Assessment of Liquefaction Hazard for Sites in Romania Using Empirical Models

This paper is focused on the evaluation of the liquefaction hazard for different sites in Romania. To this aim, a database of 139 ground motions recorded during Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes having moment magnitudes MW ≥ 6.0 is employed for the evaluation of the equivalent number of cycles for this seismic source. Several functional forms for the empirical evaluation of the equivalent number of cycles considering various seismological or engineering parameters are tested and evaluated. The regression analysis shows smaller uncertainties for the empirical models based on ground motion engineering parameters. Considering the lack of information in terms of engineering parameters, a simpler empirical model which accounts for the earthquake magnitude, source–site distance and soil conditions is selected for the liquefaction hazard analysis. Based on the proposed empirical model, specific magnitude scaling factors for Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes are proposed for the first time as well. The liquefaction hazard analysis is performed for sites whose seismic hazard is generated by either the Vrancea intermediate-depth seismic source or by local shallow crustal seismic sources. In the case of some of the selected sites, liquefaction phenomena were observed during past large-magnitude earthquakes. Unlike previous studies dealing with liquefaction analyses for sites in Romania, in this research, the hazard assessment is performed for various ground motion levels evaluated based on probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. Liquefaction hazard curves are constructed for each analyzed site. The results of the liquefaction hazard analysis show that this phenomenon is more likely to occur in the areas exposed to Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes, compared to the areas affected by local shallow earthquakes. In the case of the analyzed soil profiles from Bucharest, Craiova and Ianca, the minimum liquefaction safety factors less than one even for seismic hazard levels having mean return periods of 100 years and less.

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