Assessment of the Undrained Response of Sands

under Limited and Complete Liquefaction

Mohamed Ashour, M.ASCE1; Gary Norris, M.ASCE2; and Tung Nguyen3

Abstract: The technique presented deals with the assessment, based on drained test behavior and formulation, of the undrained postcy-
clic stress-strain behavior of sands under limited or complete 共full兲 liquefaction and its associated strength. At present, there is no
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tokyo Univ Seisan Gijutsu on 06/13/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

particular procedure that allows assessment of such undrained postcyclic behavior that could develop full 共pore-water pressure ratio, ru
= 1兲 or limited 共ru ⬍ 1兲 liquefaction. The prediction of the undrained postliquefaction 共full or limited liquefaction兲 response presented here
is based on basic properties of sand such as its relative density 共Drc兲 关or 共N1兲60 blowcount兴, the effective angle of internal friction 共␸兲, the
roundness of the sand grains 共␳兲, and the drained axial strain at 50% stress level 共␧50兲. The technique presented accounts for the excess
pore-water pressure induced by cyclic loading 共⌬uc兲 and the postcyclic excess pore-water pressure generated under undrained monotonic
loading 共⌬ud兲.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲GT.1943-5606.0000114
CE Database subject headings: Soil-liquefaction; Drainage; Sand, soil type; Stress strain relations; Assessment.

Postliquefaction Phenomenon in Saturated Sands
The postliquefaction stress-strain behavior and strength of a com-
pletely liquefied soil 共pore-water pressure ratio, ru = 1兲, or a soil
under limited liquefaction 共ru ⬍ 1兲, are still subjects of consider-
able research interest. Seed 共1979兲 addressed this issue experi-
mentally showing the strain generated resistance of saturated sand
under undrained monotonic loading after first being completely
liquefied by cyclic loading and losing all of its static strength
共Fig. 1兲. Upon undrained compressive monotonic loading follow-
ing complete or limited liquefaction with its associated drop in
effective confining pressure 共␴ ¯ 3兲, sand eventually responds in a
共suppressed兲 dilative fashion 共Fig. 2兲. However, sand under lim-
ited liquefaction with a drop in confining pressure short of com-
plete liquefaction 共␴ ¯ 3 ⬎ 0兲 may experience initial 共restrained兲
contractive behavior that is then followed by dilative behavior
共Fig. 2兲. The undrained postliquefaction response of sand after
complete liquefaction reflects a concave upward undrained devia-
toric stress stiffening versus undrained axial strain response re-
gardless of its initial conditions 共density or confining pressure兲
before cyclic loading/liquefaction. The same is true for sand with
limited liquefaction after initial restrained contractive behavior
whereby its effective stress path reaches the failure line and there-
after marches up the failure line due to restrained dilative behav-
ior. The difference is that it does not start from ¯␴3 = 0, as does
1
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35806 共corresponding author兲. E-mail
ashour@eng.uah.edu.
2
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Nevada, Reno,
NV 89557.
3
Project Engineer, California Dept. of Transportation 共CALTRANS兲.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 29, 2007; approved
on March 6, 2009; published online on October 15, 2009. Discussion
period open until April 1, 2010; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This technical note is part of the Journal of Geo-
technical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 135, No. 11,
November 1, 2009. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090-0241/2009/11-1772–1776/
$25.00.
the completely liquefied soil. It should be noted that the charac-
teristics of the postliquefaction response of sand do not rely on
the method of liquefying the sand, i.e., whether it is from static or
cyclic loading 共Vaid and Thomas 1995兲. It depends on the sand’s
relative density and effective stress. The technique presented al-
lows assessment of the postliquefaction liquefaction stress-strain
behavior of sand with limited or complete liquefaction based on
drained test behavior. Such assessment requires only basic prop-
erties of the sand such as its relative density 关or 共N1兲60兴, the ef-
fective angle of internal friction 共␸兲, the roundness of the sand
grains 共␳兲, the drained axial strain at 50% stress level 共␧50兲, and
the residual confining pressure 共␴¯ 3兲 if greater than zero.
Method of Analysis
Norris et al. 共1997兲 developed a technique that was formulated
later by Ashour and Norris 共1999兲 to assess the undrained behav-
ior of sand under compressive monotonic loading from its drained
behavior. That technique employs a series of drained tests, with
volume change measurements, on samples isotropically consoli-
dated to the same confining pressure, ¯␴3c, and void ratio, ec, to
which the undrained test is to be subjected. However, the drained
tests are rebounded to different lower values of effective confin-
ing pressure, ¯␴3, before being sheared. Such a technique allows
the assessment of undrained behavior of sand isotropically con-
solidated to ¯␴3c that is subjected to compressive monotonic load-
ing 共no cyclic loading兲. During an isotopically consolidated
undrained 共ICU兲 test, the application of a deviatoric stress, ␴d, in
compressive monotonic loading causes an additional pore-water
pressure, ⌬ud, that results in a lower effective confining pressure,
¯␴3, i.e.
¯␴3 = ¯␴3c − ⌬ud 共No cyclic loading兲 共1兲
and an associated isotropic expansive volumetric strain, ␧v,iso, the
same as recorded in an isotropically rebounded drained triaxial
test 共prior to shear loading兲. However, in the undrained test, the
volumetric change or volumetric strain must be zero. Therefore,

