Investigation of the influence of saturation degree on the cyclic behaviour of fine clear sand

Abstract

In literature, there have been many studies on the liquefaction of soil; however, most of them are to study the liquefaction of saturated soil and it is necessary to have more results on the liquefaction of unsaturated soil. In this study, a series of triaxial test on both saturated and unsaturated samples was carried out to have better understand of the liquefaction of unsaturated sand in very dense state. All the samples were reconstituted using wet tamping method at a relative density of 83%. After wetting and consolidating, the samples were subjected to cyclic loading with stepping Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR). The results shows that the saturation degree affects significantly liquefaction potential of soil. The decrease of saturation degree results on the decrease of liquefaction potential of soil. Besides, the effects saturation degree on the friction angle and the slope of failures lines at the liquefaction state were also considered.