Numerical Simulation of the Effect of Lapointe on Saturated Sandy Ground in Re-Liquefaction Events

Laponite is a nanomaterial that can transform the pore water into a viscous gel and continues to harden with time and can recover its strength after liquefaction. Initially, laponite suspension has very low viscosity, so it could be used in passive site remediation to improve the ground in highly populated areas. In this study, a constitutive model able to reproduce the behaviour of both granular and cohesive materials under different loading conditions is calibrated and validated using several laboratory experimental results. The calibrated parameters are then used to simulate the impact of a sequence of two earthquakes on a residential building with a shallow foundation on a loose saturated soil deposit containing sand that was treated with 1% laponite. This study attempts to provide insights on the level of improvement that laponite could provide as a liquefaction mitigation method in real applications and to show practitioners the potential of using this material for remediation purposes.