You too could have a body like this.....no, not Superman, the stuff in the can......

As always , dear reader, if you can’t be arsed to listen to my rant when it goes out, I usually post the soundfile here the following week. This week, I turn my attention to the nutters who came up with the idea of turning us into soup as an alternative to burial or cremation.  I’m not kidding. Check it out on the player below. And if you want to check out the excellent Bay Radio live, broadcasting the length of the Spanish Costas from Valencia to Almeria, just click on the listen live logo.

Kev Moore

We went about our lives normally. We walked down High Street looking at boutiques, had lunch at the Globe. Got DVD’s at Alice’s. Bought CD’s at Real Groovy. Sat in the Square and looked at the Cathedral. Went to the beach. Did normal things that people who live in cities did normally. Words like liquefaction existed on documents and even then, most people at a push would have spelt it “liquifaction” and would have had no idea what it was.

That all changed at 4:35 am on 4 September 2010. Canterbury residents were all shaken from their beds that cold, frosty morning, and straight into a state of confusion. Power went out and the mad scramble for torches, batteries and radios started. Many homes in Canterbury were so badly damaged the occupants had to escape. However, despite the size of the earthquake, there were few serious injuries. We could thank the timing of the earthquake for that.

Once it started to become light, people could survey the damage to their properties. For some, this may have involved picking up what had fallen down, for others this was the beginning of a nightmare that would seemingly have no end. The early reports said the earthquake was a 7.4. There was confusion over where the earthquake had actually occurred because it had been felt so widely. As the texts started to roll into the night time host at National Radio, it soon became clear where it was. Not that we needed any confirmation, we knew it was here or hereabouts. Then the reports of significant damage in the city started to filter through. Of buildings that had completely collapsed. Others that had lost their facades. In no time at all, the Alva Rados restaurant became the cover picture of many papers. A special Morning Report ran that morning when the significance of the earthquake became clearer.

As the morning progressed, the reality started to dawn on people. They may be without power or water for some time. That toileting may be a hole in the ground. That car radios are the link to the outside world. Barbeques can be used to make a cup of tea. And throughout this time, the aftershocks rumbled on. Some were small, but some had people scurrying to the door frames. Slowly some communications were restored, but it turned out the best tool to check on people was the humble text message.

Power started to come back to some areas and so it was now possible to see what was going on. Some of the initial pictures were staggering. For many as they started to move around the streets, it was all too much. Others just got out and went to friends or family who were in a better situation. Those with nowhere to go went to the shelters that were being set up.

Today is one year since all this happened. Like the day of the earthquake, today was a sunny, still, quite beautiful early spring day. And yet despite the events of 4 September 2010, it was a plane crash on the West Coast that claimed lives. Any other time, it would have been the major news story of the day. And while many of us will reflect today on the past 12 months, we all hope the end is in sight. So that when we go to bed on the 4 September 2012, we can breathe a little easier knowing the ground has settled down. Today is 4 September 2011. Sleep well tonight Cantabrians.

Florida Funeral Home First to Debut Alternative to Cremation: Liquefaction

By Dan NosowitzPosted 08.30.2011 at 4:57 pm20

The ResomatorBBC

A Florida funeral home has debuted a new alternative to cremation, known as the Resomator, that uses heated alkaline water to dissolve bodies in about three hours. Why do we need an alternative to cremation in the first place? Turns out cremation devices use lots of energy, release a fair amount of carbon emissions, and, in the U.K., are responsible for 16% of mercury emissions.

Created by a Glaswegian company, the Resomator submerges bodies in a potassium hydroxide solution in its steel chamber, then pressurizes (to about ten atmospheres) and heats (to over 350 degrees F) the solution for about three hours. After that, the resulting liquid is simply poured into the regular sewage system–it apparently poses no environmental risk and has passed Florida’s undoubtedly strict laws for this sort of bio-disposal. Bones remain and are pulverized to ash in the usual way, and any metal bits (including mercury and any prostheses) are retained to be disposed of or recycled in a more responsible way.

