Influence of colloidal silica grout on liquefaction potential and cyclic undrained behavior of loose sand

Cyclic triaxial tests were performed to investigate the influence of colloidal silica grout on the deformation properties of saturated loose sand. Distinctly different deformation properties were observed between grouted and ungrouted samples. Untreated samples developed very little axial strain prior to the onset of liquefaction. However, once liquefaction was triggered, large strains occurred rapidly and the samples collapsed within a few additional loading cycles. In contrast, grouted sand samples experienced very little strain during cyclic loading. Additionally, the strain accumulated uniformly throughout loading rather than rapidly prior to collapse and the samples never collapsed. Cyclic triaxial tests were done on samples stabilized with colloidal silica at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, and 20%. In general, samples stabilized with higher concentrations of colloidal silica experienced very little strain during cyclic loading. Sands stabilized with lower concentrations tolerated cyclic loading well, but experienced slightly more strain. Thus, treatment with colloidal silica grout significantly increased the deformation resistance of loose sand to cyclic loading.     

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.     

循环荷载下液化对土层水平往返变形的影响

采用多工况振动台实验研究液化对土层水平往返变形的影响.以干砂实验为参照,分析孔压增长与土层加速度和土层往返变形之间的关系.结果表明:液化将引起土表加速度显著降低,减小惯性力传递,但同时会引起土层往返剪应变明显增大.对往返变形而言,液化土层往返剪应变就可达到1%～5%的大变形状态,且液化土层往返剪应变沿深度呈下大上小分布.土层中孔压比0.4～0.8是往返变形出现放大的敏感段,在孔压比0.8左右而不是在1.0达到最大.作为其结果,土层液化将对刚性上部结构振动起减震作用,但同时增大的往返剪应变也易导致基础和地下结构破坏,特别是对液化层与下部非液化层交界处的构件更敏感.     

Correlation of cyclic preloading with the liquefaction resistance

The compactivity of sand due to cyclic loading with a high number (N>10³) of small cycles (ε^ampl≤10⁻³) cannot be described by void ratio and stress alone. It depends strongly on the soil fabric usually described as ‘cyclic preloading’. The cyclic preloading cannot be measured directly in situ but correlates well with the liquefaction resistance. This paper demonstrates this correlation on the basis of laboratory tests. Practical applications can be derived from this work.     

Undrained behaviour of two silica sands and practical implications for modelling SSI in liquefiable soils

The aim of the present study is twofold. Firstly, the paper investigates the undrained cyclic and post-cyclic behaviour of two silica sands by means of multi-stage cyclic triaxial tests. Secondly, based on the post-cyclic response observed in the element test, the authors formulate a simplified stress–strain relationship that can be conveniently used for the construction of p–y curves for liquefiable soils. The multi-stage loading condition consists of an initial cyclic loading applied to cause liquefaction, followed by undrained monotonic loading that aimed to investigate the post-cyclic response of the liquefied sample. It was found that due to the tendency of the liquefied soil to dilate upon undrained shearing, the post-liquefaction strain–stress response was characterised by a distinct strain–hardening behaviour. The latter is idealized by means of a bi-linear stress–strain model, which can be conveniently formulated in terms of three parameters, i.e.: (i) take-off shear strain, γ_to, i.e. shear strain required to mobilize 1 kPa of shear strength; (b) initial secant shear modulus, G₁, defined as 1/γ_to; (c) post-liquefied shear modulus at large strain, G₂ (γ⪢γ_to). Based on the experimental results, it is concluded that these parameters are strongly influenced by the initial relative density of the sample, whereby γ_to decreases with increasing relative density. Differently both shear moduli (G₁ and G₂) increases with increasing relative density. Lastly, the construction of new p–y curves for liquefiable soils based on the idealized bi-linear model is described.     

