Numerical simulation of pile group behaviour in liquefying sloping ground

This paper investigates pile group behaviour in liquefying sloping ground. The numerical procedure utilised involves two main steps. First a ground response analysis is carried out using a stress path model to obtain the maximum ground displacements along the pile and the degraded soil modulus over the depth of the soil deposit. Next a dynamic analysis is carried out for a single pile in the group assuming that each pile in the group behaves in the same way during the earthquake loading. The method has been verified using centrifuge data, where soil liquefaction has been observed in laterally spreading sloping ground. It is demonstrated that the new method gives good estimate of pile behaviour, despite its relative simplicity.