On the influence of the grain size distribution curve on P-wave velocity, constrained elastic modulus Mmax and Poisson's ratio of quartz sands

The paper presents an experimental study on the influence of the grain size distribution curve on dynamic soil properties. More than 160 resonant column tests with additional P-wave measurements have been performed on 27 different grain size distribution curves of a quartz sand. While the small-strain shear modulus has been discussed by Wichtmann and Triantafyllidis [1] the present paper focusses on P-wave velocity v(P), on the small-strain constrained elastic modulus M-max and on Poisson's ratio v. It is demonstrated that while v(P) and M-max, do not significantly depend on mean grain size d(50) in the investigated range, they decrease with increasing coefficient of uniformity C-u=d(60)/d(10) of the grain size distribution curve. Poisson's ratio does also not depend on d(50) but increases with increasing C-u. An empirical formula similar to Hardin's equation has been developed for M-max, considering the influence of the grain size distribution curve. It predicts quite well the experimental data. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.