Frequency Dependency of Laboratory Measurement of Maximum Shear Wave Velocity by Bender Elements

Maximum shear wave velocity is one of the most important dynamic parameters of soils which contributes in estimating the dynamic behaviour of soils through the maximum shear modulus. There are different methods for measuring shear wave velocity either in laboratory or in the field. One of the laboratory methods that recently has become popular due to its simplicity, is use of Bender Elements in soil samples. Contrary to its simplicity, it has several uncertainties in its data interpretation. Frequency at which the shear wave velocity is measured is one of the effective parameters that significantly affects the clearance of received wave. This article presents results from a laboratory investigation into the shear wave velocity measurement of remolded specimens of Firoozkooh sand. Specimens were subjected to 13 different levels of frequency and 11 different levels of confining pressure. Results shows that by increasing the confining pressure, the frequency at which the received wave has the best clearance, increases. It also shows that frequency dependence of soils increases by increasing the confining pressure.