Quicksand Conditions Soil Liquefaction Sand Geology Edit Topics

What is the difference between quicksand condition

and the liquefaction of sand?
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2 ANSWERS

Raghavarshith Bandreddi, Mtech at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

(2016-present)
Answered Jul 19 · Upvoted by Mainak Ghosh, A graduate in Earth science from the University of Calcutta,

Before that let me tell you the similarities.

In both the cases, the effective stress becomes less than or equal to zero(zero is the critical
condition) and hence it can no longer withstand any loads. It is because that pore water
pressure dominates the total stress acting on the particular plane of consideration.

The only thing that differentiates quicksand and liquifaction is the type of condition.

Quick sand condition occurs in static conditions and no disturbance in structure takes
place, where as liquefaction occurs under dynamic conditions such as earthquakes or any
sort of vibrations where the soil structure collapses which in turn increases the pore water
pressure and hence responsible for reduction of effective stress to zero.

Both cases does not occur in cohesive soils because there the shear strength will not
become zero even if the effective stress is zero because of presence of cohesion.

Thank you
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Darryl Maddox, former Worked primarily as a geologist and teacher

Answered Sep 26

My answer is going to be slightly different from the previous answer though they may be
two ways of saying essentially the same thing or they may be complimentary- one being
more technical than the other.

Both term refer to a condition in which sand can not support a weight. The difference is
how that condition is achieved.

In their natural state sand grains are arranged approximately in a pattern called
hexagonal close packing. In this condition the grains in each horizontal row rests in the
valley between the two grains in the row beliw it. In each row the grains are in contact
laterally so they can not move sideways. Since each grain is now supported from below
and constrained from moving laterally the sand can and will support weight. In both
quick sand and liquefied sand the sand grains are lifted out of this mechanically stable
configuration either by up flowing water ( as in the example of water flowing through the
sand in a confined channel and encountering an obstruction on the bottom of the channel
that forces the flow lines to turn upward toward the sand/air interface) or mechanically by
being vibrated into the mechanically less stable cubic close packing arrangement. In
either case the grains are no longer confined from moving out from under a vertically
imposed load and will not support weight.
328 Views · 4 Upvotes · Answer requested by Kenneth S. Johnson

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