Abstract
Liquefaction generally occurs in loose sandy soils, whereas static (i.e., post) liquefaction is reported to occasionally take place in gravel soils (i.e., gravel-sand mixtures). Recent studies imply specific in situ parameters such as relative density or effective stress correlate with the static liquefaction potential of gravel soils, although they are insufficient to quantitatively estimate the liquefaction potential of gravel soils. In this study, the mechanism and the phenomena of static (post) liquefaction in gravel soils have been studied in detail through laboratory experiments. A state parameter (ψ) has been adopted to evaluate the static liquefaction and stress variation behaviors of gravel soils for a steady state Condition. Undrained (CU) triaxial tests were performed on gravel soils with different initial densities and confinement levels. State parameters for specific gravel contents at various initial relative densities are obtained from experimental programs, and are correlated with the liquefaction resistance of gravel soils. The liquefaction potential of gravel soils is then analyzed in terms of external and internal factors. The results indicate that the state parameter is an effective indicator of static liquefaction of gravel soils.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrus, R. D. and Chung, R. M. (1995). Ground improvement techniques for liquefaction remediation near existing lifelines, US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
ASTM (2012). D 1921 Standard test methods for particle size (Sieve Analysis) of plastic materials, American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, PA.
Been, K. and Jefferies, M. G. (1985). “A state parameter for sands.” Géotechnique, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 99–112, DOI: 10.1680/geot.1985. 35.2.99.
Boulanger, R. W. and Truman, S. P. (1996). “Void redistribution in sand under post-earthquake loading.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 829–834, DOI: 10.1139/t96–109-329.
Cao, Z., Leslie Youd, T., and Yuan, X. (2011). “Gravelly soils that liquefied during 2008 Wenchuan, China earthquake, Ms=8.0.” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 1132- 1143, DOI: 10.1016/jsoildyn.2011.04.001.
Castro, G. and Poulos, S. J. (1977). “Factors affecting liquefaction and cyclic mobility.” Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, Vol. 103, No. 6, pp. 501–506.
Chang, D. S., Zhang, L., and Xu, Y. (2010). “Testing and analysis of erodibility of Hongshihe landslide dam.” Proc., 5th International Conference on Scour and Erosion, ASCE, San Francisco, Vol. 1, pp. 338–347.
Chang, D. S., Zhang, L. M., Xu, Y., and Huang, R. Q. (2011). “Field testing of erodibility of two landslide dams triggered by the 12 May Wenchuan earthquake.” Landslides, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 321–332, DOI: 10.1007/s10346–011-0256-x.
Evans, M., Bolton Seed, H., and Seed, R. (1992). “Membrane compliance and liquefaction of sluiced gravel specimens.” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 118, No. 6, pp. 856–872, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE) 0733–9410(1992)118:6(856).
Evans, M. and Zhou, S. (1995). “Liquefaction behavior of sand-gravel composites.” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 121, No. 3, pp. 287–298, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)733–9410(1995)121:3(287).
Guettaya, I., El Ouni, M. R., and Moss, R. E. S. (2013). “Verifying liquefaction remediation beneath an earth dam using SPT and CPT based methods.” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 53, pp. 130–144. DOI: 10.1016/jsoildyn.2013.06.009.
Gutenberg, B. and Richter, C. F. (1944). “Frequency of earthquakes in California.” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 185–188.
Hanks, T. C. and Kanamori, H. (1979). “A moment magnitude scale.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 84, No. 5, pp. 2348–2350, DOI: 10.1029/JB084iB05p02348.
Hynes, M. E. (1988). Pore pressure generation characteristics of gravel under undrained cyclic loading, Doctoral Thesis, University of California, Berkeley.
Idriss, I. and Boulanger, R. W. (2008). Soil liquefaction during earthquakes, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Ishihara, K. (1993). “Liquefaction and flow failure during earthquakes.” Géotechnique, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 351–451, DOI:10.1680/geot.1993. 43.3.351.
