Effects of wetting and ageing on 1D elasto-viscoplastic behaviour of cement-mixed clay and model simulation

The combined effects of wetting, the viscous property and ageing on the one-dimensional (1D) compression characteristics of kaolin were evaluated. Two series of special constant-rate-of-strain (CRS) 1D compression tests, with sustained loading at intermediate stages, were performed on kaolin with and without cement-mixing. Most of the air-dried specimens were made partially or fully saturated at intermediate stress levels. The effects of the degree of saturation, the wetting process period, the stress level at which wetting was made, the strain rate during loading and the over-consolidation history applied by compaction during the preparation of the specimens were evaluated. The effects of wetting, viscous property and ageing, observed in the experiments, were significant and complicated. A non-linear three-component elasto-viscoplastic model, that had been modified to take into account the effects of wetting, was further modified to account for the ageing effects. The effects of wetting and ageing were described by a decrease and an increase in the inviscid yield stress at a fixed irreversible strain in the plastic component. The viscous property changed from the basic type, Isotach to TESRA as the ageing effects due to cement-hydration developed. The stress–strain relations and the time histories of stress and strain, during complicated loading and wetting histories applied in the experiments, were successfully simulated by the modified model.     

Ageing Effects on the Yielding Characteristics of Cement-Mixed Granular Materials

Ageing effects on the elasto-viscoplastic property of compacted moist cement-mixed granular material (GM) were evaluated by performing a series of non-standard drained triaxial compression (TC) tests. Two types of GM, crushed gravelly soil from a quarry and crushed concrete aggregate (i.e., a recycled material), were used. The specimens were produced by moist-compaction and then cured at constant water content under unstressed conditions for seven days. They were re-cured basically for two days under different stress states during otherwise drained TC loading at a constant strain rate. Yielding characteristics upon the restart of drained monotonic loading (ML) at a constant strain rate toward ultimate failure at the same or increased or decreased confining pressure were evaluated. The stress-strain behaviour before the stress state reaches the current yield locus is very stiff and highly reversible. Unlike elasto-plastic materials exhibiting no ageing effects, the yield locus expands during sustained loading at a fixed effective stress state due to not only yielding associated with creep deformation, controlled basically by the viscous property, but also ageing, controlled basically by time-elapsing. The shape and location of current yield locus depends on the location of the current stress state relative to the current ultimate failure envelope. The observed yield characteristics were analyzed based on a newly introduced interactive double-yield concept while in the framework of the non-linear three-component elasto-viscoplastic model that takes into account ageing effects as well as an interaction between ageing and inviscid yielding (and its potential decay by irreversible straining). The trends of stress-strain-time behaviour observed with the two types of cement-mixed GMs are essentially the same.     

加载速率变化条件下砂土的黏塑特性及本构模型

 分析并研究饱和的、风干的砂土在平面应变压缩试验条件下的弹黏塑性特征,尤其是黏性特性。加载速率效应、蠕变以及应力松弛都是砂土材料本身黏性的反映,而与超孔隙水压力的消散无关。试验不仅实现了应变率逐步变化加载过程,同时也实现了蠕变加载和应力松弛过程。试验结果表明,在加载应变率发生突变时,对砂土应力–应变关系有明显的影响,呈现出刚性很高、近似于弹性的特性,而后随着应变的进一步增加,在明显屈服之后黏性应力逐渐衰减至基本惟一的应力–应变曲线。类似现象同样也发生在蠕变加载或应力松弛后以一恒定应变率突然重新加载的情况。基于非线性三要素模型框架,针对所观察到的砂土黏性特性,提出一种弹黏塑性本构模型。该模型可以描述砂土在任意加载历史下的黏性效应,包括加载应变率发生任意变化时的应力–应变响应、蠕变以及应力松弛。最后,利用该模型对上述砂土平面应变压缩试验结果进行模拟,所提案的三要素弹黏塑性本构模型能够很好地模拟砂土的黏性特性。     

A Simple Pneumatic Loading System Controlling Stress and Strain Rates for One-Dimensional Compression of Clay

