Geotech Geol Eng

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-023-02733-w

ORIGINAL PAPER

Impact of Particle Characteristics on the Static Liquefaction

of Jhelum Riverbed Sand
Mir Zeeshan Ali · Majid Hussain

Received: 18 August 2023 / Accepted: 13 December 2023

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

Abstract The undrained shearing behavior of the increased from 50 to 150 kPa. It was also observed
Jhelum Riverbed sands and the effect of fines con- that Jhelum sands follow normal behavior of increas-
tent on their overall response and their static lique- ing contractile tendency as p′i increased from 50 to
faction potential are still elusive. In this context, the 150 kPa. Specimens with larger mean grain diameter
present study aims to understand the undrained shear- ­(D50) and lower coefficient of uniformity (CU) values
ing response and static liquefaction potential of Jhe- exhibited higher undrained strength as well as higher
lum riverbed sands through a series of isotropically liquefaction resistance. Higher roundness and sphe-
consolidated undrained compression (CIUC) triaxial ricity values facilitate a higher generation of excess
tests. The effect of sand type and fines content were pore water pressure, resulting in higher liquefaction
established through CIUC triaxial tests conducted on potential. With the addition of non-plastic fines, the
clean sands obtained from three different locations Sopore Sand-silt mixture exhibited higher liquefac-
(Khanabal, Rajbagh, and Sopore) along the Jhelum tion potential, more strain-softening behavior, and
River and sand-silt mixtures. Results showed that higher excess pore pressure, resulting in 83 and 51%
volumetric compressibility (mv) decreased by 67, 65, reduction in p′i at 7 and 14% fines content, respec-
and 46% as the relative density increased from 15 to tively. A unique critical state line in q − p� space is
50% for KS, RS, and SS sands, respectively. Com- observed for sand silt mixtures.
pared to clean sands, an increase of 23 and 15% in
mv was observed with the addition of 7 and 14% non- Keywords Liquefaction · Kashmir valley · Pore
plastic fines, respectively. An increase in the und- pressure · Stress–strain · Relative density · Non-
rained shearing resistance by factors of 2.12, 3.08, plastic fines
and 1.98 for KS, RS, and SS, respectively, is observed
as the relative density increases from 15 to 50%. An Abbreviations
increase in undrained strength by 79.2% is observed CIUC Isotropically consolidated undrained
when the initial effective confining pressure ( p′i ) is monotonic triaxial compression
KS Khanabal sand
RS Rajbagh sand
M. Z. Ali · M. Hussain (*) SS Sopore sand
Civil Engineering Department, National Institute SF Sopore fines
of Technology Srinagar, Srinagar, J&K, India
e-mail: [email protected] FC Fines content
p′ Mean effective confining pressure
M. Z. Ali
e-mail: [email protected]

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p′i Initial mean effective confining respectively. Dense sands exhibit SH behavior and do
pressure not liquefy.
q Deviatoric stress The undrained behavior of sand has been explored
Δu Excess pore water pressure in the past few decades by numerous researchers
ru Excess pore water pressure ratio (Castro 1969; Kramer 1985; Kramer and Seed 1988;
TSP Total stress path Yamamuro and Lade 1997; Yoshimine and Ishihara
CSL Critical state line 1998; Yoshimine et al. 1999; Vaid and Sivathayalan
M Critical stress ratio or slope of CSL 2000; Ghadr and Assadi-Langroudi 2019). Several
IB Undrained brittleness index factors, including relative density, confining pres-
CP Collapse potential sure, fines content, particle morphology, over-consol-
mv Volumetric compressibility idation ratio, particle size distribution, initial fabric,
D50SS/D50SF Mean grain diameter ratio of sand method of specimen preparation, and strain rate, are
PGA Peak ground acceleration among many factors that influence the soil behav-
GSD Grain size distribution ior (Ladd 1974; Yamamuro and Lade 1993; Theva-
Gs Specific gravity nayagam 1998; Polito and Martin 2001; Wood et al.
LL Liquid limit 2008; Yamamuro et al. 2008; Papadopoulou and
PL Plastic limit Tika 2008; Lade et al. 2009; Yamamuro et al. 2011;
PI Plasticity index Raghunandan et al. 2012; Monkul 2013; Benahmed
ρmax Maximum density et al. 2015; Mahmoudi et al. 2016a, b; Lentini and
ρmax Minimum density Castelli 2019; Chavan et al. 2022; Gobbi et al. 2022;
eg Intergranular void ratio Goudarzy et al. 2022).
ege Equivalent intergranular void ratio Relative density, confining pressure, and fines con-
Mw Moment magnitude. tent are the most important parameters controlling
ϕpeak Peak friction angle the undrained response of granular soils. While the
ϕCS Critical state friction angle effect of relative density and confining pressure on
the undrained response is relatively well-established
(Yamamuro and Lade 1997; Kramer and Seed 1988;
Yoshimine and Ishihara 1998), the effect of fines
1 Introduction content is still ambiguous. Studies have reported that
with increasing silt content, the liquefaction resist-
Undrained mechanical behavior of soils under differ- ance increases (Seed et al. 1983; Amini and Qi 2000),
ent stress conditions; static or dynamic, initial states; while some (Lade and Yamamuro 1997; Yamamuro
loose or dense, is controlled by the magnitude and and Lade 1997; Zlatovic and Ishihara 1997) reported
rate of development of shear-induced excess pore silty sands to be more prone to liquefaction. Some
water pressure. Loose saturated granular soils, under findings report a decrease in liquefaction resistance
undrained loading conditions; static or cyclic, develop up to a certain threshold fines content (FC ranging
positive excess pore water pressure, resulting in loss between 15 to 40%) followed by increased liquefac-
of strength leading to a phenomenon known as lique- tion resistance with increasing fines content (Koester
faction. Soil liquefaction is one of the most dynamic 1994; Papadopoulou and Tika 2008; Sitharam and
and challenging phenomena in the field of earthquake Dash 2008; Liu 2020), whereas other studies report
geotechnical engineering. Most of the understand- an increase in liquefaction resistance at low fines
ing about the phenomenon developed after the 1964 content, and then a decrease in liquefaction resist-
Good Friday Alaska (United States) 9.2 ­Mw and 1964 ance is observed as fines content increases (Polito and
Niigata 7.6 M
­ w magnitude earthquakes. Castro (1969) Martin 2001). Mousa and Youssef (2021) provide a
performed undrained compression tests on sands and detailed review of quantitative (void ratio, intergranu-
reported three key responses in sands: strain softening lar void ratio, relative density, maximum minimum
(SS), limited strain softening (LSS), and strain hard- particle size, mean weight diameter of soils, clay con-
ening (SH). Loose sands exhibit SS and LSS behav- tent, activity, etc.) and qualitative (confining stress,
ior, leading to liquefaction and limited liquefaction, drainage conditions, stress history, depositional

