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Casagrande A - (1975) - Liquefaction and Cyclic Deformation of Sands A Critical
Casagrande A - (1975) - Liquefaction and Cyclic Deformation of Sands A Critical
Casagrande A - (1975) - Liquefaction and Cyclic Deformation of Sands A Critical
88
A CRITICAL REVIEW
by
Arthur Casagrande
Presented at
Pierce Hall
Cambridge, Massachusetts
January 1976
by
SUMMARY
Th is paper reviews inve s t igations of two basically dif feren t phenomena
for which in l i terature the same term LIQUEFACTION is used . To prevent
confus ion, the term ACTUAL LIQUEFACT ION is used in this paper for the
response of contrac t ive ( loose) sand that leads to loss of s trength
which c an cause flow s lides; and the term CYCLIC LIQUEFACT ION for the
response of dilative (dense) s and when subjec ted to cyc lic labor atory
tes ts. Top ics covered: Hypo thes is of cr it ical void ratio and its
early tes t ing . Liquefac tion s lide in For t Peck Dam and hypo thes is of
flow s truc ture . Inves tigat ion o f ac tual liquef act ion w i th load control
triaxial tes ts; definit ion of dilative and contr ac tive zones; F line
and l iquefac t ion poten t ial . Inve s t igation of r esponse to cyclic
loading in var ious types of cyclic laboratory tes ts; conc lus ions (1)
that cyc lic liquefac tion in tes t spec imens is c aused by red is tr ibution
of water con tent which is generated by mechanisms that normally are
absent in s i tu , and (2 ) that cyclic liquefac t ion normally cannot
develop in dense s ands in s i tu . Because i t is unlikely that laboratory
tes t s c an be devised to eliminate the severe s tress grad ients in tes t
spec imens and t o reproduce the uniform s tresses tha t exist in a typical
element in s i tu, the author believes that the great gap between lab or
atory and in s itu response to cyc lic load ing will require comprehens ive
f ield inves tigat ions o f full sc ale tes ts that nature is performing in
highly s e ismic regions. For es timating the in s i tu cyclic r esponse of
medium dense and dense s ands, an interim procedure is sugges ted using
cyc lic tr iaxial tes ts on anisotropically consolida ted specimens.
1
CONTENTS
I INTRODUCTION 1
II DEFINITIONS OF "ACTUAL LIQUEFACTION" AND "CYCLIC LIQUE-
FACTION" AS USED IN THI S PAPER 1
III EARLY LABORATORY INVEST IGATIONS OF ACTUAL LIQUEFACTION AND
HYPOTHESIS OF CRITICAL VOID RATIO (1935-1938) 2
IV INVESTIGAT ION OF PARTIAL FAILURE OF FORT PECK DAM AND
HYPOTHE SIS OF FLOW STRUCTURE 5
V ACTUAL LIQUEFACTION PRODUCED IN TRIAXIAL TESTS WITH MONO-
TONIC LOAD CONTROL 6
VI COMMENTS ON POTENTIAL FOR ACTUAL LIQUEFACTION 10
VII CYCLIC TRIAXIAL TESTS BY PROFESSORS SEED AND LEE 12
VIII INVESTIGATIONS WITH GYRATORY SHEAR APPARATUS 14
IX COMPARISON OF CYCLIC STRESSES INDUCED IN SITU AND IN
LABORATORY TESTS 18
LIST OF FIGURES
t. INTRODUCTION
Until 19 66, the term liquefaction was used in literature for the
reaponse of saturated loose sand to strains or sbocksthat resulted in
flow slides. With the development of the cyclic triaxial tests in
connection with research on the response of sand under earthquake
2
In Fig. l (c) are plotted the void ratio (or density) on the
vertical scale, and horizontally on a log scale the applied normal
stress an. For reference, curves Lc, M c and Dc represent consolida
tion curves as obtained in one-dimensional consolidation tests. The
direct shear tests plotted in Figs. lea) and (b) are assumed to be
performed under a confining pressure of one kg/sq cm. Therefore,
points x, y and z on the consolidation curves in Fig. l (c) are the'
starting points of the direct shear tests. By projecting these points
horizontally onto the vertical scale of diagram (b) , we find the
starting points x', y' and z' of the void ratio vs displacement curves.
Thus, points z and z' represent the critical void ratio for this sand
when consolidated under a normal stress of one kg/sq em.