A simple but automated pneumatic loading system that can control the stress and strain rates for one-dimensional (1D) compression of clay was developed. The rate-dependency of stress-strain behaviour due to the viscous property of clay was investigated by 1D compression tests on standard-size specimens by various loading methods: 1) Standard Consolidation Tests (SCTs), stepwise increasing the axial stress two times every one day; 2) ordinary Constant-Rate-of-Strain (CRS) tests at different strain rates; 3) special CRS tests including unloading and reloading cycles with different stress amplitudes at strain rates of which the absolute value was either kept constant throughout respective tests or changed at the start of reloading; and 4) special CRS tests including a number of sustained loading (SL) during otherwise primary loading or unloading or reloading at constant strain rate. Sufficiently low strain rates were employed to ensure essentially fully drained condition. The followings were found. Despite that the newly developed pneumatic loading system is rather simple, 1D compression tests following such various loading histories as above can be performed on four types of clay rather accurately. The stress-strain behaviour of clay is significantly rate-dependent, exhibiting significant creep strains at SL stages. The creep strain rate is significantly different whether SL starts during otherwise primary loading or unloading or reloading, controlled by the magnitude and sign of the initial strain rate at the start of SL. The whole observed trends of rate-dependent stress-strain behaviour can be qualitatively explained by the non-linear three-component elasto-viscoplastic model extended to cyclic loading conditions.     

Modelling and Simulation of Rate-Dependent Stress-Strain Behaviour of Granular Materials in Shear

A constitutive modelling of the elasto-viscoplastic stress-strain behaviour of geomaterials in shear that has been developed within a non-linear three-component model framework is validated by simulating a comprehensive series of drained triaxial compression (TC) and direct shear (DS) tests on a wide variety of granular materials. Illustrative simulations of rate-dependent stress-strain behaviour of geomaterial under typical laboratory test conditions were performed to analyse the structure of the model. The versatility of the proposed model and its applicability to a wide variety of shear loading histories is examined and demonstrated by these simulations. The following results are shown. Commonly with different basic viscosity types, Isotach, TESRA and P&N, the viscous stress component has a positive component that increases with an increase in the irreversible strain rate, which makes feasible stable and realistic simulations of rate-dependent stress-strain behaviour, including creep deformation, based on the proposed model. With different unbound granular material types having similar relative densities, the creep strain in TC tests and creep shear displacement in DS tests that develop by sustained loading at a given shear stress level for a given period tends to decrease with an increase in the particle roundness. This trend of behaviours is explained by a decrease in the viscosity type parameter, θ, associated with an increase in the particle roundness based on the simulations of these tests.     

Strain Energy-Based Elasto-Viscoplastic Constitutive Modelling of Sand for Numerical Simulation

It is shown that the use of visco-plastic shear or volumetric strain as the stress history-independent hardening parameter in an elasto-viscoplastic model for sand may result in inaccurate numerical simulations of geotechnical boundary value problems. A new elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model for sand is proposed, formulated based on a stress path-independent irreversible (or visco-plastic) strain energy-based hardening function. The function was derived based on results from drained plane strain compression (PSC) tests on saturated dense Toyoura sand along a wide variety of stress path. The model is coupled with an existing isotropically work-hardening and -softening, non-associated, elasto-plastic model for sand. The constitutive model takes into account the effects of loading rate due to viscous properties on the stress-strain behaviour as well as those of pressure level, inherent anisotropy and void ratio and work softening associated with strain localization into a shear band. It is shown that the proposed model can much better simulate the effects of stress history on the deformation characteristics of sand than many previous models. The FEM code incorporating the model is validated by simulating physical PSC tests and bearing capacity model tests of a strip footing on sand performed by previous studies.     