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environment, etc.) factors that affect the transitional 2 Description of Study Area
behavior of soils.
The complex phenomenon of liquefaction is not Kashmir region falls in the Seismic Zones IV and V
only affected by the above parameters. Grain size of the Indian seismic zonation map, indicating that
distribution and grain morphology are also impor- this zone is susceptible to the highest seismic risk as
tant parameters affecting the undrained behavior of per IS 1893 2016. The tectonic activity in this region
sands. Kokusho et al. (2004) reported increased liq- has resulted in the formation of complex landforms,
uefaction resistance as the coefficient of uniformity including ridges, mountains, valleys, and plains
(CU) of sand increased, or sands became more well- (Yeats 1992). Kashmir valley, a 140 km long and
graded. It was also reported by Kokusho et al, (2004) 60 km wide basin, is bound by the Pir-Panjal range in
that effective stress internal friction angle increases the south-southwest and the Great Himalayan range
as CU increases. Similar findings were reported by in the east-northeast. The elevation of these moun-
Kuerbis (1989). However, there are findings report- tain ranges is as high as 4000–5000 m above mean
ing the insignificant effect of CU on effective friction sea level. A 30–40 m thick Holocene fine to medium-
and monotonic response of sands at a given relative grained floodplain alluvium is present in the central
density (Koerner 1970; Pitman et al. 1994). The liq- part of the valley, Pliocene–Pleistocene deposits with
uefaction resistance decreases with a decrease in the Holocene sediments of 1300 m thickness in calm
uniformity coefficient (­Cu) and mean diameter (­D50) fluvial-lacustrine environment (south-west wards
of sand (Monkul et al. 2016). Keramatikerman and of central part of valley), confined on three sides
Chegenizadeh (2017) reported that with a decrease by Permo-Traissic deposits and Cambrian succes-
in roundness, sphericity, and regularity, the liquefac- sions on northwest side of the valley (Dar and Dubey
tion resistance and the critical friction angle (ϕcs) 2015). The Jhelum River, also known as Vitasta, is
increased. Similar observations were reported by Gou prominent in the Kashmir valley’s geography. This
and Su (2007), Rouse et al. (2008), and Tsomokos perennial river originates in the Pir-Panjal mountain
and Georgiannou (2010). Rui et al (2020) reported range near Verinag spring in the southeastern region
that the irregularly shaped particles mobilize higher of Jammu and Kashmir. As one of the primary tribu-
friction angles at low strains, and there occurs a slow taries of the Indus river, the Jhelum meanders north-
accumulation of excess pore pressure due to enhanced west through the central part of the valley, effectively
interlocking resistance. dividing it into two distinct parts. It serves as a cru-
Monkul and Yamamuro (2011) investigated the cial source of drinking water for the area’s significant
influence of silt size on the liquefaction resistance population and plays a vital role in the agriculture
of base sand mixed with three different essentially sector of Kashmir valley. Along its course, it is joined
non-plastic silts and reported a reduction in liquefac- by numerous glacier-fed tributaries before flowing
tion resistance with decreasing mean grain diameters into Walur lake, at an elevation of 1580 m above sea
ratio (D50Sand/D50Silt). Monkul et al. (2016) observed level (Shah et al. 2017), and ultimately makes its way
that in the presence of non-plastic fines, the silty into Pakistan.
sand becomes more liquefiable as base sand becomes Kashmir valley has a history of strong ground
coarser (D50Sand increases) and relatively well-graded motion earthquakes (Ahmad et al. 2009), with the
(CUSand increases). These contradictory conclusions recent maximum destructive earthquake occurring in
are drawn based on the different state variables (i.e., 2005. On 8th October 2005, an earthquake of moment
void ratio, relative density, intergranular void ratio, magnitude ­(Mw) 7.6 with the epicenter located at
and equivalent intergranular void ratio) chosen to Muzaffarabad, Pakistan (34.493°N and 73.629°E)
compare liquefaction resistance. Hanumantharao and struck Northern Pakistan and Kashmir claiming at
Ramana (2011) summarized the influence on lique- least 80,000 lives (https://​earth​quake.​usgs.​gov; Rai
faction resistance and the parameters used for com- and Murty 2006). Post-earthquake preliminary sur-
parison. The present study uses an equivalent inter- veys and investigations by various researchers have
granular void ratio and critical state soil mechanics reported soil liquefaction in several parts of Baram-
(CSSM) framework to discuss the influence of non- ulla, Kupwara, and Jammu (Bhat et al. 2005; Sahoo
plastic fines on clean sands. et al. 2007; Jayangondaperumal et al. 2008; Sana and

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Nath 2016). The degree of liquefaction was highest these sands at their natural state was found to be 1, 4,
for the northern parts (Baramulla and Kupwara) of and 14% for the Khanabal, Rajbagh, and Sopore sites,
Kashmir, whereas the central and southern regions respectively, and they are classified as poorly graded
(Srinagar and Anantnag) showed medium and low- sand (SP), poorly graded sand (SP), and well-graded
intensity liquefaction, respectively. Sana and Nath silty-sand (SW-SM) as per Indian Standard Soil Clas-
(2016) also confirmed these observations by deter- sification System (ISSCS). The mean grain diameter
mining the liquefaction potential index of the soils (D50) of these sands in their natural state was found to
from these regions using the Standard Penetration be 0.35, 0.26, and 0.23, respectively, for the Khana-
Test (SPT) data from 64 boreholes spread across the bal, Rajbagh, and Sopore sites. This decrease in the
valley. Khan and Shah (2016) studied paleo-liquefac- effective grain diameter is attributed to the reduction
tion features across the Kashmir valley and estimated in the depositional energy of the Jhelum River along
the energy center, magnitude, and peak ground accel- with the eroding action of the water. Jhelum river in
eration (PGA) of paleo-earthquakes in this region. Khanabal is a high-energy environment compared to
In the context of the complex geological and the Jhelum River in Rajbagh, Srinagar. Fine-grained
seismic features associated with this region and the sediments erode in high-energy environments and get
reported large-scale liquefaction scenarios, investigat- deposited in low-energy environments. Sopore sand
ing the undrained response of sands in this region is was extracted and collected downstream of Walur
of great relevance. Hence, the present study is con- lake, thereby showing higher percentage of fines.
ceptualized to investigate the undrained response of Clean sands from the three locations are
Jhelum riverbed sand collected from three locations obtained by washing out the fines content (particle
in Kashmir (Khanabal, Rajbagh, and Sopore) along size < 75 µm). The three clean sands, namely Khana-
the Jhelum riverbed. The rationale behind choosing bal sand (KS), Rajbagh sand (RS), and Sopore sand
the sands from these different locations is to bring (SS), with distinct natural gradations, were used in
out the effects of natural variation in particle size the present study to understand the undrained shear-
gradation and particle morphology on the undrained ing response of Jhelum River sands. In addition, to
shearing behavior of Jhelum sands. Also, the effect understand the effect of fines content, Sopore fines
of natural fines on the undrained shearing response is (SF) obtained from the sand collected from the
explored by adding non-plastic fines washed from the Sopore by washing as per ASTM D1140-17 (2017)
Sopore site to the clean Sopore sand. are added to the clean Sopore sand (SS) with varying
fines content.
Geotechnical properties of the three sands (KS,
3 Materials and Test Methodology RS, SS, and SF), including the Grain Size Distri-
bution (GSD), specific gravity (Gs), and maximum
3.1 Geotechnical Properties of Jhelum Riverbed and minimum void ratios (emax and emin), were
Sand determined as per the ASTM standards. GSD curve
for the clean sands with particle size > 75 μm was
In order to investigate the effects of natural varia- obtained by performing sieve analysis as per the
tion, three different sand samples were collected from ASTM D6913/D6913M-17 (2017). Whereas the
three districts located along the Jhelum riverbed. The GSD curve for the Sopore Fines (SF) with particle
locations include Khanabal in Anantnag (N33.7427°, size < 75 μm was obtained by performing hydrom-
E75.1321°), Ram Munshi Bagh in the Rajbagh eter analysis as per ASTM D7928-17 (2017). The
area of Srinagar (N34.063172°, E74.83244°), specific gravity of the soil solids was determined
and Chanakhan Bridge in Sopore, (N34.276276°, as per ASTM D854-14 (2014). The vibratory table
E74.46365°) covering almost 90 km length along the principle was used to determine the maximum den-
Jhelum River. Figure 1 shows the locations of sam- sity (ρmax) and minimum density (ρmin) conforming
pling sites on the map of Kashmir valley (prepared to ASTM D4253-16 (2016), from which the extreme
using ArcGIS Stable Version 10.3). Khanabal is at void ratios are calculated. Hindrance is the key to
a higher elevation than Rajbagh, which in turn is at achieving limiting conditions (emax and emin). Loos-
a higher elevation than Sopore. The fines content in est states (emax) are obtained by depositing particles

