Geotechnical Aspects of Failures at Port-au-Prince Seaport during the 12 January 2010 Haiti Earthquake

Abstract

Presented herein are the results of geotechnical investigations and subsequent laboratory and data analyses of the Port-au-Prince seaport following the M_w7.0 2010 Haiti earthquake. The earthquake caused catastrophic ground failures in calcareous-sand artificial fills at the seaport, including liquefaction, lateral spreads, differential settlements, and collapse of the pile-supported wharf and pier. The site characterization entailed geotechnical borings, hand-auger borings, standard penetration tests, and dynamic cone penetration tests. The laboratory tests included grain size and carbonate content tests. The observations and results presented herein add valuable field performance data for calcareous sands, which are relatively lacking in liquefaction case history databases, and the overall response of the artificial fills are consistent with predictions made using semi-empirical relations developed primarily from field data of silica sands.