1772 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009

J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2009.135:1772-1776.

 10
Initial Effective Confining ¯␴3 = ¯␴3c − uxs = ¯␴3c − ⌬uc − ⌬ud = ¯␴3cc − ⌬ud

Deviator Stress, σd, kg/cm2

Pressure = 1 kg/cm2
8
共␴
¯ 3cc ⬎ 0 and ru ⬍ 1 limited liquefaction兲 共3兲
6 Initial Static
Loading
¯␴3 = ¯␴3c − ⌬uc − ⌬ud = − ⌬ud
4 After 9 Cycles
CSR of 0.18
Produced ru = 1
共␴
¯ 3c = ⌬uc, i.e. ¯␴3cc = 0 and ru = 1 complete liquefaction兲 共4兲
2 Zero-Strength Zone (xo)
where ¯␴3cc = postcyclic effective confining stress and ¯␴3cc = ¯␴3c
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 − ⌬uc. Sand is subjected to limited liquefaction if ⌬uc ⬍ ¯␴3c. Once
Axial Strain, ε1, % ⌬uc is equal to ¯␴3c, the sand is completely liquefied 共ru = 1兲 and
¯␴3cc = 0.
1
Change in Porewater Pressure

100% Residual Porewater

Pressure After 9 Cycles,
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tokyo Univ Seisan Gijutsu on 06/13/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

