A Reconciliation of the Effects of Non-Plastic Fines on the Liquefaction Resistance of Sands Reported in the Literature

Abstract

The literature presents several seemingly contradictory reports concerning the effects of non-plastic (i.e., silty) fines content on the liquefaction resistance of sands. These seemingly contradictory trends were reconciled in light of the results of a recent study by the authors that linked cyclic resistance and relative density. It was shown that the trend of decreasing cyclic resistance with increasing silt content reported in the literature could be explained by considering the soil's relative density. The same argument was made for the trend of decreasing and then increasing cyclic resistance with increasing silt content. The concept that cyclic resistance is controlled by the sand skeleton void ratio of the soil was also reconciled with the results of the authors’ previous study. The trend of increasing cyclic resistance (without a corresponding initial decrease) with increasing silt content that has been reported in the literature does not appear to occur in non-plastic silts.