Liquefied Strength Ratio for Eight Laboratory-Tested Sandy Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
Use of a liquefied strength ratio to estimate strengths for postliquefaction slope stability analyses assumes that the liquefied shear strength of sandy soil can be normalized by the consolidation stress. This implies that the void ratio versus log consolidation stress and void ratio versus log liquefied strength relationships are parallel (or nearly parallel, for engineering purposes). Laboratory isotropically consolidated and monotonically loaded triaxial compression test data for eight normally consolidated sandy soils were used to show that this assumption may be reasonable in certain effective stress ranges—for example, greater than , for practical applications. The use of a strength ratio can facilitate postliquefaction stability and deformation analyses by representing the liquefied strength as a function of the preliquefaction effective vertical stress.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. These include the laboratory tests results.
Acknowledgments
The laboratory testing performed by Geotechnical Engineers, Inc., who performed the tests in 1982, was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Grant No. PFR-7924731. The first author also appreciates the financial support of the National Science Foundation (NSF Award CMMI-1562010). The contents and views in this paper are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation. This support is gratefully acknowledged. The findings and opinions in this paper are solely those of the authors. Endorsement of the results by the NSF is not implied and should not be assumed. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of Professor Gholamreza Mesri, who helped formulate parallel regression and presentation of the test results. The Associate Editor and Reviewer #3 who reviewed this paper do not believe the liquefied strength can be normalized and stated so in their review of the six revisions of this paper.
References
ASTM. 2017. Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system). ASTM D2487-17. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bjerrum, L. 1954. “Geotechnical properties of Norwegian marine clays.” Géotechnique 4 (2): 49–69. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1954.4.2.49.
Casagrande, A. 1940. “Characteristics of cohesionless soils affecting the stability of slopes and earth fills.” J. Boston Soc. Civ. Eng. 23 (1): 13–32.
Castro, G. 1969. “Liquefaction of sands.” Ph.D. thesis, Div. of Engineering and Applied Physics, Harvard Univ.
Castro, G. 1995. “Empirical methods in liquefaction evaluation.” In Vol. 1 of Proc., First Annual Leonardo Zeevaert International Conf., 1–41. Mexico City: National Polytechnic Institute.
Castro, G., T. O. Keller, and S. S. Boynton. 1989. Re-evaluation of the lower San Fernando Dam. Report 1: An investigation of the February 9, 1971 slide.. Vicksburg, MS: US Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station.
Castro, G., R. B. Seed, T. O. Keller, and H. B. Seed. 1992. “Steady-state strength analysis of lower San Fernando Dam slide.” J. Geotech. Eng. 118 (3): 406–427. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1992)118:3(406).
Cetin, K. O., R. B. Seed, A. Der Kiureghian, K. Tokimatsu, L. F. Harder, R. E. Kayen, and R. E. S. Moss. 2004. “Standard penetration test-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction potential.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 130 (12): 1314–1340. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2004)130:12(1314).
Enos, J. L., S. J. Poulos, J. W. France, and G. Castro. 1982. Liquefaction induced by cyclic loading. Winchester, MA: GEI Consultants.
Fear, C. E., and P. K. Robertson. 1995. “Estimating the undrained strength of sand: A theoretical framework.” Can. Geotech. J. 32 (5): 859–870. https://doi.org/10.1139/t95-082.
Hvorslev, M. J. 1937. Über die Festigkeitseigenschaften gestörter bindiger Böden. Copenhagen, Denmark: Danmarks Naturvidensk Samfund.
Idriss, I. M., and R. W. Boulanger. 2008. Soil liquefaction during earthquakes. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Jefferies, M. G., K. Been, and J. E. Hachey. 1990. “Influence of scale on the constitutive behavior of sand.” In Vol. 1 of Proc., Canadian Geotechnical Engineering Conf., 263–273. Québec: Laval Univ.
Konrad, J.-M., B. D. Watts, and R. A. Stewart. 1997. “Assigning the ultimate strength of foundation sand at Duncan Dam.” In Vol. 1 of Proc., 14th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanical and Foundations Engineering, 143–146. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema.
