Correlation between Cyclic Resistance and Shear-Wave Velocity for Providence Silts
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 1
Abstract
As an alternative to a field-based liquefaction resistance approach, cyclic triaxial tests with bender elements were used to develop a new correlation between cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) and overburden stress-corrected shear-wave velocity for two nonplastic silts obtained from Providence, Rhode Island. Samples of natural nonplastic silt were recovered by block sampling and from geotechnical borings/split-spoon sampling. The data show that the correlation is independent of the soils’ stress history as well as the method used to prepare the silt for cyclic testing. The laboratory results indicate that using the existing field-based correlations will significantly overestimate the cyclic resistance of the Providence silts. The strong dependency of the curves on soil type also suggests the necessity of developing silt-specific liquefaction resistance curves from laboratory cyclic tests performed on reconstituted samples.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded jointly by grants from the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center (URITC) and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). Special thanks to Mike Sherrill of RIDOT, Justin Monahan of GZA Geoenvironmental, Inc., and Charlie Martino of Pezzuco Construction, Inc. for help in obtaining the soils used in this study. The writers would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful criticisms of the manuscript and suggestions.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 1 • January 2008
Pages: 37 - 46
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 12, 2006
Accepted: Feb 6, 2007
Published online: Jan 1, 2008
Published in print: Jan 2008
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