Incorporating the Stress History Parameter KD of DMT into the Liquefaction Correlations in Clean Uncemented Sands

Abstract

This paper analyzes the possibility of reducing the uncertainty of the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) estimates by incorporating stress history into the liquefaction correlations. A way of obtaining this objective stems from the combination of two well-recognized notions: (1) sensitivity of the flat dilatometer test (DMT) parameter KD to stress history, and (2) necessity of stress history information to obtain better estimates of the liquefaction resistance. The main aim of this paper is to develop a framework providing CRR estimates based not on the one-to-one correlations CRR-Qcn or CRR-KD, but on a correlation based at the same time on both Qcn and KD. A Qcn-KD-CRR correlation has been constructed by combining the current CRR-Qcn and CRR-KD correlations. It is expectable that an estimate based at the same time on two measured parameters is more accurate than estimates based on just one parameter. 'A chart is presented providing estimates of CRR based at the same time on both Qcn and KD.