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Proceedings ISC-2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.

)
2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

Estimation of shear strength increase beneath embankments


by seismic cross-hole tomography
R. Larsson
Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Linkping, Sweden

H. Mattsson
GeoVista AB, Lule, Sweden

Keywords: seismic test, cross-hole tomography, clay, undrained shear strength, strength increase, embankment
ABSTRACT: There is a great demand to utilise the shear strength increase resulting from consolidation beneath
old embankments on soft soils when these structures are to be widened, raised or subjected to heavier or faster
traffic loads. There are often no records of the loads and settlements, and access to the embankment for traditional
geotechnical investigations is often restricted, particularly in the case of railway embankments. The method of
seismic cross-hole tomography in order to estimate the increase in shear strength has therefore been tested
beneath a number of well documented test embankments. The results have been shown to provide a good general
picture of the shear strength beneath the embankments, in addition to fairly good estimates of the actual magnitudes
of the shear strengths.

BACKGROUND

The Swedish railway system is currently being


upgraded for faster and heavier trains. In this context,
it will be of great benefit if the shear strength beneath
old embankments on soft soil, many of which were
constructed up to 100 years ago, can be utilised.
However, this requires verification of the shear strength
increase in relation to the soil outside the embankment,
which involves certain problems. The size of the
settlements that have occurred and the exact load that
has been applied are rarely known. Traditional
geotechnical investigations require access to the
embankment and drilling through it. On the other hand,
the railway authorities have set demands on
uninterrupted traffic and prohibit equipment or
personnel on the embankment for safety reasons. There
is thus a considerable need for a method to estimate
the shear strength increase that does not require access
to the embankment itself.

undrained shear strength (e.g. Larsson and Mulabdic,


1991). In principle, it should therefore be possible to
estimate also the undrained shear strength from the
measured shear wave velocity. However, both the shear
modulus and the undrained shear strength are functions
of the square of the shear wave velocity and very
accurate measurements of the shear wave velocity are
therefore required. Furthermore, the relation between
the undrained shear strength and the shear wave
velocity is also a function of the overconsolidation ratio
(Andersen et al., 1988; Atkinson, 2000). However, a
prerequisite for considerable consolidation settlements
and shear strength increases beneath embankments is
construction on normally consolidated or only slightly
overconsolidated soft ground. The soil beneath the
embankment will then remain in a normally
consolidated or only slightly overconsolidated state
also after the load application and throughout the
consolidation process, unless a significant unloading
is carried out. It should thus be possible to estimate
the undrained shear strength beneath such
embankments from the shear wave velocity.

HYPOTHESIS

Measurement of the shear wave velocity in the field is


often used to estimate the in situ initial shear modulus
G0. It has been shown that the shear modulus in soft
cohesive soils can be expressed as a function of the

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The method of seismic cross-hole tomography has been


used in an effort to estimate its usefulness to assess
971

Undrained shear strength measured by


field vane tests, kPa

the increase in shear strength due to consolidation


beneath three test embankments. These embankments
are about 50 years old and loads, settlements, pore
pressures and shear strength increases are well known.
The study has been designed as a pilot project in order
to determine whether the method can be used in
practical applications and the accuracy with which the
shear strength increase can be estimated.

10

20

30

40

THE TEST EMBANKMENTS

The measurements have been made in the test fields


at Sk-Edeby and Lilla Mellsa, which are supervised
by the Swedish Geotechnical Institute. A total of eight
instrumented test embankments were constructed in
these fields during the period 19451961 and have
since been monitored continuously. Three of the
embankments were built on natural ground and these
have been used in this project.
The soft soils in the test fields consist of only
slightly overconsolidated high-plastic clay on top of
firm layers of sand or till. The average overconsolidation ratio beneath the thin crusts is about 1.15.
The thickness of the clay layers vary between 12 and
15 metres and the top layers consist of organic clays.
The liquid limits of the clays range from 130 to 55%
and the plasticity indices from 85 to 30%.
The oldest embankment (test fill) was built in 1945
at Lilla Mellsa on top of 14 metres of clay. It had a
height of 2.5 metres and a square outline with a base
length of 30 metres. The settlements today amount to
about 2.0 metres and are continuing at a current rate
of approximately 10 mm/year. The compression of the
soil layers is fairly evenly distributed over the depth
of the soft soil profile. The undrained shear strength
beneath the embankment has increased throughout the
profile, but most significantly in the upper part, Fig. 1.
The test fill at Sk Edeby was constructed in 1957
on top of 12 metres of clay. It was 1.5 metres high and
had a circular outline with a base diameter of 35 metres.
In 2002, the total settlements amounted to 1.1 metres
and the rate of ongoing settlements was 56 mm/year.
Here, too, the settlements have with time become fairly
evenly distributed with depth. The shear strength
beneath the fill has been measured by field vane tests
on two occasions after construction and the results in
the latest investigation have also been checked by
direct simple shear tests in the laboratory. Beneath the
central parts of the fill, the shear strength has increased
fairly evenly throughout the clay profile, Fig. 2.
A narrow embankment with a length of about
40 metres was also constructed at Sk-Edeby in 1961.
It was similarly given a height of 1.5 metres but the
972

