This research serves toward safeguarding airport infrastructure in liquefaction-prone regions. Although airports contribute to the socioeconomic vitality of a region and serve as emergency means in cases of seismic events, their functionality remains vulnerable to disruption caused by secondary earthquake effects such as soil liquefaction. Hence, the risk and vulnerability assessment of airport facilities is crucial for their functionality and preparedness during and after the liquefaction events. This study introduces a practical and rapid assessment tool for the preliminary identification of areas prone to liquefaction and the risk analysis of airport infrastructure on a regional scale. As region of research was selected the Nestos delta in Greece, where the critical infrastructure of Kavala International Airport is placed (KVA). According to the results, a significant section of KVA’s runway and taxiways are located on highly susceptible soils of abandoned meanders. Aiming to quantify the impacts of liquefaction in the susceptible areas, FEMA’s HAZUS (FEMA, 2022) methodology is applied, estimating values of 20% of liquefaction probability and 3.1- 12.3 cm of expected ground settlements for the class of very high susceptible units. The results of the liquefaction hazard analysis are used for the risk assessment of the airport infrastructure, estimating a total direct loss of €5 million. Validation of the proposed methodology was achieved using datasets from three international airports that sustained extensive seismic damage in the past.
Liquefaction risk assessment of airport infrastructure using geological data and remote sensing techniques
Taftsoglou M.
;Valkaniotis S.;
2025
Abstract
This research serves toward safeguarding airport infrastructure in liquefaction-prone regions. Although airports contribute to the socioeconomic vitality of a region and serve as emergency means in cases of seismic events, their functionality remains vulnerable to disruption caused by secondary earthquake effects such as soil liquefaction. Hence, the risk and vulnerability assessment of airport facilities is crucial for their functionality and preparedness during and after the liquefaction events. This study introduces a practical and rapid assessment tool for the preliminary identification of areas prone to liquefaction and the risk analysis of airport infrastructure on a regional scale. As region of research was selected the Nestos delta in Greece, where the critical infrastructure of Kavala International Airport is placed (KVA). According to the results, a significant section of KVA’s runway and taxiways are located on highly susceptible soils of abandoned meanders. Aiming to quantify the impacts of liquefaction in the susceptible areas, FEMA’s HAZUS (FEMA, 2022) methodology is applied, estimating values of 20% of liquefaction probability and 3.1- 12.3 cm of expected ground settlements for the class of very high susceptible units. The results of the liquefaction hazard analysis are used for the risk assessment of the airport infrastructure, estimating a total direct loss of €5 million. Validation of the proposed methodology was achieved using datasets from three international airports that sustained extensive seismic damage in the past.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