Jefferies, M. and Been, K. (2015). Soil liquefaction: A critical state approach, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Kim, B. S. (2005). Liquefaction behavior of gravel-sand mixtures, Doctoral Thesis, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea.
Kokusho, T. (2003). “Current state of research on flow failure considering void redistribution in liquefied deposits.” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 7, pp. 585–603, DOI: 10.1016/S0267–7261(03)00067–8.
Kokusho, T., Hara, T., and Hiraoka, R. (2004). “Undrained shear strength of granular soils with different particle gradations.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 130, No. 6, pp. 621–629, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1090–0241(2004)130:6(621).
Kulasingam, R., Malvick, E. J., Boulanger, R. W., and Kutter, B. L. (2001). “Void redistribution and localization of shear strains in model sand slopes with silt seams: Report on first year activities.” Proc., US–Japan Joint Workshop and 3rd Grantees Meeting, pp. 117–128.
Kulasingam, R., Malvick, E., Boulanger, R., and Kutter, B. (2004). “Strength loss and localization at silt interlayers in slopes of liquefied sand.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 130, No. 11, pp. 1192–1202, DOI: 10.1061/ (ASCE)1090–0241(2004)130:11(1192).
Ladd, R. S. (1978). “Preparing test specimens using undercompaction.” Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 16–23, DOI: 10.1520/GTJ10364J.
Lin, P.-S., Chang, C.-W., and Chang, W.-J. (2004). “Characterization of liquefaction resistance in gravelly soil: Large hammer penetration test and shear wave velocity approach.” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 24, Nos. 9–10, pp. 675–687, DOI: 10.1016/ jsoildyn.2004.06.010.
Malvick, E., Kutter, B., and Boulanger, R. (2008). “Postshaking shear strain localization in a centrifuge model of a saturated sand slope.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 134, No. 2, pp. 164–174, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1090–0241(2008) 134:2(164).
National Research Council (1985). Liquefaction of soils during earthquake, National Academies.
Nicholson, P. G., Seed, R. B., and Anwar, H. A. (1993). “Elimination of membrane compliance in undrained triaxial testing. I. Measurement and evaluation.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 727–738, DOI: 10.1139/t93–065.
Rahman, M. and Lo, S. (2014). “Undrained behavior of sand-fines mixtures and their state parameter.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 140, No. 7, pp. 04014036–1- 12, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943–5606.0001115.
Robertson, P. (2010). “Estimating in-situ state parameter and friction angle in sandy soils from CPT.” Proc., 2nd International Symposium on Cone Penetration Testing, Huntington Beach, CA, USA.
Santamarina, J. C. and Cho, G. C. (2001). “Determination of critical state parameters in sandy soils-Simple procedure.” Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 185–192, DOI: 10.1520/ GTJ11338J.
Sharma, R., Gupta, S., and Kumar, S. (1999). “Application of extremevalue distribution for estimating earthquake magnitude-frequency relationships.” ISET Journal of Earthquake Technology, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 15–26.
Siddiqi, F. H. (1984). Strength evaluation of cohesionless soils with oversize particles, University of California, Davis, California.
Terzaghi, K., Peck, R. B., and Mesri, G. (1996). Soil mechanics in engineering practice, 3rd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Wang, W. S. (1984). “Earthquake damages to earth dams and levees in relation to soil liquefaction and weakness in soft clays.” Proc., First International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA, pp. 511–521.
Whitman, R. V. (1985). “On liquefaction.” Proc., 11th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Balkema Rotterdam, pp. 1923–1926.
Xenaki, V. C. and Athanasopoulos, G. A. (2003). “Liquefaction resistance of sand–silt mixtures: An experimental investigation of the effect of fines.” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 1–12, DOI: 10.1016/S0267–7261(02)00210–5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Do, J., Heo, SB., Yoon, YW. et al. Evaluating the liquefaction potential of gravel soils with static experiments and steady state approaches. KSCE J Civ Eng 21, 642–651 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-016-1365-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-016-1365-9