On the influence of the grain size distribution curve on P-wave velocity, constrained elastic modulus Mmax and Poisson's ratio of quartz sands

The paper presents an experimental study on the influence of the grain size distribution curve on dynamic soil properties. More than 160 resonant column tests with additional P-wave measurements have been performed on 27 different grain size distribution curves of a quartz sand. While the small-strain shear modulus Gmax has been discussed by Wichtmann and Triantafyllidis [1] the present paper focusses on P-wave velocity vP, on the small-strain constrained elastic modulus Mmax and on Poisson's ratio νν. It is demonstrated that while vP and Mmax do not significantly depend on mean grain size d50 in the investigated range, they decrease with increasing coefficient of uniformity Cu=d60/d10 of the grain size distribution curve. Poisson's ratio does also not depend on d50 but increases with increasing Cu. An empirical formula similar to Hardin's equation has been developed for Mmax, considering the influence of the grain size distribution curve. It predicts quite well the experimental data.