“Effect of Silty Fines on the Liquefaction

Resistance of Solani sand”

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

DR. L. GOVINDARAJU
PROFESSOR,
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,
UVCE, BENGALURU

SUBMITTED BY,
H.C.SUMANTH
18GACV3003
2ND SEMESTER M.TECH
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
 CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION
• LITERATURE REVIEW
• MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
• RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
• CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION

• An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth resulting from the

sudden release of energy in Earth’s lithosphere that creates
seismic waves.
• During earthquakes, major destruction of various types of
structures occurs due to creation of fissures, differential
movements, and loss of strength or stiffness of the ground.
• Phenomenon where strength and stiffness of a loose, saturated
cohesionless soil is reduced by earthquake shaking is known as
Liquefaction.
• During Liquefaction, pore pressure increases in undrained
shearing process causing a reduction in effective stress which
in turn reduces the shear strength.
• Often Liquefaction appears in the form of sand foundations.
• Even in Cohesive soils this phenomenon takes place. It is
technically called as Clay Pumping or Mud Pumping. Here
cohesive forces cannot withstand high pore water pressures
during earthquake as whole clayey soil is pumped out.
• In partially saturated conditions also soils can liquefy. This
phenomenon is technically called as Shear Fluidization.
• To ensure safety of all the structures built on the earth a study on
liquefaction and various factors influencing it is essential. Based
on the conditions, suitable mitigation technique can be designed.
Fig.1 & 2 Overturning failure
Fig.3 & 4 Sand Boiling
Fig.5 Cyclic Mobility
LIQUEFACTION
• Liquefaction resistance depends on various factors. The
amount of fines in the sand is one of the major factor
influencing the liquefaction resistance.

• Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR)

• Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR)

• Factor of safety against liquefaction : 1.2 to 1.5

• Pore Pressure Ratio (ru)

• Research Paper selected for the Presentation :

“Effect of fines on Liquefaction Resistance of Solani

Sand” By Pradeep Muley ,B.K.Maheshwari and D.K
Paul. IIT Roorkee, Uttarkhand, India.
• In this study, sand is obtained from Solani river bed, Roorkee.
• Roorkee is seismically vulnerable area under subduction zone
of Himalayan region.
• A series of cyclic triaxial tests are performed by varying the
relative density of sand and percentage of non silty fines.
• The results of the study performed are used to clarify the
effects of fines on Solani sand.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

• Singh et al.,1994: Reported that at 50 percent relative density

sands with 10, 20, or 30 percent silt have slightly lower
resistances to liquefaction than clean sand at the same relative
density.

• Hyodo et al.,2010: Reported that the main body dominating the

strength of mixture varies with the amount of fines content.
Especially for low content of fines, the sand matrix has a
significant effect on the strength.
• Maheshwari and Patel.,2010: Studied the effect of fine
content and suggested that liquefaction resistance increases
when fine contents are in the range of about 12% to 15%.

• Mominul et al.,2013: Reported that upto 30% silt, liquefaction

resistance of sand decreased with increasing silt content.
Above 30% silt, liquefaction resistance of soil had
insignificant variation with silt content.
 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
Test Materials
Table 1. Properties of Solani Sand
Particulars Notations Value

Soil Type SP Poorly Graded Sand

Specific Gravity Gs 2.68

Uniformity Co-
efficient Cu 1.96
Co-efficient of
Curvature Cc 1.15

D10 0.120 mm

D30 0.180 mm
Grain Size
D50 0.210 mm

D60 0.235 mm

Maximum Void Ratio emax 0.850

Minimum Void Ratio emin 0.540

 Table 2. Properties of Silt

Particulars Notations Value

Soil Type ML Low Plasticity

Specific Gravity Gs 2.54

Liquid limit LL 30%

Plastic limit PL 24%

Plasticity index PI 6%

D10 0.001 mm

Grain Size D30 0.006 mm

D50 0.018 mm
D60 0.026mm

Maximum Void Ratio emax 1.27

Minimum Void Ratio emin 0.34

Details of test conducted
• In the present study, strain controlled cyclic triaxial tests were
performed according to ASTM 3999-11.
• Solani sand with different percentages of silt content (0%, 5%,
10%, 15% & 20%), at 2 relative densities 35% & 50% at
constant effective confining pressures of 50 kPa and frequency
of 1 Hz.
• Axial strain on which samples were tested is 0.75%.
• Total 10 numbers of tests were conducted in this study.
Sample preparation
• In this study water sedimentation method has been used for
sample preparation. For the preparation of saturated sand
sample of relative density (Dr), the following steps have been
evolved.
1. The relative density (Dr) of sand is defined by a
mathematical equation given.

e - desired void ratio at a particular relative density of sand

2. The void ratio (e) corresponding to a relative density (Dr) of
sand was calculated as:
3.Knowing the value of void ratio (e) obtained, dry unit weight of
Solani sand (γd) was determined by the following equation:

