Some observations of the effects of pore fluids on the triaxial behaviour of a sand

This paper describes unusual stress–strain behaviour, involving deviatoric stress, axial strain and pore pressure jumps, observed during undrained triaxial compression testing of Leighton Buzzard sand when using syrup and silicon oil pore fluids. The materials, pore fluids, specimen preparation and test methods are described, as are the results of a suite of triaxial tests in a temperature controlled cell in which deviatoric stress, pore pressure and local strain were measured. The results are compared with the some existing data showing similar effects, and possible causes of the strain jumps are postulated. The results suggest that specimen formation in the way used here, in a viscous fluid, could suppress dilatancy.     

Evolution of fabric during undrained cyclic loading

Abstract

Undrained cyclic triaxial tests are performed on specimens of Ottawa sand to study the evolution of fabric during undrained cyclic loading. Isotropic consolidation tests and triaxial drained compression or extension tests are conducted before or after cyclic loading to characterize the state of fabric indirectly. The effects of stress path, cyclic stress ratio, cyclic number, and initial fabric on fabric evolution during undrained cyclic loading are investigated.     

Experimental evaluation and extension of a simple critical state model for sand

This paper presents an experimental evaluation of a simple critical state model and its extension in modelling the stress-strain behaviour of sand under a wide range of confining pressures and initial void ratios under both drained and undrained loading conditions. The critical state model concerned is known as CASM developed by Yu [1,2] and CASM is a relatively simple model as it only requires seven model constants, five of which are the same as those used in the modified Cam clay model. All these constants have clear physical meanings and can be easily determined from the results of triaxial tests as demonstrated in this paper. A key advantage of CASM over many other existing critical state models lies on its unified nature as it can be used to model the behaviour of both clay and sand. In addition, the paper also shows how CASM can be further extended in order to simulate a particular undrained behaviour of loose sand, which is the reappearance of hardening after the material experiences a peak shear stress followed by a softening response.     

Macroscopic model with anisotropy based on micro–macro information

Physical experiments can characterize the elastic response of granular materials in terms of macroscopic state variables, namely volume (packing) fraction and stress, while the microstructure is not accessible and thus neglected. Here, by means of numerical simulations, we analyze dense, frictionless granular assemblies with the final goal to relate the elastic moduli to the fabric state, i.e., to microstructural averaged contact network features as contact number density and anisotropy. The particle samples are first isotropically compressed and then quasi-statically sheared under constant volume (undrained conditions). From various static, relaxed configurations at different shear strains, infinitesimal strain steps are applied to “measure” the effective elastic response; we quantify the strain needed so that no contact and structure rearrangements, i.e. plasticity, happen. Because of the anisotropy induced by shear, volumetric and deviatoric stresses and strains are cross-coupled via a single anisotropy modulus, which is proportional to the product of deviatoric fabric and bulk modulus (i.e., the isotropic fabric). Interestingly, the shear modulus of the material depends also on the actual deviatoric stress state, along with the contact configuration anisotropy. Finally, a constitutive model based on incremental evolution equations for stress and fabric is introduced. By using the previously measured dependence of the stiffness tensor (elastic moduli) on the microstructure, the theory is able to predict with good agreement the evolution of pressure, shear stress and deviatoric fabric (anisotropy) for an independent undrained cyclic shear test, including the response to reversal of strain.     

A bounding surface plasticity model for cyclic loading of granular soils

A constitutive model for describing the stress–strain behaviour of granular soils subjected to cyclic loading is presented. The model is formulated using bounding surface theory within a critical state framework. A single set of material parameters is introduced for the complete characterization of the constitutive model. The shape of the bounding surface is based on experimental observations of undrained stress paths for loose samples. A mapping rule which passes through stress reversal points is introduced to depict the stress–strain behaviour during unloading and reloading. The effect of particle crushing is considered through a modified critical state line. Essential features of the model are validated using several experimental data from the literature. Both drained and undrained loading conditions are considered. The characteristic features of behaviour in granular soils subjected to cyclic loading are captured. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A laboratory investigation on an undisturbed silty sand from a slope prone to landsliding

A laboratory investigation is presented for undisturbed samples of a silty sand under saturated conditions. The soil was sampled from test pits south of Rüdlingen in North–East Switzerland, where a landslide triggering experiment was carried out on a steep forest slope. The aim of the work was to characterise the behaviour of the soil in triaxial tests, in the light of the possible failure mechanisms of the slope. Conventional drained and undrained triaxial tests were conducted to detect critical state conditions as well as peak shear strength as a function of confining pressure. Soil specimens were also exposed to stress paths simulating in situ water pressure increase to study the stress–strain response and to enhance the ability to predict failure conditions more accurately in the future. Possible unstable response along the stress paths analysed was investigated by means of second order work and strain acceleration. The results show that temporary unstable conditions may be encountered for this soil at stress ratios below ultimate failure and even below critical state line, depending on void ratio, drainage conditions and time dependent compressibility. A modified state parameter is explored as a potentially useful tool to discriminate conditions leading to eventual collapse.     