Cyclic response of saturated silts

Softening and strength loss of sands with increasing excess pore water pressure under repeated loads is well-known. However, extensive damage to the built environment also occurs at the sites underlain by fine grained soils during seismic shaking. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting cyclic behavior of saturated low-plastic silt through laboratory testing. For this purpose, an extensive laboratory testing program including conventional monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests was carried out over reconstituted silt samples. The effects of the inherent soil properties and the effects of loading characteristics on the cyclic response of saturated low-plastic reconstituted silt samples were examined separately. Based on the test results, a model was introduced to estimate the effect of initial shear stress on the cyclic response. Besides, liquefaction susceptibility of the samples was examined via current liquefaction susceptibility criteria.     

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.     

Liquefaction potential and strain dependent dynamic properties of Kasai River sand

The availability of efficient numerical techniques and high speed computation facilities for carrying out the nonlinear dynamic analysis of soil-structure interaction problems and the analysis of ground response due to earthquake loading increase the demand for proper estimation of dynamic properties of soil at small strain as well as at large strain levels. Accurate evaluation of strain dependent dynamic properties of soil such as shear modulus and damping characteristics along with the liquefaction potential are the most important criteria for the assessments of geotechnical problems involving dynamic loading. In this paper the results of resonant column tests and undrained cyclic triaxial tests are presented for Kasai River sand. A new correlation for dynamic shear damping (D_s) and maximum dynamic shear modulus (G_max) are proposed for the sand at small strain. The proposed relationships and the observed experimental data match quite well. The proposed relationships are also compared with the published relationships for other sands. The liquefaction potential of the sand is estimated at different relative densities and the damping characteristics at large strain level is also reported. An attempt has been made to correlate the G_max with the cyclic strength of the soil and also with the deviator stress (at 1% strain) from static triaxial tests.     

Requirements for soil-specific correlation between shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance of sands

The application of the simplified method for evaluating the liquefaction potential based on shear wave velocity measurements has increased substantially due to its advantages, especially for microzonation of liquefaction potential. In the simplified method, a curve is proposed to correlate the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) with overburden stress-corrected shear wave velocity (V_s1). However, the uniqueness of this curve for all types of soils is questionable. The objective of this research is to study whether the correlation between CRR and V_s1 is unique or not. Besides, the necessity of developing the soil-specific correlations is also investigated. Based on laboratory test data, a new semi-empirical method is proposed to establish the soil-specific CRR–V_s1 correlation. To validate the proposed method, a number of undrained cyclic triaxial tests along with bender element tests were performed on two types of sands. Similar experimental data for six other types of sands reported in the literature was also compiled. Applying the proposed method, soil-specific CRR–V_s1 correlation curves were developed for these eight types of sands. It is shown that the correlation is not unique for different types of sands and the boundary curve proposed in the available simplified method can only be used as an initial estimation of liquefaction resistance. Finally, using the results of this study as well as previous ones, a chart is suggested to be used in engineering practice showing the conditions for which a detailed soil-specific CRR–V_s1 correlation study needs to be performed.     

Soil behaviour under dynamic loading conditions: experimental procedures and statistical trends

Soil behaviour under dynamic conditions is a crucial component of several studies concerned with the environmental effects of earthquakes, risk assessment and geological hazards. This work presents experimental procedures for studying soil behaviour under repeated loading and examines the role of uncertain parameters in the expected soil performance. Laboratory techniques are used to obtain stress controlled cyclic triaxial soil measurements, and a series of test programs are performed in order to study general statistical trends in the response of soils under simulated earthquake conditions, to investigate the processes causing soil failure, and to examine factors that may influence the results obtained in the laboratory.This work has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Grant no. P42-ES05948 and P30-ES10126) and the Army Research Office (DAAG55-98-1-0289).     

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.     