Time-Dependent Shear Deformation Characteristics of Sand and their Constitutive Modelling

Time-dependent (viscous) characteristics of the shear stress and shear strain behaviour of water-saturated or air- dried specimens of clean sands (Hostun and Toyoura sands) observed in a series of drained plane strain compression tests are presented. The overall shear stress-shear strain relationships were very similar in a set of monotonic loading tests performed at constant axial strain rates that were different by a factor of up to 500. Despite the above, significant viscous effects on the stress-strain behaviour were observed, a) when the strain rate was changed stepwise or at a constant rate, b) at creep and stress relaxation stages, and c) immediately after loading was restarted at a constant strain rate following a creep stage. One type of constitutive model was developed in the framework of the general three-component model to simulate these behaviours. According to this model, the strain is decomposed into elastic and irreversible components, while the stress is decomposed into time-independent and dependent components. This model was developed to simulate such experimental results in that the time-dependent stress component changes not only when the irreversible shear strain rate changes but also when loading continues at a certain constant irreversible shear strain rate, while these viscous effects decay with an increase in the irreversible shear strain. The rationales for the structure of the proposed model obtained from the experiment are presented. It is shown that this model can simulate well the experimental observations described above, although they were obtained under certain limited test conditions.     

Residual Deformation of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Sand in Plane Strain Compression Affected by Viscous Properties of Geosynthetic Reinforcement

A series of plane strain compression (PSC) tests were performed on large sand specimens unreinforced or reinforced with prototype geosynthetic reinforcements, either of two geogrid types and one geocomposite type. Local tensile strains in the reinforcement were measured by using two types of strain gauges. Sustained loading (SL) under fixed boundary stress conditions and cyclic loading (CL) tests were performed during otherwise monotonic loading at a constant strain rate to evaluate the development of creep deformation by SL and residual deformation by CL of geosynthetic-reinforced sand and also residual strains in the reinforcement by these loading histories. It is shown that the creep deformation of geosynthetic-reinforced sand develops due to the viscous properties of both sand and geosynthetic reinforcement, while the residual deformation of geosynthetic-reinforced sand during CL (defined at the peak stress state during CL) consists of two components: i) the one by the viscous properties of sand and reinforcement; and ii) the other by rate-independent cyclic loading effects with sand. The development of residual deformation of geosynthetic-reinforced sand by SL and CL histories had no negative effects on the subsequent stress-strain behaviour and the compressive strength was maintained as the original value or even became larger by such SL and CL histories. The local tensile strains in the geosynthetic reinforcement arranged in the sand specimen subjected to SL decreased noticeably with time, due mainly to lateral compressive creep strains in sand during SL of geosynthetic-reinforced sand. This result indicates that, with geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures designed to have a sufficiently high safety factor under static loading conditions because of seismic design, it is overly conservative to assume that the tensile load in the geosynthetic reinforcement is maintained constant for long life time. Moreover, during CL of geosynthetic-reinforced sand, the residual tensile strains in the geosynthetic reinforcement did not increase like global strains in the geosynthetic-reinforced sand that increased significantly during CL. These different trends of behaviour were also due to the creep compressive strains in the lateral direction of sand that developed during CL of geosynthetic-reinforced sand.     

Effects of Reinforcement type and Loading History on the Deformation of Reinforced Sand in Plane Strain Compression

To evaluate the effects of reinforcement type in terms of stiffness, viscous property, rupture strength, shape and loading history on the stress-strain behaviour during primary, sustained and cyclic loading of reinforced sand, a series of drained plane strain compression tests were performed on Toyoura sand. The sand specimens were reinforced with two types of polymer geogrid as well as two types of metal grid, having largely different stiffness values and surface conditions. Despite that the effects of reinforcement type on the overall stress-strain characteristics of reinforced sand and their rate-dependency are significant during primary loading, the effects are much smaller than the difference in the stiffness of reinforcement. The effects of reinforcement type on the global unloading behaviour and the residual strain by cyclic loading during otherwise global unloading are generally insignificant or negligible. The residual strains by cyclic loading of reinforced sand became substantially small by preloading as well as pre-sustained loading and pre-cyclic loading at higher load levels. With this procedure, polymer geosynthetic reinforcement, which is much more extensible and viscous than metal reinforcement, can be used to reinforce soil structures allowing very limited residual deformation.     