To obtain the critical void ratio line, ideally the tests should
have been performed on s�turated specimens without allowing change of
volume, and with pore pressure measurements; but such testing equipment
had not yet been developed 40 years ago. Therefore, the question
"what happens when saturated sand is subjected to shearing at constant
volume" was answered indirectly, as follows: Suppose the sand is
consolidated to the void ratio and normal pressure represented by point
p, Fig. l(c). If the specimen would be sheared with volume change
allowed, the void ratio would decrease vertically downward, at constant
effactive stress, until the critical void ratio line E is reached at
point r. However, if no volume change were permitted, the sand would
still try to reduce its volume; but because this is not possible, it
responds by transferring stress from the grain structure to tha pore
vater; 1. e. , we move horizontally at constant volume until we reach the
4
critical void rat io l ine at po int q. The init ial effective stress of
about 4 kg/sq em at po int p would thus be reduced to almost one
tenth of the init ially appl ied stress; and the pore water would carry
almost the entire appl ied stress. Such large reduction in effective
stress and correspond ing shear strength causes actual liquefact ion;
i.e., the sand changes from a sol id mater ial into a mass which flows
like a viscous flu id when subjected to small shear stresses. But
beneath a level ground surface, not loaded by structures, a l iquef ied
mass cannot flow. The only symptoms of the liquef ied state would be
sand boils at the surface produced by upward drainage of excess water.
However, a structure underlain by l iquef ied sand would be in serious
trouble. From Fig. l(c) we can also conclude that saturated sand
below the critical vo id ratio line would be safe aga inst actual
liquefact ion; that if such sand is exposed to shear forces, it would
develop negat ive pore pressures, i.e., the effect ive intergranular
stresses would be increased and the sand would brace itself, so to
speak, against failure by increas ing its strength above that which
existed before the shear stresses were applied. But cav itation would
limit this increase in strength to one atmosphere negat ive pore
pressure.
(1) All combinat ions of void ratio and effect ive normal stress
which are located below, or to the left, of the cr it ical l ine "E",
F ig. l(c), represent states � wh ich the sand would develop d ilat ive
response and are safe aga inst [actual) l iquefact ion.
( 3) Tbe greater the effect ive conf ining pressure, e.g., the
greater the depth of a sand stratum, the lower is the crit ical vo id
ratio; or, in other words, the denser must be the sand to be safe
against [actual] l iquefact ion. But when heav ily loaded, even a medium
dense sand may be suscept ible to [actual] liquefact ion.
diagram, curve "A" shows how the pore pressure rose and reached during
the state of flow the constant value of 3. 85 kg/sq em with the
corresponding effective minor principal stress 03 f· 0. 15 kg/sq cm.
From the relationship sin � - 0df/ (203f + 0df) - 0 . 5, the angle of
,
internal friction of this loose sand specimen can be computed to be 30
degrees. This agrees with the results of the S test carried out at
the same relative density and which is shown by the dashed stress
strain curve in the upper diagram and by the corresponding stress
circles in Fig. 4 for both tests. However. it may be a coincidence
that the stresses during the state of flow reflected the same friction
angle of 30 degrees as in the S test. I am inclined to believe that
at equal relative density the effective friction angle in the flow
structure is smaller than in the static structure. This is also
supported by the observation that in Fig. 4 the effective stress circle
at the peak, when liquefaction started. remains below the 30 degree
strength line.
The third test, "C". in Fig. 3 was carried out at 41% relative
density after consolidation, i.e., slightly denser than in test "B".
The stress-strain curve appeared to develop into a peak at a slightly
greater deviator stress than test ItB", with a suggestion of impending
actual liquefaction. However, then the stress-strain curve reversed
its curvature and the strength increased rapidly as a result of a
s trong dilative response, as can be seen by the induced pore pressures
in the lower diagram. The pore pressure dropped to zero at a strain of
14%. If this test had been continued, negative pore pressures would
have developed. If the S test in the upper diagram had been performed
at the same relative density, the intersection of curves "c" and "D"
should have occurred at about 14% strain, when the pore pressure
dropped to zero. But the S test was made on a looser specimen. For a
denser specimen curve "D" would be higher and the intersection would
agree better with the 14% strain corresponding to zero pore pressure.
In Fig. 6 are plotted (1) the starting conditions and (2) the
conditions during flow of all tests performed by Castro in which actual
liquefaction developed. (Ref. 8 and tests performed subsequently.)
