Flachgründung einer 400-kV-Schaltanlage am Kaspischen Meer

Shallow foundation of a 400-kV-substation at the Caspian Sea with shear failure analysis at liquefaction

Earthquakes in case of high ground water tables in sandy foundation soils could lead to liquefaction with remarkable pore water pressure. By this pore water pressure the effective grain-to-grain-stresses and thus the shear strength of the subsoil could be reduced significantly. As a worst case scenario this may result in a shear failure of the entire building foundation, or depending on the foundation depth and pressure the foundation structures due to the pore water pressure may be damaged by uplift. Subsequently it will be reported about the construction of a 400 kV substation for the power supply in the southwest of the Caspian Sea. For this area heavily exposed by earthquakes the geotechnical conceptual design for the foundation with shallow single footings will be highlighted, which had to be designed for the load case of liquefaction due to the design earthquake.