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 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

Numerical Modelling for Liquefaction using

Simple Constitutive Models
N. MADANI SYED 1 B. K. MAHESHWARI 2
and A. M. KAYNIA 3

1
Post-graduate Student, Dept. of Earthquake Eng., IIT, Roorkee, India
e-mail: madanibaroda@gmail.com
2
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earthquake Eng., IIT, Roorkee, India
e-mail: bkmahfeq@iitr.ernet.in
3
Discipline Leader, Earthquake Engineering, NGI, Oslo, Norway
e-mail: Amir.M.Kaynia@ngi.no

Abstract: Liquefaction occurs in loose saturated sands subjected to unidirectional

loading, where the tendency to compact during shear produces pore-water pressure
increments. Various approaches such as linear elasticity, elastoplasticity, etc. have been
used to describe the behaviour of soils. Martin et al. (1975) had first proposed a simple
effective stress analysis approach applying an empirical equation (consisting of four
parameters) that relates the increment of volumetric strain per cycle of load with the
shear strain occurring during that particular cycle. An alternative and simpler formula
was then proposed by Byrne (1991) employing only two constants that can be obtained
from laboratory tests or can be estimated from existing data if the relative density or N
(SPT) value of the sand is known. In the present study, in order to study the effect of
soil nonlinearity on the response of the ground subjected to dynamic loading, a three
dimensional analysis is carried out using FLAC3D. Also, effects of various parameters such
as relative density, cyclic shear stress and friction on the liquefaction resistance of soil
are investigated.

Keywords: Liquefaction, Numerical Modelling, Shear-Volume Coupling, Earthquake

Loading.

conditions. Martin et al. (1975) had first

Introduction
Earthquake induced liquefaction in
saturated granular soils is an important
phenomena which has been investigated
extensively in past three decades.
Liquefaction may also occur in loose
saturated sands subjected to unidirectional
loading, where the tendency to compact
during shear produces pore-water pressure
increments. Various approaches such as
linear elasticity, elastoplasticity, etc. have
been used to describe the behaviour of
soils. A rigorous effective stress dynamic
analysis of soil will require a stress-strain
law that includes shear-volume coupling
effects for repeated load cycles. However,
such a stress-strain law is very complex
and will require many parameters to
adequately model the observed laboratory
and field behaviour under cyclic loading
proposed a simple effective stress analysis
approach applying an empirical equation
(consisting of four parameters) that relates
the increment of volumetric strain per
cycle of load with the shear strain
occurring during that particular cycle. An
alternative and simpler formula was then
proposed by Byrne (1991) employing only
two constants that can be obtained from
laboratory tests or can be estimated from
existing data if the relative density or N
(SPT) value of the sand is known.
The present study (Syed, 2009) discusses
two above mentioned liquefaction models.
Liquefaction analyses were carried out to
study the effects of various parameters
such as relative density, cyclic shear stress
and cohesion and the response was plotted
in terms of excess pore-pressure ratio and
number of cycles to cause liquefaction.

