SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS Vol. 32, No. 1, 173-188, Mar.

1992
Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering

EVALUATION OF SETTLEMENTS IN SAND

DEPOSITS FOLLOWING LIQUEFACTION
DURING EARTHQUAKES

KENJI lSHIHARAD and MITSUTOSHI YOSHIMINE 1D

ABSTRACT
By examining a bulk of laboratory test data on sands obtained by using a simple shear apparatus,
a family of curves was established in which the volumetric strain resulting from dissipation of
pore water pressures is correlated with the density of sand and conventionally used factor of
safety against liquefaction. Thus, given the factor of safety and the density in each layer of a
sand deposit at a given site, the volumetric strain can be calculated and by integrating the volume
changes throughout the depth, it becomes possible to estimate the amount of settlements on the
ground surface produced by shaking during earthquakes. The outcome of the data arrangements
as above was put in a framework of methodology to estimate the liquefaction-induced settlements
of the ground. The proposed methodology was used to estimate the settlements at several sites
devastated by liquefaction during the 1964 Niigata earthquake. The estimated values of the
settlements were examined in the light of known performances of the sand deposits at respective
site. It was shown that the proposed methodology may be used for predicting liquefaction-in-
duced settlements with a level of accuracy suitable for many engineering purposes.

Key words : liquefaction, sandy soil, settlement (IGC : D7/E2)

cause of nonhomogenous conditions in the soil

INTRODUCTION
When saturated sand deposits are subjected
to shaking during an earthquake, pore water
pressures are known to build up leading to
liquefaction or loss of strength in the sand
deposits. The pore water pressures then start
to dissipate mainly towards the ground surface,
accompanied by some volume change of the
sand deposits which is manifested on the
ground surface as settlements. However, be-
deposits, the settlements seldom occur uniformly
even in small localized areas and differential
settlements become major cause of the damage
to lifelines or other facilities. Although the
exact assessment of differential settlements
seems beyond the reach of the current-state-
of-the-art, they are probably related to the
total or average amount of settlements which
occur in limited areas being considered. Thus,
it would not be meaningless to have a method-

i) Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo.

li) Graduate Student in Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo.
Manuscript was received for review on January 14, 1991.
Written discussions on this paper should be submitted before October 1, 1992, to the Japanese Society
of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Sugayama Bldg. 4F, Kanda Awaji-cho 2-23, Chiyoda-
ku, Tokyo 101, Japan. Upon request the closing date may be extended one month.

This is an Open Access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

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 174 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE
ology permitting a rough estimate to be made
of the ground settlements resulting from lique-
faction during earthquakes.
The volume change characteristics of sand
due to drainage of pore water pressures induced
by undrained cyclic loading has been studied
in the laboratory tests by Lee and Albaisa
(1974), Tatsuoka et al. (1984) and Nagase and
Ishihara (1988). As a result of these studies,
it has become apparent that the volumetric
strain after liquefaction is influenced not only
by the density but more importantly by the
maximum shear strain which the sand has
undergone during the application of cyclic
loads. On the basis of the rationale as above,
an attempt was made by Tokimatsu and Seed
(1987) to deploy a methodology to predict the
post-liquefaction settlements of the ground. In
the present study, an alternative procedure for
·estimating the ground settlements is introduced,
based on the factor of safety, by way of the
maximum shear strain which is a key para-
meter influencing the post-liquefaction volu-
metric strain. The methodology proposed in
this study was applied to interpret observed
settlements of sandy grounds at several sites
devastated by liquefaction in a recent earth-
quake.
VOLUME CHANGE DURING RECON-
SOLIDATION FOLLOWING UNDRAINED
CYCLIC LOADING
Several series of laboratory tests have been
performed to study the volume change charac-
teristics of sand during dissipation of pore
water pressures developed as a results of
application of cyclic shear stress in undrained
conditions. In multiple test series of this kind
performed at the University of Tokyo, sand
samples in the simple shear test device were
consolidated under a confining stress of 196
kN/m 2 and then subjected undrained to hori-
zontal shear stress having irregular time
histories. The pore water pressures built up
during the application of irregular loads were
dissipated and volume change of the sample
was measured. This volume change was con-
sidered to represent the characteristics of the
sand directly related to the settlements of in-
situ sand deposits which take place following
liquefaction during earthquakes.
In the test series as above, time histories of
horizontal accelerations recorded during recent
major earthquakes were converted to the time
change in the horizontal load and applied to
the samples in the simple shear test device.
In this study, two types of irregular loading
tests were conducted; uni-directional and multi-
directional simple shear tests. In the uni-
directional tests, irregular time histories of the
horizontal load were applied only in one direc-
tion, whereas the irregular loads were applied
in two mutually perpendicular directions in the
case of the multi-directional tests. In any kind
of the tests as above, an irregular load with
a certain peak amplitude small enough not to
cause liquefaction was :first applied to the sample
and the pore water pressure developed at the
end of the loading was measured, together
with the amplitude of maximum shear strain
produced in the course of the load application.
Then, the drainage line from the test sample
was opened to dissipate the developed residual
pore water pressure and the volume change of
the sample due to reconsolidation was moni-
tored. The same procedure was followed in
the next test on a new sample in which the
amplitude of the irregular load was increased
by a certain amount. In this second step test,
a larger amount of pore water pressure was
developed accompanied by a larger amplitude
of maximum shear strain and consequently a
larger amount of volume change occurring
during the reconsolidation. The similar pro-
cedure was repeated in several tests performed
in sequence in which the amplitude of the
irregular load was increased stepwise.
The outcome of a wild profusion of the
simple ·shear tests as above employing different
irregular time histories of load revealed that
the volume change characteristics of sand during
reconsolidation following the cyclic loading is
uniquely correlated with the amount of de-
veloped pore water pressure, no matter what
type of irregular loads are used, and irrespec-
tive of whether the irregular load is applied
in one-direction or in multi-directional manner.
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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS 175

