9354 September, 1971 SsM9 —————— Journal of the SOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATIONS DIVISION Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers —— VOLUME CHANGES IN SANDS DURING CYCLIC LOADING By Marshall L. Silver,t A. M. ASCE and H. Bolton Seed,? M. ASCE Ground shaking from seismic events has often resulted in appreciable settlement of cohesionless soils (10,12,14,20,26). However the motions need not necessarily be of the magnitude associated with earthquakes to induce compaction in dry cohesionless soils with resulting damage to structures and equipment. Machine vibrations have often caused differential settlements of footings necessitating remedial action or limitations on machine operation. Operations of forge hammers have caused soil compaction under buildings constructed on fine sand resulting in considerable differential settlement and sometimes even complete destruction of buildings (3). Vibrations caused by pile driving have caused damaging building settlements, and even settlement due to traffic vibrations has caused building distortion and cracks (6). In many of these cases the movements causing settlement are cyclic in nature, varying from many cycles of low strain amplitude in the case of machine vibrations to relatively few cycles of larger strain amplitude in the case of earthquakes. The present study was conducted to throw some light on the volume decrease in dry sands resulting fromcyclic strains and the factors affecting soil compaction under these conditions. PREVIOUS STUDIES OF VIBRATORY COMPACTION OF SAND Laboratory Studies.—Many of the previous studies dealing with the com- paction of dry or moist sand under vibratory loading have been carried out to determine the maximum density of the soil or the factors affecting the ef- ficiency of compaction procedures (1,11,13,16,22,25). Several standard meth- ods have been proposed for determining the maximum density of cohesionless Soils (2,5,17,18). Almost all methods involve high amplitude vertical vibratory Note.— Discussion open until February 1, 1972. To extend the closing date one month, a written request must be filed with the Executive Director, ASCE, This paper is part of the copyrighted Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 97, No. SM9, September, 1971. Manuscript Was submitted for review for possible publication on October 29, 1970, 1 Asst, Prof., Dept. of Materials Engrg., Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Chicago, M1, ? Prof. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of California, Berkeley, Calif. 11711172 September, 1971 sM9 motions with some magnitude of dead weight surcharge pressure. D’Appolonia (8) has presented data for tests in which samples of fine sand were placed incontainers at zero relative density and then subjected to vertical vibrations at a selected amplitude and frequency. It was found that even under no surcharge very little densification occurred until the acceleration reached about 1g. It was also found that the acceleration required to cause significant densification increased with an increase in surcharge pressure. In addition, tests were conducted in which laterally confined samples of sand were subjected to repeated vertical stress applications (7). However samples with an initial relative density of about 60 % showed less than 0.4 % vertical strain after 100 cycles of a stress equal to about one half the initial overburden pressure, and virtually no decrease in volume when the applied stress was less than 20 % of the initial vertical pressure. Whitman and Ortigosa (27) conducted a similar investigation and concluded that: 1, When the dynamic stresses are small, nonoticeable densification occurs for accelerations less than about lg. 2, When the dynamic stresses are smallcompared tothe initial overburden pressure, there is still no noticeable densification. 