CSR of 0.18 Postliquefaction Behavior of Sands with Limited

uxs, nf, kg/cm2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 Liquefaction
共␴
¯ 3cc ⬎ 0 or ⌬uc ⬍ ¯␴3c and ru ⬍ 1兲. In order to establish undrained
-1
behavior from drained response, it is necessary to characterize the
Initial Static
Loading drained volume change due to shear of Fig. 3共c兲 that must be
-2 equal and opposite to the isotropic volume change due to the
0 10 20 30 40 50 change in effective confining pressure 共␴ ¯ 3兲 indicated in Fig. 3共a兲.
Axial Strain, ε1, % This implies formulating equations for the ␧v − ␧1 curve共s兲 in
shear loading at a constant confining pressure, ¯␴3. On the ␧v − ␧1
Fig. 1. Undrained behavior of completely 共fully兲 liquefied Sacra- curve of Fig. 3共c兲 associated with the point r and path r̄-s̄
mento River sand 共Seed 1979兲 of Figs. 3共a and b兲 共for ¯␴3 艌 ¯␴3cc兲, the initial slope 共SA兲, 共␧1兲B,
and 共␧v,shear兲max at point B, and 共␧1兲C and 共␧v兲C at point C 共Fig. 5兲
are assessed based on Eqs. 共5兲–共10兲 initially developed by Ashour
and Norris 共1999兲 based on ¯␴3c and then modified in this section
there must be a compressive volumetric strain component, ␧v,shear,
to account for the postcyclic effective stress ¯␴3cc and the associ-
due to the deviatoric stress, ␴d. This shear induced volumetric
ated ␧50. It should be noted that the following equations were
strain, ␧v,shear, must be equal and opposite to ␧v,iso, so that the total
established based on experimental data from different types of
volumetric strain, ␧v = ␧v,iso + ␧v,shear, in undrained response is zero,
sands 共Ashour and Norris 1999兲 that were constituted by using
or
different sample preparations. However, the sand relative den-
sity and grain shape still play a significant role in the soil struc-
␧v,shear = − ␧v,iso 共2兲 ture 共fabric兲 formation. ␧50 of sand 共from drained stress-strain
In the isotropically rebounded drained shear test, ␧v,iso and then curve兲 in Eq. 共6兲 still reflects the sand fabric effect 共i.e., sample
␧v,shear 共to match ␧v,iso兲 are obtained separately and sequentially in preparation兲
the undrained test, they occur simultaneously.
1
The current technique is extended to incorporate the excess 共SA兲¯␴3cc = 共5兲
pore-water pressure 共uxs兲 induced by cyclic loading 共⌬uc兲 and its exp共␳ + Drc兲
2

冋 册
influence on the undrained behavior of sands under the compres-
sive monotonic loading 共⌬ud兲 whether the sand is subjected to ␧250
共␧v,shear兲B,␴¯ 3cc = 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc = 2 共6兲
limited or complete liquefaction. It should be noted that cyclic exp共Drc兲 ¯␴3cc
loading 共e.g., free-field seismic excitation兲 could induce either
limited 共ru ⬍ 1兲 or complete liquefaction in the sand 共ru = 1兲 as
6共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc
seen in Fig. 2. However, the sand can be described as nearly 共␧1兲B,␴¯ 3cc = 共7兲
liquefied soil when ru is less than but close to 1 exp共␳Drc兲

q = σd /2

Post-liquefaction stress-
e
strain behavior of partially lop
liquefied sand (∆uc < σ3c Env e
Deviator Stress, σd

e
lu r
and. ru <1) Fai

Full Liquefaction
Post-liquefaction
Limited liquefaction
stress-strain behavior
of completely liquefied
σd = 2 Sr sand (∆uc = σ3c and ru =1) σ3 = 0 Sr p = σ3 + σd/2

xo σ3 > 0
Axial Strain, ε Contractive response

Fig. 2. Subsequent undrained stress-strain behavior of sand that has experienced limited or complete liquefaction

JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009 / 1773

J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2009.135:1772-1776.

 冋 册
s
(a) (b) Dr ␳
r ␮ = ␳0.8 exp 共13兲

Iso
OCR

.c
on

q = σd / 2
so
Is
s o. R where OCR= ¯␴3cc / ¯␴3 for ¯␴3 艋 ¯␴3cc and OCR= ¯␴3 / ¯␴3cc for ¯␴3
li
εv

da

ne
tio
e
艌 ¯␴3cc

Li
bo

nc
un

re
urv
d
εv,iso

lu
e

冋 册
i
r

Fa
(εv)c
Cyclic Loading
r εv,iso
εv, iso = - εv, shear s
s Effective Stress Path
σ3c 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3 0.5

σ3 r
p 共␧1兲B,␴¯ 3 = 共␧1兲B,␴3cc 共14兲
∆ud ∆uc σ3c 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc
σ3 σ3 σ3cc = σ3c ∆uc
σ3cc

(c) 共␧v,shear兲C,␴3c
共␧v,shear兲C,␴¯ 3 = 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3 共15兲
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tokyo Univ Seisan Gijutsu on 06/13/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

