HOSTED BY Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
www.elsevier.com/locate/sandf

Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture

Mahdi Keramatikerman, Amin Chegenizadeh ⇑, Hamid Nikraz, Ayad Salih Sabbar
Department of Civil Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia

Received 6 September 2017; received in revised form 12 June 2018; accepted 5 July 2018

Abstract

This manuscript analyses the effect of flyash (FA) on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite (SB) mixture by conducting a series of
undrained monotonic triaxial compression tests. The effect of adding 5% bentonite and three FA contents (i.e., 3, 5 and 7) at three rel-
ative densities (i.e., 10, 20, and 30%) on liquefaction behaviour of clean sandy soil were investigated. The analysis on shearing responses
of the SB mixtures showed that the addition of bentonite reduced the ultimate deviatoric stress. Investigation on the effect of FA on
shearing behaviour of SB specimens showed that the addition of FA caused a greater peak deviatoric stress and the formation of a
non-flow behaviour. Furthermore, analysis of the effect of relative density showed that the peak deviatoric stress (qmax) is greater at a
higher relative density in particular in FA treated specimens. The results showed that addition of FA into SB mixtures, caused more
stability for the samples at peak state while the stress ratio value (q/p0 ) increased and the state parameter (W) reduced. A similar beha-
viour observed for slope factor (Mcs) in stress-strain plane (q-p0 ), and for slope of critical state line (kcs), and intercept (Ccs) in compres-
sion plane (e-p0 ). Finally, investigation on the liquefaction behaviour of the specimens based on brittleness index (IB) showed that the
untreated soil and SB specimens have a lower liquefaction strength than the FA treated specimens.
Ó 2018 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.

Keywords: Liquefaction mitigation; Monotonic triaxial test; Sand; Bentonite; Flyash

1. Introduction and pozzolanic reactions amongst soil particles. These

characteristics show that flyash could be a good potential
The application of flyash (FA) in the ground improve- replacement for Portland cement (PC) (Horpibulsuk
ment area has been reported on by previous researchers et al., 2009; Keramatikerman, 2018).
in the literature (Keramatikerman et al., 2017; The liquefaction behaviour is triggered when a saturated
Horpibulsuk et al., 2011; Prabakar et al., 2004; amongst soil substantially loses its strength due to the abrupt gener-
other). Flyash is a pozzolanic material, and is a product ation of pore water pressure when soil is subjected to
which remains after processing in electrical power plants. undrained monotonic or cyclic loadings (Schofield and
This by-product additive is effective to improve the Wroth, 1968; Kramer, 1996). Many investigations have
mechanical behaviour of the soil (Horpibulsuk et al., been conducted to mitigate the disastrous impacts of lique-
2009). Flyash increases the reactive surfaces of the soil faction. For instance, Keramatikerman et al. (2017) inves-
grains and causes an increase in production of hydration tigated the effect of flyash on cyclic liquefaction behaviour
of the soil and indicated that flyash is effective in improving
liquefaction behaviour of the soil. In another example,
Peer review under responsibility of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
⇑ Corresponding author. Sabbar et al. (2017) investigated the effect of slag addition
E-mail addresses: mahdi.keramatikerman@postgrad.curtin.edu.au on the liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite (SB) mix-
(M. Keramatikerman), amin.chegenizadeh@curtin.edu.au ture and indicated that slag is effective in improving the liq-
(A. Chegenizadeh), h.nikraz@curtin.edu.au (H. Nikraz), ayadsaleh2000@ uefaction behaviour of the sand (Keramatikerman, 2018).
yahoo.com (A.S. Sabbar).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
0038-0806/Ó 2018 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
2 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

