Liquefaction Resistance of a Pleistocene-Age Deposit at the Sampit Site in South Carolina
Publication: Geo-Extreme 2021
ABSTRACT
The susceptibility to liquefaction of aged soils is an ongoing concern due to the recurrence of earthquakes in the South Carolina Coastal Plain (SCCP), which includes the Charleston, South Carolina, seismic zone. This paper presents the results from a laboratory study to assess the age-related liquefaction resistance of soils from the Sampit site located within the SCCP where evidence of prehistoric and historic liquefaction has been observed. The potentially liquefiable soil studied herein has a geologic age of about 450,000 years and a possible geotechnical age of about 520 years. Stress-controlled cyclic triaxial tests were performed on high-quality specimens obtained from fixed piston tube samples and specimens reconstituted using water pluviation. The reconstituted specimens maintained a 60% lower cyclic stress ratio than the cyclic stress ratio of the original specimens at initial liquefaction.
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Published online: Nov 4, 2021
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