A model for presentation of seismic pore water pressures

A model for presentation of pore water pressures induced in sand samples during cyclic undrained testing is described. The proposed model belongs to a class of so-called ‘damage parameter models’, which correlate the pore pressure rise with a parameter based on an accumulated variable during testing. The concept of threshold strain is also incorporated in the model. The model has been verified on several series of published cyclic test data. Its parameters lie in a narrow band for a wide range of sand properties. The empirical functions that represent the common shape of individual curves for interpreted pore pressure data are also suggested. The proposed procedure has been adapted for presentation of other cyclic soil tests, and examples of interpretation of cyclic stress-controlled as well as cyclic drained tests are included.