In an undrained triaxial condition, the liquefaction However, sand is an abundant geo-material with a wide
behaviour is characterised by a significant reduction in variety of applications in geotechnical engineering projects,
deviator stress after a peak value occurs at a small shear its mechanical characteristics are weak and it is applied in
strain. The reduction in deviator stress continues until the combination with bentonite in many cases. The application
soil reaches the lower shear strength at steady state condi- of sand-bentonite (SB) mixture is a well-established
tion. The steady state can be defined as the state when soil approach, in particular as a containment barrier system
deforms under constant volume, constant effective stress, in landfills (Sivapullaiah et al., 2000; Malusis et al., 2009;
and constant shear stress [see Fig. 1]. In stress path, the Hong et al., 2011).
instability line, which is defined as the straight line that This study aims to conduct an analysis on the effect of
crosses the origin point of stress path and peak point of flyash on stress-strain (q-p0 ) and flow liquefaction of the
the deviator stress, can be used to analyse the onset insta- FA sand-bentonite (SB) specimens in a triaxial testing con-
bility of the soil (Yang and Wei, 2012). This line is used to dition. This study is a continuation of the liquefaction
characterise the onset instability of the soil. In the critical study at Curtin University (Keramatikerman and
state soil mechanics (CSSM) framework, Yang (2002) indi- Chegenizadeh, 2017; Keramatikerman et al., 2018).
cated that the instability line is not unique, and is a func-
tion of initial state as presented in Eq. (1).
 0 2. Materials used
q M cs
¼ expðawÞ ð1Þ
p0 UIS b The sand was sourced from south of Perth metropolitan
where Mcs = slope factor; w = the state parameter, which is area, Western Australia. The sieve analysis was conducted
computed by subtracting the critical void ratio from cur- on the used sand based on ASTM C136 (ASTM 2014), and
rent void ratio (i.e., e–ecs) (Been and Jefferies, 1985); and the results showed that it has a uniformity coefficient (Cu)
a and b = calibration factors. If shearing happened from and a coefficient of curvature (Cc) of 2.5 and 1.19 respec-
the same stress level for sand samples, Eq. (1) can be given tively [see Fig. 2]. This sand is a poorly graded soil (SP)
in the alternative form in Eq. (2) as indicated by Yang and based on the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Wei (2012); [ASTM D2487, (ASTM, 2011a)], and has a specific gravity
 0 (Gs) of 2.67. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) investi-
q M cs
¼ expðAeÞ ð2Þ gations revealed that quartz (Q) is the main constituent
p0 UIS BexpðAecs Þ of the used sand [see Fig. 3] (Keramatikerman, 2018).
To compute the reduction in strength for contractive Fig. 4(a) shows a scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
behaviour a more proper parameter, which is named the image of the used sand. The used flyash (FA) was sourced
brittleness index (IB), is introduced as Eq. (3), by Bishop from a local supplier in Perth, Western Australia (Flyash
(1967); Australia, 2016). The XRD analysis showed that quartz
q  qmin (Q), Mullite (Mu), and hematite (H) are the main con-
I B ¼ max ð3Þ stituent minerals of the used FA as can be seen from
qmax
Fig. 3. Also, the specific gravity of the used FA was 3.1
where qmax = deviatoric stress at the undrained instability (Keramatikerman, 2018). Fig. 4(b) shows a scanning
state (UIS); qmin = minimum deviatoric stress at the critical
state. The IB characterises the degree of collapsibility,
which varies from one, for a complete liquefaction, to zero,
for a fully strain-hardening response.

Fig. 1. Typical critical state parameters of the soil in a monotonic triaxial

test in q-p0 plane. Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of used materials.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 3

Fig. 3. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis of used materials.

electron microscopy (SEM) image of the used FA. The

bentonite was purchased from Sibelco Australia, a local
supplier in Western Australia. According to the Atterberg
limits tests [ASTM D4318 (ASTM, 2010)], this clay has a
liquid limit (LL) of 455%, and a plastic limit (PL) of
387%. Also, it has a specific gravity of 2.75. Fig. 2 shows
the results of particle size analysis based on ASTM
D4221 (ASTM 2011b). The XRD analysis showed that
quartz (Q), montmorillonite (M), and potassium (K) are
the main constituent minerals of the bentonite. Fig. 4(c)
shows a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of
the used bentonite.

