ABSTRACT
Liquefaction has been responsible for tremendous damage in historical earthquakes Some liquefaction countermeasures have been developed to prevent such damage, in which drainage method is one of the effective techniques. However, sustainable and low-cost technique is still needed for existing buildings. On the other hand, gravel-tire chips mixture (GTCM) as an alternative drainage enhancing geosynthetics, has been introduced recently. A new design of liquefaction mitigation technique has been proposed in this study. It utilizes GTCM as materials of drains installed around the buildings. A series of 1–g model shaking table tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the technique in this research. The results indicated that excess pore water pressure beneath the building was dissipated through GTCM drains effectively during the shaking. The liquefaction-induced settlement of the building was controlled to a significantly low level. GTCM drains show effectiveness in reduction of liquefaction potential for existing buildings.