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Fig. 1  Sample collection sites along river Jhelum

with maximum hindrance, allowing particles to possible (Germaine and Germaine 2009). The
stay in the exact location and orientation that they obtained values of these properties are listed in
are in the moment particles contact the surface. Table 1.
For obtaining dense states (emin), hindrance should Atterberg limits of the Sopore Fines (SF) were
be such that particles are deposited as tightly as determined as per ASTM D4318-17e1 (2017). Liq-
uid limit (LL) and Plastic limit (PL) of SF were found

Table 1  Particle size, Property Khanabal sand Rajbagh sand Sopore sand Sopore fines (SF)
gradation, and void ratio of (KS) (RS) (SS)
Jhelum sands
Gs 2.73 2.72 2.72 2.72
Gravel (%) 0 0 0 -
Coarse sand (%) 2 0 1
Medium sand (%) 29 13 18
Fine sand (%) 68 83 67
D50 (mm) 0.35 0.27 0.25 0.02
CU 2.4 1.86 5.66 13.04
CC 1.1 0.97 2.52 2.02
emax 0.80 0.92 0.90 -
emin 0.47 0.59 0.55 -

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to be 19.53 and 17.33%, respectively. The hydrom- by the presence of fines. Mousa (2016) used SEM
eter analysis of the SF revealed silt-size and clay-size images to describe how low to high plastic behavior
fractions of 89 and 11%, respectively. Sopore Fines of transitional soils (silty sands) is dependent on the
(SF) are non-plastic, having a Plasticity Index (PI) gradation and relative fabric of silt fraction. The mor-
of 2.2. The mean grain diameter ratio of SS to SF phological features of these particles are quantified
(D50SS/D50SF) was found to be 12.5. In order to under- using well-established shape descriptors like Wadell’s
stand the effect of fines content on the undrained roundness (R) and sphericity (S) through image anal-
shearing response of sands, Sopore fines (SF) were ysis. Roundness quantifies the sharpness of corners
added to clean Sopore sand (SS) by varying two dif- and is defined as the ratio of the average radius of cur-
ferent fines content (7 and 14%). These mixtures were vature of corners of a particle to the diameter of the
named as SS with 7% fines (SS7%FC) and SS with maximum inscribed circle (Wadell 1932). Sphericity
14% fines (SS14%FC). The gradation parameters of is defined as the ratio of width to the length of the
these sand-silt mixtures are listed in Table 2. particle (Zheng and Hryciw 2015). The SEM images
Figure 2 shows the Field Emission Scanning Elec- were initially converted into binary images for image
tron Microscope (FE-SEM) images of the KS, RS, analysis, and morphological parameters like round-
and SS sands taken at a magnification of 147×. The ness (R) and sphericity (S) were computed using
micrographs of the KS show larger individual parti- MATLAB algorithms developed by Zheng and Hry-
cles separated by large voids with insignificant fines ciw (2015). An average value for 25 particles is taken
however, the micrographs of RS and SS depict the as the representative value for the shape descriptors.
presence of significant fine particles. In all the micro- Table 3 lists the computed values of shape descriptors
graphs, the particles are more or less sub-rounded for KS, RS, and SS particles.
to sub-angular. Mousa (2016) provided an in-depth Powers (1953) classified the particle shape into
understanding of how the initial fabric is affected well-rounded if R > 0.70, rounded if 0.49 < R < 0.70,
subrounded if 0.35 < R < 0.49, subangular if
Table 2  Size and gradation of Sopore sand at different per- 0.25 < R < 0.35, angular if 0.17 < R < 0.35, and very
centages of Sopore fines angular if 0.12 < R < 0.17. All three Jhelum sands
Property Clean Sopore SS with SS with
sand (SS0%FC) 7% fines 14% fines
(SS7%FC) (SS14%FC) Table 3  Roundness and sphericity of Jhelum riverbed sands
Shape descriptor KS RS SS
D50 (mm) 0.25 0.24 0.23
CU 1.80 2.58 8.16 Roundness, R 0.40 0.41 0.38
CC 0.97 1.29 3.68 Sphericity, S 0.67 0.70 0.64

Fig. 2  FE-SEM images of a Khanabal Sand (KS), b Rajbagh Sand (RS), and c Sopore Sand (SS)

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(KS, RS, and SS) considered for the present study are ASTM D4767-11 (2011), respectively. Both these
classified as subrounded per Power’s classification. tests were performed on specimens reconstituted to
The variation of the computed R values was found target relative densities using the moist tamping tech-
to be insignificant. As per Wadell’s sphericity scale nique to determine the friction angle (ϕ). Table 4
(Wadell 1935), S values range from 0 to 1, with 0 rep- presents the peak (ϕpeak) and mobilized (ϕmobilized)
resenting elongated particles and a value of 1 repre- friction angles obtained from DST and TXL tests for
senting a perfect sphere. Rajbagh sand (RS) exhibited specimens reconstituted to different relative densities.
higher sphericity than the other sands (KS and SS). The shear strength parameters obtained from TXL
These observations agree well with the stages of the are found to be lower compared to the parameters
river Jhelum from where the samples were collected. obtained in DST.
The sampling sites in the present study fall in the
mature stage (middle course) of the river Jhelum. 3.2 X‑Ray Diffraction Analysis
The grain size distribution curves of clean KS, RS,
SS sands along with the GSD curve of Sopore fines SmartLab X-Ray Diffractometer (Rigaku) with a Cu
(SF) used in the present study are shown in Fig. 3a. K-β radiation source available at the Central Research
Also, the GSD curves for Sopore sand-silt mixtures Facility Center (CRFC) in the National Institute of
(SS + SF) with fines content of 0, 7, and 14% are pre- Technology Srinagar was employed to perform X-ray
sented in Fig. 3b. The shear strength parameters of diffraction (XRD) analysis on the KS, RS, and SS
clean sands (KS, RS, and SS) at different relative den- samples to obtain their mineralogical composition.
sities (15, 30, and 50%) were determined by perform- Phase identification was achieved utilizing the Inter-
ing direct shear tests (DST) and triaxial tests (TXL) national Center for Diffraction Data (ICDD) database.
conforming to ASTM D3080/D3080M-11 (2011) and The XRD patterns of the KS, RS, and SS samples are

