Development of a transparent triaxial cell and observation of rock deformation in compression and creep tests

A transparent triaxial cell was designed and manufactured using acrylic resin. The cell was used to conduct strength and creep tests. Photographs were taken of the specimens at constant time intervals during the constant strain rate test. Photographs were also taken at constant intervals of strain during the creep test, but this rate was changed to one image per second when the specimens first showed tertiary creep. Comparison of the axial and lateral strains during the constant strain-rate and creep tests indicated no significant differences between the two tests. It is well known that the axial creep strain rate is inversely proportional to remaining life in tertiary creep. This study showed that the lateral creep strain rate is also inversely proportional to remaining life. The constant strain-rate tests were conducted with transparent end pieces attached firmly to the upper and lower ends of the specimens. Three holes were drilled into the end pieces, and water was expelled into the holes when the specimens were compressed. It was clearly observed that the water began flowing from the holes back into the specimen during the volumetric expansion of the specimen. The transparent triaxial cell permitted easy observation of water ejection and re-absorption into the specimens.     

Variation in strength and creep life of six Japanese rocks

In this paper, variations in strength and creep life are investigated for rocks under various conditions: dry and wet, uniaxial and triaxial, and compressional and tensile. A number of parameters are introduced for this purpose; to assess the time-dependent failure under constant and monotonic loading the following parameters are used: the parameter of time dependency δ, coefficient of creep life α and coefficient of strength β. δ explains the rate dependency of strength or stress level dependency of creep life. α and β are related to each other. Variations in β have been evaluated using data from previous experiments. It is confirmed here that δ, β and variations in β determined by creep tests are in most cases identical to those determined using strength tests. Variation in β in the wet condition is almost the same as that in the dry condition; however, variation in tension increases more than in compression. Under confining pressure, variation in β is reduced for Neogene sedimentary rocks, and does not appear to change for igneous rock and welded tuff.     

Mechanical properties and behaviour of soils under the triaxial test,the Yamauchi landslide,Japan

A series of consolidated undrained triaxial tests have been undertaken on material from the Yamauchi landslide in northern Kyushu. The samples were obtained from two specially drilled boreholes. Both the logging and the geotechnical test results indicate a wide variation which is probably attributable to the differing degree of weathering/hydrothermal alternation. Two types of stress strain and pore-water pressure responses were observed during the test. Two failure modes were identified – plastic and semiplastic. Electronic Publication     

Triaxial unloading test of rocks and its implication for rock burst

 The behaviour of rock deformation and its failure characteristics under loading and unloading conditions are substantially different. In this paper, triaxial unloading tests have been designed to simulate the unloading process during tunnel excavation in three kinds of rock (granite, migmatitic granite and limestone). The results show that elastic moduli obtained under unloading conditions are generally less than under loading conditions. The strength of the rock samples also decreases with an increasing rate of unloading. This study reveals that rock bursts during tunnelling in a high in-situ stress area could be controlled or reduced by lowering the excavation speed or applying precautionary measures to control the displacement of surrounding rocks. Received: 25 February 1999 · Accepted: 20 June 2000     

Effects of inelastic volume increase on fractured rock behaviour

This study investigated the correlation between inelastic volumetric deformation and the bearing capacity of fractured rock. Triaxial compression tests on marble specimens have been performed under constant and controlled deformation rates using a servocontrolled loading machine supported by an electro-hydraulic volume-measuring unit connected to a data acquisition system. The triaxial compression tests were carried out on two different marble samples under constant confining pressures ranging from 1–12.5 MPa. The results indicate that stress–inelastic volumetric strain curves are generally linear through the initial part of the post-failure curve where fractured rock behaviour is dominant. It was found that brittle rock loses its strength in the post-failure region depending on volumetric deformation; the slopes of post-failure curves change with an increase in confining pressure. As a result it is concluded that there is a relationship between strength and volumetric strain of fissured rock. Electronic Publication     

Effects of slaking and degree of compaction on the mechanical properties of mudstones with varying slaking properties

An earthquake in Suruga Bay off Shizuoka Prefecture in 2009 caused an embankment near the Makinohara Service Area of the Tomei Expressway to fail. One of the causes of this failure was the slaking progression of the Neogene Period mudstone in the lower portion of the embankment.The objective of this study is to understand how the degree of slaking affects the compressive and shearing behaviors of crushed mudstone aggregates. A drying-immersion cycle test is proposed; it illuminates how the number of repeated drying and immersion cycles affects the slaking of fine-grained material. Unconfined compression, triaxial compression, and one-dimensional consolidation tests were carried out on crushed mudstone aggregate specimens created by compaction.Consequently, the unconfined compressive strength and maximum deviator stress in the triaxial compression tests on the crushed mudstone aggregates dropped as the grains became finer due to slaking even if the initial density was the same. The compressibility increased and the consolidation yield stress decreased as the grains became finer particles. The degree to which slaking had progressed affected these characteristics as well.     

