NEESR: Induced Partial Saturation (LPS) Through Transport and Reactivity for Liquefaction Mitigation

在大多数中大型地震中，由于水饱和砂的液化而引起的地面破坏对建筑环境的破坏性影响已被广泛观察到。迫切需要开发一种成本效益高的预防液化方法，既适用于新场址，也适用于现有结构的场址。美国东北大学、德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校、博伊西州立大学、加州大学圣巴巴拉分校、布法罗大学和美国地质调查局的研究人员将合作开发一种创新和实用的现场技术，通过在完全饱和的可液化砂中诱导部分饱和（IPS）来缓解液化。本研究的目的有两个：1)开展基础研究，探索在现场条件下，通过注入极低浓度的过碳酸钠溶液诱导部分饱和，并通过输运和反应性在砂土中缓慢生成氧气气泡的可行性；2)证明IPS在防止液化发生方面的有效性。该研究将利用美国国家科学基金会地震工程模拟网络（NEES）独特的实验和现场设施，获取部分饱和砂土行为的基本知识，并开发使能技术，以验证IPS作为液化预防方法的有效性。该研究计划将通过整合小型和大型实验室调查、现场测试和数值模拟来实现其目标。将使用的NEES设施是1g层流箱（NEES@Buffalo）、霸王龙摇床（NEES@Utexas）和野生动物现场（NEES@UCSB）。该项目的数据将存档，并通过NEES项目仓库/数据存储库向公众提供。这一研究成果将对人类安全和财产保护产生世界性的影响。此外，本研究将增强氧输送系统在污染土壤生物修复中的应用。这项研究是由地震和地球环境工程领域的教师和学生合作进行的。这种合作将使理工科的本科生和研究生受益，并促进跨学科的教育和研究。将开发利用该研究设施的教育工具，以提高公众对地震风险的认识，并向代表性不足的社区促进对科学和工程的兴趣。该奖项是国家减少地震灾害计划（NEHRP）的一部分。

Devastating effects of ground failure, due to liquefaction of water saturated sands, on the built environment has been widely observed during most moderate to large size earthquakes. There is an urgent need to develop a cost effective liquefaction prevention method that can be applied to new sites as well as sites with existing structures. Researchers at Northeastern University, the University of Texas at Austin, Boise State University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University at Buffalo and the USGS will collaborate to develop an innovative and practical field technique for liquefaction mitigation by inducing partial saturation (IPS) in otherwise fully saturated liquefiable sands. The goals of this research are twofold: 1) to conduct fundamental research exploring the feasibility of inducing partial saturation under field conditions, by injecting very low concentration of sodium percarbonate solution, and through transport and reactivity slowly generate oxygen gas bubbles in sands; and, 2) to demonstrate the effectiveness of IPS in preventing the occurrence of liquefaction. The research will take advantage of unique experimental and field facilities of NSF's Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) to acquire fundamental knowledge on the behavior of partially saturated sands and to develop enabling technologies to verify the effectiveness of IPS as a liquefaction prevention method. The research program will achieve its goal by integrating small- and large-scale laboratory investigations, field tests and numerical simulation. NEES facilities to be utilized are the 1-g laminar box at NEES@Buffalo, the T-Rex shaker at NEES@Utexas and the wildlife field site at NEES@UCSB. Data from this project will be archived and made available to the public through the NEES Project Warehouse/data repository. The outcome of this research will have world-wide impact on human safety and protection of property from earthquake hazards. Also, this research will enhance oxygen delivery systems used in bioremediation of contaminated ground. The research is a collaboration between faculty and students in the fields of earthquake and geoenvironmental engineering. Such collaborations will benefit undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering and promote interdisciplinary education and research. Educational tools using the research facility will be developed to heighten the public's awareness of earthquake risk and promote interest in science and engineering to underrepresented communities. This award is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).