Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Development of normalized liquefaction resistance curve for clean sands

  • Original Research Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We present empirically derived liquefaction resistance curve from a large database of measurements from published literature and also simple shear tests that were performed in this study. The data measured from simple shear and triaxial tests are separately compiled. The data are fitted with two empirical models to develop representative liquefaction resistance curves. Comparisons illustrate that the slope of the widely used power law is highly dependent on the range of data it is fitted to and that the power law underestimates the resistance at high number of cycles (N). The alternative empirical model is demonstrated to provide favorable fit with the measurement over a wide range of data. The representative curves are normalized by the equivalent number of uniform cycles for a magnitude (M) 7.5 event (NM=7.5) to reduce the wide scatter of the measurements and to make it usable with liquefaction triggering charts that relate in situ parameter with cyclic resistance ratio for a M = 7.5 event. Comparison with published liquefaction resistance curves show that the proposed curve is lower at N ≤ NM=7.5 and higher at N > NM=7.5. A single-parameter empirical exponential function that closely fits the normalized liquefaction resistance curves and representative values for its parameter are presented. We also propose an empirical equation to correct the liquefaction resistance curve measured from a triaxial test to match that from a simple shear test.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmadi MM, Paydar NA (2014) Requirements for soil-specific correlation between shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance of sands. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 57:152–163. doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.11.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrus RD, Stokoe KH II (2000) Liquefaction resistance of soils from shear-wave velocity. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 126(11):1015–1025. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:11(1015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrus RD, Hayati H, Mohanan NP (2009) Correcting liquefaction resistance for aged sands using measured to estimated velocity ratio. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 135(6):735–744. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASTM (1995) Standard specification for standard sand. ASTM C 778, West Conshohocken, PA

  • ASTM (2006a) Standard test method for maximum index density and unit weight of soils using a vibratory table. ASTM D 4253, West Conshohocken, PA

  • ASTM (2006b) Standard test methods for minimum index density and unit weight of soils and calculation of relative density. ASTM D 4254, West Conshohocken, PA

  • ASTM (2007) Standard test method for consolidated undrained direct simple shear testing of cohesive soils. D 6528-07, West Conshohocken, PA

  • Boulanger RW, Idriss IM (2004) Evaluating the potential for liquefaction or cyclic failure of silts and clays. Report No. UCD/CGM-04/01, University of California at Davis, California, USA

  • Boulanger RW, Idriss IM (2012) Probabilistic standard penetration test-based liquefaction–triggering procedure. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 138(10):1185–1195. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulanger RW, Idriss IM (2014) CPT and SPT based liquefaction triggering procedures. Report No. UCD/CGM-14/01, University of California at Davis, California, USA

  • Boulanger RW, Idriss IM (2015a) CPT-based liquefaction triggering procedure. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001388

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulanger RW, Idriss IM (2015b) Magnitude scaling factors in liquefaction triggering procedures. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 79:296–303. doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2015.01.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulanger RW, Seed RB (1995) Liquefaction of sand under bidirectional monotonic and cyclic loading. J Geotech Eng ASCE 121(12):870–878. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1995)121:12(870)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulanger RW, Ziotopoulou K (2015) PM4Sand (Version 3): a sand plasticity model for earthquake engineering applications vol 1. Report No. UCD/CGM-15, University of California at Davis, California, USA

  • Brandes HG, Seidman J (2008) Dynamic and static behavior of calcareous sands. In: The eighteenth international offshore and polar engineering conference, 2008

