Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), effective 9 October 1993, sets new minimum design standards for Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Facilities (MSWLF); requiring design of these facilities for a peak horizontal ground acceleration with a probability of exceedance of 10 percent in 250 years. The seismic response of MSWLF has received very little study and is poorly understood. Little guidance is available for an engineer on the performance of these facilities during strong ground shaking. With the introduction of these Federal standards, the seismic design of landfills has taken on increased significance. The objective of this project is to measure insitu the small strain shear wave velocity profile at MSWLF to depths of 25 to 30 meters, at 6 MSWLF sites in the Los Angeles basin, using the spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) technique. The sites are chosen to provide a representative spectrum of the conditions likely to be encountered in practice. SASW is a non-intrusive geophysical measurement technique which is ideal for use at landfills, as it eliminates the health and safety problems associated with the soil borings required for conventional cross hole and down hole shear wave velocity measurements. For this research, a unique large mass Controlled Source Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (CSSASW) device will be used. The shear wave velocity profiles that result from this research program will be an invaluable aid to engineers and scientists analyzing the seismic response of MSWLF.
