ABSTRACT
The quality of samples of saturated sands obtained by an in-situ freezing method is examined on the basis of laboratory and field tests, and case history of soil liquefaction during earthquakes. It is concluded that the method can yield high-quality undisturbed samples that retain the in situ liquefaction resistance as well as density and elastic shear modulus. The liquefaction resistance of the in-situ frozen samples is well correlated with corrected SPT N-values over a wide range in N- values. The significance of the correlation for earthquake, wind and wave loadings is discussed. For dense sands, the in-situ frozen samples are denser and much stronger than the samples obtained with conventional tube samplers. A method is suggested by which to evaluate the quality of an in-situ frozen sample of silty sands by thawing and refreezing a specimen prepared from the sample.