Structural damage and shear performance degradation of fiber–lime–soil under freeze–thaw cycling

The freeze–thaw cycling damages the soil structure, and the shear performance of soil are degraded. A series of tests on lime–soil(L–S) and fiber–lime–soil(F–L–S), including freeze–thaw test, the triaxial compression test, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test and scanning electron microscope (SEM) test, were completed. The test results showed that fiber reinforcement changed the stress–strain behavior and failure pattern of soil. The cohesion and internal friction angle of soil gradually decreased with the increase of freeze–thaw cycles (F–T cycles). The pore radius and porosity of soil increased, while the micro pore volume decreased, and the small pore volume, medium pore volume and large pore volume increased, and the large pore volume had a little variation after 10 F–T cycles. The number of pores of F–L–S was less than L–S, demonstrating that the addition of fiber helped to reduce the pore volume. The interweaved fibers limited the development and the connection of cracks. By means of the spatial restraint effect of fiber on the soil and the friction action between fiber and soil, the shear performances and freeze–thaw durability of F–L–S better were than that of L–S.     

Field investigation and model tests on differential settlement of houses due to liquefaction in the Niigata-ken Chuetsu-Oki earthquake of 2007

A massive earthquake struck the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki region of Japan on July 16th, 2007, claiming 11 lives and damaging about 6000 houses. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8, with data from an accelerograph managed by a nationwide strong-motion observation network known as Kyoshin Net (K-net) showing a maximum value of 668 gal (NS). In the Matsunami district of Kashiwazaki city (located on land filled and developed as a residential area from around 1970 onward) about 3 km northeast of Kashiwazaki Railway Station, many houses were damaged due to liquefaction. A field investigation, including a boring survey, surface wave exploration and measurement of differential settlement of houses knocked aslant by soil liquefaction, was conducted to determine the relationship between the extent of damage to houses and the area׳s geological structure. It was found that most houses severely damaged due to liquefaction were located around the boundary between sand dunes and the local river delta. Additionally, the relationships linking sloping geological structure, the thickness of the liquefaction layer and total/differential settlement of houses were clarified from the results of shaking table model tests conducted in this study. Test results showed that it is important to consider multidimensional influences caused by sloping geological structure in the estimation method of liquefaction potential in order to predict and assess degree of damage to houses due to liquefaction.     

Mechanism of zonal disintegration around deep underground excavations under triaxial stress – Insight from numerical test

The failure pattern and failure mechanism around deep underground excavations under tri-axial stress, in particular the zonal disintegration at different scales, were studied through three-dimensional numerical tests. It is found that the failure patterns of deep underground openings are obviously influenced by the triaxial stress. Zonal disintegration is a general failure mode of deep surrounding rock mass under high triaxial stress, where the alternate fracture zones and intact zones are formed by the intersection of the fully developed shear dominated fractures. The circular failure pattern of zonal disintegration is only a very specific failure pattern of zonal disintegration that is more likely to be formed when the horizontal stress in the direction of tunnel axis being the maximum principal stress. Sometimes the circular failure pattern of zonal disintegration is only the miss-judgment based on the limited borehole observations. Numerical results also denote that the heterogeneities of rock masses play a very important role on the scale of zonal disintegration.     

Effect of time on the stress–strain behaviour of a single rock joint

The time-dependent behaviour of discontinuities is important in many geotechnical applications. To investigate the stress–strain behaviour of jointed specimens tested at various rates of strain and at constant deformation in various stress conditions, three cases were examined: (a) increasing compressive load at different constant strain rates, (b) increasing compressive load at changing strain rates, (c) stress variations with a constant amount of displacement along the complete stress–strain curves for 5 min (stress relaxation). Triaxial tests were carried out on samples of the Penrith and Stainton Sandstones using a 5 MN servo-controlled stiff testing machine and confining pressures in the range of 0–30 MPa. Both intact and jointed specimens with saw cut and split joints were tested. The joints were produced with orientations of 30, 45 and 60° to the direction of the principal stress. Three different strain rates were applied.      