Unexpected liquefaction under isotropic consolidation of idealized granular materials

The drained isotropic compression behaviour of very loose and fully saturated monodisperse glass beads in triaxial compression is investigated in this paper. Short cylindrical samples were prepared by moist-tamping technique and isotropically compressed in a classical axisymmetric triaxial machine. Very loose glass bead samples exhibit numerous local collapses with sudden volumetric compaction and axial contraction of very large amplitude and experience ultimately global collapse with spontaneous liquefaction under undetermined external isotropic stress. Excess pore pressure instantaneously generated at the beginning of the collapse phenomenon, and rapidly dissipated with the usual drainage system, shows a global complex system with local dynamic instability. The dynamic time evolution of the excess pore pressure \(\varDelta U\) consists in a first and fast transient phase I at constant volume and constant axial strain with large spikes \(\varDelta U^{peak}\), followed by an intermediate second phase II of large increase of volumetric compaction and axial contraction at stabilizing \(\varDelta U_{stable}\) or constant effective stress \(\sigma ^{\prime }\) and finally a third and longest phase III of excess pore water pressure dissipation at nearly constant axial strain toward the initial back-pressure. For local collapses, the second phase is totally missing. Upon ignoring the local collapses, very loose idealized granular materials have a unique and global isotropic compressibility behaviour, independently of the void ratio at the end of the fabrication stage; and liquefaction-free for dense state below a threshold void ratio at fabrication \(e_{30}^{liq}\), representing the transition from global instability with total failure to local instability with partial collapse. This paper provides the first reported spontaneous liquefaction instability under isotropic consolidation. It gives the necessarily conditions for an isotropic liquefaction and emphases some usually hidden or partially developed mechanisms underlying the diffuse instability phenomenon and adds a new intriguing layer to the complex behaviour of idealized granular materials in classical drained triaxial isotropic compression.     

三维各向异性砂土UH模型

为了全面地描述砂土在三维空间不同方向上的本构特性,应当综合考虑各向异性和中主应力的影响。该文在砂土UH（统一硬化）模型的基础上,采用各向异性的变换应力方法,发展了三维各向异性砂土UH模型。该方法通过调整不同方向应力分量的相对大小,将各向异性砂土等效为各向同性砂土,并且在变换应力空间将偏平面上的破坏或屈服包线变成圆形。用各向异性的变换应力张量代替真实应力张量,能够方便地得到同时考虑各向异性和中主应力影响的砂土UH模型。与试验数据的对比表明,三维各向异性UH模型能够合理地预测真三轴应力状态下各向异性砂土的应力-应变关系。     

不同应力路径下堆石料的动力变形特性试验研究

采用大型多功能静动三轴试验机,对堆石料分别进行了常规三轴循环加载、等p循环加载和等q循环加载三种不同应力路径下的动力变形试验研究,探讨了不同应力路径下围压﹑固结应力比及动应力比等因素对体应变和偏应变的影响规律及其变形机制。试验结果表明:在循环荷载作用下,不同应力路径对堆石料体应变和偏应变的发展规律影响较大;在等p循环加载作用下引起的往返体应变为负值,即发生剪胀现象,且在轴向剪切时达到最大剪胀值,反向剪切时基本不发生剪胀;在等q循环加载作用下产生较大的残余体应变和残余偏应变,两者均不可忽略不计,主要与堆石料的各向异性和颗粒破碎有关。     

An experimental study of failure and softening in sand under three-dimensional stress condition

This paper describes an experimental study of failure and softening behaviour in dense Toyoura sand. A true triaxial apparatus equipped with three pairs of rigid loading platens is used to test sand sample under three-dimensional stress condition. The testing results demonstrate that the rigid boundary around the sand samples cannot prevent formation of shear localization. Shear localization are observed to emerge in the hardening or the softening regime in the loading depending on the magnitude of intermediate principal stress. Uniform deformation for the whole strain range is obtained only in triaxial compression tests. The peak stress state obtained from tests of sand samples of the same initial density can be described with good approximation by the Matsuoka–Nakai criterion.     

