Application of a kinematic-cyclic plasticity model in simulating sand liquefaction

The mechanical behavior of saturated soil is mainly governed by the interaction between the soil skeleton and the pore fluid, and this interaction may lead to significant loss of strength known as liquefaction under seismic loading conditions. The main objective of this paper is to implement a cyclic constitutive model based on fuzzy set plasticity theory, which is capable of modeling soil dilatancy during earthquake excitation. A numerical study of sand liquefaction was performed and compared with centrifuge-based experimental results. The proposed formulation is capable of capturing the features of pore water pressure buildup and strength loss in granular soil deposit under cyclic loading. The numerical model was verified by the centrifuge tests. The good match of the numerical results and the centrifuge experimental data shows that the fuzzy set model is an effective tool for assessing liquefaction potential and liquefaction-related motions.