Katarzyna Gabryś

Deformation Behavior of Recycled Concrete Aggregate during Cyclic and Dynamic Loading Laboratory Tests

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is a relatively new construction material, whose applications can replace natural aggregates. To do so, extensive studies on its mechanical behavior and deformation characteristics are still necessary. RCA is currently used as a subbase material in the construction of roads, which are subject to high settlements due to traffic loading. The deformation characteristics of RCA must, therefore, be established to find the possible fatigue and damage behavior for this new material. In this article, a series of triaxial cyclic loading and resonant column tests is used to characterize fatigue in RCA as a function of applied deviator stress after long-term cyclic loading. A description of the shakedown phenomenon occurring in the RCA and calculations of its resilient modulus (Mr) as a function of fatigue are also presented. Test result analysis with the stress-life method on the Wohler S-N diagram shows the RCA behavior in accordance with the Basquin law.

Effect of Time on Dynamic Shear Modulus of Selected Cohesive Soil of One Section of Express Way No. S2 in Warsaw

Several researches published comprehensive reports on dynamic soil properties of cohesive soils, in which many of them outlined, i.e., key factors affecting the dynamic shear modulus. For cohesive soils, the modulus at small strains (g < 10t-3 %) is, first of all, a function of void ratio and effective confining stress. For clays, however, secondary time effects and clay mineralogy (fabric and structure) also appear to be important. The influence of confinement of laboratory-prepared as well as naturally deposited clays consists in an increase of shear modulus logarithmically as a function of time. In this paper, the effect of duration of the various confining pressures on dynamic shear modulus (G) of selected cohesive soils from Warsaw area was evaluated. Shear modulus was determined on the basis of resonant column tests, at low and high shearing strain amplitudes. It is shown that the calculated shear modulus is time-dependent; during approximately first 1000 minutes of consolidation, the moduli increased by almost 50%. Moreover, it is characterized by two phases: an initial one results from primary consolidation and a second one, which occurs after the end of primary consolidation, herein about 16-17 hours, and is called “long-term time effect”. This effect was found also for modulus at higher shearing strains (γ > 103%, e.g., 3 × 103%, 5 × 103%, 8 × 103%, 2 × 103%).

The analysis of consolidation in organic soils

The analysis of consolidation in organic soils This paper is devoted to the specific difficulties connected to construction on problematic soils. Different type of structures like: road embankments, flood control levees, dykes and dams are often located in soft subsoil areas, which consists mainly of peat, calcareous soil with a very high content of calcium carbonate and other high plasticity organic and no organic soils. These soils can be characterized as highly deformable with low initial shear strength and an insufficient bearing capacity. Soft soils show a large deformation, both vertically and horizontally, under load. The settlements often appear very quickly and can also continue for a long time. The consolidation process consists here of two main stages: primary settlement and secondary (and tertiary) settlement (creep). It is essential to have a good quality description of physical and mechanical properties of soil before the calculation and construction stage. For calculations of each stage of settlement the different physical and mechanical parameters of problematic soil are applied. In this paper the analysis of organic soils deformation process is presented. The deformation characteristics were defined on the basis of laboratory tests results. Soil investigations were performed on peat samples taken from test site located in Olsztyn region. Laboratory test of physical properties and consolidation tests in oedometer were carried out. Based on laboratory test results the empirical relationships between stress and deformation as well as stress and time were elaborated in order to describe the primary consolidation in organic soils. Analiza procesu konsolidacji w gruntach organicznych Artykuł jest poświęcony szczególnym trudnościom związanym z posadowieniem konstrukcji na gruntach słabonośnych. Różne rodzaje budowli m.in. nasypy drogowe, wały przeciwpowodziowe, tamy i zapory są często lokalizowane na gruntach słabych, składających się zwykle z torfu oraz gytii o dużej zawartości węglanu wapnia oraz innych, wysoce plastycznych organicznych bądź nieorganicznych gruntów. Omawiane grunty charakteryzuje wysoka odkształcalność przy małej początkowej wartości wytrzymałości na ścinanie. Ponadto, pod obciążeniem wykazują one duże deformacje, zarówno pionowe, jak i poziome. Osiadania pojawiają się szybko, ale mogą trwać przez dłuższy czas. Proces konsolidacji składa się z dwóch głównych etapów: osiadań natychmiastowych oraz osiadań konsolidacyjnych (pełzanie). Istotny jest zatem właściwy opis fizycznych oraz mechanicznych właściwości tych gruntów, wykorzystywany następnie przy obliczeniach i projektowaniu konstrukcji. W artykule przedstawiono analizę procesu konsolidacji gruntów organicznych, opartą na wynikach badań laboratoryjnych. Badania te przeprowadzono na próbkach torfu pobranych z poligonu doświadczalnego uczelni zlokalizowanego w okolicach Olsztyna. Badania laboratoryjne opierały się na analizie fizycznych właściwości gruntów oraz testach konsolidacyjnych, wykonanych w edometrach. Uzyskano empiryczne zależności pomiędzy naprężeniem oraz odkształceniem, jak również naprężeniem i czasem, które posłużyły do opisu konsolidacji pierwotnej w gruntach organicznych.