Florida is just one of seven states that has legalized the Resomator, but it may catch on in others. The president of Resomation Ltd, the company behind the device, says it emits a third less greenhouse gas and uses a mere seventh of the energy of a cremation device, let alone the benefits of safe extraction of mercury and other metals. The company seems hopeful that its macabre but useful creation will soon receive approval in its native U.K..

The Dear Departed (with Relish)

I never realized when that Conservative in Labour clothing, Tony (I played guitar once so I’m cool) Blair talked about a ‘third way’  that he was referring to this. Let me explain:

Until now, you had two choices when you turned up your toes, burial, or cremation. Now it seems, thanks to somebody with clearly too much time on their hands who has obviously spent the majority of their youth video-gaming, you can be turned into soup. Or liquified, to use the correct if unpleasant term. Yep, that’s right, someone has actually spent time (and probably tax-payers money) finding out just what it takes to reduce a human body to gloop in a clean and efficient and most likely profitable manner.  I can save them the bother. It seems if you put a thousand pre-pubescent girls in front of the man-child monstrosity that is Justin Bieber, they get reduced to gloop too, and at a fraction of the cost. In addition it reduces his fanbase, so it’s a win-win situation. But I digress……

Step right this way...........

This ‘liquefaction’ unit was designed in Glasgow (unsurprisingly, given the Scots canny appreciation of economy in all things) and wouldn’t you know it’s those crazy yanks who’ve installed the first one. The only surprise being that it’s not in Las Vegas.  But the clincher is this – The company founder, Sandy Sullivan, seems to think that it allows people a third option, “where they can express their environmental concerns in a personal way”. Hmm. Yes, but does it come with croutons, and at the end of the service, do you get an Urn, or a Tureen?

Kev Moore

Owners of apartments in uninsured buildings are facing great repair bills as a result of the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake.

One of the affected buildings is a 13 yr old, two tower apartment building in the outskirts of Sendai City which suffered some serious damage to one of the towers. The damage from the earthquake was severe enough to cause cracks which exposed the reinforcing mesh, as well as holes large enough to see into residents’ apartments. The front entrance to one apartment had contorted so much that the door could no longer open and close and had to be boarded up.

“Everyone is concerned about whether we can continue to live in this building after the damage it has sustained” said a resident.

A repair bill over 100 million Yen

A large amount of money is required to repair the common space areas in this particular building. However, the management association never took out earthquake insurance. They are now looking at a repair bill of over 100 million Yen (1.2 million USD). Despite the building being relatively new, the damage was rather serious.

Discussions with the management association are also not going smoothly. Because the degree of damage was more severe for only one of the two apartment towers, residents were initially divided on the issue. By the end of May, an interim management meeting was held and it was decided to conduct a building investigation.

According an investigation by the Condominium Management Companies Association, 61 buildings suffered medium damage where reinforcement and repairs were necessary, and 1070 buildings suffered slight damage where small cracks developed in walls and tiles needed replacing.

While buildings in Sendai City suffered from visible structural damage, land liquefaction caused a different type of damage Chiba’s Urayasu City.  Gas and water and sewer services were disrupted for some time.

Repair work will be a daunting task for apartment management associations whether they have earthquake insurance or are uninsured. Even with insurance, if the building receives a low assessment, the burden to the management association and apartment owners will be high.

Only 30% of apartment buildings have earthquake insurance

According to a 2008 survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, only 30% of management associations had taken out earthquake insurance against their apartment buildings. The main reason for being uninsured was the comparatively expensive insurance premiums.

An uninsured management association has two options to pay for repairs – collect a one-time payment from all apartment owners, or borrow the funds. But, getting the agreement of apartment owners is a difficult process.

Compared to houses, the support system for apartment buildings is lacking. Under the Natural Disaster Victims Relief Law, relief funds are only paid to those households who have suffered damage to their place of residence. There is no support provided to owners of damaged properties who do not live there or are leasing them out to tenants.