1967
1979
2002

10

12

14

16

Fig. 1. Measured undrained shear strength beneath the test fill at


Lilla Mellsa.

Undrained shear strength, kPa


0

10

15

20

25

Original depth, m

Original depth, m

1945
6

10

12
Natural ground
14

Below centre 1971


Below crest of slope 2002
About midway between crest and
centre 2002
Direct simple shear tests 2002

Fig. 2. Measured undrained shear strength beneath the test fill at


Sk-Edeby.
2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

crest was only 4 metres wide and the base 8.5 metres
wide. The depth of the clay layers at this location was
about 15 metres. The total settlements in 2002
amounted to about 1.1 metres, of which about 0.2 metre
is related to horizontal movements in the subsoil. Due
to the narrow embankment and the load distribution,
the compression of the soil layers is mainly confined
to the upper half of the soil profile. According to the
estimated changes in water content, the compression
of the soil is fairly evenly distributed down to an
original depth of 89 metres, whereas results from
oedometer tests and shear strength tests indicate that
this limit is located at 78 metres depth, Fig. 3.

10

15

20

Original depth, m

10

12
Natural ground
Toe of slope
Centre of fill
Direct simple shear test

Fig. 3. Measured undrained shear strength beneath the test


embankment at Sk-Edeby.

Further details of the soil conditions and the


embankments at the test fields at Sk-Edeby and Lilla
Mellsa can be found in Hansbo (1960), Chang (1981),
Larsson (1986) and Larsson and Mattsson (2003),
among other publications.

504 cu
wL

where wL is the liquid limit.


The undrained shear strength in the correlation
refers to values obtained in corrected field vane tests
and direct simple shear tests.

16

The shear modulus that is measured in most seismic


tests is the initial shear modulus at very small strains,
G0. The relation between the initial shear modulus and
the undrained shear strength, cu, in Swedish normally
consolidated or only slightly overconsolidated clays
has been found to be (Larsson and Mulabdic, 1991)

25

14

G = Vs2

G0

Undrained shear strength, kPa


0

the shear wave velocity, Vs, and the density, , it is


possible to calculate the shear modulus, G,

TEST METHOD

5.1 Seismic waves


Seismic investigations are based on the propagation
of elastic waves in the ground. These waves are usually
separated into compression waves, shear waves and
surface waves. Shear waves have a particle motion that
is perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The
propagation velocities of shear waves are governed
by the shear modulus and density of the ground. From

5.2 Seismic tomography


Tomography is a well-known technique for creating
images of projections (tomograms) of hidden objects
by using X-rays, ultrasound or electromagnetic waves.
The technique used in this project is termed seismic
crosswell direct wave traveltime tomography, but is
commonly called cross-hole tomography. Its basic
principle is to estimate a velocity model of the ground
by measuring the time it takes for elastic waves to
propagate from a source to a receiver. To perform
cross-hole tomography it is necessary to have at least
two boreholes. An array of geophones is inserted in
one hole and in the other an elastic wave is generated.
A seismograph measures the time it takes for the wave
to travel from the source point to the geophones. The
source is then moved to another position in the hole
and the procedure is repeated. The measurements will
produce a number of arrival times of waves that have
crossed the investigated area. The geophone distance
and the wave frequency mainly govern the data
resolution; the shorter the distance and the higher the
frequency, the better the resolution. The spatial relation
between the depth of, and distance to, the boreholes is
also an important parameter since shallow boreholes
and a large distance will lead to poor ray coverage,
Fig. 4.
The measured first arrival times and the coordinates of the geophones and the source points are
stored in a data file. The area between the boreholes is
divided into a grid of velocity cells. Each cell is
assigned an initial start value. A model program then
calculates the time it takes for different rays to travel

Proceedings ISC2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.)