For σ3 > σ3cc 共␧v,shear兲max,␴3c

(εv,shear)dilative = (εv,iso)contractive dε v / dε 1 = 0
Volumetric Strain, εv,shear

冋 册
Steady State
σ3
Increasing
σ3 < σ 3cc 共␧1兲B,␴¯ 3 0.25
共␧1兲C,␴¯ 3 = 共␧1兲C,␴¯ 3cc 共16兲
r (εv,shear)net dilative 共␧1兲B,␴¯ 3cc
(εv,shear)contractive Axial Strain,ε1

Dilation 共S f 兲¯␴3 = 共S f 兲¯␴3cc 共17兲

Contraction As seen in the above equations, ¯␴3cc is undertaken as the refer-
For σ3 < σ3cc ence value for OCR and ␧50.
(εv,shear)contracrive = (εv,iso)dilative The 共␴¯ 3 − ␧v,iso兲 relationship seen in Fig. 3共a兲 is modified to
assess the 共␴¯ 3 − ␧v,iso兲 relationship for sand that has limited lique-
Fig. 3. Interrelationships among 共a兲 isotropic consolidation followed faction conditions as the result of cyclic loading and been re-
by cyclic loading 共ru ⬍ 1兲; 共b兲 undrained Effective stress path; and 共c兲 bounded to point s in Figs. 3共a and b兲
drained volume change behavior under different values of ¯␴3 for
limited liquefaction 共␧v兲c
␧v,iso = 共␧v兲c −
OCR␩

共␧v,shear兲C,␴¯ 3cc = 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc 冋 共␧1兲B,␴¯ 3cc

共␧1兲C,␴¯ 3cc
册 0.2
关1 + 共S f 兲¯␴3cc兴 共8兲 OCR =
¯␴3cc
¯␴3
for ¯␴3 艋 ¯␴3cc ; OCR =
¯␴3
¯␴3cc
for ¯␴3 艌 ␴3cc

共18兲
共␧1兲C,␴¯ 3cc = 6共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3ccexp共tan2 ␸兲 共9兲 共␧v兲c and ␩ are calculated based on ¯␴3c as presented by Ashour
and Norris共1999兲.
The above procedure can be applied as long the excess pore-
共S f 兲¯␴3cc = − ␳0.5Drc tan2 ␸ 共10兲 water pressure ratio 共ru兲 induced by cyclic loading is less than 1
and the residual confining pressure 共␴ ¯ 3兲 is greater than zero at
Such formulation for shear loading is the same as that for shear point r 共soil with limited liquefaction兲. Under monotonic loading,
loading to match isotropic compression beyond 共␧v兲c on the back- sand with limited liquefaction may experience a contractive re-
bone isotropic consolidation curve of Fig. 3共a兲. In effect, cyclic sponse associated with a reduction in ¯␴3 关to point s in Figs. 3共a
loading decreases ¯␴3 but without changing the sand’s subsequent and b兲兴 to reach the lowest value of ¯␴3, and then rebound 共dilate兲
response, as if point r were at 共␧v兲c and ¯␴3c兲. Note that Drc 共the with increasing ¯␴3 until ¯␴3 = ¯␴3cc again 关point r̄ in Figs. 3共a and
relative density of consolidation兲 is a decimal value correspond- b兲兴. Sand continues to dilate beyond ¯␴3cc 关Figs. 3共a and b兲兴 with
ing to the point 共␧v兲c at ¯␴3c. increasing ¯␴3 and net negative monotonically induced pore-water
The slopes and coordinates at points A, B, and C on the ␧v pressure 共⌬ud兲. When ¯␴3 ⬍ ¯␴3cc, ␧v,iso rebounds to point s and then
− ␧1 drained shear curve 关Fig. 5兴, which are empirically calculated recompresses. This is associated with an equal net compressive
by Ashour and Norris 共1999兲 for ¯␴3c, are modified to deal with ␧v,shear. However, when ¯␴3 ⬎ ¯␴3cc, ␧v,iso moves from r̄ to s̄ and an
¯␴3cc for ¯␴3 ⬍ ¯␴3cc 共OCR= ¯␴3cc / ¯␴3兲 as given in Eqs. 共11兲–共17兲. The equal dilative ␧v,shear develops simultaneously
following equations are associated with the path r-s-r̄ as seen in
Fig. 3共a兲:
冋 冉 冊 册
␴d = SL ¯␴3 tan2 45 +
␸
−1 共19兲

