Flow deformation and cyclic resistance of saturated loose sand considering initial static shear effect

In practical engineering, a driving stress often exists and acts on the soil elements, and this stress may have a significant effect on the deformational characteristics and liquefaction resistance of sand when the sand is subjected to seismic loadings. This paper presents a systematic experimental investigation into the undrained cyclic behavior of saturated loose sand with the static shear under both triaxial compression and extension conditions. Various combinations of the magnitude of static stresses and cyclic stresses were considered in the triaxial tests. The results indicate that different static shear stress conditions lead to two distinct failure modes, namely, flow liquefaction and residual deformation failure. The required number of loading cycles for the onset of flow deformation and failure are both related to two stress parameters, i.e., cyclic stress ratio (CSR) and static stress ratio (SSR). In viewing the failure envelope established against the two stress variables CSR and SSR, a critical SSR that identifies the role of the presence of initial static shear stress is obtained: when SSR is less than that critical value, the resistance may increase, whereas the resistance may decrease as SSR becomes larger. In addition, the triggering conditions of flow deformation under cyclic loading can be interpreted with the instability response of sand under monotonic loading. Combined with the observation on the cyclic deviatoric strains developed during and after the flow deformation, a unified interpretation is made to quantify the effects of both the SSR and CSR on the cyclic resistance of loose sand. •Two failure modes of saturated loose sand are identified.•The failure modes are affected by both the initial static stress and the cyclic stress.•The failure envelope of loose sand is established based on the test results.•The effect of flow deformation behavior on the cyclic resistance of loose sand is investigated.