Kramer, S. L., and C.-H. Wang. 2015. “Empirical model for estimation of the residual strength of liquefied soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (9): 04015038. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001317.
Lade, P. V. 1992. “Static instability and liquefaction of lose fine sandy slopes.” J. Geotech. Eng. 118 (1): 51–71. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1992)118:1(51).
Li, X.-S., and Y. Wang. 1998. “Linear representation of steady-state line for sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 124 (12): 1215–1217. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1998)124:12(1215).
Marcuson, W. F., III, M. E. Hynes, and A. G. Franklin. 1990. “Evaluation and use of residual strength in seismic safety analysis of embankments.” Earthquake Spectra J. 6 (3): 529–572. https://doi.org/10.1193/1.1585586.
Mesri, G. 1975. “Discussion of ‘A new design procedure for stability of soft clays’.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 101 (GT4): 409–412.
Mesri, G., and B. Vardhanabhuti. 2009. “Compression of granular materials.” Can. Geotech. J. 46 (4): 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1139/T08-123.
Olson, S. M., and T. D. Stark. 2002. “Liquefied strength ratio from liquefaction flow failure case histories.” Can. Geotech. J. 39 (3): 629–647. https://doi.org/10.1139/t02-001.
Olson, S. M., and T. D. Stark. 2003a. “Use of laboratory data to confirm yield and liquefied strength ratio concepts.” Can. Geotech. J. 40 (6): 1164–1184. https://doi.org/10.1139/t03-058.
Olson, S. M., and T. D. Stark. 2003b. “Yield strength ratio and liquefaction analysis of slopes and embankments.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 129 (8): 727–737. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2003)129:8(727).
Park, S.-S., and P. M. Byrne. 2004. “Stress densification and its evaluation.” Can. Geotech. J. 41 (1): 181–186. https://doi.org/10.1139/t03-076.
Pillai, V. S., and F. M. Salgado. 1994. “Post-liquefaction stability and deformation analysis of Duncan Dam.” Can. Geotech. J. 31 (6): 967–978. https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-111.
Pillai, V. S., and R. A. Stewart. 1994. “Evaluation of liquefaction potential of foundation soils at Duncan Dam.” Can. Geotech. J. 31 (6): 951–966. https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-110.
Plewes, D. H., V. S. Pillai, M. R. Morgan, and B. L. Kilpatrick. 1994. “In situ sampling, density measurements, and testing of foundation soils at Duncan Dam.” Can. Geotech. J. 31 (6): 927–938. https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-108.
Poulos, S. J., G. Castro, and J. W. France. 1985. “Liquefaction evaluation procedure.” J. Geotech. Eng. 111 (6): 772–792. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1985)111:6(772).
Seed, H. B. 1987. “Design problems in soil liquefaction.” J. Geotech. Eng. 113 (8): 827–845. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1987)113:8(827).
Seed, R., and L. Harder. 1990. “SPT-based analysis of cyclic pore pressure generation and undrained residual strength.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., HB Seed Memorial Symp., edited by J. Duncan, 351–376. Vancouver, Canada: BiTech Publishers.
Skempton, A. W. 1986. “Standard penetration test procedures and the effects in sands of overburden pressure, relative density, particle size, ageing, and overconsolidation.” Géotechnique 36 (3): 425–447. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1986.36.3.425.
Stark, T. D., and G. Mesri. 1992. “Undrained shear strength of liquefied sands for stability analysis.” J. Geotech. Eng. 118 (11): 1727–1747. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1992)118:11(1727).
Terzaghi, K. 1925. Erdbaumechanik. Vienna: Austria: F. Deuticke.
Terzaghi, K., R. B. Peck, and G. Mesri. 1996. Soil mechanics in engineering practice. 3rd ed. 549. New York: Wiley.
Tokimatsu, K., and H. B. Seed. 1987. “Evaluation of settlements in sands due to earthquake shaking.” J. Geotech. Eng. 113 (8): 861–878. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1987)113:8(861).
Weber, J. P. 2015. “Engineering evaluation of post-liquefaction strength.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Berkeley.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 21, 2019
Accepted: Sep 15, 2020
Published online: Dec 3, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 3, 2021
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.