Fig. 3  Grain size distribution curves of a Khanabal Sand (KS), Rajbagh Sand (RS), Sopore Sand (SS), and Sopore Fines (SF) b
mixture of clean SS and different percentages of non-plastic SF

Table 4  Mobilized peak Property KS RS SS

friction angles and mass of
sands used RD (%) 15 30 50 15 30 50 15 30 50
Density (g/cm3) 1.56 1.60 1.67 1.44 1.48 1.54 1.47 1.52 1.58
ϕpeak (°) 33 35 36 32 32 33 35 35 36
ϕmobilized (°) 25 29 34 25 29 30 31 31 31

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Fig. 4  X-Ray diffractogram of clean KS, RS, and SS sands

shown in Fig. 4. It was observed that all three sands sand (KS, RS, and SS) specimens prepared at three
are highly crystalline (Fig. 4). The diffraction peaks different target relative densities (RDs) of 15, 30, and
at Miller indices (100), (011), (012), (200), (021), 50%, using the moist tamping technique. The speci-
(112), (022), (211), and (2− 23) correspond to min- mens were consolidated to an initial effective confin-
eral quartz. ing pressure ( p′i ) of 150 kPa and then sheared mono-
tonically in a strain-controlled fashion at a strain rate
3.3 Specimen Reconstitution and Test Procedure of 0.25% per minute. The test series was designed
to investigate the effect of sand type encountered,
Two series of CIUC triaxial tests were carried out along the Jhelum River, on the undrained shearing
as per ASTM D4767-11 (2011). The first series of response. In the second series of CIUC triaxial tests,
CIUC triaxial tests were conducted on clean Jhelum clean Sopore sand (SS) specimens with varying fines

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content (SF) of 0, 7, and 14% prepared at a target rela- pressure saturation. In the water flushing stage,
tive density of 15% were consolidated to p′i of 50 kPa deaired water, equivalent to 2 to 3 times the volume
and sheared monotonically. The initial effective con- of the specimen, was permeated through the bot-
fining pressure range was chosen on the lower side, as tom of the specimen and collected down the drain-
liquefaction is a low-pressure phenomenon occurring age line. This was followed by the back pressure
at shallow depths (< 15 m). Table 5 provides a sum- saturation stage, in which Skempton’s pore pres-
mary of the tests performed in the present study. sure parameter (B) was determined at each incre-
For both series of tests, specimens measuring ment of back and cell pressure. The specimens
50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height were pre- were assumed to be completely saturated when the
pared using the moist tamping technique. For the first B-value of greater than 0.95 was achieved. After
series of tests on clean sands, the calculated mass of the saturation stage, specimens were isotropically
dry clean sand corresponding to a particular relative consolidated to an initial effective confining pres-
density (15, 30, or 50%) was mixed thoroughly with sure ( p′i ) of 150 kPa for clean sands and 50 kPa for
4% water by weight. The soil–water mix was then sand-silt mixtures. Once the consolidation stage
gently tamped in a three-piece mold in three layers of was complete, specimens were subjected to und-
equal height. For the second series of tests on sand- rained monotonic shearing at a constant strain rate
silt mixtures, the calculated mass of Sopore sand (SS) of 0.25% per minute until a limiting axial strain of
corresponding to the relative density of 15% sub- 18% was reached.
tracted by mass equivalent to desired fines content The concept of intergranular void ratio (i.e., fines
was measured. Then the mass of Sopore fines (SF) occupy void spaces) was introduced to suggest that
equal to the desired percentage of fines content was the behavior of sand silt matrix is controlled by the
added, followed by the addition of 4% water, and the sand skeleton only with no involvement of fines in
mixture was thoroughly mixed and then tamped as the mechanical behavior.
done for the first series. The moist tamping method The intergranular void ratio (eg) is calculated
was preferred over other methods because it can pro- using Eq. (1) (Thevanayagam 1998),
duce a wide range of relative densities (Verdugo and FC
e+ 100
Ishihara 1996). eg = FC (1)
1− 100
Once the specimens were prepared, specimens
were carefully mounted on the pedestal of the tri- where e is the global void ratio of clean sand, and FC
axial apparatus. Specimen saturation was carried is the fines content expressed in percentage.
out in two stages: (a) water flushing and (b) back

Table 5  List of monotonic Type of soil Name Relative den- Effective confining Fines
CIUC triaxial shear tests sity (%) pressure (kPa) content
performed (%)

Khanabal sand KS15% 15 150 0

KS30% 30 150 0
KS50% 50 150 0
Rajbagh sand RS15% 15 150 0
RS30% 30 150 0
RS50% 50 150 0
Sopore sand SS15% 15 150 0
SS30% 30 150 0
SS50% 50 150 0
Sopore sand with fines SS0%FC 15 50 0
SS7%FC 15 50 7
SS14%FC 15 50 14

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The initial intergranular void ratio (eg) of the clean intergranular void ratios calculated for SS with 7 and
Sopore sand (SS with 0% fines content) reconstituted to 14% fines content were determined to be 0.9837 and
15% relative density was found to be 0.8475. However, 1.1212, respectively. This suggests that the sand skel-
with the addition of fines (SF) to clean Sopore sand eton changes to sand silt matrix with the addition of
(SS), the initial intergranular void ratio (eg) changed to fines and fines are also contributing to the undrained
0.9865 and 1.1482, respectively, for a fines content of response.
7 and 14%. These values are higher when compared to
the maximum void ratio of clean Sopore sand, which
means some of the fines have occupied the voids of the 4 Results and Discussion
clean sand fraction, and the remaining portion of fines
are deposited at the contact points of coarse sand par- 4.1 Volumetric Compressibility of Clean and
ticles. The inclusion of fines changed the soil matrix, Sand‑Silt Mixtures
resulting in the change of the maximum and minimum
void ratios of sand-silt mixtures. Hence, low fines Volumetric compressibility (mv) of soil depends on
content also influences the undrained behavior of the relative density, initial effective confining pressure
sand-silt mix and cannot be neglected. ASTM D4253- (or consolidation pressure), and fines content. Higher
16 (2016) reports that the maximum and minimum volumetric compressibility results in the large and
void ratios of soils are unaffected for fines content up rapid development of pore water pressure at small
to 15%. However, the observations from this study sug- strains, resulting in a higher liquefaction potential
gest that fine content of less than 15% also influences (Lade et al. 2009). Also, the magnitude of volumetric
the maximum and minimum void ratios and cannot be strain directly translates to the settlement that a soil
ignored. It indicates that the initial void ratio cannot be deposit would experience in the field. In the present
used as an index to understand the undrained behavior study, specimens were subjected to two different iso-
of the sand-silt mixture in the present study. tropic consolidation pressures ( p′i ) of 50 and 150 kPa.
Neither global void ratio (e) nor intergranular void The volumetric strains during the consolidation
ratio (eg) comprehensively captures the effect of fine stage in these tests were observed to be in the range
particle contacts in sand-silt mixtures. As the fines are of 0.50–2.47%, with corresponding volumetric com-
added to the sands, the microstructure changes resulting pressibility ranging from 3.39 × ­ 10–5 to 4.94 × ­10–4
in the formation of a completely different mixture. To ­m2/kN. Figure 5a shows the variation of volumetric
address this gap equivalent intergranular void ratio (ege) compressibility with relative density for different
was proposed by Thevanayagam (2000), which consid- sands. It is evident from Fig. 5a that the loose speci-
ers the portion of fines that are involved in the force mens exhibited higher compressibility for all three
transfer mechanism. Equivalent intergranular void ratio Jhelum sands. Also, it can be observed that the volu-
can be determined using Eq. (2), metric compressibility decreased with increasing rel-
FC
ative density for all the three sands. The observations
e+(1−b). 100
ege = FC (2) are in good agreement with those reported by Lade
1−(1−b). 100
et al. (2009) from their one-dimensional compression
where e is initial void ratio, b is the portion of fines tests. Higher volumetric compressibility for loose
that contribute to the force transfer mechanism, and samples can be attributed to the weak force network
FC is fines content. The value of b is calculated using or the metastable structure within the granular matrix.
Eq. (3), as suggested by Rahman et al. (2008), Figure 5b shows the variation of volumetric com-
)r pressibility of SS sand reconstituted to a relative
density of 15% with varying fines content. It can be
[ ( 2
)] (
b = 1 − exp −2.5 FCk . rFC FC (3)
/
th
observed from Fig. 5b that the compressibility of SS
where FCth is threshold fines content and is assumed increased with the addition of non-plastic fines. These
to be 30% (threshold fines content varies between 15 findings align with those of Hussain and Sachan
and 40%), k = 1 − r0.25 and r = 50Hostsand
D
, and is calcu- (2019). Thevanayagam (2000) and Bandini and
D 10Silt Sathiskumar (2009) reported an increase in mv as the
lated as 0.105 in the present study. Equivalent
non-plastic fines content increased up to a threshold

