Shear wave velocity as a geotechnical parameter: an overview

Shear wave velocity, Vs, is a soil mechanical property that can be advantageously measured in both the field and laboratory under real and controlled conditions. The measured Vs values are customarily used in conjunction with other in situ (e.g., standard penetration test blow count, N-SPT, and cone penetration resistance, qc-CPT) and laboratory (e.g., effective confining pressure, σ m ′ , and void ratio, e) measurements to establish an abundant number of Vs-based correlations that could later be utilized to augment (in some cases, replace) designated testing. An attempt is made here to present the salient features of some existing widely used correlations to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding about the nature of these correlations and their applicability in geotechnical engineering practices. It is recognized that the reliability of some of these empirical formulations, still in general use today, has been questioned, as they are characterized by their lack of dependence on stress stat...

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