On the influence of cyclic preloadings on the liquefaction resistance of sands: A numerical study

Soil deposits may be subjected to preloading episodes due to different factors such as previous earthquakes, excavations, refilling, compaction, construction of overlying structures, storms under onshore/offshore condi-tions, among many others. It is well-known that preloading episodes remarkably influence the subsequent soil mechanical behavior and liquefaction resistance. In order to accurately describe the influence of cyclic preload-ings, advanced constitutive models which are able to realistically reproduce the soil mechanical behavior are necessary. In this work, a numerical study was carried out to investigate the influence of cyclic preloadings on the liquefaction resistance of sands. The numerical analyses were performed considering three advanced and well established constitutive models, namely: the hypoplastic model for sands by Von Wolffersdorf (1996) with the Intergranular Strain extension by Niemunis and Herle (1997), the same hypoplastic model for sands extended with Intergranular Strain Anisotropy by Fuentes et al. (2020), and the bounding surface plasticity model Sanisand by Dafalias and Manzari (2004). The simulations were performed based on the experimental databases on Zbraslav sand by Duque et al. (2023a,b). Remarks about the model capabilities and limitations on tests with different types of cyclic preloadings and their repercussion on boundary value simulations are given at the end.

Automated summary

Soil deposits can undergo preloading episodes due to various factors, which significantly influence the subsequent mechanical behavior and liquefaction resistance. Advanced constitutive models are necessary to accurately describe the influence of cyclic preloadings on soil behavior. This study investigated the influence of cyclic preloadings on liquefaction resistance using three advanced models, and simulations were based on experimental data. Remarks on the capabilities and limitations of the models and their effects on boundary value simulations are provided.