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Fig. 5  Variation of volumetric compressibility of a clean sands with different relative densities and b SS with different percentages
of non-plastic SF (SS SF)

fines content, and beyond that, its value decreased densities. The initial stress–strain response for each
slightly. The addition of non-plastic fines creates a sand is similar in all the cases, irrespective of the
metastable particle structure that is highly compress- relative density. However, the response deviated after
ible, making the mixture more sensitive to any per- 1% strain level, with peak deviatoric stress increasing
turbation in effective stress. Higher compressibility with the increase in the relative density.
of soils directly translates to higher liquefaction sus- The undrained brittleness index (IB) is a well-
ceptibility. It can be observed from Fig. 5b that the established parameter to evaluate the static liquefac-
compressibility for Sopore sand with 7% fines was tion potential of soils (Sabbar et al. 2017; Kerama-
found to be the largest, whereas clean sand displayed tikerman et al. 2018). IB quantifies the drop in the
the lowest compressibility. Also, it can be observed deviatoric stress (q) after the peak deviatoric stress
that Sopore sand with 14% fines exhibited a lower (qpeak) is achieved and is calculated using Eq. (4),
compressibility when compared to Sopore sand with qpeak −qmin
7% fines. This could be attributed to the relative occu- IB = qpeak (4)
pancy of the sand-sand contacts and sand-sand voids
at the two fines content (Thevanayagam 1998; Yama- where qmin is the minimum deviatoric stress attained
muro et al. 2008). Higher number of unstable con- after the peak. The value of IB ranges from 0 to 1. An
tacts at 7% FC is responsible for the highest mv value. IB value of 0 for soil indicates a strain hardening (SH)
The additional 7% fines occupy only the void spaces, response, whereas an IB value of 1 indicates complete
making it difficult for volume to change during iso- static liquefaction. The higher the value of ­IB, the
tropic compression. larger the drop in the deviatoric stress.
Clean Jhelum riverbed sands consolidated to
4.2 Undrained Behavior of Clean Jhelum Sands mean p′i of 150 kPa exhibited undrained brittleness
index (IB) values ranging from 0 to 0.84, displaying
4.2.1 Stress–Strain Behavior behavior ranging from strain hardening to strain sof-
tening. KS sand specimens prepared at all three rela-
The stress–strain behavior of the three clean Jhelum tive densities showed very low values of IB, imply-
riverbed sands (KS, RS, and SS) was investigated at ing a completely stable behavior (SH), as shown in
three relative densities; 15, 30, and 50%. Figure 6 Fig. 6a. The shear strength increased as the relative
shows the undrained monotonic stress–strain response density of the sand increased and could be attributed
of the three clean Jhelum sands at different relative to the better arrangement of sand grains and increased

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number of grain-to-grain contacts per unit volume in

the specimens at higher relative densities. RS and SS
sand specimens prepared at a relative density of 15%
exhibited a drop in deviatoric stress after attaining the
peak deviatoric stress, reflected in their correspond-
ing IB values of 0.27 and 0.20, respectively, owing
to the loose arrangement of soil grains. However,
for RS and SS sand specimens prepared at 30% and
50% relative densities, there is no drop in the devia-
toric stress as the strain increases, resulting in IB val-
ues equal to zero (refer to Fig. 6b and c). Thus, with
the increase in relative density, sands show increased
IB values reflecting higher peak shear strength, lesser
post-peak drop, and hence increased liquefaction
resistance under monotonic shearing. Similar findings
were reported by Bopp and Lade 2005, Igwe et al.
2012, and Igwe 2018. Higher liquefaction resistance
was observed in KS compared to RS and SS owing
to its low CU value and larger mean grain size (D50)
compared to other sands. A similar observation was
made by Monkul et al. (2016). At higher relative den-
sities, RS and SS showed insignificant differences in
their stress–strain response due to their similar grada-
tion characteristics. However, at low relative density,
RS exhibits a higher drop in shear strength than SS,
which can be attributed to its higher roundness (R)
and sphericity (S) values. Similarly, Keramatikerman
and Chegenizadeh (2017) reported that with increase
in sphericity and roundness, the dilative tendency of
soils decreased. As R and S values increase, the sand
particles resemble more to a sphere with smooth cor-
ners, which causes easy sliding during shearing, lead-
ing to a decrease in undrained strength and higher liq-
uefaction potential.
Figure 7 shows the variation of peak deviator
stress for the Jhelum River sands with relative density
at p′ of 150 kPa. The mobilized shear strength was
evaluated at an axial strain of 15%. Peak strength was
observed to increase as the relative density increased
for all sands, which was also observed in previous
studies by Igwe et al. (2012) and Thevanayagam et al.
(1997). Highest strength was mobilised by KS sand
Fig. 6  Stress–strain behavior of clean a KS, b RS, and c SS
compared to RS and SS sands (Fig. 8). The higher
at p′i of 150 kPa tested at three relative densities (15, 30, and strength of KS could be attributed to its higher D50
50%) values and lower CU, which was also observed in
experimental studies carried out by Lakkimsetti and
Latha (2023), Monkul et al. (2016), and in Discrete
Element Method (DEM) simulations carried out by
Jiang et al. (2018).