3. Specimen preparation and triaxial testing

In this study, a series of undrained static triaxial com-

pression tests were conducted according to ASTM D7181
(ASTM, 2011c) by means of an automated triaxial device
(Bishop and Wesley, 1975). The specimens with 62.5 mm
diameter and 125 mm height were prepared by moist tamp-
ing method, which is proposed as the under compaction
method by Ladd (1978). Initially, the desired amount of
bentonite and/or flyash was added to the soil and thor-
oughly mixed, then water was added according to the opti-
mum moisture content (OMC) of each mixture acquired
from standard proctor tests (Keramatikerman, 2018). Each
mixture was compacted in five layers into a cylindrical split
mould until the desired height was obtained based on the
required relative density. After completion of the sample
preparation, the triaxial testing procedure started and
water was injected through the sample until a Skempton Fig. 4. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) photograph of (a) untreated
B value of 0.95 was recorded, and the saturation stage soil; (b) FA; and (c) bentonite.
completed. Then, the samples were isotropically consoli-
dated until the initial mean effective stress of 100 kPa volumetric strain during consolidation stage
(Keramatikerman, 2018). The post-consolidation void (Keramatikerman, 2018). Table 1 shows the test program
ratio (ep) of each specimen was noted according to the followed to conduct the tests and the mixtures
pre-consolidation void ratio (e0) and the occurred characteristics.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
4 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Experimental program and mixtures characteristics.
Test ID FA content (%) Bentonite content (%) Dr Drp emax emin e0 ep OMC (%) MDD (kN/m3) p0 (kPa)
S1 – – 10 11.1 0.687 0.548 0.673 0.665 9.3 16.5 100
S2 – – 20 21.2 0.678 0.544 0.651 0.647 9.3 16.5 100
S3 – – 30 31.1 0.664 0.531 0.624 0.620 9.3 16.5 100
SB1 – 5 10 11.2 0.661 0.572 0.652 0.644 11.8 16.4 100
SB2 – 5 20 21.6 0.651 0.622 0.645 0.638 11.8 16.4 100
SB3 – 5 30 31.3 0.674 0.558 0.639 0.635 11.8 16.4 100
SBF1 3 5 10 11.4 0.648 0.539 0.637 0.629 12.1 16.3 100
SBF2 3 5 20 21.7 0.645 0.551 0.626 0.622 12.1 16.3 100
SBF3 3 5 30 31.4 0.667 0.515 0.621 0.618 12.1 16.3 100
SBF4 5 5 10 11.3 0.634 0.535 0.624 0.616 13.4 16.2 100
SBF5 5 5 20 21.5 0.638 0.524 0.615 0.609 13.4 16.2 100
SBF6 5 5 30 31.5 0.632 0.553 0.608 0.602 13.4 16.2 100
SBF7 7 5 10 11.5 0.622 0.513 0.611 0.603 14.5 16.1 100
SBF8 7 5 20 21.4 0.613 0.534 0.597 0.592 14.5 16.1 100
SBF9 7 5 30 31.6 0.609 0.551 0.591 0.587 14.5 16.1 100
Note: emax: maximum void ratio; emin: minimum void ratio; Dr: Initial relative density; Drp: Post-consolidation relative density; e0: initial void ratio; ep:
post-consolidation void ratio; OMC: Optimum moisture content; MDD = Maximum dry density; p0 = initial mean effective stress).