973

Fig. 4. Schematic picture of the coverage of the wave paths.

through the area between the boreholes. The calculated


times are compared to the measured travel times, and
the errors in the calculations are the differences
between these two parameters. Different rays intersect
each cell and the best-fit velocity is estimated by the
least squares method. The procedure is repeated for a
predetermined number of iterations or until a chosen
acceptable difference between the measured travel time
and the corresponding value calculated by the model
is reached, the so-called RMS residual, which indicates
the fit of the model. The size of an acceptable RMS
value depends mainly on the measuring accuracy of
the travel times for the shear waves. In this particular
case, an RMS value of up to 2530 ms is considered
to indicate a good model fit. The velocity model does
not provide a unique solution to the inversion problem,
but with information about the geological conditions
at the site it is possible to determine whether the
established model is physically reasonable.
The software used in this project is called 3DTOM
(Jackson and Tweeton, 1996). For inversion of travel
time data, 3DTOM uses the SIRT method
(Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique;
Peterson et al., 1985). It is possible to model straight
rays, crooked rays or combinations of these (hybrid
modelling). The start model can be varied between a
homogenous, a horizontally layered or a chequerboard
model.

FIELD EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE

three 5-component 28 Hz sensor geophones (BG-K5)


with pneumatic clamping devices. The vibration source
was a screw plate attached to a hollow drilling pipe. A
free-running inner rod system was inserted into the
pipe. The rods were lifted and allowed to fall onto the
top of the screw plate to generate vertically polarised
shear waves. The triggering of the seismograph was
carried out by a standard geophone (PE-3) attached to
the drill pipe at its upper end. The geophones were set
up to detect vertically polarised shear waves and were
mounted at a distance of 1.0 metre from each other.
The geophones were lowered inside a vertical
borehole with a casing and attached by inflating the
pneumatic clamping devices. The casing consisted of
a plastic bellows hose that is vertically elastic, which
ensures good transmission of the signal from the clay
to the geophones. In the first measurement position,
the uppermost geophone was placed as close as
possible to the ground surface, after which the second
and third geophones were positioned at about 1 and
2 metres depth respectively. The screw plate was
screwed 0.10.2 metre into the ground. The trigger
geophone was attached to the pipe and a measurement
was performed. The set of geophones was then lowered
3 metres and a new measurement performed. When
the geophone array reached the bottom of the borehole,
the screw plate was advanced downwards to 1 metre
depth and the procedure was repeated with the
geophones instead being lifted in 3-metre stages. This
was repeated with the screw plate being advanced in
1-metre steps until it reached firm ground. Since the
trigger geophone was mounted at the top of the drill
pipe, a time delay was introduced as the wave had to
travel upwards along the pipe before it reached the
trigger geophone. Each data set was corrected for this
delay.
The measurements beneath the square and circular
fills were performed with one borehole positioned in
the central part, but well outside the permanent
instrumentation, and the other at the perimeter of the
fill. The conditions in the other directions were
assumed to be identical. The measurement beneath the
embankment was preformed across it with one
borehole at each side and the measurements in natural
ground outside the fills were performed with
geometries similar to those beneath the fills. The
distance between the boreholes varied between 9 and
15 metres and the depth to solid ground varied in
approximately the same way, which resulted in fairly
square geometries and a ray coverage of about
045.

The equipment for collecting the data consisted of a


TERRALOC MARK 3 (ABEM) seismograph and
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2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

TEST RESULTS

Fig. 5 shows the tomograms from beneath the circular


fill at Sk-Edeby and of the natural soil outside. There
is a large velocity contrast between the gravel fill and
the clay soil. Down to about 5 metres depth, there are
still considerably higher velocities under the test fill
than in the undisturbed soil. At 67 metres depth, there
is a horizontal high-velocity sub-layer that cuts across
the entire soil section. Beneath this layer, from 7 to
9 metres depth, the shear wave velocity is still higher
under the test fill than in the natural soil outside. When
the bottom of the clay layer is reached, the velocity
rapidly increases, which indicates that a stiffer material
underlies the clay. The dome shape of this layer is most
probably an artefact created during the model
inversion, which is caused by a combination of a fast
velocity increase and a lack of data related to the bad
ray coverage close to the boundary. A similar effect
can be seen beneath the fill material and at the lower
boundary of the section in natural soil. The circular
anomalies appearing along a vertical line at the 13 m
distance are also caused by the lack of coverage and
true data due to the borehole being situated in this
position. The RMS value of the test fill model is 21 ms
and for the undisturbed soil 25 ms.
The tomograms from the road-like test
embankment at Sk-Edeby are shown in Fig. 6. Here,
the increase in shear wave velocity under the
embankment is considerably less and can only be
readily observed to a depth of about 5 metres. The RMS
value of 39 ms is fairly high and indicates problems in
fitting the model data to the measured travel times.
The results of the measurements at Lilla Mellsa
greatly resemble those from the circular fill at SkEdeby, Fig. 7. The RMS values are low,: the level for
the embankment model being 16 ms and for the natural
soil 10 ms, which indicates that the models fit
statistically well to the measured data. The boundary
between the soft soil and the bottom is not as welldefined at the Lilla Mellsa site as at the Sk-Edeby
site. At Lilla Mellsa, the clay layers are underlain by
sand, whereas those at Sk Edeby lie on rock or till.

