Experimental Investigation of the Liquefaction Properties and Post-Liquefaction Volumetric Strain of Calcareous Sand in Dredger Fill Site

Abstract

In this study, dynamic triaxial cyclic tests were conducted to examine the liquefaction properties and post-liquefaction volumetric strain of calcareous sand from a dredger fill site in the midst of the islands and reefs of the South China Sea. The test results indicated that there were some differences in micromorphology and composition between the calcareous sand obtained via dredging and natural calcareous sand. Axial cyclic stress attenuation can lead to higher cyclic vibration than actual liquefaction vibration, and the modified method can eliminate the effect of axial cyclic stress attenuation. Saturated calcareous sand liquefies under undrained and cyclic loading conditions, and the liquefaction resistance of the calcareous sand decreases with an increase of the effective confining pressure in the dense state. Calcareous sand obtained via dredging exhibited a higher liquefaction resistance compared with other types of calcareous sand. Furthermore, the proposed pore pressure development modified model better describes the pore pressure growth of the calcareous sand from the filling site. The fitting parameters of this model exhibited a high correlation with the relative density. Moreover, the post-liquefaction volumetric strain of the calcareous sand is larger than that of quartz sand, exhibiting a linear relationship with relative density.