CORRELATION OF SHEAR WAVE VELOCITY WITH SPT-N FOR A TOWER- BUILDING SITE AT ERBIL CITY
Keywords:
Shear Wave Velocity; Standard Penetration Test; Site Investigation; Seismic Properties; Empirical Equation
Abstract
Measurement of shear wave velocity (Vs) plays a crucial role in ground movements around
geotechnical structures such as building foundations in the urban area and tunnels. Basically, measuring
Vs often requires when seismic properties of soils are essential to be calculated, such as elastic shear
modulus. Multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) is one of the seismic methods which employs
surface waves to measure Vs. It is often not available along with site investigation due to high cost,
complicated technical analysis, noise pollution, space constraints, etc. Hence, it is essential to predict Vs
through correlating it to other soil parameters such as standard penetration test blows count (SPT-N).
Therefore, the main focus in the current study was to correlate between Vs and SPT-N using an empirical
equation likely applied for clay soils. A complementary subsoil investigation was performed of a tower-
building at Erbil City, including SPT-N values for three boreholes and their corresponding MASW
measurements. These data were, in turn, used to estimate Vs from corrected SPT-N. The currently
proposed equation compared with the existing ones in the literature. The comparison shows that the
proposed equation predicts the values of Vs as good as those available in the literature for both of the
datasets in the current and the previous studies.
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References
Akin, M. K., Kramer, S. L., & Topal, T. (2011).
Empirical correlations of shear wave velocity
(Vs) and penetration resistance (SPT-N) for
different soils in an earthquake-prone area
(Erbaa-Turkey). Engineering Geology, 119(1),
1-17.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2011.01.0
07
Allen, J., & Stokoe, K. (1982). Development of
resonant column apparatus with anisotropic
loading: Geotechncal Engineering Center,
Civil Engineering Department, University
of ….
Andrus, R. D., Stokoe, K. H., & Hsein Juang, C.
(2004). Guide for shear-wave-based
liquefaction potential evaluation. Earthquake
Spectra, 20(2), 285-308.
ASTM D854. (2014). Standard Test Methods for
Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water
Pycnometer. In. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM International.
ASTM D1586. (1999). Standard Test Method for
Penetration Test and Split-Barrel Sampling of
Soils. In. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
International.
ASTM D1586. (2018). Standard Test Method for
Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-
Barrel Sampling of Soils, ASTM International.
In. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
International.
ASTM D1587. (2000). Standard Practice for Thin-
Walled Tube Sampling of Soils for
Geotechnical Purposes. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D2216. (2019). Standard Test Methods for
Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture)
Content of Soil and Rock by Mass. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D2488. (2017). Standard Practice for
Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-
Manual Procedures), ASTM International. In.
West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D4318. (2017). Standard Test Methods for
Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity
Index of Soils. In. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM International.
ASTM D5783. (2018). Standard Guide for Use of
Direct Rotary Drilling with Water-Based
Drilling Fluid for Geoenvironmental
Exploration and the Installation of Subsurface
Water-Quality Monitoring Devices. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D6913. (2017). Standard Test Methods for
Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils
Using Sieve Analysis. In. West Conshohocken,
PA: ASTM International.
Athanasopoulos, G. (1970). Empirical correlations
Vso-NSPT for soils of Greece: A comparative
study of reliability. WIT Transactions on The
Built Environment, 15.
Atkinson, J. H. (1991). Experimental determination
of stress - strain -time characteristics in
laboratory and - in -situ tests. General report.
Proc. 10th Eur. Conf. Soil Mech. and Fnd
Engng, 3, 915-956. Retrieved from
https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10004560238/en/
Brignoli, E. G., Gotti, M., & Stokoe, K. H. (1996).
Measurement of shear waves in laboratory
specimens by means of piezoelectric
transducers. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
19(4), 384-397.
Callisto, L., & Rampello, S. (2002). Shear strength
and small-strain stiffness of a natural clay
under general stress conditions. Géotechnique,
52(8), 547-560.
doi:10.1680/geot.2002.52.8.547
Dai, S., Wuttke, F., & Santamarina, J. C. (2013).
Coda Wave Analysis to Monitor Processes in
Soils. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, 139(9), 1504-
1511. doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-
5606.0000872
Dickenson, S. E. (1995). Dynamic response of soft
and deep cohesive soils during the Loma
Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989.
