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    Carraro Et Al 2003

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    Liquefaction Resistance of Clean and Nonplastic Silty Sands Based on Cone Penetration Resistance J. A. H, Carraro, S.M.ASCE'; P. Bandini, S.M.ASCE®; and R. Salgado, MASCE® Abstract: Liquefaction of granular soil deposits is one of the major causes of loss resulting from earthquakes, The accuracy in the assessment ofthe likelihood of Tiqufaction ata ste affects the safety and economy of the design. In this paper, curves of eyelic resistance ratio (CRR) versus cone penetration est (CPT) stess-normalized cone resistance gay are developed from a combination of analysis and laboratory testing. The approach consists of two steps: (1) determination of the CRR as a function of relative density from cyclic triaxial tsstspeaformed on samples isotropically consolidated t0 100 KPa; and (2) estimation ofthe stress-normalized cone resistance, for the ‘expansion analysis was used to calculate g,, for the various soil densities. A set of 64 cyolic triaxial tests were performed on specimens of Ottawa sand with nonplastc silt content in the range of 015% by weight, and relative densities from loose to dense for esch gradation, {0 establish the relationship of the CRR to the soil state and fines content. The resulting (CRR);5-qe, relationship for clean sand is ‘consistent with widely accepted empirical relationships. The (CRR);-42 relationships forthe silty sands depend on the relative effect of silt content on the CRR and g.,. It is shown that the cone resistance increases at a higher rate with increasing silt content than does Tiquefaction resistance, shifting the (CRR)1 5-9¢1 curves to the right. The (CRR)2.5-@., curves proposed for both clean and silty sands are consistent with feld observations DOE: 10.1061/ASCE)1090-0241(2003)129:11(965) GE Database subject headings: Sitty soils; Penetration resistance; Liquefaction; Triaxial tests; Cohesionless soils; Sand. introduction ‘The loss of life and damage to facilities and infrastructure due to liquefaction have been very significant in past earthquakes, Most of the damage in the Marina district in San Francisco and in areas ‘of east San Francisco resulting from the 1989 Loma Prista earth- ‘quake in California, for example, was caused by liquefaction (Garthquake Engineering Research Institute 1990). The impact of refinements in the accuracy of the methodology available for liq- vefaction analysis is greater in borderline cases, Increased accu- racy in liquefaction potential assessment may lead either to re- duced coustruction costs or to the adoption of a safer design decision with respect to the results of a less accurate method; both represent beneficial outcomes. Greater accuracy in evaluating tig- befaction potential should continue to be a goal of geotechnical engineering research and is the underlying motivation of the present stud) Liquefaction potential assessment requires the determination of two values: (I) the loading the deposit will be subjected to as "PRD Candidate, School of Civil Engineering, Pardae Univ, West Lifayeuc, IN 47907, E-mail: joao @puntue edu 2PhD Candidate, School of Civil Engineering, Purcve Univ., West Lafyette, IN 47907. E-mail: paola@een purdue-eds | "Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ, West Lafay- ‘ate, IN 47907, E-mail: rodrigo @een purdue-eds Note. Discussion open until April 1, 2004, Separate discussions must, be submined for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one month a writen request must be fled with the ASCE Managing Edit. ‘The manoseript for this paper was submited for review and possible ‘blication on September 18, 2000; approved on February 12, 2003. This ‘paper is part of the Journal of Geotechaical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 129, No. 11, November 1, 2003, ASCE, ISSN 1090- (9241/2003/11-965-975/818.00, | ‘lative densities at which the soil liquefaction tosts were performed. A well-tested penetration resistance analysis based on cavity | 44 result of the earthquake; and (2) the resistance of the soil to liquefaction. In the widely used liquefaction assessment proce- dure initially outlined by Seed and Idsiss (1971), and later im- proved by Scod (1979), Sced and Idriss (1982), and Seed et al (1983, 1985), these two quantities are the cyclic stress ratio (CSR) and the cyctic resistance ratio (CRR). The CSR is the ratio Of the shear stress generated by the earthquake to the vertical effective stress oat the desired depth. The CRR is the ratio of the eyelie resistance to liquefaction to 6, . Liquefaction ata given depth is expected to occur when CSR>CRR at that depth, ‘Empirical correlations with the standard penetration test (SPT) ‘stress-normalized blow count NY or with the eone penetration test (CPI) stress-normalized cone resistance q. are used to estimate the CRR in most cases (Robertson and Campanella 1985; Seed ‘and De Alba 1986; Stark and Olson 1995; Robertson and Wride 1998). The stress-normalized cone resistance q., for a given