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Effect of Non-plastic Fines Content and Gradation on the Liquefaction Response of Chlef Sand

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Abstract

This study explores the impact of non-plastic fines content, initial confining pressure, and grading characteristics on the undrained shear strength and excess pore pressure of sand-silt mixtures; a series of undrained compression triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted Chlef sand (Algeria) samples with different percentages of silt content (Fc = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%), at an initial relative density (RD = 50%) subjected under three different confining pressures (p′c = 20, 50, and 100 kPa). Observations from these tests unveiled intriguing insights. Notably, it was discovered that soil specimens with lower fines content and higher initial confining pressures showed increased resistance to liquefaction. Conversely, liquefaction resistance diminished under conditions of higher fines content and lower initial confining pressures. Moreover, the analysis of test results underscored the substantial influence of gradation on the peak shear strength and maximum excess pore pressure of sand-silt mixtures. This suggests that the distribution of particle sizes within the mixture plays a pivotal role in its mechanical behavior and susceptibility to liquefaction. Furthermore, the study’s findings revealed the presence of straightforward correlations between various parameters. These correlations include those between peak shear strength (qpeak), maximum excess pore pressure (Δumax), fines content (Fc), initial confining pressure (p′c), and specific grading characteristics such as D10, D30, D50, D60, Cu, D10R, D50R, and CuR. These correlations offer valuable insights into the interplay of factors affecting the mechanical properties of sand-silt mixtures, aiding in the development of predictive models and engineering solutions for infrastructure projects.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Abbreviations

G s :

Specific gravity of solids

B :

Skempton’s coefficient

D 10 :

Effective grain size

D 10R :

Effective diameter ratio (D10R = D10sand/D10mixture)

D 30 :

Grain size corresponding to 30% finer

D 60 :

Grain size corresponding to 60% finer

D 50 :

Mean grain size

D 50R :

Mean grain size ratio (D50R = D50sand/D50mixture)

C u :

Uniformity coefficient (Cu = D60/D10)

C uR :

Uniformity coefficient ratio (CuR = Cusand/Cumixture)

C c :

Coefficient of gradation (Cc = (D30)2/(D10)x(D60))

D :

Diameter of the sample

e max :

Maximum void ratio

e min :

Minimum void ratio

e :

Initial void ratio

H :

Height of the sample

H/D :

Height to diameter ratio of the sample

RD:

Relative density

R 2 :

Coefficient of determination

p'c :

Initial effective confining pressure

q :

Deviator stress

q peak :

Peak shear strength

p':

Effective mean pressure

W L :

Liquid limit

W P :

Plastic limit

I P :

Plasticity index

F c :

Fines content

Δu max :

Maximum excess pore pressure

εa :

Axial strain

γd :

Dry unit weight of soil

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Acknowledgements

Chlef university authors thank the reviewers for their detailed remarks. Tests were performed in the Laboratory of Material Sciences and Environment (LsmE) at UHBC University of Chlef.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ibn Khaldoun University of Tiaret, 14000, Tiaret, Algeria

    Abdallah Krim

  2. Civil Engineering and Hydraulics Department, Institute of Science and Technology, University Center of Mila, Mila, Algeria

    Abdelkader Brahimi

  3. Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Hydraulique de Blida, GEE, Soumaa, Algeria

    Djamel Eddine Bouri

  4. University Ahmed Zabana of Relizane, 48000, Relizane, Algeria

    Benali Nougar

  5. Higher National Engineering School of Tunis (Laboratory of Mechanics Production and Energetics, LR18ES01), Tunis, Tunisia

    Basma Lamouchi

  6. LsmE Laboratory of Materials Sciences and Environment, University UHBC Hassiba Benbouali of Chlef, 02091, Chlef, Algeria

    Ahmed Arab

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  1. Abdallah Krim
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Contributions

Abdallah Krim: conceptualization; methodology; writing—original draft; investigation.

Abdelkader Brahimi: methodology, conceptualization, writing.

Djamel Eddine Bouri: writing—review and editing.

Benali Nougar: data curation, conceptualization.

Basma Lamouchi: data curation, conceptualization.

Ahmed Arab: conceptualization, supervision, methodology.

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Correspondence to Abdelkader Brahimi.

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Krim, A., Brahimi, A., Bouri, D.E. et al. Effect of Non-plastic Fines Content and Gradation on the Liquefaction Response of Chlef Sand. Transp. Infrastruct. Geotech. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40515-024-00394-7

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