Multiscale modeling of a sensitive marine clay

This paper examines the mechanical behavior of a sensitive marine clay. Various laboratory tests on intact and reconstituted samples of Guinea Gulf marine clay were performed under isotropic compression and drained triaxial compression at constant confining stresses. Microstructure analysis on intact and reconstituted samples was also carried out under different loading conditions. The effect of inter‐aggregates bonding on mechanical properties is discussed. Based on experimental analysis, a new modeling method is proposed. In this approach, the clay is regarded as an assembly of aggregates of clay particles. An inter‐aggregate contact law is introduced relating contact forces to aggregates relative displacements. The deformation of the assembly can be obtained by integrating the movement of the inter‐aggregate contacts in all orientations. Thus, the effect of inter‐aggregates bonds and debonding is considered in a direct way. The model is evaluated through comparisons between the predicted and measured results on Guinea Gulf marine clay. The evolutions of local stresses, strains, and bonds in inter‐aggregates planes are discussed to explain the anisotropy induced by the applied loading. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified Darcy''s law, Terzaghi''s effective stress principle and Fick''s law for swelling clay soils

Governing equations often used in soil mechanics and hydrology include the classical Darcy's law, Terzaghi's effective stress principle, and the classical Fick's first law. It is known that the classical forms of these relations apply only to non-swelling, granular materials. In this paper, we summarize recent generalizations of these results for swelling porous media obtained using hybrid mixture theory (HMT) by the authors. HMT is a methodical procedure for obtaining macroscopic constitutive restrictions which are thermodynamically admissible by exploiting the entropy inequality for spatially-averaged properties. HMT applied to the modeling of swelling clay particles, viewed as clusters of adsorbed water and clay minerals, produces additional terms necessary to account for the physico-chemical forces between the adsorbed water and clay minerals or, more generally, for swelling colloids. New directions for modeling consolidation of swelling clays are proposed based on our view of clay particles as a two-phase system.     

Molecular dynamics modeling of a partially saturated clay-water system at finite temperature

The mechanical and hydraulic properties of unsaturated clay under nonisothermal conditions have practical implications in geotechnical engineering applications such as geothermal energy harvest, landfill cover design, and nuclear waste disposal facilities. The water menisci among clay particles impact the mechanical and hydraulic properties of unsaturated clay. Molecular dynamics (MD) modeling has been proven to be an effective method in investigating clay structures and their hydromechanical behavior at the atomic scale. In this study, we examine the impact of temperature increase on the capillary force and capillary pressure of the partially saturated clay-water system through high-performance computing. The water meniscus formed between two parallel clay particles is studied via a full-scale MD modeling at different elevated temperatures. The numerical results have shown that the temperature increase impacts the capillary force, capillary pressure, and contact angle at the atomic scale. The capillary force on the clay particle obtained from MD simulations is also compared with the results from the macroscopic theory. The full-scale MD simulation of the partially saturated clay-water system can not only provide a fundamental understanding of the impact of temperature on the interface physics of such system at the atomic scale, but also has practical implication in formulating physics-based multiscale models for unsaturated soils by providing interface physical properties of such materials directly through high-performance computing.     

Thermomechanical model of hydration swelling in smectitic clays: I two-scale mixture-theory approach

A thermomechanical theory of hydration swelling in smectitic clays is proposed. The clay is treated as a three-scale swelling system wherein macroscopic governing equations are derived by upscaling the microstructure. At the microscale the model has two phases, the disjoint clay platelets and adsorbed water (water between the platelets). At the intermediate (meso) scale (the homogenized microscale) the model consists of clay particles (adsorbed water plus clay platelets) and bulk water. At the macroscale the medium is treated as an homogenized swelling mixture of clay particles and bulk-phase water with thermodynamic properties defined everywhere within the macroscopic body. In Part I, the mesoscopic model governing the swelling of the clay particles is derived using a mixture-theoretic approach and the Coleman and Noll method of exploitation of the entropy inequality. Application of this procedure leads to two-scale governing equations which generalize the classical thermoelastic consolidation model of non-swelling media, as they exhibit additional physico-chemical and viscous-type terms accounting for hydration stresses between the adsorbed fluid and the clay minerals. In Part II the two-scale model is applied to a bentonitic clay used for engineered barrier of nuclear waste repository. The clay buffer is assumed to have monomodal character with most of the water essentially adsorbed. Further, partial results toward a three-scale thermomechanical macroscopic model including the bulk phase next to the swelling particles are derived by homogenizing the two-scale model with the bulk water. A notable consequence of this three-scale approach is that it provides a rational basis for the appearance of a generalized inter-phase mass transfer between adsorbed and bulk water. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulations of realistic granular soils in oedometer tests using physics engine

