Liquefaction Susceptibility and Remediation Measures of Mirpur Sand

Abstract

Soil liquefaction can damage the building foundations resulting into irregular settlement of the buildings, structural damages, formation of cracks in foundations and overall instability of structures. Therefore, proper remediation measures are necessary to minimize the adverse effects of liquefaction phenomenon. The paper presents the undrained cyclic behavior of Mirpur sand and different remediation techniques using various additives to reduce the liquefaction potential. In this study, a series of strain controlled cyclic triaxial tests were performed at a frequency of 1 Hz. In order to simulate the field conditions of medium dense sand, the samples were prepared at 10% moisture content and at a relative density of 60%. In addition, specimens were subjected to varying confining pressures (e.g., 50, 100, 150 kPa). Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Polypropylene (PP) fibers were mixed in the sample for remediation purpose. The results show that for the same level of axial strain, the deviator stress increases by 15 % when fibers were mixed in pure sand sample. In addition, when both fibers and cement were added to pure sand specimen, the value of deviator stress increased by 25%.