Author(s): Valeria Chavez; Edgar Mendoza; Rodolfo Silva; Ana Meneses; Dulce Perez; Maria Clavero; Izazkun Benedicto; Miguel A. Losada
Linked Author(s): Miguel A. Losada
Keywords: Pore pressure; Liquefaction; Marine soils; Progressive waves
Abstract: A new experimental set-up has been used in a wave flume at the National University of Mexico to examine the pressure distribution in a soil mass and its time evolution as the key features in liquefaction. A 20 cm deep acrylic pit containing the soil, placed 13 m from the wave paddle, was equipped with 28 pressure transmitters. Wave periods from 1. 2 to 1. 5 s and wave heights from 0. 8 to 0. 15 cm were used for the two different sets of experiments developed, both under progressive waves. To analyze the response of the wave-induced pore pressure on soils of different mud contents, pure sand (d 50 =0. 267 mm) and three mixtures of sand and commercial kaolinite (d 50 =0. 002 mm) were tested. According to the results of the first set of experimental tests, as the fine material content increases the induced pore pressure lessens, but an inflexion was found, where the pore pressure is higher for greater mud contents, indicating that the likelihood of liquefaction also has an inflexion point. The effect of the initial water content in the failure of the soil mass was investigated, with the second set of experiments, by using three different concentrations of the kaolinite-water mixture. It was found that the maximum residual pore pressure accumulated in the liquefied soil decreases with the reduction of the water content.
Year: 2014