Liquefaction, Building Response, and Seismic Settlement Mechanisms in the Adapazarı Basin

Abstract

The 17 August 1999 Mw 7.4 Kocaeli earthquake caused widespread settlement of buildings in downtown Adapazarı, although clear surface evidence of free-field liquefaction was limited. This study investigates the mechanisms responsible for these settlements by integrating nonlinear site response analysis, liquefaction assessment, and foundation-level deformation modeling. Because the main shock was not recorded in the city center, ground motions were estimated using nonlinear site response analyses performed with the D-MOD program and calibrated against recorded aftershocks. The resulting peak ground acceleration in downtown Adapazarı was estimated to be approximately 0.30 g. Simplified free-field liquefaction analyses predicted liquefaction in shallow silty and sandy silt layers between depths of 1.5 m and 4.0 m. However, strain restriction enforced by a stiffer surrounding soil matrix, which restricted the formation of shear strain in potentially liquefiable strata, is responsible for the lack of broad free-field manifestations. Localized liquefaction beneath shallow foundations resulted from structural reaction effects that greatly increased cycle stress ratios beneath buildings, especially for short-period structures. Liquefaction-induced volumetric strains account for approximately 40–50% of the observed settlements. The remaining settlement is explained by lateral sliding of supporting soils once seismic bearing capacity was exceeded, as evaluated using simplified Newmark-type sliding block analyses. The findings demonstrate that building settlements in Adapazarı resulted from the combined effects of soil stratigraphy, structural response, and foundation-level deformation, highlighting the limitations of free-field liquefaction procedures for urban settings.

Keywords

• Nonlinear site response analysis
• Liquefaction-induced settlement
• Seismic settlement

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