Effects of system compliance on liquefaction behavior of thin sandy layer in undrained cyclic triaxial tests

Abstract

In a case history of dip slope failure caused by the 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake, it has been reported that the slope contained a thin sandy soil layer. The layer may have liquefied if it had been saturated at the time of the earthquake. Undrained cyclic triaxial tests comprise one of the available experimental approaches for evaluating the liquefaction behavior of such thin sandy soil layers. In this study, a series of undrained cyclic triaxial tests was performed on specimens containing an artificial sand layer in order to investigate the effects of system compliance that are possibly induced by partial drainage caused by the changes in volume of the filter paper used to saturate the sand layer and the local drainage at the interface among the specimen, the top cap and pedestal, and the rubber membrane. The observed liquefaction behavior depended on the thickness of the sand layer under otherwise similar conditions, suggesting the significant effect of system compliance. By conducting special tests, while correcting the partial drainage, it was possible to reduce its effect on the liquefaction behavior. Cylindrical specimens with a top cap and pedestal, all having the same diameter, exhibited a smaller effect from partial drainage than prismatic specimens with an oversized top cap and pedestal.