Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

2.1 Earthquake and it Nature
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip
past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault
plane. The location below the earths surface where the earthquake starts is
called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the
earth is called the epicenter. (Wald,N.D)
Philippines being a country inside the pacific ring of fire are prone to
earthquakes. In the previous year Philippines had around 272 earthquakes
with magnitude of 1.5 and higher thus, this number is significant as
occurrences of earthquake are frequent here in the Philippines.
Shaking motion of an earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy.
An earthquake occurs when stress, building up within rocks of the earth's
crust, is released in a sudden jolt. Rocks crack and slip past each other
causing the ground to vibrate. The slippage emits large amounts of energy in
the form of waves that travel through the interior of the earth and across the
surface, similar to the waves emanating from a stone dropped into a still
pond. (The Nature of Earthquakes, N.D). Cracks along which rocks slip are
called faults; these may break through the ground surface, or remain deep
within the earth. San Andreas Fault, which stretches for more than 900 km
along the coast of California, is shown on the figure below. This fault lies
along the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American
tectonic plate (tectonic plates are discussed in the next section). Activities of
this fault have caused some of the major earthquakes in the United States
and the world, such as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (magnitude 8.3 on
the Richter scale, killed 700 people and left 250,000 people homeless). (The
Nature of Earthquakes, N.D).

Fig. Ritcher Scale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale

a. 1990 Luzon earthquake

The 16 July 1990 earthquake (Ms = 7.8) produced a 125 km-long ground
rupture that stretches from Dingalan, Aurora to Kayapa, Nueva Vlzcaya as a
result of strike-slip movements along the NW segment of the Philippine Fault
Zone and its splay, the Digdig Fault. The earthquake epicenter was placed at
15 42' N and 121 7' E near the town of Rizal, Nueva Ecija. The surface
rupture essentially followed the pre-earthquake active fault trace along
previously identified fault-related geologic and geomorphic features such as
mole tracks, sag ponds, offset streams and fluvial terraces, shutter and
pressure ridges, scarplets, and similar features, with only slight deviations in
certain places.(Punongbayan et. Al., N.D)
The estimated damage to properties and infrastructures are P 10B.
Structures within 1-2 m alongside the ruptured ground suffered minimal
damage due to its light weight unlike buildings which suffered most. Along
with the rupture several factors affected the collateral damage to the
structures 2m and above like the materials used, topography and ground
condition, design itself to name few.
2.2 Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a process by which sediments below the water table
temporarily lose strength and behave as a viscous liquid rather than a solid.
The types of sediments most susceptible are clay-free deposits of sand and
silts; occasionally, gravel liquefies. The actions in the soil which produce
liquefaction are as follows: seismic waves, primarily shear waves, passing
through saturated granular layers, distort the granular structure, and cause
loosely packed groups of particles to collapse. These collapses increase the
pore-water pressure between the grains if drainage cannot occur. If the porewater pressure rises to a level approaching the weight of the overlying soil,
the granular layer temporarily behaves as a viscous liquid rather than a
solid. Liquefaction has occurred. (EARTHQUAKE BASICS BRIEF NO. 1, N.D).

Soil liquefaction is commonly associated with large earthquakes. It

refers to the loss of strength in saturated, cohesion less soils due to the
build-up of pore water pressures during dynamic loading. In general manner,

it has been defined as the transformation from a slide state to a liquefied

state as a consequence of increased pore pressure and reduced effective
stress.

a. Typical effects of Liquefaction

These are several effects of liquefaction according to U.S.G.S and
California Geological Survey about Liquefaction.
Loss of soil bearing capacity the soil will be in liquid like state thus it loss it
ability to support structures.
Lateral spreading the soil starts to gradually slide down and slope in buried
liquefied layers.
Sand boils the ground exhibits a geyser like attitude where the soil start to
be ejected from the buried liquefied layer, thus making a sand volcano like
phenomenon.
Flow failures the ground now shifts downward with large displacement.
Ground oscillation the layer of soil on the surface are shifted back and forth
to the buried liquefied layer through shaking thus making the area deformed.
Flotation lightweight structures and materials such as pipes, wires, fuel
tanks etc. can be brought up and float to the surface.
Settlement due to the effect of earthquake when ground starts to
reconsolidate the surface layer may settle or subside depending on the
shaking as it gradually decreases. The liquefied buried soil are now settled
and becomes denser.

Fig. - Fire and lateral spread caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The
ground in the lateral spread slid to the right, riding on liquefied sediment,
and opened the fissure.

M.J. Rymer, U.S. Geological Survey

b. Liquefaction Factors
These
are
several
run
civilenggseminar.blogspot.com, 2015

downed

liquefaction

from

1. Soil Type
2. Grain size and its distribution
3. Initial relative density
4. Vibration characteristics
5. Location of drainage and dimension of deposit
6. Surcharge load
7. Method of soil formation
8. Period under sustained load
9. Previous strain history
10. Trapped Air

c. Liquefaction in Philippines
On 16 July 1990, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake was triggered by the
movement of the Philippine Fault zone, inflicting damage over an area of
about 20,000 km2 in Luzon, the Philippines largest island. Over 1,600 people
were killed and at least 3,000 people were seriously injured. Although
located about 100 km from the epicenter (located at near Rizal, Nueva Ecija),
Dagupan City suffered the most damage due to the liquefaction of loose
saturated sandy deposits. (Orense, 2011)
Dagupan City is located in the western coast of Luzon along the southern
shores of Lingayen Gulf. Most of the city and adjacent areas facing the gulf
are predominantly flat terrain and the soil in this region is made of loose
Quaternary-age deposit. Dagupan is situated in the eastern margin of the
delta of Agno River, and is traversed by the Pantal River. Due to the
meandering nature of Pantal River, the natural lateral shifting in its course
resulted in channel abandonment in some areas. (Orense, 2011). Dagupan is
set on flat terrain where large deposit of loose soil and gravel are present

along with streams and wetlands which are abandoned, thus this are some
conditions that makes a certain area susceptible to liquefaction.

In Dagupan City, close to around 500 buildings and residential houses

underwent severe settlements, as well as varying amounts of tilting, as a
result of the loss in strength of the underlying soil. Except for one, no
building in the affected area was supported by piles, and therefore, no
resistance was possible against subsidence after liquefaction. Earthquake
shaking did not destroy buildings in the area nor cause any structural
damage. Lateral spreading in the order of about 3-5 m occurred along the
banks of Pantal River. Large lateral displacements and flow failures of the
riverbanks damaged several buildings and other structures built near the
river. The 5-storey Asia Career Building subsided by more than 1m, with
minor structural damage; however, the 1-storey section adjacent to it was
severely distorted. Magsaysay Bridge collapsed as a result of the lateral
movement of the opposing banks of Pantal River where the bridge abutted.
At the same time, the bridge piers sank and tilted towards the center of the
river as a result of liquefaction of the river bed. Several kilometers of roading
became virtually impassable due to cracks in road pavements as a
consequence of general subsidence and lateral displacements in the area.
Several buried structures, such as gasoline tanks, septic tanks and buried
pipes, were uplifted due to the buoyant force exerted by the liquefied soil. A
buried water pipe along Rizal Street buckled and was thrust upward.
Immediately after the earthquake, much of the town was coated in dark-grey
mud and water ejected from fissures in the ground. (0rense, 2011)