1
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India
Material nonlinearity is considered by using
Mohr-Coulomb model for the soil strata. In
order to account for the pore-pressure
build-up, Finn model embodied in FLAC3D
has been used.
Constitutive Modelling
FLAC3D offers a wide range of capabilities
to solve complex problems in
geomechanics. The program has certain
basic built-in material models describing
the constitutive behaviour of the range of
geologic materials. In the present analysis,
Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model has been
used for the soil medium. The input
parameters that are required by FLAC3D for
Mohr-Coulomb model are bulk modulus,
shear modulus, cohesion, friction angle
and mass density. The pile used in the
modelling system is assigned elastic,
isotropic model. The input parameters for
elastic model are bulk modulus and shear
modulus. The basic criterion for material
failure in Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model is
the famous Mohr-Coulomb relation,
fs   1   3 N  2c N (1)
where
N  (1  sin ) /(1  sin )
 1 = major principal stress;
 3 = minor principal stress
 = friction angle; and
c = cohesion.
Whereas the Mohr-Coulomb palsticity
model is well used for the materials that
yield when subjected to shear loading, it
cannot simulate the proe-pressure build-
up response of the soils in its simple
formulation. A modified form of the
standard Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model
called „Finn Model‟ (Finn et al., 1977) is
incorporated in FLAC3D that can perform
coupled dynamic-groundwater flow
calculations and can simulate the effects
such as liquefaction.
It is well established fact that the
application of cyclic loading to sands
results in progressive decrease in volume,
even in the case of dense sand, which may
dilate during unidirectional or monotonic
2
loading (Martin et al., 1975). For saturated
sand, if drainage is unable to occur during
the time span of the loading sequence,
then the tendency for volume reduction
during each cycle of loading results in a
corresponding progressive increase in
pore-water pressure. If the pore-water
pressure builds up to a value equal to the
confining pressure, the effective stress
becomes zero and the sand, having lost its
strength, may be said to have liquefied,
although this may be only a temporary
state. Liquefaction also may occur in loose
saturated sands subjected to unidirectional
loading, where the tendency to compact
during shear produces pore-water pressure
increases.
In reality, pore-pressure build-up is a
secondary response to cyclic loading. The
primary effect is the irrecoverable volume
contraction of the matrix grains when a
sample is taken through a complete strain
cycle when the confining stress is held
constant. Since it is grain rearrangement
rather than grain volume change that
takes place, the volume of void space
decreases under constant confining stress.
If the voids are filled with fluid, then the
pressure of the fluid increases and the
effective stress acting on the grain matrix
decreases. This mechanism is well-
described by Martin et al. (1975), who also
note that the relation between
irrecoverable volume-strain and cyclic
shear-strain amplitude is independent of
confining stress. They supply the following
empirical equation that relates the
increment of volume decrease, vd , to the
cyclic shear strain amplitude 
C 3 vd2
vd  C1(  C 2vd ) 
  C 4 vd (2)
where C1 , C 2 , C 3 and C 4 are
constants
and vd is the accumulated irrecoverable
volume strain.
The pore pressure generated in an
increment of undrained loading, u , is
related to the volumetric strain that would
have occurred in the same loading
increment under drained conditions by
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

u  E r vd
(3)
Further, using an empirical relation
where E r is given by tangent modulus of
between D r and the normalized standard
the one-dimensional unloading curve at a
penetration test values, (N 1)60 :
point corresponding to the initial vertical
effective stress.
1
Dr  15( N 1) 602 (6)
Byrne (1991) reported that the detailed
examination of the Martin et al. (1975)
then
equation shows that it is not generally
stable. An alternative two parameter 1.25
equation was proposed by Byrne (1991)
C1  8.7( N 1)60
(7)
that gives excellent agreement with
measurements over a range of relative
densities. Note that the Eq. 2 was derived Validation of Model and Computation
on the basis of experimental investigation
conducted on samples prepared with For the uniform, damped soil on rigid rock,
relative density of 45 % only. The two the transfer function for one dimensional
parameters involved in the formula case is given by
proposed by Byrne (1991) can be easily
derived from cyclic loading tests, or can be
estimated from relative density or
1 1
penetration values based upon available F 2( )  
data. The parameters can be used in cosk (1  i ) H   H 
cos (1  i )
analysis to predict expected volume  Vs 
changes and settlements under dry or
drained conditions and/or pore pressure
(8)
rise and liquefaction of saturated sands in
either an effective or total stress dynamic
analysis. where  is the circular frequency of
ground shaking, Vs the shear wave velocity
The formula proposed by Byrne is: of soil, k the wave number (=  / Vs ), 
the damping ratio and H the depth of soil
 layer deposited on the rigid bedrock
vd  C1 exp( C 2(  vd )) (4) (Kramer, 2007).
 
