Prediction of Liquefaction Triggering in Crude-Oil-Contaminated Sand Using UBC3D-PLM Model in PLAXIS 2D

Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction has been a major issue of concern because of its devastating impacts, and the complexity attenuates when the soil is contaminated. The paper assess the liquefaction propensity of crude-oil-contaminated silty sand using UBC3D-PLM constitutive model in PLAXIS 2D which is believed to be one of the most capable model in simulating seismic liquefaction in sands. The applicability of the model has been verified beforehand for its use in oil-contaminated sands. The model parameters have been evaluated by conducting monotonic consolidated drained triaxial test on silty sand contaminated with varying crude oil content (0, 6, 8, and 12% V/W). Numerical simulations have been performed for varying oil content and seismic excitations. The results revealed that oil contamination has a significant effect on liquefaction triggering and settlement response of the soil under seismic loading.