ABSTRACT
In the absence of cohesive attractions between particles, frictional contact stresses mainly govern the shear strength of sands. The presence of water creates a condition for the easy loss of particle contacts under the influence of static or cyclic loads, manifested as soil liquefaction at a macroscopic scale. However, this condition depends on several microscopic particle interaction mechanisms, mainly influenced by the particle size, shape and density. While loosely packed saturated sand systems develop positive pore water pressures under shear, dense saturated sands develop negative pore water pressures, both in pursuit of reaching the critical void ratio. If these microscopic mechanisms are well-understood, design of improvement techniques for mitigating sand liquefaction becomes precise and easier. This paper explores the micro to macro of sand liquefaction and its mitigation based on the morphological indices of sand particles and cyclic simple shear tests.