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Fig. 7  Variation of devia-

toric stress at 15% axial
strain with a relative density
of KS, RS, and SS

4.2.2 Excess Pore Water Pressure Response compared to dilative soils. KS sand specimens gen-
erated a negative Δu, resulting in an increase in
Shear-induced excess pore water pressure (Δu) con- the confinement, leading to an increase in shear
trols the undrained behavior of sands. Loose sands strength. The ru values obtained for KS sand speci-
generate positive Δu, leading to the reduction in mens were found to be 0.25, 0.27, and 0.16 at low
effective confining pressure, which in turn leads to strains (i.e., 1%) and 0.18, 0.12, and 0.14 at high
the phenomenon of liquefaction. In the present study, strains (i.e., 18%) reconstituted to 15, 30, and 50%
complete static liquefaction ( p′ = 0) did not occur relative densities, respectively as shown in Fig. 8a.
under the given loading condition in any of the clean RS sand specimens developed ru values of 0.50,
sand specimens. However, significant Δu developed 0.27, and 0.21 at low strains and 0.61, 0.16, and
in the specimens during the shearing. Excess pore 0.10 at high strains. In contrast, the values for SS
water pressure is often expressed in a normalized sand specimens were evaluated to be 0.53, 0.31,
form as the ratio of excess pore water pressure (Δu) and 0.26 at low strains and 0.59, 0.25, and 0.18
to the initial effective confining pressure ( p′i ) which reconstituted to relative densities of 15, 30, and
is known as the excess pore water pressure ratio (ru). 50%, respectively. As shown in Fig. 8b and Fig. 8c,
The tendency to generate shear-induced Δu highly higher values of ru for RS and SS sand specimens at
depends on the initial conditions, relative density, lower densities resulted in a more significant drop
confining pressure, and gradation, among many other in the effective confinement, which resulted in a
factors. Loose sands develop higher positive Δu than higher loss of shear strength compared to KS, and
dense sands under undrained loading conditions. Fig- was also captured by higher IB values. As the rela-
ure 8 shows the development of excess pore water tive density increased, positive excess pore water
pressures in the sand specimens tested in the present pressure generated during shearing decreased, con-
study. forming to the behavior of decreasing contractive
It can be observed from Fig. 8 that the ru val- tendency and decreasing capacity to generate posi-
ues ranged from 0.15 to 0.59 in the present study. tive excess pore water pressure with increasing rela-
Contractive soils generate higher positive ru values tive density (Kramer and Seed 1988).

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Stress-path represents the evolution of the stress state

in the soil specimen throughout the shearing stage.
The current mean effective confining stress ( p′)
determines the capacity of soil to resist applied load
at any stage. During undrained shearing, p′ either
increases or decreases depending on the develop-
ment of Δu, which further depends on the material
and initial stress state of the specimen. Generation of
positive Δu during shearing leads to loss of confine-
ment ( p′), which in turn leads to loss of strength (q).
Figure 9 presents the variation of p′ with axial strain
in all the sand specimens tested. It can be observed
from Fig. 9a that KS sand specimens exhibited a
slight loss of confinement at small strains. However,
as the shearing progressed, the effective confine-
ment increased, which resulted in a completely sta-
ble response at all relative densities. The tendency
to develop high positive Δu at low relative density
(15%) in RS and SS sand specimens resulted in a
higher loss of confinement which in turn resulted in a
strain softening response (Fig. 9b and c). As the rela-
tive density increased, the observed loss of confine-
ment was found to decrease, and could be attributed
to decreasing capacity to generate Δu with relative
density. The tendency for contraction decreases as the
state of the soil becomes dense.
The effective stress path (ESP) along with the
total stress path (TSP) for all the sand specimens
are plotted on the Cambridge p� − q diagram, where
p� = 1 3 3 and q = 𝜎1 � − 𝜎3 � and shown in Fig. 10.
𝜎 �+2𝜎 �

For KS specimens, the effective stress path in the

p� − q space exhibited stable response with a con-
tinuous increase in the q as the shearing progressed
(Fig. 11a). Figure 10b and Fig. 10c show the effective
stress path response for RS and SS specimens. The
specimens prepared at 15% relative density exhib-
ited a decrease in both p′ and q as the shearing pro-
gressed. This is due to the higher loss of confinement
owing to the higher capacity to generate negative Δu
during shearing at low relative densities. As relative
density increased, the dilative tendency increased in
all sands, displaying a continuous increase in the p′
Fig. 8  Excess pore water pressure ratio with axial strain for a and q, which was also observed by Kramer and Seed
KS, b RS, and c SS at p′i of 150 kPa tested at three relative
densities (15, 30, and 50%) (1988).

4.2.4 Effect of Gradation
4.2.3 Effective Confining Pressure ( p′) and Effective
Stress Path Response Figure 11 presents the undrained shearing response
of Jhelum (KS, RS, and SS) sand specimens

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Fig. 9  Variation of effective confining pressure with axial

Fig. 10  Effective stress path of a KS, b RS, and c SS sand
strain for a KS, b RS, and c SS sand specimens at different
specimens at p′i of 150 kPa tested at three relative densities
relative densities consolidated at a p′i of 150 kPa
(15, 30, and 50%)

reconstituted to the same relative density of 15%

in terms of deviatoric stress response, excess pore
water pressure response, effective confining pressure

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Fig. 11  a Deviatoric stress response, b excess pore water pressure response, c effective confinement, and d effective stress path of
Jhelum riverbed sands prepared at 15% relative density and tested at p′i of 150 kPa

response, and stress path response. It can be observed in increased confinement, leading to a higher shear
from Fig. 11 that RS sand specimens exhibited the strength and liquefaction resistance. The observa-
least liquefaction resistance while the KS sand speci- tions in the current study are in line with those of
mens exhibited the highest liquefaction resistance. Monkul et al. (2016); the liquefaction resistance
KS specimen exhibited the highest peak strength decreases with a decrease in the coefficient of uni-
without any drop in the stress–strain curve. In con- formity (CU) and mean grain diameter (D50) of sands.
trast, the RS specimen exhibited the least strength It was also established that as the CU increases, the
with a considerable reduction in the stress–strain proportion of weaker contact forces inside the granu-
(Fig. 11a). The SS specimen displayed intermediate lar matrix increases (Taiebat et al. 2017). Larger par-
strength with a slight drop in the deviatoric stress ticles tend to have strong force chains (Voivret et al.
at large strains. IB values were determined to be 0, 2009). Large particle size and lower CU values for KS
0.27, and 0.2 for KS, RS, and SS specimens, respec- result in higher undrained strength than RS and SS.
tively, capturing the observed behavior. The pore RS specimen generated a higher positive Δu, result-
pressure response (Fig. 11b) of the KS specimen ing in a higher drop in strength than the SS specimen
displayed an initial contractive response followed (Fig. 11b). The observed response could be attrib-
by a reduction in positive Δu. Reduced Δu resulted uted to the effect of higher R and S values of the RS

