Reply to the discussion by A. Sawangsuriya and D. Fratta on "Correlations betweenP-wave velocity and Atterberg limits of cohesive soils"

Abstract

Fener et al. 657 The authors are grateful for the interest and contribution by the discussers. The discussers first explained the definition of P-wave velocity in soils and the physical definition of Atterberg limits. After producing some plots from published data (Yesiller et al. 2000), they showed the poor correlation between the Atterberg limits and the P-wave velocity. As stated by the discussers, the P-wave velocity in granular materials depends on several soil parameters such as the state of effective stresses, void ratio, cementation, suction, and water content (Duffy and Mindlin 1957; Hardin and Black 1968; Sheeran et al. 1967; Roesler 1979; Acar and ElTahir 1986; Qian et al. 1991; Cho and Santamarina 2001). In our study, most of the soil parameters affecting the P-wave velocity are approximately the same. Soil samples were taken from an approximate depth of 2 m to maintain the same magnitude of effective stress. As shown in Table DR1, void ratio, porosity, water content, degree of saturation, and average grain diameter of the tested soils are approximately similar except for one or two samples, so the dependence of P-wave velocity on soil parameters in our study is minimal. For this reason, we could find correlations between Atterberg limits and P-wave velocity. In addition, we also found good correlations between P-wave velocity and other soil properties such as unconfined compressive strength (Fig. DR1) and cohesion (Fig. DR2). We clearly stated in our technical note that our study was preliminary and that a limited number of soil types were tested. We concluded that further research is necessary to check the validity of derived equations for other soil types. A concluding remark is that the Atterberg limits of cohesive soils can be predicted from P-wave velocity measurements if the soil properties, such as void ratio, magnitude of effective stress, suction, and water content, are approximately the same. The developed equations have limited applications and should be used with caution.