Use of Bender Elements in Soil Dynamics Experiments

by Pedro de Alba, Univ of New Hampshire, Durham, United States,
Kenneth C. Baldwin, Univ of New Hampshire, Durham, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Recent Advances in Instrumentation, Data Acquisition and Testing in Soil Dynamics

Abstract:

Transducers employing piezoelectric bender elements have been found to be versatile sources and receivers of small-amplitude shear waves, with multiple potential applications. The constitutive parts and operation of a basic bender-element shear wave velocity measurement system incorporated in a triaxial loading apparatus are described. This system permits low-strain shear wave velocity measurements to be made on the same samples which will then be subjected to large-strain tests. Typical results correlating acoustic parameters to fabric differences and liquefaction resistance of sands are presented, and other potential applications are discussed.

Subject Headings: Soil dynamics | Shear waves | Wave velocity | Soil tests | Triaxial tests | Wave measurement | Soil liquefaction

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