The amount of aid for property owners who have been affected by land liquefaction is determined by the degree that their property is tilting on the land. If the only damage is to underground pipes, then no support is provided. However, a special exception was made to the management associations in Urayasu City. Assistance of up to 1/3rd of the repair costs (up to a maximum of 30 million Yen) was provided for restoring water and gas pipelines.

The President of the Japan Institute for Condominium Living, Hideki Kobayashi, believes that the support system should not just be aimed at private property owners, but should also be directed towards management associations.

Earthquake damage to other buildings in Sendai City

Source:
“地震被害のマンション、補修に遠い合意” The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 9, 2011.

It’s something precious and dear

     I journeyed because

     Of a non-compete clause

Now, to the day, it’s a year. 

Synopsis:  I’m a family practitioner from Sioux City, Iowa.  On sabbatical while my non-compete clause expires and I dance back from the brink of burnout, I’m having adventures and working in out-of-the-way places. Right now I’m living in Amberley and working in Waikari, less than an hour from quake stricken Christchurch in New Zealand’s North Island.

Contrary to predictions, the world didn’t end today.  The earth’s destruction was supposed to start with earthquakes in New Zealand.

Christchurch suffered a large earthquake in September 2010.  The following February, a less powerful, closer temblor ripped the heart out of the city.

Geologists say that buildings near a fault line should anchor on bedrock, but Christchurch’s founders built on swampland, and the city rose on saturated soil.  If you shake dirt enough it acts less like a solid and more like a liquid, in proportion to its water content, and Cantabrians still talk about the stink of liquefaction.

Over tea at the clinic the nurses casually mention shattered heirloom china and crystal; they smile when they recount seeing cupboard doors open after the first quake and nothing broke

Yesterday two of my patients announced plans to return to Christchurch, asking for medication enough till they re-establish with a new doctor.

Nobody mentions the half-dozen GPs who died when the TV building collapsed around them; most have forgotten.

***

Three hundred and sixty-five days ago I walked out of The Clinic Formerly Known as Mine.  I worked there twenty-three years.

The decision to leave did not come lightly.  You don’t work for a couple of decades in one place without putting down roots. 

I was dancing on the edge of burnout.  I didn’t realize how close I’d come till I went back and read my posts from the spring of 2010.  But Bethany knew, and she supported me completely throughout this odyssey.

When I signed on with my old outfit my contract specified that I couldn’t work as a family practitioner within 30 miles of Sioux City’s city limits for one year.  That paragraph, enforceable when I signed it, would not hold up in twenty-first century Iowa court.

Still, I am a man of my word.  And if the desire to slow down provided my motivation for my career change, it made no sense to move straight across town and have my patients follow me.

I picked the best time in history to go walkabout.  The world has never been safer nor more prosperous; information, transportation, goods, and food have never had such quality and accessibility.

None of my original plans worked out, and I have learned that I have more fun with my second choice than my first, and to enjoy the moment that I have.

Today we walked around Amberley in perfect weather, with gloriously clear blue skies and bright sun.  Our dessert out reminded us of our wedding cake.  We have reveled in our second honeymoon.  We didn’t plan it that way.

Potential buyers inspect land for sale in Fujino, western Tokyo

Two weeks ago we were at the UR office in Yaesu helping some friends get around the application process and asked the employee about availability. Though there was no ulterior motive behind the question, the woman volunteered that a lot of residents in UR high-rises in the waterfront area were moving out after the earthquake. We were slightly taken aback: Only a semi-public organization like UR would admit to potential renters that people were anxious to leave their properties.

Upon further investigation, we found that the story is a bit more complicated, at least when it comes to buying and selling property. According to various news reports, there has been a notable increase in interest in the Musashino daichi, or plateau, which covers parts of Western Tokyo and Western Saitama Prefecture. This is considered stable land, meaning no risk of liquefaction. The waterfront, of course, is all built on landfill, but there are many other areas located inland that suffered soggy ground after the Mar. 11 earthquake, such as Abiko in Chiba and Kuki in Eastern Saitama, communities that were built on ground that used to be swampland, rice paddies, or even ponds. Usually, you can determine the kind of land an area once was by consulting an old map. If the old name contains words that indicated water, like numa (marsh), then you might want to make sure your foundation is built on piles. In fact, a lot of developers change the names of such places so that people think they were built on solid rock (almost any subdivision with the word oka–hill–is a dead giveaway).