平面应变条件下饱和土体分叉后的力学性状

土坡和挡土墙的应变局部化和渐进破坏分析的一个关键问题是如何合理描述土体分叉后的力学性状,而从试验得到的峰后应力应变关系实际上并不是土体本身的一种真实本构反应。为此,提出了一种描述含剪切带土体宏观力学特性的改进后的复合体理论(或均匀化理论)。结合干密砂以及饱和松砂、中密砂、密砂的平面应变试验结果,验证了该理论框架的合理性。     

Static liquefaction of sandy soil: An experimental investigation into the effects of saturation and initial state

The effects of initial state of the samples and the saturation evaluated in terms of Skempton??s pore pressure B on the behavior of Chlef sand are studied in this article. For this purpose, the results of two series of drained and undrained monotonic triaxial compression tests on medium dense sand are presented. In the first test series, the influence of the specimen??s fabric and confining pressure has been studied. The tests were conducted at initial confining pressure of 50, 100, and 200?kPa. The specimens were prepared by two depositional methods that include dry funnel pluviation and wet deposition. All the samples were subjected to a monotonic loading after a consolidation phase. The results of the tests demonstrate that initial confining pressure and the specimen??s fabric have detectable effects on the behavior of the sand. In the second series of tests, the saturation influence on the resistance to the sand liquefaction has been realized on samples at an effective stress of 100?kPa for Skempton??s pore pressure coefficient varying between 13 and 90%. It was found that the increase in Skempton??s pore pressure coefficient B reduces the soil dilatancy and amplifies the phase of contractancy.     

DEM simulation of the undrained shear behavior of sand containing dissociated gas hydrate

A numerical simulation technique is proposed using discrete element method (DEM) to study the undrained shear behavior of sand containing dissociated gas hydrate. Dissociation of gas hydrate in sand samples under undrained conditions is simulated first, followed by undrained bi-axial compression of these samples, which consist of three phases, i.e., sand particles, water, and methane gas. The simulations demonstrate that hydrate dissociation under undrained conditions generates significant excess pore pressure and volumetric dilation, the magnitudes of which are found to be comparable with those predicted by theoretical analysis. During the undrained bi-axial compression, samples with different initial degrees of hydrate saturation exhibit markedly different shear behavior. Complete strain softening behavior, i.e., static liquefaction, is observed for the samples with relatively high initial degrees of hydrate saturation, while other samples reach quasi-steady state followed by strain hardening at large strains. The observed static liquefaction is believed to be a combined result of the looser sand structure induced by hydrate dissociation, and the essentially stiff modulus of fluid under high pore pressure, despite the existence of gas in sand pores. The influence of initial sample porosity and particle shape is also investigated.     

Stress‐strain characteristics of the Taipei silty clay at small strain

Abstract

This study first developed a triaxial apparatus with the capability of small‐strain measurement. Then a series of undrained triaxial tests were carried out to investigate the stress‐strain behavior of the reconstituted Taipei silty clay at small strain. Test results show that the non‐linear behavior of the normally consolidated Taipei silty clay at small strain (?=10^–5～10^–3) is significant irrespective of the initial effective stress state and the shearing rate. The peak deviator stress occurs at strain of 10^–3～4×10^–3. The normalized initial elastic stiffness at strain of 10^–5 can reach 1600～2450, which is much higher than that measured by conventional triaxial tests.     

DEM investigation on the evolution of microstructure in granular soils under shearing

The mechanical behaviors of granular soils at different initial densities and confining pressures in the drained and undrained triaxial tests are investigated micromechanically by three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM). The evolutions of the microstructure in the numerical specimen, including coordination number, contact force and anisotropies of contact normal and contact force, are monitored during the shearing. The typical shear behaviors of granular soils (e.g. strain softening, phase transformation, static liquefaction and critical state behavior) are successfully captured in the DEM simulation. It is found that the anisotropies of contact normal, normal and tangential contact forces comprise the shear resistance and show different evolution features during shearing. After large strain shearing, the microstructure of the soil will finally reach a critical state, although the evolution path depends on the soil density and loading mode. Similar to the macroscopic void ratio $e$ and deviatoric stress $q$ , the coordination number and anisotropies of contact normal and contact force at the critical state also depend on the mean normal effective stress $P^{\prime }$ at the critical state.     

