Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the liquefaction of the ground in Niigata City, which was below sea level as a result of ground
subsidence.
Figure 3.19 shows a sand boil created by liquefaction during the 1964 Niigata earth-
quake. Some examples of structural damage caused by liquefaction during the 1964 Niigata
earthquake are as follows:
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Bearing capacity failures:
Figure 3.20 shows dramatic liquefaction-induced bearing
capacity failures of Kawagishi-cho apartment buildings located at Niigata, Japan. Figure
3.21 shows a view of the bottom of one of the buildings that suffered a bearing capacity
failure. Despite the extreme tilting of the buildings, there was remarkably little structural
damage because the buildings remained intact during the failure.
●
Building settlement:
Figures 3.22 and 3.23 show two more examples of liquefaction-
induced settlement at Niigata, Japan. Similar to the buildings shown in Figs. 3.20 and
3.21, the buildings remained intact as they settled and tilted. It was reported that there
was essentially no interior structural damage and that the doors and windows still func-
tioned. Apparently, the failure took a considerable period of time to develop, which could
indicate that the liquefaction started at depth and then slowly progressed toward the
ground surface.
●
Other damage:
It was not just the relatively heavy buildings that suffered liquefaction-
induced settlement and bearing capacity failures. For example, Fig. 3.24 shows liquefac-
tion-induced settlement and tilting of relatively light buildings. There was also damage
to surface paving materials.
Because riverbeds often contain loose sand deposits, liquefaction also frequently causes
damage to bridges that cross rivers or other bodies of water. Bridges are usually designated
FIGURE 3.20
Kawagishi-cho apartment buildings located in Niigata, Japan. The buildings suffered lique-
faction-induced bearing capacity failures during the Niigata earthquake on June 16, 1964. (
Photograph from
the Godden Collection, EERC, University of California, Berkeley.
)