Effect of geotextile reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of sand

Laboratory triaxial compression tests were carried out in order to determine the stress–strain and dilation characteristics of geotextile-reinforced dry beach sand. The mechanical behavior of the composite material was investigated through varying the number of geotextile layers, type of geotextile, confining pressure, and geotextile arrangement. In order to study the effect of sample-size on the results, tests were performed on samples with two different diameters. The results demonstrated that geotextile inclusion increases the peak strength, axial strain at failure, and ductility. However, it reduces dilation. Such improvements in the behavior of reinforced sand are more pronounced for small-size samples. Failure envelopes for reinforced sand were observed as bilinear or curved. Bulging between layers was detected in reinforced samples which failed.     

新型复合锚固类结构静力弱化效应试验研究

为研究新型复合锚同类结构的弱化机理及其在静载作用下的特性,进行了静力三轴试验研究。研究表明：①弱化试件同非弱化试件相比,其平均变形量为后者的2.7倍,最大为7.3倍,其平均承载力为后者的1.8倍,最大为3.2倍;②在非弱化试件中的锚杆已达到很高应变状态或试件已产生极限破坏条件下,弱化试件中的锚杆尚处于很低应变状态;③弱化试件荷载～应变关系曲线中的“峡谷”现象是弱化孔间的孔壁介质由于应力集中而出现超载破坏,引起试件产生相对卸载的结果,而多次“峡谷”现象的发生,实质上反映了孔壁介质从破裂、破碎到压实的全过程效应;④复合锚同类结构的弱化效应非常显著,其间存在极大潜能,充分利用这一潜能,将具有巨大的社会、经济和军事效益。     

Quantifying the effects of geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular base

This study presents an effort to quantify the effects of geogrid reinforcement in the unbound granular base through laboratory testing. Two laboratory tests, the large-scale cyclic shear test and the repeated load triaxial test, were employed. The test protocol of the cyclic shear test was developed by modifying that for the triaxial test. The cyclic shear test was performed by applying a series of cyclic shear stresses to the geogrid-aggregate interface under different normal stresses. Two different types of geogrids were used as reinforcement in unbound granular material. Resilient modulus (M_R) from the repeated load triaxial test and a term named resilient interface shear modulus (G_i) from the cyclic shear test was used to characterize the effects of geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular base, respectively. The results of triaxial tests showed that the inclusion of geogrid had a negligible effect on the resilient modulus, indicating that the triaxial resilient modulus test may not be effective in evaluating the geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular materials. Compared to the triaxial resilient modulus test, the cyclic shear test showed great potential in identifying the effects of geogrid reinforcement, with an obvious improvement in the degree of interlocking between geogrids and aggregates.     

Physical and mechanical properties of chemically grouted sand

It is generally accepted that only chemical grouts or solutions are available to penetrate and fill narrow joints or soils with very small pore size. Over the last 30 years a few hundreds of different compounds have been used for this purpose showing a wide spectrum of properties. Epoxy resins are among the compounds that are commonly used in building restoration because of their high strength and durability against mechanical or physical erosion. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the improvement of the physical properties (water permeability, porosity and dry unit weight) and mechanical properties (compressive strength, elastic modulus, splitting tensile strength and strength under triaxial stress conditions) of fine sand mixed with a water-soluble two component epoxy resin is, since there is not any published data about the efficiency of such high strength material in ground improvement. The experiments were carried out using different solutions of epoxy resin, which had epoxy resin/water (ER/W) ratio of 2.0, 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5. Cylindrical specimens were prepared by mixing fine sand with an adequate quantity of epoxy resin and were used for compression, splitting tensile and triaxial strength tests. Development of compressive and splitting tensile strength was evaluated from tests at the ages of 3, 7 and 28 days whereas strength under triaxial conditions was determined on specimens cured for 28 days.The results of this study indicate that the epoxy resin solutions, especially the solutions with low water content resulted in higher strength, lower porosity and lower water permeability of the sand, improving significantly the physical and mechanical properties of the fine sand.     

Numerical simulations of triaxial shearing-infiltration tests

The failure of steep slopes during rainfall is commonly associated with a decrease in matric suction in the unsaturated soil zone above the water table. The shear strength characteristics of residual soil under water infiltration have been studied in the laboratory using unsaturated triaxial tests. This paper presents a development of a numerical model for simulating a triaxial shearing-infiltration test to investigate the shear strength characteristics of a compacted kaolin under infiltration condition. Both the hydraulic and mechanical responses of the compacted kaolin are modeled using the commercial software SIGMA/W and in-house software YS-Slope. The numerical analyses result and their validation against laboratory test results are presented and discussed in this paper. The results from the numerical analyses show good agreements with those from the laboratory tests, indicating that the proposed numerical model can be used to simulate the triaxial shearing-infiltration tests in laboratory.