D. Wanatowski

Modified state parameter for characterizing static liquefaction of sand with fines.

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the static liquefaction behaviour of sand with a small amount of plastic and nonplastic fines. Five series of tests were conducted in drained and undrained conditions. The drained test results indicate not only that the failure line coincides with the critical state, but also that the development of volumetric strain during shearing was not sensitive to the initial confining pressure. In both isotropically and anisotropically consolidated undrained tests, a so-called “reverse behaviour” was consistently observed. The results were also interpreted in the critical state framework. The critical and steady state (CS/SS) data were found to trace along the same curve in e–log( p′) space, irrespective of the stress history and effective stress paths. A comparison between the isotropic consolidation line (ICL) and critical state (CS) curve showed that a small amount of fines can significantly change the shape and position of the ICL relative to the CS curve. Fu...

Noncoaxial Behavior of Sand under Various Stress Paths

AbstractIn this paper, the results of three series of drained tests carried out on sands using hollow cylinder apparatus are presented. The noncoaxiality, defined as the difference between the major principal stress direction and the corresponding principal strain increment direction, is investigated. In the first series of tests, the sand was isotropically consolidated before being sheared with the fixed principal stress direction. In the other two series of tests, the sand specimens were isotropically consolidated and then sheared by rotating the major principal stress axes while the deviator stress level was either fixed (pure stress rotation) or increased continuously (combined shear loading). The experimental results provide clear evidence for material noncoaxiality when the rotation of principal stress direction is involved. The results from these series of tests show that the degree of noncoaxiality depends on the level of deviatoric stress and the stress increment direction. It tends to decrease w...

Instability of Loose Sand under Drained Conditions

A type of prefailure instability which occurs under fully drained conditions is studied in this paper. It is observed experimentally that when a specimen is sheared along a drained stress path involving a decrease in effective mean stress, it becomes unstable after the stress path crosses an instability line. The instability occurring under drained conditions is different from the type observed under undrained conditions. The differences and similarities between the two types of instability are elaborated. The practical implication of the study in analyzing the failure mechanisms of granular soil slope is also discussed.

Stress-Strain Behavior of a Granular Fill Measured by a New Plane-Strain Apparatus

In this paper a new plane-strain apparatus is described. The main feature of the plane-strain apparatus is that the intermediate principal stress can be measured by four submersible pressure transducers. Experimental data obtained from drained tests on very loose to medium dense sand are presented. The strength and deformation behavior of the sand under plane-strain conditions and shear band formation are studied. The results show that the failure envelope obtained from plane-strain tests is lower than that from triaxial tests. However, in terms of friction angle, the value obtained from plane-strain tests is higher than that from triaxial tests. The critical state line obtained under plane-strain conditions is also different from that under axisymmetric conditions. Under plane-strain conditions, shear bands occur for medium loose to dense specimens. However, no visible shear bands are observed for very loose specimens. This is consistent with the study reported by Han and Vardoulakis (1991) but different from that by Finno et al. (1996, 1997).

Drained behaviour of cemented sand in high pressure triaxial compression tests

In this paper, drained behaviour of cemented sand under high pressure is studied. A recently developed high pressure triaxial apparatus is used. The test results indicate the significance of degree of cementation and confining pressure on the isotropic compression, volumetric change, stress-strain behaviour and stress-dilatancy relationship of cemented sand at high confining pressures. The results suggest that the influence of cementation is greater at low confining stresses and it reduces with increasing confining stress where the effect of the confining pressure becomes dominant. A Scanning Electron Microscope analysis has also been included in the paper. It revealed that the particle and cement bonding breakage at high pressure is dependent on the stress level and the cement content. The higher the confining pressure the more significant particle and cement bonding breakage is observed. The higher the cement content the fewer sand particles and cement bonds are broken.

Effect of Specimen Preparation Method on the Stress-Strain Behavior of Sand in Plane-Strain Compression Tests

Experimental results are presented in this paper to study the effect of specimen preparation method on the stress-strain behavior of sand in plane-strain compression tests. The data obtained from K0 consolidation, drained, undrained and strain path tests conducted on medium loose specimens prepared by the moist-tamping (MT) and the water sedimentation (WS) methods are compared. The test data show that the plane-strain compression behavior of medium loose sand under K0, drained and strain-path controlled (including undrained) conditions is affected by the speci- men preparation method. Under K0 conditions, the K0 values obtained from the MT specimens are generally lower than those obtained from the WS specimens. Under drained conditions, more contractive behavior was observed for the MT sand. However, the failure stress ratio (or the failure friction angle) was not affected by the specimen preparation method. The data presented in this paper also illustrate that the compression behavior of medium loose sand in strain-path testing can be affected by the specimen preparation method. However, the differences in the stress-strain behavior will also depend on the strain increment ratio (d v/d 1) imposed on the specimens. In general, different behaviors of the moist-tamped and water- deposited specimens reflect the influence of soil fabrics on the stress-strain behavior of sand.

