What term describes the phenomenon where cohesionless saturated soil loses strength during an earthquake?

Prepare for your GERTC Hydraulics, Pneumatics, and Geotechnical Engineering Test. Study with multiple choice questions, detailed hints, and explanations. Get set for the HPGE exam!

Liquefaction is the term that accurately describes the phenomenon where cohesionless saturated soil loses strength during an earthquake. Under seismic shaking, the pore water pressure in the soil increases, which can reduce the effective stress and lead to a situation where the soil behaves like a liquid. This is particularly critical in loose, saturated sands and silty soils, where the grains have little cohesion. When the stresses induced by the earthquake exceed the soil's inherent frictional resistance, the result can be a sudden and significant loss of bearing capacity, causing structures to settle or tilt, or even completely collapse.

Consolidation refers to the process where soil gradually decreases in volume due to the expulsion of water under sustained load, and it is not directly related to the instant loss of strength during seismic activity. Compaction is a method used to densify soil, removing air gaps to increase strength, but it does not pertain to soil behavior during an earthquake. Shear failure involves the sliding or fracturing along a failure plane due to applied shear stress but does not specifically address the behavior of saturated cohesionless soil under dynamic conditions such as an earthquake. Thus, liquefaction is the correct and specific term for this phenomenon.

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