Shear modulus and damping ratio characteristics of gravelly deposits

In this paper, the results of an experimental investigation of dynamic characteristics of gravelly cobble deposits, such as shear modulus (G) and damping ratio (D), are presented. The gravelly cobble deposits are very common in the Taichung metropolitan area of Taiwan where there is an urgent need to determine G and D for dynamic analysis and design of structures. The test program includes measurements of shear wave velocity by the downhole method and large-scale dynamic triaxial tests and resonant-column tests. Special consideration is given to preparing samples of gravelly cobble deposits for laboratory tests. The "equal-weight replacement method" to scale down the real gravelly deposits to cell diameters is used for the preparation of samples. This method is found to be satisfactory, as consistent and reasonable results are obtained. The results of the present study show that the shear modulus - shear strain (G-gamma) relationship for this gravelly deposit does not follow exactly those reported in the literature. The deviation of this G-gamma relationship from those reported in the literature is investigated and explained.