冋 册
2
共SA兲¯␴3cc 共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3 0.25
共SA兲¯␴3 = 共11兲 The varying stress level 共SL兲 is a function of the drained ␧1, ␧50,
OCR 0.5
共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc
and current ¯␴3 are calculated as presented in Eq. 共19兲. It should be
noted that the presented work focuses on the undrained behavior
of liquefiable sands pre- and postpeak where contractive and di-
共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3cc lative behavior continues without reaching the steady state defor-
共␧v,shear兲max,␴¯ 3 = 共12兲
OCR␮ mation 共d␧v / d␧1 = 0兲 at very large normal strain 共Figs. 3–5兲.

1774 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009

J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2009.135:1772-1776.

 1000 400
(a) (b) Predicted Predicted

Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

Iso

Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

800 Measured Measured
.C (Nguyen 2002) 300 (Nguyen 2002)

q = σd / 2
on s
so 600 Ion Sand
lid ine 200 Nevada Sand
a ti
on r eL 400 Dr = 15%
εv

i lu σ3c = 400 kPa Dr = 30%

C ur
ve Fa Cyclic Loading σ3cc = 0 kPa 100 σ3c = 800 kPa
σ3cc = 0.0 200 σ3cc = 0 kPa

r, r, s (εv)c σ3c
r, r, s p 0 0
εv, iso = - εv, shear
0 10 20 30 0 10 20 30
σ3cc σ ∆uc
Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, % Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, %
3c
Contraction Zone s
Fig. 6. Postliquefaction undrained stress-strain behavior of com-
σ3
0.0
∆uc = σ3c σ3c pletely liquefied Ione and Nevada sands
σ3
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tokyo Univ Seisan Gijutsu on 06/13/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

σ3cc = 0
becomes negative, ¯␴3 will be larger than ¯␴3c and the undrained
(c) dε v / dε 1 = 0 resistance will be greater than the drained strength.
Volumetric Strain, v,shear

Steady State Based on its Drc, the completely liquefied sand may ex-
σ3 perience a virtually zero-strength transition zone with soil strain
共␧1 艋 xo兲 and ru = 1 before it starts to show some resistance, con-
ε

Increasing
Dilation
Contraction
For the same σ3
Fig. 4. Interrelationships among 共a兲 isotropic consolidation followed
by cyclic loading; 共b兲 undrained effective stress path; and 共c兲 drained
stress-strain behavior under different values of ¯␴3 for completely
共i.e., fully兲 liquefied sand
Postliquefaction Behavior of Completely Liquefied
Sands
¯ 3cc = 0 or ⌬uc = ¯␴3c and ru = 1兲. Once the soil is completely liq-
共␴
uefied 共i.e., ru = 1, ¯␴3 and ␴d are equal to zero兲 due to cyclic
loading, the above procedure must be modified in order to handle
a different type of behavior. As seen in Fig. 1, the completely
(εv,shear)net dilative fining pressure 共␴ ¯ 3兲 and dilative response 共Fig. 1兲. This value of
x0 decreases with the increase of sand relative density 共Dr兲 and
Axial Strain,ε1
becomes approximately zero for dense sand 共Ashour 2009兲.
As a result of the development of complete liquefaction by
cyclic loading and the subsequent dilative response under an
ICU loading, two equal and opposite components of volume
(εv,shear)dilative = (εv,iso)contractive changes 共strains兲 develop in sand. In the undrained test, the total
volumetric change or volumetric strain must be zero. As stated
before, in the isotropically rebounded drained shear test, ␧v,iso and
then ␧v,shear 共to match ␧v,iso兲 are obtained separately and sequen-
tially; in the undrained test, they occur simultaneously 共Ashour
2009兲.
Fig. 4 shows the drained dilative response of sand when
␧v,shear is expansive and ␧v,iso is compressive starting with ¯␴3 = 0.
As a result of the complete liquefaction under cyclic loading,
¯␴3 = ¯␴3cc ⬵ 0 关point r in Figs. 4共a and b兲兴 and the associated ␧v,iso
at the start of undrained monotonic loading 关points r, r̄, and s in
400 400
Predicted
Predicted
Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

