Mark Jones

Intermediate Soils: Specimen Preparation and Characterization for Geotechnical Centrifuge Testing

Mark Jones* (Ohio University)Alan Abad* (Florida International University)

University of California, Davis

Advisor: Jason DeJong*, PhD

Abstract

The liquefaction of intermediate soils, namely silty soils, is of significant concern and importance to the geotechnical community. This projects focus was twofold. The first goal of the project was the development of reliable method to prepare uniform silt specimens in containers for centrifuge testing. The study focused on pluviation as a method of sample preparation using SIL-CO-SIL #106 silt. Dry and wet pluviation were also compared. The second goal was the development of in-situ tools, namely cone penetrometers, T-Bar, and Ball penetrometers to characterize such soil properties as uniformity, undrained and remolded shear strength, and liquefaction resistance. Silt was found to contain properties of both sand and clay. Hopefully the research provided in this report will assist future researchers in developing better safety practices when constructing on silty soils in earthquake-vulnerable areas.

Problem Studied

Silt Background

Soils are often categorized by grain size. Soils with large grain sizes ( > 0.075 mm) are called Granular soil, and consist of gravels and sands. Fine grained soils (