However, this unique correlation was shown

to hold valid only for the pre-liquefaction l 5 (0)
conditioBs where the developed pore water I •
0
pressure still stays at a level smaller than the ~.2 4 o--o=---A- - o - -
§U
initially applied vertical effective stress. If the v.£!
.2~3
peak amplitude of irregular loads is raised to ~0"
;:,:::;
"0
a level greater than that inducing 100% of ·a.gz
.::~
pore water pressure buildup, the volumetric Dr!; 4 7 'lo

strain during the reconsolidation can not be

v=
1/)Q

·;:: .£ 1 o ~~~lect~r;~cd~~~~~
Q;c: L> U,ni -directional
.determined uniquely by the generated pore § .9 simple shear test
~~0
water pressure which is always equal to the 0~--~2---74--~6~~8~~,~0---1~·2--~14~~16~
initial vertical stress. In such a case, the Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y'max (%)

:amplitude of maximum shear strain induced

during the application of irregular loads were
·shown to be an appropriate parameter influ-
~ 5 Dr!; 7 3 'lo
encing the volumetric strain in the subsequent (b)
stage of consolidation. It was also shown that I • 0 ~~~~~d~h~cj~~~~~
:S§4 L> Uni-directional
~:;:; simple shear test
.even in the preliquefaction condition the maxi- 8~
mum shear strain is correlated as well with .£] 3
~0"
;:>:::;
the amount of volumetric strain during the "0

·§,g2
reconsolidation. Thus, it was concluded that
~~
the maximum shear strain experienced by sand .~ :g
.;:;-1
.during the phase of undrained cyclic loading e g
::>·-
is considered as a most appropriate index g~o
0~--7
2--~4--~6~~8~~1~0---1~2~~,4~~,6~
:parameter wielding influence on the develop- Maximum amp\ i tude of shear strain , Y'max (%)
ment of volume change during the following
reconsolidation, spanning a wide range in the
intensity of cyclic load, whether it is small or l 5 Dr!; 93%
large enough to induce liquefaction. I • 0 ~ulti.:directicnol (C}
Simple shear test
The summarized results of the simple shear ~§4 L> Uni-directional
c:- simple shear test
tests performed in the previous study (Nagase gg
.2] 3
.and Ishihara, 1988) are demonstrated in Fig. 1, ~0"
::>:::;
"0
where the volumetric strain during the recon- §.~ 2
,!::;;:
solidation, sv, is plotted versus the maximum \/) 0
u=
shear strain rmax, induced in the sample during :s.E1
the undrained irregular loading. The simple eg
::> ·-
g~o
·shear tests were performed on samples of Fuji ~--7
2---74--~6--~8~~,~0---1~2--~14~~,6~
river sand prepared at three different densities Maximum amp I itude of shear strain , Y'max ('to)

and therefore three curves are shown in Fig.
1. It is noted that the developed pore water
pressure became equal to the initial vertical
·stress when the amplitude of irregular loads
was large enough to produce the maximum
shear strain of about 3o/o. This is consistent
with the results of many other tests indicating
that the cyclic softening or initial liquefaction
with 100% pore water pressure buildup occurs
.accompanied by the maximum shear strain of
the order of 2 to 3o/o. This fact is indicated
Fig. 1. Reconsolidation volume change versus
maximum shear strain relationship
accordingly in Fig. 1. It is to be noticed that
the curves shown in Fig. 1 is slightly different
from those presented in the previous paper
(Nagase and Ishihara, 1988) . After scrutinizing
the previous test data, it was found that the
value of maximum shear strain occuring before
the. 100% pore pressure buildup had been

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 176 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE

~ 5 (0)
~ 5
Clean sands
I •
------Dr=40"1o
I •
~§4
E.§ 4 ~~
sg 8?> - - - - - - - - - - 50%
.B ~ 3 .B ~ 3
<110"
:;:,:::
<!JO"
:::~:.::
- - - - - - - - - - 60%
"0 "0
-------70%
.!:: g' 2 Drli 47 "!. ·a.~z
,g ·;: Multi & uni-directional .!:;:: - - - - - - - - - - 80%
f~~~~:~·~~~g,~.1988)
V!Q Ill 0
u:::: 90%
·;:u=
-
.B 1 ---
_Triaxial test
(Kokusyo et al.,1984)
'E .E 1
a;c
Eo
,2:.;:;
0 0 /%'<i~~ ~\mg~1 ~ test e5
:::l·-

g.go g~o
0~--~2--~4----6~--~8---710~~,~2---714~~,7
6~ 0~--~2--~4----6~--~8---710~~,~2--~14~-7,~6~
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , 'fmax (%) Maximum amplitude of shear strain , 'fmax (%)

