Accounting for Soil Aging When Assessing Liquefaction Potential
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 3
Abstract
It has been recognized that liquefaction resistance of sand increases with age due to processes such as cementation at particle contacts and increasing frictional resistance resulting from particle rearrangement and interlocking. As such, the currently available empirical correlations derived from liquefaction of young Holocene sand deposits, and used to determine liquefaction resistance of sand deposits from in situ soil indices [standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration test (CPT), shear wave velocity test ], are not applicable for old sand deposits. To overcome this limitation, a methodology was developed to account for the effect of aging on the liquefaction resistance of old sand deposits. The methodology is based upon the currently existing empirical boundary curves for Holocene age soils and utilizes correction factors presented in the literature that comprise the effect of aging on the in situ soil indices as well as on the field cyclic strength (CRR). This paper describes how to combine currently recorded SPT, CPT, and values with corresponding CRR values derived for aged soil deposits to generate new empirical boundary curves for aged soils. The method is illustrated using existing geotechnical data from four sites in the South Carolina Coastal Plain (SCCP) where sand boils associated with prehistoric earthquakes have been found. These sites involve sand deposits that are in age. This work shows that accounting for aging of soils in the SCCP yields less conservative results regarding the current liquefaction potential than when age is not considered. The modified boundary curves indicate that old sand deposits are more resistant to liquefaction than indicated by the existing empirical curves and can be used to evaluate the liquefaction potential at a specific site directly from the current in situ properties of the soil.
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Acknowledgments
The writers wish to thank Bechtel Savannah River Company for providing the CPT and shear wave velocity data. The SPT data were collected with funding provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Deep appreciation is extended by the first writer to her former employer Panagiotis Vettas of OTM, Inc., Greece, for his support during the course of this study.
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© 2006 ASCE.
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Received: Jan 26, 2004
Accepted: May 6, 2005
Published online: Mar 1, 2006
Published in print: Mar 2006
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