CE 601: Dynamic Properties of Soil

Soil Properties

Monotonic Loading (Shear strength properties of soil)

Angle of Internal Friction ()

Cohesion (c)

Dynamic Loading (Dynamic properties of soil)

Shear Modulus (G)

Damping Ratio (D)

Dynamic Properties of Soil

Shear Modulus,
Modulus G = .V
VS2
Shear wave velocity = VS (m/sec)
Mass density = /g) (Kg/m3)
Unit weight of soil = (KN/m3)
Acceleration of gravity = g (m/sec2)

Damping, D = decay in energy

Shear Modulus (G) is measured in KN/m2 & Damping (D) in %

Dynamic Properties of Soil

Low Strain Amplitude test

For strains (10-6% to 10-4%)

Frequency range: 10 Hz to 200Hz

Vibratory loading (Rotating Machinery etc)

High Strain Amplitude test

For strains (10-4% to 10-2%)

Frequency range: 0.1 Hz to 2 Hz (in general)

Blast loading, Earthquake

Dynamic Properties

High
g Strain Amplitude
p
test

Cyclic Triaxial Test

Cyclic Simple Shear Test

Low Strain Amplitude test

Bender Element Test

Resonant Column Test

Cyclic Triaxial Test (High strain amplitude test)

Dynamic
properties of
soil using Cyclic
Triaxial system:
1. Shear
Modulus (G)
2. Damping
p g
ratio (D)

Dynamic Properties of Soil using

Cyclic Triaxial Test
Dynamic Stress d

Axial Strain a

Dynamic Young Modulus E

Damping D

Grain size distribution: Kutch soil

KutchSoil(Dhori)
(
)
Gravel
Sand
Silt
Sample
watercontent
bulkdensity
Remarks

0%
19%
81%
Remoulded
25%
1.78gm/cc
14%Micapresent
(XRDdata)

Dynamic Behavior of Kutch soil

Strain Controlled Dynamic Triaxial Test
(0.5 Hz, 1% strain amplitude,
Effective confining pressure =300 kPa)

Kutch soil

Kutch soil

Grain size distribution: Sabarmati soil

SabarmatiSoil
Gravel
Sand
Silt
Sample
watercontent
bulkdensity
Remarks

0%
86%
14%
Remoulded
20%
1.90gm/cc
frombanks
ofsabarmati river

Dynamic Behavior of Sabarmati soil

Strain Controlled Dynamic Triaxial Test
(0.5 Hz, 1% strain amplitude,
Effective confining pressure =300 kPa)

Sabarmati soil

Sabarmati soil

Dynamic Behavior of soil using

Cyclic Triaxial setup

Soil
Kutch
Sabarmati

w/c

Liquefaction

G0

G1

G2

G3

G4

G5

(%)

(gm/cc)

(kPa)

(deg)

(noofcycle)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

25
20

1.78
1.90

0
0

28
26

12cycles
5cycles

10082
8824

7101
4570

5310
2584

4334 3501 2894

1434 827 475

w/c:Watercontent
:Bulkdensity
c:Cohesion
C h i
:Frictionangle
G:Shearmodulusofsoilobtainedfordifferentcyclesofloading

Dynamic Behavior of Soft clay

Strain Controlled Dynamic Triaxial Test
(0.004 Hz, 3% strain amplitude,
Effective confining pressure =300 kPa)

Softclay
Sand
Silt
Clay
Sample
watercontent
bulkdensity

0%
2%
98%
Slurryconsolidated
49%
1.75gm/cc

Remarks

Commerciallyavailable
Kaolinite clay

Soft clay

Sachan (2012)

Sachan (2012)

Dynamic Behavior of Soft Clays

using Cyclic Triaxial Testing
Cyclic Instability in Slurry consolidatedspecimensofsoftclay
CyclicInstabilityinSlurry
consolidated specimens of soft clay

Soil

w/c

Cyclic
Instability

G0

(%) (gm/cc) (kPa) (deg) (noofcycle) (kPa)

Softsoil
15cycles
(slurry
(EPP=97%
consolidated) 49
1.75
0
21
ECP)
1810

G1

G2

G3

G4

G5

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

(kPa)

1029

817

715

659

603

w/c:Watercontent
:Bulkdensity
c:Cohesion
:Frictionangle
G:Shearmodulusofsoilobtainedfordifferentcyclesofloading

Cyclic Simple Shear Test (High strain amplitude test)

Digitally controlled Electromechanical actuators are used
to apply the stress or strain
controlled loading

Output:: Shear modulus (G),

Output
Damping (D)

Cyclic Simple Shear

System

Cyclic Simple Shear Test (High strain amplitude test)

ShearStress

ShearStrain

ShearModulus G

Damping D

10

Dynamic properties of
Sand (SW) using Cyclic
simple shear

Bender Element Test (Low strain amplitude test)

