The undrained cyclic triaxial test is widely used to evaluate the seismically induced liquefaction potential of saturated cohesionless soil. Concern that internal‐void‐ratio changes (redistribution) due to testing characteristics may render the test inappropriate for dynamic analysis is prompting research to investigate such changes. This research requires specimens with a higher degree of density uniformity than previously demonstrated. Control specimens are tested in the triaxial chamber, frozen under back pressure and confining pressure with the top drainage line open, and then dissected into 96 elements in a cold room. The density of each segment and, consequently, the density distribution of the specimen are determined from the ice content. Homogeneity, i.e., relative density uniformity, is quantified in terms of the standard deviation of all elements about the average relative density determined for the 96 elements. Relative density dispersion with an increase in strain level is shown at three densities, approximately 40, 60, and 70% relative density. Density redistribution as a result of cyclic and monotonic loading is demonstrated and quantified in test specimens of Banding sand, which is a specific gradation of Ottawa sand. It is shown that density redistribution begins at pore‐pressure responses less than 100%, but does not become significant until nearly 100% porepressure response and/or peak‐to‐peak strain levels greater than 5% are reached.

The results of an alternative procedure to the $p‐y$ method for the elastoplastic analysis of laterally loaded piles are presented. This analysis is based on the boundary‐element method and assumes knowledge of the shear‐strength profile of the soil. In this paper, the shear strength is assumed to increase linearly with depth, a reasonable assumption for soft clays. The influence of soil yielding on the loading response of laterally loaded single piles is explicated by the results of a comprehensive parametric study. These results are cast in a form that is particularly suitable for design purposes. The validity of the analysis is demonstrated through comparisons with data obtained from a published case history. The ease with which the method can be applied to practice is illustrated by an example.

A series of oedometer tests are used to provide data for a quantitative prediction of soil collapse. A full scale field test is conducted to provide a benchmark for comparison with laboratory test results and predictions. It is then found that the amount of field collapse can be accurately predicted using the procedure prescribed herein, provided that the extent of wetting is known.

Application of the stochastic finite element method to a probabilistic characterization of the system based on a random field model appears to be a promising method of analyzing the reliability of structural and geotechnical complex systems. Following this method, it is possible to model a structure by a limited number of accessible stochastic data and subsequently to compute the characteristics of the displacement and stress random fields in the structure by use of the first‐order second‐moment approximation to the stochastic finite element equations. This paper presents an application of the methodology for a soil profile with a random distribution of the elastic modulus. A parametric study is carried out in order to evaluate the significance of stochastic modelling of such a random system by use of the adopted methodology.

The results of triaxial or simple shear tests may be used to estimate the in situ overconsolidation ratio of clays using a SHANSEP database. A compilation of OCRs and normalized strengths from 116 different clays is presented to discern separate trends for isotropic and anisotropic triaxial compression, extension, and direct simple shear conditions. The method may be used to provide an independent estimate of OCR in clays or supplement the results of consolidation testing. It is observed that natural clays and artificially prepared clays exhibit distinctly different relationships. An example application involving a sensitive sandy clay deposit is used to illustrate the procedure.

The endochronic constitutive equations developed previously by the writers for the description of sand behavior in true triaxial tests are applied to predict the behavior of Ottawa sand with a circular stress path in the deviatoric stress plane. Predictions by other investigators on the set of data obtained from this stress path are generally poor, and do not even show a qualitative agreement between theories and experiment. It is shown here that the endochronic constitutive equations do lead to reasonable results for this stress path.

The piezo‐lateral stress (PLS) cell is an in situ testing device that is capable of providing simultaneous measurements of the total horizontal stress, the pore pressure, and the shear stress acting on cylindrical pile shafts during the various stages in the life of a pile. PLS cell measurements obtained during penetration and subsequent soil consolidation in two clay deposits are presented herein and clearly show that clay sensitivity has an important effect on pile shaft behavior. Moreover, measurements are in reasonable agreement with predictions based on the strain path method that are significantly different from predictions obtained by means of the more popular cavity expansion method.