Lyell Collection
Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications
Lyell Centre  |   Lyell Collection  |   Subscriptions   |   Geological Society  |   Email alerts  |   Online bookshop  |   Help

Keywords:
Author:
Advanced search>>
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pyrah, J.
Right arrow Articles by Huws, D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications; 1998; v. 15; p. 11-23;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.ENG.1998.015.01.02
© 1998 Geological Society of London

Section 1: Coastal and fluvial geohazards

A combined geotechnical/geophysical method for the prediction of liquefaction, with particular reference to the Fraser River Delta, British Columbia

James Pyrah, Angela Davis & Dei Huws

School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales Bangor (UWB), Menai Bridge, Gwynedd, UK

Over the past decade or so, much work has been undertaken into the development of various techniques for the measurement of seismic shear wave velocity, offshore, onshore and in the laboratory. Previous research has suggested that the shear wave velocity of an uncemented sand may be a useful index to its liquefaction potential. The research described in this paper has combined the concepts of critical/steady-state soil mechanics and the measurement of shear wave velocity in order to provide a new index of sand consolidation state, enabling the prediction of flow liquefaction in laboratory-prepared samples. Results obtained from the laboratory are then applied to the field situation, in this case, the Fraser River Delta, British Columbia, which is an example of a site currently undergoing a major earthquake stability evaluation. A preliminary analysis of the data indicates that the sediments around Roberts Bank, on the southwestern portion of the delta, are potentially liquefiable. This conclusion is confirmed by other, more conventional, investigative techniques.