Experimental Evaluation of p-y Curves Considering Development of Liquefaction

Although evidence in the literature indicates that the lateral p-y resistance of piles in liquefiable soils is significantly reduced, the shape and amplitude of the reduced p-y curve during pore pressure buildup are needed for reliable design of pile foundations. To investigate this issue, a single steel pile embedded in homogeneous saturated Nevada sand was subjected to sequential dynamic shaking and lateral (inertial-equivalent) loading. A key goal in the test program was to develop a data set capable of rendering insight into the characteristics of p-y resistance under developing liquefied soil conditions. As such, results presented focus primarily on the static p-y curves backcalculated from bending moment distributions at the achieved excess pore pressures. Analysis of the experimental data shows that mobilization of the partially liquefied soil was achieved during lateral loading. A rich set of test data was produced from this testing series, which will be useful for model validation and sub...