Evaluation of the lateral earth pressure coefficients at-rest in granular soil deposits using the anisotropic components of S-wave velocity

•Estimation of K0 of granular deposits based on seismic wave method was conducted.•Granular deposits are assumed to be cross-anisotropic.•Near-surface MASW and MALW were used to determine two S-wave components.•Good correlation between S-wave velocity ratio and K0 was obtained.•Test results were combined with data from literature to yield a regression equation.

Determination of the lateral earth pressure coefficients at-rest (K0) in natural soil deposits is an important issue in geotechnical and geological engineering. In this study, evaluation of this parameter in a granular soil deposit was examined by using two anisotropic components of the S-wave velocity (SV and SH-wave components). To this end, thirteen pairs of P- and S-wave seismic refraction profiles were acquired at two different granular sites in Iran. The collected shot gathers were processed, from which the SV and SH-wave velocities were derived. The SV-wave velocities were obtained by using the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) method while the SH-wave velocities were extracted by utilizing the Multichannel Analysis of Love Waves (MALW) technique. The reference K0 values in the soil deposits were calculated by the Mayne and Kulhawy's formula based on the friction angles (φ′) and overconsolidation ratios (OCR) determined from laboratory tests. The curves of the reference K0 values versus the SH/SV velocity ratios at both sites strongly confirmed the feasibility of K0 evaluation from the velocity components. To develop a global equation for K0 evaluation in granular soil deposits, a general regression analysis was conducted on the obtained data from this study combined with those reported in the literature. The results showed that reliable values of K0 can be estimated using the SH/SV velocity ratios. The findings of this study may appropriately serve as references for economic and non-invasive in-situ K0 identification in granular soil deposits using the surface wave methods.