DETERMINATION OF SOIL MODULI IN SOIL-STRUCTURE SYSTEMS ON HIGHWAYS. REPORT 1: SURFACE WAVES IN SLOPING GROUND

Data collection and processing methods for most seismic geophysical methods used to characterize engineering sites assume that the ground surface is level and that the sub-surface layers are horizontal and extend to infinity. These assumptions do not apply to some highway sites which exist on embankments or at bridge abutments or foundations. The objectives of the overall program are to examine the effects of complex geosystems (soil-rock-structure) and anisotrophic states of stress on existing databases, and develop best field system to derive elastic moduli in embankments and obtain effective dynamic earth pressures. This report summarizes the results of numerical approximations using a new research tool and field measurements to evaluate the effect of sloping ground on the Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves (SASW) method. The combined results suggest that surface wave measurements can be reliably and accurately made at sloping ground sites with little modification to existing measurement techniques.

• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station

  3909 Halls Ferry Road
  Vicksburg, MS  United States  39180-6199

  University of Texas, Austin

  Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
  1 University Station
  Austin, TX  United States  78712-0278

  Federal Highway Administration

  Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike
  McLean, VA  United States  22101
• Authors:
  • Sykora, D W
  • Alexander, D R
  • Roesset, J M
• Publication Date: 1994-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 71 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Earth pressure; Earthquakes; Embankments; Geophysics; Modulus of elasticity; Numerical analysis; Rayleigh waves; Slopes; Spectrum analysis
• Candidate Terms: Spectral analysis of surface waves
• Old TRIS Terms: Seismic geophysics
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00674289
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Tech Rept GL-94-11
• Contract Numbers: DTFH61-93-Y-00012
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 14 1995 12:00AM