Liquefaction Resistance and Steady-State Characterization of Shallow Soils within the Christchurch Central Business District
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Volume 144, Issue 6
Abstract
Insights regarding the response of shallow foundation soils from building sites in the central business district (CBD) of Christchurch, New Zealand, that experienced liquefaction during the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence (CES) are provided through an examination of cyclic and monotonic triaxial test data. An emphasis is placed on understanding the liquefaction resistance and large-strain steady-state response of key soils so that case histories of buildings damaged because of soil liquefaction during the CES can be developed. Comparisons of cyclic resistances from cyclic triaxial (CTX) testing and a cone penetration test (CPT)–based triggering correlation showed good agreement. Cyclic testing showed that silty sands and clean sands responded similarly in cyclic loading. However, silts tended to have flatter cyclic resistance curves. Interpretation of large-strain monotonic triaxial testing of reconstituted soil specimens provides information on the steady-state lines of the sandy soils of the CBD. The insights garnered from this laboratory testing program are critical for characterizing the Christchurch soils, as only limited cyclic testing results are available.
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Acknowledgments
Research supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award No. CMMI-1332501 is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The authors also thank Christine Beyzaei of the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. Mark Stringer, Siale Faitotonu, and Nicole van de Weerd of the University of Canterbury for their assistance and advice during the sampling and testing phases of this research (they were supported by EQC and NHRP grants). The authors thank Dr. Josh Zupan for sharing data. Mr. Iain Haycock of McMillan Drilling Ltd. assisted during the sampling process. Dr. Sjoerd van Ballegooy and Mr. Mike Jacka of Tonkin & Taylor, Ltd., shared data and insights. Collaborative interactions with Prof. Thomas O’Rourke of Cornell University and Prof. Russell Green of Virginia Tech on several joint New Zealand–United States research projects have informed this study. ENGEO also assisted with performing some of the index testing presented in this paper.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 6 • June 2018
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 28, 2015
Accepted: Aug 3, 2017
Published online: Apr 11, 2018
Published in print: Jun 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Sep 11, 2018
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