4. Triaxial test results of deviatoric strength. Inversely, a higher deviatoric

strength value is achieved when the soil is mixed with a
4.1. Effect of FA contents higher bentonite content (i.e., 11%) since the soil particles
are locked and clothed in clay (Gratchev et al., 2006).
Deviator stress (q) and mean effective normal stress (p0 ) Furthermore, treatment of the SB specimens with FA
in triaxial tests were computed using Eqs. (4) and (5) causes the generation of hydration products such as cal-
respectively. cium silicate hydrate (CSH) and calcium aluminate hydrate
(CAH), which generate strong bonds amongst clay parti-
q ¼ r1  r3 ð4Þ
cles and it is these hydration products that improved the
ðr01 þ 2r30 Þ deviatoric stress of the specimen. Fig. 6 shows a scanning
p0 ¼ ð5Þ
3 electron microscopic image of a representative specimen
(i.e., SBF7) to prove generation of the hydration products.
where r0 1 = effective major principal stress; and r0 3 = effec- Increasing the FA contents intensified the generation of
tive minor principal stress. Fig. 5 shows the typical stress– these hydration bonds and caused a higher value of devia-
strain behaviour for untreated soil, SB, and FA treated SB toric stress to be recorded.
specimens with an initial relative density of 10% under an
initial mean effective stress (p0 ) of 100 kPa. It is seen from
the figure that the untreated soil has a complete static liq- 4.2. Effect of relative density
uefaction behaviour when q reached zero. The SB specimen
also shows a similar trend. For example, in untreated soil Figs. 7 and 8 show the shearing responses of the
(i.e., S1), the peak deviatoric stress (qmax) reached 62 kPa untreated soil, SB, and FA treated SB specimens under
after around 1% axial strain, then with a strain-softening an initial mean effective stress of 100 kPa with an initial rel-
behaviour reached zero after around 20% axial strain. ative density of 20 and 30% respectively. It is seen from the
The SB specimen (i.e., SB1) also reached a peak deviatoric figures that increasing the relative density caused an
stress of (qmax) 51 kPa after around 0.9% axial strain then increase in deviatoric stress of the specimens and a change
declined by 20 kPa. In contrast, treatment of SB specimens from contractive to dilative behaviour for untreated and
with FA caused formation of a dilative behaviour and SB specimens. For instance, while the ultimate deviatoric
improved the deviatoric stress of the specimens. Also, stress of untreated soil with an initial relative density of
increasing the FA contents intensified the strain- 10% was zero (i.e., complete liquefaction), increasing the
hardening response and caused a greater deviatoric stress. initial relative density to 20% and 30% caused an ultimate
For instance, the addition of 3, 5, and 7% FA caused a deviatoric stress of 118 and 167 kPa respectively (i.e., lim-
peak deviatoric stress of 175, 214, and 243 kPa for SBF1, ited liquefaction). As shown increasing the relative density
SBF4, and SBF7 specimens respectively. improved the ultimate deviatoric values of the specimens.
Gratchev et al. (2006) reported that presence of the low This behaviour can be attributed to the promotion of
amount of bentonite (i.e., 7%) in a sandy soil forms a ser- inter-particle contacts and internal friction by increasing
ies of clay bridges and open micro-fabrics amongst soil par- the relative density. In fact, the addition of bentonite into
ticles, which act as weak connectors. This facilitates the specimen causes lower internal friction and particle
movement of the sand particles and causes a lower value contacts. It may be the main reason for the recorded lower

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 5

Fig. 6. Generation of hydration bonds in Scanning electron microscopic

(SEM) photograph.

peak deviatoric stress for the SB specimen. This statement

was confirmed by analysing the variations of the slope fac-
tor (Mcs) and internal friction angle (/cs) in q-p0 plane in
Fig. 9. The critical state parameters in q-p0 plane can be
computed using Eq. (6) (Schofield and Wroth 1968);
0
q ¼ M cs p ð6Þ
where q = deviatoric stress in triaxial condition; p0 = mean
effective stress in critical state; Mcs = factor for internal
friction of the critical state line in the q-p0 plane, and com-
puted using Eq. (7);
ð6 sin /cs Þ
M cs ¼ ð7Þ
3  sin /cs
where /cs = critical frictional angle of the soil. The
acquired shearing behaviours and critical state locus were
analysed and compared on the q-p0 plane for untreated
and FA treated specimens and the results were presented
in Fig. 9. It is seen that that SB specimens have a lower
internal friction angle than untreated soil most likely due
to a reduction in contribution of the sand content. This fig-
ure also shows that treatment of the specimens with FA
increased the internal friction angles of the specimens.
The generation of hydration bonds amongst clay particles
due to the presence of FA may be the main reason for
the increase in internal friction angles of FA treated speci-
mens. Similar trends were presented by Sabbar et al. (2017)
for untreated soil and slag treated specimens when the
specimens were tested in a loose state.

4.3. Effect of FA on state and critical state parameters

The state parameter (W) is used to model the behaviour

of sand within critical state framework. Been and Jefferies
(1985) defined the state parameter as the difference between
the current void ratio (eo) and the void ratio at critical/
Fig. 5. Typical undrained shear response for untreated soil, SB, and FA
treated SB specimens with an initial relative density of 10% under 100 kPa steady state (ecs). Been et al. (1991) reported that the
initial mean effective stress (a) stress path (q-p0 ); (b) stress-strain relation; uniqueness and equivalence between steady state line
and (c) excess pore water pressure versus axial strain. (SSL) and critical state line (CSL) are required to use state

