Comparative Liquefaction Triggering Assessment of Gravelly Reclamations using the CPT, DPT, and Shear-Wave Velocity

Abstract

Major challenges are encountered in characterizing and performing liquefaction assessment of gravelly soils since performing traditional in-situ tests, such as the Cone Penetration Test (CPT), in gravelly soils can be challenging, and since gravelly soils are not well-represented in existing case history databases used to develop semi-empirical methods for liquefaction assessment. This has been the primary reason for the ongoing efforts to develop methods based on other invasive tests, such as shear-wave velocity (Vs), and penetration tests with larger probes and greater energy delivered to the rod, such as the Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DPT). While CPT-based liquefaction analyses have been comprehensively studied, limited research has been conducted comparatively evaluating the performance of the other two methods. This paper performs liquefaction triggering assessment of gravelly reclamations using data from the welldocumented case history of the port of Wellington (New Zealand) using CPT, DPT, and Vs measurements. Results show that while the Vs measurements overestimate liquefaction resistance, the DPT and CPT agreed relatively well with observations from past earthquakes due to the greater sensitivity of these test methods to soil density and stratigraphy

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