Pile group response to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading: E-Defense large shake table test

•Successful reproduction of liquefaction and lateral spreading using E-Defense shake table.•Thorough measurements of soil behavior and pile response.•Evaluation of two force-based design guidelines including JRA and JSWA.•Evaluation of semi-empirical methods to predict liquefaction-induced lateral displacements.

This paper presents the results of a large-scale shake table test at E-Defense facility on a pile group located adjacent to a gravity-type quay wall and were subjected to liquefaction-induced large ground displacements. Extensive liquefaction-induced large ground lateral spreading displaced the quay wall about 2.2 m and damaged the pile foundation. The pile foundation consisted of a six-pile group which supported a footing and a superstructure model. Large lateral soil displacements were measured by several sensors such as inclinometers and the results favorably agreed with the directly observed deformations. Soil lateral displacement decreased as the distance from the quay wall increased landward. The piles were densely instrumented and the measured bending strain records were able to explain the damage to the piles. Lateral pressures of the liquefied soil exerted on the piles were measured using earth pressure (EP) sensors. The application of two design guidelines (JRA [1] and JSWA [2]) for estimation of liquefaction-induced lateral pressure on piles is discussed and their advantages and shortcomings are addressed. Furthermore, two simplified methods (Shamoto et al. [3] and Valsamis et al. [4]) are employed to predict the extent of liquefaction-induced large ground displacements and they are compared to the measured deformations. Finally, their accuracy for predicting the liquefaction-induced lateral displacements is evaluated and practical recommendations are made.