  • Carraro JAH, Bandini P, Salgado R (2003) Liquefaction resistance of clean and nonplastic silty sands based on cone penetration resistance. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 129(11):965–976. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2003)129:11(965)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro G (1975) Liquefaction and cyclic mobility of saturated sands. J Geotech Eng Div ASCE 101(GT6):551–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Cetin KO, Bilge HT (2012) Performance-based assessment of magnitude (duration) scaling factors. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 138(3):324–334. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cetin KO, Seed RB, Der Kiureghian A, Tokimatsu K, Harder LF Jr, Kayen RE, Moss RES (2004) Standard penetration test-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction potential. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 130(12):1314–1340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Da Fonseca AV, Soares M, Fourie AB (2015) Cyclic DSS tests for the evaluation of stress densification effects in liquefaction assessment. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 75:98–111. doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2015.03.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Alba P, Chan CK, Seed HB (1976) Sand liquefaction in large-scale simple shear tests. J Geotech Eng Div ASCE 102(GT9):909–927

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobry R, Ladd RS, Yokel FY, Chung RM, Powell D (1982) Prediction of pore water pressure buildup and liquefaction of sands during earthquakes by the cyclic strain method, vol 138. NBS Building Science Series 138, US Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, USA

  • Finn WD, Pickering DJ, Bransby PL (1971) Sand liquefaction in triaxial and simple shear tests. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 97(SM4):639–659

    Google Scholar 

  • Green RA, Terri GA (2005) Number of equivalent cycles concept for liquefaction evaluations—revisited. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 131(4):477–488. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:4(477)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idriss IM (1999) An update to the Seed-Idriss simplified procedure for evaluating liquefaction potential. In: Proceeding, TRB worshop on new approaches to liquefaction, Publ. no. FHWA-RD-99-165. Federal Highway Administation, Washington, DC, USA

  • Idriss IM, Boulanger RW (2006) Semi-empirical procedures for evaluating liquefaction potential during earthquakes. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 26(2–4):115–130. doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2004.11.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idriss IM, Boulanger RW (2008) Soil liquefaction during earthquakes, Monograph. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Oakland

    Google Scholar 

  • Idriss IM, Boulanger RW (2010) SPT-based liquefaction triggering procedures. Report No. UCD/CGM-10/02, University of California at Davis, California, USA

  • Idriss IM, Boulanger RW (2012) Examination of SPT-based liquefaction triggering correlations. Earthq Spectra 28(3):989–1018. doi:10.1193/1.4000071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishihara K (1993) Liquefaction and flow failure during earthquakes. Geotechnique 43(3):351–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishihara K (1996) Soil behaviour in earthquake geotechnics. Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishihara K, Yamazaki F (1980) Cyclic simple shear tests on saturated sand in multi-directional loading. Soils Found 20(1):45–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivšić T (2006) A model for presentation of seismic pore water pressures. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 26(2):191–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiaer WU, Kammerer AM, Riemer MF, Seed RB, Pestana JM (2004) Laboratory study of liquefaction triggering criteria. In: 13th world conference on earthquake engineering, Vancouver, BC, Canada

  • Kayen RE et al (2013) Shear-wave velocity-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction potential. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 139(3):407–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kishida T, Tsai C-C (2014) Seismic demand of the liquefaction potential with equivalent number of cycles for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 140(3):04013023. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer SL (1996) Geotechnical earthquake engineering. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladd RS (1974) Specimen preparation and liquefaction of sands. J Geotech Eng Div ASCE 100(GT10):1180–1184

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee KL, Seed HB (1967) Cyclic stress condition causing liquefaction of sand. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 93(SM1):47–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu AH, Stewart JP, Abrahamson NA, Moriwaki Y (2001) Equivalent number of uniform stress cycles for soil liquefaction analysis. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 127(12):1017–1026. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:12(1017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss RES, Seed RB, Kayen RE, Stewart JP, Der Kiureghian A, Cetin KO (2006) CPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of in situ seismic soil liquefaction potential. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 132(8):1032–1051. doi:10.1061/ASCE1090-02412006132:81032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulilis JP, Seed HB, Chan CK, Mitchell JK, Arulanandan K (1977) Effects of sample preparation on sand liquefaction. J Geotech Eng Div ASCE 103(GT2):91–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Park T, Park D, Ahn J-K (2014) Pore pressure model based on accumulated stress. Bull Earthq Eng 13(7):1913–1926. doi:10.1007/s10518-014-9702-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peacock WH, Seed HB (1968) Sand liquefaction under cyclic loading simple shear conditions. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 94(SM3):689–708