Equation 8 can be further simplified to,
where C1 and C 2 are constants with
different interpretations from those of
appearing in Eq. 2. The parameter C1
1
controls the amount of volume change and F 2( ) 
cos2 (H / Vs )   (H / Vs )
2
the parameter C 2 controls the shape of
accumulated volume change with number
of cycles. In many cases, C 2  0.4
C1 , and
(9)
so equation 4 involves only one
independent constant. For small damping ratios, equation 9
indicates that amplification by a damped
Byrne (1991) notes that the constant, C1 , soil layer varies with frequency.
can be derived from relative density, D r ,
in percentage as follows, In the present problem, in order to
validate the computational technique,
C1  7600( Dr ) 2.5 amplification factors have been calculated
(5) using equation 9 and compared with the

3
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India
values obtained for the three dimensional
case using FLAC3D. The depth of soil layer
considered is 20 m and the value of
damping ratio is assumed 5 % of critical
damping. Figure 1 shows the properties of
soil deposit used in the problem.
A three dimensional model using brick
element has been generated in FLAC3D to
represent the soil stratum. The size of the
stratum considered in the analysis is
50 x 15 x 20 m. In absence of any
structure the boundary conditions at the
sides of the model must account for the
free-field motion. FLAC3D has an option to
enforce the free-field motion via free-field
boundary command in such a way that
boundaries retain their non-reflecting
properties- i.e., outward waves originating
from the structure are properly absorbed.
The lateral boundaries of the main grid are
coupled to the free-field grid by viscous
dashpots to simulate a quiet boundary and
the unbalanced forces from the free-field
grid are applied to the main-grid
boundary. In this way, plane waves
propagating upward suffer no distortion at
the boundary because the free-field grid
supplies conditions that are identical to
those in an infinite model. However, if the
main-grid motion differs from that of the
free field due to surface structure that
radiates secondary waves, then the
dashpots act to absorb energy in a similar
manner to quiet boundaries. The free-field
model consists of four plane free-field
grids, on the side boundaries of the model
and four column free-field grids at the
corners (see Fig. 2). The model should be
in static equilibrium before the free-field
boundary is applied. The static equilibrium
conditions prior to the dynamic analysis
are transferred to the free fields
automatically when the command APPLY
FF is invoked. Thus before conducting the
dynamic analysis of the soil model to get
the free-field response free-field conditions
were applied. The harmonic excitation is
applied at the base of the model and
response is calculated at the free-field
central node of the ground.
The amplification factor is computed as the
ratio of the amplitude of free surface
motion to the amplitude of base motion.
The results of three dimensional
4
amplification, computed using FLAC3D are
compared with the respective one
dimensional ground response analysis
performed using eq. 2. This comparison is
shown in Fig. 3 (a) for Vs=170 m/s and
Fig. 3 (b) Vs=300 m/s. First natural
frequency for the stratum is given by
Vs/4H and thus works out to be 2.125 Hz
and 3.75 Hz for Vs=170 m/s and Vs=300
m/s, respectively.
It can be observed from Fig. 3 (a) and (b)
that there is a little shift in the natural
frequencies at the higher side for the three
dimensional case when compared to one
dimensional case. Moreover, due to
increase in damping the amplification
factor reduces at first natural frequency for
the three dimensional case. Similar
observation was made by Deka (2008). It
shall be noted that computation in FLAC3D
is performed in the time domain, thus at
discrete frequencies only while for 1-D
case it is continuous using Eq. 9.
The results obtained from present analysis
in FLAC3D are reasonably in good
agreement with those obtained from 1D
analysis. This verifies the model and
computation methodology used.
Effects of Nonlinearity
The effects of site conditions on seismic
ground motions are usually interpreted to
mean how the waves from the underlying
rock are affected by the geometrical and
