Unconfined compressive strength and ductility of fiber-reinforced cemented sand

A series of unconfined compression tests were performed on specimens of fiber-reinforced cemented sand (FRCS) to evaluate how fiber inclusion affects the measured strength and ductility characteristics of cemented sand. Lightly cemented sand with three different cement ratios (2, 4, and 6% by weight of soil) was mixed with four different fiber ratios (0, 0.3, 0.6, and 1% by weight of soil) and then compacted into a cylindrical specimen. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, which adheres well to cement, was randomly distributed throughout the cemented sand. The test results indicate that the inclusion of PVA fiber has a significant effect on both the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and the axial strain at peak strength. The increase in the UCS was most apparent in the 2% cemented specimen wherein the UCS increased more than three times as the fiber ratio increased up to 1%. The ductile behavior of the FRCS is quantified by the deformability index, D, which is a ratio of the axial strain at peak strength of fiber-reinforced specimen to that of non-fiber-reinforced specimen. In the cases of 1% fiber ratio, the values of D were greater than four, regardless of cement ratios.     

Effect of coral sand powders and seawater salinity on the impact mechanical properties of cemented coral sand

Coral sand is one kind of the important building materials in coral reef engineering practice. The use of cement as a stabilizing agent can significantly improve the mechanical properties of coral sands and is widely applied in the subbase engineering construction in coral reef islands. Cement-stabilized coral sand structures may contain high contents of fine coral particles and salinity because of the high crushability of coral sands and the existence of seawater surrounding them. In this study, the effects of coral sand powders and seawater salinity on the dynamic mechanical properties of cemented coral sand (CCS) were investigated through the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) tests and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis. It was found that the strength (i.e., the peak stress) of CCS specimens increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of powder content. The specimens reached the maximum peak stress when 3% powder content was included. The initial improvement of CCS strength was attributed to the pore-filling effect of coral powders, namely, the micro pores of the CCS specimens could be more effectively filled with higher percentages of coral powders being used in the experiments. However, excessive coral powders resulted in the reduction of specimen strength because these powders could easily be cemented into agglomerates by absorbing water from the specimens. These agglomerates could reduce the cementation strength between the coarse coral particles and the cement. Meanwhile, the peak stress of CCS specimens was found to be negatively correlated with the average strain rate and the ultimate strain. The degree of specimen fracture was found to be correlated with the amount of specific energy absorption during the tests. Furthermore, the “sulfate attack” caused by the inclusion of salinity of water had different influences on the CCS specimens with different coral powder contents. The ettringite and gypsum produced in “sulfate attack” could fill the pores and lead to cracking of the specimens, significantly affecting the specimen strength.     

水泥固化滨海风积砂力学特性试验及细观数值仿真

滨海风积砂因结构松散、自稳能力差、级配不良不易压实,被视为一种特殊土。水泥固化是常用的加固手段,而水泥剂量对风积砂力学性能的影响规律及细观作用机制目前尚不清楚。利用GDS土工三轴试验仪,对不同水泥剂量(0%,4%,6%)的水泥固化滨海风积砂进行不同有效围压(50,100,150 k Pa)下的CD试验。结合室内试验数据和水泥砂样显微照片,建立水泥固化滨海风积砂细观结构的颗粒流PFC2D模型,进行三轴试验的细观数值仿真分析。研究结果表明,水泥固化滨海风积砂应力–应变关系呈应变软化型,水泥剂量对滨海风积砂强度贡献明显,对体变影响相对较小。采用颗粒平行黏结方式的颗粒流数值仿真能有效反映水泥固化滨海风积砂的细观力学特性,水泥剂量对水泥固化滨海风积砂的黏结破坏数、配位数、位移场均有显著影响。     

A constitutive model for evaluation of mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced cemented sand

The aim of this study is to present a constitutive model for prediction of the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced cemented sand. For this purpose, a generalized plasticity constitutive model of sandy soil is selected and the parameters of the model are determined for three types of sandy soils using the results of triaxial tests. Next, the proposed model is developed using the existing models based on the physico-mechanical characteristics of fiber-reinforced cemented sand. The elastic parameters, flow rule and hardening law of the base model are modified for fiber-reinforced cemented sand. To verify the proposed model, the predicted results are compared with those of triaxial tests performed on fiber-reinforced cemented sand. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed model is studied at different confining pressures, and cement and fiber contents.     

