Strength and deformation behaviour of coarse-grained soil by true triaxial tests

In order to investigate the influence of intermediate principal stress on the stress-strain and strength behaviour of a coarse-grained soil, a series of true triaxial tests were performed. The tests were conducted in a recently developed true triaxial apparatus with constant minor principal stress σ3 and constant value of intermediate principal stress ratio b=（σ2-σ3）/（σ1-σ3） （al is the vertical stress, and % is the horizontal stress）. It is found that the intermediate principal strain, ε2, increases from negative to positive value with the increase of parameter b from zero to unity under a constant minor principal stress. The minor principal strain, ε3, is always negative. This implies that the specimen exhibits an evident anisotropy. The relationship between b and friction angle obtained from the tests is different from that predicted by LADE-DUNCAN and MATSUOKA-NAKAI criteria. Based on the test results, an empirical equation of g（b） that is the shape function of the failure surface on re-plane was presented. The proposed equation is verified to be reasonable by comparing the predicted results using the equation with true triaxial test results of soils, such as coarse-grained soils in this study, sands and gravels in other studies.

Mechanical and electrical properties of coarse-grained soilaffected by cyclic freeze-thaw in high cold regions

To evaluate the geotechnical properties of coarse-grained soil affected by cyclic freeze-thaw,the electrical resistivity and mechanical tests are conducted.The soil specimens are prepared under different water contents,dry densities and exposed to 0?20 freeze-thaw cycles.As a result,the stress?strain behavior of the specimen(w=14.0%andρd=1.90 g/cm^3)changes from strain-hardening into strain-softening due to the freeze-thaw effect.The electrical resistivity of test specimen increases with the freeze-thaw cycles change,but the mechanical parameters(the unconfined compressive strength qu and the deformation modulus E)and brittleness index decrease considerably at the same conditions.All of them tend to be stable after 7?9 cycles.Moreover,both the dry density and the water content have reciprocal effects on the freeze-thaw actions.The failure and pore characteristics of specimens affected by freeze-thaw cycles are discussed by using the image analysis method.Then,an exponential function equation is developed to assess the electrical resistivity of specimens affected by the cyclic freeze-thaw.Linear relations between the mechanical parameters and the electrical resistivity of specimens are established to evaluate the geotechnical properties of the soil exposed to freeze-thaw actions through the corresponding electrical resistivity.

Gradation equation of coarse-grained soil and its applicability

Gradation equation is one way to describe the gradation of coarse-grained soil conveniently,exactly and quantitatively.With the gradation equation,the influence of gradation on the mechanical behaviors of coarse-grained soil can be expressed quantitatively.A new gradation equation with a parameter is proposed.The basic properties and applicability of the new equation are studied.The results show that the proposed equation has the applicability to express coarse-grained soil gradation(CSG),and the range of the parameter β is found to be 0<β<1.The value ofbdetermines the gradation curve shape.If β>0.5,the gradation curve is sigmoidal,otherwise the gradation curve is hyperbolic.For well graded gradations,the parameter has the value of 0.13<β<1.Several CSGs used in domestic and foreign earth-rockfill dams are probed,and the value of the parameterbfalls in the range of 0.18 to 0.97.The investigation of the range of β is of value to guide the design for CSG of earth-rockfill dam.

Deformation characteristics of coarse-grained soil with various gradations

By using large scale triaxial shearing apparatus,consolidated-drained shear tests were conducted on coarse-grained soil with different gradations.In order to describe their deformation rules,three main characteristics of tangent Poisson ratio curves were summarized and the reason was revealed by dividing the movement of soil particles into two kinds: the movement of fine particles and the movement of coarse particles.Then,a volumetric strain expression and a tangent Poisson ratio expression were put forward,and two defects of widely used Duncan-Chang model were fixed.Results calculated from them agree well with test results.There are three parameters,namely L,G and F,in this new model.Parameter L reflects the dilatancy of a specimen and L=4 can be used as a criterion to estimate whether a certain kind of soil has dilatancy quality or not.Parameters G and F relate to the initial slope of tangent Poisson ratio curves,and G=F=0 indicates a special situation which happens in dense granular material of the same diameter.Influences of various gradations on volume deformation are mainly reflected in parameter L which is smaller when there are more gravels in specimens.

Influence of fines content on the anti-frost properties of coarse-grained soil

This paper aims to determine the optimal fines content of coarse-grained soil required to simultaneously achieve weaker frost susceptibility and better bearing capacity. We studied the frost susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil by means of frost heaving tests and static triaxial tests, and the results are as follows： （1） the freezing temperature of coarse-grained soil decreased gradually and then leveled off with incremental increases in the percent content of fines; （2） the fines content proved to be an important factor influencing the frost heave susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil. With incremental increases in the percent content of fines, the frost heave ratio increased gradually and the cohesion function of fines effectively enhanced the shear strength of coarse-grained soil before freeze-thaw, but the frost susceptibility of fines weakened the shear strength of coarse-grained soil after freeze-thaw; （3） with increasing numbers of freeze-thaw cycles, the shear strength of coarse-grained soil decreased and then stabilized after the ninth freeze-thaw cycle, and therefore the mechanical indexes of the ninth freeze-thaw cycle are recommended for the engi- neering design values; and （4） considering frost susceptibility and strength properties as a whole, the optimal fines content of 5% is recommended for railway sub,fade coarse-~rained soil fillings in frozen re^ions.