geological structures of the softer surface
deposits during wave transmission to the
surface. Under strong shaking, the
response of the soil will be nonlinear. The
shear modulus and damping are strain
dependent, and therefore the larger
strains, associated with strong shaking,
reduce the effective shear moduli and
increase the damping. The shear strength
of the soil also puts a limitation on the
magnitude of the surface acceleration
because the seismic waves cannot
generate shear stresses greater than the
mobilized shearing resistance of the soil.
The nonlinear behaviour of soils causes the
amplification factors to be dependent on
the intensity of shaking. This has been
clearly demonstrated in case of 1989 Loma
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India
Prieta earthquake. The comparison of the
amplification factors for a site on Treasure
Island in San Francisco Bay relative to the
rock motions at adjacent Yerba Buena
Island, using data from the main shock of
the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and
seven subsequent aftershocks, has shown
that the reduction in amplification occurs
with increased intensity of shaking over a
wide frequency band of engineering
interest (Finn and Wightman, 2003).
Though, it may not always be the case. By
studying the average strong- to weak-
motion amplification ratios during the 1989
Loma Prieta and 1987 Whittier Narrows
earthquakes in California, Beresnev (2002)
has shown that the strong-motion
amplification is reduced by a factor of 1.7–
2 on average, relative to a generic weak-
motion response.
In the present study, the effect of soil non-
linearity on the amplification factor, as a
function of the input motion amplitude,
has been investigated. Varying the
amplitude of input motion to 0.2 g, 0.5 g
and 1 g, the amplification factor with
frequency has been plotted. It shall be
noted that there will be no effect of
amplitude of input motion on the elastic
response. The shear-wave velocity for all
the cases has been kept constant, at a
value of 170 m/s. The result of 3D
analyses using FLAC3D and Mohr-Coulomb
material model to simulate nonlinearity is
shown in Fig. 4.
As evident from Fig. 4, the effect of
nonlinearity becomes more and more
prominent with increase in the amplitude
of the base motion. It is observed that for
the base motion of 0.2 g amplitude, the
results of the linear elastic model and that
of the nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb model
almost coincide but as the amplitude of
the input motion is increased to the value
of 1 g, a vast variation in the amplification
factor can be observed.
Liquefaction Studies
In the present problem of the liquefaction
analysis, a „shaking table‟ condition is
modelled. This consists of a sand stratum
that is given a periodic motion at its base.
5
The size of the stratum considered is 50 x
50 x 5 m. Displacement in the z direction
is restrained at the base, simulating the
roller boundary condition. The motion of
the sides follows that of a base, except
that the amplitude diminishes to zero at
the top. This modelling essentially
simulates the stress condition that is
developed for the simple shear case.
Vertical loading is by gravity only. Cyclic
loading is applied by means of a velocity
input (Itasca, 2003). An initial pore
pressure is installed in the soil and excess
pore pressure developed is monitored in
four different zones within the soil in the
vertical direction. The stratum is modelled
using brick element and it is discretized
into five zones in the z direction. Only one
zone is modelled in the x- and y-
directions, since the horizontal variation is
of no particular interest here. Figure 5
shows the schematic sketch of the model
used in the study.
A parametric study is conducted to
examine the effect of cyclic loading
magnitude, relative density, and friction on
the liquefaction resistance of the soil. The
soil stratum is assigned Finn Model (Martin
et al., 1975) incorporated in Flac3D, which
employs Byrne parameters (Byrne, 1991)
in order to capture the pore-pressure build
up with the application of cyclic loading.
The formula proposed by Byrne involves
two constants C1 and C2, which can be
calculated from the known normalized
standard penetration test values (N 1)60.
Here, three different values of (N1)60 i.e. 7,
