Following the 2008 Wenchuan, China earthquake, investigators from the Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration identified 118 sites with surface liquefaction effects. Following this reconnaissance, Chinese dynamic penetration tests (DPT) were conducted at 19 sites with liquefaction effects and 28 nearby sites without liquefaction effects. Boreholes with nearly continuous core samples were drilled near most DPT soundings revealing 1–4 m of clayey sediment overlying thick deposits of cobbley gravel. The DPT readily penetrated gravelly sediments to depths of 7–15 m. Layers that liquefied at each site are identified as the layer below the water table with the lowest average or matrix DPT resistance. DPT data are analyzed to develop probabilistic criteria for liquefaction resistance. The DPT is a robust, efficient, and effective tool for measuring penetration resistance in gravelly soils and for liquefaction hazard analyses. With further development, the DPT test could be useful for penetration and liquefaction evaluation of gravelly soils in the United States and other countries where liquefaction of gravels is an important issue.
Chinese Dynamic Penetration Test for Liquefaction Evaluation in Gravelly Soils
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Technical Papers
Chinese Dynamic Penetration Test for Liquefaction Evaluation in Gravelly Soils
Abstract
Authors
Associate Professor, Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration, Harbin 150080, China.
Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT 84602 (corresponding author). E-mail: tyoud@byu.edu
Professor, Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration, Harbin 150080, China.
Received: February 04, 2012
Accepted: October 23, 2012
Published online: October 25, 2012
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.