Fem Simulation of the Viscous Effects on the Stress-Strain Behaviour of Sand in Plane Strain Compression

A stress-strain model called TESRA (Temporary Effects of Strain Rate and Acceleration), described in a non-linear three-component framework, has been proposed to simulate the effects of viscous property on the stress-strain behaviour observed in drained plane strain compression (PSC) tests on clean sands. According to the TESRA model, the current viscous stress component is obtained by integrating for a given history of irreversible strain increments of viscous stress component that developed by respective instantaneous irrecoverable strain increment and its rate and have decayed with an increase in the irreversible strain until the present. The TESRA model was implemented into a generalized elasto-plastic isotropic strain-hardening non-linear FE code. The integration scheme to obtain the viscous and inviscid stress components according to the TESRA model in FEM analysis needs some specific considerations including the relevant choice of the suitable rate parameter. The shear stress—shear (or axial) strain—time relations from five drained PSC tests on saturated Toyoura sand and air-dried Hostun sand were successfully simulated by the FE code embedded with the TESRA model. It is shown that the FE code can simulate the time-dependent stress-strain behaviour of sand accurately without spending any significant extra computational time or storage. The results of simulation using one element and multi-element are essentially the same.     

Rate Effects on the Stress-Strain Behaviour of Eps Geofoam

The rate-dependency of the stress-strain behavior of EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) geofoam with densities of 19.3 and 28.0 kg/m³ was investigated by performing unconventional unconfined compression tests. A set of monotonic loading (ML) tests were performed at different constant values of vertical (axial) strain rate, ε_v. The ε_v value was stepwise changed many times and several sustained loading (SL) tests were performed during otherwise ML at a constant ε_v in other tests. A number of SL tests were performed during global unload and reload cycles to infer the stress-strain relation when ε_v=0. The elastic properties were evaluated by applying minute unload/reload cycles during otherwise ML. The rate-dependent stress-strain behaviour observed in these tests was described by an elasto-viscoplastic model (i.e., a non-linear three-component model), for which the vertical (axial) stress, σ_v, consists of inviscid and viscous components, σ_v^f and σ_v^v, while ε_v consists of elastic and irreversible components, ε_v^e and ε_v^ir. It is shown that the viscous property of EPS geofoam is of Isotach type in that, under the loading conditions where ε_v^ir is always positive, the current σ_v^v value is a unique function of instantaneous ε_v^ir and ε_v^ir, therefore the strength increases with ε_v. This viscous property was quantified based on the test results and incorporated into the model. The rate-dependent stress-strain behaviour, including the creep behaviour, observed in the experiment is simulated very well by the proposed model. In particular, the fact that the creep strain becomes significant when the sustained σ_v value becomes larger than the inviscid yield vertical stress is well simulated.     

一个能够模拟软土时效特性的简单弹黏塑性模型(英文)

基于Perzyna超应力理论与修正剑桥模型,建立了一个能够模拟软土时效特性的简单的弹黏塑性本构模型,提出了参数的实验室确定方法。以室内试验为基础,模拟了不同试验条件下软土的时效特性:应变速率对先期固结压力和不排水抗剪强度的影响;一维固结与次固结特征及竖向应力对次固结系数的影响;不同应力水平下的不排水蠕变特征;不同应变水平下的应力松弛特征。通过实验数据与数值模拟的比较,对模型进行了验证,发现上述本构模型能够较好地描述不同加载路径下的正常固结与微超固结土的时效特征。同时,通过对同一试样的多阶段加卸载三轴实验、现场压力仪实验及实验室压力仪实验的模拟,发现此模型可以较好地拟合实验过程中复杂应力路径下软土的时效特征。     

Undrained creep behavior of CO2 hydrate-bearing sand and its constitutive modeling considering the cementing effect of hydrates

A technique for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture and storage using CO₂ hydrates where CO₂ is stored as solid hydrates in the seabed ground, is attracting attention. Shallow sediments may be the most suitable seabed ground for CO₂ hydrate storage because these unconsolidated soil sediments satisfy the limitation for the low-temperature condition. Hence, the deformation properties and long-term stability of gas hydrate-bearing sediments during and after gas storage must be investigated. In this study, a series of undrained triaxial creep tests were conducted on artificially made CO₂ hydrate-bearing sand specimens to study the fundamental time dependent property of hydrate-bearing sediment. We extended an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model by introducing a cohesion component and its degradation on surfaces and applied the proposed model to creep tests on gas hydrate-bearing sand.Three findings were obtained from the experiments and modelling. First, CO₂ hydrate-bearing sand specimens showed accelerated creep behavior, which was characterized by the creep stress ratio level, regardless of the hydrate saturation. Second, creep accelerated under undrained conditions before the stress reached the critical state line obtained from the monotonic loading tests, and the stress ratio at the occurrence of acceleration creep was higher for specimens with a higher hydrate saturation. Third, the elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model which considered the cementing effect of hydrates was able to well reproduce the undrained creep behavior of hydrate-bearing sand with different hydrate saturations under relatively high creep stress levels.     