On the influence of the polarization and the shape of the strain loop on strain accumulation in sand under high-cyclic loading

This paper presents results of cyclic triaxial (CT) tests on sand with a simultaneous variation of the axial and the lateral stresses. Furthermore, a cyclic multidimensional simple shear (CMDSS) device and corresponding test results are discussed. For in-phase cycles with a constant strain amplitude it is demonstrated that the accumulation rate is independent of the polarization of the cycles in the strain space. Polarization changes lead to a temporary increase of the accumulation rate: they increase the effectiveness of compaction. For out-of-phase (e.g. elliptical) cycles the shape of the strain loop significantly influences the residual strain. A circular strain loop generates twice larger accumulation rates than a one-dimensional strain loop with identical span. The accumulation rate is not influenced by the circulation of the strain loop. It is shown that the direction of accumulation (so-called “cyclic flow rule”) is only moderately affected by the polarization and the shape of the cycles.     

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.     

Characteristics of phosphate adsorption onto granulated coal ash in seawater

The deterioration of sediments is a serious environmental problem. Controlling nutrient release fluxes from sediments is important to alleviating eutrophication and to reducing terrigenous nutrient loads. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the phosphate removal performance of granulated coal ash (GCA) from seawater, which is produced from coal thermal electric power generation. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the removal kinetics of phosphate from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. Phosphate was removed well from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The adsorption isotherm for phosphate revealed that GCA could remove phosphate effectively from seawater above a concentration of 1.7 μmol L⁻¹. GCA can reduce the concentration of phosphate in seawater effectively under anoxic conditions where iron type adsorbents cannot be applied. Therefore, GCA could potentially be used to adsorb phosphate in the organically-enriched sediment, which generally occurs under highly reductive conditions.     

Particle breakage of artificially crushable materials subject to drained cyclic triaxial loading

Upon cyclic loading, particle breakage of constituent granular materials occurs when the resulting local stresses exceed their strength, which has a significant influence on the deformation of the embankment, foundation and pavement structures. In this study, the artificially crushable materials were tested to investigate the particle breakage properties of these structures when subjected to drained cyclic triaxial loading. Twelve sets of samples were tested at the confining pressures of 100, 125, 150 and 175 kPa and a frequency of 1.0 Hz using a GCTS triaxial system. The cyclic test results indicate that at the same confining pressure, the residual volumetric strain increases with decreasing maximal deviatoric stress q_max at a given ratio of the number of cycles (N) to the number of cycles of failure (N_f). The cumulative crushing ratio R_cc decreases with increasing q_max, leading to a reduction in N_f. The internal frictional angle decreases with increasing R_cc, and R_cc increases with increasing N_f. Furthermore, the confining pressure, maximal cyclic deviatoric stress and N have significant influences on the degree of particle breakage, which leads to volumetric contraction during the cyclic loading process. Finally, the resilient modulus at failure increases linearly with increasing R_cc.     

In-plane shear behaviour of unreinforced and jacketed brick masonry walls

This paper deals with the results of cyclic load tests on masonry walls performed for the purpose of evaluation of in-plane shear behaviour and identification of shear strength, stiffness and energy dissipation. Eight walls in two series were assembled in laboratory conditions. The first series consisted of four unreinforced masonry walls constructed from solid clay bricks and lime mortar. The walls from the second series were strengthened by application of RC jackets on both sides. These were constructed of the same material and were characterized by the same geometry properties and vertical load levels as those of the walls from the first series. The main goal of the tests was to compare the behaviour of the unreinforced and strengthened walls under cyclic horizontal load. The results from the tests showed that the application of the strengthening method contributed to a significant improvement of the shear resistance of the jacketed walls. Analytical models were used to predict the shear resistance of the walls. Good agreement with the experimental results was obtained with a model based on tensile strength of masonry.     

