 1964. the scope were in Hotel
Niigata (area 1) and also Hakusan-Kawagishigo (area 2b and 2c). All the data needed are taken with borelog
test that are conducted and the results are when liquefied, the layered sand deposits form water films beneath
less pervious sublayers due to the local migration of pore water, which serves as part of sliding surface for
post-liquefaction flow failure. For site investigation process, the method that is used either than borelog test
is comparing air photographs that is taken before and after the earthquakes occurences. They are differences
by the contour after the occurences which is long-term ground subsidence which occurred along the coast of
Japan Sea and also the second difference are in the elevation before and after earthquakes. From the borehole
test the received data that they possesses consist of soil profile, the water table depth, and the standard
penetration test (SPT) blow counts, N values, at 1 m intervals along the depth. Factors that influencing the
flow displacement are the thickness of the liquefiable layer and also it is identified that the weight of the
buildings seems negligible for lateral flow movement although their pile foundation may have impeded some
of the flow displacement nearby. Lasty the results indicates that the sand in area 1 was looser and more prone
to severe liquifaction than area 2. Also the involvement of water films beneath the continous or semicontinuous fine soil sublayers may be highly probable in the explaination of such a low shear resistance.