point within 2 soil deposit is defined as the cone resistance that the soil would have at the same relative density snd coefficient of lateral stress at rest, Ko, if the vertical stress wore equal 10 100 kPa. ‘Mitchell and Tseng (1990) developed a CRR liquefaction resis- tance relationship from combining the results of laboratory tests and a cone resistance analysis. The present paper aims to develop .CRR-g,1 relationship for both clean and silty sands from eyelie twiaxial test results and an extensively tested cone penetration re- sistance analysis (Salgado et al. 1997a,b, 1998; Salgado and Ran- dolph 2001). Liquefaction Potential Assessment Assessment of Liquefaction Potential of Clean Sands ‘The basic idea behind the development of the usual empirical SPT- and CPT-based liquefaction resistance curves is the follow- VOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2003 /965 19 os os 07 06 os o4 3 02 on 7) eben ad Compu (983 {CRRYs 030 100 130 seul ‘200250 Fig, 1. Semiempirical correlations between cyclic resistance ratio (CRR)y5 for 7.5-magnitade earthquake and normalized cone sesis- tance 41 for sands according to Robertson and Campanella (1985) and Seed and De Alba (1986) and Seed and De Alba (1986) 9 ing: (1) select sites for which SPT or CPT results obtained before (or, much more commonly, afte) the occurrence of a given earth- ‘quake are available, (2) compute the cyclic stress ratio for each site for the given earthquake, and (3) plot the SPT blow coust [Norr cone resistance 4. versus the eyelie stress ratio oth for sites that have and for sites that have not liquefied. The end result is a liquefaction resistance curve that separates sites that are likely to liquefy from those that are not, based on previous experience. ‘There is an important source of uncertainty in this approach: the assessment of whether a soil deposit has Tiquefied (and if i di ‘whether it ligueficd completely or locally). In genera, the evi- ence of liquefection consists of sand boil, tilted structures, and ruptured pipelines. Identification of the zone within a soil deposit ‘where Figuefection initially oceurred, which is necessary for cor- relating the occurrence of liquefaction with the appropriate q- (oF Terr) value, is not a simple task based on this type of evidence. "Free of many ofthe disadvantages present in the SPT, the cone penetration test is now routinely used in site cheracterization Robertson and Campanella (1985) and Sced and De Alba (1986) proposed CPT-based liquefaction potential assessment relation- Ships developed from the original SPT-based relationships using ‘comeations between cone resistance and SPT blow court (Fig. 1). Shibata and Teparaksa (1988) generated liquefaction assessment charts from a large database of CPT field data (Fig. 2). More fecent CPT-based correlations have been proposed by Star and (Olson (1995) and Robertson and Wride (1998) (Fig. 3). Mitchell and Tyeng (1990), using calibration chamber test results for vari- tus clean sands, calibrated a penetration resistance theory and ted it t compute ficld cone resistance for soil states at which Tiquefaction occurred in laboratory liquefaction tess for 15 toad- ing eyeles, obtaining the curves shown in Fig. 2. The relationships of Figs. 1-3 were developed for earthquakes with magnitude of 7.5, A magnitude scaling factor (MSF) must be used Zor different cearhquake magnitudes. The 1996 National Center for Barthquake Engineering Rescarch (NCEER) Workshop on liquefaction rec- commended a range of MSF values for use in practice (Youd and Tarise 2001). Participants in the NCEER Workshop endorsed the use of the curve by Robertson and Campanella (1985), slightly idjusted for low CRR values by Robertson and Wride (1998) to Sccount for recently available data. This relationship does not Tawa as Teps O38 99 eee ge 025208 (RRs 80 G0 Too 50 200 250 sala, Fig. 2. Scmiempirical correlations between cyclic resistance ratio (CRR)s5 for 7-S-magnitude earthquake and normalized cone resis- tance q.y according to Shibata and Teparaksa (1988) and Mitchell and Tseng, (1990) and Toeng (1990) account for two factors that may be important in liquefaction Susceptibility assessment: lateral sess effects (Salgado et al 19972) and the amount and nature of fines. The present peper focuses onthe effect of nonplastic fines on liquefaction resistance. Assessment of Liquefaction Potential of Silty Sands Several SPT- and CPT-based liquefaction potential assessment curves for sand containing fines have been proposed for 7.5- ‘magnitude earthquakes. Liquefaction resistance curves for sand ‘containing fines have been commonly referred to the mean rai size Dsp and fines content (Figs. 1-3). The liquefaction resistance charts by Robertson and Campanella (1985), Seed and De Alba (1986), Shibata and ‘Teparaksa (1988), and Stark and Olson (1995) do not refer to the plasticity of the fines fraction of the ry Meare ba ee eecaganyco ta 0915 eiacagton}cons setae Da(arrare nose OF en ree OnE Raise os 0s al as oa] on col (CRIs ‘50° 100150 200 250 aaa Fig. 3. Semiempircal