SDMT-based Site Characterization and Liquefaction Analysis of Canal Levees Damaged by the 2012 Emilia (Italy) Seismic Sequence

The results presented in this paper were obtained as part of a comprehensive study aimed at investigating the post-earthquake stability conditions of canal levees damaged by the May 2012 Emilia (Italy) seismic sequence. This paper is focused on the use of the seismic dilatometer test (SDMT) in the context of the study. In particular the following issues are discussed: (1) Use of SDMT results for soil type identification and ground property characterization of the embankment and the foundation soils; (2) Liquefaction analyses by simplified methods based on the shear wave velocity Vs and on the horizontal stress index Kd provided by SDMT. The results obtained by these methods, in particular those based on Kd, in agreement with results obtained from CPTU interpretation and from laboratory cyclic testing, suggest that local liquefaction phenomena may have been induced by the earthquake in the sandy-silty soils below the canal levee.