THE MECHANISM OF A LATERAL SPREADING OF THE SATURATED SANDY GROUND

The lateral spreading of a sandy ground destroyed pile foundations and the underground piles. The mechanism of lateral spreading is not clear because the mechanical properties of liquefied sand are not clear. Therefore, the authors developed a new torsional loading apparatus that was able to load until about 100% shear strain. By using this tester, the mechanical properties of liquefied sand were analyzed. On the basis of loading results, the mechanism of a lateral spreading was studied. The stress-strain curve of liquefied sand was formulated and a lateral spreading was numerically simulated. The results of the numerical simulation were compared with the results of the centrifuge model test. Both results were very similar t o each other.