correlations betwoen cyclic resistance ratio (CRR)_5 for 7.5-magnitude eartnqueke and normalized cone resis- tance 4.1 for sands according to Stark and Olson (1995) ané Robert son and Weide (1998) ‘966 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2003 Table 1. Maximum and Miaimum Void Ratios, Limit Void Ratio, Limit Relative Density, Critical State Friction Angle, Regression Parameters Cer eg. and ny for Calculation of Gq, and Dilataney Parameters @ and R for Clean and Silty Ottawa Sand (Salgado etal. 2000) Sit Dre @, oo en eu on G “ a @ R ° 078 oa = = 20 a 27 037 9s 86 5 07 aaa 0.69 3 BL 45st 247 asst oF 033" 10 oss 036, 0.60 "7 3208336" 207 ose os 030" Is 083 032 ast 38 320 ast 247 o7si* 18 1s vised values soils contained in the field databaso used to develop the chars ‘The approach proposed by Robertson and Wride (1998), on the cther hand, suggests that soils containing nonplastc sit (plasticity index FI<3) for a given fines content have lower liquefaction resistance (in terms of CRR) than that of soils with plate fins. The plasticity index ofthe fines fraction has been recognized a8 an important factor in the liquefeetion susceptibility of silty sand (Ishihara and Koseki 1989; Ishihara 1993). These authors found that sands containing fines with PI<10 do not exhibit a significant increase of liquefaction resistance with respect to that of clean sands, while sands with plastic fines (PI>10) show a considerable increase in liquefection resistance with increasing PI. Ishihara (1993) atibutes the greater resistance to liquefaction of sands containing plastic silt to the cohesion of the fines. Ac- cording to Ishihara (1985), tailing silty sands can be as liquefiable as clean sands due to the origin and nonplastic nature ofthe fines Troncoso andl Verdugo (1985) found that the liquefsction resis. tance of tailing sands can even be reduced by the presence of nonplastc silt and atribute this effect to a decrease in the particle interlocking by the presence of fines between sand contacts ‘Chang (1987) reported that data for earthquakes in China and Japan suggest that scils containing either plastic or nonplastic fines are not exempt from liquefaction. In the recent earthquakes in Kobe, Japan (1995), and Adapezas, Turkey (1998), numerous cases of liquefaction occurred in sends containing both plastic and ‘ooplastic fines. These were made evident by widespread shallow Foundation failures, numerous cases of lateral spreading, and some landslides (e.g. Ishihara 1997; Yoshida et al. 2001). It ap- pears that in at least some of these cases sites that might have been considered safe according fo curent SPE-based liquefzction resistance correlations not only underwent liquefaction, but did $0 ina very significant way. This suggest that stody of this topic is timoly and may provide the bass for future revisions in currently ascoepted correlations. Liquefaction susceptbity is also influenced by other compo- sitional characteristics that influence volume change behavior, such as panicle shape and gradation. According to Kramer (1996), well-graded soits are generally less susceptible t0 ligue- faction than poorly graded soils. The filling of voids between larger paticles by smaller particles in a well-raded sol results in Jovser volume change potential under drained conditions and, con sequently, lower excess pore pressures under undrained cond tions. Field evidence indicates that most liquefaction failures have involved uniformly graded soils. One of the few cases of lique faction failure of well-raded deposits is reported by Ishihara (1997), who refers to the liquefection of a silty, sandy gravel under intense shaking during the Kobe earthquake, Particle shape can also influence Liquefsction susceptibility. According to Kramer (1996), sols with rounded particle shapes are known to densify more easily than soils with angular particles. Particle rounding frequently occurs in fluvial and alluvial envi- ronments where loosely deposited saturated soils are frequently found, and liquefaction susceptibility is often high in those areas, Liquefaction Resistance of Silty Sands: Previous Laboratory’Studies Research on liquefaction initiation of silty sands, particularly ini tiation due to cyclic loading, has been limited, Whether liquefac- tion resistance goes up or down with fines content depends on the basis of comparison, of which there are three: (1) same overall otal or global) void ratio; (2) same relative density; and (3) same sand skeleton (or matsix) void ratio. Shen et al. (1977) tested mixtures of Ottawa C-109 and Ottawa C-190 with nonplastic silt ranging from 0 to 254, all prepared by moist tamping at a con- stant dry unit weight of 16.7 kN/m? and void ratio of approxi- ‘mately 0.56. Their results show that liquefaction resistance in- ‘creases due to the presence of fines for the same sand skeleton void ratio. The skeleton void ratio of a silty sand is celeulated by assuming that the volume occupied by silt particles is part of the volume of voids (Kuerbis et al. 1988). However, when overall ‘oid ratio is used as