STATIC LIQUEFACTION OF SAND IN TRIAXIAL AND PLANE-STRAIN TESTS

The static liquefaction of sand is often considered as one of the triggering factors for the failure of loose granular slopes. Although numerous experimental studies have been carried out in the past to understand the liquefaction phenomenon of granular soils, most of them have been conducted under axisymmetric conditions. Most of the slope analysis, however, can only be simplified into plane-strain conditions. In this paper, experimental results are presented to compare the behavior of loose sand under axisymmetric conditions with that under plane-strain conditions. It is observed that the liquefaction of loose sand under the two conditions is similar. However, the critical state line (CSL) or the steady state line (SSL) on both the q-p' and the e-log p' planes determined under plane-strain conditions is different from that under axisymmetric conditions.