Effects of Overconsolidation on Liquefaction Characteristics of Sands Containing Fines

Abstract

Two series of cyclic triaxial tests were performed on soils containing fines (passing #200 sieve) from 0 to 100 percent by weight. The first series included the testing of laboratory-prepared reconstituted specimens overconsolidated to overconsolidation ratio (OCR) values of 1.0 to 2.0. It was shown that the overconsolidation had an definite effect in strengthening the cyclic resistance of the specimens, and its effect became more pronounced as the content of the fines increased. The second in the series was concerned with the tests on undisturbed specimens from alluvial deposits in Tokyo as well as the tests on remolded specimens of the same soil. It was shown that the cyclic strength of the undisturbed specimens was about 15 percent greater than that of the reconstituted ones. Comparison of the results from this second series of tests appeared to show that the greater cyclic strength of the undisturbed specimens over that of the remolded specimens might have been caused by a slight overconsolidation which existed in the alluvial deposit of the sands containing the fines.