Study on Inhibition Range of Liquefaction of Saturated Sand by Load Using a Shaking Table Test

Abstract

As a novel, renewable, and efficient source of energy, offshore wind power has attracted many scholars across the globe. Studies show that offshore wind power significantly enhances the liquefaction resistance of marine saturated sand foundations exposed to seismic waves as loads. In the present study, a series of shaking table tests were conducted to study the load-induced enhancement of the liquefaction resistance of the sand. To this end, the excess pore pressures of soil mass at different buried depths were monitored in real time and the variations were analyzed. Moreover, a liquefaction constant was proposed and its influencing range was quantified. The obtained results demonstrated that load inhibits sand liquefaction at the near-end area, while it facilitates sand liquefaction at the far-end area. It is found that in soil under load at a buried depth of zero to two times the diameter, the liquefaction resistance increases linearly with the load value. Furthermore, the range of vertical inhibition and the lateral load wall end is 2.55 times and 2.36 times greater than the load diameter, respectively. The present study provides a basis to study the load-induced inhibition range of sand liquefaction, which is of significant importance for the development and optimization of offshore wind farms.