In recent years, bender element (BE) testing has become a standard procedure used for the determination of the shear modulus of geomaterials. Before the test is conducted, the BE transducers are plugged on both ends of a soil sample. The installation of the BEs is likely to cause disturbance to the soil sample. This study seeks to investigate the effects of bender element installation on the measurement of shear wave velocity. The effects are examined by comparing the shear wave velocities measured before and after the receiver BE is penetrated to different penetration positions into the soil. By varying the rate of penetration of the bender, size of the sample and consolidation pressure during the test, it was found that the installation of the bender inside the clay sample did not cause disturbance to the sample.
An experimental technique for reconstructing the received wave of bender element tests based on linear system theory is shown in this paper. In order to identify the frequency response of testing apparatus, bender element tests using frequency-swept signals are performed. Received waves for one-period sine pulse transmitting with various frequencies are calculated and compared with observed waves in several kinds of soil samples and testing apparatuses. The linearity of the testing system is also conˆrmed by coherence function. It is shown that calculated data are less aŠected by random noise and show good agreement with observed data in regards to not only waveform itself but also resulting shear wave velocity. It is mentioned that this technique can provide simulations for arbitrary transmitted waveform with high signal/noise ratio after laboratory tests are performed. It is also mentioned that this technique is advantageous when su‹cient amplitude of received wave cannot be ensured or shear wave velocity must be veriˆed, for example, due to uncertainty of arrival time by near-ˆeld eŠect.
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