a basis of comparison, the same results show 8 significant reduction in the liquefaction resistance of silty sand with increasing fines. Since Ottawa C-109 was also used in the resent experimental program, the maximum and minimum void tatios for this sand with various percentages of silt are available (Table 1). This allowed estimation of the relative densities of the silty sand samples tested by Shen et al. (1977). Comparison of the CRR of silty sand with the CRR of clean sand, provided by Shen st al. (1977) for vatious densities, shows thatthe addition of fines increases the CRR of silty sand above that of clean sand for fixed values of relative density. Kuerbis et al. (1988) also used the skeleton void ratio as the basis for comparison of liquefaction testing done on a silty sand ‘and observed the same increase in CRR with fines content as observed by Shen et al. (1977). They observed no fundamental difference in behavior between clean and silty sands. In triaxial ‘compression, an increase in fines content Jed to increased dila- ‘ancy, In triaxial extension, an increase in fines content led to Teduced contractiveness. Both observations are consistent with increased liquefaction resistance. Kuerbis etal. (1988) also found that liquefaction resistance progressively decreases as silt content increases up to 21%, for a given value of either void ratio or relative density. Kuerbis et al. (1988) used the slury deposition miethod for preparation of their specimens, This method attempts to simulate the natural sedimentation of these materials out of suspension in Water, as is often observed in alluvial deposits end hydrauiic fills. It differs from water sedimentation techniques in that homogeneous specimens are obtained, 2$ segregation does snot happea. \VOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2003 / 967 Lade and Yamamuro (1997) studied the static liquefaction of two sands (Nevada and Ottawa), each with two different grada- tions, deposited with various percentages of nonplesic silt in a very loose state. They found evidence of ““mexpected” soil be- havior. While clean sands are usually increasingly dilatant with increasing relative density and decreasing effective confining stress, the silty sand specimens they tested showed increasing dilatancy with increasing effective confining stress. It was also ‘observed that increasing fines content led to lower peaks of g “¢{—05 (0 and o are the major and minor effective principal stresses, respectively) in undkeined triaxial compression tests ‘even with slight increases in relative density. They explsined this behavior as resulting from the fabric obtained by dry deposition ofthe silty sand, Some ofthe silt particles are positioned between sand particles, keeping them from developing an effective con- tact, or even any contact at all. Indeed, Vaid (1994) noted thatthe skeleton Void rato of silty sand obtained through dry deposition tends to be high, and Mullis etal. (1977) noted that, even at similar densities, specimens of clean sand prepared dry were ‘weaker than specimens of clean sand prepared by moist tamping. ‘Therefore, the fabric of specimens formed by dry deposition sp- pears to be less stable or strong than that of specimens formed by other processes. A soil with the fabric postulated by Lade and ‘Yamamuro (1997) is very contractive while the sit parcles have not yet been displaced from between the sand particles. As either confining or shear stress is applied, these silt particles are dis- placed into the voids between sand particles, the volume de- creases, and better contact develops between the sand particles. It is this better contact that leads to an increase in dilataney (or reduction in contractiveness) with increasing effective confining stress. “The proposed fabric generates skeleton void ratios higher than the maximum void ratio épay of the sand matrix, as is indeed observed for all specimens tested by Lade and Yamamuro (1997). It is interesting to note thet the specimens tested by Shen et al. (1977) had skeleton void ratios lower than the gay of Ortawa sand for all but 17.5, 20, and 25% fines contents. The specimen behavior observed in their testing is normal, comesponding 10 increasing dilatancy (or deczeasing contractiveness) with increas- ing relative density and decreasing effective confining. stess Shen etal (1977) do note that the tends of the CRR with density change markedly as the silt content rises above 20%, an obsecva- tion that is consistent with the postulated change in fabric at this value of fines content, The findings of Ztatovié and Ishihara (1997) corroborate the conclusions of Lade and ‘Yamamuro (1997) regarding the effect of fabric. Yamnamuro and Covert (2001) performed drained and undrained monotonic and undrained cyclic triaxial tests at different effective confining stresses on very loose Nevada sand with 40% silt content pre- pared by the dry deposition method. Their specimens resulted 3 bighly contractive, even at large axial strains, bocause of the more compressible structure of this material compared