Liquefaction is a hazardous and temporary phenomenon by which water saturated soil loses some or all of its resistance. The undrained conditions linked to the cyclic load increase the pores water pressure inside the soil and consequently reduce effective stress. As a result, the soil can no longer resist or hold the shear forces, and lead to enormous deformations that directly influence the stability of structures and infrastructures foundations. Since 1964, several semi-empirical methods have been invented to evaluate the liquefaction potential using the in-situ test results. This study is based on the correlation between experimental data results of Menard pressuremeter and SPT dynamic penetrometer tests. Samples used in this test come from the Rhiss dam located in the North of Morocco, 24 kilometers as the crow flies from the town of Al Hoceima and south of the foundations of a calcareous ridge. The studied area have high seismic activity and a high percentage of fine soil elements, which suggests the possibility of soil liquefaction. We present and discuss the results of applying Idriss and Boulanger, and Youd et al methods in the evaluation of liquefaction susceptibility.

Coarse-grained soils are a type of soil frequently found in civil engineering projects. The mechanical characterization of these soils is very difficult because of the presence of large-sized elements that disturb or prevent the realization of the tests. However, there is still no rational procedure to characterize coarse soils and determine their mechanical characteristics (cohesion and friction angle) for the calculation of slope stability or structures. The objectives of the research work are to contribute to the improvement of the knowledge of the mechanical behavior of matrix coarse-grained soils and to propose a rational procedure to characterize them. In order to achieve these objectives, it is important to understand the influence of the fundamental parameters related to the mode of reconstitution on the mechanical behavior of the coarse soils: volume fraction, particle size distribution and spread, consolidation level, and the initial state of the matrix. Tests are carried out using the large-sized triaxial testing device in drained conditions. With natural coarse-grained soils, it is very difficult to conduct repeatability tests to validate the results. For this reason, we will study a particular category of coarse-grained soils composed of inclusions (coarse elements) within a fine sandy matrix (matrix coarse-grained soils), using a reference soil composed of a mix of sand and gravel. The results show that for both states of sand compaction (ID=0.4 and ID = 0.8), the shear strength of the soil increases with the increase in the proportion of gravel. This increase is more marked in the case of uniform 8/10 mm gravel. Thus, the size of inclusions has no significant influence on the value of qmax. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-08-012 Full Text: PDF

The phenomenon of soil liquefaction can be an induced effect of earthquake shaking where the saturated soil loses some or all of its bearing capacity and stiffness. Likewise, the increase of water pressure in the soil pores under the seismic wave causes a decrease of the shear strength. As a result, the soil becomes liquefied and susceptible to producing permanent deformations. The phenomenon of liquefaction is generally unpredictable, and neglecting it can influence the stability of structures and infrastructure foundations. Since the 1964 Alaska and Niigata earthquakes, more research works have been conducted to assess land liquefaction vulnerability. This study is undertaken in this field, whose objective, on the one hand, is to signal the phenomenon of liquefaction in the north of Morocco as a geo-technical part known for its instability and, on the other hand, to study the semi-empirical methods to adequately evaluate the liquefaction potential while specifying the most appropriate method for our case study. Similarly, the study is based on data derived from experimental results of in-situ tests applied to the embankment crossing the valley of "Oued Gharifa" on a high-speed rail line section from KP 228+400 to KP 229+375. Moreover, this research aims to show and discuss the evaluation of liquefaction potential of the experimental results of the CPT (cone penetration test) using three semi-empirical methods, namely the Juang method, the Olsen method, and the Robertson method. In doing so, we are going to compare the application results of the three semi-empirical methods in light of evaluating the liquefaction likelihood of the studied area, taking into account the nature of the soil, the variation of the safety coefficient, and the liquefaction potential for each method as well. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-02-013 Full Text: PDF

Coarse-grained soils are a type of soil frequently found in civil engineering projects, and their mechanical characterization still presents a real challenge. They are composed by elements of different dimensions (from a few microns to tens of centimeters), and can be of very varied nature (clay, sand, gravel, pebbles, etc.). The mechanical characterization of coarse-grained soils is very difficult because of the presence of large elements. In order to be able to characterize them in the laboratory by means of conventional size devices, it is very important to study the influence of significant parameters on the mechanical behavior of coarse-grained soils (the volume fraction, particle size distribution and spread, consolidation level and initial state of the matrix), using the large-sized triaxial testing device. In this paper, we will propose a methodology for evaluating the mechanical characteristics of coarse-grained soils based on soil granulometric reconstruction procedures. The method we have named GALA is based on the use of polynomial correlations between the strength increase due to inclusions and the volume fraction fv and the particle spread (d min /d max) of inclusions. We were able to apply this new method to a natural soil. The results showed the relevance of our method.