This study presents a series of physical model tests and numerical simulations using PFC2D (both with a dip slip angle=60° and

a soil bed thickness of 0.2 m in model scale)at the acceleration conditions of 1g, 40g, and 80 g to model reverse faulting. The soil

deposits in prototype scale have thicknesses of 0.2 m, 8 m, and 16 m, respectively. This study also investigates the evolution of a

surface deformation profile and the propagation of subsurface rupture traces through overlying sand. This study proposes a

methodology for calibrating the micromechanical material parameters used in the numerical simulation based on the measured

surface settlements of the tested sand bed in the self-weight consolidation stage. The test results show that steeper surface slope

on the surface deformation profile, a wider shear band on the major faulting-induced distortion zone, and more faulting appeared

in the shallower depths in the 1-g reverse faulting model test than in the tests involving higher-g levels. The surface deformation

profile measured from the higher-g physical modeling and that calculated from numerical modeling show good agreement. The

width of the shear band obtained from the numerical simulation was slightly wider than that from the physical modeling at the

same g-levels and the position of the shear band moved an offset of 15 mm in model scale to the footwall compared with the results

of physical modeling.

Currently, there is no reliable design procedure which considers all aspects of liquefaction effects on shallow foundations. There are many light and heavy structures resting on saturated sand with high liquefaction potential in seismic areas. The aim of this experimental and numerical study is to evaluate the performance of two shallow foundations with different contact pressures in liquefaction. The results of the centrifuge experiment of shallow foundations with surcharges of three-story and nine-story buildings on liquefiable sand are presented in detail. Although entire soil profile liquefied, no liquefaction observed under the foundations. There was a clear difference in settlement mechanisms observed beneath the shallow foundation and in the free-field. The heavy foundation fluctuated more strongly compared with the lighter one. The effect of soil permeability and contact pressure on foundation response was investigated during numerical study. The experiment was simulated two dimensionally using a fully coupled nonlinear constitutive model (UBCSAND) implemented in a finite difference program, FLAC-2D. The results show that settlement of foundations increased with the increase of soil permeability. Trends of excess pore water pressure were captured reasonably by the soil model, but the settlement mechanisms were different. The soil model underestimated total liquefaction-induced settlement of shallow foundation, especially for light foundation.