Search

Pumice-rich soils originating from volcanic eruptions are deposited in various parts of the world, such as in the central region of North Island, NZ. The pumice sand components of these natural pumiceous (NP) soils are known to be crushable and lightweight, resulting in a significant difference in their cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) and small-strain shear modulus (Gmax) when compared to hard-grained (quartz) sands. In this paper, the results of a number of cyclic triaxial and bender element tests performed on reconstituted specimens of three types of NP sands having different pumice contents (PC), as well as on quartz-type Toyoura sand specimens, are discussed. Then, the concept of modified cyclic yield strain, εay,m, which relates the CRR of the specimen to its Gmax, is used. The results indicate that εay,m appears to be dependent only on the soil type, and independent of the confining pressure applied and the relative density of the specimen. All NP sand specimens show higher εay,m when compared to Toyoura sand because of their higher CRR and lower Gmax, with values of εay,m increasing as the PC of the specimen increases. Based on the results obtained, an empirical chart is developed to estimate the CRR of NP sands from their shear wave velocity (Vs) values under field conditions.

In the study of geotechnical hazards, such as soil liquefaction and landslides, the analysis of soil movements is always one of the major preoccupations. An efficient movement sensing technique requires the tracking of subsurface soil for the purpose of examining the mechanism involved. A magnetic tracking system is therefore proposed, with permanent magnets as trackers and magnetometers as receivers. When permanent magnets, deployed within the soil to serve as excitation sources, move with soil body during a geotechnical event, they generate static magnetic fields whose flux densities are related with the positions and orientations of the magnets. Magnetometers are used as receivers to detect the generated magnetic fields, which can be further used in calculating the magnets' locations and orientations based on appropriately developed algorithms. Comparison between situations where the trackers are exposed to air and embedded within soil was conducted to evaluate the influence of soil (wet and dry) on the tracking accuracy. Also, multi-objective tracking is realized by using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique combined with interior-point algorithm. The tracking errors are evaluated and applications of the proposed system in small-scale laboratory tests for geohazards are discussed.