单轴试验条件下粘土的粘塑性与模拟计算

利用饱和、湿润、风干以及烘干的藤森粘土的单轴排水固结试验进行了粘土粘塑性研究。试验过程中采用计算机应变控制的控制式三轴仪来实现加载速率，可在不同加载阶段实现不同的恒应变率加载试验。试验结果表明：各种不同饱和度藤森粘土的粘塑性都表现为等时特性；经过一定时间的蠕变后，粘土弹性模量会有较大的提高，且藤森粘土所表现出的粘塑性与粘土含水量的大小无关。研究结果表明，粘土的粘塑性应力-应变特性可以采用非线性三要素模型进行较好的描述。     

基于广义塑性理论的堆石料动力本构模型研究

分析了堆石料在等幅与不等幅应力循环荷载作用下的变形特性,以此为基础,确定了不同加载过程中堆石料的剪胀方程,加载方向,切线模量及塑性模量,建立了一个可以考虑堆石料循环加载特性的广义塑性本构模型.模型将所有的加卸载阶段都视为弹塑性过程,并在剪胀方程中引入老化函数来考虑体积应变积累对剪胀(缩)性的影响.模型共有12个参数,均可通过常规室内单调及循环加载试验确定.为验证模型的有效性,依据试验资料确定了两种不同堆石料的本构模型参数,并对等幅循环三轴压缩与不等幅循环三轴压缩试验进行了模拟.两种材料在不同围压下的模型预测结果与试验数据均吻合良好,表明模型可以有效地反映循环荷载作用下堆石料应力应变曲线的滞回特性与永久变形的积累.     

Viscous Property of Toyoura Sand Over a Wide Range of Shear Deformation Rate and its Model Simulation

As part of a long-term research program to evaluate the rate effects on the stress-strain behaviour of geomaterials, the viscous properties of a poorly-graded relatively angular quartz-rich sand, Toyoura sand, under air-dried conditions, were investigated by performing a comprehensive series of direct shear (DS) tests at a fixed normal stress equal to 50 kPa. The tests were performed on loose and dense specimens subjected to the following different loading histories: a) monotonic loading (ML) at constant shear displacement rate (s) differing by a factor up to 100,000; b) ML at constant s including otherwise a number of step changes in s by a factor of 100; and c) a number of sustained loading (SL) stages during otherwise ML at constant values of s differing by a factor up to 1,000. Tests a) revealed that, with dense specimens, the peak shear strength is remarkably independent of s while the residual shear strength noticeably decreases with an increase in s. That is, the viscous property is the so-called TESRA type at the peak stress state, while it is the so-called Positive & Negative (P&N) type at the residual state. With loose specimens, both peak and residual shear strengths decrease with an increase in s, indicating that the viscous property is already the P&N type at the peak stress state and definitely so at the residual state. These results are qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with those from tests b), by which the viscosity properties were quantified in terms of the rate-sensitivity coefficient. The results from tests c) showed that creep shear displacement, Δs, increases with a decrease in the tangent stiffness at the immediately preceding ML phase or with an increase in the shear stress level during the SL stage. The value of Δs for a given period steadily increases with an increase in s during the immediately preceding ML phase. These trends of viscous behaviour are simulated all very well by a non-linear three-component model incorporating a general expression of viscous stress.     

