Correlation of shear wave velocity with liquefaction resistance based on laboratory tests

According to the results of cyclic triaxial tests on Hangzhou sands, a correlation is presented between liquefaction resistance and elastic shear modulus. Material-dependent but independent of confining stress, shows the linear relation of (σ_d/2)^1/2 with G_max. For its application to different soils, a method proposed by Tokimatsu [Tokimatsu K, Uchida A. Correlation between liquefaction resistance and shear wave velocity. Soils Found 1990:30(2):33–42] is utilized to normalize the shear modulus with respect to minimum void ratio. A simplified equation is established to evaluate the liquefaction potential by shear-wave velocity. The critical shear-wave velocity of liquefaction is in linear relation with 1/4 power of depth and the peak horizontal ground surface acceleration during earthquakes. The equation proposed in this paper is compared with previous methods especially the procedure proposed by Andrus [RD Andrus, KH Stokoe. Liquefaction resistance of soils from shear-wave velocity. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 2000:126(11):1015–25]. The results show its simplicity and effectiveness when applied to sands, but more validation or modification is needed for its application to sand with higher fines content.     

Liquefaction characteristics of gap-graded gravelly soils in K0 condition

A series of undrained cyclic direct simple shear tests, which used a soil container with a membrane reinforced with stack rings to maintain the K₀ condition and integrated bender elements for shear wave velocity measurement, were performed to study the liquefaction characteristics of gap-graded gravelly soils with no fines content. The intergrain state concept was employed to categorize gap-graded sand–gravel mixtures as sand-like, gravel-like, and in-transition soils, which show different liquefaction characteristics. The testing results reveal that a linear relationship exists between the shear wave velocity and the minor fraction content for sand–gravel mixtures at a given skeleton void ratio of the major fraction particles. For gap-graded gravelly sand, the gravel content has a small effect on the liquefaction resistance, and the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of gap-graded gravelly sands can be evaluated using current techniques for sands with gravel content corrections. In addition, the results indicate that the current shear wave velocity (V_s) based correlation underestimates the liquefaction resistance for V_s values less than 160 m/s, and different correlations should be proposed for sand-like and gravel-like gravelly soils. Preliminary modifications to the correlations used in current evaluations of liquefaction resistance have thus been proposed.     

Evaluation of static and dynamic properties of sand–fines mixtures through the state and equivalent state parameters

The results of an experimental investigation on sands with low plastic fines content are presented. Specimens with a low plastic fines content of 0%, 15%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% by weight were tested in drained and undrained triaxial compression tests. The soil specimens were tested under three different categories: (1) at a constant void ratio index; (2) at the same peak deviator stress in a triaxial test; and (3) at a constant relative density. By a combination with our published experimental data in recent years, the critical state line and various state parameters have been proposed and discussed for a further understanding the behavior of sand–fines mixtures. Results indicated that a unique critical line was obtained from drained and undrained triaxial compression tests for each fines content. The effects of fines content on critical state line (CSL) were recognized and discussed. In addition, the results revealed that normalized peak undrained shear stress, cyclic resistance ratio, and compression index were found to be a good correlation with state parameter Ψ as well as equivalent state parameter Ψ*. An increasing state parameter decreased the normalized peak undrained shear stress, and cyclic resistance ratio; however, the compression index increased with an increase in state parameter. Finally, there were no correlations such as the coefficient of consolidation–state parameter and maximum shear modulus–state parameter due to the different testing condition.     

Characterization of liquefaction resistance in gravelly soil: large hammer penetration test and shear wave velocity approach

Gravelly soil is generally recognized to have no liquefaction potential. However, liquefaction cases were reported in central Taiwan in the 1999 Chi-Chi Taiwan earthquake and in the 1988 Armenia earthquake. Thus, further studies on the liquefaction potential of gravelly soil are warranted. Because large particles can impede the penetration of both standard penetration test and cone penetration test, shear wave velocity-based correlations and large hammer penetration tests (LPT) are employed to evaluate the liquefaction resistance of gravelly soils. A liquefied gravelly deposit site during the Chi-Chi earthquake was selected for this research. In situ physical properties of soil deposits were collected from exploratory trenches. Instrumented LPT and shear wave velocity (V_s) measurements were performed to evaluate the liquefaction resistance. In addition, large-scale cyclic triaxial tests on remolded gravelly soil samples (15 cm in diameter, 30 cm in height) were conducted to verify and improve LPT-based and V_s-based correlations. The results show that the LPT and shear wave velocity methods are reasonably suitable for liquefaction assessment of gravelly soils.     

