Sample disturbance from shear wave velocity measurements

Effective techniques are currently available to obtain undisturbed samples of cohesive soils. However, little advance has been made in the procurement of undisturbed samples of cohesionless soils such as sands, silty sands, and clayey sands. In the area of earthquake design and liquefaction, researchers and practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of obtaining high-quality undisturbed samples of cohesionless soils. In situ ground-freezing techniques can be used to obtain undisturbed samples of cohesionless soils. However, there is still concern regarding the possibility of disturbance during the freezing and thawing of the samples. Shear wave velocity is a direct measurement of the stiffness of the soil skeleton at small strains (<10−4%). Hence, shear wave velocity can be a sensitive measurement to detect changes in void ratio and soil structure due to freezing and thawing. A laboratory study has been performed to evaluate the use of shear wave velocity measurements to detect sample...