The reason people wanted to live on the waterfront was its easy access to central Tokyo, but almost all the new condos out there are high-rises, which have become less popular since the earthquake. Also less popular is all-electric condos, which are problematic in times of rolling blackouts. Western Tokyo, which includes the Tama area, Tachikawa, Musashino, Kunitachi, and Kokubunji are only about a half hour from Shinjuku.

But as one housing journalist told the news service J-Cast, Western Tokyo has always been popular, and while everybody is talking about condo owners on the waterfront hightailing it to higher ground, fewer are doing it than you might think. Mostly, the rumors are being fed by potential buyers, people who apparently don’t mind living in swaying buildings if they can get them cheap. But while there are many people who do want to sell, these people are under the impression that it’s now a buyers market, which means they’ll be expected to sell low. So they’ve decided to sit tight, hoping that the market will pass and they can get a little more for their places. It may be wishful thinking, but these owners paid a lot for their high-rises, and probably not that long ago. Many may think they won’t even be able to get enough to pay off what remains of their mortgage.

If it’s any comfort, experts are saying that, because of the Tohoku disaster, there will be a shortage of new housing elsewhere in Japan because the bulk of new construction will be concentrated in the disaster area. What’s more, Tohoku was a center for the manufacture of building materials, and so the supply has been disrupted. Such a situation could keep prices of used housing relatively stable. The journalist interviewed by J-Cast recommends that if you’re thinking of buying a home, now is the best time, just make sure it’s on solid ground.

We didn’t see anything break.

     The large Richter number

     Mattered not to our slumber

We slept right through the earthquake

Synopsis:  I’m a family practitioner from Sioux City, Iowa.  On sabbatical avoid burnout, while my one-year non-compete clause ticks away I’m having adventures and working in out-of-the-way places.  After four weeks in Wellsford, on the North Island of New Zealand, I just arrived at my new assignment.

Bethany and I slept through an earthquake last night.

I’ve felt earthquakes twice.  On a trip back to Wyoming, my hunting buddy stepped on the epicenter of a 4.5 Richter quake; at the time I was in the bathroom and didn’t feel like panicking.

Twenty years ago, during an evening clinic, I stood in an exam room and felt the ground twitch three times.  “Did you feel that?” I asked the patient, who hadn’t felt anything.  Nor had the nurse; my assertions of earthquake met with skepticism till the next morning, when the front page of the Sioux City Journal confirmed the temblor had hit 3.2.

Trip anticipation ruined our sleep on Friday night, and Saturday night the lights of Wellington streamed in under the curtains.  In our new apartment Sunday night, neither of us slept well.

Anticipating no work the next day, we slept deep, sound, and hard till Tuesday morning, awakening refreshed and ready for a day off.  We took our time getting going in the morning; I went for a walk on the border of the property where we’re staying.

We stopped at the Amberley Clinic on our way out of town.  Rex, the senior partner of the group, asked us if the earthquake had awakened us.

Bethany and I looked at each other, and shook our heads.  We’d slept great, we said, and asked if he were kidding.

He wasn’t.  It registered 5.4 on the Richter scale.

New Zealand’s spot on its own tectonic plate and the major fault lines that run through the country brings susceptibility to earthquakes.  Wellington receives hundreds a year, most very small.

Far from over, the aftermath and the aftershocks of the Christchurch disaster permeate the hearts and thoughts of the Kiwis.

I talked to a woman who’d been in the quake.  She described the earth rising up to meet her as she walked, then throwing her to the ground, and then everything moving in waves. 

Many people have quit the city permanently, more families will leave in the future.  The aftershocks ruin sleep, the sleep deprivation piles up, one person decides to leave and the family follows wholesale.

When the ground heaved and rolled, the dirt liquefied and flowed; malodorous muck covered driveways and sidewalks.

