CHANGES IN THE RELATIVE DENSITY OF SAND SOIL DUE TO VARIATIONS IN PEAK GROUND ACCELERATION

Abstract

Earthquakes often cause changes to the physical properties of soil, including its relative density. Relative soil density is an important parameter that affects the shear strength of soil, its resistance to liquefaction and its stability when subjected to dynamic loads. This study aims to evaluate changes in relative soil density due to variations in earthquake load acceleration. The study was conducted using a laboratory-based shaking table test. The relative density of the sandy soil was measured at 40%, with earthquake load acceleration varying at 0.3g, 0.4g and 0.5g. A hand cone penetrometer was used to determine cone penetration resistance (qc) and evaluate the relationship between earthquake load acceleration and the relative density (Dr) of the soil. The results showed that the relative density values obtained were not uniform at each soil layer depth due to variations in the maximum earthquake acceleration (peak ground acceleration/PGA) applied. This induced water flow from bottom to top, making the upper (shallow) soil layers prone to liquefaction.