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
6 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

p0'= 100 kPa

Dr= 20%

Limited liquefacon

Fig. 7. Undrained shear response for untreated sand, SB, and FA treated
SB specimens with an initial relative density of 20% under 100 kPa initial
mean effective stress (a) stress path (q-p0 ); (b) stress-strain relation; and (c)
excess pore water pressure versus axial strain.

parameter for modelling the behaviour of soils. The

uniqueness and equivalence between SSL and CSL in Fig. 8. Undrained shear response for untreated sand, SB, and FA treated
SB specimens with an initial relative density of 30% under 100 kPa initial
undrained compression triaxial tests are supported in many mean effective stress (a) stress path (q-p0 ); (b) stress-strain relation; and (c)
researches (Chu, 1995; Ishihara, 1993; Sladen et al., 1985). excess pore water pressure versus axial strain.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 7

Fig. 10. Effect of FA addition on state parameters of SB specimens.

1.47 and 1.56 when the sand mixed with 3, 5 and 7% ben-
tonite at 30% relative density respectively.
Li and Wang (1998) introduced an exact representation
of the CSL in compression plane (e-p0 ), which is known as
power law function as presented in Eq. (8).
 0 n
p
e ¼ Ccs  kcs ð8Þ
pa

where kcs = slope of critical state line; Ucs = critical state

intercept at p0 = 0; n = a fitting parameter estimated by
the least-squares regression ratio (sandy soil = 0.6); and
pa = atmospheric pressure (=101 kPa). Fig. 11 presents
the critical state locus (CSL) of the SB mixtures and SB
mixture treated with FA in e-p0 plane based on the post-
consolidation void ratio values. As shown, by increasing
the FA contents in the SB mixtures, the CSL slope incre-
mented. This behaviour clearly shows that the slope of crit-
Fig. 9. Critical state locus in q-p0 plane for tested specimens (a) Variations
of slope factor (Mcs); and (b) Variations of the critical state frictional angle
(/cs) versus FA contents.

Despite that the undrained behaviour of untreated soil is

different from the sand with fine-grained soils, the authors
assumed that the state parameter might be used to model
the overall behaviour of sand-fines mixtures as the fine-
grained content of the soil is relatively low. Fig. 10 shows
the relationship between the stress ratio of instability line
(q/p0 ) and the state parameter. As can be seen the relation-
ship between state parameter and the stress ratio is not
unique, which highlights a different instability condition
for the treated and untreated soil. Despite that there is a
similar trend when sand treated with bentonite and FA.
It was also noted that the addition of FA into the sand-
bentonite mixtures promoted the stress ratio values and
decreased the state parameter values, and caused more sta-
bility for the samples. As shown in the figure, the stress Fig. 11. Critical state locus in e-p0 plane for SB mixture and FA treated SB
ratio of the instability line increased from 1.02 to 1.32, mixtures.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
8 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

ical state line in FA treated specimens are greater than the

SB mixture. For instance, the SB mixture specimens have a
power law function in the range of 1.01  (p0 /pa)n  1.80.
Addition of bentonite caused a power law function in the
range of 0.42  (p0 /pa)n  1.19. An increasing trend was
recorded when the SB mixture treated with FA. For
instance, addition of 3% FA caused an increase power
law function in the range of 1.17  (p0 /pa)n  1.51. Simi-
larly, the power law function values increased to the range
of 1.23  (p0 /pa)n  1.48, and 1.29  (p0 /pa)n  1.47 by
addition of 5% and 7% FA contents respectively. Fig. 12
shows the slope of critical state line (kcs) and intercept
(Ccs) acquired from the e-p0 plane. As can be seen, addition
of FA increased both slope of critical state line (kcs) and
intercept (Ccs) in SB mixtures. For instance, while kcs value
for SB mixture is equal to 0.012, addition of FA caused a
kcs value of 0.033. Also, addition of 5 to 7% FA in the
Fig. 13. Typical liquefaction behaviour of the tested specimens based on
SB mixture caused an increase for kcs values in the range brittleness index at a relative density of 10%
of 0.056  kcs  0.088. Similarly, while the critical state

intercept (Ccs) for SB mixture was 0.65, addition of FA

caused a Ccs value of 0.67. Also, addition of 5 to 7% FA
to the specimens caused an increase in Ccs values in the
range of 0.68  Ccs  0.72. This fact also should be noted
that the increased slope may mean an increased potential
for collapse at higher stresses.

