Preparation of a Large Mailiao Silty Sand Specimen for Shaking Table Tests

Preparation of a Large Mailiao Silty Sand Specimen for Shaking Table Tests

Sample preparation method of the Mailiao silty sand specimen in a large scale laminar shear box(1.880 m × 1.880 m ×1.520 m) was evaluated for the study of the behavior of saturated silty sand in shaking table tests. The silty sand specimen inside the shear box was prepared by the staged sedimentation method from a specially made pluviation device. The uniformity, density and saturation of the sand were checked by the thin-walled tube sampling and P-wave velocity measurements. The results showed that uniformity and saturation of the specimen were satisfactory by the preparation method used in this study. A series of shaking table tests with various acceleration amplitudes, frequencies, durations, and shaking directions were performed on the saturated Mailiao silty sand inside the large laminar shear box at National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering(NCREE). Pore water pressures and accelerations within the soil, and displacements and accelerations of the frames of various depths were measured during tests under both one-and two-dimensional shaking. It is found that the behavior of the silty sand under shaking, including pore water pressure generation and dissipation, surface settlement, and liquefaction, is quite different from that of the clean sand.