A laboratory study on the undrained strength of a silty sand from Central Western Taiwan

The sand deposit in Central Western Taiwan typically contained significant amounts of fines. The assessment of liquefaction potential using the simplified procedure often involved adjustment in field test results to account for the effects of fines. The available fines content (FC) adjustment methods are highly empirical and may lead to very different conclusions. The need and/or level of FC adjustment should be justified based on cyclic behavior of sand and its relationship with fines. This study made an attempt to provide that reference information for a silty sand commonly found in Central Western Taiwan. A series of isotropic consolidation, undrained monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on reconstituted Mai Liao Sand (MLS) with various FCs and densities. Concurrent shear wave velocities were measured using bender elements in some of the cyclic triaxial tests. This paper describes the geological background, the laboratory tests and their implications in the assessment of liquefaction potential for MLS.     

Nonlinear shear mass participation factor (rd) for cyclic shear stress ratio evaluation

Most methods for assessment of in situ seismic soil liquefaction potential require evaluation of the earthquake-induced cyclic shear stress ratio (CSR). Estimates of the in situ CSR can be developed directly, using dynamic response analyses, but it is common in ‘simplified’ analysis methods to develop estimates of the in situ CSR using empirical relationships. Unfortunately, the most widely used existing empirical relationships are based on limited response analyses and do not take full advantage of current knowledge of factors affecting this response problem. As a result, they are both biased and unnecessarily imprecise. This paper presents the results of a relatively comprehensive suite of site response studies (2153 site response analyses), performed using carefully selected suites of site conditions and input time histories, to provide an improved basis for development of estimates of in situ CSR using the r_d-approach. The resulting empirical correlations, developed using the Bayesian updating method, provide a much improved basis for simplified empirical evaluation of CSR as a function of (1) depth; (2) earthquake magnitude; (3) intensity of shaking; and (4) site stiffness.     

Intergrain contact density indices for granular mixes II： Liquefaction resistance

Whether the presence of non-plastic silt in a granular mix soil impact its liquefaction potential and how to evaluate liquefaction resistance of sand containing different amounts of silt contents are both controversial issues. This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation to address these issues. Two parameters, namely, equivalent intergranular void ratio （ec）eq and equivalent interfine void ratio （ef）eq, proposed in a companion paper （Thevanayagam, 2007） as indices of active grain contacts in a granular mix, are used to characterize liquefaction resistance of sands and silty sands. Results indicate that, at the same global void ratio （e）, liquefaction resistance of silty sand decreases with an increase in fines content （Cv） up to a threshold value （Crth）. This is due to a reduction in intergrain contact density between the coarse grains. Beyond Crth, with further addition of fines, the interfine contacts become significant while the inter-coarse grain contacts diminish and coarse grains become dispersed. At the same e, the liquefaction resistance increases and the soil becomes stronger with a fttrther increase in silt content. Beyond a limiting fines content （CrL）, the liquefaction resistance is controlled by interfine contacts only. When Cr〈Crth, at the same （e）eq, the liquefaction resistance of silty sand is comparable to that of the host clean sand at a void ratio equal to （ec）eq. When CF〉CFth, at the same （ef）eq, the cyclic strength of a sandy silt is comparable to the host silt at a void ratio equal to （ef）eq.     

Unified modeling of flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility

Flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility are two different phenomena that are encountered during strong earthquakes. Flow liquefaction is associated with the contractive behavior of loose granular materials and cyclic mobility is associated with the dilative response of both loose and dense granular materials at low confining stresses. These two types of response pertain to the same material and therefore should be modeled in a consistent manner. Whether a soil in a given state exhibits contractive or dilative behavior is dependent on its dilatancy, d=d_v^p/d_q^p. A form of the dilatancy d=d(η,ψ,C) is proposed, where η=q/p is the stress ratio, and ψ and C denote the internal state variables and the intrinsic properties, respectively. It has been shown that such a state-dependent dilatancy is effective in describing both the contractive and dilative behavior. This allows the soil behavior associated with flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility during earthquakes to be modeled in a unified way.     

Cyclic resistance and liquefaction behavior of silt and sandy silt soils

The liquefaction behavior and cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of reconstituted samples of non-plastic silt and sandy silts with 50% and 75% silt content are examined using constant-volume cyclic and monotonic ring shear tests along with bender element shear wave velocity (V_s) measurements. Liquefaction occurred at excess pore water pressure ratios (r_u) between 0.6 and 0.7 associated with cumulative cyclic shear strains (γ) of 4% to 7%, after which cyclic liquefaction ensued with very large shear strains and excess pore water pressure ratio (r_u>0.8). The cyclic ring shear tests demonstrate that cyclic resistance ratio of silt and sandy silts decreases with increasing void ratio, or with decreasing silt content at a certain void ratio. The results also show good agreement with those from cyclic direct simple shear tests on silts and sandy silts. A unique correlation is developed for estimating CRR of silts and sandy silts (with more than 50% silt content) from stress-normalized shear wave velocity measurements (V_s1) with negligible effect of silt content. The results indicate that the existing CRR–V_s1 correlations would underestimate the liquefaction resistance of silts and sandy silt soils.     

