Experimental and conceptual evidence about the limitations of shear wave velocity to predict liquefaction

Based on the liquefaction performance of sites with seismic activity, the normalized shear wave velocity, Vs1, has been proposed as a field parameter for liquefaction prediction. Because shear wave velocity, Vs, can be measured in the field with less effort and difficulty than other field tests, its use by practitioners is highly attractive. However, considering that its measurement is associated with small strain levels, of the order of 10−4–10−3%, Vs reflects the elastic stiffness of a granular material, hence, it is mainly affected by soil type, confining pressure and soil density, but it is insensitive to factors such as overconsolidation and pre-shaking, which have a strong influence on the liquefaction resistance. Therefore, without taking account of the important factors mentioned above, the correlation between shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance is weak.