• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 2024

Understanding the behavior of soil under cyclic loading conditions is essential for assessing its response to seismic events and potential liquefaction. This study investigates the effect of non-plastic fines content (FC) on excess pore pressure generation in medium-density sand-silt mixtures subjected to strain-controlled cyclic direct simple shear (CDSS) tests. The investigation is conducted by analyzing excess pore pressure (EPP) ratios and the number of cycles to liquefaction (Ncyc-liq) under varying shear strain levels and FC values. The study uses Jumunjin sand and silica silt with FC values ranging from 0% to 40% and shear strain levels of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. The findings indicate that the EPP ratio increases rapidly during loading cycles, with higher shear strain levels generating more EPP and requiring fewer cycles to reach liquefaction. At 1.0% and 0.5% shear strain levels, FC has a limited effect on Ncyc-liq. However, at a lower shear strain level of 0.2%, increasing FC from 0 to 10% reduces Ncyc-liq from 42 to 27, and as FC increases further, Ncyc-liq also increases. In summary, this study provides valuable insights into the behavior of soil under cyclic loading conditions. It highlights the significance of shear strain levels and FC values in excess pore pressure generation and liquefaction susceptibility.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.145-156
• /
• 2019

Since behaviors of loose, dense, silty sands vary under seismic loading, understanding the liquefaction mechanism of sandy soils continues to be an important challenges of geotechnical earthquake engineering. In this study, 36 deformation controlled cyclic simple shear tests were performed and the liquefaction potential of the sands was investigated using three different relative densities (40, 55, 70%), four different effective stresses (25, 50, 100, 150 kPa) and three different shear strain amplitudes (2, 3.5, 5%) by using energy based approach. Experiments revealed the relationship between per unit volume dissipated energy with effective stress, relative density and shear strain. The dissipate energy per unit volume was much less affected by shear strain than effective stress and relative density. In other words, the dissipated energy is strongly dependent on relative density and effective stress. These results show that the dissipated energy per unit volume is very useful and may contain the non-uniform loading conditions of the earthquake spectrum. When multiple regression analysis is performed on experiment results, a relationship is proposed that gives liquefaction energy of sandy soils depending on relative density and effective stress parameters.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.65-75
• /
• 2024

This study investigates liquefaction-induced settlement through strain-controlled tests using a cyclic direct simple shear device on clean sand specimens. By focusing on the accumulated shear strain, soil density, sample preparation method, and cyclic waveshape, this study attempts to enhance the understanding of soil behavior under seismic loading and its further deformation. Results from tests conducted on remolded samples reveal insights into excess pore water pressure development and post-liquefaction volumetric strain behavior, with denser samples exhibiting lower volumetric strains than looser samples. Similarly, the correlation between the frequency and amplitude variations of the wave and volumetric strain highlights the importance of wave characteristics in soil response, with shear strain amplitude changes, varying the volumetric strain response after reconsolidation. In addition, samples prepared under moist conditions exhibit less volumetric strain than dry-reconstituted samples. Overall, the findings of this study are expected to contribute to predictive models to evaluate liquefaction-induced settlement.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.503-513
• /
• 2019

In the present, the liquefaction potential of fiber-reinforced sandy soils was investigated through the energy-based approach by conducting a series of strain-controlled cyclic simple shear tests. In the tests, the effects of the fiber properties, such as the fiber content, fiber length, relative density and effective stress, and the test parameters on sandy soil improvement were investigated. The results indicated that the fiber inclusion yields to higher cumulative liquefaction energy values compared to the unreinforced (plain) ground by increasing the number of cycles and shear strength needed for the liquefaction of the soil. This result reveals that the fiber inclusion increases the resistance of the soil to liquefaction. However, the increase in the fiber content was determined to be more effective on the test results compared to the fiber length. Furthermore, the increase in the relative density of the soil increases the efficiency of the fibers on soil strengthening.