1. ERDC Knowledge Core
2. Pre - Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
3. Soils and Pavements Laboratory - (8/1/1972 - 4/16/1978)
4. Technical Publication
5. Miscellaneous Paper

Title:	Movement of variable-density inclusions in wet sand under blast loading
Authors:	Perry, Edward B. (Edward Belk)
Keywords:	Blast loads Dynamic loads Soil liquefaction Sands Sandy soils Soil density Soil dynamics Soil mechanics Soil test specimens Blast effects
Publisher:	Soils and Pavements Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Series/Report no.:	Miscellaneous Paper (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; S-72-37
Description:	Miscellaneous Paper Abstract: Liquefaction, as evidenced by a loss of shear strength leading to bearing capacity failure, was found to occur in laboratory one-dimensional plane wave loading tests on wet (nearly saturated) and dry sand specimens only when the blast-loaded top surface of the sand was not covered with a membrane. The effect of free-water depth over the range investigated in this study (0 to 1 in. (2.54 cm) above the top surface of the sand) was negligible. Scatter in the measured values of peak overpressure resulted in a tentative plot of liquefaction as a function of peak overpressure and relative density. Liquefaction did not occur in wet sand-filled test pits, with relative densities from 6 to 64 percent, located at the 50-psi (3.45-bar) predicted peak overpressure contour of a 100-ton (90,718-kg) high-explosive field test. The effect of the presence or absence of a membrane on the top surface of the sand was found to be negligible or within the data scatter. The plot of liquefaction potential as a function of peak overpressure and relative density developed from the laboratory study was extrapolated to the field study and successfully predicted that liquefaction should not have occurred in any of the field test pits at the 50-psi (3.45-bar) overpressure level. In the superseismic regime, where the principal source of stress is airblast, it appears that a successful deterrent to airblast-induced liquefaction may be the placement of a membrane (such as asphaltic pavement) on the surface of the soil. Additional laboratory and field tests are recommended to improve the relationship of liquefaction potential to peak overpressure and relative density observed in this study.
Gov't Doc #:	Miscellaneous Paper S-72-37
Rights:	Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/20990
Appears in Collections:	Miscellaneous Paper