The vertical scales are void ratio and relative density; and the
logarithmic horizontal scale is the effective minor, principal stress.
The arrows pointing to the left indicate the starting conditions; and
the plotted point to the left of each arrow is the effective minor
principal stress during the state of flow. The large, heavy circles
are tests on isotropica11y consolidated specimens which developed
actual liquefaction with large drop in strength. The small circles
are tests on isotropica11y consolidated specimens during which there
was only a relatively small drop in strength during flow; the triangles
are tests on anisotropica1ly consolidated specimens; and the squares
represent tests with cyclic loading. The horizontal distance from the
starting arrow to the effective stress in the liquefied state is the
reduction in the effective stress that developed by actual liquefaction.
For example, in this plot the three tests with the loosest specimens
had a relative density slightly greater than 20% . One test was
consolidated under 4 kg/sq em and during flow its effective minor
principal stress dropped to 0.02 kg/sq em, a reduction by a factor of
200. Two other tests at the same void ratio were consolidated under
0.3 kg/sq em and during actual liquefaction they also developed about
0.02 kg/sq em effective minor principal stress, a reduction by a
factor of only 15. Fig. 6 shows that no matter to what minor
principal stress a specimen was consolidated initially and no matter
whether it was consolidated isotropica11y or anisotropica11y, or
whether it was cyclically loaded, the conditions during failure all"
ended up along a fairly accurately defined line which I now call the
F line; the letter F standing for critical void ratio in which lique
faction with a flow s tructure developed.
zones . Below the F line actual lique faction is not possib le , although
small s trains may develop .
Liquefac t ion s l ides some t imes create the imp ress ion o f a s uc cess ion
of shear s lides . Assume a river b ank in loose s and , Fig . 9, and that
an e lement "A" s ome dis tance from the slope is subjec t to a s afe
princ ipal s t ress ratio; but that an element "B" near the s lope is
subjec t to a much greater principal s t ress ratio which renders it mo re
vulne rab le to lique f action . This, combined wi th progress ive s teepening
of the slope by erosion, can c ause a limited zone to liquefy as
illus trated in Fig . 9 ( a) . As the hatched wedge of s and flows out, the
principal s t ress ratio will increase quick ly in an adjacent zone in
which, in addi tion , als o the seepage forces will be greater as we move
furthe r b ack into the river b ank; Fig . 9 (b) . In this manne r lique - .
fac tion c an progress b ackward and a large volume of s and may f low into
the river, leaving behind a s lope surface with a very flat angle that
ref lects the low st rength of the l iquefied s and . However , t o a shallow
depth below the ground s ur face and next to the f ace of the s lope. i.e . ,
12
the zones not shaded in Fig . 9(c) , the s and is so light ly loaded that
it may lie below the cri t ical F line where it cannot lique fy . On the
ground s ur face an ob server may see only a progression of shear cr ack s ,
conveying the impression that the ent ire movement cons ists of a
success i on of or dinary shear s lides , whereas in fac t the major p or tion
of the m ass is moving like a viscous mass wi thout shear s ur face s . Such
f low s lides usually s tar t along a shor t s tretch of the b ank . As lique
fact ion pro gresses landward , the are a widens such that in p lan the
f inal are a appears like a flask wi th a narrow zone through which the
lique fied sand has flowed out .
When finally , af ter so many years , I believed that with Cas tro's
help I h ad solved the pr ob lem of lique f action of s and in a s atis
f ac tory manner, Professors Seed and Lee published their well-known
p aper entit led LIQUEFACTION OF SATURATED SANDS DURING CYCLIC LOADING ; ,
(Re f . lOa). Pr ofess or Seed and his discip les had then already c arried
out important pioneer work on the response of ear th mas ses and
struc tures to ear thquakes . To app ly their theories, they needed s oil
p arame ters that express the response of s and to ear thquake loadin g .
I t was logical t o experiment wi th cyclic tri axial tes ts . Thereby they
discovered that when a tr iaxial spec imen of s aturated sand is subjec ted
to cyclic loading in an undr ained tes t in such a manner that the
principal s tresses p ass in each cycle through a hydros tatic s tate o f
stress (which means that all shear s tres s es dis appear ) , even a dense
and h i ghly dilative s and will develop cyclically high pore pressur es
and deformations .
