Dynamic Response of Mercer Slough Peat
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 6
Abstract
The behavior of a peat from Mercer Slough in Bellevue, Wash., was investigated by a program of field and laboratory testing. The peat was very soft, very weak, and highly compressible. Water contents averaged approximately 600% and in situ shear wave velocities were measured at 12–30 m/s. Cyclic triaxial and resonant column testing indicated that the modulus reduction and damping behavior of Mercer Slough peat was significantly influenced by strain amplitude and effective confining pressure and was weakly influenced by loading frequency and overconsolidation ratio. Comparison of the behavior of Mercer Slough peat with other highly organic soils suggests a trend of increasing linearity and decreasing damping with increasing effective confining pressure. Site response analyses indicated strong response at low frequencies with spectral shapes that differ significantly from the standard shapes implied by current codes.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Andrejko, M. J., Fiene, F., and Cohen, A. D. ( 1983). “Comparison of ashing techniques for determination of the inorganic content of peats.” Testing of peats and organic soils, STP 820, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 5–20.
2.
Board of Inquiry. (1990). Competing against time, Rep. to Governor George Deukmejian, C. C. Thiel, Jr., ed., Governor's Board of Inquiry on the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, Office of Planning and Research, Calif.
3.
Boulanger, R. W., Arulnathan, R., Harder, L. F., Jr. Torres, R. A., and Driller, M. W. (1998). “Dynamic properties of Sherman Island peat.”J. Geotech. and Geoenvir. Engrg., ASCE, 124(1), 12–20.
4.
Duncan, J. M., and Seed, H. B. (1967). “Corrections for strength test data.”J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 93(5), 121–137.
5.
Idriss, I. M., and Seed, H. B. (1970). “Seismic response of soil deposits.”J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 96(2), 631–638.
6.
Kramer, S. L. (1991). “Behavior of piles in full-scale, field lateral loading tests.” Final Rep., Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, Wash.
7.
Kramer, S. L., Satari, R., and Kilian, A. P. (1990). “Evaluation of in situ strength of a peat deposit from laterally loaded pile test results.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1278, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 103–109.
8.
Kramer, S. L., Von Laun, F.-Y., and Sivaneswaran, N. (1992). “Strain-controlled, variable frequency cyclic loading system for soft soils.” Geotech. Testing J., 15(3), 264–270.
9.
Landva, A. (1986). “In-situ testing of peat.” Proc., ASCE Conf. on Use of In Situ Tests in Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, New York, 191–205.
10.
Landva, A., Korpijaakko, E. O., and Pheeney, P. E. ( 1983). “Geotechnical classification of peats and organic soils.” Testing of peat and organic soils, STP 820, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 37–54.
11.
Landva, A., and LaRochelle, P. ( 1983). “Compressibility and shear characteristics of Radforth peats.” Testing of peat organic soils, STP 820, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 141–156.
12.
Marachi, N. D., Dayton, D. J., and Dare, C. T. ( 1983). “Geotechnical properties of peat in San Joaquin delta.” Testing of peat and organic soils, STP 820, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 207–217.
13.
Newman, D. E. ( 1983). “A 13,500 year pollen record from Mercer Slough, King County, Washington.” MS thesis, University of Washington, Seattle.
14.
ProShake user's manual. (1998). EduPro Civil Systems, Inc., Redmond, Wash.
15.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1970a). “Analyses of ground motions at Union Bay, Seattle during earthquakes and distant nuclear blasts.” Bull. Seismological Soc. of Am., 60(1), 125–136.
16.
Seed, H. B., and Idriss, I. M. (1970b). “Soil moduli and damping factors for dynamic response analyses.” Rep. No. EERC70-10, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
17.
Shannon, and Wilson. ( 1967). “Thomson Way crossing of Union Bay, Seattle, Washington.” Found. Engrg. Rep. Tech. Supplement, November.
18.
Stokoe, K. H., II, Bay, J. A., Rosenblad, B. L., Huang, S.-K., and Twede, M. R. (1994). “In situ seismic and dynamic laboratory measurements of geotechnical materials at Queensboro Bridge and Roosevelt Island.” Geotech. Engrg. Rep. GR 94-5, Civ. Engrg. Dept., University of Texas at Austin, Tex.
19.
Tsai, N.-C. ( 1969). “Influence of local geology on earthquake ground motion.” Earthquake Engrg. Res. Lab., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126 • Issue 6 • June 2000
Pages: 504 - 510
History
Received: Apr 20, 1999
Published online: Jun 1, 2000
Published in print: Jun 2000
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.