Undrained behaviour of Changi sand in triaxial and plane-strain compression

The results of an experimental study of the undrained behaviour of Changi sand under axisymmetric and plane-strain conditions are presented. K0 consolidated undrained plane-strain tests and K0 or isotropically consolidated triaxial tests on very loose and medium dense specimens were conducted. The undrained behaviour of sand at very loose and medium dense states under plane-strain conditions was characterised and compared with that under axisymmetric conditions. It was observed that the undrained behaviour of very loose and medium dense sand under plane strain is similar to that under axisymmetric conditions. However, because of the formation of shear bands in plane-strain tests, the post-peak behaviour of medium dense sand in plane strain is different from that in triaxial tests. It was also established that an instability line for plane-strain conditions can be defined in a way similar to that for axisymmetric conditions. Using the state parameter, a unified relationship between the normalised slope of instability line and the state parameters can be established for both axisymmetric and plane-strain conditions. Using this relationship, the instability conditions established under axisymmetric conditions can be used for plane-strain conditions.

Experimental investigation on the deformation characteristics of granular materials under drained rotational shear

Rotational shear is the type of loading path where samples are subjected to cyclic rotation of principal stress directions while the magnitudes of principal stresses are maintained constant. This paper presents results from an experimental investigation on the drained deformation behaviour of saturated sand in rotational shear conducted in a hollow cylinder apparatus. Two types of granular materials, Leighton Buzzard sand and glass beads are tested. A range of influential factors are investigated including the material density, the deviatoric stress level, and the intermediate principal stress. It is observed that the volumetric strain during rotational shear is mainly contractive and most of strains are generated during the first 20 cycles. The mechanical behaviour of sand under rotational shear is generally non-coaxial, i.e., there is no coincidence between the principal axes of stress and incremental strain, and the variation of the non-coaxiality shows a periodic trend during the tests. The stress ratio has a significant effect on soil response in rotational shear. The larger the stress ratio, the more contractive behaviour and the lower degree of non-coaxiality are induced. The test also demonstrates that the effect of the intermediate principal stress, material density and particle shape on the results is pronounced.

Effectiveness of chloride salts on the behaviour of lime-stabilised organic clay

In addition, the influence of 0.5% CaCl2 and 0.5% NaCl on the behaviour of lime-treated organic clay is investigated. Changes in soils microstructure due to the addition of chloride salts were also examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). 2. MATERIALS Artificial organic clay used in this study was prepared by mixing commercial kaolin with 0%, 0.5%, 1.5% and 3% commercial humic acid contents according to the dry mass of kaolin. The chemical elements present in each soil mixture are listed in Table 1. Table 1. Chemical elements in the tested soils. Element ABSTRACT: The presence of organic matter, in particular humic acid, is one of the most important factors affecting the effectiveness of lime stabilisation of clays. In this paper, an investigation on the effects of humic acid and chloride salts on the strength of lime-stabilised organic clay is presented. Different humic acid contents of 0.5%, 1.5% and 3.0% were mixed with kaolin prior to the stabilisation with 5%, 10% and 15% hydrated lime. The strength of the lime-treated organic clay was analysed using the Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) tests at different curing periods of 7, 28 and 90 days and further verified by microstructure analysis. The results showed that a significant strength loss was obtained beyond 1.5% humic acid content and the strength was diminished at longer curing periods. However, by adding 0.5% chloride salts, the behaviour of lime-treated specimens with 1.5% humic acid content was successfully improved.

An Experimental Evaluation of the Weathering Effects on Mine Shaft Lining Materials

Many shaft collapses are related to the deterioration and failure of the masonry shaft lining materials. In modern mine shaft, concrete is widely used to provide support. To analyse shafts stability, the properties of the lining need to be well defined. The behaviour of masonry and concrete can be considerably affected by long-term exposure to harsh mine water. This paper presents a study which focuses on the weathering effects of mine water on lining materials (brick, mortar, and concrete). To reproduce the weathering process, samples were placed into solutions of potable water, artificial mine water, and a more aggressive mine-water solution for just less than one year. Four phases of laboratory tests were conducted throughout the time period to assess the degradation of mechanical properties of the lining materials. Particular attention is given to the degradation of material strength and stiffness. Results indicate that the harsh acidic mine water has pronounced detrimental effects on the strength and stiffness of mortar. The weathering process is shown to have the most significant effect on the stiffness of concrete and mortar. It is also shown that the use of mass loss as an index for evaluation of mechanical properties may not be appropriate.