4.4. Effect of FA on liquefaction behaviour

The liquefaction susceptibility is a reduction in

undrained peak deviatoric stress and is quantified using
brittleness index (IB) as indicated by Bishop (1967) and
Sadrekarimi (2014) [see Eq. (3)]. A brittleness index equal
to one highlights a very brittle behaviour which is associ-
ated with a low deviatoric stress, whereas a brittleness
index equal to zero, indicates a non-brittle or strain-
hardening behaviour without any reduction in deviatoric
stress during undrained shearing (Sadrekarimi, 2014).
Fig. 13 shows the typical computed brittleness indices
according to Eq. (3) for untreated soil, SB, and FA treated
SB specimens with an initial relative density of 10%. As
shown, the untreated soil and SB specimens present the
highest value of brittleness indices. In contrast, the FA
treated specimens showed the lowest values of brittleness
indices. The recorded trends in this section show the effect
of FA treatment and relative density in liquefaction mitiga-
tion of soil.

5. Conclusions

This research analysed the liquefaction behaviour of fly-

ash (FA) treated sand-bentonite (SB) specimens by con-
ducting a series of undrained monotonic triaxial
compression tests. The analysis of shearing responses at
10% initial relative density showed that the untreated soil
Fig. 12. Effect of FA contents on critical state locus in e-p0 plane (a) has a strain-softening behaviour and a complete monotonic
critical state slope (kcs); and (b) critical state intercept (Ccs). liquefaction was recorded. It was also revealed that the

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004
 M. Keramatikerman et al. / Soils and Foundations xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 9