But without seismic tendencies, the hot springs an hour from here in Hamner wouldn’t exist.  Bethany and I went there this afternoon. 

I was soaking in the 38 degree Celsius (100.4Fahrenheit)pool and listening to the conversation around me.  One fellow had come because of peripheral neuropathy, one woman had ankylosing spondylitis.

All you need for a support group is two people with the same problem, and while we took the waters we talked about what our disease meant to each of us and how we coped with a relentlessly progressive condition.

A chap from somewhat south west of Christchurch, ringing me because I’m on CCHL and we own Orion and Orion had sent him a bill because he wanted to connect a new property to the network and what was the reason for the charge being so high? After a somewhat scratchy start, 22 minutes later we parted having canvassed the earthquake, his non earthquake related injuries, his employment situation, what wives say when you do stupid things, and he signed off with the latest joke from the West Melton news. (I’ll skip the start – the punchline was “so you got a bottle of wine for your husband? Good trade!)

A call to my cellphone from the council planning team, wanting to discuss meetings. My cellphone is dropping calls at the moment. I rang back the direct dial they gave me. It wasn’t theirs. Must email them tonight, while I remember.

A call from one of the local newspapers, wanting to use something I’d published elsewhere. Yes, I said.

It rang again. Another of the local newspapers, wanting a contact. Gave it to them.

A text from (you guessed it) one of the local newspapers, about a feature they are writing – I won’t give the game away but I referred them to a blog I’d written and suggested they go sleuthing. (It’s a lovely piece they’re doing too – I felt the burning need to phone a friend and share the love but the friend I wanted to tell isn’t here right now and it was one of those magical moments – drat, drat, drat.)

Back to the phone, still another of the local newspapers, my thoughts on the rise in gambling and what was the council doing about that? Everything we legally can, I replied. The conversation continued for some time after that although not with any new material until eventually it was over.

A call from a different council staff member – can we set up a meeting about our prostitution signage bylaw?

And then some alcohol related emails – a DLA hearing coming up – by the end of that triptych I felt like a one woman vice squad, and I was still in my dressing gown!

I managed to get tucked into some paperwork just after twelve. A solid three hours and a can of cold baked beans for lunch later, Pepper and I walked to the community board meeting. We started with a seminar that will roll some progress out next week, and moved into our formal agenda just on 5.

Deputations from residents in Rydal Street, which was badly hit in September and has been further compromised since. It’s a messy patch of liquefaction and hope is a long time coming. We’ll try and get some clearer timeframes for them – that’s one of the big chunks of work to do at the moment, and the staff are working to coordinate the information which needs to come from about four different agencies. Some of it simply (the land damage stuff in particular) isn’t available yet, which makes it really hard.

From the good folk of Addington, briefing us on initiatives they have been taking since February. Bravo to them, a cool little community rallying around in support of its frail, its elderly, its refugee and migrant population. The board helped them out with some funding tonight, just to help them keep on keeping on.

And from the representatives of our much loved St Martins New World. Our munted as supermarket is to be demolished. Foodstuffs have just received resource consent to rebuild a slightly bigger one, and put some shops back on the site. They briefed the board on potential tweaks to that consent which would need an amended public application, but here’s the kicker for you. They’ve been excavating on site. They’ve got to 14 metres. They still haven’t found solid ground. They remain committed to rebuilding the site but the engineering solution is going to be fascinating. (I wonder if those Dubai people are free right now?) It’s twice as deep as it was in Kaiapoi – perhaps a fast elevator to Madrid might be a goer. The short version of this is while we should see a new supermarket on that site, looking even lovelier than before, it won’t be til perhaps the middle of next year. Sigh. I do miss my pantry, but I know it will be back.

We heard too from the sports and rec team about the swimming pool situation. Christchurch has gone from having 65 x 25 metre lanes to having 21 of them. That will improve once the Graham Condon centre (still miss you love) opens later this year, and will improve again when the Pioneer Learn To Swim pool takes some of the school burden off the proper lanes. At the moment though, swimming is booming at Pioneer, and at Wharenui, because of poor old QEII and Centennial. QEII in particular is properly trashed. It’s such a shame. We have such great staff there too (right across the board in fact), and it’s been a horrible week for them with the news that the earthquake has potentially affected their jobs too.