粉煤灰污染影响萼花臂尾轮虫(Brachionus calyciflorus)种复合体空间分布的原因

为探讨粉煤灰污染影响萼花臂尾轮虫(Brachionus calyciflorus)种复合体在灰湖、汀棠湖和凤鸣湖分布的生态学机制,本文研究了曝气自来水(对照)、20％、40％、60％、80％和100％的澄清灰湖水对采自三湖泊中的轮虫姐妹种Ⅰ和汀棠湖中的轮虫姐妹种Ⅱ的种群增长率、混交雌体数/非混交雌体数、携卵雌体数/不携卵雌体数和休眠卵产量的影响.结果显示,无论实验用水中的澄清灰湖水含量如何,来自三湖泊的轮虫姐妹种Ⅰ均具有较高的种群增长率(0.52～0.85 d-1)和休眠卵产量(1.60～12.11ind./(4d·5ml)),这为轮虫的扩散、种群的建立和种群间的基因交流提供了可能.汀棠湖轮虫姐妹种Ⅱ种群中的混交雌体数/非混交雌体数和休眠卵产量均极低,对照组中的混交雌体数/非混交雌体数和休眠卵产量均为0,这是存在于汀棠湖和凤鸣湖中的轮虫姐妹种Ⅱ无法通过扩散而出现在灰湖中的主要原因.澄清灰湖水的含量仅对汀棠湖中两轮虫姐妹种的种群增长率具有显著的影响.各浓度的澄清灰湖水使轮虫姐妹种Ⅰ的种群增长率显著高于对照组,60％、80％和100％的澄清灰湖水使轮虫姐妹种Ⅱ的种群增长率显著高于对照组,这表明粉煤灰污染导致已报道的相关水体中轮虫种群密度的下降并非由于其中所含的污染物(较高浓度的碱性氧化物、硫化物和金属元素等)和水体pH值的改变等对轮虫的直接毒性作用.     

Seismic response of adjacent dense and loose saturated sand columns

Compaction or densification of loose saturated soils has been the most popular method of reducing earthquake related liquefaction potential. Such compaction of a foundation soil is only economical when limited in extent, leading to a case of an ‘island’ of improved ground (surrounded by unimproved ground). The behavior of the densified sand surrounded by liquefied loose sand during and following earthquakes is of great importance in order to design the compacted area rationally and optimize both safety and economy. This problem is studied herein by means of dynamic centrifuge model tests. The results of three heavily-instrumented dynamic centrifuge tests on saturated models of side-by-side loose and dense sand profiles are discussed. The test results suggest the following concerns as relates to ‘islands’ of densified soil: (1) there is a potential strength degradation in the densified zone as a result of pore pressure increase due to migration of pore fluid into the island from the adjacent loose liquefied ground; (2) there is a potential for lateral deformation (sliding) within the densified island as the surrounding loose soil liquefies.     

单、双向动三轴试验条件下饱和砂动力特性对比

在饱和砂土地震液化评估中,多用单向动三轴试验代替双向动三轴试验获得土体的抗液化强度。由于单向激振和双向激振产生的应力路径不同,土的动力特性受应力路径影响,其合理性尚待证明。本文利用双向振动三轴仪分别采用单、双向振动形式进行饱和砂土振动液化试验,对比了相同动剪应力作用下累积孔压和动强度,分析了较大循环振次作用下单、双向振动方式使试样动力响应产生差异的原因,提出了利用单向三轴试验代替双向振动模拟地震循环剪应力获得砂土动力特性的室内试验方法的适用条件。     

桩基系统在地基液化和土体流动过程中的三维响应

松散的饱和砂土在液化之前可作为固体看待,但当过量的孔隙水压达到初始侧应力时它成为液体,之后又恢复其强度。这个过程不能各自单独处理,而应视为一个从固态到液态,或从液态到固态的连续变化过程。因此,整个伴随着地基液化———土体流动现象全过程应作为一个在固态和液态之间相变的系列过程。本文导出了一个简单的基本方程式,可以表达松散饱和砂土在液化和地基侧向滑移现象期间的固-液相转换。该基本方程式可用作桩基系统的动力分析,其适用性通过与弹塑性基本方程的比较得到验证。