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particles when compared to SS particles as was pre-

viously observed by Keramatikerman and Chegeniza-
deh (2017). As R and S values increase, the sand par-
ticles resemble more to a sphere with smooth corners,
which causes easy sliding upon shearing the speci-
men leading to a decrease in undrained strength and
higher liquefaction potential. The clean SS specimen
has a higher fine sand fraction (93%) than RS speci-
men (89%) and higher S and R values. The fine sand
portion occupies the voids in the clean sand, leading
to efficient packing and higher strength. The contrac-
tive behavior reduces due to the void-filling mecha-
nism, resulting in a stable behavior.
It can be observed in Fig. 11c that the KS speci-
men exhibited an initial loss of confinement at small
strains followed by an increase in the effective con-
fining pressure at large strains, resulting in increased Fig. 12  Variation of critical state friction angle with CU for
liquefaction resistance. RS and SS specimens exhib- cleans Jhelum sands
ited continuous loss of effective confining pressure
( p′), which in turn resulted in the effective stress path from Fig. 12 that with increase in CU value ϕCS value
showing a drop after attaining peak (refer to Fig. 11d). increased. A similar observation was made by Yang
Effective stress shows continuously increasing q for and Luo (2018). A slightly lower value of ϕCS was
the KS specimen. In contrast, for RS and SS speci- observed for RS sand due to its higher sphericity (S)
mens a drop in q was observed after attaining the and roundness (R) values when compared to the other
peak deviation stress (Fig. 11d). Collapse potential two sands. Yang and Luo (2015) also observed a sim-
(CP) defined as the ratio of reduction in p′ to the ini- ilar decreasing trend of ϕCS with S and R values. As
tial p′ during undrained shearing. CP is 0 for soils R and S increase, the interlocking tendency of sands
exhibiting dilative behavior and 1 for soils exhibiting decreases, and the ease with which the sands achieve
complete static liquefaction. RS specimen exhibited critical state increases.
higher drop in q compared to the SS specimen, and
was captured by CP values of 0, 0.46, and 0.39 for 4.2.5 Effect of Effective Confining Pressure
clean KS, RS, and SS specimens, respectively.
Critical state line (CSL) was established at large To investigate the effect of confining pressure, clean
strains with an assumption that variation in p′ and Sopore Sand (SS) specimens prepared at 15% relative
q is within ± 4 kPa. A critical state was attained in density were subjected to CIUC tests at two differ-
almost all sands tested in the present study. However, ent p′i of 50 and 150 kPa (refer to Table 5), and the
KS specimens prepared at 30 and 50% relative den- test results were compared. Figure 13 presents the
sities didn’t reach a critical state, which may be due undrained shearing response of clean SS specimens
to induced heterogeneity at larger strains. The critical reconstituted to the same relative density of 15%
state stress ratio (M) for KS, RS, and SS sands was subjected to two different effective confining pres-
determined to be 0.95, 0.96, and 1.1, respectively. sures (50 and 150 kPa) in terms of deviatoric stress
The corresponding critical state friction angles (ϕCS) response, excess pore water pressure response, nor-
were calculated as 24.4°, 24.2°, and 27.8°, respec- malized effective confinement response, and stress
tively, using Eq. (5). path response. It is evident from Fig. 13 that the
3M
specimens at p′i of 50 kPa exhibited dilative behavior
sin(ΦCS ) = 6+M (5) with continuously increasing deviatoric stress with-
out showing any drop in strength, while the speci-
Figure 12 presents the variation of ϕCS with CU mens at p′i of 150 kPa showed contractive behavior
observed from the present study. It can be observed with a slight drop in strength at large strains. Peak

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Fig. 13  a Deviatoric stress response, b pore pressure response and c normalized effective confinement response, and d effective
stress path of clean SS specimens prepared at 15% relative density and consolidated at p′i of 50 and 150 kPa

strength was found to increase from 55.8 to 100.1 kPa results in higher liquefaction potential. The observed
with an increase in the p′i value from 50 to 150 kPa behavior was also captured by the IB values of 0
(Fig. 13a). An increase in the peak strength of 79.2% and 0.20 at 50 and 150 kPa, respectively. However,
was observed in the present study. A similar increase sands at 150 kPa exhibited a higher loss in p′ at large
in the peak strength was reported by Ghadr and Lan- strains. The pore pressure response also shows a simi-
groudi (2019). This is due to better interlocking of the lar signature with clean SS specimen at p′i of 50 kPa
particles at dense states and higher confining pres- developing higher ru at small strains as compared to
sures, resulting in a higher resistance to flow during that of specimen with p′i of 150 kPa (Fig. 13b). Clean
shearing (Uthayakumar and Vaid 1998 and Ishihara SS sand specimens tested at a p′i of 50 kPa exhibited
1993). a rapid generation of positive excess pore water pres-
From Fig. 13c, it can be observed that the normal- sure, attaining ru of 0.71 at small strains. However,
ized effective confinement (i.e., the ratio of effective with continued shearing, the ru reduced slightly at
confinement ( p′) to the initial effective confining higher strain levels. The dilative tendency increased
pressure ( p′i )) follows a similar trend at both confin- as the p′i decreased.
ing pressures in a small range, which implies that at Effective stress path response for specimen with
small strains, higher the initial effective confinement, p′i of 50 kPa exhibited a dilative behavior with con-
higher will be the loss of confinement, which in turn tinuously increasing q until reaching the critical state.

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However, the specimens at p′i of 150 kPa attained a contact between the sand particles. The relative
peak value followed by a significant reduction, exhib- proportion and, hence, the dominance of the two
iting contractive behavior (Fig. 13d). This behavior occupancies is a function of the fines content (The-
was also captured by the collapse potential (CP) val- vanayagam 1998). For low percentages (up to 7%)
ues of 0 and 0.39 at p′i of 50 and 150 kPa, respec- of non-plastic fines, the fine particles sit at the sand-
tively. This could be attributed to the position of the to-sand contacts and move into the void spaces dur-
initial state in the e–log p′ space with respect to the ing shearing. This results in a considerable drop in
CSL. This behavior, where specimens exhibit dilative the shear strength after attaining the peak and hence
behavior at low effective confining pressure and as increased liquefaction potential. As the fines con-
the confining pressure increases, the behavior changes tent increases to 14%, non-plastic fines sitting at the
to contractive, was reported in several earlier studies. contact points of sand grains have a low tendency to
move into the already occupied void spaces during
4.3 Behavior of Sand‑Silt Mixture shearing leading to higher shear strength and thereby
enhancing the liquefaction resistance. Figure 14
Non-plastic fines in sand-silt mixtures occupy two shows the undrained shearing response of sand-silt
places, one between the voids and the other at the mixtures reconstituted to the same relative density

Fig. 14  a Deviatoric stress response, b excess pore water pressure response, c effective confinement, and (d) effective stress path of
for SS with different percentages of non-plastic SF consolidated at a p′i of 50 kPa