with that of Clean sand or sand with low silt contents, such as those tested by Lade and Yamamuro (1997), “Troncoso and Verdugo (1985) studied the liquefaction resis- tance of tsilings sand with nonplastic sil in various percentages, ‘They used the void ratio as the basis of comparison among the different silt contents. They did find that the CRR decreases with incteasing fines content at a given void rato, but that the void ratio woutd correspond to radically different relative densities for different fines contents. From a seties of cyclic triaxial tests on specimens prepared by the moist tamping method, Singh (1994) found that sand with 10, 20, and 30% nonplastic silt (by weight) shows less resistanoe to Tiquefaction than clean sand, for either a given relative density, void ratio, or skeleton void ratio. Koester (1994) observed similar behavior for numerous sand specimens with low plasticity fines content up to 24~30%, fora given Yoid ratio. Further increase of fines content resulted in specimen strengthening with respect to fiquefaction, Erten and Maher (1995) performed cyclic triaxial tests on specimens of Ottawa sind with various gradations of Sil-Co-Sil (a nonplastic silt), prepared following the moist tamp- ing method, Using the void ratio as the base of comparison, these authors found that the presence Of nonplastic fines reduces the Tiquefaction resistance with respect to that of clean sand. Eten ‘and Maher (1995) also noticed that this reduction is less pro- nounced for low-plastcity fines. Since the maximum and mini- ‘mum void ratios of combinations of these materials were deter- mined by Salgado et al. (2000), it is possible to compare their results with respect to relative density. It is observed that, for a given relative density, the CRR corresponding to attainment of 54% double-amplinude axial strain in 20 cycles increases consider- ably with the addition of 10% nonplasic silt (by weight) to clean Ottawa sand, while further increase of the silt content to 20% causes a reduction of the CRR to values below those of clean sand. Polito and Martin (2001) performed cyclic undrained triaxial tests on Yatesville and Monterey sands with nonplastic silt pre- pared by moist tamping. They found that the liquefaction rcsis- tance increases with increasing silt content for a given valoe of the skeleton void ratio for Yatesville sand; however, this tend ‘was not observed for Monterey sand. Their specimens, prepared at constant void ratio, exhibited a decrease in liquefaction resis- tance with increasing silt content up to 35-50%, after which the specimens get stronger. Despite the scatter ofthe results for cyclic resistance versus celative density presented by Polito and Martin (2001), it eam be seen that specimens with fow silt content (ap to 129%) have liquefaction resistance similar to or slightly higher than clean sands. For higher silt content (up to 50%), a tend is not evident Dezfulian (1984) presented results of cyctic triaxial tess on specimens of alluvial sands and silty sands, Even though Dez fulian (1984) reported a general trend of increasing liquefsction resistance with fines content, this autho also recognized that the actual effect of silt content on the results was difficult to quantify because of the evident specimen disturbance and presence of clay ‘within the fine fection. Specimens had Dx varying from 0.002 10 0.2 mm, approximately, Deafulian (1984) concluded from his data that there is x0 apparent relationship between Day and liquefac: tion resistance. Amini and Sama (1999) and Amini and Qi (2000) performed undrsined triaxial tests on uniform and layered speci- mens of sand:-silt-gravel and sand-sit mixtures in various propor: tions. These researchers found no significant difference between ‘the liquefaction resistance of stratified and uniform specimens for the relative density and effective confining stress levels consid- cred, Amini and Sama (1999) prepared specimens consolidated at 100 kPa effective stress with a target relative density of 50% and. void ratio of 0.64. They found that specimens with 25 and 50% low-plasticity silt (PL=13) bad higher liquefaction resistance than those without silt. Specimens tested by Amini and Qi (2000) were prepared at a target relative density of 40% and void ratio of 0.70 ‘and consolidated to effective stresses of 50, 100, and 250 kPa. ‘The results of Amini and Qi (2000) show that specimens with 10, 30, and 50% silt content have higher liquefsction resistance than clean sand, and that this effect is more pronounced as the silt ‘content increases. They also found that the CRR decreases when {968 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2003, the effective confining stros is increased for a given relative den- sity and silt content In summary, interpretation of the majority of the available studies suggests that the addition of nonplastic fines inereases the RR if the relative density is used as the basis for comparison. At the same void ratio, addition of nonplastic fines leads to Tower CRR values. Experimental Program and