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Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.

com, ISSN 1743-3509

Empirical correlations V^-N^ for soils of


Greece: a comparative study of reliability
G.A. Athanasopoulos
Department of Civil Engineering, University ofPatras,
Greece

Abstract

A review of available empirical correlations V^-Ng^ is presented. Two recently


developed Greek correlations ("CLPW" and "Athanasopoulos") are further examined
and their predictions are compared in terms of V,<, values as well as in terms of
estimated ground response at several sites in Greece. It is found that the
"Athanasopoulos" values of V,* exceed those of "CLPW" by 8.2% on the average. In
terms of seismic ground response it is found that the peak ground accelerations, shear
strains and shear stresses may deviate by 13%, 28% and 13% respectively
when the "Athanasopoulos" values of V,<, are used vs. the "CLPW" values. The
deviations of spectral accelerations ranged from - 20% to 4- 9%. It is concluded that
these deviations are much lower than the deviations of "Athanasopoulos" correlation
with respect to measured values, and for this reason use of both Greek correlations
is recommended especially in applications at Greek sites.

1 Introduction

The design of structures to resist earthquake and other dynamic loadings requires the
knowledge of the dynamic properties of the underlying soil strata. The low-amplitude
shear modulus of soils, G*, (measured at cyclic shear strains 7, < 10"0 is regarded
as one of the most important dynamic soil properties and it is used in designing
vibrating machine foundations, as reference level for evaluating dynamic soil
performance and liquefaction potential during earthquake shaking, and for in-situ
evaluation of hard-to-sample deposits like gravels and cobbles (Stokoe et al.^).
A number of in-situ techniques are presently available for the evaluation of low-
amplitude shear modulus of soils, G* (Woods^*-^. The seismic cross-hole and down-
hole methods are, perhaps, the most often used today for profiling near-surface soils.
The Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves (SASW) method is a new seismic method for
evaluation of the low-amplitude shear modulus of soils as a function of depth and its
popularity increases very rapidly (Stokoe et al.^). In the seismic methods the low-
amplitude shear wave velocity, V^, is first evaluated and then the low-amplitude shear
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

20 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

modulus, GO, is calculated from Eqn. 1:

G* = P VJ (1)

where p = mass density of soil material.


In the case of preliminary design studies or small scale projects the dynamic in-
situ tests described above are usually difficult to apply due to cost considerations and
lack of specialized personnel. For this reason many attempts have been made in the
past for correlating values of V^ or G, to other readily available soil parameters or
indexes, e.g. the blow-count of the Standard Penetration Test. A review of presently
available empirical correlations G^-N^ or V^-N^ is given in the next section. Two
of these corrections were recently developed by Greek investigators based on the
results of measurements conducted on Greek soils. In subsequent sections the two
Greeck correlations are compared and their reliability is checked by applying them in
sites where values of V are available from cross-hole measurements.

2 Review of Available G^-Ng^ or V^-N^ Correlations

Most of the empirical correlations are of the type V^-Ngpr, and have been recently
summarized and discussed by Sykora and Koester^. Oshaki and Iwasaki^ developed
a G^-NSPT correlation based on 200 data points from Japanese soils. They proposed the
following equation, which was derived with a correlation coefficient r = 0.89:

G.(MPa) = 12.2 (N^r (2)

Hara et al. developed a similar correlation based on 100 data points from
Japanese soils and proposed Eqn 3, with r = 0.88:

(3.(MPa) = 16.1 (Nan)*" (3)

A correlation based on a large amount of measurements in Japan (1654 data


points!) was developed by Imai and Tonuchi* and the following equation was derived
with r = 0.87:

V.. (m/sec) = 97 (N^)' ^ (4)

It should be mentioned that besides the correlation equations mentioned above,


which are general and apply to all types of soils, the investigators usually derive
separate equations for specific types of soils (e.g. clay, sand). Attempts have also been
made for developing correlations in which the depth from the surface of ground and
the type of soil are being taken into account (Tokimatsu^).
Kalteziotis et al.* developed a V^-NSPT correlation - herein denoted as "CLPW"
correlation - based on 268 measurements on a variety of Greek soils and derived the
following general equation with r = 0.82 (Fig. 1):