Discrete element method (DEM) has become a preeminent numerical tool for investigating the mechanical behavior of granular soils. However, traditional DEM uses sphere clusters to approximate realistic particles, which is computationally demanding when simulating many particles. This paper demonstrates the potential of using a physics engine technique to simulate realistic particles. The physics engines are originally developed for video games for simulating physical and mechanical processes that occur in the real world to produce realistic game experiences. The simulation accuracy and efficiency of physics engines have been significantly improved in the last two decades allowing them to be used as a scientific tool in many disciplines. This paper introduces modeling methodologies of physics engine including realistic particle representation and the contact model. Then, oedometer tests are simulated using realistic particles scanned by X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). The simulation results agree well with experimental results. This paper demonstrates that physics engines can output contact parameters for geotechnical analysis and force chains for visualization.     

Effect of Aspect Ratio on the Monotonic Shear Behaviour: Micromechanical Interpretations

The effect of aspect ratio on the mechanical behaviour and micromechanics of two different assemblies during drained triaxial shearing are reported in this paper. Discrete element simulations are done on two different sets of assemblies—first assembly consists of particles with aspect ratio 1.0 and second assembly consists of particles with aspect ratio 1.5. A log normal distribution of particle size is adopted for both the samples. The constitutive behaviour of the assemblies and the evolution of the microstructure of the samples under shearing are closely examined and is related to the aspect ratio of the particles constituting the assembly. The spherical harmonic distributions of contact forces and contact normals along with 3-D histograms are plotted to give quantitative information of the variation of these parameters as the loading progresses. The results indicate that as the aspect ratio increases, there is an increase in the maximum deviatoric stress at the macroscopic level. At the microscopic level, the values of the anisotropic coefficients which are representative of the microparameters also show an increase in the magnitude for the assembly with higher aspect ratio particles.     

A constitutive thermomechanical model for saturated clays

The structural deformation in clays results from microscopic phenomena involving the mechanical contact-stress change, the physico-chemical variation of repulsive forces in expansive clays, and thermal dilatancy of macropores. These textural strains are associated to three plastic mechanisms represented by respectively the yield surfacesf_Tm, f_R-A andf_T. Under a thermal cycle, the sizes of interlamellar spaces between clay platelets are not modified, hence the temperature cycle is expected to have no effect on repulsive forces and thus the second mechanism is not affected by temperature changes.

This paper suggests a formulation of a model of thermo-elasto-plastic behaviour of non-expansive saturated clays characterised by two plastic mechanisms. The mechanical yield surfacef_Tm of the contact-stress mechanism is based on a modified cam-clay model; the thermal softening yield surfacef_T is a plane separating two thermal domains. In normally consolidated conditions, the resulting response to an increase of temperature is compressive. However, in highly overconsolidated conditions, a small irreversible dilative volumetric strain is observed when the temperature is above a threshold value. In intermediate conditions, the material starts with an expansion and tends to a compression.

The constitutive model combines thermo-mechanical hardening, predominant in normally consolidated states (NCS) and absent in overconsolidated states (OCS) where the thermal softening occurs. The characterisation of the model requires information about rheological parameters obtained from oedometric and triaxial paths. Lastly, some numerical simulations of thermo-mechanical tests onremoulded Boom, ‘Bassin Parisien’ andPontida clays are presented, which show satisfactory agreement between experiments and model predictions.     

Aspects of the Clay/Electrolyte/Water System with Special Reference to the Geotechnical Properties of Clays

The solid phase of the clay/electrolyte/water system is composed of platy clay particles (of variable thickness, δ, and variable specific surface, S) and of crystal phase (hygroscopic) water, wherefrom δ and S may be estimated. Diffuse layer water between parallel particles and other structural elements at the mutual distance 2d, W_d = d S ρ_w, and macropore water form the liquid phase. Particles are arranged in domains and and clusters, these in aggregates in an “aggregate lattice” with vacancies (macropores) and further superstructures are formed. Contact bonds may develop and long-range forces exist between structural elements, which govern the clay geotechnical behaviour. Cohesion is usually due to van der Waals attraction, friction component–to contact bonds and particle delamination, swelling and suction–to diffuse layer repulsion. Most phenomena may be explained in terms of the equilibrium condition between attraction and repulsion. Heat dissipation must be considered in mechanical processes. The angle of effective stress env envelope is correlated with particle thickness, thus therefrom clay strength may be estimated.     