Fig. 3. Summarized relationships between re-

consolidation volume change and shear
strain

Dr'c 7 3 '/,
-~\!,\g 1 ~~~Jo~\':scttional (b)
I •
(Nagase & lshihara,1988) when the maximum shear strain increases be-
~§4 Triaxial test
sg ---- (Kokusyo et at.,1984)
0 I%~~6];11 ~\"'cftl~;§Wf test
yond 2 to 3% which is a value required to
.8~3 cause initial liquefaction, volumetric strain
<110"
:;:,:::
"0 during reconsolidation tends to increase signifi-
·§.~2 cantly. It is also noted that the looser the
.!::3:
(/) 0
u= sand, the larger is the volumetric strain due
:t.E1
~§
to reconsolidation.
:::l·-
g~o The test results similar to those shown in
0~--~2--~4----6~--~8--~10~~,~2---+14~~,~6~ Fig. 1 have been obtained by Tatsuoka et al.
Maximum amplitude of shear strain • Y"max (•t.)
(1984), Sasaki et al. (1982), and Kokusho et
al. (1984), by means of the cyclic triaxial or
torsional shear test apparatus. Individual test
data obtained by these investigators are plotted
~ 5 Dr" 93%
_ ~\!,\g;~ ~Jo~\'is'\tional (C) superimposed on Fig. 2 for each of the density
I •

~.2
(Nagase & Ishihara,1988)
employed in the tests. In transforming the
4 ----~K~k~~)ot~~tal.,1984)
au
u.E o I%~~6];11 ~\mcftl:;§W{ test axial strain, e1, in the triaxial test into the
.8~3
<110"
strain in the simple shear' r' the relation
:;:,:::
"0

·a.~ 2
r=1.5el (1)
Initial
~~ liguefact;on 0
was used assuming the undrained condition
u=
:s.Bt -~/~ during shearing. Comparison in Fig. 2 of the
e 5
:::l·-
1':':::[ average curves from the simple shear test data
g~o
~--~2--~4----6~--~8--~1~0---1~2---J14~~,~6~ with other data indicates that the data from
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , 'fmax ('!.)
different types of tests yielded an approximately
Fig. 2. Reconsolidation volume change versus coincident trend in correlating the reconsolida-
maximum shear strain relationship tion volume change with the maximum shear
strain during the undrained cyclic loading.
overestimated by 1% without correcting for Based on the characteristic curves in Fig. 2,
the effects of rotation of the simple shear test the curves for other relative densities were
samples during the irregular loading. Shown obtained by interpolation or extraporation as
in Fig. 1 is a modified version of the same test shown in Fig. 3. The curves shown in Fig. 3
results corrected for the above effects. It is will be used in the later section for providing
of importance to notice in Fig. 1 that, even a standard chart to estimate the settlement of

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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS
1.2
1.0
.9
E o.s
~
v;
u 0·4 Fuji river sand
~
Cyclic torsion t~st
(Jo'=98 kN/m2
0·2 Dr= 88'/o
f(o =1.0
Fig. 4. Cyclic stress ratio versus number of
cycles in cyclic torsional tests
sand deposits due to shaking of an earthquake.
RELATION BETWEEN FACTOR OF
SAFETY AND MAXIMUM SHEAR STRAIN
In order to estimate the liquefaction-induced
settlement of a sand deposit using the correla-
tion shown in Fig. 3, it is necessary to know
the magnitude of the maximum shear strain
which the sand will undergo during the applica.
tion of shaking in a future earthquake. A
simple method to this end would be estab-
lished by revisiting the definition of the cyclic
strength which has been adopted thus far for
the practical usage. As is well known, the
cyclic strength has been customarily defined as
the cyclic stress ratio required for the developed
pore water pressure to become equal to the
initial confining pressure under a certain number
of shear stress application. This state is called
initial liquefaction or a state of 100% pore
pressure buildup. It has also been known
from the wild profusion of laboratory tests
that, when the condition of initial liquefaction
sets in, soil samples are softened so that they
can deform cyclically with a double-amplitude
axial strain of 5 to 6% in the triaxial tests.
Thus, in the majority of practice in Japan, the
cyclic stress ratio required to cause 5% double-
amplitude axial strain in the triaxial test in a
specified number of cycles, say, 20 cycles is
alternatively taken as the definition of the
strength of laboratory soil samples under cyclic
177
loading conditions. In the case of very loose
sand, the sand starts to deform largely as soon
as this condition is encountered, and therefore
whatever amount of double-amplitude shear
strain may be used, almost the same value is
obtained for the cyclic strength. However, in
the case of medium dense to dense sand, this
does not hold valid as is apparent from the
cyclic torsion shear test data shown in Fig. 4.
In fact, the cyclic strength tends to increase
with increasing amount of shear strain ampli-
tude at which the strength is defined. In other
words, a larger magnitude of cyclic resistance
can be actually mobilized over the nominally
determined cyclic strength if more than 5%
double-amplitude axial strain is allowed to
take place in the triaxial test samples. Con-
sequently, when the factor of safety for lique-
faction is defined for the 5% double-amplitude
axial strain as,
((] at/2(] 1 o) 20
Fz ( 2)
((] a/2(]' o) 20
there always occur the cases where computed
factor of safety becomes less than unity. In
the above definition, (] az, indicates the axial
stress required to cause initial liquefaction or
5% double-amplitude axial strain in 20 cycles
and (] d denotes the amplitude of the axial stress
corresponding to the shear stress induced by
an earthquake. Tmax, z indicates the maximum
shear stress needed to cause initial liquefaction
in irregular loading and Tmax is the peak shear
stress induced by the earthquake. u' 0 and (] 1 'I)
denote the initial confining stress and vertical
stress. Defined in the above fashion, the factor
of safety of unity implies a state of cyclic
softening producing 5% double-amplitude axial
strain, and a factor of safety less than unity
means that the soil has been softened to a
state in which more than 5% double-amplitude
axial strain is produced. Thus, the factor of
safety, Fz, is considered to be a function of
the double-amplitude axial strain, or con-
versely speaking, if the factor of safety is
known for a sand deposit at a given site,
the double-amplitude shear strain developing
in the sand during liquefaction can be made
known. Half of this shear strain, i.e., single-
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 178 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE

1. 8

1. 6 Multi-directioLl
simple shear test
on loose sand
1. 4

2
I
~~Initial liquefaction

r
II 1.0
.
j 0.8
! Irregular wave form from '~ 0.6 Irregular wave form from
records at Kawagishi-cho.
records at Kawagishi-cho,
Niigata · (-> 0.4 Niigata
0".'==196 N/m2 O"o'== 196 N/m2
:
I
Dr:. 45 '/,
Fuji river sand 0. 2
Drl;·45 'lo
Fuji river sand
!
I

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Maximum amplitudE.' of shear strain , 'rmax ('/,) Maximum amplitude of shear strain , 'rmax (%)

Fig. 5. Maximum shear stress ratio versus
maximum shear strain
amplitude of the axial strain is regarded as
the maximum shear strain which the sand has
undergone in the course of liquefaction during
Fig. 6. Maximum shear stress ratio versus
maximum shear strain normalized to the
maximum shear stress ratio causing 3.5%
shear strain
1. 6

earthquakes.·

\_
1. 4 Multi- directional
simple shear test
The relationship in the above context between on loose sand
1. 2
the factor of safety and the shear strain ampli-
tude can be established on the basis of available ~ .
~ 1. 0
test data which have been obtained in the
} 0. 8
laboratory. For this purpose, a bulk of simple II
Irregular wavE.' form from
shear test data obtained by Nagase (1984) by 11 o. 6 records at Kawagishi-cho,
Niigata
employing several irregular time histories of O'o'= 196 N/m2
0.4 Dr:. 45 'lo
Fuji river sand
load may be used. One of the series of these
0.2
tests on Fuji river sand with a relative density 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y"max ('lo)
of about 45% is demonstrated in Fig. 5, where
the maximum shear stress ratio is plotted versus Fig. 7. Relationship between factor of safety
and maximum shear strain
the maximum shear strain developed during
the application of irregular loads (Ishihara and
Nagase, 1988) . In this series, four tests were each other through Eq. (1). Therefore, the
run each on seperate reconstituted samples by single-amplitude of axial strain of 2. 5% in the
employing an irregular time history having the triaxial mode corresponds approximately to
same shape but with different amplitudes. In 7max==::3. 5% in the simple shear mode of defor-
the course of application of this irregurally mation. Since the 3. 5% single-amplitude
changing load, a peak shear strain is developed strain has thus been adopted as a criterion to
and this peak strain is plotted in the abscissa define a state of cyclic softening at which the
versus the peak shear stress ratio which is factor of safety is unity, the maximum stress
determined from the peak amplitude in this ratio of 0. 15 should be taken as being equal
particular sequence of test. In Fig. 5, it is to Tmax, ~l(fv' in Eq. (2). Consequently, if the
noted that the maximum shear strain amplitude maximum shear stress in the ordinate of Fig. 5
of 3. 5% (single-amplitude) is developed in the is normalized to the value of 0. 15, the ratio
course of irregular load application when the Tmax/Tmax, t becomes equal to the reciprocal of
maximum stress ratio of 0. 15 is employed in the factor of safety, F~, defined by Eq. (2). The
the test. It should be noted that in undrained diagram modified in this manner is shown in
conditions the axial strain, cmax, in the triaxial Fig. 6. Further, by taking the reciprocal of
test and the shear strain, rmax, is related to the ordinate of Fig. 6, the desired correlation

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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS 179

Li:' 2.0
!~ 3.0 Dr!; 47 '/,

r:: (a) 0 Multi-directional

simple shear test
~ 2.5 " Uni-directional
.~ simple shear test
~ 2.0
g

''0
.... 0.5
.Bu
;i.\: 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y"max ('!.) Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y"mo.x (%)