Having a job and some decent prospects makes such a difference about how you feel about the challenge going forward. I know a number of people who’ve had to leave just now for employment reasons. It breaks my heart. Great people, people I care about, people I love are now scattered from one end of the country to the other. It’s my goal to bring you home, each and every one. That will only happen if we pull finger and create a positive environment where business and community can thrive. That’s the goal. That’s what keeps me going. I’ve got skin in this game. I’m not giving up.

And then we resolved a whole lot of minor street matters, granted some more funding allocations, and Pepper and I had a wee run home. (She was awfully good, waited so patiently for me outside. Was brave too, because it was dark.) I didn’t overdo it, because man flu and running are a dangerous combination, but I crave it, I crave it, I want to blast through the streets while the autumn leaves are still there and run until I can’t feel my legs. Until I can’t feel anything but endorphins and the woody air in my lungs.

Tonight, I’m back on the paperwork. Another three hours or so, and then another few tomorrow morning, before my friends are coming to stay. Must do something about that spare room. I shall think magical thoughts and it will happen without me realising it.

One of these days, I really must learn to multi-task ….

Abstract

The feasibility of using ground improvement at existing highway bridges to mitigate the risk of earthquake-induced liquefaction damage has been studied. The factors and phenomena governing the performance of the improved ground were identified and clarified. Potential analytical methods for predicting the treated ground performance were investigated and tested.

Key factors affecting improved ground performance are the type, size, and location of the treated ground. The improved ground behavior is influenced by excess pore water pressure migration, ground motion amplification, inertial force phasing, dynamic component of liquefied soil pressure, presence of a supported structure, and lateral spreading forces.

Simplified, uncoupled analytical methods were unable to predict the final performance of an improved ground zone and supported structure, but provided useful insights. Pseudostatic stability and deformation analyses can not successfully predict the final performance because of their inability to adequately account for the transient response. Equivalent-linear dynamic response analyses indicate that significant shear strains, pore water pressures and accelerations will develop in the improved ground when the treated-untreated soil system approaches resonance during shaking. Transient seepage analyses indicate that evaluating pore pressure migration into a three-dimensional improved zone using two-dimensional analyses can underestimate the pore pressures in the zone.

More comprehensive, partially-coupled analyses performed using the finite difference computer program FLAC provided better predictions of treated ground performance. These two-dimensional, dynamic analyses based on effective stresses incorporated pore pressure generation, non-linear stress-strain behavior, strength reduction, and groundwater flow. Permanent movements of structures and improved soil zones were predicted within a factor of approximately two. Predictions of ground accelerations and pore water pressures were less accurate.

Dynamic analyses were performed with FLAC for an example bridge pier and stub abutment on an approach embankment supported on shallow foundations and underlain by thick, liquefiable soils with and without improved ground zones. Ground improvement that restricted movements of the pier and stub abutment to tolerable levels included improved zones of limited size extending completely through the underlying liquefiable soils and formed through densification by compaction grouting or cementation by chemical grouting or jet grouting. A buttress fill at the abutment was unsuccessful. .

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Abstract

Passive site remediation is a new concept proposed for non-disruptive mitigation of liquefaction risk at developed sites susceptible to liquefaction. It is based on the concept of slow injection of stabilizing materials at the edge of a site and delivery of the stabilizer to the target location using the natural groundwater flow. The purpose of this research was to establish the feasibility of passive site remediation through identification of stabilizing materials, a study of how to design or adapt groundwater flow patterns to deliver the stabilizers to the right place at the right time, and an evaluation of potential time requirements and costs.

Stabilizer candidates need to have long, controllable gel times and low viscosities so they can flow into a liquefiable formation slowly over a long period of time. Colloidal silica is a potential stabilizer for passive site remediation because at low concentrations it has a low viscosity and a wide range of controllable gel times of up to about 100 days.

