Liquefaction resistance by static and vibratory cone penetration tests

Soil liquefaction is an important hazard and one of the causes of earthquake-related disasters. The prediction of soil liquefaction is a major issue in geotechnical engineering and the soil liquefaction resistance is often determined in-situ by static Cone Penetration Tests (CPT). The determination of the soil liquefaction resistance relies on empirical correlations and one way to increase accuracy might be the use of vibratory CPT. We report on displacement-controlled vibratory and static CPT performed in a calibration chamber under a simulated field boundary condition, known as BC5. Vibratory CPT led to a reduction in cone resistance for medium- to very-dense Ticino sand. The reduction ratio increased at high vibrational frequencies and was independent of the relative density for the specific stress state and type of soil. A correlation between the liquefaction resistance and static or vibratory CPT is proposed.