Laboratory and field shear wave measurement at a reclaimed site in West Taiwan

The hydraulic sand fill technique has been widely adopted in Taiwan for land reclamation and coastal utilization. During the reclamation process, the reclaimed soil is pumped from the seabed by machines where the soil fabric in the hydraulic reclaimed soil is rearranged. Fines content, relative density, and effective stress in the reclaimed soil are factors affecting the stability of reclaimed soil. In this paper, the influence of fines content, void ratio, and effective confining pressure on the measurement of shear wave velocity of reclaimed soil obtained from the reclaimed soil in the Yun-Li area of West Taiwan is discussed. A "critical s-wave void ratio" is defined. As shown in the results, for critical s-wave void ratio with 10% of fines content, there exists a maximum shear wave velocity. As the fines content exceeds 10%, the shear wave velocity decreases. Based on the laboratory and in-situ test, a modification factor is defined. From the results, the modification factor increases as the soil depth increases. The results presented can be a reference for soil property evaluation in land reclamation and coastal areas.