Material damping ratio from free-vibration method

Abstract One important aspect of soil dynamics is attenuation or energy loses. This inherent dynamic property is essential in the analysis of soil behavior subjected to a dynamic load. Energy absorption in soils leads to the definition of an equivalent viscous damping ratio (D). In resonant column testing there are commonly two different approaches in measuring material damping: during a steady-state vibration (SSV), when the specimen is vibrated at its first mode; and during free-vibration decay (FVD). The study reports results associated with the small to medium strain range material damping from FVD method, i.e. there is a cut off the constant vibration of the specimen at resonance and the specimen is allowed to free-vibration mode while the decay strain amplitude during free-vibration is calculated. The experiments were conducted on cohesive soils (sasiCl, Cl, clSa) from various test sites located in Warsaw, Poland. All the specimens were subjected to torsional mode of vibration at their first natural frequency, at different mean effective stress. The authors paid particular attention to the number of successive cycles after the free-vibration of the material is initiated. They examined various propositions from the literature and compare the received damping values using different number of cycles of vibration. The results showed that the most stable values of material damping ratio can be obtained by selecting each time a line of best fit on the authors’ choice of number of free-vibration cycles. However, the number of these cycles should not exceed 10.

Nonlinear dynamic properties of silty clay from Warsaw area

Abstract In this work, the small-strain and nonlinear dynamic properties of silty clay samples were studied by means of the low- and high-amplitude resonant column (RC) tests at various mean effective stresses (p’). The tested specimens were collected from the centre of Warsaw, district Śródmieście. Initially, the low-amplitude tests (below 0.001%) were conducted. Subsequently, the nonlinear testing was performed, at shearing strains greater than 0.001%. These tests were carried out in order to receive the dynamic properties of silty clay specimens in the nonlinear shear strain range. The small-strain material damping ratios (Dmin) of silty clay samples were also measured during the low-amplitude resonant column testing. The results show that increasing shear strain (γ) above the elastic threshold (γte) causes a decrease of the shear modulus (G) and normalized shear modulus (G/Gmax) of analyzed soil samples. Simultaneously, it is observed a increase of its damping ratio (D) and normalized damping (D/Dmin) with increasing shear strain (γ). Predictive equations for estimating normalized shear modulus and material damping of silty clay soils were presented here as well. The equations are based on a modified hyperbolic model and a statistical analysis of the RC tests results. The influence of unloading process on dynamic properties of the tested material was also discussed in the paper.

The evaluation of the initial shear modulus of selected cohesive soils

Abstract The paper concerns the evaluation of the initial stiffness of selected cohesive soils based on laboratory tests. The research materials used in this study were clayey soils taken from the area of the road embankment No. WD-18, on the 464th km of the S2 express-way, Konotopa-Airport route, Warsaw. The initial stiffness is represented here by the shear modulus (Gmax) determined during resonant column tests. In the article, a number of literature empirical formulas for defining initial value of the shear modulus of soils being examined were adopted from the literature in order to analyze the data set. However, a large discrepancy between laboratory test results and the values of Gmax calculated from empirical relationships resulted in the rejection of these proposals. They are inaccurate and do not allow for an exact evaluation of soil stiffness for selected cohesive soils. Hence, the authors proposed their own empirical formula that enables the evaluation of the test soils’ Gmax in an easy and uncomplicated way. This unique formula describes mathematically the effect of certain soil parameters, namely mean effective stress ( p′) and void ratio (e), on the initial soil stiffness.