Analysis of the liquefaction phenomena in the village of Vittorito (L��Aquila)

This paper describes a case-history of liquefaction occurred near the village of Vittorito after the April 6, 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (moment magnitude M_w = 6.3), approximately 45 km far from the epicentre. In the document, first, an estimation of the seismic motion in the area has been made. Thereafter, the performed geotechnical investigation is described, followed by the application of some fast assessment criteria for the occurrence of liquefaction, recently proposed by the new Italian Building Code. A careful assessment of all the parameters involved in conventional Seed and Idriss (1971) liquefaction analyses is considered. The cyclic resistance ratio CRR is evaluated by cone penetration tests CPT and by in situ seismic dilatometer tests SMDT; in the latter case CRR is evaluated by different empirical correlations with shear wave velocity V_s and horizontal stress index K_D. Analytical data confirmed the observed occurrence of the liquefaction in Vittorito, even if the acceleration field in the area, produced by the L’Aquila earthquake, was very low.     

Liquefaction strength of fly ash reinforced with randomly distributed fibers

In this paper a study on the improvement of liquefaction strength of fly ash by reinforcing with randomly distributed geosynthetic fiber/mesh elements is reported. A series of stress controlled cyclic triaxial tests were carried out on fly ash samples reinforced with randomly distributed fiber and mesh elements. The liquefaction resistance of reinforced fly ash is defined in-terms of pore pressure ratio. The effects of parameters such as fiber content, fiber aspect ratio, confining pressure, cyclic stress ratio, on liquefaction resistance of fly ash have been studied. Test results indicate that the addition of fiber/mesh elements increases the liquefaction strength of fly ash significantly and arrests the initiation of liquefaction even in samples of loose initial condition and consolidated with the low confining pressure.     

The effect of plastic fines on the pore pressure generation characteristics of saturated sands

Pore water pressure generation during earthquake shaking initiates liquefaction and affects the shear strength, shear stiffness, deformation, and settlement characteristics of soil deposits. The effect of plastic fines (kaolinite) on pore pressure generation in saturated sands was studied through strain-controlled cyclic triaxial tests. In addition to pore pressure generation, this experimental study also focused on evaluating the threshold shear strain for pore pressure generation and the volumetric compressibility of specimens during pore pressure dissipation. The results reveal that specimens having up to 20% plastic fines content generated larger values of pore water pressure than clean sand specimens. At 30% fines content, the excess pore water pressure decreased below that of clean sand. The threshold shear strain, which indicates the strain level above which pore pressures begin to generate, was assessed for different kaolinite–sand mixtures. The threshold shear strain was similar for 0–20% fines (γ_t0.006–0.008%), but increased to about 0.025% for 30% fines. The volumetric compressibility, measured after pore pressure generation, was similar for all specimens. The transition of behavior at fines contents between 20% and 30% can be attributed to a change in the soil structure from one dominated by sand grains to one dominated by fines.     

Shear moduli of volcanic soils

The shear modulus of soils is one of the important parameters in small strain level geotechnical problems (i.e. the study of earthquake effects and soil–structure interaction). In this paper, the shear moduli of crushable volcanic soils at small strain level were investigated in bender element and cyclic undrained triaxial tests. Comparison of results shows that the shear moduli from bender element tests agree well with those determined in cyclic triaxial tests. The influence of particle breakage, effective confining pressure, consolidation time, void ratio and fines content on the shear modulus are also discussed. In the present study, empirical equations for evaluating the shear modulus of granular materials with particle breakage are proposed based on the test results.     

An improved method of evaluating liquefaction potential with the velocity of shear-waves

According to the results of cyclic triaxial tests, a linear correlation is presented between liquefaction resistance and elastic shear modulus, which shows the relation of G _max (kPa) with (σ_d/2)^1/2(kPa)^1/2. When applied to soils from different sites, the correlation can be normalized in reference to its minimum void ratio (e _min). Accordingly, an improved method is established to evaluate the liquefaction potential with shear-wave velocity. The critical shear-wave velocity of liquefaction is in linear relation with 1/4 power of depth and the maximum acceleration during earthquakes, which can be used to explain the phenomenon that the possibility of liquefaction decreases with the increment of the depth. Compared with previous methods this method turns out simple and effective, which is also verified by the results of cyclic triaxial tests. Foundation item: State Natural Science Foundation (59678020) and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (RC9609).     