Procedures Material Tested and Specimen Preparation All cyclic triaxial tests in this study were performed on reconsti- tuted specimens of Ottawa sand with 0, 5, 10, and 15% silt. con- tent by weight, Ovawa sand is a standard, clean quartz sand, designated as ASTM C 778 (also known as ASTM C 109), Ot- tawa sand particles are round to subround, with diameters ranging from 0.1 10 0.6 mn, This sand is classified as SP according to the Unified Soil Classification System, has a coeficient of uniformity "sof 1.43 (poorly graded sand), mean grain size Dy of 0.38 mm, and specific gravity G, of 2.65. The maximum and minimum void reti0S Cmax 8nd ein tte 0.78 and 0.48, respectively, determined secording to ASTM D 4254-91 and ASTM D 4253-93. The mini- mum density was obiained by pouring sand through & thin-wall cylindrical tube (method B) into a standard compaction mold with 1 volume of 2,830 em; the loosest state was achieved by lifting the tube while releasing the sand into the mold. Maximum density was reached by densifying dry sand in an identical mold using an tkctromagnetic, vertically vibrating table with a frequency of 60 Hz (calibrated according to Kanfman et al. 1979 as recommended by ASTM D 4253-93), A value ofthe double amplitude of vertical vibration of 0.379 mm was found to be optimum for all grada~ tions. The nonplastc fines are #106 Sil-Co-Sil ground silica from US. Silica Co., Ottawa, Il. This nonplastic silt passes the #200 ve and is composed of SiO, (99.8%), with AlLO3 (0.05%) and Fe,0, (0.035%) as secondary components. ‘The specific gravity of this silt s 2.65. The grain size distribution of both Ottawa sand and Sil-Co-Sil can be found in Salgado et al. (2000). One of the objectives of the present research was to study specimens prepared with a method that reproduces the natural deposition of silty sand in water, as observed in natural alluvial Daim), the compressibility of silty sand is mach smelier than that ob- served for silty sands with floating fabric. ‘The cone resistance analysis used for producing the proposed liquefaction resistance charts is a drained analysis. For it to be applicable to cone penetration in silty sands at the standard pen- eration rate of 2 cm/s, this penctration must take place under drained conditions. Our calculations show that such isthe case for silty sands with up to 15% fines. These ealculations are based on ‘wo sets of data: hydraulic conductivity tests done at Purdue Uni- versity on silly sand specimens and centrifuge tests done at the University of Wester Australia on soils with various granulom cttes and various C, values. Table 2 shows normalized penetra tion rate, defined as vd. /C, . where o=penctration rate (2 canis is the standagd); and d,cone diameter (3.57 em is the standard), According to the centrifuge data (MI. F. Randoip®, personal com- ‘munication, 2001), the nommalized cone penetration resistance 41a, is independent of vd. /C, below a limiting value, and then rops! as the normalized penetration rate vd_/C, increases be- yor this limiting value end excess pore pressures develop. The transition from fully drained to partially drained penetration is at a nommalized velocity of approximately 1.5. The nommalized pen- eration retes shown in Table 2 are lower than 1.5, indicating that ceone penetration in sands with silt content up © 15% is fully drained fora standard cone diameter of 3.57 em and a penetration rate of 2 cm/s. Determination of Cyclic Resistance Ratio "The eyclic resistance ratio (CRR)jqy ofa soil element in the ficld at a given depth is defined as the ratio of the cyclic shear stress ‘Tae 10 07,, while the cyclic resistance ratio in the triaxial test (CRE), is given by the ratio of the maximum cyclic shear stress “Tax (OF half the cyclic devistor stress=(o{~04)/2} to a. A relationship between these two quantitics was proposed by Castro (1975). Itis given next withthe reduction factor of 0.9 introduced by Seed et al. (1978) 2d +2ko) 3 where Ko=coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest. Other rela- tionships for (CRR)saq versus (CRR),, were proposed earlier by Finn etal. (1971) and Seed and Peacock (1971). The reduction factor of 09 is due wo the evidence reported by Seed etal. (1978) and Seed (1979) ofa greater buildup of pore water pressure under multidirectional conditions in the field than under unidirectional cyclic loading. All the results in this paper apply to nocmally contolidated conditions, so Ky=0.4 was used in Eq. (5) to com- pute CR values for field conditions. (CRR) a (CRR) oF Proposed (Cyclic Resistance Ratio) Correlations Yor Clean and Nonplacte Sly Sands A(CRR);5-4<1 comelation is obtained by combining the results from the penetration resistance analysis of Salgado et al. (1997b) using CONPOINT and a considerably large set of laboratory test results for Ottawa sand with nonplastc silt; namely, results from the cyclic triaxial ests of this paper and results from static triaxial ‘and bender element (ests (Salgado et al. 2000). For cach fines ‘content, the theoretical cone resistance values were calculated