A typical tes t result from the paper by Seed and Lee is reproduced
in Fig. 10 . The s and specimen was p l aced at a relative dens ity of 78% .
In the upper diagram are p lo t ted ver tically the axial s tr ains and
horizont ally the number of cycles on a log scale . The hori zon t al line
in the middle represents zero s tr ain . The horizontal lines ab ove the
zero line are for 5 , 10 and 15% compress ive s tr ains; and below the zero
line for 5 , 10 and 15% extens ion . In the lower diagram are p lot ted
vertically the induced pore pressures and hori zontally again the number
of cyc les on a log scale . The initi al hydros tatic confining pressure
vas one kg/sq cm. The axi al deviator stress was plus/minus 0 . 7 kg/sq
CB; i.e • • the ver tical principal s tress was cycled between 1 . 7 and
0.3 kg/sq em, while the lateral s tress remaine d c ons tan t at 1 . 0 k g/sq
em . During the firs t 10 cycles the axi al s trains remained negligib le ,
Dut the pore press ures increased and decreased with e ach cycle ,
reaching higher and hi gher values un t i l af ter about 12 cyc les the pore
pressure reached the confining press ure of one kg/sq cm in the moment
when all princ ipa l s tresses were equal and all shear s tresses in the
.pecimen became zer o . When the pore pressure equalled the confining
pressure for the firs t time. Seed and Lee de fined this as " initial
lique fact ion. II W ith additional cycles the axial s tr ains kept increas in g
.. 8een i n the upper diagram. railure was defined i n terms o f the
number of cycles when the str ain ampli tude in one complete cycle
r.ached a cer tain magni tude. As c an be seen in Fig . 10. the pore
13
Prom such tests, Seed and Lee drew the following conclusions:
monotonica lly loaded specim ens , as was measured alrea dy many years ago
at the Wa terways Exper iment S t a t ion; (Ref . 11) . (2) the high p ore
pressure and s o f tening which develop in the moment the specimen is
cycled through the s t ate of hydros tatic s tress; and (3) a kind of
pumping ac t i on which seems to draw wa ter to the top that is freed in
the moments when cycling through the hydros tatic s ta te of s tress . The
impor tant que s tion whether such redis tribution in tes t specimens is
represen ta tive for wha t happens in an e lement in s i tu will be dis
cussed later.
A det a i led inves tigation of the redis trib uti on of the wa ter
content in cyclic tr iaxial tes ts, in which redis tribut ion is produced
by superpos i t i on of several different mechanisms , would be a difficult
undertakin g . Therefore , I decided to tack le firs t the redis tribution
produced by one mechanism only , namely th at produced by non-uni form
s tress dis tr ibution on the spec imen b oundar ies . For this purpose I
.
concen tr a ted on the des i gn o f a gyr atory appara tus in which we could
perform gyr a t ory as well as cyclic direct shear tes ts . The desi gn I
had in m ind would permi t freezing the specimen a t the end of the- tes t
in the apparatus. (Note: At tha t time I c ould not think of a
re la tively s imp le design for freezing the tes t spec imen inside a
triaxial cell . In the meanwhile I h ave developed a design which ful
f i l ls this requirement . I have submi t ted i t to the Waterways Experi
ment S ta t ion , Vicksbur g , Miss. , in the hope tha t it will s timula te a
det a i led inves tigation of the redis trib ution in cyclic triaxial tes ts . )
The first gyratory appara tus I des igned with the help of Cas tro.
But for a major research ef for t I needed another intelligent s lave .
(This is wha t I c alled my doctoral c andidates only half-jokingly . They
15
are in fact a modern kind o f s l avery b e c ause they s lave for seve ral
years for the che rishe d Ph . D . , a l though they may not have read a
s ingle b ook ab out philos ophy . ) Jus t in t ime I found a sui tab l e
candidate , Frank l in Rendon , a Mexican s tudent who was we l l endowed
with endurance , a q ua l i ty p ar t i cularly important for this p r o j e c t
becaus e o f the many ch anges i n des i gn and i n tes t ing techniques tha t
h ad t o b e deve loped by t r i al and erro r .
Fi g . 14 is a p l an v i ew o f th e r e c i p r 0 c a t i n g s l i d i ng p l at e wi t h its
l ateral and ve r t i c a l g u i de b e ar L n g s .