Loose Monterey No. 0/30 sand samples (Dr = 22%) treated with colloidal silica grout were tested under cyclic triaxial loading to investigate the influence of colloidal silica grout on the deformation properties. Distinctly different deformation properties were observed between grouted and ungrouted samples. Untreated samples developed very little axial strain after only a few cycles and prior to the onset of liquefaction. Once liquefaction was triggered, large strains occurred rapidly and the samples collapsed within a few additional cycles. In contrast, grouted sand samples experienced very little strain during cyclic loading. What strain accumulated did so uniformly throughout loading and the samples remained intact after cyclic loading. In general, samples stabilized with 20 weight percent colloidal silica experienced very little (less than two percent) strain during cyclic loading. Sands stabilized with 10 weight percent colloidal silica tolerated cyclic loading well, but experienced slightly more (up to eight percent) strain. Treatment with colloidal silica grout significantly increased the deformation resistance of loose sand to cyclic loading.

Groundwater and solute transport modeling were done using the codes MODFLOW, MODPATH, and MT3DMS. A “numerical experiment” was done to determine the ranges of hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic gradient where passive site remediation might be feasible. For a treatment are of 200 feet by 200 feet, a stabilizer travel time of 100 days, and a single line of low-head (less than three feet) injection wells, it was found that passive site remediation could be feasible in formations with hydraulic conductivity values of 0.05 cm/s or more and hydraulic gradients of 0.005 and above. Extraction wells will increase the speed of delivery and help control the down gradient extent of stabilizer movement. The results of solute transport modeling indicate that dispersion will play a large role in determining the concentration of stabilizer that will be required to deliver an adequate concentration at the down gradient edge. Consequently, thorough characterization of the hydraulic conductivity throughout the formation will be necessary for successful design and implementation of passive site remediation.

The cost of passive site remediation is expected to be competitive with other methods of chemical grouting, i.e. in the range of $60 to $180 per cubic meter of treated soil, depending on the concentration of colloidal silica used.

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Abstract

The response of an aggregate pier foundation system during seismic loading was investigated. The factors and phenomena governing the performance of the aggregate pier and the improved ground were identified and clarified. The key factors affecting the performance of the aggregate pier include soil density, stiffness modulus, and drainage capacity. The improved ground is influenced by soil stratification, soil properties, pore pressure dissipation, and earthquake time history.

Comprehensive numerical modeling using FLAC were performed. The focus of the study in this research was divided into three parts: the studies of the ground acceleration, the excess pore water pressure ratio and the shear stress in soil matrix generated during seismic loading. Two earthquake time histories scaled to different peak acceleration were used in the numerical modeling: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (pga = 0.45g) and the 1988 Saguenay earthquake (pga = 0.05g).

The main results of the simulation showed the following effects of aggregate pier on liquefiable soil deposits: 1) The aggregate pier amplifies the peak horizontal acceleration on the ground surface (amax), 2) The aggregate pier reduces the liquefaction potential up to depth where it is installed, 3) Pore pressures are generally lower for soils reinforced with aggregate pier than unreinforced soils except for very strong earthquake, 4) The maximum shear stresses in soil are much smaller for reinforced soils than unreinforced soils.

The excess pore water pressure ratio and the shear stress in the soil matrix calculated by FLAC were generally lower than those predicted by available procedures.

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Abstract

The current approach for using cone penetration test data to estimate soil behavior during seismic loading involves the comparison of the seismic stresses imparted into a soil mass during an earthquake to the penetration resistance measured during an in-situ test. The approach involves an indirect empirical correlation of soil density and other soil related parameters to the behavior of the soil during the loading and does not involve a direct measurement of the dynamic behavior of the soil in-situ. The objective of this research was to develop an approach for evaluating the in-situ behavior of soil during dynamic loading directly through the use of a vibrating piezocone penetrometer.