15 and 28 are considered for the
parametric study. Further, (N1)60 may be
considered as the representative of the
relative density of soil. Using an empirical
relation between Dr and (N1)60 given by
Eq. 10.
1
Dr  15( N 1) 60
2
(10)
From Eq. 10 it can be inferred that the
(N1)60 values of 7, 15 and 28 represent the
soils with relative densities 40 %, 58 %
and 79 % respectively. Excess dynamic
pore pressure is monitored at different
depths. Using an in-built programming
language, FISH, of FLAC3D, excess pore-
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India
pressure ratio, Ru and effective stress 
plots against time of loading are obtained.
Excess pore-pressure ratio Ru can be
defined as the ratio of excess pore water
pressure developed due to dynamic
loading, uexcess to the initial effective over-
burden pressure  v 0
' %, it requires more than 50 cycles for Ru
. to reach unity while with Dr = 79 %, Ru
Mathematically,
Ru = uexcess /  v' 0 (11)
EFFECT OF RELATIVE DENSITY ON
LIQUEFACTION RESISTANCE
Three different values of relative density
(40 %, 58 % and 79 %) have been
considered for a sandy soil stratum with
cohesion C = 0, to study its effects on the
liquefaction phenomena. The analyses are
conducted for the constant cyclic shear
stress value of 6 kN/m2 applied at a
frequency of 5 Hz. This excitation was
found to be adequate to cause liquefaction
for Dr = 40 % sand stratum. Figures 6 (a)
and 6 (b), obtained as FLAC3D output,
show the variation of excess pore-pressure
ratio with respect to time for the depth of
2.5 m and 4.5 m respectively. Table 1
shows the values of Ru against the depth
for the constant value of 25 cycles of
loading, for different values of Dr.
It can be observed from Table 1 that the
excess pore-pressure ratio Ru, at a
particular depth decreases with increase in
the relative density of soil. Also, for a
particular value of relative density, as the
depth (which can be considered as a
measure of confining pressure) increases
the pore-pressure built-up decreases
resulting in the decrease of the excess
pore-pressure ratio Ru
Figures 7 (a) and 7 (b) show the number
of cycles required to cause liquefaction at
various depths for Dr = 40 % and Dr = 58
%. It can be inferred from these results
that the number of cycles to cause
liquefaction increases with increase in the
depth (and thus the confining pressure) as
well as with increase in the relative density
of the soil.
Figure 8 shows the plot of excess pore-
pressure ratio against the number of
cycles. It can be inferred from this plot
6
that the rate of generation of dynamic
pore-pressure is more for the sand with Dr
value of 40 % and it decreases as the Dr
value increases to 79 %. For Dr = 40 %,
the pore water pressure ratio Ru reaches
unity in 10 cycles. However, with Dr = 58
doesn‟t reach to unity even after 1000
cycles.
EFFECT OF CYCLIC SHEAR STRESS ON
LIQUEFACTION RESISTANCE
To study the effect of cyclic shear stress
on the liquefaction phenomena, four
different values of cyclic shear stress (6,
10, 20 and 30 kN/m2) have been used as
the input. The frequency value is kept
constant at 5 Hz for all the cases.
Table 2 gives the values of number of
cycles required to cause liquefaction for
different values of applied cyclic shear
stress. It can be seen that, for a given Dr,
the number of cycles required to cause
liquefaction decrease with increasing value
of applied shear stress. Also, for the given
value of applied cyclic shear stress the
number of cycles required to cause
liquefaction increase with increasing Dr.
EFFECT OF FRICTION ANGLE ON
LIQUEFACTION RESISTANCE
To study the effect of friction angle on the
liquefaction phenomena, the soil model
was analyzed for friction values of 25 and
35 degrees keeping all other parameters
constant. The results of the analyses are
presented in Table 3. It can be inferred
from this table that as the friction value is
increased, the pore pressure ratio
decreases.
Conclusions
The following conclusions are deduced:
 Due to increase in damping the
amplification factor reduces at first
natural frequency for the three
dimensional case as compared to
one dimensional case.
 The effect of nonlinearity of the soil
medium becomes more and more
prominent with increase in the
amplitude of the base motion. This
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