冻结黏土三轴试验微观变形机理的离散元分析

基于三维颗粒离散单元法,赋予颗粒相应的细观参数,并采用黏结发生在接触颗粒间有限范围内的模型来考虑冻土颗粒中冰的胶结作用,建立了冻结黏土三维离散元数值模型.在相同围压、不同温度和相同温度、不同围压下对冻结黏土的室内三轴试验进行数值模拟,对比了数值试验与室内测试的应力-应变曲线,两者吻合较好.数值模拟结果表明:围压增大会使得接触黏结逐渐失效,在剪切带中胶结冰的破坏区域将增大,而温度的降低则会产生相反结果,这些微观变化都将对冻结黏土的宏观力学变形产生较大影响,同时,细观参数对温度的依赖性也很明显.冻结黏土三轴试验微观变形离散元模拟思路及方法可为今后运用离散单元法研究冻土力学行为提供一定的参考.     

边（滑）坡治理中h型组合抗滑桩的分析方法及工程应用

h型组合抗滑桩是用横梁连接前后两排桩外形似h型的可抵抗大滑坡推力的支挡结构,分析了h型桩支挡边（滑）坡的作用机理,根据其受力特征,可以滑面为界将其分为上下两个部分计算分析,通过室内试验研究和理论分析,提出可按在滑坡推力作用下的横向弹性地基约束的平面刚架模型分析上半部分（受荷段）结构内力,其间考虑了桩排间的坡体压力作用,在此基础上可对下半部分（锚固段）直接按弹性地基梁理论计算,按所提出的方法设计计算的h型桩成功用于四川广巴高速公路一大型堆积体路堑边坡工程中,取得了良好的实际效果。     

Mechanisms of pelleting flocculation

Basically speaking, flocculation and coagulation should be theoretically treated as a many-body problem. However, such potential energy theories of coagulation as the DLVO theory have been developed as a two-body problem, i.e., interaction between two plates or two particles in an infinite medium. The concept volume fraction of the constituent particles in the floc, i.e., voidage fraction in the floc is excluded from these theories and, therefore, the traditional theories are not applicable to the phenomenon of “pelleting flocculation”.In an effort to formulate a theory of flocculation that leads to pellet-like flocs, three possible mechanisms of flocculation process are involved, i.e., (1) perikinetic flocculation, (2) orthokinetic flocculation, and (3) an additional process of mechanical syneresis. A few hypotheses are also presented, which may become the prelude to a subsequent flocculation theory.     

工程粘性土微观结构的定量评价

本文首先介绍了作者研制的温差真空干燥系统和作者同合肥工业大学一道研制的土体微观结构图片计算机定量分析系统,前者用于速冻粘土试样的干燥处理以保证其原始结构不受扰动,后者用于土结构图象的定量分析。从工程土体的系统性出发,作者提出了工程土的结构层次、结构状态以及结构状态熵的概念;另外,在不同压力和不同作用时间下对宁波粘土进行了结构定量分析,文中叙述了粘土结构状态参数——结构熵、结构单元的平均粒径、平均形状系数的变化规律,分析了结构变化与粘土特殊物理力学性质之间的关系。     

石鼓煤矿泥岩的物理化学力学特性研究

本文对石鼓煤矿具有代表性的三种泥岩的矿物组成、物理力学性质、物理化学因素、胶结物质和微观结构的测试和分析进行了介绍,并从物理化学力学观点出发研究了水质变化、风干失水、结构破坏等因素对泥岩膨胀性的影响。研究结果表明:泥岩的粘士矿物以高岭石和伊利石为主;其膨胀力为2～5公斤/平方厘米;粘土矿物含量高,结晶不良,胶结物质少,结构紧密是它产生膨胀且易受物理化学力学因素变化的影响的主要原因。     