for the same relative densities for which the CRR values for 20 cycles were determined in the laboratory testing program. Cone resistance was calculated for o)=100kPa and Kq=0.40. Fig. 6 shows the correlations between the cyclic resistance and the nor ‘malized cone resistance obtained using CONPOINT for sand (972 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008 1 a Roteren an Compas (1985) cof © lanudy Rotenonsne Wee 988) | Sii'an cye10 mm ass) 08 7 4 raged Cove Om tes a 5% fines Ht 108 fies est ieee | Bost | € oat J os J oak J at 5% D:A. axial strain 7 \ 0 10 20 300 400500 GelPa Fig. 6. Proposed correlations between cyclic resistance ratio (CRR);, and normalized cone resistance 4. for sand with 0, 5, 10, and 15% nonplastc sit, using CONPOINT containing 0, 5, 10, and 15% nonplastic silt for $% double- amplitude axial strain reached in 20 cycles. The well-known cor- relation curves for clean sand proposed by Seed and De Alba (1986) and Robertson and Campanella (1985). adjusted by Rob- ertson and Wride (1998) to accoumt for more recent data, have been included in Fig. 6 for comparison. Fig. 7 contains the curves obtained for 5% double-amplitude axial stain in 15 and 20 cycles, These two seis of curves are nearly the same for very low relative densities but separate as the relative density of the soil incteases. From the curves in Fi. 7 itis observed that the selee- tion of the liquefaction criterion does not have much influence on the cyclic resistance of clean sand, but the curves for sand con- taining fines shift up as the liquefaction criterion changes from 5% double-amplitade axial strain at 20 cycles to 54% double- ‘amplitude axial strain at 15 eycles. ‘The (CRR);5-de1 comelation obtained for clean sand (Fig. 6) is located very clase to and slightly to the right of Robertson and ‘Campanella’s semiempirical curve, but they are in general agree- ‘ment. The compositional characteristics of the send used in the present study, such as its low coefficient of uniformity and high degree of particle roundness, are consistent with the fact thatthe locus of the boundary curve lies (othe right ofthe semiempirical ‘curve. It was found in the present study that, fora given relative ‘density, sand with nonplasic silt up to 10% has slightly higher cyclic resistance than clean sand (Fig. 5). However, cone resis- tance increases ata faster rae with fines content than eyelic re- sistance, and the proposed liquefaction resistance curves for 5,10, and 15% sil contents are located to the right of the clean sand curve. 1 7 1 T Proposed Canes ook oe Osta | Xx S$ fas oe stn | i AA 158 fines ore exes nous | Oxo 6 iseyeks 06 + 2 4 Bos 8 o4e 4 03 fF 7 2k 1 otf + 7 1 . L L 0 100 400500 Fig. 7. Proposed (CRR); -4-1 correlation for sand with 0, 5, 10, and 15% nouplastic sik obtained using CONPOINT for 15 and 20 cycles ‘and 5% double-amplitude (DA) axial strain ‘As seen in Fig. 6, the curves for 5, 10, and 15% silt contents are very close in the lower range of cone resistance qe, (corre- sponding to relative densities up to about 43% for these grad tions) but separate for higher 4.1 values. As the fines content increases to 15%, the (CRR)y5-q1 curve shifls to the right. This behavior can be attributed to the funda mental changes of the febric ofthe material when the silt content is gradually increased, as discussed extensively by Salgado etal (2000). significant increase in liquefaction resistance due to the presence of fines (Ishihara 1993) is not observed forthe materials used in the present study because of the nonplastic nature of the fines added to the sand mixtures (@g., Ishihara 1985; Troncoso and Verdugo 1985). ‘The gradual shift to the right of the CRR-g.. curves as the fines conteat is increased from 0 to 15% may be explained by ‘observations made by Salgado et al. (2000). These authors found, for the same materials used in the present study, that sands with low silt content and a fabric in which the sand particles are mostly ‘or completely in contact are more diletive than clean sand, For a given relative density, dilative silty sands subjected o cyclic load- ing show higher resistance to liquefection than clean sand (Fig 5). Whea the fines content is incressed further, the fines either reduce or prevent the contact between particles, reducing inter- locking and dilataney, and thus liquefaction resistance, which for sand with 15% nonplastic silt content is lower than that of clean sand (Fig. 5). Cone resistance, on the other hand, is increased not couly by dilatancy, but also by the critical-state friction angle, ‘Which consistently increases with the addition of fines, It follows that cone resistance does not drop as much as CRR wien the silt content is increased from 10 to 159%, ‘JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009 /973 t T T T 1 T a i guts) ob Ttmect ton tae °. . fines = 3-8 6 7 . 