Centrifuge modelling of static liquefaction in submarine slopes: Scaling law dilemma

Weiyuan Zhang*, Amin Askarinejad

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The scaling laws for the centrifuge modelling of the initiation and propagation of static liquefaction in submerged slopes are investigated in this paper. A theoretical model is developed to analytically determine the scaling factor of fluid viscosity in simulating the onset of static liquefaction by detailed analysis of the hydromechanical processes at the grain scale. Based on this, a fluid with a viscosity of N-times that of water (N-fluid) is suggested, where N is the geometrical scaling factor in centrifuge modelling. A fluid with a viscosity of N-times that of water (N-fluid) was adopted for simulating dynamic events in the centrifuge; N-fluid is used and suggested by previous researchers. Centrifuge tests were designed to examine and verify the scaling factors for pore fluid viscosity in simulating the onset of static liquefaction and the post-liquefaction behaviour of subaqueous landslides. These tests were performed at 10g, 30g, and 50g conditions, with N-fluid, N-fluid or water, where g is the Earth’s gravitational acceleration. Results confirm that the correct scaling factors (prototype/model) for pore fluid viscosity are 1/N and 1/N for investigating the onset of static liquefaction and the post-failure behaviour of the submarine slopes, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)200-209
Number of pages10
JournalCanadian Geotechnical Journal
Volume58
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Geotechnical centrifuge modelling
  • Scaling law
  • Static liquefaction
  • Submarine slopes

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