Dikmen, Ü. (2009). Statistical correlations of shear
wave velocity and penetration resistance for
soils. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering,
6(1), 61-72.
Dyvik, R., & Olsen, T. (1989). Gmax measured in
oedometer and DSS tests using bender
elements. Paper presented at the Congrès
international de mécanique des sols et des
travaux de fondations. 12.
Hall, J. R., & Richart, F. E. (1963). Dissipation of
elastic wave energy in granular soils.
Retrieved from
Hardin, B. O., & Blandford, G. E. (1989). Elasticity
of Particulate Materials. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 115(6), 788-805.
doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-
9410(1989)115:6(788)
Hasan, A., & Wheeler, S. (2016). Interpreting
measurements of small strain elastic shear
modulus under unsaturated conditions. Paper
presented at the E3S Web of Conferences.
Hasan, A., & Wheeler, S. J. (2014). Influence of
compaction procedure on elastic anisotropy.
Paper presented at the Proc. 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Sydney,
Australia.
Hasancebi, N., & Ulusay, R. (2007). Empirical
correlations between shear wave velocity and
penetration resistance for ground shaking
assessments. Bulletin of Engineering Geology
and the Environment, 66(2), 203-213.
Hassan, K. M., Surdashy, A. M., & Bapeer, G. B.
(2010). The Study of the Physical Properties
of Quaternary Sediments in the Middle Part of
Erbil Plain, Kurdistan Region, North Iraq.
Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining, 6(1),
31-46.
Houlsby, G., & Wroth, C. (1991). The variation of
shear modulus of a clay with pressure and
overconsolidation ratio. Soils and
Foundations, 31(3), 138-143.
Imai, T. (1977). P- and S-wave velocities of the
ground in Japan. Paper presented at the 9th
Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering.
Jafari, M. K., Shafiei, A., & Razmkhah, A. (2002).
Dynamic properties of fine grained soils in
south of Tehran.
Jovičić, V., & Coop, M. (1998). The measurement of
stiffness anisotropy in clays with bender
element tests in the triaxial apparatus.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, 21(1), 3-10.
Lee, J.-S., & Santamarina, J. C. (2005). Bender
Elements: Performance and Signal
Interpretation. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, 131(9), 1063-
1070. doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-
0241(2005)131:9(1063)
Lee, S. H.-H. (1992). Analysis of the
Multicollinearity of Regression Equations of
Shear Wave Velocities. Soils and Foundations,
32(1), 205-214.
doi:https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.32.205
Lee, S. H. H. (1990). Regression models of shear
wave velocities in Taipei basin. Journal of the
Chinese Institute of Engineers, 13(5), 519-532.
doi:10.1080/02533839.1990.9677284
Ng, C. W. W., & Yung, S. Y. (2008). Determination of
the anisotropic shear stiffness of an
unsaturated decomposed soil. Géotechnique,
58(1), 23-35. doi:10.1680/geot.2008.58.1.23
Ohta, Y., & Goto, N. (1978). Empirical shear wave
velocity equations in terms of characteristic
soil indexes. Earthquake engineering &
structural dynamics, 6(2), 167-187.
Park, C., Miller, R., Rydén, N., Xia, J., & Ivanov, J.
(2005). Combined use of active and passive
surface waves. Journal of Environmental and
Engineering Geophysics, 10(3), 323-334.
Park, C. B., Miller, R. D., & Xia, J. (1999).
Multichannel analysis of surface waves.
Geophysics, 64(3), 800-808.
Pennington, D. S., Nash, D. F., & Lings, M. L.
(2001). Horizontally mounted bender elements
for measuring anisotropic shear moduli in
triaxial clay specimens. Geotechnical Testing
Journal, 24(2), 133-144.
Pitilakis, K., Raptakis, D., Lontzetidis, K., Tika-
Vassilikou, T., & Jongmans, D. (1999).
Geotechnical and geophysical description of
EURO-SEISTEST, using field, laboratory tests
and moderate strong motion recordings.
Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 3(03),
381-409.
Seed, H. B., Idriss, I. M., & Arango, I. (1983).
Evaluation of Liquefaction Potential Using
Field Performance Data. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 109(3), 458-482.
doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-
9410(1983)109:3(458)
Shirley, D. J., & Hampton, L. D. (1978). Shear‐wave
measurements in laboratory sediments. The
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
63(2), 607-613.
