Full scale laminar box for 1-g physical modelling of liquefaction

Brief details of a 1-g full scale laminar box system capable of simulating the liquefaction phenomenon of saturated loose soil deposit up to 6 m deep are presented. The internal dimensions of the box are 5 m in length and 2.74 m in width. The system consists of a two dimensional laminar box made of 40 rectangular laminates stacked on top of each other supported by high capacity and very low friction bearings, a base shaker sitting on the strong floor, two high speed actuators mounted on the rigid blocks, a dense instrumentation array and a close loop hydraulic filling system for building loose sand deposit. Intricate details of the system are presented and its capabilities are illustrated using a recent shake test leading up to liquefaction.