addition of 5% bentonite increased the liquefaction suscep- Bishop, A.W., 1967. Progressive failure: with special reference to the
tibility of the soil at 20% and 30% relative densities. Fur- mechanism causing it. In: Proceedings of the Geotechnical Conference,
Oslo, vol. 2, pp. 142–150.
ther analysis showed that the addition of FA increased Chu, J., 1995. An experimental examination of the critical state and other
the peak deviatoric stress and liquefaction resistance due similar concepts for granular soils. Can. Geotech. J. 32 (6), 1065–1075.
to the formation of hydration products. Investigation on Flyash Australia, 2016. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Flyash
the effect of relative density showed that increasing the rel- Class F.
ative density of the specimens promoted the inter-particle Gratchev, I.B., Sassa, K., Osipov, V.I., Sokolov, V.N., 2006. The
liquefaction of clayey soils under cyclic loading. Eng. Geol. 86 (1),
contacts and caused a greater value of deviatoric strength 70–84.
for tested specimens. The results showed that increasing Hong, C.S., Shackelford, C.D., Malusis, M.A., 2011. Consolidation and
the relative density is more effective in stabilised soil since hydraulic conductivity of zeolite-amended soil-bentonite backfills. J.
a greater value of deviatoric strength was achieved in all Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 138 (1), 15–25.
stabilised cases. The results showed that addition of FA Horpibulsuk, S., Phetchuay, C., Chinkulkijniwat, A., 2011. Soil stabiliza-
tion by calcium carbide residue and fly ash. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 24 (2),
into sand-bentonite mixtures provided more stability for 184–193.
the samples while the stress ratio value on the instability Horpibulsuk, S., Rachan, R., Raksachon, Y., 2009. Role of fly ash on
line increased and the state parameter reduced. Analysis strength and microstructure development in blended cement stabilized
of the critical state parameters showed that the increasing silty clay. Soils Found. 49 (1), 85–98.
FA increased slope factor (Mcs) in stress-strain plane Ishihara, K., 1993. Liquefaction and flow failure during earthquakes.
Geotechnique 43 (3), 351–451.
(q-p0 ), and increased slope of critical state line (kcs) and Keramatikerman, M., Chegenizadeh, A., 2017. Effect of particle shape on
intercept (Ccs) in compression plane (ep-p0 ). The analysis monotonic liquefaction: natural and crushed sand. Exp. Mech., 1–8
on liquefaction behaviour of the specimens based on nor- Keramatikerman, M., 2018. Investigations into Effect of By-product
malisation of the deviatoric stresses according to brittleness Binders in Improvement of Cyclic Behaviour of Soil (Doctoral
index (IB) equation showed that the specimens containing Dissertation under examination). Department of Civil Engineering,
School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University.
FA have a lower value of brittleness index, whereas, the Keramatikerman, M., Chegenizadeh, A., Nikraz, H., 2017. Experimental
untreated soil and SB mixtures have a stronger brittle beha- study on effect of fly ash on liquefaction resistance of sand. Soil Dyn.
viour which led to a greater susceptibility to liquefaction. Earthq. Eng. 93, 1–6.
Keramatikerman, M., Chegenizadeh, A., Yilmaz, Y., Nikraz, H., 2018.
Acknowledgements Effect of lime treatment on static liquefaction behavior of sand-
bentonite mixtures. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 30 (11), 06018017.
Kramer, S.L., 1996. Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. Prentice Hall,
The authors acknowledge the use of Curtin University’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA.
Microscopy & Microanalysis Facility, whose instrumenta- Ladd, R.S., 1978. Preparing test specimens using undercompaction.
tion has been partially funded by the University, and State Geotech. Test. J. 1 (1), 16–23.
and Commonwealth Governments. Also, this manuscript is Li, X.S., Wang, Y., 1998. Linear representation of steady-state line for
sand. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 124 (12), 1215–1217.
part of the first author’s PhD thesis supported by Aus- Malusis, M.A., Barben, E.J., Evans, J.C., 2009. Hydraulic conductivity
tralian Postgraduate Award (APA) and Curtin University and compressibility of soil-bentonite backfill amended with activated
Postgraduate Scholarship (CUPS). carbon. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 135 (5), 664–672.
Prabakar, J., Dendorkar, N., Morchhale, R.K., 2004. Influence of fly ash
References on strength behavior of typical soils. Constr. Build. Mater. 18 (4), 263–
267.
Sabbar, A.S., Chegenizadeh, A., Nikraz, H., 2017. Static liquefaction of
ASTM, 2010. Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and
very loose sand–slag–bentonite mixtures. Soils Found. 57 (3), 341–356.
Plasticity Index of Soils. ASTM D4318, West Conshohocken, PA.
Sadrekarimi, A., 2014. Static liquefaction-triggering analysis considering
ASTM, 2011a. Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineer-
soil dilatancy. Soils Found. 54 (5), 955–966.
ing Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System). ASTM D2487, West
Schofield, A.N., Wroth, C.P., 1968. Critical State Soil Mechanics.
Conshohocken, PA.
McGraw-Hill Publications, London.
ASTM, 2011b. Standard Test Method for Dispersive Characteristics of
Sivapullaiah, P.V., Sridharan, A., Stalin, V.K., 2000. Hydraulic conduc-
Clay Soil by Double Hydrometer. ASTM D4221, West Con-
tivity of bentonite-sand mixtures. Can. Geotech. J. 37 (2), 406–413.
shohocken, PA.
Sladen, J.A., D’hollander, R.D., Krahn, J., 1985. The liquefaction of
ASTM, 2011c. Standard Test Method for Consolidated Drained Triaxial
sands, a collapse surface approach. Can. Geotech. J. 22 (4), 564–578.
Compression Test for Soils. ASTM D7181, West Conshohocken, PA.
Yang, J., 2002. Non-uniqueness of flow liquefaction line for loose sand.
ASTM, 2014. Standard Test Method for Sieve Analysis of Fine and
Geotechnique 52 (10), 757–760. https://doi.org/
Coarse Aggregates. ASTM C136, West Conshohocken, PA.
10.1680/geot.2002.52.10.757.
Been, K., Jefferies, M.G., 1985. A state parameter for sands. Geotechnique
Yang, J., Wei, L.M., 2012. Collapse of loose sand with the addition of
35 (2), 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1985.35.2.99.
fines: the role of particle shape. Geotechnique 62 (12), 1111–1125.
Been, K., Jefferies, M.G., Hachey, J., 1991. Critical state of sands.
https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.11.P.062.
Geotechnique 41 (3), 365–381.
Bishop, A.W., Wesley, L.D., 1975. A hydraulic triaxial apparatus for
controlled stress path testing. Geotechnique 25 (4), 657–670.

Please cite this article in press as: Keramatikerman, M. et al., Effect of flyash on liquefaction behaviour of sand-bentonite mixture, Soils Found. (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.07.004