Fig. 9. Summarized relationships between the

factor of safety and maximum shear strain

~t.C 3.0 Dr!; 7 3 '!. loads on loose samples of Fuji river sand pre-
""
Multi-directional
(b) 0
s1mple shear test pared at a relative density ranging between 40
" ~i%-ppJr~g~p?Jst and 50%. The results of such data arrange-
ments are shown in Fig. 8(a) in terms of the
factor of safety plotted versus the maximum
amplitude of shear strain observed during the
application of a sequence of irregular loads.
0
l5 0.5 " Similar results of data processing for other two
t> groups with different relative densities are
.;l: 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 presented in Figs. 8(b) and (c). It may be
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y"max ('lo)
seen in Fig. 8 that, at a given value of factor
of safety less than unity, the larger the relative
density, the smaller the maximum shear strain.
On the basis of the data for the three densities
·~ 3.0 " Dr!; 93 'lo shown in Fig. 8, a set of relationships was
c: (C) 0 ~~gl-ed~eecJ~~~~t established for other densities by interpolation
~ 2.5 " Uni-directional
u
0 simple shear test and extrapolation as demonstrated in Fig. 9.
-~ 2.0 °
g The family of curves in Fig. 9 can be used to
.£ 1.5 assess the maximum amplitude of shear strain
» for a known value of factor of safety. If the
·~ 1.01-----"-'~"~-:::---------------1
1/)
..... value of maximum shear strain is known in
~ 0.5 this manner, the post-liquefaction volumetric
.B
u
.i.\: 0 strain can be determined through the use of
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 the already established curves shown in Fig. 3.
Maximum amplitude of shear strain , Y"max (%)

Fig. 8. Relationship between factor of safety

and maximum shear strain RELATION BETWEEN FACTOR OF
SAFETY AND PORT-LIQUEFACTION
·between the factor of safety and the maximum VOLUME CHANGE
shear strain can be obtained for the loose state If the factor of safety is known by means
.of sand with a relative density of about 45% of the conventional method of liquefaction
:as demonstrated in Fig. 7. Similar data pro- analysis, it will be possible to circumvent the
cessing was made for a group of simple shear determination of the maximum shear strain
test data employing different time traces of and to directly estimate the amount of po:'j'~-

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 180 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE

1.2 ,..-----r--........---.----r-----,-----.
2.0
'e
-:, 1.0
Strain-controlled
cyclic tnaxial test
,II
l.B Clean sands :::l n::::10 cycles
.9 0.8 Y 1.5E1
Y"max= 1.5E,max
L.L.' 1.6 "§ 0.6
~
:::l
~ 0.4
6 1.4 ~
g 0.
ll: 0.2
't::J 1.2 ,£
.5! 9~ 1~
Shear strain , Y (Ofo)
.8 1.0
;:::... Fig. 11. Pore water pressure buildup as a
o:;
d(/) 0.8 function of shear strain (Dobry, 1989)

.s0 0.6
u
stress not to cause any pore water pressure by
0 Tmax, o or Tav, o, the threshold factor of safety
lL 0.4
is given by
02[ 'Lmax,
---=--
~ 'Lav, ~
( 3)
0~[~~~·~~~~~~~'·---~~~~~~~
'Lmax, 0 'L av, 0

1.0 2.0 3.0 Lt.O 5.0

Post-liquefaction volumetric strain, Ev (•t.)
Fig. 10. Chart for determining volumetric
strain as functions of factor of safety
liquefaction volumetric strain. For this purpose,
combinations of the factor of safety, F~, and
the volumetric strain, cv, giving equal magnitude
of maximum shear strain were read off from
each family of curves shown in Figs. 3 and 9.
The combinations of F~ and cv thus obtained
are plotted to establish a family of relationships
as demonstrated in Fig. 10 in which the maxi-
mum shear strain, rmax, is taken as a tracking
parameter. If these curves are to be used for
practical proposes based on the data from the
cyclic triaxial tests, the axial strain in the
triaxial mode should be converted to the shear
strain in the simple shear mode through the
use of the relation in Eq. (1).
In establishing the chart in Fig. 10, it was
considered desirable to set a critical factor of
safety at which the post-liquefaction volume
change becomes equal to zero. Such a thresh-
old factor of safety, F0 , may be defined, with
good reasons, as the one at which the pore
water pressure buildup is equal to zero with
no subsequent volume change due to its dis-
sipation. Denoting the largest level of shear
where Tmax, 0 refers to the amplitude of shear
stress in terms of its peak value and Tav, 0 in
terms of the average value throughout its time
history. It has been shown by Dobry (1989)
that there exists a threshold amplitude of
shear strain, ro, in cyclic loading tests below
which no pore water pressure can build up
whatsoever, irrespective of density of sand. A
summary of the test results by Dobry (1989)
is shown in Fig. 11, where it may be seen that
the threshold shear strain takes approximately
a value of ro=l. 5x10- 4 • Introducing the shear
modulus, G 0, corresponding to the thshoreld
strain, Eq. (3) is rewritten as,
1 'Lav, ~
---=- =: -r-o --c;- ( 4)
In view of the small magnitude of shear
strain of the order of 10-4, the empirical
formulae proposed by Hardin and Richart (1963)
and Iwasaki and Tatsuoka (1977) may be used
to estimate the shear modulus G 0 . The pro-
posed formulae are indicated in the inset of
Fig. 12 and they are shown in graphical form
in Fig. 12. For representative states of insitu
sand deposits having a void ratio between 0. 6
and 0. 9 and an overburden pressure of 0. 5 to
1. 0 kgf/cm 2 , the shear modulus is shown to
take a value between 500 and 1200 kgf/cm 2•

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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS 181

