An overview of earthquake related liquefaction events in Italy

Abstract

This report was prepared by Mr Edoardo Borgomeo during the summer pause of Imperial College (London, UK) lectures. Mr Borgomeo have joined the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) for an internship under the supervision of Dr. Giuseppe Di Capua and Prof Silvia Peppoloni. This internship was an opportunity to gain an understanding on the functioning of a research institute and on the tasks a researcher has to undertake in the creation of a scientific publication. The result of the internship is presented in the following report that investigated the phenomenon of liquefaction under seismic conditions. The most serious direct effect of earthquakes on buildings and structures is ground shaking. However earthquake shocks might pose other hazards in the form of soil liquefaction, which can result in considerable financial losses. Some soils such as quicksands and quickclays can give rise to major problems when disturbed by ground shaking. The ground vibrations produced by an earthquake lead to a decrease in the effective stress and in the shear strength of the soil which in turn trigger the liquefaction.