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Characteristics of Cyclic Shear Behavior of Sandy Soils: A Laboratory Study

  • Research Article - Civil Engineering
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Abstract

This paper presents a laboratory study of the influence of relative density on the liquefaction potential of a sandy soil using the triaxial apparatus. The study is based on undrained triaxial tests performed on samples at an initial relative density RD = 15, 50 and 65 % under a confining pressure of 100 kPa using a dry deposition method. Samples were subjected to quasi-static undrained cyclic tests. The paper is composed of three parts. In the first part the used materials and their characteristics are presented. The second part is devoted to the experimental procedures and the device used. The third part investigates the influence of relative density on the liquefaction potential of the three sands (Hostun Rf, Chlef and Rass). This study also explores the influence of particle size on the liquefaction potential. The test results indicate that consistent results were obtained and show clearly that increasing the relative density leads to an important improvement in the liquefaction resistance of sand. This effect is very pronounced when the initial relative density increases from 50 to 65 %.

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Abbreviations

\({\rho_{{\rm s}}}\) :

Specific density of the solid grains

D 10 :

Effective grain diameter

D 50 :

Mean grain size of sand

D :

Initial diameter of sample

C u :

Coefficient of uniformity (C u = D 60/D 10)

CSR:

Cyclic stress ratio (\({{{CSR}}=q_{\rm m} /2\cdot{p_{\rm c}}^{\prime})}\)

e max :

Maximum void ratio

e min :

Minimum void ratio

H :

Initial height of sample

N c :

Number of cycles

RD:

Relative density

\({p_{{\rm c}}^{\prime}}\) :

Initial effective confining pressure

q :

Deviator stress

\({P^{\prime}}\) :

Effective mean pressure

q m :

Cyclic loading amplitude

\({\Delta u}\) :

Excess pore pressure

\({\varepsilon_{{\rm a}}}\) :

Axial strain

UTH:

Undrained test of Hostun sand

UTR:

Undrained test of Rass sand

UTC:

Undrained test of Chlef sand

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ibn Khaldoun University, 14000, Tiaret, Algeria

    A. Krim

  2. Laboratory of Materials Sciences and Environment, Hassiba Ben Bouali University, 2000, Chlef, Algeria

    A. Krim & A. Arab

  3. Faculty of Science and Technology, Marrakech, Morocco

    R. Bouferra

  4. Laboratory of Civil Engineering and geo-Environment (LGCgE), USTLille1, Lille, France

    M. Sadek & I. Shahrour

Authors
  1. A. Krim
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  2. A. Arab
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  3. R. Bouferra
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  4. M. Sadek
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  5. I. Shahrour
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Correspondence to A. Arab.

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Krim, A., Arab, A., Bouferra, R. et al. Characteristics of Cyclic Shear Behavior of Sandy Soils: A Laboratory Study. Arab J Sci Eng 41, 3995–4005 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-016-2064-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-016-2064-z

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