In saturated clean medium-to-dense cohesionless soils, liquefaction-induced shear deformation is observed to accumulate in a cycle-by-cycle pattern (cyclic mobility). Much of the shear strain accumulation occurs rapidly during the transition from contraction to dilation (near the phase transformation surface) at a nearly constant low shear stress and effective confining pressure. Such a stress state is difficult to employ as a basis for predicting the associated magnitude of accumulated permanent shear strain. In this study, a more convenient approach is adopted in which the domain of large shear strain is directly defined by strain space parameters. The observed cyclic shear deformation is accounted for by enlargement and/or translation of this domain in deviatoric strain space. In this paper, the model formulation details involved are presented and discussed. A calibration phase is also described based on data from laboratory sample tests and dynamic centrifuge experiments (for Nevada sand at a relative density of about 40%).

The characteristics of soil response during earthquake excitations, at a site in Lotung, Taiwan are identified using the Lotung large scale seismic test (LSST) data. A technique is developed to evaluate soil shear stress-strain histories directly from the free-field downhole accelerations. These histories are used to estimate variation of soil shear moduli and material damping characteristics with shear strain amplitude, and to assess the effects of pore pressure buildup. Soil stiffness properties are found to compare satisfactorily with those obtained through laboratory tests conducted by the University of California, Davis; the National Taiwan University; and the University of Texas at Austin. Pore pressure buildup appears to be accompanied by a reduction in soil stiffness. The information obtained in this study demonstrates that downhole accelerometer and pore pressure arrays offer a direct effective means of evaluating seismic soil properties.

The surface and downhole accelerations, and pore‐water pressures recorded during the 1987 earthquakes at a site in the Imperial Wildlife Management Area (Imperial County, Calif.) are used to obtain direct estimates of the average seismic shear stress‐strain and effective stress‐path histories. These histories provide valuable insight into the site seismic behavior during liquefaction and associated loss of soil stiffness. As the pore pressure increases due to seismic excitation, site stiffness is found to gradually decrease. During the high‐pore‐pressure phase, site behavior is characterized by cycles of large shear strain and very small shear stress. At these large strains, evidence of hardening response, possibly due to a dilative‐type soil behavior, is observed. The results of this study demonstrate that acceleration and pore pressure histories recorded by downhole arrays represent a valuable direct source of information on site response during seismic excitation.