The relation between the state indices and the characteristic features of undrained behaviour of silty sand

The characteristic features of a series of isotropically and K₀-consolidated undrained triaxial compression behaviour of a silty sand were investigated for a range of initial void ratio ($e)$ and mean effective confining stress ($p^{\prime }$). The silty sand used in this study contained about 10% natural fines. The critical state line (CSL) of K₀-consolidated specimens, K₀U was slightly lower than the CSL for isotropically consolidated specimens, CIU. The respective CSLs for K₀U and CIU were used to define state indices, such as state parameter ($\psi )$, state index ($I_s$), state pressure index ($I_p$) and modified state parameter (${\psi }_m$), within critical state soil mechanics (CSSM) framework. It was found that each state index exhibit a unique relation with liquefaction potential, irrespective of consolidation type, however different relationships were observed between state indices and the stress ratio at the triggering of liquefaction, ${\eta }_{\mathit{IS}}$ or the liquefaction resistance, $q_{\mathit{IS}}$. The correlation of characteristic features of undrained shearing (i.e., liquefaction potential, ${\eta }_{\mathit{IS}}$ and $q_{\mathit{IS}}$) and drained shearing (maximum rate of volume change, ${\left(d{\epsilon }_v/d{\epsilon }_a\right)}_{\mathit{m}\mathit{a}\mathit{x}}$) with state indices were compared statistically in terms of root mean square deviations (RMSD). All characteristic features of undrained shearing generally showed the best correlation with $I_p$ in term of RMSDs, however $\psi$ showed comparatively wider scatter for the specimens showing flow and limited flow behaviour.     

Compressibility of biocemented loose sands under constant rate of strain,loading, and pseudo K0-triaxial conditions

The compressibility behavior of loose sands treated with Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is presented in this paper. The paper discusses the strain rate effects and evolution of at-rest earth pressure coefficient and elastic shear modulus during $K_0$-loading. The soil samples were prepared in a triaxial cell in which a biological solution containing the ureolytic bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii was injected and held under a small back pressure. Cementation treatments were injected following an alternated top and bottom sequence. The constant rate of strain, constant rate of loading, and pseudo $K_0$-triaxial tests were performed at different strain and stress rates. On-specimen internal instrumentation consisting of a submersible load cell, three Hall Effect transducers, and vertical Bender Elements were used to control radial strains during $K_0$-loading and measure small-strain shear modulus changes. Based on shear wave velocity measurements, the MICP-treated sand was lightly cemented and displayed soil-like behavior. The experimental results demonstrated a significant reduction in soil compressibility after MICP treatment. The material response was remarkably similar for every tested strain rate. The very small values of axial strains measured for the biotreated samples in relation to untreated control specimens for vertical effective stress levels below 200 kPa is evidence of the suitability of this treatment and shows its potential for use in field applications at relatively shallow depths.     

Deformation and cyclic resistance of sand in large-strain undrained torsional shear tests with initial static shear stress

This paper presents the findings from an experimental study focusing on the undrained cyclic behavior of sand in the presence of initial static shear stress. A series of undrained cyclic torsional shear tests was performed on saturated air-pluviated Toyoura sand specimens up to single amplitude shear strain ($\gamma$_SA) exceeding 50%. Two types of cyclic loading conditions, namely, stress reversal (SR) and stress non-reversal (SNR), were employed by changing the amplitude of the combined initial static shear and cyclic shear stresses. The tests covered a broad range of initial states in terms of relative density (Dr = 20–74%) and the initial static shear stress ratio (α = 0–0.30). The following five distinct modes of deformation were identified from the tests based on the density state, the transient undrained peak shear stress, and the combined cyclic and static shear stresses: 1) static liquefaction, 2) cyclic liquefaction, 3) cyclic mobility, 4) shear deformation failure, and 5) limited deformation. Of these, cyclic liquefaction and static liquefaction are the most critical. They occur in very loose sand (D_r ≤ 24%) under SR and SNR, respectively, and are characterized by abrupt flow-type shear deformation. Cyclic mobility occurs under SR in loose to dense sand with D_r ≥ 24%. Contrarily, shear deformation failure typically occurs under SNR in sand with 24 < D_r < 65%, and limited deformation may take place in dense sand with D_r ≥ 65%. In this paper, a stress-void ratio-based predictive method is proposed to identify the likely mode of deformation/failure in sand under undrained shear loading with static shear. Furthermore, the cyclic resistance is evaluated at three different levels of $\gamma$_SA (i.e., small, $\gamma$_SA = 3%; moderate, $\gamma$_SA = 7.5%; and large, $\gamma$_SA = 20%). The results show that, independent of the density state, the cyclic resistance continuously decreases with an increase in α at the small $\gamma$_SA level, while it first decreases and then increases for both loose and dense sand at the moderate and large $\gamma$_SA levels.     

