A new method to estimate earthquake liquefaction damage to buried lifelines

ABSTRACT

A new method that relates soil movement to buried lifeline damage state has been developed and applied during a Federal Emergency Management Agency-sponsored study to evaluate the impacts of lifeline proximity during earthquakes. The method considers landslides and liquefaction as a continum of ground displacement; it uses similar analysis methods for estimating the impacts of such motions on buried lifelines. For landslides, a critical acceleration parameter is used to estimate the lifeline damage state, which is also related to a displacement scaling parameter. Similary, a Liquefaction Severity Index (LSI) parameter is used to estimate the lifeline damage state for lateral spread or liquefactions conditions. The LSI can also be related to a displacement scaling parameter. The relationship of the LSI parameter to the earthquake intensity and lifeline damage state is new and is based on empirical data and expert judgement.(AU)