As can be seen in Fig. 3, there exists an

upper limit in the reconsolidation volumetric
2
- Go=7oo<zr-e) <o-o')V2
+e strain for each of a given density and
,....,
N therefore even when the maximum shear strain
~ 3.000 --- Go=330 (2.97-e)2 (O"'o')112
1+ e becomes fairly large, there is no change in the
~ Shear strain ": 1o·" volumetric strain. This fact is reflected in
Fig. 10 in such a way that the post-liquefaction
volumetric strain becomes independent of the
(/')
factor of safety when it is remarkably small.
_3 2.000 In looking over the family of curves in Fig. 10,
:J
'U
0
it is to be noticed that the curve for small
E relative densities less than 40% and the part
I..
0 of the curves with maximum shear strains less
<lJ
..c. than 3% are approximate without much back-
(/')

u 1.000 ground data. More exact curves are yet to be

.....(/') established, pending the outcome of more
0 comprehensive test data.
w

o~~~~~~~~~---~~~
0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9
Void ratio • e
Fig. 12. Low-strain shear moduli
versus void ratio
It has also been shown by a majority of
laboratory tests that the cyclic stress ratio
required to cause ±3. 5% shear strain in 10
cycles of uniform shear stress application lies
in many cases within the range of 0.15 and
0. 35. Thus, for a representative case of Clo 1 =
1 kgf/cm 2 , the shear stress to cause liquefaction
may be within the range
Tav, z =0. 15.-0. 35 kgf/cm 2
Thus, for a probably loosest state of clean
sands, one can assume ro=l. 5x10- 4 , Go=500
kgf/cm 2 and Tav, z=O. 15 kgf/cm 2• Similarly for
a densest state, it may as well be assumed that
ro=l. 5xlo-4, Go=1200 kgf/cm 2 and Tav, z=O. 35
kgf/cm 2• Introducing these two sets of repre-
sentative values in Eq. (4), the threshold factor
of safety is shown to take a value very close
to 2.0. For a smaller value of confining stress,
PROCEDURES FOR ESTIMATING
GROUND SETTLEMENTS FOLLOWING
LIQUEFACTION
plotted The settlements of the ground surface
resulting from liquefaction of sand deposits
during earthquakes can be estimated if the
factor of safety and relative density of sand at
each depth of the deposit are made known.
The relative density of insitu sand deposit can
be assessed from a knowledge of the penetration
resistance in the Standard Penetration Test
(SPT) or in Dutch cone penetration test (CPT) .
Several attempts have been made to establish
empirical correlations between the relative den-
sity, Dr, and N-value in SPT such as those
by Gibbs and Holtz (1957) and Marcuson et
al. (1976). In the current practice in Japan,
the formula proposed by Meyerhof (1957) based
on the test data by Gibbs and Holtz is
commonly used. This formula is expressed
as
Dr=21,J Clv' :0. 7
( 5)

where Clv' is effective overburden pressure in

the value of F 0 becomes somewhat larger than
1 kgf/cm 2 • Let the N-value corresponding to
2. 0. However, for all practical purposes, it
1 kgf/cm 2 overburden pressure be denoted by
may well be assumed that the threshold factor
N 1• Then, the relation of Eq. (5) leads to
of safety is approximately equal to 2. 0, and
this conclusion is accordingly indicated in the
Dr=21,J N 1- =16-J N1 ( 6)
chart of Fig. 10. 1. 7

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 182 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE
Equating Eq. (5) and (6), one obtains
1.7
Nl= CN·N=· ·N ( 7)
av' +0. 7
Eq. (7) was used by Tokimatsu and Yoshimi
(1983) to evaluate N 1-value from measured N-
value in SPT.
Similar attempts have also been made by
Tatsuoka et al. (1990) to establish empirical
correlation between the relative density and
qc-value in CPT. They are shown to be cor-
related with each other by the formula
Dr=-85+76log (ge/../av') ( 8)
By the same reasoning as above, the value
of ge 1 corresponding to av'=l kgf/cm 2 is ob-
tained as,
( 9)
Eq. (9) may be used to evaluate the gccvalue
normalized to av' = 1 kgf/cm 2 •
To estimate the density of insitu sand de-
posits, it has been a commonly established
practice to utilize the penetration resistance of
SPT or CPT. In view of this, N 1-value and
gccvalue obtained through Eqs. (6) and (8) are
inscribed in Fig. 10, along with the relative
density value.
With reference to the chart in Fig. 10, the
settlements of the ground due to liquefaction
of sand deposits can be estimated by the simple
procedures as follows. It should be noted
however that this procedures are applicable
only for deposits consisting predominantly of
sand and its use for fine-containing sand casts
some doubts on the validify of end results,
because the drainage may not be accomplished
to its full extent, if the sand contains some
amount of fines.
Step 1 . . . . . First of all, the factor of safety
against liquefaction, Fz, ought to be evaluated
for each layer of sand deposits at a given site,
on the basis of information on the intensity of
shaking in term of the acceleration and the
density of sands in the deposit. The pro-
cedures for evaluating the factor of safety are
described in details in the papers by Seed et
Kawagishi-
cho site
Fig. 13. Locations of the sites investigated in
Niigata
al. (1983), and Ishihara (1985) and typically in
the Japanese design code of highway bridge·
(1980). It is a usual practice to utilize the·
information of Ncvalue or gc 1-value for esti-
mating insitu values of cyclic strength.
Step 2. . . . . With the factor of safety known
as above, the chart in Fig. 10 is used to de-
termine the post-liquefaction volumetric strain,
sv, for each layer of sand deposits with known.
N1-values or ge1-values.
Step 3 . . . . . With the volumetric strains es-
tablished for each layer through the depth of
the deposit, the strains are integrated by multi-
plying the thickness of each layer and adding
together, the amount of settlements on the
ground surface resulting from dissipation of
pore water pressures induced by an earth-
quake is obtained.
COMPARISON BETWEEN PREDICTED
AND OBSERVED SETTLEMENTS
DURING EARTHQUAKES
The method of analysis described above will
be used to estimate the settlements of liquefied
sand deposits which occurred in the city of
Niigata, Japan during the 1964 earthquake and
the applicability of the proposed methodology
will be discussed in the light of the observed
performances of the sand deposits.
For evaluating the cyclic strength, the formu-
la incorporated in the Japanese design code for
highway bridges will be used in the present
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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS 183

