Effect of bender element installation in clay samples

Abstract

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.