Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis Adopting Effective Stress Approach of an Embankment Involving Liquefaction Potential

Stability of an embankment under earthquake loads is challenging in the process of analysis and design. Some embankment design consist of saturated granular material that is potential to liquefaction. Earthquake loads to the embankment under this conditions is one of major cause of embankment failure. Seismic performance involving stress-deformations and excess-pore-water pressure was evaluated in this paper. The evaluation adopts effective stress approach with non-linear elasto-plastic constitutive model. Numerical simulations through parametric studies were performed to estimate minimum density and embankment height efficiently to tolerate lateral displacements due to liquefaction. A number of parametric analyses were performed to investigate the relationships among relative densities of sand, ground accelerations, embankment height to excess-pore-pressure and lateral displacement of the embankment. The liquefaction analysis is conducted numerically using a finite difference method FLAC Dynamic 2D software adopting Finn-Byrne constitutive model.