CORRELATION BETWEEN ESTIMATED


AND MEASURED SHEAR STRENGTH

From a first glance at the tomograms in Figs 57, it is


obvious that a considerable increase in shear wave
velocity and undrained strength has occurred beneath
the circular and square test fills in Sk-Edeby and Lilla
Mellsa. It also indicates that any such increase
beneath the road-like test embankment at Sk-Edeby

is considerably smaller and is limited to the upper


layers beneath the embankment. When making a more
detailed evaluation, certain aspects have to be taken
into account. These are:
values close to the boreholes are more or less
erroneous because of poor wave path coverage and
are thereby misleading.
values at the upper and lower boundaries of the
section in a portion midway between the boreholes
are more or less erroneous if the soft soil is overlain
and underlain by considerably stiffer material. Even
when this is not the case, the values are uncertain
because of poor coverage in these parts.
The relation between undrained shear strength and
shear wave velocity is sensitive to the liquid limit
(or plasticity index) of the soil.
Before evaluation, the data in the vertical strips
with poor coverage close to the boreholes should be
excluded. The width of these strips can be estimated
from a sketch of the wave paths for the actual distances
between the boreholes and depths between the
measuring points, see Fig. 4. A similar estimate of
uncertain zones at the upper and lower boundaries
should also be made.
Since information on the distribution of the liquid
limit beneath the loaded area under the present
conditions is normally absent, this has to be estimated
from the data in the natural soil outside or from
investigations performed before the load application
together with an estimate of the distribution of
settlements with depth. The estimation of the total
settlements beneath the fill material is fairly
straightforward since the border between this material
and the underlying clay is rather distinct. The
estimation of the distribution with depth is more
approximate and has to be made with consideration to
the way in which the levels of different layers and
stiffness borders beneath and outside the embankments
are located in relation to each other. From the visual
inspection of the tomograms beneath the large fills at
Sk-Edeby and Lilla Mellsa, it is quite obvious that
downward movements have occurred throughout the
clay profiles beneath the fills. A more detailed
distribution is difficult to interpret, but an assumption
of an even distribution of compression with depth
appears to be reasonable and will have to suffice. The
estimation of the settlement distribution with depth
beneath the road-like embankment is more difficult.
However, the tomogram clearly indicates that the
embankment has settled about 1 metre and that there
are no significant settlements below 67 metres depth.
A rough estimate is that the settlements are evenly
distributed down to this depth.

Proceedings ISC2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.)

975

Fig. 5. Contour plot of the tomograms from the circular test fill and natural soil at the Sk-Edeby site.

Fig. 6. Contour plot of the tomograms from the road-like test embankment and natural soil at the Sk-Edeby site.

Fig. 7. Contour plot of the tomograms from the square test fill and natural soil at Lilla Mellsa.
976

2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

cu 2

V
= cu1 s 2
V s1

depth, but an anomaly found in the shear strength


determinations by the field vane tests at 4 metres depth
also appears in the shear wave velocities. Below 67
metres depth, there is no indication of any increase in
shear wave velocity.
The undrained shear strength calculated from the
measured shear strengths in the field and the
amplification (Vs2/Vs1)2 estimated from the measured
shear wave velocities are shown in Fig. 8. This method
provides the best estimate of the shear strength
compared to using the empirical relation.
Undrained shear strength, kPa
0