Measured
Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

Measured
300 (Vaid and Thomas 1995) 300 (Vaid and Thomas 1995)
liquefied soil loses its strength when the excess pore-water pres-
sure due to cyclic loading is equal to the effective confining pres- 200
Dr = 19%
200 Dr = 40%
σ3c = 100 kPa
sure 共uxs = ⌬uc = ¯␴3c兲 and the pore-water pressure ratio 共ru兲 = 1. By σ3cc = 0 kPa
σ3c = 100 kPa
σ3cc = 0 kPa
applying monotonic loading thereafter, uxs decreases and causes a 100 ε50 = 0.005 100 ε50 = 0.0035
φ = 32ο φ = 36ο
corresponding growth in confining pressure 共effective stress兲.
This is accompanied by a growth in sand resistance 共␴d兲. As 0
0 5 10 15 20
0
0 5 10
seen in Fig. 1, uxs continues to decrease to zero and then to nega- Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, % Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, %

tive values. At uxs = 0, sand exhibits resistance that is equal to that

of initial loading at the same zero pore-water pressure. Once uxs Fig. 7. Postliquefaction undrained stress-strain behavior of com-
pletely liquefied Fraser sand

dε v / dε 1 = 0 600 600
Volumetric Strain, v,shear

Predicted
Measured Dr = 40%
Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

Deviator Stress, σd, kPa

Steady State (Vaid and Thomas 1995) σ3c = 400 kPa

400 σ3cc = 45 kPa
Straight line 400
ε

ε50 = 0.0035
after point C φ = 36ο
Sf Dr = 40%
A σ3c = 400 kPa
200 σ3cc = 105 kPa 200
C Axial Strain,ε 1 ε50 = 0.0035 Predicted
B ε 1,C , ε v, C φ = 36ο Measured
(Vaid and Thomas 1995)
ε 1,Β , ε v,max 0 0
Dilation 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8
SA
Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, % Undrained Axial Strain, ε1, %

Contraction
Fig. 8. Postliquefaction undrained stress-strain behavior of Fraser
Fig. 5. Volumetric strain curve and its major points sand under limited liquefaction

JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009 / 1775

J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2009.135:1772-1776.