3. Vertical accelerations during earthquakes can cause very little densification. However it was noted that the shear stresses associated with horizontal accelerations may produce significant densification and resultant subsidence. A recent study of the behavior of sands under the shear strains induced by horizontal vibrational displacements was conducted by Youd (28,29,30) by mounting the base of a direct shear test on a vibrating table. The investigation was mainly concerned with the changes in frictional characteristics of the sand during vibrations but it provided important data on volume changes for accelerations greater than about 0.5 ¢. Youd explained the effects of vibration on the sand in terms of energy barriers and suggested that once a soil has come to equilibrium under a given acceleration level, there could be no further densification unless the acceleration exceeded that level. The investi- gation also confirmed Barkan’s observations that the void ratio of vibrationally compacted sands decreases exponentially with acceleration level and vibration- al densification commences only after a certain threshold acceleration is exceeded. Field Studies.—A number of studies have been made of the densification of cohesionless soils by vibratory rollers. Recent studies by D’Appolonia, et al. (9) have shown that the vertical accelerations below such a vibrator are often very large and may exceed lg to a depth of about 6 ft below the roller, How- ever, even with these large acceleration levels, they found that compaction to a relative density greater than 75 % did not occur at a depth below 4 ft even after a large number of passes of the roller, A comprehensive review of the factors involved in field compaction using vibratory rollers has been published by Broms and Forssblad (4). Blasting has also been utilized to densify deposits of loose cohesionless soil. In this method small explosive charges are placed at depths in the deposit and ignited in predetermined patterns. Prugh (19) indicates that the relative density of loose cohesionless soils can be increased to 75 % or 80 % in thissuo VOLUME CHANGES 1173 manner. In a review of this method, Mitchell (16) presented a compilation of projects where blasting was successfully used tocompact sand layers ranging from 10 ft to 30 ft deep. Tt may be noted that almost all of the studies previously described were conducted at acceleration and strain levels substantially higher than those likely to be induced by earthquakes or many machine foundations, Thus it was Upsidered to be of interest to investigate the volume changes which might be induced in samples of sand due to cyclic shear strains ranging from about TABLE 1.—GEONOR SIMPLE SHEAR TEST PROGRAM e Dyyasa Yeyy 8 a Gy pin pound percentage percentage per square foot @) @) @) 0.826 45 0.01 500 0.777 60 0.05 2,000 0.711 80 01 4,000 “ = 05 ~ ‘Note.—Material— crystal silica No. 20 sand; frequency—1 eps (triangular wave). HORIZONTAL SHEAR STRESS {lb per sa ft) BAAD / NSYNPN/ NIN Second! 005 (percent) os HORIZONTAL STRAIN. FIG, 1.—TYPICAL RECORD OF DEFORMATION, LOAD AND VERTICAL SETTLE- MENT DURING SIMPLE SHEAR TEST 0.01% to 0.5%. The simple shear equipment developed by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute provides a convenient means for conducting such a test program and was used for all of the tests reported in the following pages. Details of the test equipment and procedures are described elsewhere (23,24), However in effect, samples of sand at different relative densities and under different confining pressures were subjected to cyclic strain applications of(percent) IN ~ £ VERTICAL STRAIN DUE TO COMPACTION ° 8 2 2 0. 10.0 NUMBER OF CYCLES Ud 100 NUM' 10001 7 BER OF CYCLES NUMBER OF CYCLES 1000 0.001 ud 1000 es FT} 0.001 100 (percent) 0.0101 x, xy—t 0.01 (percent) o.0r 0.044: on - 0.23 ou 10: 10 & = 500 Ib per sa ft 2000 Ib per salt 0, =60 percent 0, =60 percent | 10.0 10.0 FIG. 2.—SETTLEMENT- _SHEAR CYCLE RELATIONSHIP FOR MEDIUM DENSE SAND (Dy = 60%) tng LIT Wet ‘xequie;degsuo VOLUME CHANGES 1175 different amplitudes and continuous records were obtained of the changes in shear stress, shear strain and vertical strain during the course of each test. Asummary of the different test parameters is shown in Table 1, The sand used jor the studies was a uniform crystal silica sand with particles ranging from 0.4 mm diam to 1.0 mm diam, SETTLEMENT DUE TO COMPACTION MEASURED IN SIMPLE SHEAR TESTS ‘A typical time record of the deformation, load and vertical settlement measured during a simple shear test is shown in Fig, 1. From the time history of vertical deformation of the simple shear sample shown in Fig. 1, the vertical strain due tocompaction (expressed asa percent) can be calculated as the total vertical deformation taken at the end of any strain cycle divided by the initial height of the specimen. 