conclusion is consistent with the

findings of Jarpe et al. (1989) and
Beresnev (2002).
 The effect of increasing relative
density is to decrease the Table 1: Effect of relative density on
development of excess-pore
excess pore-pressure ratio Ru
pressure ratio.
 The number of cycles required to Ru at 25 cycles of loading
cause liquefaction increases with
the depth (and thus the confining Depth Dr = Dr = Dr =
pressure). (m) 40 % 58 % 79 %
 For a given Dr, the number of cycles
required to cause liquefaction 1.5 m 1 0.9 0.64
decreases with increasing value of 2.5 m 1 0.75 0.55
applied shear stress.
 The effect of increasing friction is to 3.5 m 1 0.63 0.5
decrease the pore –pressure build-
4.5 m 0.95 0.56 0.476
up in the soil for the applied cyclic
shear stress.

References Table 2: Effect of cyclic shear stress

[1] Beresnev Igor A. (2002), “Nonlinearity at on the number of cycles causing
California Generic Soil Sites from Modeling
Recent Strong-Motion Data” Bulletin of the
liquefaction
Seismological Society of America, Vol. 92,
No. 2, PP-863–870 Cyclic Number of cycles to
[2] Byrne Peter M. (1991), „A Cyclic Shear-
Volume Coupling and Pore Pressure Model for Shear cause liquefaction at 1.5
Sand‟, Proceedings: Second International
Conference on Recent Advances in Stress,  m depth
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and
2
Soil Dynamics, St. Louis, Missouri, March 11- (kN/m ) Dr = Dr = Dr =
15, Paper No. 1.24
[3] Deka Parthajyoti. (2008), „Effects of Soil- 40 % 58 % 79 %
Structure Interaction on Seismic Response of
a Symmetrical Building‟, M. Tech 6 8 50 4500
Dissertation, Department of Earthquake
Engineering, IIT Roorkee. 10 4 12 210
[4] Finn W. D. L., Lee K. W., Martin G. R.,
(1977), „An Effective Stress Model for 20 1 4 15
Liquefaction‟, Journal of Geotechnical
Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 103, PP-
30 1 2 6
517-531
[5] Finn W. D. L. and Wightman A. (2003),
„Ground Motion Amplification Factors for the Table 3: Effect of friction angle on
Proposed 2005 Edition of the National excess pore-pressure ratio
Building Code of Canada‟, Can. J. Civ. Eng.,
PP- 272-278
[6] Itasca Consulting Group, (2003), „Fast Depth Ru at 10 cycles of
Langrangian Analysis of Continua- 3 (m) loading
Dimensional, Manual‟, Minnesota, USA.
[7] Kramer, Steven L. (2004), „Geotechnical  = 25  =35
Earthquake Engineering‟, Pearson Education, 1.5 1 1
Indian LPE, New Delhi.
[8] Martin G. R., Finn L. W. D., and Seed H. B. 2.5 1 0.96
(1975). “Fundamentals of Liquefaction under 3.5 0.9 0.84
Cyclic Loading” Journal of Geotechnical 4.5 0.8 0.69
Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 101(GT5), PP. 423-
428.
[9] Syed N. M. (2009), „Effect of Liquefaction on
the Response of a Single Pile‟, M. Tech.
Dissertation, Department of Earthquake
Engineering, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, India.

7
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

Density ρ= 2000 kg/m3

Damping ξ= 5 %
Shear Wave Velocity, Vs =
170 m/s or 300 m/s
20 m

Bedrock

Fig. 1: Soil deposit considered in the analysis

Fig. 2: Soil stratum modelled in Flac3D

(a) (b)

Fig. 3: (a) Free field amplification for Vs = 170 m/s (b) Free field amplification
for Vs = 300 m/s

8
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

Fig. 4: Effect of nonlinearity of soil on ground response for Vs = 170 m/s

Soil Medium

Fig. 5: Boundary conditions for soil mass model

Ru
Ru

Time (Sec.) Time (Sec.)

(a) (b)
Fig. 6: (a) Excess pore-pressure ratio Ru at depth 2.5 m (Dr = 40 %). (b) Excess pore-
pressure ratio Ru at depth 4.5 m (Dr = 40 %)

9
 ACSGE-2009, Oct 25-27, BITS Pilani, India

Fig. 7 (a): Number of cycles causing liquefaction for sand with Dr = 40 %

Fig. 7 (b): Number of cycles causing liquefaction for sand with Dr = 58 %

Fig. 8: Effect of relative density on the number of cycles causing liquefaction

(Depth = 1.5 m)

10

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