Compressibility Characteristics of Low-Plasticity Silt before and after Liquefaction
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 6
Abstract
Low-plasticity silt is known to have a potential to liquefy during earthquakes. The compressibility characteristics could change before and after a dynamic event that produces liquefaction. This research investigates the liquefaction resistance and postliquefaction reconsolidation characteristics of Mississippi River Valley (MRV) silt using laboratory cyclic triaxial compression testing. The MRV silt experienced initial liquefaction under cyclic loading, and the results are presented as cyclic stress ratio versus loading cycle curve. After cyclic loading, the liquefied specimens were reconsolidated. Permeability did not change significantly as a result of liquefaction. The reconsolidation curves are more parallel to the compression line than the recompression line in space, suggesting reconsolidation behaved more like preliquefaction compression. The postliquefaction compression and recompression indexes show less compressibility when compared with preliquefaction conditions. These characteristics of MRV silt suggest that reconsolidation after liquefaction should be a consideration during design of civil infrastructure.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51208516) and Postdoctoral Foundation Program of Central South University are appreciated. Additionally, the authors are grateful to the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology for the excellent facilities for this research.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 6 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 6, 2013
Accepted: Oct 8, 2013
Published online: Oct 10, 2013
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 19, 2014
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