Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2015RI121B

Improving Methods to Assess Liquefaction Potential of Embankment Dams in the Northeast Region

Institute: Rhode Island
Year Established: 2015 Start Date: 2015-03-01 End Date: 2016-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $19,076 Total Non-Federal Funds: $39,384

Principal Investigators: Aaron Bradshaw

Abstract: It is important to protect our existing water supplies from natural disasters. Many existing reservoirs were formed by the construction of embankment dams, in some cases well before the development of seismic design standards. A recent study by the PI at the Gainer dam in Rhode Island identified deficiencies in the current procedures used to analyze liquefaction potential of embankment dams. This research aims to improve some important aspects of these procedures for more reliable analyses of liquefaction potential of dams in the region.