低围压下颗粒形态对软黏土抗剪强度影响的离散元分析

黏土颗粒形态不仅反映黏土的矿物组分,更是影响其物理力学性质的重要因素之一。为了研究物质组成对软黏土微宏观性质的影响,采用离散元方法对不同颗粒形态的软黏土试样进行三轴压缩模拟试验。首先,基于扫描电镜图像量化颗粒形态,对天然状态下黏土颗粒的方向角和凹凸度进行统计,引入球度和凹凸度作为颗粒形态的特征参数;然后,基于原生矿物的单粒结构和黏土矿物的片状结构特征,构造球体单粒及圆柱体、正方体、长方体的片状簇体;最后,基于三轴试验离散元模拟方法,分析软黏土颗粒形态对其宏观力学及微观特性的影响。结果表明:片状颗粒试样比球体颗粒试样的初始模量高,抗剪强度大,随加载其排列趋于水平向分布;加载初期,颗粒球度对初始弹性模量影响较明显,初始弹性模量随着球度增大而逐渐减小;加载后期,颗粒凹凸度对抗剪强度指标影响作用逐渐凸显,试样内摩擦角和黏聚力随着凹凸度增大而逐渐减小;微观结构上,颗粒形状对颗粒位移和旋转也有较大影响。     

针对黏性土胶质联结特征的SEM-EDS试验研究

采用 “整区→微区→胶结点”的逐步分区测试方法,对湛江原状黏土与重塑土开展SEM-EDS试验研究,观察土体微观结构的胶质联结特征,确定胶结物质的元素组分及其空间分布状态,建立微观结构-化学物质-宏观力学行为的相互关系与灵敏性分析。结果表明,土的基本性质很大程度上取决于微观层面的颗粒联结特征。湛江黏土的结构单元实际上是以许多黏土矿物薄片堆叠而成的黏土畴,开放式的絮凝结构加上以游离氧化铁为主要成分的胶质联结特征是导致湛江黏土具有高灵敏性、强结构性的根本原因。当应力水平超过土体的结构屈服应力后,力学性能迅速劣化,结构单元体逐步转为联结强度弱,分散性强的凝聚体或叠聚体。研究还表明,土的颗粒联结强度、结构形态特征及其对结构强度的贡献是导致原状土与重塑土性质差异的本质,天然状态下的湛江黏土土性受控于微观结构特征,而重塑土土性受控于黏土矿物颗粒本性。     

Periglacial features of the Subbetic Mountains of southern Spain (Córdoba Province)

Three types of periglacial deposits (breccias, stratified breccias and grèzes litées are described from Córdoba Province in southern Spain. Their physico-chemical properties, in particular clay mineralogy in relation to terra rossas in the area, indicate two different ages for these deposits. Younger terra rossas and younger periglacial deposits contain illite and kaolinite whereas older terra rossas and older periglacial deposits contain vermiculite and kaolinite. Geomorphological evidence (altitude and relationships to the surfaces described by earlier authors in southern Spain) indicate approximate ages for the deposits. Secondary carbonate from one of the younger breccias gave a uranium series date of 80 000 yr BP, suggesting that some of the younger breccias were deposited in a periglacial climate before 80 000 BP. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural study of a natural slip zone: quantification and deformation history

Microstructure of a natural slip zone was comprehensively examined using a combination of images captured systematically by optical microscopy (OPM) and backscattered electron microscopy (BEM) techniques. Microstructural features identified on these images were processed and evaluated using an advanced image analysis system, which proved that quantitative analyses could considerably enhance the understanding of shear behavior of slip zones. It was found that variations of porosity, abundance of platy clay particles and alignments of particles are significant indicators revealing nature of deformation processes. These indicators show that global mechanical behavior of the investigated slip zone can be conceptualized as that of normally consolidated clayey soils under drained conditions.

The geometric patterns of the microstructure of the slip zone are similar to the S–C fabrics seen in tectonic shear zones. It is suggested that combined progressive bulk simple shear and pure shear modes enable to realistically reconstruct the kinematic history of the slip zone, through which particle movements and microstructural evolution were accomplished via various types of particulate flows. The results of this study show that clay mineralogy plays a more important role in the development of the slip zone than abundance of clay-size particles, while both clay mineralogy and relative proportions of each particle size fraction control the response of particles to shear deformation. Among the fractions present in the slip zone, fine silts are the strongest indicator of global shear stress characterized by their highest degree of alignment, whereas clay particles are the weakest. Highest degree of shape preferred orientation is also found within fine silt domains.     