V.. (m/sec) = 76.2 (rW> (5)

They also derived separate equations for cohesive soils (clay, marls) and non-
cohesive soils (sand, silt) with correlation coefficients equal to 0.89 and 0.74
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 21

1000

10H 1 riiii i i i 1 1 1i i 1000


SPT
Figure 1: Correlation between V^ and N^pj in logarithmic scales (Kalteziotis
et al.K>, "CLPW")

respectively:

V,, (m/sec) = 76.55 (Cohesive) (6a)

V,, (m/sec) = 49.1 (] (Non-cohesive) (6b)

When using the results of Standard Penetration Tests for V^-N^ correlations it
should be kept in mind that even small amounts of gravel, cobbles or boulders in the
soil may affect significantly the values of N^ and thus, distort the equations of
correlation. On the other hand the presence of a significant amount of gravel in a soil
affects the value of dynamic shear modulus and several experimental studies have
focused on this subject (Seed et al."; Bolognesi et al.*). Yoshida et al.*> have
developed an empirical correlation V^-NSPT for gravelly soils:

V.. (m/sec) = 55 (Pvm) (7)

where p^ = overburden in kPa


Empirical correlations V^-Ng^ were developed recently by Athanasopoulos*
based on measurements conducted on soils of Greece. The empirical equation which
was derived using the total group of 221 data points (with r = 0.73) is:

(m/sec) = 107.6 (8)

The scatter of data points and corresponding regression curve for this correlation
are shown in the diagram of Fig. 2, in both logarithmic and linear axes. Besides the
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509
22 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

ALL SOILS
n = 221-11, r = 0.75
V.(m/sec)=107.6(N,,,)"*

Figure 2: Correlation between V^ and N^pj in logarithmic and linear scales


(Athanasopoulos*)

correlation based on all available data, further correlations were also developed for the
two subgroups of data pertaining to non-gravelly and gravelly soils. The regression
equations for these correlations were found to be:

,, (m/sec) = 121.7 (r = 0.77, non-gravelly soils) (9a)

,, (m/sec) = 85.3 (r = 0.68, gravelly soils) 9b)

The values of V^ predicted by Eqn 8 and Eqn 9 were found to be higher than the
corresponding values of Equ 4 (Imai and Tonuchr*). This differentiation may be due,
in part to slight differences in the practice of SPT in Japan and Greece (Decourt et
al/). Finally, it should be noted that the Athanasopoulos* correlations included data
points from SPT measurements in which the penetration of Terzaghi samples was
incomplete (<0.45 m). The values of N^ in these cases were derived by linear
extrapolation of blow-count, taking into consideration the penetration achieved by 50
blows of the hammer.

3 Comparison Between the Greek Correlations

The reliability of "Athanasopoulos" correlation was recently evaluated


(Athanasopoulos*) and it was found that the empirical values of V^ may deviate by
-25% to +30% with respect to the measured values. It was further shown that when
performing seismic response analyses the peak ground accelerations may deviate by
30% whereas the peak spectral accelerations and velocities at the surface by -50%
to 4-35% when empirical measured values of V*, are used in the calculations.
In the following sections the results of comparisons between the two Greek
correlations ("Athanasopoulos" vs. "CLPW") are presented first in terms of V,* vs.
depth variation and then in terms of estimated seismic ground response at several sites
of Greece.
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 23

3.1 Comparison In Terms of V^ vs. Depth Variation


Values of V,* obtained from cross-hole measurements at 13 sites of Greece were
compared to the empirically derived values from the two Greek correlations. Fig. 3
shows the soil profile at SITE 2 and the measured values of N^ and V^ as a function
of depth. Empirical values of V,<, were estimated from the measured values of N^
and are shown together with the measured values of V^ in the first diagram of Fig.
4. According to this diagram the " Athanasopoulos" correlation results in values of V,*
which are higher than the corresponding values of "CLPW" correlation by + 5% to
+ 21% with an average value of 4-8%. The study of similar comparisons for the 13
sites showed that the deviation ranged from 0% to 40% with an average value of

