Geotechnical Investigation and Numerical Modeling of Soil Liquefaction Potential in Coastal Infrastructure Zones

Abstract

Soil liquefaction is one of the most critical geotechnical hazards affecting coastal infrastructure during seismic events, leading to excessive ground deformation, foundation instability, and structural failure. Coastal regions with loose saturated sandy soils are particularly vulnerable to liquefaction due to high groundwater levels and dynamic loading conditions associated with earthquakes. Conventional site assessment approaches often provide limited capability in accurately predicting liquefaction behavior under varying geotechnical and seismic conditions. This research presents a geotechnical investigation and numerical modeling approach for assessing soil liquefaction potential in coastal infrastructure zones to improve hazard prediction, structural safety, and infrastructure resilience. The proposed study integrates field investigations, laboratory soil characterization, and numerical simulation techniques to evaluate the influence of soil properties, groundwater conditions, seismic intensity, and cyclic loading behavior on liquefaction susceptibility. Geotechnical parameters including soil density, grain size distribution, shear strength, pore water pressure, and cyclic stress response are analyzed to determine liquefaction resistance characteristics. Finite element–based numerical modeling and dynamic soil analysis are employed to simulate ground response behavior and pore pressure development under earthquake loading conditions. Performance evaluation is conducted using parameters such as factor of safety against liquefaction, settlement behavior, excess pore pressure generation, deformation characteristics, and seismic response stability.