Influence of Drainage Conditions during Cone Penetration on the Estimation of Engineering Properties and Liquefaction Potential of Silty and Sandy Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 11
Abstract
This paper examines the use of variable penetration rate cone testing to investigate the influence of drainage conditions on the estimation of engineering properties and liquefaction potential for natural deposits of sands with fines and silty soils. A detailed cone penetration test (CPT) investigation was performed at four historic liquefaction sites that are partially drained during standard cone penetration and contain liquefied sands with fines and sandy silts. Cone drainage conditions and their effect on cone measurements are evaluated at penetration rates ranging from 0.002 to , and a systematic method for evaluating the relative contributions of rate effects is presented. The influence of penetration rate and drainage conditions on estimates of engineering properties and liquefaction potential is examined. Results demonstrate that partially drained conditions can have a significant influence on estimates of friction angle, relative density, and state parameter. The effects of partial drainage provide insight into the empirical fines content adjustment factors used in liquefaction triggering analysis, indicating that partial drainage effects likely contribute to some, but not all, of the shift that occurs in triggering curves with increasing fines content.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Drs. John Tinsley, Mike Bennett, and Tom Holzer for their help in identifying sites for this study and for sharing their vast experience in geotechnical earthquake reconnaissance. Thanks to Professor Ross Boulanger and Dr. Daniel Wilson for helpful discussions and reviews of the early stages of this manuscript. This work would not be possible without the willingness of the landowners and agency representatives to allow testing on their land nor without the generosity of NEES@UCLA in sharing equipment used in this study. Funding by the U.S. Geological Survey under grant #G12AP20013 and from the National Science Foundation under grant #1436617 is acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 11 • November 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 13, 2015
Accepted: Mar 22, 2016
Published online: Jun 17, 2016
Published in print: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 17, 2016
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