Optimizing the evolution of strength for lime-stabilized rammed soil

In the present study,unconfined compressive strength(q_u)values of two lime-treated soils(soil 1 and 2)with curing times of 28 d,90 d and 360 d were optimized.The influence of void/lime ratio was represented by the porosity/volumetric lime content ratio(η/L_(iv))as the main parameter.η/L_(iv) represents the volume of void influenced by compaction effort and lime volume.The evolution of qu was analyzed for each soil using the coefficient of determination as the optimization parameter.Aiming at providing adjustments to the mechanical resistance values,the η/L_(iv) parameter was modified to η/L_(iv)~C using the adjustment exponent C(to make q_u-η/L_(iv) variation rates compatible).The results show that with the decrease of η/L_(iv)~C.qu increases potentially and the optimized values of C were 0.14-0.18.The mechanical resistance data show similar trends between q_u and η/L_(iv)~C for the studied silty soil-ground lime mixtures,which were cured at ambient temperature(23±2)℃ with different curing times of 28—360 d.Finally,optimized equations were presented using the normalized strengths and the proposed optimization model,which show 6% error and 95% acceptability on average.     

Characteristics of liquefaction in Tokyo Bay area by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake caused the severe liquefaction of reclaimed lands in the Tokyo Bay area, from Shinkiba in Tokyo through Urayasu, Ichikawa and Narashino Cities to Chiba City. However, the reclaimed lands that had been improved by the sand compaction pile method, the gravel drain method or other methods did not liquefy. The reclaimed lands that did liquefy had been constructed after around 1966 with soil dredged from the bottom of the bay. The dredged and filled soils were estimated to have been liquefied by the earthquake. Seismic intensities in the liquefied zones were not high, although the liquefied grounds were covered with boiled sand. Most likely it was the very long duration of the main shock, along with the large aftershock that hit 29 min later, which induced the severe liquefaction. Sidewalks and alleys buckled at several sites, probably due to a kind of sloshing around of the liquefied ground. Moreover, much sand boiled from the ground and the ground subsided significantly because the liquefied soil was very fine. Many houses settled notably and tilted. In Urayasu City, 3680 houses were more than partially destroyed. Sewage pipes meandered or were broken, their joints were extruded from the ground, and many manholes were horizontally sheared. This remarkable damage may also have occurred due to the sloshing around of the liquefied ground.     

Characterization of large strain consolidation parameters of soft materials with time-variant compressibility at low effective stress

The one-dimensional (1D) large strain consolidation (LSC) of saturated soft materials that are deposited at very low-density usually exhibit time-variant compressibility (void ratio vs vertical effective stress ($e-{\sigma }_{\mathrm{v}}^{\prime }$)) relation. The 1D column-like model test serves as an effective approach for characterizing this consolidation characteristic if all the physical parameters (including the settlement rate, pore pressure and density) are measured. Unfortunately, the density measurement is not always realistic due to its high cost (e.g., with X-rays) and the time-effect must be roughly neglected by using an average compressibility relation. This can further lead to erroneous estimations of the materials’ permeability ($k$) relation (permeability vs void ratio ($k-e$)) in the LSC analysis. This paper presents two modifications on two conventional equations for compressibility and permeability, respectively. The first one describes the compressibility curve’s movement in the $\ln e-\ln {\sigma }_{\mathrm{v}}^{\prime }$ plane, and the other quantifies the ratio between the permeability calibrated by neglecting time-effect and its true value. These modifications originate from deep comparative analyses of several physical parameters between the column test and numerical prediction. Meanwhile, a simple hand-calculation procedure is proposed to estimate the new constants.     

On the influence of grain shape on the cumulative deformations in sand under drained high-cyclic loading

The cumulative response of three granular materials with significantly different grain shape and surface characteristics (glass beads, natural sand with subrounded grains and crushed sand with very angular particles) but identical grain size distribution curve has been studied in drained cyclic triaxial tests. For each material, several tests with 100,000 cycles and different amplitudes, densities, average mean pressures and average stress ratios have been performed. In case of glass beads and natural sand, an approximately square relationship between the residual strain accumulation rates and stress or strain amplitude was found (${\stackrel{?}{\epsilon }}^{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{c}}$ ～ ${\left({\epsilon }^{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{l}}\right)}^2$), while an almost proportional dependence was measured for the crushed sand (${\stackrel{?}{\epsilon }}^{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{c}}$ ～ ${\epsilon }^{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{l}}$). The largest differences in the cumulative response of the three tested materials were observed regarding the pressure-dependence of ${\stackrel{?}{\epsilon }}^{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{c}}$. For glass beads and (less pronounced) for natural sand, the residual strain accumulation rates decreased with average mean pressure, while the opposite tendency was obtained for the crushed sand. At small pressures, the residual strains were much larger for the glass beads than for the natural sand and particularly the crushed sand, while these differences in the accumulated strains almost diminished at larger pressures. Independent of the shape and the surface characteristics of the particles, it was confirmed that the average stress ratio is the governing parameter of the cyclic flow rule. Finally, the parameters of the high-cycle accumulation (HCA) model proposed by Niemunis et al. (2005) were analyzed considering the grain shape parameters (aspect ratio, circularity) obtained from an automated grain shape analysis.