Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Micham Place, Fordingham and Sopley Lanes, Bexley".
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the corner of Woodham Road and Avonside Drive. There are large cracks in the road, and flooding and liquefaction. Wire fencing and road cones have been placed around parts of the road that are unsafe. Two signs reading, "Road closed" and, "No entry" can be seen at the entrance to Avonside Drive.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the entrance of a driveway on Glenarm Terrace. A large hole in the foreground has had a road cone placed inside it. Other large cracks and liquefaction can bee seen. A man in overalls has parked his van next to the damage.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. Look at the angles in this doorway and the pile of silt".
Damage to a house in Richmond. The brick wall is badly cracked and twisted, and some bricks have fallen, exposing the lining paper below. The driveway is cracked and covered in liquefaction. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd. More shaking damage on the east wall of the living room at our house".
A photograph of earthquake damage to a road in Christchurch. A hole has been filled with gravel, and a road cone placed on top. In the background, cracks and liquefaction can be seen.
Earthquake-triggered soil liquefaction caused extensive damage and heavy economic losses in Christchurch during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes. The most severe manifestations of liquefaction were associated with the presence of natural deposits of clean sands and silty sands of fluvial origin. However, liquefaction resistance of fines-containing sands is commonly inferred from empirical relationships based on clean sands (i.e. sands with less than 5% fines). Hence, existing evaluation methods have poor accuracy when applied to silty sands. Also, existing methods do not quantify appropriately the influence on liquefaction resistance of soil fabric and structure, which are unique to a specific depositional environment. This study looks at the influence of fines content, soil fabric (i.e. arrangement of soil particles) and structure (e.g. layering, segregation) on the undrained cyclic behaviour and liquefaction resistance of fines-containing sandy soils from Christchurch using Direct Simple Shear (DSS) tests on soil specimens reconstituted in the laboratory with the water sedimentation technique. The poster describes experimental procedures and presents early test results on two sands retrieved at two different sites in Christchurch.
Two damaged driveways on Acland Avenue in Avonside. Dried liquefaction can be seen in the gap between the two driveways, and behind them the ground has sunk. Weeds have grown through cracks in the concrete.
Two damaged driveways on Acland Avenue in Avonside. Dried liquefaction can be seen in the gap between the two driveways, and behind them the ground has sunk. Weeds have grown through cracks in the concrete.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. Through the window pane beside the door you can see silt piled about 30 cm high inside the house".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. The view through the window here shows the size of the silt piled against the front door".
Damage to the Gayhurst Road bridge. The road has buckled due to the bridge's movement, and the bridge is cordoned off. Liquefaction covers part of the street, and in the background St Paul's Church is also cordoned off.
Scaffolding and bracing on stores in New Regent Street. Plywood has been used to cover up the damaged windows. In front, the paving around the tram tracks has separated in places and liquefaction can be seen.
Damage to the Gayhurst Road bridge. The road has buckled due to the bridge's movement, and the bridge is cordoned off. Liquefaction covers part of the street, and in the background St Paul's Church is also cordoned off.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "25 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. View through the window shows the crack in the floor slab, and a pile of silt in the corner of the room".
Damage to a house in Richmond. The brick wall is badly cracked and twisted, and some bricks have fallen, exposing the lining paper and framing below. The driveway is cracked and covered in liquefaction. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd and recovery work around Richmond and St Albans. More shaking damage on the east wall of the living room at our house".
Damage to a house in Richmond. The brick wall is badly cracked and twisted, and some bricks have fallen, exposing the lining paper and framing below. The driveway is cracked and covered in liquefaction. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd and recovery work around Richmond and St Albans. More shaking damage on the east wall of the living room at our house".
Bare patches of ground at Sullivan Park in Avonside. The bare patches mark where liquefaction covered the grass after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. Damage to the footpath and road on Galbraith Avenue can also be seen.
Earthquake-triggered soil liquefaction caused extensive damage and heavy economic losses in Christchurch during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes. The most severe manifestations of liquefaction were associated with the presence of natural deposits of clean sands and silty sands of fluvial origin. However, liquefaction resistance of fines-containing sands is commonly inferred from empirical relationships based on clean sands (i.e. sands with less than 5% fines). Hence, existing evaluation methods have poor accuracy when applied to silty sands. The liquefaction behaviour of Christchurch fines-containing (silty) sands is investigated through a series of Direct Simple Shear (DSS) tests. This type of test better resembles earthquake loading conditions in soil deposits compared to cyclic triaxial tests. Soil specimens are reconstituted in the laboratory with the water sedimentation technique. This preparation method yields soil fabrics similar to those encountered in fluvial soil deposits, which are common in the Christchurch area. Test results provide preliminary indications on how void ratio, relative density, preparation method and fines content influence the cyclic liquefaction behaviour of sand-silt mixtures depending on the properties of host sand and silt.