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of 15% subjected to p′i of 50 kPa. It is evident from content range of 7 and 14% are 1.4 and 35°, respec-
Fig. 14a that clean Sopore Sand (SS) exhibited a sta- tively. Similar findings were made by Bouckovalas
ble response without exhibiting any drop in shear et al. (2003), that the slope of CSL line (M) remains
strength, which was also captured by an IB value of insensitive to fines content addition to the clean
0. However, intense strain softening was observed as sands in q − p′ space.
the fines content increased to 7% (i.e., an IB value of In the Critical State Soil Mechanics (CSSM)
0.84). With the further addition of non-plastic fines framework, the distance of the initial state from the
up to 14%, strain softening response was suppressed CSL governs the response of soils. The states above
and was captured and quantified by an IB value of CSL e − ln p� space exhibit contractive response,
0.32. while the states below CSL e − ln p� space exhibit
It can be observed from Fig. 14b that the shear- dilative response (Been and Jefferies 1985). It was
induced positive Δu was found to be the least for reported by Bouckovalas et al. (2003) that the slope
the clean sand specimen as compared to the sand silt of CSL line (M) remains insensitive to the addi-
mixtures. SS with 7% fines displayed the highest Δu tion of non-plastic fines to the clean sands in q − p′
during shearing, followed by SS with 14% fines and space. However, they also observed that the slope
clean SS. An increase in the generation of excess pore and the intercept of CSL in e − ln p� space increase
water pressure by 37 and 12% was observed for 7 and with increasing fines content. There is a clockwise
14% addition of fines, respectively, compared to clean rotation of CSL in e − ln p� space about a constant
sands. Highest generation of Δu for sand silt mixture pivot point. This pivot point stress state (ppiv, epiv)
with 7% fines could be attributed to the metastable governs whether the liquefaction resistance will
structure, which is a consequence of silt particles silt increase or decrease upon adding fines. Soil mass
at sand-to-sand contacts. The observed peak ru values with initial state above epiv exhibit an increase in
were found to be 0.65, 0.89, and 0.73, respectively, liquefaction resistance with increasing fines content
for clean SS, SS with 7% fines, and SS with 14% by undergoing a lesser drop in effective confine-
fines. Positive Δu results in loss of effective confine- ment (horizontal distance between initial state to
ment (Fig. 14) during shearing. Figure 14c shows corresponding CSL) during undrained shearing. In
that clean SS specimens exhibited the least drop in the present study, the calculated equivalent inter-
p′, which resulted in a stable response. As the fines granular void ratio for SS with 0, 7, and 14% fines
content was increased, SS with 7% fines content dis- content is 0.8475, 0.9837, and 1.1212, respectively.
played the highest reduction, exhibiting almost com- It can be hypothesized that epiv lies between 0.8475
plete static liquefaction. and 0.9837 based on the observed behavior of the
Collapse potential (CP) values of 0.39, 0.83, Sopore sand silt mixture. Figure 15 shows the hypo-
and 0.51 were observed for clean SS, SS with 7% thetical CSL at different fines content in e − ln p�
fines, and SS with 14% fines, respectively, and cap- space with initial stress states represented by hollow
ture the observed behavior. Figure 14d shows the circles, and arrows represent the evolution of effec-
effective stress path response of sand-silt mixtures tive stress during shearing. The suppressed strain
of SS revealing that the clean SS exhibited a stable softening response of the SS14%FC could be attrib-
response, but with the addition of fines to SS, a sig- uted to the nearness of its initial state to the CSL for
nificant drop in both p′ and q was observed. SS, with 14% compared to the SS7%FC to 7%.
7% SF, exhibited nearly complete static liquefaction, In this context, the undrained shearing response
with the stress path almost reaching the origin. With of the sand-silt mixture depends on two important
further addition of fines content up to 14%, speci- considerations: (i) location and orientation of the
mens exhibited a drop in both p′ and q, but the drop CSL in e − ln p� space of the sand-silt mixture, and
was lower as compared to specimens with 7% fines (ii) location of initial state relative to the CSL for
content. each fines content. The states above epiv exhibit
It is evident from Fig. 14d that with the addition higher liquefaction resistance under undrained con-
of fines, there is insignificant change in M. The M ditions upon addition of non-plastic fines.
value and corresponding ϕCS calculated for the fines

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Higher mv reflects higher contractive behavior

during shearing. This observation aligns with the
trends found during the undrained shearing; spec-
imens of low relative density exhibited higher
liquefaction potential. Also, it was found that the
mv values were highest for SS, followed by RS,
and least for KS at all relative densities.
2. With the addition of non-plastic fines, volumet-
ric compressibility increased compared to clean
sands. As the non-plastic fines were added to
clean SS, mv increased by 23 and 15% compared
to clean SS for 7 and 14% fines content, respec-
tively. A similar trend was observed for liquefac-
tion potential. Hence, mv can be used as an indi-
cator of the liquefaction potential of sands.
3. An increase in the undrained strength, as well
as the liquefaction resistance, is observed as the
target relative density of samples is increased.
Fig. 15  Hypothesized CSL at different fines content
Denser states have a better arrangement of sand
grains and an increased number of contacts per
5 Conclusions unit volume at higher relative densities. The peak
mobilized strength increased by factors 2.12,
This study presents a fundamental investigation into 3.08, and 1.98 for KS, RS, and SS, respectively,
understanding the undrained shearing response of as the relative density increased from 15 to 50%.
Jhelum riverbed sands. The effect of sand type and 4. Liquefaction indices IB and CP decreased as the
the effect of fines content on the undrained shear- relative density of specimens increased, indicat-
ing response and the static liquefaction potential ing increased liquefaction resistance. An increase
of Jhelum riverbed sands was established through a in the relative density in all the specimens (KS,
series of isotropic consolidated undrained compres- RS, and SS) suppressed the excess pore water
sion (CIUC) triaxial tests conducted on clean sands pressure generation, resulting in lesser loss of
obtained from three different locations (Khanabal, confinement which, in turn, results in increased
Rajbagh, and Sopore) along the Jhelum River and liquefaction resistance.
sand-silt mixtures. The three clean sands; KS, RS, 5. Liquefaction resistance increased with an
and SS were used in addition to the fines fraction increase in initial effective confining pressure
from SS (SF) for reconstituting the specimens. In the ( p′i ) increases. The effective stress path response
first series of tests, nine CIUC tests were conducted showed clean SS exhibiting normal sand behav-
on clean Jhelum riverbed sands at the three target rel- ior with dilative response at p′i of 50 kPa and
ative densities (15, 30, and 50%) at p′i of 150 kPa. In contractive response as the p′i is increased to
the second series of tests, non-plastic fines (SF) were 150 kPa. This could be attributed to attributed to
added to clean SS, and three CIUC tests were carried the position of initial state with respect to CSL in
out at three different fines content (0, 7, and 14%) e−log p� space.
tested at a p′i of 50 kPa. The following conclusions 6. The undrained strength as well as higher liq-
could be drawn based on the conducted experiments. uefaction resistance increased with increase in
mean grain diameter (D50) and lower coefficient
1. Volumetric compressibility (mv) of sands during of uniformity (CU). Increased roundedness (R)
the consolidation stage decreased as the relative and sphericity (S) facilitate the generation of
density increased. It decreased by 67, 65, and larger positive Δu during shearing, resulting in
46% as the relative density increased from 15 higher liquefaction potential.
to 50% for KS, RS, and SS sands respectively.

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7. Critical state friction angle (ϕCS) for KS, RS, Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or
and SS were determined to be 24.4°, 24.2°, and other support were received during the preparation of this
manuscript.
27.8° and were found to be influenced by CU and
shape descriptors (S and R). ϕCS follows a linear Data Availability The datasets generated during and/or ana-
increasing trend with CU. A slightly lower value lysed during the current study are included in the manuscript.
for RS could be attributed to its higher R and S
Declarations
values.
8. With an increase in fines content, the peak excess Conflict of interest The authors have no relevant financial or
pore water pressure generated during shear- non-financial interests to disclose.
ing was observed to increase by 37 and 12% for
the addition of 7 and 14% fines to clean sands,
respectively. References
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