Using fiber and liquid polymer to improve the behaviour of cement-stabilized soft clay

This work studies the effect of using two types of polymer (fibers and liquid) to enhance the strength of cemented soft clay. Four polymer contents were used (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1% by dry weight of the soil) to investigate the unconfined compressive strength, q_un of soft clay mixed with three cement contents (5, 10 and 15%). For wide understanding to the polymer/cemented soil behaviour several factors were considered in this study such as curing time, dry unit weight, the mixture workability and the behaviour after disturbance. This investigation revealed that both fibers and liquid polymers can improve the cemented soft clay strength, however the fiber mechanism in improving the mixture is totally different than the liquid. Increasing the fiber content shall increase q_un till a peak point at fiber content of 0.5%, where the strength started to reduce after. The mixture workability has been improved with increasing the liquid polymer content, and reduced with increasing the fiber content. Fibers can be used to raise up the strength of disturbed cemented soft clay up to 240% by using fiber content of 0.5%. Both fibers and liquid polymers showed a remarkable mechanically, economically and environmentally dominance to be used as additive to cement in improving the soft clay.     

结构性砂土力学特性三维离散元分析

利用离散元法对结构性砂土的三轴试验进行了三维数值模拟并对其宏观特性进行了分析。首先将考虑胶结尺寸(宽度和厚度)的三维胶结接触模型导入离散元软件PFC3D中,对结构性砂土数值试样进行三轴试验数值模拟;然后对比分析离散元模拟与室内试验结果;最后从宏观力学角度对试验结果进行了分析。离散元模拟结果表明:结构性砂土与无胶结松散砂土表现不同,其在低围压时表现出应变软化和体积剪胀特征,并随胶结含量的增加或围压的减少而愈发显著,在高围压时则呈应变硬化和体积剪缩现象;低平均应力时,随胶结含量的增加,试样峰值内摩擦角、黏聚力以及内摩擦角均增加,其中黏聚力增加较为明显,随着平均应力的增加,峰值强度包线逐渐趋向于无胶结土。     

水泥固化滨海风积砂三轴试验研究

为了研究水泥对滨海风积砂的固化作用,设计了一系列三轴试验,分析了在高含水量状态下有效围压、水泥剂量和龄期对风积砂应力—应变曲线和孔压曲线发展规律的影响。结果表明:纯砂样的偏应力峰值和初始有效围压的拟合关系近似呈线性关系;在CD试验中,随着水泥剂量的增大,试样偏应力峰值明显增强,但低水泥剂量(2%)下偏应力峰值反而比纯砂样低;在CU试验中,由于水泥阻碍了孔压的消散,使得试样强度反而比砂样的略为降低;胶结样峰值强度与水泥剂量的拟合关系近似呈二次项关系;和7天相比,龄期28天对强度的贡献不大。试验结论对研究滨海地区风积砂路用性能具有实用价值。     

Effect of fiber reinforcement and distribution on unconfined compressive strength of fiber-reinforced cemented sand

A series of unconfined compression tests were carried out to examine the effect of fiber reinforcement and distribution on the strength of fiber-reinforced cemented sand (FRCS). Nakdong River sand, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, cement and water were mixed and compacted into a cylindrical sample with five equal layers. PVA fibers were randomly distributed at a predetermined layer among the five compacted layers. The strength of the FRCS increases as the number of fiber inclusion layers increases. A fiber-reinforced specimen, where fibers were evenly distributed throughout the five layers, was twice as strong as a non-fiber-reinforced specimen. Using the same amount of fibers to reinforce two different specimens, a specimen with five fiber inclusion layers was 1.5 times stronger than a specimen with one fiber inclusion layer at the middle of the specimen. The fiber reinforcement and distribution throughout the entire specimen resulted in a significant increase in the strength of the FRCS.     

HPFRCC常规三轴受压强度和变形特性

通过常规三轴受压强度和变形特性试验,研究了围压以及PVA纤维掺量对高性能PVA纤维增强水泥基复合材料(HPFRCC)受压性能的影响.结果表明:随着围压的增加,HPFRCC的轴向极限抗压强度以及峰值应变均显著提高;PVA纤维掺量对HPFRCC抗压强度的影响较小,在低围压受力状态下使用PVA纤维增强HPFRCC要比在高围压受力状态下更能发挥纤维的增强阻裂作用,而且PVA纤维掺量对应力-应变曲线下降段也有一定影响.根据试验数据建立了HPFRCC的轴向极限抗压强度、轴向峰值应变与围压之间的关系.     

