The measurement of vertical shear-wave velocity using side-mounted bender elements in the triaxial apparatus

The use of bender elements to determine shear-wave velocity, pioneered by Shirley and Hampton (Shirley, 1978; Shirley & Hampton, 1978), appears deceptively simple. However, the continuing evolution of equipment and technique (e.g. Dyvik & Madshus, 1985; Viggiani & Atkinson, 1995; Jovičić et al., 1996; Pennington et al., 2001) bears testament to the fact that objective and absolute measurement remains a challenge.

The aim of the work described in this paper has been to improve the objectivity and repeatability of bender element shear-wave velocity measurements made in the triaxial apparatus. A technique...