Th e p a t t e rn o f l'e d i s t r ib u t i on i s p ro b ab l y c ons t an t ly c h an g i n g ,
even w i t h i n a s in gle cycle , e x ce p t i n the c omp ac t e d t op an d b o t t om
z on e s th a t r e m a i n e s s en t i a l l y s t ab l e i n s h ap e , b u t b e c ome more c omp a c t
w i th i n c r e as i n g n umb e r of cy c l e s . There is a r a d i c a l d i f fe re n c e i n
re d i s t r i b u t i on wh i ch deve l o p s i n r e c i p r o c a t i n g an d gy r a t o ry t e s t s as
c omp are d to cy c l i c t r i ax i a l tes ts . In the l a t te r the g re a t e s t w a t e r
con t en t a c c umul a t E: s i n t h e t o p o f i n i t i a l l y un i f o rm t e s t s p e c imens .
Pore p re s s ure and disp lacemen t t rans du c e r records are rep ro duced
in F i g . 18 for a re c ip ro c a t in g shear tes t on dense s and with an
ave rage r e l a t i ve d e n s i ty o f 7 3 % wh i ch chan ge d i n 7 1 cyc les to a range
of 5 7 t o 8 7% . In th e top d ia g ram the p o re p re s s ure g rad ua l ly in
creas e d , re a ch in g a maximum i n 2 1 c y c le s ; and a f t e r th at a lmo s t the
s ame p a t t e rn r ep e a t e d i t s e l f in al l c y c le s , w i th the p eak p o re
p r e s s ure in e a ch c y c le reaching ab o u t 9 5 % o f the 2 . 0 k g / sq cm ve r t i c a l
confining p re s s ure . Only three s e gmen t s o f the t o t a l re cord a re
rep roduc e d : t h e f i r s t 2 3 c y c le s , cy c les 30 t o 34 and cyc l es 6 8 to 7 1 .
In the low e r record i t c an b e s een tha t th e h o r i zo n t a l d e f l e c t i on s
in creased much mo r e s low ly than the p o r e p re s su re s . I� fac t , when the
p o re p re s s ure reached i ts maximum a f te r 21 cy c le s , the de f le c t i ons "
I
we re on ly ab o u t one mm i n e ach d i re c t i on ; b u t they k e p t i n c re as i n g
a l mos t th ro ugh o u t t h e t e s t and deve lop e d re as onab ly s te ady de f le c t i on s
on ly duri n g the las t 10 cyc les o f about 7 mm in each d i rec t i on . In
t hi s t e s t the in i t ia l e f f ec t ive c on f i n i n g p re s s ure was 2 . 00 k g / s q cm
and the shear s t re s s c y c l ed b e tween ± 0 . 2 2 k g / s q cm w i th a f r eq uen cy
o f 0 . 1 2 cyc l es / sec .
In Fi g . 2 2 we c ons i de r an e l eme n t i n s i t u wh i c h is s ub j e c t e d a l s o
i n i t i a l ly t o s t a t i c s h e a r s t r e s s e s o n h o r l z o n t a l p l an e s , a s e . g . , i n a
dam or in the f o un d a t i o n o f a s t ru ct u re . T h e s u p e rp o s i t i on o f t h e
cy c l i c she a r s t r e s s e s on t h e s t a t i c s h e a r s t re s s c a u s e s t h e i n i t i a l
ti l "
s t res s c i rc l e t o c y c l e b e t we en t h e c i r c l e s " I I " , " I I I " and " IV" .
As in the p r e c e d i n g c a s e , t b e s t re s s e s in t h e e l e me n t wi l l never
app roach a h y d r o s t a t i c s t a t e of s t re s s .
In an e le me n t i n s i t u , w i t h t h e d i me n s i on s of a sma l l l ab o r a t o ry
t e s t specimen , a t any g i ven mome n t a l l s t re s s e s on the s u r f a c e s o f the
e l emen t and in i t s i n t e r i o r are for a l l p r ac t i ca l p u rp os e s un i fo rmly
dis t rib u t e d an d the s t re s s g r ad i en t s w i th i n th e sp ec imen are z e ro .
Even in a s t ra t i f i e d s an d wi t h l ay e rs o f d i f fe re n t c omp os i t i on , the
no rmal and she ar s t re s s e s that are t ransmi t te d a lo n g the int e r f ace of
two l ayers w i l l be un i f o rmly d i s t r ib u t e d ove r an area of a few s q ua re
inch e s at any g i ven mome n t during cy c l i c l o adin g .
aut oma t i cally mob i l i z e the s ame shear s t res s e s on ve r t ical p l anes .
