Initial Assessment of Soil Liquefaction Potential for Selected Sites in Hilla City, Babylon Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

The current research focused on the use of some geotechnical characteristics for the initial assessment of soil liquefaction in the sites of the city of Hilla, Babylon Governorate. Five sites were chosen in the city center and relatively close to the Shatt Al-Hilla. Geotechnical properties data were used to separate soils that can be classified as liquefiable from those that are not. The Criteria used in this study included two types: the second Chinese standard, which is based on the natural water content and liquid limit, and the modified Chinese standard, which depends on the clay content and liquid limit on the liquefaction potential of the soil. The results of this study showed that the risk of soil increases with an increase in the natural water content and a decrease in the liquid limit in the second Chinese standard, but in the modified Chinese standard, the liquefaction potential increases with a decrease in each of the clay content less than 10%, the liquid limit is less than or equal to 32%.