Development of Intermediate Microfabric in Kaolin Clay and Its Consolidation Behaviour

The effect of microfabric on the mechanical behaviour of clays has been explored previously based on the response of dispersed and flocculated microfabrics only. However, the natural clays often have the geometric arrangement of particles between these two extreme cases which can be termed as intermediate microfabric. This paper explores the formation of intermediate microfabric of kaolin clay and its impact on soil’s consolidation behaviour by performing self-weight consolidation, slurry consolidation and 1-D consolidation tests. The effect of calgon content (dispersing agent) on geometric arrangement of the particles has been evaluated through cluster size distribution by performing double hydrometer tests. Then these clay slurries have been used to perform the AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) test to obtain the variation in average angle of particle orientation with respect to the calgon content present in the slurry. AFM technique provides 3D image of the clay sample and 2D image with Z-information with the potential of measuring intermediate microfabric of clayey soil quantitatively including dispersed and flocculated microfabrics. Other traditional techniques such as SEM, TEM & XRD are limited to only qualitative analysis of soil’s microfabric, thus, having no capability to measure intermediate microfabric of clay. A methodology of preparing bulk specimens of clay with intermediate microfabric has been developed using slurry consolidation technique; and then these specimens have been consolidated under 1-D loading to evaluate the effect of intermediate microfabric on compressibility and permeability of clay. In this study, all the experiments reports that the dispersed type geometric arrangement increases with the increase in calgon content in soil up to 2 % and then the reverse behaviour is observed at 3 %; which may depend on the required amount of sodium cations to neutralize the negatively charged faces of the clay platelets present in the slurry.     

长江三角洲第一硬质黏土层粒度多元统计分析及沉积环境判别

长江三角洲第一硬质黏土层成因是长期争论的问题。对上海市青浦区第一硬质黏土层全样粒度多元统计分析,并与南京周家山下蜀黄土、长江悬浮颗粒物对比,探索长江三角洲第一硬质黏土层成因。第一硬质黏土层机械颗粒组成均一,频率曲线呈正偏态、中等或尖锐峰形的双峰分布,频率累积曲线呈"S"型分布,具有风成沉积特性。粒度特征分析为沉积环境判别提供沉积学证据时,综合运用多元统计分析可以使分析结果更准确。聚类分析将硬黏土与典型风成沉积物下蜀黄土粒度分布归为一类,长江悬浮颗粒物单独为一类,表明硬黏土与下蜀黄土成因一致。下蜀黄土与长江悬浮颗粒物粒度参数判别函数,将绝大部分硬黏土样品判定为风成沉积。粒级—标准偏差曲线结合现代风场,显示硬黏土粒度特征存在高空西风和低空西北季风两个主控因子。表明长江三角洲第一硬质黏土层是由西风和西北季风控制的风成成因堆积物。     

Quickclays as products of glacial action: a new approach to their nature,geology, distribution and geotechnical properties

Essentially, quickclays are products of glaciation which accounts for their limited distribution; other modes of development being of lesser importance. Glacial grinding provides the fine silt and clay sizes required to constitute quickclays. Two major factors account for the geotechnical properties, a composition factor related to material comprising the soil system and a leaching factor, the effectiveness of which is related to the clay-mineral content of the soil.Soils can be divided into three types, based on criteria of particle size and type of interparticle bond. Among the latter are long-range active bonds, typical of true clay-mineral systems; and short-range inactive bonds such as are observed between two quartz particles. The three main soil types have: (a) small particles and long-range forces - the bond/weight ratioR is high; (b) small particles and short-range forces ? R > 1 ; and (c) large particles and short-range forces - i.e., the sands, andR < 1. Quickclays fall more conveniently into type (b) than into type (a) in as much as the most important property is a preponderance of inactive bonds in the soil system. This is achieved by a high content of non-clay mineral particles, and also may be assisted by leaching and cementation. If more than a critical proportion of long-range bonds are present, the required very high sensitivity does not occur.The initial failure of the soil might be treated as tensile using a volume failure criterion; the low settling velocity of the very small (≈ 1?2 μm) particles allows the solid-liquid transformation to occur after a modest shock loading. Observations of low thixotropy, lack of secondary settlement and sudden failure in compression tests can be explained by requirements of particle size and material.