Abstract
Near-field effects are known to mask the correct arrival time of shear wave. The characteristics of near-field effects involved in laboratory bender element test were thoroughly examined in tests on clays. On the basis of test results, it is manifested that the travel time of shear wave should be taken as “start-to-start” between two instants at generation and at reception of shear wave. It is suggested to perform bender element test with input pulse using various kinds of wave form over a wide range of frequency. It is also preferred to employ incremental loading steps to reach the prescribed consolidation stress. It is demonstrated that the G-value of natural clay in laboratory bender element test coincided well with comparable Gf from in-situ seismic survey.
