ABSTRACT

Lateral spreading is one of the most important effects of liquefaction because it can cause significant ground deformation and damage to existing infrastructure. This paper studies the effects of this phenomenon in Lo Rojas, a fishing port in Coronel, southern Chile, due to the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake using a finite element model. The mechanical characterization of the soil layers at the site was performed by laboratory tests of the materials extracted during the exploration phase, including monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests, and resonant column experiments. With the obtained laboratory curves and literature data, constitutive models for each soil layer were calibrated and used on a finite-element model in Plaxis® software. To properly reproduce the experimental behavior of the liquefiable soil layer, the UBC3D-PLM model was used. Results of the FEM model reasonably reproduce the recorded ground displacements. The seismic demand on the piles is contrasted against analytical methods, obtaining comparable results.