    Google Scholar 

  • Polito CP (1999) The effects of non-plastic and plastic fines on the liquefaction of sandy soils. Ph.D. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  • Seed HB, Peacock WH (1971) Test procedures for measuring soil liquefaction characteristics. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 97(SM8):1099–1119

    Google Scholar 

  • Seed HB, Idriss IM, Makdisi F, Banerjee N (1975) Representation of irregular stress time histories by equivalent uniform stress series in liquefaction analyses. Report No. EERC75-29, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California at Berkeley, USA

  • Seed HB, Tokimatsu K, Harder LF, Chung RM (1984) The influence of SPT procedures in evaluating soil liquefaction resistance, vol 15. Report No. UCB/EERC-84, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California at Berkeley, USA

  • Seed HB, Tokimatsu K, Harder LF, Chung RM (1985) Influence of SPT procedures in soil liquefaction resistance evaluations. J Geotech Eng ASCE 111(12):1425–1445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seed R, Moss RES, Krammer AM, Wu J, Pestana JM, Reimer MF, Cetin KO (2001) Recent advances in soil liquefaction engineering and seismic site response evaluation. In: Proceedings on 4th international conference recent advance in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Soil Dynamics, Paper SPL-2.

  • Silver ML, Park TK (1976) Liquefaction potential evaluated from cyclic strain-controlled properties tests on sands. Soils Found 16(3):51–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silver ML et al (1976) Cyclic triaxial strength of standard test sand. J Geotech Eng Div ASCE 102(GT5):511–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Sivathayalan S (1994) Static, cyclic and post liquefaction simple shear response of sands. Master thesis, University of British Columbia

  • Sriskandakumar S (2004) Cyclic loading response of Fraser River sand for validation of numerical models simulating centrifuge tests. Master thesis, University of British Columbia

  • Tadesse S (2000) Behaviour of saturated sand under different triaxial loading and liquefaction. Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

  • Tatsuoka F, Silver ML (1981) Undrained stress-strain behavior of sand under irregular loading. Soils Found 21(1):51–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tokimatsu K, Tsutomu Y, Yoshiaki Y (1986) Soil liquefaction evaluations by elastic shear moduli. Soils Found 26(1):25–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Towhata I (2008) Geotechnical earthquake engineering. Springer series in geomechanics and geoengineering. Springer, Berlin. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-35783-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Vucetic M (1994) Cyclic threshold shear strains in soils. J Geotech Eng ACSE 120(12):2208–2228. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1994)120:12(2208)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang J, Sze H (2011) Cyclic behaviour and resistance of saturated sand under non-symmetrical loading conditions. Géotechnique 61(1):59–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshimi Y, Tokimatsu K, Kaneko O, Makihara Y (1984) Undrained cyclic shear strength of a dense Niigata sand. Soils Found 24(4):131–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshimi Y, Tokimatsu K, Hosaka Y (1989) Evaluation of liquefaction resistance of clean sands based on high-quality undisturbed samples. Soils Found 29(1):93–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou YG, Chen YM, Shamoto Y (2009) Verification of the soil-type specific correlation between liquefaction resistance and shear-wave velocity of sand by dynamic centrifuge test. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 136(1):165–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (NRF-2015R1A2A2A01006129).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Rm 506 Jaesung Civil Engineering Building, Haengdang-dong, Sungdong-gu, Seoul, 133-791, Republic of Korea

    Saeed-ullah Jan Mandokhail, Duhee Park & Jin-Kwon Yoo

Authors
  1. Saeed-ullah Jan Mandokhail
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Duhee Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jin-Kwon Yoo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Duhee Park.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mandokhail, Su.J., Park, D. & Yoo, JK. Development of normalized liquefaction resistance curve for clean sands. Bull Earthquake Eng 15, 907–929 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-0020-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-0020-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation