Assessment of small-strain characteristics for vibration predictions in a Swedish clay deposit

Environmental vibrations induced by human activities such as traffic, construction or industrial manufacturing can cause disturbance among residents or to vibration sensitive equipment in buildings. In Sweden, geological formations of soft clay overlying a stiff bedrock are soil conditions prone to ground vibrations that are encountered both in urban areas and along parts of the national railway network. This paper presents an extensive investigation of the small-strain soil properties for the prediction of environmental ground vibrations in a shallow clay where the bedrock is situated at 7.5 m depth. The small-strain properties are estimated using available empirical correlations, bender elements, seismic cone penetration tests, seismic refraction and inversion of surface wave dispersion and attenuation curves. The results are synthesised into a dynamic layered soil model which is validated by measurements at the soil's surface at source-receiver distances up to 90 m in the frequency range 1–80 Hz. Analyses of uncertainties in the estimated values of wave speeds and material damping are performed by model investigations, indicating that surface wave tests overestimate the damping compared to bender element tests. The properties of the topmost unsaturated part of the soil is found to have a significant influence on the response at large distances, caused by critically refracted P-waves resonating in the top layer. •Results from different investigation methods are used to establish a layered dynamic soil model of a shallow clay deposit.•Resonance of top soil layer due to refracted P-waves contributes to the surface response and attenuates slowly with distance.•S-wave speeds from empirical and seismic methods are in good agreement.•Seasonal variations affect the frequency content related to the top soil layer.