SPT - Based Liquefaction Assessment of Alluvial Foundation at Chapar-Abad Dam

Development of liquefaction in saturated cohesionless deposits is one of the most dramatic causes of damage in civil structures during earthquakes. The potential damage caused by liquefaction includes: 1) loss of bearing capacity, 2) excessive settlement, 3) lateral spreading, 4) flow failure, and 5) ground oscillation. The liquefaction susceptibility of a specific deposit is affected by many factors for example, wave-induced liquefaction characteristics, soil type, geological history, confining pressure, permeability, relative density, water content, and properties of the soil grain size. Chapar-Abad Dam is an inhomogeneous earth-fill dam with height and crest length of 44.5 and 427 meters, respectively. The reservoir capacity is 127 million cubic meters. The dam which is under construction is located about 75 km southeast of Uromieh City, in West-Azerbaijan province. The foundation materials include 60 meters of alluvium deposits overlying the bedrock layers of carbonate units. The abutments consist of carbonate and schistose layers of Precambrian age. In this paper the potential of liquefaction of the site is evaluated according to the SPT results form in-situ tests performed in boreholes driven into the depth of alluvial deposits. Furthermore, recently modified relations of correction factors such as stress reduction factor (rd), earthquake magnitude scaling factor for cyclic stress ratios (MSF), overburden correction factor for cyclic stress ratios (Ks), and the overburden normalization factor for penetration resistances (CN) are presented and used in liquefaction assessment of alluvial foundation at Chapar-Abad Dam. The results indicate the possibility of liquefaction and instability of granular soils during earthquake and any types of strong motions.