Depth Sci t Soil J SPT N-value Oso (mm) Foetor of safety , F• Volumetric strain , Ev (Of.)
( m) type profile 10 20 30 40 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 0 4
-+ -0.6m ·

10

Toto!
settlement
: 50cm

Fig. 14. Soil profile and estimate of settlements

Depth SPT N-value Oso (mm) Factor of safety , F• Volumetric strain , Ev (Of.)
(m) 10 20 30 40 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 0 4

-+- -1.5m

Total
settlement
:51 em
5

sand

.....
10

Kawagishi- cho
(Niigato)

15

20

Fig. 15. Soil profile and estimate of settlements

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 184 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE

Depth Soil Soil SPT N-value Dso (mm) Factor of safety , F1 Volumetric strain , Ev ('/,)
(m) type profile 10 20 30 40 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 4

Medium \:::::. --+- -0.85m

sand ::::::·.:::

~:<:.::·.~~

Total
settlement
:29cm

Fig. 16. Soil profile and estimate of settlements

Depth SPT N~vatue Dso (mm) Factor of safety , FJ. Volumetric strain , Ev ('/,)
(m) 10 20 30 40 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 0 4 5
--+- ·0.4m

{)//
.\<'/~
5
Medium
to :: ·· ·
coarse . <<-'.·
sand · · · ·

10

...

15 .-:-:<-:
Total
Fine settlement
: 19cm
sand

Fig. 17. Soil profile and estimate of settlements

study. This formula reads where D 50 is the mean particle diameter in

millimeter, (u dl/2u' 0 ) 20 denotes the cyclic stress
+ 0. 255log1o( .D~~)
0
(uad2u' o) zo=O. 0676-J N1 ratio required to cause initial liquefaction or
5% double-amplitude axial strain in 20 cycles
for 0.04mm~D5o~0.6mm
of load application in the triaxial test.
Soil conditions in the city of Niigata de-
(uad2uo) zo=O. 0676-J N1 -0. 05
vastated by extensive liquefaction during the
for 0. 6 mm<Dso~l. 5 mm (10) 1964 earthquake were investigated by SPT and

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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS 185

Depth Soil Soil SPT N-value Dso (mm) Factor of safety , F1 Volumetric strain , Ev ('/,)
(m} type profile 10 20 30 40 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 0 4

-+- -2.5m

Total
15 se-ttleoment
: 12cm

Fig. 18. Soil profile andiestimate of settlements

SPT N·vatue Dso (mm) Foetor of safety , . F.r. Volumetric strain , Ev ('/,)
10 20 30 40 50 60 0. 0.4 0.6 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 0 4
-+- -O.Sm

Total
settlement
: 2 em

Fig. 19. Soil profile and estimate of settlements

other kinds of index property tests in the
laboratory (Ishihara, 1985). The sites where
insitu investigations were conducted are shown
in Fig. 13. In all of these sites, undisturbed
sand samples were recovered by means of the
piston sampler or large diameter sampler and
tested in the triaxial apparatus to determine
the cyclic strength. However, the information
on N-value in SPT was utilized in the present
study to evaluate the cyclic strength of the
sand deposits by means of the formula in
Eq. (10).
In making the liquefaction analysis, the
maximum horizontal acceleration of 158 gal in
E-W direction monitored at the basement of
the Kawagishi-cho apartment building was
used for all the sites being analyzed. These
are all located within 10 km from the Kawagishi-
cho site and the value of 158 gal may well be
deemed as representative of the intensity of