Cone penetration tests were performed in a large calibration chamber in saturated sand samples prepared at different densities and stress levels. A total of 118 tests were performed as part of the study. The piezocone penetrometer used in the investigation was subjected to a vibratory load during the penetration test. The vibratory units used in the investigations were mounted on top of a 1m section of drill rod that was attached at the lower end to the cone penetrometer. Pneumatic impact, rotary turbine, and counter rotating mass vibrators were used in the investigation. The vibration properties generated by the vibratory unit and imparted into the soil were measured during the penetration test by a series of load cells and accelerometers mounted below the vibrator and above the cone penetrometer, respectively. The tip resistance, sleeve friction and pore water pressure were also measured during the test by load cells and transducers in the cone itself.

The vibration and cone data were compiled and compared to evaluate the effect of the vibration on the penetration resistance and pore water pressure in the soil mass. The results of the testing revealed that the influence of the vibration on the penetration resistance value decreased as the density and the mean effective stress in the soil increased, mainly because the pore water pressure was not significantly elevated throughout the entire zone of influence of the cone penetometer at the elevated stress and density conditions. An analysis of the soil response during the testing resulted in the generation of a family of curves that relates the soil response during the vibratory and static penetration to the vertical effective stress and density of the soil. The data used to generate the curves seem to agree with the proposed values estimated through the empirical relationship. An evaluation of the effects of the frequency of vibration was also performed as part of the study. The largest reduction in penetration resistance occurred when the input vibration approximated the natural frequency of the soil deposit, suggesting that resonance conditions existed between the input motion and the soil. An energy-based approach was developed to compare the energy imparted into the soil by the vibrator to the energy capacity of the soil. The input energy introduced into the soil mass prior to the reduction in penetration resistance agrees well with the energy capacity of the soil, especially in tests at the low effective stress level where a high excess pore water pressure was observed.

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California is attempting to become the first US state to offer liquefaction funerals, where bodies are placed in a large steel tube and doused in water and acid. The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and it takes around three hours for skin and organs to become liquid. The bones remain in some form, much like they do in cremation. But liquefaction is said to be environmentally friendly, and if it catches on in California, it could be big everywhere.

Other American states have played host to liquefaction funerals, but they have been controversial and have often been stopped by the authorities. California wants to give them the green light and then have homes offering the service by the end of the year. However, some critics are unhappy that some of the remnants from the process get flushed down a drain. Undignified? Or just honest?

Abstract

The seismic cone penetration test (SCPTu) is the most efficient means for geotechnical site characterization and the evaluation of seismic ground hazards. In this thesis, software systems including ShearPro, ClusterPro, and InSituData, are developed to automate post processing of these SCPTu data. ShearPro is developed to automate the post-processing of the shear wave signals. ClusterPro uses the proposed three-dimensional cluster analysis approach for soil stratification. InSituData facilitates the post processing of penetration data for seismic ground hazards analysis. A new three-dimensional soil classification chart is also proposed in this thesis to help discern soil layers that may be subject to seismic ground hazards, such as loose liquefied sands and silty sands.

These methods are then applied to SCPTu data collected at previously-identifed paleoliquefaction sites located in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). For liquefaction evaluation, the cyclic stress ratio (CSR) is computed using site response analysis by DeepSoil and a measured profile of shear waves derived from the 30-m SCPTU soundings and deep suspension loggings in AR and TN. The natural resistance of the soil to liquefaction, termed the cyclic resistance ratios (CRRs), is evaluated based on both deterministic procedures and probabilistic procedures. Based on liquefaction evaluation results at selected paleoliquefaction sites, regional CRR criteria for liquefaction are developed for the NMSZ. As even the latest major earthquakes in NMSZ occurred nearly 200 years ago, aging effects might be an important factor to consider in utilizing the liquefaction criteria to assess the seismic parameters associated with the previous earthquakes. The aging effects in the NMSZ were investigated through large scale blast-induced liquefaction tests conducted in the NMSZ. Then a procedure to estimate seismic parameters associated with previous earthquakes is proposed. It utilizes both the liquefaction criteria based on SCPTu tests and the empirical attenuation relations developed for the corresponding regions. The approach is validated through data evaluation related to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes in California and then applied to previous historic earthquakes in the NMSZ.

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