水泥土搅拌桩止水帷幕工程特性研究

水泥土搅拌桩作为基坑止水帷幕已经得到了广泛应用,为了更深入的理解作为止水帷幕的水泥土的工程特性,通过对不同水泥掺入量的水泥土无侧限抗压强度和渗透系数的室内试验研究,利用CBR-1承载比试验仪和TSS-2柔性壁三轴渗透仪对水泥土进行了无侧限抗压强度和渗透试验,分析了养护龄期及水泥掺入量对水泥土的无侧限抗压强度和渗透系数的影响。试验结果表明,水泥土的无侧限抗压强度随养护龄期和水泥掺入量的增大而增大,并通过曲线的拟合,得出了无侧限抗压强度的预测公式;渗透系数随养护龄期和水泥掺入量的增大而减少,通过数据对比得出28天之后水泥土渗透系数主要是受水泥掺入量的影响。     

Effects of natural zeolite and sulfate ions on the mechanical properties and microstructure of plastic concrete

One of the strategic materials used in earth-fill embankment dams and in modifying and preventing groundwater flow is plastic concrete (PlC). PlC is comprised of aggregates, water, cement, and bentonite. Natural zeolite (NZ) is a relatively abundant mineral resource and in this research, the microstructure, unconfined strength, triaxial behavior, and permeability of PlC made with 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% replacement of cement by NZ were studied. Specimens of PIC-NZ were subjected to confined conditions and three different confining pressures of 200, 350, and 500 kPa were used to investigate their mechanical behavior and permeability. To study the effect of sulfate ions on the properties of PlC-NZ specimens, the specimens were cured in one of two different environments: normal condition and in the presence of sulfate ions. Results showed that increasing the zeolite content decreases the unconfined strength, elastic modulus, and peak strength of PlC-NZ specimens at the early ages of curing. However, at the later ages, increasing the zeolite content increases unconfined strength as well as the peak strength and elastic modulus. Specimens cured in the presence of sulfate ions indicated lower permeability, higher unconfined strength, elastic modulus, and peak strength due to having lower porosity.     

Peak and residual strength characteristics of cement-treated soil cured under different consolidation conditions

The shear strength of cement-treated soil can be changed by both cementation and consolidation during the early stages of hardening because of cement hydration. Based on the results of triaxial and unconfined compression tests, this paper describes the effects of isotropic and one-dimensional consolidation stress, applied during the curing period, on the undrained peak and residual shear strengths of cement-treated soil. The sample used was a mixture of fine-grained sand and ordinary Portland cement. A consolidated undrained triaxial compression test (ICU) was conducted on the specimens immediately after the cement treatment. Each test was conducted under different consolidation pressures, curing times and delayed loading times. The following conclusions were developed from the results and discussions: (1) the undrained peak shear strength of cement-treated soil, cured under different consolidation conditions, increases with an increase in either the consolidation pressure or the curing time, whereas it gradually decreases with an increase in the delayed loading time. (2) The rate of undrained strength increase resulting from consolidation differs significantly between isotropic and one-dimensional consolidations. (3) For a curing time of between one and seven days, the rate of strength increase by isotropic consolidation exceeds that by one-dimensional consolidation. The simultaneous volumetric change of cement-treated soil during consolidation depends on the stress conditions of the specimen, that is, the difference between isotropic and one-dimensional consolidations. (4) When the test is not conducted under nearly in-situ conditions, the undrained shear strength may be underestimated, depending on the time interval between the cement treatment and the start of consolidation. (5) The shear strength in the residual state is influenced by the consolidation pressure during curing. (6) As the consolidation pressure during curing increases, the specimens exhibit a higher residual strength.     

Effect of fiber-reinforcement on the strength of cemented soils

This study aims to verify the differences in the strength of an artificially cemented sandy soil with and without fiber reinforcement. The controlling parameters evaluated were the amount of cement, porosity, moisture content, and voids/cement ratio. A series of unconfined compression tests and suction measures were carried out. The results show that fiber insertion in the cemented soil, for the whole range of cement studied, causes an increase in unconfined compression strength. The UCS increased linearly with the amount of cement and reduced with the increase in porosity (η) for both the fiber-reinforced and unreinforced specimens. A power function fits well as the relation between unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and porosity (η). Finally, it was shown that the voids/cement ratio is a good parameter in the evaluation of the unconfined compressive strength of the fiber-reinforced and unreinforced cemented soil studied.     