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 186 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE
shaking at the respective site.
The soil profiles at six sites are shown in
Fig. 14 through Fig. 19, together with the out-
come of liquefaction analysis and settlement
prediction. In these figures, the soil stratifica-
tion profiles are shown together with N-value
and N 1-value corresponding to 1 kgf/cm 2 over-
burden pressure. The mean particle diameter
of sands is also plotted versus depth. Based
on the values of N1 and D5 0 , the cyclic strength
was obtained through the formula in Eq. (10)
and the factor of safety was calculated by the
definition of Eq. (2), where the value of ac-
celeration of 158 gal was introduced in the
conventionally used formula (Ishihara, 1985) to
obtain the maximum stress ratio, Tmax/CJv 1 in
Eq. (2). In view of the fact that the present
method is applicable orily for clean sands
without much fines, the silty sand or sandy silt
having a mean particle diameter smaller than
0. 10 mm will be excluded from consic~eration
in the following analysis.
Let the case of River site be considered as
an example. As shown in Fig. 14, the factor
of safety is less than unity through a depth
from 2m to 13m, and consequently the esti-
mated value of volumetric strain is as large as
2 to 5% in this depth range. The surface
settlement was computed as 50 em at the River
site. At this site, the ground surface was dis-
rupted considerably and the settlements are
supposed to have been on the order of several
tens of centimeter which is approximately
coincident with the value of 50 em estimated
by the proposed methodology. Similar con-
sideration was made as well for the Kawagishi-
cho site where 4-story apartment buildings
were ruined heavily involving tilting and sinking
into the liquefied sand deposit. For Agano
river site and Sewage site, the depth of lique-
faction is shown to have been shallower as
accordingly indicated in Figs. 16 and 17 and the
observed ground damage during the 1964
Niigata earthquake is reported to have involved
cracking and settlements on the order of 20.-
30 em. Thus, the estimated settlements indicated
in Fig. 20 appear to be approximately within
the range of observed values. With respect
to the Road site and South bank site of Showa
~ 60
~
:sIll
"0
~ 40
cr,
0
Maximum acceleration at ground surface , O:rnox/g
Fig. 20. Ground settlements versus maximum
acceleration
bridge, practically little damage was observed
during the 1964 event. As indicated in Figs. 18
and 19, the thickness of liquefied layer is thin
and the resulting settlement is calculated to be
less than 10 em.
CONSIDERATIONS OF SETTLEMENT
CHARACTERISTICS
It is apparent that the factor of safety defined
by Eq. (2) decreases with increasing level of
maximum acceleration and, consequently, the
the settlements induced by liquefaction tend to
increase as the intensity of shaking becomes
stronger. However, the feature of settlement
increase with increasing level of acceleration is
different for each site being considered, de-
pending upon soil profile and nature of soils
composing the deposits. In order to look into
this aspect, the post-liquefaction settlements
at each of the sites investigated were calculated
for varying accelerations. The results of such
calculations are presented in Fig. 20. It may
be seen that generally there occurs no settle.
ments if the level of maximum acceleration is
small enough below 50 gal and for the accele-
ration in excess of 300 gal, the settlements
do not increase appreciably and tend to level
off taking on some limiting values which
are endemic to each site. It is of interest to
notice that the post-liquefaction settlements,
in loose sand deposits tend to increase sharply
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 SETTLEMENTS IN SAND DEPOSITS
Table 1. Relation between damage extent and
approximate settlements
Extent of Settlements Phenomena on
damage (em.) ground surface
Light to
no damage
OrvlO Minor cracks
Medium Small cracks, oozing
1Qrv3Q
damage of sand
Extensive Large cracks, spouting
3Qrv7Q of t:ancls, large offsets,
damage lateral movement
for the increase in acceleration in the range of
100 and 200 gals but the settlements continue
to increase up to an acceleration level of 400 gal
in the case of dense sand deposits.
Interpreted overall in the light of the observed
performances of the ground at each site during
the respective earthquake, it may be mentioned
that the settlements on the order of 10 em or
less correspond to the area where there was
no destruction, and in the mediumly damaged
area the settlements are roughly between 10
to 20 em, and if the settlements become greater
than 30 em, there always occurs considerable
destruction on the ground surface such as sand
spurting, fissures and large offsets. The quali-
tative correspondence between the damage
extent and settlements as above may be sum-
marized as shown in Table 1.
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of a bulk of information on
the response of saturated sands obtained by
using the simple shear test apparatus under
the application of irregular loads, a family of
curves was established correlating the post-
liquefaction volumetric strain with the magni-
tude of maximum shear strain which the samples
have experienced during the undrained cyclic
phase of load application. From the results of
the same test series, another family of curves
were obtained in which the factor of safety
against liquefaction is correlated with the maxi-
mum shear strain. By eliminating the para-
meter of the maximum shear strain between
these two families of curves, a set of relation-
ships was established in a graphical form corre-
187
lating the post-liquefaction volumetric strain
with the commonly used factor of safety against
the
liquefaction. It was suggested that this corre-
lation can be used most conveniently to assess
the volume change of the sand in each layer
of an insitu deposit resulting from dissipation
of pore water pressures developed during seis-
mic shaking. By summing up all the volume
changes contributed by each sand layer, it be-
comes possible to estimate the settlement of
the ground surface due to the shaking of an
earthquake. The methodology as above was
applied to assess the ground settlements at
several sites in Niigata which were devastated
by the earthquake of 1964. By examining
the estimated values in the light of observed
performances of the ground, it was shown that
the proposed methodology permits a rough
estimate to be made of settlements of the sandy
ground resulting from liquefaction during
earthquakes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In preparing the draft of this paper, the
comments offered by Dr. Nagase of Kyushu
Institute of Technology and by Professor I.
Idriss of University of California, Davis, were
most helpful. The authors wish to express
their gratitude to these persons.
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 188 ISHIHARA AND YOSHIMINE
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