3.2 Comparison In Terms of Seismic Ground Response


Seismic response analyses were conducted at the nine sites of the Greek city of
Kalamata described by Athanasopoulos^'*. The analyses were performed by using the
finite element program LUSH2 (Lysmer et al.")- The seismic excitation was applied
at the "equivalent" rigid base of each site (defined according to the criterion V.* >
750 m/sec) in the form of a synthetic accelerogram reported by Gazetas et al/. The
diagrams of Fig. 4 show the variation of peak values of acceleration, a^, cyclic shear
strain, y^> and cyclic shear stress, r^> with depth for SITE 2. According to these
diagrams for SITE 2 the average values of the three response parameters (a^, 7 max,
7"max) estimated on the basis of Athanasopoulos' values of G^, deviates by 10%,
-30% and 7% with respect to values obtained by using the "CLPW" vaues of G*.
The study of similar comparisons for all nine sites showed that the average values of
deviation were equal to 13%, 28% and 13% respectively.

SOIL PROFILE NSPT VSQ , m/sec


0 20 40 60 80 100 0 200 400 600 800
0 | i | i| i |i| .
SAND-GRAVEL
(CM)
10 10
SAND-GRAVEL
w/ Sandy Silt
(SW)
SANDY SILT (SW) 20
SAND-GRAVEL X
(GM-GC)
Q_
30 30

MARL
40 40

KALAMATA KALAMATA
SITE 2 SITE 2
50 50

Figure 3: Soil profile and measured values of Ngp^ and V^ for SITE 2
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

24 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

V ao , m/aec ^max , g Tmax , * , kPa


0 200 400 600 800 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 0 40 80 120 160
0, , , , , , , , , 0

20 - 20 . -

X 30 -
Q_
LU
O

KAUVMATA KALAMATA
SITE 2 SITE 2
Measured values of V., Empirical values of V*, (CLPW) --- Empirical values of V,, (Athanasopoulos)

Figure 4: Values of V^, as a function of depth for SITE 2

The deviation of "Athanasopoulos" correlation with respect to the "CLPW"


correlation in terms of acceleration response spectrum for SITE 2 is shown in Fig. 5.
According to this figure the deviation of peak spectral value is +16.5% whereas of
the corresponding value of period is -40.9%. The study of similar comparisons for all
nine sites showed that these deviations ranged from -20% to 4-9% and from -30% to
+ 17% respectively.
By comparing the deviations between the two empirical correlations to the
deviation from the measured values reported by Athanasopoulos*, one may readily see
that the former constitute only a fraction of the latter. Thus, it may be argued that the
empirically derived values of V, from the two Greek correlations do not deviate
significantly and either one or both may be used in preliminary estimations of seismic
soil response in Greece.

4 Conclusions

A review of available empirical V^-Nspj correlations was presented and the focus was
placed on two recent correlations developed for soils of Greece. The two Greek
correlations were then compared in terms of predicted values of V,* vs. depth and
predicted values of seismic soil response vs. depth. The comparisons were conducted
for a number of sites where measured values of V^ and N^ were available. It was
found that the "Athanasopoulos" correlation results in values of V^, which are higher
by 8.2%, on the average, with respect to the "CLPW" correlation. The peak values
of ground acceleration, cyclic shear strain and cyclic shear stress, obtained with the
"Athanasopoulos "correlation were found to deviate by + 13%, + 28% and + 13%,
on the average, with respect to the "CLPW" correlation. The corresponding deviation
in the peak spectral accelerations was found to range from -20% to +9%. It is
concluded that the deviation between the two empirical correlations constitutes only
a fraction of the deviations with respect to the measured values and for this reason use
Transactions on the Built Environment vol 14, 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 25

0.0
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.4

T , sec
Figure 5: Acceleration response spectra for SITE 2 obtained by using measured
and empirically derived values of V^

of either one or of both is recommended in applications involving sites of Greece.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks A. Georgiou-Meremetis and N. Zachariou, former civil engineering


students,and E. Leonidou, graduate student, Dept of Civil Engineering, University of
Patras, for their assistance in the preparation of this paper. He also expresses his
thanks to Prof. D. Beskos for making available the program LUSH 2.
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