Damage to Medway Street in Richmond. The road surface is cracked and buckled, and covered in liquefaction silt. A temporary road sign restricting speed to 30 is visible, with road cones behind. The photographer comments, "Medway St, Woodchester Ave on right just beyond the 30 sign".
Results from a series of 1D seismic effective stress analyses of natural soil deposits from Christchurch are summarized. The analysed soil columns include sites whose performance during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes varied significantly, from no liquefaction manifestation at the ground surface to very severe liquefaction, in which case a large area of the site was covered by thick soil ejecta. Key soil profile characteristics and response mechanisms affecting the severity of surface liquefaction manifestation and subsequent damage are explored. The influence of shaking intensity on the triggering and contribution of these mechanisms is also discussed. Careful examination of the results highlights the importance of considering the deposit as a whole, i.e. a system of layers, including interactions between layers in the dynamic response and through pore water pressure redistribution and water flow.
In 2010 and 2011 a series of earthquakes hit the central region of Canterbury, New Zealand, triggering widespread and damaging liquefaction in the area of Christchurch. Liquefaction occurred in natural clean sand deposits, but also in silty (fines-containing) sand deposits of fluvial origin. Comprehensive research efforts have been subsequently undertaken to identify key factors that influenced liquefaction triggering and severity of its manifestation. This research aims at evaluating the effects of fines content, fabric and layered structure on the cyclic undrained response of silty soils from Christchurch using Direct Simple Shear (DSS) tests. This poster outlines preliminary calibration and verification DSS tests performed on a clean sand to ensure reliability of testing procedures before these are applied to Christchurch soils.
An abandoned residential property at 12 Seabreeze Close in Bexley. A damaged window has been boarded up around the side of the house and the front window has been vandalised with graffiti. The yard is covered with weeds and silt from liquefaction.
Earthquake damage down New Brighton Road. There is cracking on the footpath and cars are parked on the front lawns as silt from liquefaction still remains on the street curb. A van with a 'school' sign can be seen driving down the road.
A house on Avonside Drive showing damage from the 4 September 2010 earthquake. Numerous cracks in the masonry can be seen, and several sections of brick have fallen off the walls. The building's porch has also collapsed. A pile of dried liquefaction is visible in the driveway.
Damage to Medway Street in Richmond. The road surface is cracked and buckled, and covered in liquefaction silt. A temporary road sign restricting speed to 30 is visible, with road cones behind. The photographer comments, "Medway St, between Woodchester Ave and River Rd. Woodchester Ave on right just beyond the 30 sign".
Damage to the garden of a house in Richmond. Liquefaction is visible among the plants and on the driveway. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd and recovery work around Richmond and St Albans. Back lawn under 10cm of water and silt".
A house on Avonside Drive showing damage from the 4 September 2010 earthquake. Numerous cracks in the masonry can be seen, and several sections of brick have fallen off the walls. The building's porch has also collapsed. A pile of dried liquefaction is visible in the driveway.
Damage to a house in Richmond. The brick wall is badly cracked and twisted, and some bricks have fallen, exposing the lining paper and framing below. The driveway is cracked and covered in liquefaction. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd and recovery work around Richmond and St Albans. Does that wall look straight to you?
This thesis presents the application of data science techniques, especially machine learning, for the development of seismic damage and loss prediction models for residential buildings. Current post-earthquake building damage evaluation forms are developed for a particular country in mind. The lack of consistency hinders the comparison of building damage between different regions. A new paper form has been developed to address the need for a global universal methodology for post-earthquake building damage assessment. The form was successfully trialled in the street ‘La Morena’ in Mexico City following the 2017 Puebla earthquake. Aside from developing a framework for better input data for performance based earthquake engineering, this project also extended current techniques to derive insights from post-earthquake observations. Machine learning (ML) was applied to seismic damage data of residential buildings in Mexico City following the 2017 Puebla earthquake and in Christchurch following the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence (CES). The experience showcased that it is readily possible to develop empirical data only driven models that can successfully identify key damage drivers and hidden underlying correlations without prior engineering knowledge. With adequate maintenance, such models have the potential to be rapidly and easily updated to allow improved damage and loss prediction accuracy and greater ability for models to be generalised. For ML models developed for the key events of the CES, the model trained using data from the 22 February 2011 event generalised the best for loss prediction. This is thought to be because of the large number of instances available for this event and the relatively limited class imbalance between the categories of the target attribute. For the CES, ML highlighted the importance of peak ground acceleration (PGA), building age, building size, liquefaction occurrence, and soil conditions as main factors which affected the losses in residential buildings in Christchurch. ML also highlighted the influence of liquefaction on the buildings losses related to the 22 February 2011 event. Further to the ML model development, the application of post-hoc methodologies was shown to be an effective way to derive insights for ML algorithms that are not intrinsically interpretable. Overall, these provide a basis for the development of ‘greybox’ ML models.