Monotonic triaxial experiments to evaluate steady-state and liquefaction susceptibility of Babolsar sand

Abstract

In this study, drained and undrained triaxial tests under isotropic and anisotropic consolidations were conducted on reconstituted samples of Babolsar sand, which underlies a densely populated, seismic region of the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, Mazandaran, Iran. It was demonstrated that the sand experienced all possible states of liquefiable soil: flow failure, limited flow, and dilation. The steady-state and flow liquefaction lines of this sand were presented and compared with previously tested sands. It is shown that the initial stress anisotropy can affect the potential of volume change and pore pressure generation. The steady-state line (SSL), however, remains identical for the isotropically and anisotropically consolidated specimens under drained and undrained conditions. The tests data were then analyzed in order to investigate the liquefaction susceptibility of this sand in terms of parameters such as the state parameter, relative state parameter index, and lateral earth pressure ratio at failure.