Sykora, D. W. (1983). Correlations of in situ
measurements in sands of shear wave velocity,
soil characteristics, and site conditions.
Available from http://worldcat.org /z-wcorg/
database.
Ulugergerli, E. U., & Uyanik, O. (2007). Statistical
correlations between seismic wave velocities
and SPT blow counts and the relative density
of soils. Journal of Testing and Evaluation,
35(2), 187-191.
Empirical correlations of shear wave velocity
(Vs) and penetration resistance (SPT-N) for
different soils in an earthquake-prone area
(Erbaa-Turkey). Engineering Geology, 119(1),
1-17.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2011.01.0
07
Allen, J., & Stokoe, K. (1982). Development of
resonant column apparatus with anisotropic
loading: Geotechncal Engineering Center,
Civil Engineering Department, University
of ….
Andrus, R. D., Stokoe, K. H., & Hsein Juang, C.
(2004). Guide for shear-wave-based
liquefaction potential evaluation. Earthquake
Spectra, 20(2), 285-308.
ASTM D854. (2014). Standard Test Methods for
Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water
Pycnometer. In. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM International.
ASTM D1586. (1999). Standard Test Method for
Penetration Test and Split-Barrel Sampling of
Soils. In. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
International.
ASTM D1586. (2018). Standard Test Method for
Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-
Barrel Sampling of Soils, ASTM International.
In. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
International.
ASTM D1587. (2000). Standard Practice for Thin-
Walled Tube Sampling of Soils for
Geotechnical Purposes. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D2216. (2019). Standard Test Methods for
Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture)
Content of Soil and Rock by Mass. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D2488. (2017). Standard Practice for
Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-
Manual Procedures), ASTM International. In.
West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D4318. (2017). Standard Test Methods for
Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity
Index of Soils. In. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM International.
ASTM D5783. (2018). Standard Guide for Use of
Direct Rotary Drilling with Water-Based
Drilling Fluid for Geoenvironmental
Exploration and the Installation of Subsurface
Water-Quality Monitoring Devices. In. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
ASTM D6913. (2017). Standard Test Methods for
Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils
Using Sieve Analysis. In. West Conshohocken,
PA: ASTM International.
Athanasopoulos, G. (1970). Empirical correlations
Vso-NSPT for soils of Greece: A comparative
study of reliability. WIT Transactions on The
Built Environment, 15.
Atkinson, J. H. (1991). Experimental determination
of stress - strain -time characteristics in
laboratory and - in -situ tests. General report.
Proc. 10th Eur. Conf. Soil Mech. and Fnd
Engng, 3, 915-956. Retrieved from
https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10004560238/en/
Brignoli, E. G., Gotti, M., & Stokoe, K. H. (1996).
Measurement of shear waves in laboratory
specimens by means of piezoelectric
transducers. Geotechnical Testing Journal,
19(4), 384-397.
Callisto, L., & Rampello, S. (2002). Shear strength
and small-strain stiffness of a natural clay
under general stress conditions. Géotechnique,
52(8), 547-560.
doi:10.1680/geot.2002.52.8.547
Dai, S., Wuttke, F., & Santamarina, J. C. (2013).
Coda Wave Analysis to Monitor Processes in
Soils. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, 139(9), 1504-
1511. doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-
5606.0000872
Dickenson, S. E. (1995). Dynamic response of soft
and deep cohesive soils during the Loma
Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989.
Dikmen, Ü. (2009). Statistical correlations of shear
wave velocity and penetration resistance for
soils. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering,
6(1), 61-72.
Dyvik, R., & Olsen, T. (1989). Gmax measured in
oedometer and DSS tests using bender
elements. Paper presented at the Congrès
international de mécanique des sols et des
travaux de fondations. 12.
Hall, J. R., & Richart, F. E. (1963). Dissipation of
elastic wave energy in granular soils.
Retrieved from
Hardin, B. O., & Blandford, G. E. (1989). Elasticity
of Particulate Materials. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 115(6), 788-805.
doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-
9410(1989)115:6(788)
Hasan, A., & Wheeler, S. (2016). Interpreting
measurements of small strain elastic shear
modulus under unsaturated conditions. Paper
presented at the E3S Web of Conferences.
Hasan, A., & Wheeler, S. J. (2014). Influence of
compaction procedure on elastic anisotropy.