Bender Elements
(made by Piezoelectric material)

11

Bender Element Test (Low strain amplitude test)

Thebenderelementsystemis
comprisedofthefollowing
components:
Twobenderelementsinserts
withadoptedtopcapand
pedestal
Externalcontrolbox
Benderelementwithspecimen
insidethetriaxialcell
Highspeedcomputerdata
acquisitionandcontrolcard
i iti
d
t l d
WindowsbasedBenderelement
systemcontrolandacquisition
software

Bender Element Test (Low strain amplitude test)

Piezo-ceramic elements distort or bend when subjected to a change in
voltage.
g
Two Piezoelectric bender elements are placed opposite one another and
inserted a small distance into a soil sample. One bender element work as
source and other as receiver.
The voltage in one element is varied creating shear waves through the
sample, which are received by the opposite element. The input voltage,
(created using a function generator) and the received signal are recorded
continuously
i
l using
i an oscilloscope,
ill
allowing
ll i the
h travell time
i
off the
h shear
h
waves to be measured from which the dynamic elastic shear modulus (G)
can be determined.
Bender elements provide a reliable, cost effective alternative to undertaking
locally instrumented stress path triaxial tests and can be readily performed
on unconfined samples in the laboratory.

12

Bender Element Test (Low strain amplitude test)

TransmissionofSwave

Small-strain modulus (Gmax) of

geotechnical fill materials is a
key parameter in defining the
material response to static
loading.
Gmax is also important in smallstrain dynamic analyses to
predict soil behavior under
machine & traffic vibrations.

CCxy

Bender Element Test: Cross correlation technqiue

Typical Bender Element test results:
Input
Output
Cross-correlated signals
Cross-correlation between two signals:
The cross-correlation function is a quantitative operation in the time domain to describe
the relationship between data measured at a point and data obtained at another
observation point. In Mathematical form, the cross correlations between two signals: X(t)
and Y(t), can be defined as

CCxy lim

1
X (t )Y (t )dt
T T

T is the total time length of the signal and is the time shift between the two signals. The
above equation is simply the common area subtended by the signal X, which has been
shifted by time and the signal Y. As such, for an impulse wave that has been recorded
between two spaced points, will attain a maximum value for the time shift that equals
the travel time of an impulse between two points.

13

Bender Element Test: Cross correlation technqiue

0.8
0.45ms=tcc

Input signal
Amplitude of the signal(mv)

0.6

Out put signal

0.4

Cross correlation

0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4

Clean ganga sand

pi' = 500 Kpa
p
p
Time period =0.1

-0.6
B

0.39ms=tm

B'

-0.8
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

Time scale(ms)

travel time determined by cross-correlation (tcc =0.45) method that fits at best
the input and the output signals.
The delayed time tm over estimated shear wave velocity

Bender Element Test

Vs

Le
t

G = .VS2

shear wave velocity is calculated by dividing the corrected length (Le) by the
travel time of the wave from the transmitter to the receiver; t
Travel length of the wave is considered to be the length of the specimen
minus the length of the bender elements (mid-to-mid distance).
Lt = * L
Lo = L - Lt
Le = L0 e
L = total length of the triaxial sand specimen, e = effective height of tip of the
transducer, Lo = the length between the tips of the transducers, Le = Effective length of
wave propagation with increasing strain rate, and = Axial strain.

14

Resonant Column Test

(Low strain amplitude test)

The basic principle of the resonant column

device is to excite one end of a confined
cylindrical soil specimen in a fundamental
mode of vibration by means of torsional or
longitudinal excitation.
Once the fundamental mode of resonance
frequency is established, measurements
are made of the resonance frequency and
amplitude of vibration from which wave
propagation
ti velocities
l iti and
d strain
t i
amplitudes are calculated using the theory
of elasticity.
The Resonant Column Test provides
laboratory values of Shear modulus (G)
and Damping ratio (D).

Resonant Column Test

(Low strain amplitude test)

With known value of the

resonant frequency it is
possible to back
back-calculate
calculate
the velocity (vs or vl) of the
wave propagation and
thereby G or E
After measuring the
resonant condition, the drive
system is cut of and the
specimen is brought to a
state of free vibration.
Damping is determined by
observing the decay pattern
(a) Specimen is excited at the bottom and the response is
picked up at the top (velocity or acceleration)
(b) Driving force is applied on the top. The response
pickup is also placed on the top

15

Resonant Column Test:

Determination of Shear Modulus of soil (G)

(t ) C eit

Acc.

Resonant freq. f1
+
Sample Geometry
+
End restraint
+
Wave equation (torsion)

2 f
G0 vs2 2H 1
FT

Resonant Column Test:

Damping properties of soil (D

D = 1/21

16

Thank You

17