4.Water content (w) required for 100 % saturation i.e. Sr = 1.0

was determined by:

5.Knowing the values of γd and V, the dry weight of sand (Wd)

was determined by the equation:
6. Quantity of water (Ww) required for saturation was
determined from:

7. Mould of desired size was fixed to the base pedal of

corresponding triaxial cell with rubber membrane attached
tightly to it, porous stone and wet filter paper was placed at
the bottom of the mould.
8. The amount of water required to achieve saturation is added
into the mould for a particular Dr.
9. The quantity of dry Solani sand (Wd) and the specified weight
of Silt content (percent by dry weight of sand). The Sand-Silt
mixture was poured into the water through funnel with a
plastic tube attached to the end, keeping the tip of the funnel
at a constant height from the water surface.
 Fig.6 Sample preparation by water sedimentation method

10. The sample was prepared in 3 layers and tamped gently at

each layer.
11. Filter paper and porous stone was placed on top of the
sample.
12. Top cap with vacuum ring was placed on porous stone and
rubber membrane is pulled over this assembly. Then
rubber membrane was sealed with O-ring.
Fig.7 Sample ready for Cyclic
Triaxial Test
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
1. Pure Solani sand
Strain level 0.75%,frequency 1Hz, Cell Pressure 50 kPa and
50% Relative density

Fig.8(a) Shear Strain v/s Number of cycles

Fig.8(b) Pore Pressure ratio v/s Number of cycles
Fig.8(c) Shear Stress v/s Number of cycles
2. Solani Sand + 10% Silty fines
Strain level 0.75%,frequency 1Hz, Cell Pressure 50 kPa and
50% Relative density

Fig.9(a) Shear Strain v/s Number of cycles

Fig.9(b) Pore Pressure ratio v/s Number of cycles
Fig.9(c) Shear Stress v/s Number of cycles
 Table 3.Test results on Solani sand for confining
pressure 50 kPa and 35% Relative density
Silt Content % No of cycles for Rumax G
Ru=1 Kpa
0% 4 1.135 1290
5% 5 1.097 1494
10% 13 1.052 2366
15% 15 1.054 2580
20% 14 1.064 1935

Table 4.Test results on Solani sand for confining pressure 50

kPa and 50% Relative density
Silt Content % No of cycles for Rumax G
Ru=1 Kpa
0% 4 1.123 2123
5% 10 1.065 2456
10% 21 1.031 4111
15% 20 1.051 2822
20% 10 1.083 2344
Fig.10 Fines Content (%) v/s No of Cycles
Required to Liquefaction
Fig.11 Fines Content v/s (ru)max
 CONCLUSIONS
In this study, the effect of non-plastic silts on the liquefaction
resistance of Solani sand has been examined. For this, cyclic
triaxial tests were conducted at two relative densities. Based on
the test results, following conclusion may be drawn:
1. Inclusion of non-plastic silt in the pure sand increases
liquefaction resistance of sand.
2. The optimum value of silt contents for 35% and 50% relative
densities were found to be 15% and 10%, respectively.
3. The number of cycles for liquefaction for the same value of
silt content increases when the relative density is increased.
4. Thus, as relative density increases liquefaction resistance
also increases. Relative density plays a major role but at
higher fine contents, its effect decreases.
 REFERENCES
• ASTM D3999-11, Standard Test Methods for the “Determination of the Modulus and
Damping Properties of Soils Using the Cyclic Triaxial Apparatus”. Annual Book of
ASTM Standards, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.
• Hyodo, M., U. G. Kim, Y. Nakata, and N. Yoshimoto (2010),”Effect of fines on
undrained shear characteristics of sand-clay mixtures” Journal of Japan Society of
Civil Engineers 66(1): 215–225
• Kramer, S.L. (1996) Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Pearson Education, First
Indian reprient 2003.
• Pradeep Muley, B.K. Maheshwari and D.K. Paul, "Effect of Fines on Liquefaction
Resistance of Solani Sand” Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee,
Uttarakhand, India.
• Maheshwari, B.K. and Patel, A.K. (2010).,”Effects of Non-Plastic Silts on Liquefaction
Potential of Solani Sand” Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. 28,
559-566.
• Mominul.H.M, Alam.M.J, Ansary.M.A & Karim.M.E (2013),” Dynamic Properties
and Liquefaction Potential of a Sandy Soil Containing Silt” Proceedings of the 18th
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris.
• Polito, C.P. and Martin, J.R. (2001). “Effects of Nonplastic Fines on The Liquefaction
Resistance of Sands”. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
ASCE 127:5, 408-415
• Singh, S., (1994)., “Liquefaction Characteristics Of Silt” Ground Failures Under
Seismic conditions, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 44, ASCE, pp.
• Tronsco, J.H., (1990).,“Failure Risks Of Abandoned Tailings Dams” Proceedings. Int.
Symposium. on Safety and Rehabilitation of Tailings Dams, CIGB ICOLD, Sydney,
Australia, pp. 34-47.
THANK YOU