Effect of Soil Plasticity on Cyclic Response
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 117, Issue 1
Abstract
A study on the influence of the plasticity index (PI) on the cyclic stress‐strain parameters of saturated soils needed for site‐response evaluations and seismic microzonation is presented. Ready‐to‐use charts are included, showing the effect of PI on the location of the modulus reduction curve versus cyclic shear strain and on the material damping ratio λ versus curve. The charts are based on experimental data from 16 publications encompassing normally and overconsolidated clays as well as sands. It is shown that PI is the main factor controlling and λ for a wide variety of soils; if for a given PI increases, rises and λ is reduced. Similar evidence is presented showing the influence of PI on the rate of modulus degradation with the number of cycles in normally consolidated clays. It is concluded that soils with higher plasticity tend to have a more linear cyclic stress‐strain response at small strains and to degrade less at larger than soils with a lower PI. Possible reasons for this behavior are discussed. A parametric study is presented showing the influence of the plasticity index on the seismic response of clay sites excited by the accelerations recorded on rock in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 117 • Issue 1 • January 1991
Pages: 89 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 ASCE.
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Published online: Jan 1, 1991
Published in print: Jan 1991
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