Liquefaction Resistance of a Silty Sand Deposit Subjected to Preshaking Followed by Extensive Liquefaction
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 4
Abstract
The effect of extensive liquefaction on the liquefaction resistance of heavily preshaken saturated silty sand is studied using a centrifuge experiment. The base of a 6-m homogeneous deposit was subjected to a total of 91 shaking events of different horizontal base accelerations and durations. Three event types were used in alternating patterns: mild preshaking Events A, stronger preshaking Events B, and strong liquefying Events C. The experiment was divided in two stages. In Stage One, reported in a previous publication, 66 preshaking Events A and B, were applied. In Stage Two, which is the focus of this paper, 25 additional shakings were applied which included two Events C in addition to continuing the same pattern of Events A and B. Stage One resulted in a significant increase in liquefaction resistance of the deposit. In Stage Two, extensive liquefaction produced by Events C resulted in a dramatic immediate reduction in liquefaction resistance of the deposit to a level comparable to that before preshaking. These findings are consistent with other reported field observations and laboratory results.
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Acknowledgments
The authors want to thank the staff at RPI’s centrifuge Laboratory. The authors also want to thank Dr. Jamison Steidl from the University of California, Santa Barbara for helping in the design of Stage One of the experiment.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 4 • April 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 24, 2015
Accepted: Oct 5, 2015
Published online: Dec 31, 2015
Published in print: Apr 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 31, 2016
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