Innovative Approaches in Geotechnical Engineering
Modeling Soil Liquefaction from Macro to Micro

Project by

Mahdi Taiebat
Senior Fellow 2024–2025

This project focuses on expanding the development and application of advanced constitutive models and numerical modeling techniques to simulate the response of geomaterials and geosystems under cyclic loading, addressing critical challenges in geotechnical earthquake engineering. The work draws on physical modeling, including real laboratory experiments, and insights from virtual numerical experiments such as Discrete Element Modeling (DEM), to improve understanding and simulation of geomaterial behavior at both the element level and the system level of engineered infrastructure. The research investigates key phenomena such as soil liquefaction and the dynamic interactions between soils, foundations, and structures during seismic events. By leveraging both physical and numerical approaches, the work advances predictive capabilities for complex geotechnical systems subjected to cyclic loading. The outcomes contribute to developing safer and more resilient infrastructure, offering solutions for seismic hazard mitigation, renewable energy foundations, and soil–structure interaction systems.