40 100 7) so LL oss} CT owen Z 20 xP z | 4 3 Z > ree | ie ALN 00 ws oar a } J 2 $ 8 ye pet 5 . gos z ae 8 0 ° cre y os g 3 eZ Z Zz , _ = te fi % 100 — Sa eee E 0,245 pcs E ors , i | 0.50 eso Gxele 0 ons 0 ry ‘6 FIG, 3.-EFFECT OF NUMBER OF STRAIN CYCLES ON SAND SETTLEMENT1176 September, 1971 SM 9 ‘The vertical settlement due to compaction for different strain cycl tests conducted at an initial relative density of 60 % is shown in Fig. 2. Be. cause of the small strain amplitudes required and slight flexibility in the mechanical linkage, the shear strain amplitudes varied slightly from the de. sired values as shown by the values of shear strain adjacent to each curve in Fig. 2, Similar plots were obtained for relative densities of 45 % and 80%, 2eP Oras Get Lf us = 10 5 oy per 49 eee © 500 3 3 2000 g 2 toe Zo & ter 10 woo Zao z Gree 10 zis ° Zio z é 4g, lb er a Sos “9 500 ° & 2000 2 4000 Sob a acl 3 oor or 1 700 z Z 20 37? od owe & Cl 0 Zs 8 £10 oi per 39 os 2300 © 2000 2 4000 ‘ or er 10 Too CYCLIC SHEAR STRAIN-¥,, [percent] FIG, 4.-EFFECT OF CONFINING PRESSURE ON SETTLEMENT IN 10 CYCLES It is possible to summarize the data in Fig. 2 by showing the relationship between vertical settlement and shear strain after any number of cycles, for tests conducted at different relative densities (Fig. 3). The marked increase in vertical compaction at higher values of shear strain amplitude is readily apparent. In addition, the importance of the first few strain cycles in de- termining the total vertical strain in the sample is indicated by the fact that for the range of test parameters studied, as much vertical settlement due to compaction occurs in the first 10 cycles as occurs in the next 40 cycles.CYCLIC SHEAR STRAIN-¥,. (percen!) CYCLIC SHEAR STRAIN ~¥,, (percent) CYCLIC SHEAR STRAIN -¥,, (percen!) = cost aor a oan oar ai to 0061 oot ar lo 0.001 0.001 0.001 2 0,245 percent 0,60 percent 0, =80 percen! S Sete 10 Gye 10 Gale 8 Leal : 4 oot a oar 8 : y G g $s a ° eo Sa os on ° . i » 2 : > e : Z 10 wo 1 = |qeenne oer ve es ow oe & «500 ° ee 2 300 z = 2000 + 2000 * 2000 2 tooo * ta © gt etd ook 220 a oll SSS FIG. 5.—EFFECT OF CONFINING PRESSURE ON SETTLEMENT IN 10 CYCLES AT SMALLER SHEAR STRAIN AMPLITUDES 6 WS SHONVHO SWATOA LLIt1178 September, 1971 SM9 The effect of confining pressure on the volume changes during cyclic loading is shown in Fig. 4, which shows the relationship between the settlement after 10 cycles and the magnitude of the cyclic shear strain, for tests conducted at different confining pressures. It may be seen that at the higher amplitudes of motion the vertical strain due to compaction for a given number of cycles does not seem to be significantly affected by increasing vertical stresses within the range used in this study. Fig. 5 which shows the same data ona log-log plot indicates that although the vertical strain due to compaction may not be significantly affected by changes in vertical stress at shear strain amplitudes in excess of 0.05 %, this may not be true at lower strain levels, This pattern is summarized in Fig. 6 where the effect of relative density on settlement in 10 strain cycles is shown. Note that there is a marked decrease i ° (percent) wn D, = 45 percent VERTICAL STRAIN DUE TO COMPACTION ” a og 1.0 y U a = 60 percent F 05 Zz = 80 percent 0 0.01 0.1 1.0 10.0 CYCLIC SHEAR STRAIN—¥ (percent) xy FIG. 6,—EFFECT OF RELATIVE DENSITY ON SETTLEMENT IN 10 CYCLES in the settlement after 10 cycles for sand at higher relative densities, es- pecially at higher shear strain levels, indicating the importance of obtaining good estimates of the inplace density of cohesionless soil deposits if field settlements due to vibration are to be estimated reliably. Test results showing that settlement due to compaction is only dependent on the shear strain amplitude andis not influenced significantly by the vertical stress imposed on the sample may at first seem irreconcilable with results reported for liquefaction studies such as those by Seed and Lee (21) which show that the liquefaction potential for sands decreases with increasing con- fining pressure. Because the volume change tendency in sands is intimately related to the tendency for increased pore water pressure under undrained conditions, the effect of confining pressure shouldbe similar in both cases, AnM9 VOLUME CHANGES 1179 ‘TABLE 2.