Effect of Overburden Stress and Plasticity on the Cyclic Resistance of Silts
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 12
Abstract
The effect of vertical effective consolidation stress, , on the cyclic resistance of nonplastic to plastic normally consolidated (NC) and overconsolidated (OC) intact and NC reconstituted silt was investigated using a series of constant-volume, stress-controlled cyclic direct simple shear (CDSS) tests. The results were interpreted considering the changes of specimen properties [e.g., void ratio, , and overconsolidation ratio (OCR)] associated with the increased . Despite increasing density, all specimens exhibited a reduction in cyclic resistance as increased. The reduction in cyclic resistance for intact specimens occurred due to the detrimental effect of yielding of the natural soil fabric, reduction in OCR, and the potential suppression of dilative tendencies, which outweighed the beneficial effect of reduced . Tests of uniformly prepared reconstituted NC specimens reduced the number of factors contributing to the reduction of cyclic resistance (i.e., destruction of natural soil fabric, and reduction of OCR) with increased , and were used to confirm the sensitivity of cyclic resistance to , in which the detrimental effect of suppressed dilative tendencies on cyclic resistance dominated the beneficial effect of reduced . The overburden correction factor, , was observed to decrease with increased plasticity index, PI, highlighting the role of compressibility on cyclic resistance.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available in a repository online in accordance with funder data retention policies. Specifically, the data described herein are available for public access in the Next Generation Liquefaction Database (https://nextgenerationliquefaction.org/about/index.html).
Acknowledgments
The authors were financially supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CMMI 1663654, the Cascadia Lifeline Program, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) through Award 1175-NCTRSA during course of this study. The findings in this study represent the conclusions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsors.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 12 • December 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 18, 2022
Accepted: Aug 2, 2023
Published online: Sep 27, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 27, 2024
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Cited by
- Ali Dadashiserej, Amalesh Jana, Armin W. Stuedlein, T. Matthew Evans, Cyclic Resistance Models for Transitional Silts with Application to Subduction Zone Earthquakes, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-11671, 150, 2, (2024).