Numerical and experimental direct shear tests for coarse-grained soils

The presence of particles larger than the permissible dimensions of conventional laboratory specimens causes difficulty in the determination of shear strength of coarse-grained soils. In this research, the influence of particle size on shear strength of coarse-grained soils was investigated by resorting to experimental tests in different scale and numerical simulations based on discrete element method （DEM）. Experimental tests on such soil specimens were based on using the techniques designated as ＂parallel＂ and ＂scalping＂ to prepare gradation of samples in view of the limitation of laboratory specimen size. As a second approach, the direct shear test was numerically simulated on assemblies of elliptical particles. The behaviors of samples under experimental and numerical tests are presented and compared, indicating that the modification of sample gradation has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of coarse-grained soils. It is noted that the shear strengths of samples produced by the scalping method are higher than samples by the parallel method. The scalping method for preparing specimens for direct shear test is therefore recommended. The micromechanical behavior of assemblies under direct shear test is also discussed and the effects of stress level on sample behavior are investigated.

Using a modified direct shear apparatus to explore gap and size effects on shear resistance of coarse-grained soil

This work used a modified direct shear apparatus, created newly by the authors, to explore effects of the gap between shear box halves and specimen size on the shear resistance of coarse-grained soil. The shear boxes of this apparatus were assembled from a series of steel structures capable of superimposition and nesting. Such characteristics facilitated variation of specimen size in both diameter and height. The new device can also maintain a constant gap during shearing. We performed a series of gap-effect and size-effect tests for two uniformly graded, coarse^grained soil samples. The test results showed that both the gap space and specimen size bad significant influences on shear resistance of the coarse-grained soil. Further, analysis of variations in shear strength indices led to a reasonable gap dimension and specimen size of the two soil samples.

一种测定松散土体给水度和毛细负压值的仪器

介绍了一种新研制的可以测定松散土体真实给水度和毛细负压值的实验仪器,它能测定天然状况下原状土体的给水度和毛细负压值,并能很好的反映出给二者随地下水位埋深变化的特点。选做的均质土体的给水度和毛细负压值测定实验,验证实验仪器的可靠性和实用性。

渣场松散碎石土应力-应变特性研究

对取自某渣场边坡坡顶和坡底的2种松散碎石土试样,开展了4组大型三轴固结排水剪切试验,研究了松散碎石土剪切破坏过程中的应力与应变、体应变与轴向应变、实测泊松比随应力水平变化的关系以及邓肯-张E-ν和E-B模型的适用性。研究结果表明:①渣场松散碎石土应力-应变曲线基本呈硬化型、无显著峰值、强度参数φ与选取的应变标准关系密切且随应变标准的增加而变大;②松散碎石土在剪切破坏过程中基本呈单调剪缩,表明剪切过程中试样内部以颗粒平动引起的结构压缩为主,而由颗粒转动和力链调整引起的剪胀基本可忽略;③松散碎石土实测泊松比与应力水平基本呈线性关系,且坡顶与坡底料有较明显的差异。从实测泊松比与邓肯-张模型比较结果来看,邓肯-张E-B模型对坡顶料有较好的适用性,而坡底料比较适用于邓肯-张E-ν模型。

回填土不密实对受损FRPM管影响的有限元分析

结合具体工程建立受损玻璃钢夹砂管段三维有限元模型分析表明,当局部回填土不密实程度由0(密实)变为100%(掏空)时,管道竖向位移最大值由0.043 m增加到0.099 m,增幅达130%;在不密实程度为50%时,其最大环向应力接近极限抗拉强度值,在不密实程度为100%时,超过极限抗拉强度19.30%。所以,严格控制回填质量是减小管道破坏风险的重要因素。

振冲密实法在某林产品交易市场地基处理中的应用

本文以振冲密实法在某林产品交易市场地基处理中的应用为实例,介绍了振冲密实法处理松散砂基的基本原理、施工工艺及效果检验,根据检验结果证明该方法的可靠性,可为类似工程提供经验借鉴。

Influence of particle shape on the erodibility of non-cohesive soil： Insights from coupled CFD-DEM simulations

Soil erosion is a critical process that is being studied in soil science, hydraulic engineering, and geotech- nical engineering. Among many societal and environmental impacts, soil erosion is a major cause for the failures of bridges. The erodibility of soil is determined by its physical and geochemical properties and is also affected by surrounding biological activities. In most of the current models for soil erosion, erodibility of non-cohesive soil is characterized by its median grain size （Dso）, density, and porosity. The contribution to erodibility of the irregular shape of soil grains, which plays an important role in the mechanical and hydraulic properties of coarse-grained soils, is generally ignored. In this paper, a coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method model is developed to analyze the influence of the shape of sand grain on soil erodibility. A numerical model for the drag force on spherical and non-spherical particles is verified by using the results from physical free settling experiments. Erosion of sand grains of different shapes is simulated in a virtual erosion function apparatus, a laboratory device used to mea- sure soil erodibility. The simulation results indicate that the grain shape has major effects on erodibility. Spherical particles do not show a critical velocity because of their low rolling resistance, but a critical velocity does exist for angular particles owing to grain interlocking. The erosion rate is proportional to the flow velocity for both spherical and non-spherical particles. The simulation result for angular particle erosion is fairly consistent with the experimental observations, implying that grain shape is an important factor affecting the erodibility of non-cohesive soils.