Liquefaction Assessment Based on Centrifuge CPTs

The paper presents a semi-empirical method for the liquefaction assessment based on CPTs. The cone resistance qc and the cyclic resistance CRR of a un-aged, un-cemented soil depend on the same properties: type of soil, fabric, stress level and density. The latter two quantities can be synthesized through the state parameter ψ, which in this paper is used to link qc, measured via centrifuge CPTs, to CRR, derived from cyclic undrained triaxial tests. A relationship between the normalized cone resistance and ψ was calibrated from the results of 27 centrifuge CPTs on dry Ticino Sand (TS4) models. The results of 16 cyclic undrained triaxial tests on TS4 were interpreted to define a correlation between ψ and CRR at a given number of cycles N. The centrifuge and triaxial test results were combined to deduce a direct relationship between the normalized cone resistance and the CRR, which can be used for liquefaction assessment from field CPTs.