Effects of Nonplastic Fines on the Liquefaction Resistance of Sands
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 127, Issue 5
Abstract
A laboratory parametric study utilizing cyclic triaxial tests was performed to clarify the effects of nonplastic fines on the liquefaction susceptibility of sands. Studies previously published in the literature have reported what appear to be conflicting results as to the effects of silt content on the liquefaction susceptibility of sandy soils. The current study has shown that if the soil structure is composed of silt particles contained within a sand matrix, the resistance to liquefaction of the soil is controlled by the relative density of the soil and is independent of the silt content of the soil. For soils whose structure is composed of sand particles suspended within a silt matrix, the resistance to liquefaction is again controlled by the relative density of the soil, but is lower than for soils with sand-dominated matrices at similar relative densities. In this case, the resistance to liquefaction is essentially independent of the amount and type of sand. These findings suggest the need for further evaluation of the effects of nonplastic fines content upon penetration resistance, and the manner in which this relationship affects the simplified methods currently used in engineering practice to evaluate the liquefaction resistance of silty soils.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Amini, F., and Qi, G. Z. (2000). “Liquefaction testing of stratified silty sands.”J. Geotech. and Geoenvir. Engrg., ASCE, 126(3), 208–217.
2.
Casagrande, A. ( 1975). “Liquefaction and cyclic mobility of sands. A critical review.” Proc., 5th Pan American Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg., Vol. 5, 80–133.
3.
Chan, C. K. ( 1985). “Instruction manual, CKC E/P cyclic loading triaxial system user's manual.” Soil Engineering Equipment Company, San Francisco.
4.
Chang, N. Y., Yeh, S. T., and Kaufman, L. P. ( 1982). “Liquefaction potential of clean and silty sands.” Proc., 3rd Int. Earthquake Microzonation Conf., Vol. 2, 1017–1032.
5.
Dezfulian, H. ( 1982). “Effects of silt content on dynamic properties of sandy soils.” Proc., 8th World Conf. on Earthquake Engrg., 63–70.
6.
Dobry, R., and Alvarez, L. (1967). “Seismic failures of Chilean tailings dams.”J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 93(6), 237–260.
7.
Finn, W. D. L., Ledbetter, R. H., and Wu, G. ( 1994). “Liquefaction in silty soils: Design and analysis.” Ground failures under seismic conditions, Geotech. Spec. Publ. No. 44, ASCE, New York, 51–76.
8.
Garga, V. K., and McKay, L. D. (1984). “Cyclic triaxial strength of mines tailings.”J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 110(8), 1091–1105.
9.
Koester, J. P. ( 1994). “The influence of fine type and content on cyclic resistance.” Ground failures under seismic conditions, Geotech. Spec. Publ. No. 44, ASCE, New York, 17–33.
10.
Kuerbis, R., Negussey, D., and Vaid, V. P. ( 1988). “Effect of gradation and fines content on the undrained response of sand.” Proc., Hydr. Fill Struct., 330–345.
11.
Ladd, R. S. (1974). “Specimen preparation and liquefaction of sands.”J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 100(10), 1180–1184.
12.
Ladd, R. S. ( 1978). “Preparing test specimens using undercompaction.” Geotech. Testing J., 1(1), 16–23.
13.
Lade and Yamamuro. ( 1997). “Effects of nonplastic fines on static liquefaction sands.” Can. Geotech. J., Ottawa, 34, 918–928.
14.
Law, K. T., and Ling, Y. H. ( 1992). “Liquefaction of granular soils with noncohesive and cohesive fines.” Proc., 10th World Conf. on Earthquake Engrg., 1491–1496.
15.
Lee, K. L., and Fitton, J. A. ( 1968). “Factors affecting the cyclic loading strength of soil.” Vibration effects of earthquakes on soils and foundations, STP 450, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 71–95.
16.
Lee, K. L., and Seed, H. B. (1967). “Cyclic stress conditions causing liquefaction of sand.”J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 93(1), 47–70.
17.
Mogami, T., and Kubo, K. ( 1953). “The behaviour of soil during vibration.” Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg., Vol. 1, 152–153.
18.
Mulilis, J. P., Arulanandan, K., Mitchell, J. K., Chan, C., and Seed, H. B. (1977). “Effect of sample preparation on sand liquefaction.”J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 103(2), 91–108.
19.
National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER). ( 1997). “Proceedings of the NCEER workshop on evaluation of liquefaction resistance of soils.” Tech. Rep. NCEER-97-0022, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1–41.
20.
Okusa, S., Anma, S., and Maikuma, H. ( 1980). “Liquefaction of mine tailings in the 1978 Izu-Oshima-Kinkai earthquake, central Japan.” Proc., 7th World Conf. on Earthquake Engrg., Vol. 3, 89–96.
21.
Polito, C. P. ( 1999). “The effects of nonplastic and plastic fines on the liquefaction of sandy soils.” PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. (This document may be accessed at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-122299-125729.)
22.
Robertson, P. K., and Wride, C. E. ( 1997). “Cyclic liquefaction and its evaluation based on the SPT and CPT.” Proc., NCEER Workshop on Evaluation of Liquefaction Resistance of Soils, Tech. Rep. NCEER-97-0022, State University of New York at Buffalo, 41–87.
23.
Seed, H. B., Idriss, I. M., and Arango, I. (1983). “Evaluation of liquefaction potential using field performance data.”J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 109(3), 458–482.
24.
Seed, H. B., and Lee, K. L. (1966). “Liquefaction of saturated sands during cyclic loading.”J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 92(6), 105–134.
25.
Shen, C. K., Vrymoed, J. L., and Uyeno, C. K. ( 1977). “The effects of fines on liquefaction of sands.” Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg., Vol. 2, 381–385.
26.
Silver, M., et al. (1976). “Cyclic triaxial strength of standard test sand.”J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 102(5), 511–523.
27.
Silver, M. L. ( 1977). “Laboratory triaxial testing procedures to determine the cyclic strength of soils.” NUREG-0031, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va.
28.
Troncoso, J. H., and Verdugo, R. ( 1985). “Silt content and dynamic behavior of tailing sands.” Proc., 12th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. and Found. Engrg., 1311–1314.
29.
Vaid, V. P. ( 1994). “Liquefaction of silty soils.” Ground failures under seismic conditions, Geotech. Spec. Publ. No. 44, ASCE, New York, 1–16.
30.
Vaid, V. P., Sivathayalan, S., and Stedman, D. ( 1999). “Influence of specimen-reconstituting method on the undrained response of sands.” Geotech. Testing J., 22(3), 187–195.
31.
Yamamuro, J. A., and Lade, P. V. ( 1997). “Static liquefaction of very loose sands.” Can. Geotech. J., Ottawa, 34, 905–917.
32.
Youd, T. L., and Bennett, M. J. (1983). “Liquefaction sites, Imperial Valley, California.”J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 109(3), 440–457.
33.
Zlatovic, S., and Ishihara, K. ( 1997). “Normalized behavior of very loose nonplastic soil: Effects of fabric.” Soils and Found., Tokyo, 37(4), 47–56.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Received: Apr 30, 1999
Published online: May 1, 2001
Published in print: May 2001
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.