Variability Quantification of LEAP 2017 Experiments

The Liquefaction Experiments and Analysis Project (LEAP) is an international effort to produce high-quality experimental data and then use it for a validation exercise of existing computational models and simulation procedures for soil liquefaction analysis. Nine centrifuge teams from across the world performed 24 centrifuge tests on a physical model of a sloping sand deposit. A novel discrepancy metric was used to quantify variabilities in phase, amplitude of dominant frequency components. The effect of variabilities in the achieved input motions on the recorded soil responses were quantified using a sensitivity analysis. The analysis revealed that the effects of variabilities in phase on the recorded soil responses were minor. The variabilities in soil responses were mainly driven by variabilities in higher order frequency components. The discrepancy metric and sensitivity analysis are combined to obtain a performance score for LEAP 2017 experiments.