Assessment of Differences in Liquefaction Potential Using Standard Penetration Test and Shear-Wave Velocity Data Obtained at 10 Sites in West Tennessee

This paper compares the liquefaction potential at 10 West Tennessee sites using two sets of field test data. The liquefaction potential at each test site is estimated using Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Shear-wave Velocity (Vs) measurements. Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI) is determined at each site, and comparisons are made between LPIs obtained using SPT and the Vs data. For most of the sites, LPIs based on Vs data are higher than the LPIs obtained using SPT N-values at the same location. The primary reasons for the differences in LPIs are the variation of empirical relationships for estimating cyclic resistance ratio (CRR), which is different between SPT and the Vs, and the impact of the weighting function of the LPI equation. CRR is mainly a function of and Vs1 values with depth for the SPT and Vs methods, respectively. The weighting function is dependent on the depth of the liquefiable layer. A comparison is made between the number and depth of liquefiable layers of SPT and Vs methods at each site. The number and depth of liquefiable layers are the primary reasons for differences in CRR and the weighting function impact; consequently, LPI.