FE Analysis of Contractant Shear Zones in Loose Granular Materials

The paper focuses on the formation of contractant shear zones in initially loose cohesionless granular materials subject usually to continuous densification. For a simulation of the mechanical behaviour of a granular material during monotonous deformation paths, a micro-polar hypoplastic constitutive model was used which takes into account particle rotations, curvatures, non-symmetric stresses, couple stresses and the mean grain diameter as a characteristic length. The FE investigations of shear localization were carried out with initially very loose quartz sand during four different rate boundary value problems: shearing of an infinite layer between two very rough walls, plane strain compression under constant lateral pressure, biaxial compression with rigid and deformable boundaries and passive earth pressure on a horizontally translating retaining wall. The calculations were carried out with a simple random distribution of the initial void ratio under conditions of large deformations and curvatures.     

Experimental study on yielding and failure of an anisotropic clay

The effect of initial and stress-induced anisotropies on yielding and failure of an anisotropic clay has been studied experimentally by loading soil samples along different stress paths under triaxial stress. Five orientations of bedding planes of clay fabric were tested. In all the loading paths, it was observed that the strain increment vectors were not coaxial with the stress vectors. The degree of disassociation depended on initial fabric anisotropy and stress-induced anisotropy. The test results indicated that for the inherently anisotropic material, there is no particular requirement (a) for the yield and plastic potential surfaces to coincide, and (b) for an associated flow rule to hold.     

Triaxial compression tests of QH-E lunar soil simulant under constant mean principal stress path using discrete element method simulations

In this paper, discrete element method (DEM) simulations are applied to investigate the triaxial compression tests of QH-E lunar soil simulant (developed by Tsinghua University, China) under constant mean principal (P) stress path. The P stress path is achieved by controlling the loading speed and direction of the axial stress and confining stress in the DEM simulations, the strain softening and dilatancy characteristics of QH-E lunar soil simulant both at low and conventional P stress levels are discussed. The results show that the deviatoric stress–strain curve is divided into hardening, softening descending, and residual strain stages, and the shear strength and residual strength increase with the increase of P stress, which are similar to the conventional triaxial compression tests. The volumetric strain versus shear strain curve shows a good linear relationship both at the linear shear dilatancy and residual shear dilatancy stages, but the slope of the linear dilatancy stage is larger than that of the residual dilatancy stage. Furthermore, it is found that the variations of shear dilatancy characteristic parameters with regard to P stress also show a good linear relationship, and the values of these parameters increase with the increase of P stress.     

堆石料真三轴条件下力学特性试验研究进展

该文综述了国内外岩土真三轴仪的发展、堆石料力学特性及机理相关的研究现状。重点介绍了该研究团队开发的大型岩土静动真三轴试验机及在堆石料力学特性试验研究方面取得的初步成果。按加载方式,土的真三轴仪可以分为3类:刚性加载真三轴仪、柔性加载真三轴仪和混合型加载真三轴仪。堆石料真三轴试验具有试样尺寸大、承压高、各方向相互干扰强、试样变形后荷载对中难、加压板与试样间摩擦效应强、试样安装和量测复杂等诸多困难。因而,目前适用于堆石料的真三轴仪和试验成果均较少。考虑堆石料真三轴及复杂应力路径条件下的颗粒破碎、各向异性等,研究其力学特性并开发相应的本构模型是该课题发展的趋势。清华大学大型岩土静动真三轴试验机中联合采用了椭圆形试样帽和异形乳胶膜的封样方式,可很好地解决真三轴试样的高压密封、拆装、量测和耐久性等一系列难题。对堆石料进行了一系列真三轴复杂应力路径试验,结果表明真三轴试验中堆石料表现出更明显的应力诱导各向异性和应力状态依赖性,特别是对小主应力-应变关系、球应力-体应变关系和广义剪应力-剪应变关系的影响更显著。球应力和广义剪应力对体积应变和广义剪应变之间存在着明显的交叉影响。     

Critical state behaviour of granular materials from isotropic and rebounded paths: DEM simulations

This paper presents the results of numerical simulations using the three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) on the critical state behaviour of isotropically compressed and rebounded assemblies of granular materials. Drained and undrained (constant volume) numerical simulations were carried out. From these numerical simulations of drained and undrained tests, it has been shown that the steady state is same as the critical state. Critical state for both isotropically compressed and rebounded assemblies form unique curved line that can be approximated by a bilinear line as proposed by Been et al. [Géotechnique 41(3): 365–381, 1991]. Further more, evolution of the internal variables such as average coordination number and induced anisotropy coefficients during shear deformation has been studied.