Abstract: Based on mechanical properties of the special soil layers in Yellow River Delta, with the horizontal acceleration time path of Tianjin seismic wave taken as the input seismic wave, numerical analysis is carried out on seismic response of the soil layers in the depth range of 20 m in Yellow River Delta. Three transcendental probabilities, i.e. 3 percent, 10 percent and 63 percent, are considered to study changes of pore water pressure and dynamic shear stress, which are compared with those obtained in laboratory dynamic triaxial tests to evaluate liquefaction potential of the soil layers. Research results show that under the transcendental probability of 3 percent, most of the soil layers will fail; under 10 percent, only a few will; and under 63 percent, most will not. Evaluation results obtained with failure dynamic shear stress ratio coincide with those obtained with pore water pressure ratio.

Key words: Yellow River Delta, seismic response, numerical analysis, saturated foundation soil