1% (ay. 0.258)4 foo meas © esa -158 ree 825530059 Os ° fines = 3-5 (44, a Pape cue Ipod Cae orb SS oop 0s : 06 Zest Z sl 8 s ot oal 03 * os ° caf oat ol 7 . i \ : er ee a er er er Gala Gal, @ ) Fig. 8. Comparison of field date with proposed (CRR)y5-9.y correlation for sand with (a) 5% aonplasic sik and (b) 10% nonplatc silt (eld data from a Shibsta and Teparcksa 1988 b Suzuki etal. 195; ¢ Mitchell and Tseng 1990; d Boulanger etal. 1997) “The mean grain size Dsy has been used in liquefsction resis- tance correlations for describing the soil gradation. Shibata and ‘Teparaksa (1988) identified a relationship between the normalized cone resistance 4. and Ds) according to which the maximum values of q.;forliquefiable soils increase with mean grain size up to Day=C.25mm, after which Dyg shows no influence on cone resistance for their data set. However, both fines content and the nature ofthe fines have been recognized 2s two important factors that strongly affect the Tiquefsction resistance and the cone pea ration resistance of sands. Unfortunately, for most of the sites contained in the field database for liquefsction and nonlquefac- tion case histories available in the literature, both the plasticity and percentage of fines are unknown. The mean grain size gives only an indication of the soil gradation. For some silty sands, large differences in fines content in the order of 10-20% repre- sent very sll variations in Dz For this reason, the comrelations presented here are based on specific values of fines content. Figs. 8(¢-b) compare the proposed curves for 5 and 10% silt ‘content with field CPT deta from various sites that have been subjected to earthquake loading. Only fild data for which the fines content was reported were considered. The ranges of fines ‘content for each reference are reported in the figure. The data from Suzuki et al. (1995) presented in Fig. 8 corespond to eyclic triaxial tests (5% double-amplitude axial strain and 15 cycles) on undisturbed frozen specimens from sites with CPT data available Their results, originally comected for multidirectional shear, were recalculated for Ky=04, Data from Mitchell and Tseng (1990) in Fig. 8 correspond tothe resuls'ofeyeli triaxial and direct shear tests on undisturbed specimens retrieved from sites for which CPT field data were also available. Field data from Boulanger et al. (1997), obtained after the Lome Prieta earthquake, were based on a peak ground acceleration of 0.25¢. Due to uncertai ties in the evaluation of this peak ground acceleration (Boulanger ct al, 1997), data points in the range +0.05g were also plotted in this figure. ‘The proposed correlations show good agreement with the available field observations in support of the findings of this research, although it is apparent that more data are needed for bboth 5 and 10% silt content to further validate the proposed carves, The sources of the field data are identified in each figure ‘Summary and Conclusions ‘We proposed CPT:based liquefaction resistance relationships for silty sands based on the results of numerous cyclic triaxial ests to determine (CRR); 5 and a penctration resistance analysis to deter- ‘mine corresponding values of normalized cone resistance 41. ‘Cyclic triaxial tests were performed on reconstituted specimens of (Otiawa sand with nonplastic silt content ranging from 0 to 15% by weight at various relative densities. A penetration resistance ‘nalysis was used to calevlate q., values from the results of static triaxial tests and bender element tests published by Salgado et al, (2000) complemented by additional tests reported in the present ‘Paper. Use of the analysis is possible because we have shown that ‘cone penetration in sand with up to 15% silt content is a fully rained process for a standard cone diameter of 3.57 em and a ‘penotration rate of 2 cm/s. ‘The results of the cyclic triaxial tests show that, for a given relative density, the cyclic resistance of sand increases slightly when small amounts of nonplastic silt are added. The cyclic re- sistance of sand with 5% silt content increases approzimately 25% with respect to the resistance of clean sand. The cyclic re- 974,| JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING @ ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008 stances of sand with $ and 10% silt content are not notably diferent. However, specimens containing 10% silt had (CRR);5 values below the coresponding value for saad with 56 silt, THs bbeavior is believed to be caused by the progressive change ofthe soil fabric with increasing silt coateat, At 15% silt content, the fines start conttolling the soil response, fine patiles tend 10 in- creasingly separate the sand particles, and, a5 a result, particle interlocking is progressively reduced, In addition, shear stresses applied through the silt particles between sand particles resalt in higher shear strains and faster pore pressure generation than that resulting from application of shear stesses through the sand rains. These two factors determine the obscrved behavior and explain the small increase in liquefaction resistance for very low silt contents and the liquefaction resistance drop for 15% sll con- tent ‘The proposed (CRR);5-4

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