Investigation on the flexural behaviour of high-performance reinforced concrete beams using sandstone aggregates

In recent years, an emerging technology termed high-performance concrete (HPC) has become popular in construction industry. The constituent materials of HPC depend on the desired characteristics and the availability of suitable local economic alternatives. Tests are reported in this study on the flexural behaviour of high-performance reinforced concrete (HPRC) beams made with crushed sandstone coarse and fine aggregate together with silica fume. The beams were made from concrete having compressive strength of 74 and 78 N/mm² and tensile reinforcement ratio in the range of 1.34–3.14%. The ultimate moment for the tested beams was found to be about 14–30% and 3–9% higher than that of the predicted ultimate moment based on BS 8110 and ACI 318, respectively. Due to lower stiffness of sandstone aggregates, the beams resulted in excessive deflection under service loads. The observed crack width under service loads were within acceptable limits. The mineral fillers in crushed sandstone sand and silica fume increased the flexural stiffness of HPRC beams and resulted in adequate safety factors against flexural failure. The test results showed that it is possible to produce HPC using sandstone aggregates with silica fume and superplasticisers.     

黏粒含量对固化淤泥力学性质的影响

采用人工配制不同黏粒含量的淤泥研究黏粒含量对固化淤泥力学性质的影响。研究发现,淤泥中黏粒含量对固化淤泥的力学性质存在显著影响,当水泥量为5.0%时,固化淤泥强度随黏粒含量的增加呈增加趋势;当水泥量高于7.5%时,对于不同水泥量都存在一个对应的适宜黏粒含量CCop,在该黏粒含量时固化淤泥的无侧限抗压强度最大,破坏应变最小。适宜黏粒含量CCop随着水泥量增加而有所增加,但龄期对其没有影响。三轴试验结果发现,当黏粒含量为CCop时固化淤泥黏聚力c达到最大,内摩擦角?则随黏粒含量的增加呈现减小趋势。对于不同黏粒含量下固化淤泥的应力–应变关系的研究发现,当水泥量不超过5.0%时,固化淤泥都表现出理想弹塑性的特性;当水泥量大于5.0%时固化淤泥都存在破坏峰值,表现出脆性破坏模式,而且随着黏粒含量的增加破坏应变先减小后增加;当黏粒含量为CCop时,固化淤泥对应的破坏应变接近最小。因此,当黏粒含量为CCop时,固化淤泥将出现最大强度和最小变形。该研究结果对淤泥固化实际应用中的材料配制具有重要意义。     

A borehole stability study by newly designed laboratory tests on thick-walled hollow cylinders

At several mineral exploration drilling sites in Australia, weakly consolidated formations mainly consist of sand particles that are poorly bonded by cementing agents such as clay, iron oxide cement or calcite.These formations are being encountered when drilling boreholes to the depth of up to 200 m. To study the behaviour of these materials, thick-walled hollow cylinder(TWHC) and solid cylindrical synthetic specimens were designed and prepared by adding Portland cement and water to sand grains. The effects of different parameters such as water and cement contents, grain size distribution and mixture curing time on the characteristics of the samples were studied to identify the mixture closely resembling the formation at the drilling site. The Hoek triaxial cell was modified to allow the visual monitoring of grain debonding and borehole breakout processes during the laboratory tests. The results showed the significance of real-time visual monitoring in determining the initiation of the borehole breakout. The sizescale effect study on TWHC specimens revealed that with the increasing borehole size, the ductility of the specimen decreases, however, the axial and lateral stiffnesses of the TWHC specimen remain unchanged. Under different confining pressures the lateral strain at the initiation point of borehole breakout is considerably lower in a larger size borehole(20 mm) compared to that in a smaller one(10 mm). Also, it was observed that the level of peak strength increment in TWHC specimens decreases with the increasing confining pressure.     

