The evaluation of hazards associated with liquefaction of silty and other fine-grained soils is an important consideration for many engineering projects. Over the past few years important progress has been made on this issue. The objective of this paper is to review and evaluate standard practice and recent developments relative to liquefaction resistance and ground deformation potential for silty and fine-grained soils. Findings from the study are as follows: (1) The SPT and CPT criteria presented in this report predict the occurrence and nonoccurrence of liquefaction with h igh reliability. (2) The Chinese criteria as listed in Table 1 are reliable for predicting liquefaction of fine grained sediments and are generally conservative. (3) Sensitive soils subject to loss of strength during seismic shaking typically have clay contents and liquid limits that exceed the Chinese criteria as listed in Table 1. The criteria in Table 3 may be used as screens for sensitive soils. (4) The post-liquefaction or residual strength of loose silty sediments is commonly less than that of sands. Moderately dense silts at shallow depths are generally dilative, making them generally more resistant to ground deformation than cleaner sands.
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