Rini Kusumawardani, - Assessment of buckling of piles due to soil liquefaction for a coal-fired power station Tanjung Jati B, Central Java, Indonesia. 16th Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

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Abstract

Indonesia is facing rapid growth in economy and results in increasing demand for electricity. To supply sufficient electricity, Indonesian Government has constructed a coal-fired power station (CFPS) Tanjung Jati Units 5 & 6 with a capacity of 2 x 1000 MW. The site of this study is in Tubanan Village, Kembang District, Jepara Regency, Central Java Province. Development planning of the project should consider the risk caused by earthquakes. Accordingly, the potentials for liquefaction of foundation soils and buckling of piles due to loss of lateral support in liquefied soils become the main concerns of this project. Liquefaction analysis of foundation soils is performed based on a SPT-N approach. A depth-weighted procedure is also applied for assessment of liquefaction potential for the boreholes of the site. Results of liquefaction assessment indicate the project site is prone to the risk of soil liquefaction due to the design earthquake. Buckling of piles subjected to seismic loading is assessed for the cases of liquefied soils in both dry and wet seasons, while only the wet season scenario is the main focus of this paper. A buckling index G is adopted as the difference between the critical pile length (HC) for buckling and the unsupported pile length (DL ) due to liquefaction of foundation soils. If the G is greater than zero, then the pile is considered safe; otherwise, the pile will buckle. Results of buckling assessment show G > 0 for the piles at the project site (Units 5 & 6 and Central Control Building) with an average G value of about 15 when the foundation soils are liquefied during the design earthquake, indicating the pile foundation of the site should be safe from buckling failure due to soil liquefaction.

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