-SUMMARY OF EFFECTS OF SHEAR STRAIN AMPLITUDE, RELATIVE DENSITY, AND CONFINING PRESSURE ON DYNAMIC COMPACTION OF DRY SAND tat | Effect on behavior | Effect on behavior Mater! as shear strain as relative property | amplitude increases | density increases increases a @) @) @) Volume | Significantly more | Significantly more —_| Not significantly change | volume change at | volume change for | affected at higher behavior | higher strain sand at relative shear strain ampli- amplitudes densities below 60% | tudes for the range of test conditions studied 20 1s 00 Ib per sa Hh os: = 2000 1b per 19 ° 200 200 600 Ib per aa fh f 7 “ [= ., = 4000 ep 10 300 7000 VERTICAL STRAIN DUE TO COMPACTION. IN TEN CYCLES percent] os: = 500 Ib per 29 fh ° 7200 00 600 200 CYCLIC SHEAR STRESS-7,, (Ib per sq fil PIG, 7.-EFFECT OF CONFINING PRESSURE ON VERTICAL SETTLEMENT IN 10 CYCLES—MAXIMUM CYCLIC SHEAR STRESS RELATIONSHIP1180 September, 1971 SM 9 alternative way of presenting the data in Fig. 4 would be to plot values of vertical strain due to compaction after 10 straincycles as a function of maxt- mum cyclic shear stress instead of maximum cyclic shear strain, Such plots for tests conducted at different values of vertical stress are shown in Fig. 7 from which it may readily be seen that as the vertical stress increases, the cyclic shear stress necessary to cause any degree of compaction also in- creases. Similarly, due to the interrelationship between volume change and pore water pressure change, it would be expected that the potential for in- creased pore water pressure would decrease asthe vertical stress increases, CONCLUSION Ground shaking and resulting volume change in deposits of cohesionless materials have often induced ground surface settlement with resulting damage to structures, machine foundations and engineering works of all types. More- over, it is the same volume change behavior that causes changes in pore water pressure and resulting stability problems in deposits of saturated cohesionless soil. Consequently, a knowledge of the volume change behavior of sands may be used to assess both the stability of saturated material and the potential settle- ment of horizontal deposits of cohesionless soils during ground shaking. Measurements of the volume change behavior of sands under cyclic loading simple shear conditions showed that the vertical strain due to compaction is not significantly affected by values of vertical stress and depends only on the shear strain amplitude induced in the sample at shear strains exceeding 0.05 %. This indicates that cyclic shear strain, which deforms the sample al- lowing particles to move into denser packing, may well be a fundamental para- meter in determining the volume change behavior of cohesionless soil under dynamic loading conditions. On the other hand, it was found that as the vertical stress increases, the cyclic shear stress necessary to cause any degree of compaction also in- creases, a result in agreement with studies of the liquefaction potential of sands subjected to cyclic loading. Curves showing the relationship between vertical settlement and shear strain amplitude for a variety of conditions have been presented and Table 2 summarizes the effect of the various test para- meters on vertical settlement caused by compaction. The test data presented in the preceding pages provide a basis for es- timating the settlement of dry sands resulting from seismic ground motions or other ground vibrations which cause cyclic shear strains to be induced in the sand, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The work described in this report was performed under Contract DACW- 07-68-C-0030, “Deformation of Cohesionless Soils Due to Seismic Events? between the U.S, Army Nuclear Cratering Group and the University of Cali- fornia. The support provided by R. Bening, R. Fleming, and R. Yankoupe of the Nuclear Cratering Group and by]. M. Idriss, T. V. McEvilly and C. K, Chan of the University of California is gratefully acknowledged.