Ground Settlement in Simi Valley following the Northridge Earthquake

Significant differential settlements were observed on a flat, undeveloped, generally silty but highly stratified alluvial site in eastern Simi Valley, Calif., due to groundshaking from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The observed settlements were due to both liquefaction of soil beneath the ground w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering Vol. 124; no. 1; pp. 80 - 89
Main Authors Abdel-Haq, Ali, Hryciw, Roman D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, NY American Society of Civil Engineers 01.01.1998
Subjects
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Earthquakes, seismology
Exact sciences and technology
Internal geophysics
TECHNICAL PAPERS
United States
California
Liquefaction
Earthquakes
S-waves
epicenters
North America
valleys
Jolt
Strain
seismic risk
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Summary:Significant differential settlements were observed on a flat, undeveloped, generally silty but highly stratified alluvial site in eastern Simi Valley, Calif., due to groundshaking from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The observed settlements were due to both liquefaction of soil beneath the ground water table and dry shaking of loose soils above it. A nearby strong motion recording station provided highly reliable ground motion data for analysis. Extensive cone penetration tests (CPT) along with occasional seismic cones (SCPT), flat plate dilatometer tests (DMT), and soil sampling were performed. Previously developed methods were adopted for converting the CPT data to equivalent Standard Penetration Test blow count (SPT-N) values for establishing liquefaction potential and predicting settlement. Site specific calibration of CPT data was performed to establish a correlation between CPT readings and the percentage of fines. Contours of predicted ground settlement agreed very well with the location and the observed differential settlements along a ground fissure that developed shortly after the earthquake.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1090-0241
1943-5606
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1998)124:1(80)