10

20

30

40

50

Corrected depth, m

The next step is to draw detailed tomograms with


closely spaced contour lines for the shear wave
velocities. For the tomograms of the natural soil,
horizontal lines are drawn at selected evenly spaced
depths. The zones with estimated erroneous data are
excluded and the average velocity at each depth within
the remaining zone is estimated. The same procedure
is used for the tomograms beneath the loaded areas,
but here the horizontal lines are adjusted while taking
into consideration the estimated settlements at each
level in such a way that lines corresponding to the
original depths are produced. A relevant comparison
can then be made between the estimated average
velocities at the 'original' depths beneath the loaded
areas and in natural ground.
There are then two ways of estimating the
undrained shear strength beneath the loaded areas. The
first is to use the empirical relation between shear wave
velocity, density and liquid limit and the undrained
shear strength. The estimated shear wave velocity
beneath the fill is then used together with density and
liquid limit at the original depth. In large settlements,
there is also a certain increase in density, but this is of
limited importance. However, there is always a certain
spread in such relations. A more direct way is to use
the undrained shear strength measured in the natural
ground outside the loaded area. The shear wave
velocities at each depth are then compared to velocities
corresponding to the same original depths beneath the
loaded area. The undrained shear strength beneath the
loaded area is then calculated as the undrained shear
strength in the natural soil multiplied by the square of
the quotient between the shear wave velocities (see
relations given in section 5.1)

Field vane test in


natural ground
Calculated from
seismic amplification

Field vane test below


centre of fill

10

12

14

a)
Fig. 8. Evaluated undrained shear strength using the undrained
shear strength in natural ground and the amplification estimated
from the measured shear wave velocities.
a) At the circular fill at Sk-Edeby

where
cu2 = undrained shear strength beneath loaded area
cu1 = undrained shear strength in natural ground
Vs2 = shear wave velocity beneath loaded area
Vs1 = shear wave velocity in natural ground
The evaluated shear wave velocities in natural
ground and beneath the loaded areas suggest that an
increase in shear wave velocity has occurred
throughout the profiles beneath the large fills. This
increase is large at the top but decreases with depth.
Beneath the narrow embankment at Sk-Edeby, there
is a significant increase in velocity down to 4 metres
depth. The effect probably extends down to 67 metres
Proceedings ISC2 on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, Viana da Fonseca & Mayne (eds.)

977

Undrained Shear strength, kPa


0

10

20

30

The possibility of estimating the increase in shear


strength due to consolidation beneath embankments
by seismic cross-hole tomography has been illustrated.
The measurements were performed with readily
available equipment and evaluation programs. The
results have a certain degree of scatter, but the general
pattern of the shear strength variation is obtained and
an estimate of the operative strength on the basis of
the tomograms would prove to be fairly close to the
actual measured values.

Corrected depth, m

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

10

The project described in this paper was sponsored


by the Swedish National Rail Administration,
GeoVista AB and the Swedish Geotechnical Institute.

12

14

Field vane test in natural


ground

REFERENCES

Calculated from seismic


amplification
Field vane test below centre
of fill

b)

Undrained shear strength, kPa


0

10

15

20

25

0
2

Corrected depth, m

4
6
8
10
12
14

c)

CONCLUSION

40

16

Field vane test in natural


ground
Calculated from seismic
amplification

Andersen, K.H., Kleven, A. and Heien, D. (1988). Cyclic Soil


Data for Design of Gravity Structures. Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute, Publication No. 175, Oslo.
Atkinson, J.H. (2000). Non-linear soil stiffness in routine design.
Geotechnique, Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 487-508.
Chang, Y.C.E. (1981). Long-term consolidation beneath the test
fills at Vsby, Sweden. Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Report
No. 13, Linkping.
Hansbo, S. (1960). Consolidation of Clay with Special Reference
to Influence of Vertical Sand Drains. Swedish Geotechnical
Institute, Proceedings No. 18, Stockholm.
Jacksson, M.J. and Tweeton, D.R. (1996). 3DTOM: Threedimensional geophysical tomography. Instruction manual. U.S.
Geological Survey, Report of investigation 9617.
Larsson, R. (1986). Consolidation of soft soils. Swedish
Geotechnical Institute, Report No. 29, Linkping.
Larsson, R. and Mattsson, H. (2003). Settlements and shear
strength increase below embankments. Swedish Geotechnical
Institute, Report No. 63, Linkping.
Larsson, R. and Mulabdic, M. (1991). Shear moduli in
Scandinavian clays - Measurements of initial shear modulus
with seismic cones - Empirical correlation for the initial shear
modulus in clay. Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Report No.
40, Linkping.
Peterson, J.E., Paulson, B.N.P. and McEvilly, T.V. (1985).
Applications of algebraic reconstruction techniques to crosshole seismic data. Geophysics 50, pp. 1566-1580.

Field vane test below centre


of embankment

Fig. 8. Evaluated undrained shear strength using the undrained


shear strength in natural ground and the amplification estimated
from the measured shear wave velocities.
b) At the square fill at Lilla Mellsa
c) At the test embankment at Sk-Edeby
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2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 009 9

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