All s t re s s es on these f i c t i t ious b oundaries o f th e element , as we l l as
in the inte rior o f the e lemen t , are uni f o rm a t any given moment . In
s tark cont ras t , the b oundaries o f eve ry te s t spec imen are c ause for
non-uni fo rm s t ress di s t ributions on th e bo undaries and s t re s s gradien ts
in the inte r io r . Th e rubb e r memb rane t r ansmi t s to the cy lindrical
b oundary o f the spe cimen on ly normal s t resses . Becaus e the shear
s tresses on th i s ve rt ical b oundary are zero , the shear s tresses alon g
the edges o n t h e hori zon t a l faces of cap and b ase a re als o z e ro .
The re fore , the ap p lied shear f orce i s d i s t ribu ted app roxima tely p ara
b o l i c al ly , as shown in Fi g . 2 4 . B u t th e ove r turning moment o f these
shear forces is not b a l anced by a coun t e rmoment p roduced by shear
f o r ce s on the ver t i ca l b ound aries . There fore , to maintain equilib ri um ,
the c ente r o f gravi ty o f the normal s t re s s e s transmi t ted b y the cap and
the b as e mus t b e excent ric ; and th is exce n t ri ci ty mus t cy cle b ack and
fo rth . Th is h i gh ly non-uni form and cy cli cally changing p a t t e rn o f
b oundary s t res s es and the res u l t ing seve re inte rnal s tres s gradien t s
tend t o comp act the s and adj acent t o the c ap and t h e b as e and p roduces
the typ e of redis t r ib u t i on th a t we h ave me asured in many rec i p ro c a t ing
and gyratory shear t e s t s ; (Re f . 12 and 1 3) .
and various enginee ring p r ope r ties are re lated t o th e content s o f clay
par t i cles and their mine ral ogy . ) I canno t f ind a common denominator
be tween the p rinci p al mechan isms that control the cy l i c res p onse in
l ab oratory specimens and the response o f an e lement in s i t u . In
laboratory s p e cimens the deve l opment of p ore press ure s and cy clic
de forma t i ons i s the result o f radi cal redis t ribut ion wh ich in turn is
produced by mechanisms tha t no rmally do not exi s t in an e lement in s i tu .
I n an e lement i n s i tu no rma l ly there i s n o re di s t ribut ion and the
s tress es remain h omogeneous , i . e . , no s t ress gradien ts develop wi thin
the spe c imen . In th e convent i onal cyclic t riaxi a l tes ts cy clic l ique
faction wi l l deve lop even in very dense s and s , when applying
enough cyc le s ; b u t in s i tu, cy c l i c lique f a c t i on cannot deve lop , excep t
pe rhap s q u i t e l o c al ly , adj acent t o certain rigid b o undaries s uch as
p iles or p iers .
The only clearly re alis t i c app ro ach t o th is ent i re prob lem area
cons is ts of comp rehens ive inve s t i ga t i ons o f the full-s cale exp er imen t s
whi ch nature has made and con t inues to p er fo rm i n h i ghly seismi c
relions o f the w o rl d . But rel iab le in format i on wi l l not b e de rive d
from s uch inves t i gat ions unless they are p receded b y extens ive
preliminary e f f o r t s , t o sharpen our to ols so t o speak ; in p a r t i cular t o
imp rove avai lab l e methods and t o deve lop new methods ( 1 ) for conduc t ing
22
For typ i cal alluvial s ands cont aining not more than a few p e rcen t
o f silt s i ze s , t he upp e r limi t o f re l a t ive dens i ty for whi ch I cons ider
actual l i q ue f act ion t o b e a p o ssib i l i ty , lies in the range b e tween
ab ou t 40 and 50% , depending on c on f in ing p re s sure . Medium- loose s ands
in the range b e tween 40 and 60% may be s l i gh t ly con t r a c t ive or s l igh t ly
dilat ive ; and in s i t u they may resp ond to cy c l i c l oading w i th s t rains
of ob j e c t i onab le magni tude , but rare ly with act ual lique f action . In
s t r on g ly d i l a t ive , ani s o t ropi cally cons o l idated s ands in s i t u , with
23
relative dens i t i es grea ter than ab out 70% , I cons ider i t norma l ly
impossib le f or cy c l i c p o re p ress ures t o app roach or equal the c onf ining
p res sure be cause d i l at ency w i l l au toma t i ca l ly caus e the grain
s t ructure t o o f fs e t loss of s t r en g t h by "b racing i t s e l f" so to sp eak ,
requir ing only minute s t rains ; and I doub t tha t induced p ore p ress ures
w i ll norma l ly r i se as h i gh as 50% of th e con f ining p ress ure . In
c on t ras t , in lab o ra t ory spe cimens of dense s and the red i s t r ib ution of
water con ten t , devel opmen t o f s o f t z ones and cy c l ic l iq ue f ac t i on
c anno t be p revented by mob i li z a t i on o f a s t rong d i lat ive respons e .