3rd Ishihara Lecture: An investigation into why liquefaction charts work: A necessary step toward integrating the states of art and practice

This paper is a systematic effort to clarify why field liquefaction charts based on Seed and Idriss׳ Simplified Procedure work so well. This is a necessary step toward integrating the states of the art (SOA) and practice (SOP) for evaluating liquefaction and its effects. The SOA relies mostly on laboratory measurements and correlations with void ratio and relative density of the sand. The SOP is based on field measurements of penetration resistance and shear wave velocity coupled with empirical or semi-empirical correlations. This gap slows down further progress in both SOP and SOA. The paper accomplishes its objective through: a literature review of relevant aspects of the SOA including factors influencing threshold shear strain and pore pressure buildup during cyclic strain-controlled tests; a discussion of factors influencing field penetration resistance and shear wave velocity; and a discussion of the meaning of the curves in the liquefaction charts separating liquefaction from no liquefaction, helped by recent full-scale and centrifuge results. It is concluded that the charts are curves of constant cyclic strain at the lower end (V_s1<160 m/s), with this strain being about 0.03–0.05% for earthquake magnitude, M_w≈7. It is also concluded, in a more speculative way, that the curves at the upper end probably correspond to a variable increasing cyclic strain and K_o, with this upper end controlled by overconsolidated and preshaken sands, and with cyclic strains needed to cause liquefaction being as high as 0.1–0.3%. These conclusions are validated by application to case histories corresponding to M_w≈7, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area of California during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.     

An experimental study of the liquefaction strength of silty sands in terms of the state parameter

An elaborate program of monotonic and cyclic triaxial laboratory tests on mixtures of sand and silt with fines content 0%, 15% and 25% was performed to investigate the effect of density, consolidation stress and non-plastic fines on the liquefaction strength. The monotonic tests illustrated that the critical state lines of all mixtures do not cross each other, and are, approximately, parallel to each other. The results of the cyclic tests illustrated that the relationship between the cyclic strength and the state parameter does not depend on the consolidation stress, the soil density and the silt content. Analysis in terms of the state parameter showed that: (i) as the consolidation stress increases, the cyclic strength decreases and this effect is more pronounced as the specimens become denser, especially as the fines content increases and (ii) the cyclic strength decreases as the fines content increases and this effect is more pronounced as the specimens become denser.     

Cyclic liquefaction strength of sands

Through an energy approach, a model is proposed to predict the cyclic liquefaction strength of saturated sands in terms of their static shear strengths. Plots of cyclic liquefaction strength versus relative density and also versus modified standard penetration resistance are presented for various uniformity coefficients and different numbers of stress cycles. The predicted cyclic liquefaction strength values are converted to cyclic stress ratios and compare favourably with Seed's empirical correlations.     

基于累积耗损能量的饱和粉土液化特性试验研究

饱和粉土场地在强地震作用下易发生液化现象。开展饱和粉土的循环三轴试验,以循环加载的累积耗损能量为指标,探讨黏粒含量、密实度、有效围压和循环应力比等因素对粉土液化特性的影响,试验结果表明:粉土液化所需的耗损能量随黏粒含量的增加呈先减小后增大的趋势,当黏粒含量约为8%时粉土的液化耗损能量最低;液化耗损能量随粉土密实程度的增大而逐渐增加,并随初始有效围压的增长而增加,但粉土的液化耗损能量与循环应力比之间的关系不明显。     

Intergrain contact density indices for granular mixes——Ⅱ: Liquefaction resistance

Whether the presence of non-plastic silt in a granular mix soil impact its liquefaction potential and how to evaluate liquefaction resistance of sand containing different amounts of silt contents are both controversial issues. This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation to address these issues. Two parameters, namely, equivalent intergranular void ratio (ec)eq and equivalent interfine void ratio (ef)eq, proposed in a companion paper (Thevanayagam, 2007) as indices of active grain contacts in a granular mix, are used to characterize liquefaction resistance of sands and silty sands. Results indicate that, at the same global void ratio (e), liquefaction resistance of silty sand decreases with an increase in fines content (CF) up to a threshold value (CFth). This is due to a reduction in intergrain contact density between the coarse grains. Beyond CFth, with further addition of fines, the interfine contacts become significant while the inter-coarse grain contacts diminish and coarse grains become dispersed. At the same e, the liquefaction resistance increases and the soil becomes stronger with a further increase in silt content. Beyond a limiting fines content (CFL), the liquefaction resistance is controlled by interfine contacts only. When CFCFth, at the same (ef)eq, the cyclic strength of a sandy silt is comparable to the host silt at a void ratio equal to (ef)eq.