土质心墙堆石坝应力和变形研究

论述了考虑坝体流变和上游坝壳料浸水变形特性的土质心墙堆石坝应力和变形的计算方法，以黑河水库大坝为例，采用三维有效应力法对坝体的应力和变彤特性进行了分析研究，结合已有的坝体变形观测资料，反馈分析了坝体流变模型参数，并对坝体的后期变形进行了预测，重点研究了心墙应力、拱效应和心墙开裂等特性。     

等向应力下原状黄土的压缩及增湿变形特性研究

 用非饱和土三轴剪切渗透仪,在等向应力条件下对原状黄土进行增湿–加载,加载–增湿及加载–增湿–加载3个系列加载增湿路径试验,分析吸力对压缩变形和加载屈服特性的影响,探讨增湿时应力对变形及屈服特性的影响,通过对单线法及双线法的试验结果对比,确认原状黄土的增湿体积变形与加载增湿路径有关,加载及增湿屈服线不具有唯一性,进而提出等向应力条件下原状黄土的弹塑性体变模型。研究结果表明：吸力及应力分别对屈服前压缩及增湿变形特性指标几乎没有影响,而对屈服后的指标皆有明显的影响;单线法与双线法确定的增湿体积变形皆随应力的增大而先增大后减小,峰值点处应力与吸力丧失程度及加载增湿路径无关,且近似等于天然状态土样的初始屈服应力;增湿变形与加载增湿路径有关,单线法的值比双线法确定的值小,差值随增湿程度增大而减小,增湿至饱和时2种方法确定的湿陷变形近似相等。对于相同的塑性体应变,吸力减小屈服线位于加载屈服线之下方,二者随塑性体应变的增大而耦合联动扩大。提出的弹塑性体变模型可以较好地预测不同吸力下的压缩变形,比采用唯一加载湿陷屈服线的模型更好地预测不同应力下增湿变形。     

Rate-Dependent Load-Strain Behaviour of Geogrid Arranged in Sand Under Plane Strain Compression

A number of previous experimental studies showed that polymer geogrid reinforcement as well as sand exhibit significantly rate-dependent behaviour. The viscous properties of polymer geogrids and Toyoura sand were independently evaluated by changing stepwise the strain rate as well as performing sustained loading and load/stress relaxation tests during otherwise monotonic loading in, respectively, tensile loading tests and drained plane strain compression (PSC) tests. The viscous properties of the two types of material were separately formulated in the same framework of non-linear three-component rheology model. The viscous response of geogrid-reinforced sand in PSC is significant, controlled by viscous properties of geogrid and sand. Local strain distributions in the reinforced sand specimen were evaluated by photogrametric analysis and used to determine the time history of the tensile strain in the geogrid. The time history of tensile load activated in the geogrid during sustained loading of reinforced sand specimen was deduced by analysing the measured time history of geogrid strain by the non-linear three-component model. It was found that the tensile load in the geogrid reinforcement arranged in a sand specimen subjected to fixed boundary loads could decrease with time. In that case, the possibility of creep rupture of geogrid is very low.     

考虑应力路径和加载速率效应砂土的弹黏塑性本构模型

 利用室内多应力路径平面应变压缩试验结果,分析和研究密实砂土变形和强度特征的应力路径和加载速率效应。试验结果表明：一方面,不可恢复体积应变和剪切应变都具有明显的应力路径相关性,因而在传统塑性理论中将其作为硬化参量存在不合理性;另一方面,砂土的应力–应变特性与加载速率的变化存在着显著的关系。加载速率效应与蠕变和应力松弛一样均是砂土黏性的外在反映,其最重要的特征之一是加载速率发生突变时,应力也发生相应的突变,并呈现出刚性很大、近似弹性的特性。对试验结果的进一步分析发现,一种修正的不可恢复应变能W ir*及相关的函数与应力路径不相关。将W ir*作为硬化参量,并在非线性三要素模型的理论框架下,提出一种基于能量的砂土弹黏塑性本构模型。该模型可以考虑应力路径、压力水平、固有各向异性、孔隙比等因素对砂土变形和强度特征的影响,以及应变局部化和加载速率变化所产生的黏性特性。将上述模型嵌入到有限元程序中,并对平面应变压缩试验进行模拟计算,验证模型的精确性。研究结果表明,与现有的砂土本构模型相比,所提出的模型能更好地模拟应力路径及加载速率变化对砂土变形和强度特征的影响。