Paper presented at the Proc. 5th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Sydney,
Australia.
Hasancebi, N., & Ulusay, R. (2007). Empirical
correlations between shear wave velocity and
penetration resistance for ground shaking
assessments. Bulletin of Engineering Geology
and the Environment, 66(2), 203-213.
Hassan, K. M., Surdashy, A. M., & Bapeer, G. B.
(2010). The Study of the Physical Properties
of Quaternary Sediments in the Middle Part of
Erbil Plain, Kurdistan Region, North Iraq.
Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining, 6(1),
31-46.
Houlsby, G., & Wroth, C. (1991). The variation of
shear modulus of a clay with pressure and
overconsolidation ratio. Soils and
Foundations, 31(3), 138-143.
Imai, T. (1977). P- and S-wave velocities of the
ground in Japan. Paper presented at the 9th
Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering.
Jafari, M. K., Shafiei, A., & Razmkhah, A. (2002).
Dynamic properties of fine grained soils in
south of Tehran.
Jovičić, V., & Coop, M. (1998). The measurement of
stiffness anisotropy in clays with bender
element tests in the triaxial apparatus.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, 21(1), 3-10.
Lee, J.-S., & Santamarina, J. C. (2005). Bender
Elements: Performance and Signal
Interpretation. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, 131(9), 1063-
1070. doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-
0241(2005)131:9(1063)
Lee, S. H.-H. (1992). Analysis of the
Multicollinearity of Regression Equations of
Shear Wave Velocities. Soils and Foundations,
32(1), 205-214.
doi:https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.32.205
Lee, S. H. H. (1990). Regression models of shear
wave velocities in Taipei basin. Journal of the
Chinese Institute of Engineers, 13(5), 519-532.
doi:10.1080/02533839.1990.9677284
Ng, C. W. W., & Yung, S. Y. (2008). Determination of
the anisotropic shear stiffness of an
unsaturated decomposed soil. Géotechnique,
58(1), 23-35. doi:10.1680/geot.2008.58.1.23
Ohta, Y., & Goto, N. (1978). Empirical shear wave
velocity equations in terms of characteristic
soil indexes. Earthquake engineering &
structural dynamics, 6(2), 167-187.
Park, C., Miller, R., Rydén, N., Xia, J., & Ivanov, J.
(2005). Combined use of active and passive
surface waves. Journal of Environmental and
Engineering Geophysics, 10(3), 323-334.
Park, C. B., Miller, R. D., & Xia, J. (1999).
Multichannel analysis of surface waves.
Geophysics, 64(3), 800-808.
Pennington, D. S., Nash, D. F., & Lings, M. L.
(2001). Horizontally mounted bender elements
for measuring anisotropic shear moduli in
triaxial clay specimens. Geotechnical Testing
Journal, 24(2), 133-144.
Pitilakis, K., Raptakis, D., Lontzetidis, K., Tika-
Vassilikou, T., & Jongmans, D. (1999).
Geotechnical and geophysical description of
EURO-SEISTEST, using field, laboratory tests
and moderate strong motion recordings.
Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 3(03),
381-409.
Seed, H. B., Idriss, I. M., & Arango, I. (1983).
Evaluation of Liquefaction Potential Using
Field Performance Data. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 109(3), 458-482.
doi:doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-
9410(1983)109:3(458)
Shirley, D. J., & Hampton, L. D. (1978). Shear‐wave
measurements in laboratory sediments. The
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
63(2), 607-613.
Sykora, D. W. (1983). Correlations of in situ
measurements in sands of shear wave velocity,
soil characteristics, and site conditions.
Available from http://worldcat.org /z-wcorg/
database.
Ulugergerli, E. U., & Uyanik, O. (2007). Statistical
correlations between seismic wave velocities
and SPT blow counts and the relative density
of soils. Journal of Testing and Evaluation,
35(2), 187-191.
Published
2021-01-02
How to Cite
HASAN, A. M., MAWLOOD, Y. I., AHMED, A. A., & IBRAHIM, H. H. (2021). CORRELATION OF SHEAR WAVE VELOCITY WITH SPT-N FOR A TOWER- BUILDING SITE AT ERBIL CITY. Journal of Duhok University, 23(2), 235-245. https://doi.org/10.26682/csjuod.2020.23.2.19
Section
Pure and Engineering Sciences
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