Cover stones on liquefiable soil bed under waves

The paper describes the results of an experimental study on the behavior of cover stones on a liquefiable soil bed exposed to a progressive wave. The soil was silt with d50=0.098mm. Stones, the size of 4cm, were used as cover material. The effect of packing density of stones, and that of number of stone layers (including the effect of an intermediate filter layer) were investigated.

Pore pressure was measured across the soil depth. The experiments show that the soil liquefaction depended mainly on two parameters: the packing density of stones, and the number of stone layers. When the liquefaction occurs, stones sink in the soil. Mechanisms of liquefaction and sinking are described, and practical guidelines are recommended.