PROTECT co-Director Akram Alshawabkeh is co-PI of a new National Science Foundation grant to develop a cost-effective method to prevent ground failure during earthquakes. Ground failure is a major cause of destruction to buildings constructed on water-saturated sandy soils.
The award for $1.2M from the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) will use Induced Partial Saturation (IPS) to try and prevent ground liquefaction from occurring under structures during earthquakes. Led by Northeastern Prof. Mishac Yegian, the goals of this research are to conduct fundamental research exploring the feasibility of inducing partial saturation under field conditions, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of IPS in preventing the occurrence of liquefaction. The outcome of this research will have significant impact on human safety and protection of property from earthquake hazards.