Experimental and theoretical methods on determination of stress-dependent natural frequency of marine sedimentary clay

Abstract

ABSTRACTExcited by the vibration sources in dynamic engineering, the natural frequency and damping factor of the saturated marine sedimentary clay are key dynamic parameters that influence the responses under cyclic loads. Experimental and theoretical methods are proposed in this paper to analyze the natural frequency and the stress-dependent nonlinearity. The experimental method shows that the natural frequency of soils with specific stress state subjected to large cyclic shear strain can be estimated from the data of dynamic triaxial tests based on the amplitude–frequency response curve. Trial and error by the criterion from the half-power bandwidth method is used to determine the optimal fitting. The results of a theoretical study on the free vibration of soil layers are then presented to derive the analytic solution of natural frequency. In addition to the two frequency-independent elements (a lumped mass matrix and a stiffness matrix), the system’s equivalent damping coefficient matrix is iteratively determined based upon the forced vibration experimentally. Finally, the impacts of the resonance phenomenon on the dynamic shear modulus and hysteretic loop are discussed.