Excess pore pressure generation in silty sands subjected to cyclic triaxial loading

Abstract

Liquefaction of sands is a result of excess pore water pressure generation due to the contractive tendency of the soil skeleton under undrained cyclic shearing. Proper characterization of the excess pore water pressure plays an important role in liquefaction analyses. In this paper, we present results from a series of cyclic triaxial tests on silty sands with different fines contents. Based on these results, we put forward two pore water pressure models (a stress-based model and an energy-based model) to characterize the pore pressure built-up, where the model parameters are calibrated regarding different fines contents, packing densities, confining pressures, and loading amplitudes. The methods for characterizing the model parameters are also discussed.