Multimode Free-Vibration Decay Column: Small-Strain Stiffness and Attenuation

Dong-Hwa Noh, Junghee Park, Carlos Santamarina, Tae-Hyuk Kwon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study presents a simplified resonant column testing method to obtain small-strain dynamic properties of soils in both torsional and flexural vibrations. The method exploits free vibration decay responses of the system produced by manual excitation while the specimen is subjected to an isotropic effective confining stress produced by a vacuum pressure. This method is readily applicable to standard resonant column and torsional shear devices and triaxial cells by attaching a metal bar with one or two accelerometers for manual excitation, but not using an electromagnetic driving plate. This paper describes the apparatus design, test procedure, system calibration, and data analyses, as well as the test results of dynamic properties of a dry sand, including small-strain elastic moduli and damping ratios obtained from the torsional and flexural modes. The results confirm that the suggested method can capture strain-dependent characteristics up to the strains of ∼10−4 beyond typical elastic threshold strains, although the isotropic effective confining stress is limited to ∼90 kPa. This unique testing method provides remarkably consistent and reliable measurement for the dynamic properties of soils, and it avoids any possible bias from the counterelectromotive force.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalJournal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume149
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 20 2023

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2023-03-24
Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments that greatly improved the manuscript. This work was supported by a Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) grant funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Grant No. 21CTAP-C163693-01), and by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2021R1A5A1032433). Dong-Hwa Noh was financially supported by the KAUST Endowment. Gabrielle E. Abelskamp edited the manuscript.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • General Environmental Science

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