Spe cial c ondi t ions that may caus e deve l opment o f high p ore p ressures
I
. i
and excess ive s t rains in dense s and in s i tu are the fo llowin g :
( 1 ) Adj acent t o rigid b oundaries where severe s t ress gradi ents can
deve lop and p roduce redis tr ibution of water cont ent . I t would me r i t
inve s t igation whe the r s uch res p onse could s ub s tan t i ally re duc e the
b earing cap acity of p i les or p iers dur ing earth quake s . ( 2 ) I f i t were
p o s s ib le to main tain in s i tu a mas s of s and in an iso t rop ical ly conso
l i dated s t at e during cy clic l o ad ing (wh i ch I doub t ) , then cy clic lique
faction in dens e s and would be the ore t i cally p os s ib le .
rear range themse lves i n t o a f l ow s t ruc t ure which ens ures a min imum
res i s tance t o f l ow . By us ing dead loads in R (und rained ) tr iaxial t e s t s ,
l ique f a c t ion can be achieved at grea ter relat ive dens i t ies than with
s train con t r o l t e s t s ; and the type o f t e s t used 4 0 years ago gave
res u l t s even more on the unsafe s ide . The same relationship be tween
c r i t i cal void r a t i o and e f f e c t ive minor p rinc ipal s t ress is ob ta ined
with ( 1 ) iso t ropically cons o l idated sp ec imens , ( 2 ) anisotrop ically
conso lidated s pecimens , and ( 3 ) wi th cy c l i c l oad tes ts ; Fig . 6 .
5. In terim Recommenda t i ons for Labora tory Tes ts - For e s t ima t ing
the in s i tu response of medium dense and dens e sands , i . e . , sands whi ch
are safe agains t ac tual l iquefact ion , an in terim pro cedure is sugge s t ed
which is based on performance o f cyc l i c t riaxial tests on ani s o t ropical ly
consolidated spe cimens cut f rom und is turbed samples .
Whenever a que s t ion ar i ses whether a sand s t ratum could exp erience !
}
i
actual l ique f ac t i on , it i s recommended to carry out R tests wi th
d ead load incremen t s , as developed by Cas tro ( Ref . 8 ) , u s ing the be s t I
pos s ib le und i s t urbed samp les .
XI I I . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
XIV. REFERENCES
(3) Cas agrande , A. , liThe Shearing Res i s t ance of Soils and its Relation
t o the S t ab i l i ty o f Earth Dams " , P roceedings , Soi l s and
Founda tion Conference of the U . S . Engineer Department , Bos ton ,
Mass . , June 1938 .
(6) Middleb rooks , T . A . , "Fo r t Peck S lide" , ASCE Transacti ons , Vol .
107 , 194 2 .
(7) Cas agrande , A . , "Role o f the Calcula ted Risk in Earthwork and
Foundation Engineering" , Journal of the Soi l Mechanics and
Founda tions Di vis i on , ASCE , July 19 65 .
(8) Cas tro , Gonzalo , "Lique f act ion of Sands " , Harvard Soi l Mechani cs
Seri es N o . 8 1 , January 1969 .
(9) Cas tro , Gon za10 , "Liquefaction and Cyclic Mobility of Saturated
Sands " , Journal of the Geotechni cal Engi neering Di vi si on ,
ASCE , June 19 75 .
( lOb ) Lee , K . L . and Seed , H . B . , " Cyclic S t ress Cond i tions Caus ing
Lique facti on of Sand" , Journal of the Soi l Mechani cs and
Founda ti ons Di vis i on , January 19 6 7 .
; i� ,
-.;.