Short Course on Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Liquefaction – March 2025

by Sam Banzi

Sam Banzi

Director

 

This two-day short course covers the constitutive models PM4Sand and PM4Silt and their use in nonlinear dynamic analyses of liquefaction and cyclic softening during earthquakes. The PM4Sand and PM4Silt models are stress ratio-controlled, critical state-compatible, bounding surface plasticity constitutive models developed by Boulanger and Ziotopoulou over the past decade for earthquake engineering applications. They are implemented as user-defined dynamic link libraries for use in Itasca’s FLAC2D program. This course is geared toward participants already having some level of familiarity with nonlinear dynamic analyses, nonlinear constitutive models, soil liquefaction and cyclic softening during earthquakes, and the computer program FLAC/FLAC2D.

Day 1 of the course will include a review of background information and underlying fundamentals, focusing more on details and procedures important to using the numerical models in practice. Day 1 will also focus on PM4Sand constitutive model, calibration procedures for engineering applications and hands-on calibration exercises.

  • Evaluating seismic performance of embankments: General overview and applicable/ANCOLD guidelines
  • Seismic hazard characterization and development of earthquake time histories
  • Characterizing sand-like, clay-like, and intermediate soils
  • Nonlinear dynamic analyses (NDAs) and constitutive model calibration: Overview of steps and considerations.
  • PM4Sand: Background and formulation
  • PM4Sand: Calibration exercise 1 (using primary parameters)
  • PM4Sand: Calibration exercise 2 (using a secondary parameter)

 

Day 2 of the course will cover PM4Silt constitutive model, calibration procedures and hands-on exercises. Challenges and lessons learnt from calibrations; and selected case histories, including a Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), will be presented to assess the performance of PM4Sand/PM4Silt models.

  • PM4Silt: Background and formulation
  • PM4Silt: Calibration exercise 1 (using primary parameters)
  • PM4Silt: Calibration exercise 2 (using a secondary parameter)
  • Modeling other geomaterials
  • NDAs: System-level considerations and challenges
  • Case history Part 1: Static flow failure during construction at a Tailings Storage Facility (TSF)
  • Case history Part 2: Seismic response of the TSF during a Mw5.7 earthquake
  • NDAs and constitutive model calibrations for practical applications: Key lessons and best practices

 

NOTE: ANCOLD is not promoting these software packages as being preferred in Australia but recognises that many of our members are/will use this software, and we have an opportunity to upskill our industry through training facilitated by the key developers of these packages, Ross Boulanger & Katerina Ziotopoulou (PM4Sand and PM4Silt).

See the Presenters bio’s further below.


The 2025 ANCOLD Workshops has secured accommodation options for delegates at a special rate. The rates published below are only available when booking accommodation as a part of your registration.

If you have registered to attend the workshops and now wish to book accommodation at the exclusive rate, please email your arrival and departure dates and room requirements to [email protected]

Rydges World Square Sydney – Workshop venue

Take advantage of modern comforts and thoughtful amenities throughout the Sydney CBD hotel. Conveniently location in the Central Business District.

Executive King Room $249 per night
Executive King Balcony Room $329 per night

Amora Hotel Brisbane – Workshop venue

Settle into sleek, contemporary comfort at Amora Hotel Brisbane. Offering a convenient central location in the heart of Brisbane CBD. Guest rooms and suites provide exceptional comfort and space for business and leisure stays.

King / Twin Room $259 per night


Terms and Conditions: A valid credit card is required to secure the booking and will be charged full pre-payment 30 days prior to the event.

Ross W. Boulanger is an independent consulting civil engineer and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis. He received his BASc degree in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1986, followed by his MS and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. His tenure at UC Davis from 1992 through 2023 included 14 years as Director of the Center for Geotechnical Modeling. His over 300 publications are primarily related to liquefaction and its remediation, seismic performance of dams and levees, and seismic soil-structure interaction. His consulting roles involve serving on technical review boards for a range of dam, tunnel, and infrastructure projects. His honors include the Casagrande Award, Huber Prize, Norman Medal, and Peck Award from ASCE, the Ishihara Lecture from the ISSMGE, and election to the US National Academy of Engineering.

Katerina Ziotopoulou is an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis and a licensed Professional Engineer in California. She received her 5-year diploma degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece and her MS and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from UC Davis. She specializes in geotechnical earthquake engineering with an emphasis on the investigation of ground failure due to earthquake-induced liquefaction and cyclic softening, and its mitigation. She combines the development of advanced numerical tools with multiscale experimental methods and data analytics, the establishment of validation protocols, and the upscaling to system-level analyses of case histories. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. She has been honored with the Casagrande Professional Development Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and the ISSMGE Young Researcher Award.

Alfonso is a geotechnical engineer at AECOM in Denver, Colorado, working in mining projects for large tailings dam facilities in the US and worldwide. Alfonso holds a PhD in geotechnical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), a MS degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI) in Lima Peru. Alfonso has focused most of his practice and research on geotechnical engineering for dams, including topics as material characterization, soil liquefaction triggering estimation and mitigation, laboratory and centrifuge testing, soil dynamics, nonlinear site response analysis, consolidation analysis, advanced static and dynamic deformation analysis, static liquefaction and instrumentation, in-situ testing, slope stability under static and dynamic conditions, and soil-structure interaction. Alfonso’s practice and research also includes validation and back-analysis of tailings dam case histories using 2D/3D advanced coupled numerical modelling to enhance performance-based design evaluations. He a is member of the ASCE Geo-Institute and GEER.

Alfonso is a co-author on the 2024 award-winning ASTM paper, “A Multidirectional Cyclic Direct Simple Shear Device for Characterizing Dynamic Soil Behavior,” which appeared in the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal. The annual Hogentogler Award is presented to the authors of an ASTM paper of outstanding merit on soil or rock and is the most prestigious technical award given by ASTM Committee D18.

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