胶结土力学特性与强度分析

通过对土料人工处理,可以使其力学特性和强度大为提高,从而有助于建筑物的兴建。通过添加不同含量的水泥,制备了人工胶结土样。然后进行了三轴试验来探讨胶结土的力学特性和强度特点,试验结果表明水泥含量不同导致的颗粒胶结对胶结土的应力—应变、孔压发展、体积变形特性和抗剪强度有很大的影响。最后建议了一个胶结土的抗剪强度表达式,并与实验结果进行对比,表明所建议的抗剪强度表达式具有较好的适用性。     

Performance evaluation of silty sand reinforced with fibres

Triaxial compression tests were conducted to evaluate the response of randomly distributed fibre on the strength of reinforced silty sand. In this study, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre was mixed with silty sand soil to investigate the increase of shear strength during triaxial compression. The specimens were tested under drained and undrained conditions with 0.25% and 0.5% content of OPEFB fibres of different lengths (i.e. 15 mm, 30 mm and 45 mm). In addition, OPEFB fibres coated with acrylic butadiene styrene thermoplastic were tested to determine the effect of coating on reinforcement. Inclusion of randomly distributed discrete fibres significantly improved the shear strength of silty sand. Coated OPEFB fibres increased the shear strength of silty sand much more compared to uncoated fibres. Coating fibres increases interface friction between fibre and soil particles by increasing the surface area. Reinforced silty sand containing 0.5% coated fibres of 30 mm length exhibited approximately 25% increase in friction angle and 35% in cohesion under undrained loading conditions compared to those of unreinforced silty sand. The results indicate that the shear strength parameters of the soil-fibre mixture (i.e. Φ′ and c′) can be improved significantly.     

Behavior of zeolite-cement grouted sand under triaxial compression test

Permeation grouting with cement agent is one of the most widely used methods in various geotechnical projects,such as increasing bearing capacity,controlling deformation,and reducing permeability of soils.Due to air pollution induced during cement production as well as its high energy consumption,the use of supplementary materials to replace in part cement can be attractive.Natural zeolite(NZ),as an environmentally friendly material,is an alternative to reduce cement consumption.In the present study,a series of consolidated undrained(CU) triaxial tests on loose sandy soil(with relative density D_r=30%)grouted with cementitious materials(zeolite and cement) having cement replacement with zeolite content(Z) of 0%,10%,30%,50%,70% and 90%,and water to cementitious material ratios(W/CM) of 3,5 and 7 has been conducted.The results indicated that the peak deviatoric stress(q_(max)) of the grouted specimens increased with Z up to 50%(Z_(50)) and then decreased.The strength of the grouted specimens reduced with increasing W/CM of the grouts from 3 to 7.In addition,by increasing the stress applied on the grouted specimens from yield stress(q_y) to the maximum stress(q_(max)),due to the bond breakage,the effect of cohesion(c') on the shear strength reduced gradually,while the effect of friction angle(φ')increased.Furthermore,in some grouted specimens,high confining pressure caused breakage of the cemented bonds and reduced their expected strength.     

Behavior of geogrid–reinforced sand and effect of reinforcement anchorage in large-scale plane strain compression

This paper presents experimental investigations on the behavior of geogrid–reinforced sand featuring reinforcement anchorage which simulates the reinforcement connected to the wall facings in numerous in-situ situations. A series of large plane strain compression tests (the specimen 56 cm high × 56 cm wide × 45 cm long) was conducted. Standard Ottawa sand and 4 types of PET geogrids exhibiting 5% stiffness in the range of 750–1700 kN/m were used in this study. The specimens were tested by varying the relative density of sand, confining pressures, geogrid types, and reinforcement-anchorage conditions. Experimental results indicate that relative to unreinforced specimens, both anchored and non-anchored geogrid reinforcements can enhance the peak shear strength and suppress the volumetric dilation of reinforced soil. The studies on anchorage revealed that anchoring the reinforcement can restrain the lateral expansion of reinforced specimens, resulting in a substantial increase in shear strength and a reduction in volumetric dilation. The strength ratios of non-anchored specimens appeared to be insensitive to the reinforcement stiffness, whereas the strength ratios of the anchored specimens increased markedly with increases in soil density, reinforcement stiffness, and system deformation (i.e., axial stain). Geogrid anchorage contributed a large percentage of the total shear-strength improvement, nearly 3-times more than the contribution of the soil–geogrid interaction in non-anchored specimens. Lastly, an analytical model was developed based on the concept that additional confinement is induced by reinforcement anchorage, and the predicted shear strength of the anchored soil was verified based on the experimental data.