 Table 1. Properties of Sands Employed to Demonstrate the Approach Presented
Roundness
Material 共␳兲
Nevada sand 共subrounded, 0.45
clean, fine, white quartz, foundry sand兲
Ione sand 共subangular, 0.29
clean, minerals, quartz, glass sand兲
Fraser river sand 0.4
共subangular to subrounded minerals,
quartz, feldspar, well graded sand兲
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Tokyo Univ Seisan Gijutsu on 06/13/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Figs. 4共a and b兲兴 are one and the same. The change in the volu-
metric strain ␧v,iso due the increase in ¯␴3 is represented by the
variation in ␧v,iso 关Fig. 4共a兲兴 associated with 共␧v,shear兲net dilative in
Fig. 4共c兲. Eq. 共18兲 for ␧v,iso is modified as follows:
共␧v兲c
␧v,iso = − 共␧v,iso兲a
OCR␩
and
共␧v兲c ¯␴3c
共␧v,iso兲a = ␩ where OCR =
共OCR 兲at Point r̄ ¯␴3
It should be noted that ¯␴3 at point 共r̄兲 is approximately equal to
zero. As observed experimentally and based on its relative den-
sity, the liquefied sand may experience a zero-resistance zone
共␴
¯ 3 = 0 and ␴d = 0 as seen in Fig. 1兲 with a progressive axial strain
共up to ␧1 = x0兲 under the compressive monotonic loading. x0 is
determined from the drained rebounded relationship ␧1 − ␧v,shear at
very small values of ¯␴3 ⬵ 0 关Fig. 4共c兲兴. x0 defines the end of
complete liquefaction zone 共⌬uc = ¯␴3c兲 and indicates the subse-
quent growth in ¯␴3 and ␴d, the degradation in the excess pore-
water pressure 关Fig. 4共a兲兴, and the development of dilative
response 关Fig. 4共c兲. It should be noted that ␧v,shear for the dilative
sand represents the suppressed volume increase beyond the origi-
nal volume of sand.
As seen in Fig. 4共b兲, the resistance of completely liquefied
sand under compressive monotonic loading lies on the failure
line with SL equal to 1 关Eq. 共19兲兴. The computer program 共S-
Liquefaction兲 which incorporates the technique presented allows
the assessment of the whole postliquefaction undrained stress-
strain behavior of sands with limited and complete liquefaction.
Figs. 6–8 show comparisons between the measured and predicted
resistance of different sands 共Table 1兲 under full or limited lique-
faction induced by cyclic loading 共ru兲 and then subjected to com-
pressive monotonic loading.
1776 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2009.135:1772-1776.
emax emin Cu Reference
0.856 0.548 1.6 Norris et al. 共1997, 1998兲
1.000 0.717 1.4 Norris et al. 共1997, 1998兲
1.00 0.68 1.5 Fukushima and Tatsuoka 共1984兲
and Vaid and Thomas 共1995兲
Summary
The technique presented has been shown to successfully predict
the postliquefaction stress-strain behavior of sands subjected to
limited or complete liquefaction by cyclic loading. Such capabil-
ity is vital to such applications as evaluating the lateral response
共20兲
of laterally loaded piles/shafts in liquefiable sands with/without
lateral soil spreading. The postcyclic excess water pressure and
the associated residual effective confining pressure govern the
postliquefaction undrained behavior 共stress-strain relationship兲 of
sand. Basic properties and conditions of the sand, which are usu-
ally available to the designer, represent the foundation for the
prediction of the sand’s postliquefaction behavior.
References
Ashour, M. 共2009兲. “P-Y curve and lateral response of piles in fully
liquefied soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., submitted.
Ashour, M., and Norris, G. 共1999兲. “Liquefaction and undrained response
evaluation of sands from drained formulation.” J. Geotech. Eng.,
125共8兲, 649–658.
Fukushima, S., and Tatsuoka, F. 共1984兲. “Strength and deformation char-
acteristics of saturated sand under extremely low pressures.” Soil
Found., 24共4兲, 30–48.
Nguyen, T. Q. 共2002兲. “Sand behavior from anisotropic and isotropic
static and dynamic triaxial tests.” Ph.D. thesis, Civil Engineering
Dept., Univ. of Nevada, Reno, Nev.
Norris, G., Siddharthan, R., Zafir, Z., and Madhu, R. 共1997兲. “Liquefac-
tion and residual strength of sands from drained triaxial tests.”
J. Geotech. Eng., 123共3兲, 220–228.
Norris, G., Zafir, Z., and Siddharthan, R. 共1998兲. “An effective stress
understanding of liquefaction behavior.” Environ. Eng. Geosci., 4共1兲,
93–101.
Seed, H. B. 共1979兲. “Considerations in the earthquake-resistance design
of earth and rockfill dams.” Geotechnique, 29共3兲, 215–263.
Vaid, Y. P., and Thomas, J. 共1995兲. “Liquefaction and post-liquefaction of
behavior of sand.” J. Geotech. Eng., 121共2兲, 163–173.