Strain localization in sand: an overview of the experimental results obtained in Grenoble using stereophotogrammetry

Experimental results are presented from the extensive program of drained plane strain compression tests on sand carried out in Grenoble over the last two decades. Systematic analysis of photographs of the deforming specimen allowed for measuring deformations and determining strain fields throughout the test, that is: prior to, at, and after the onset of strain localization. The principles, details and accuracy of the procedure are described, as well as its suitability to properly depict the patterns of deformation. Findings concerning the occurrence and progression of strain localization are discussed. The issues of shear band orientation and thickness are addressed, as well as temporary and persistent complex localization patterns, and the volumetric behaviour inside a band after its formation. The influence of such variables as initial state of the sand (effective stress and relative density), specimen size and slenderness, as well as grain size, is discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

Quantitative 3D imaging of partially saturated granular materials under uniaxial compression

Acta Geotechnica - Gauging the mechanical effect of partial saturation in granular materials is experimentally challenging due to the very low suctions resulting from large pores. To this end, a...     

Strain fields and mechanical response of a highly to medium fissured bentonite clay

This article presents the developments of an ongoing research aimed at modelling the influence of fissuring on the behaviour of clays. In particular, it recalls the main results of an extensive laboratory investigation on a fissured bentonite clay from the south of Italy and presents the data of a new investigation on the evolution with shearing of the strain fields developing within the clay, resulting from Digital Image Correlation (DIC). Element test results are analysed in the framework of continuum mechanics and linked to the clay fissuring features, once characterised using the Fissuring IDentity (F‐ID) chart. This article compares the bentonite behaviour with that of other fissured clays of different F‐IDs, highlighting the common behavioural features. Thereafter, the soil response at the macro level is related to the DIC‐derived strain fields evolving within the clay with loading. For this purpose, DIC was successfully used to investigate the deformation processes active in the fissured clay and the sources of the localisation phenomena. DIC is shown to provide indications of the extent to which highly to medium fissured clays element test results can be of use to model the clay behaviour according to continuum mechanics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-scale morphological descriptors from the fractal analysis of particle contour

Acta Geotechnica - The increasing understanding of the connection between particle morphology and mechanical behaviour of granular materials has generated significant research on the quantitative...     

Numerical modelling of installation effects for diaphragm walls in sand

The scopes of this work are to study the mechanisms of load transfer and the deformations of the ground during slurry trenching and concreting in dry sand and to evaluate their effects on service structural loads, wall deflections and ground displacements behind the wall caused by subsequent excavation. A series of three-dimensional finite element analyses was carried out modelling the installation of diaphragm walls consisting of panels of different length. The soil was modelled as either linearly elastic-perfectly plastic or incrementally non-linear (hypoplastic) with elastic strain range. Plane strain analyses of diaphragm walls of identical cross section were also carried out in which wall installation was either modelled or the wall was wished in place (WIP). The analyses predict ground movements consistent with the experimental observations both in magnitude and trend. The results also show that the maximum horizontal wall deflections and structural loads reduce with increasing panel aspect ratio towards a minimum which is about twice the value computed for WIP analyses. Panel aspect ratios should be larger than about three to take advantage of the three-dimensional effects. The pattern and magnitude of surface vertical displacements obtained from linearly elastic-perfectly plastic analyses, no matter whether three- or two-dimensional, are unrealistic.     

Displacements induced by the installation of diaphragm panels

The walls of a deep excavation in cohesionless soils below the water table have been supported by a reinforced concrete diaphragm with T-shaped panels. To improve the safety against the risk of local collapse during the panel excavation, the soil surrounding the panels has been treated by deep mixing to a depth of 6?C10?m. The horizontal displacements, induced in the surrounding soil by the installation (deep mixing, slurry supported excavation, placing of the reinforcement cage, concrete casting and curing) of the diaphragm, have been measured by means of inclinometers. It is claimed that they can be a significant fraction of the total displacements induced by the excavation. A back analysis of the observed displacements shows that the deformation process is essentially elastic and can be satisfactorily modelled provided the values of the soil stiffness are properly selected.     

Directional response of a reconstituted fine‐grained soil—Part I: experimental investigation

This paper discusses the results of a large experimental program designed to investigate in a systematic manner the main features of the incremental response of fine‐grained soils. The results are obtained from triaxial stress probing experiments carried out on a French silty clay (Beaucaire Marl). All the tests have been performed on reconstituted specimens, normally consolidated to an initial state which is either isotropic or anisotropic. In the interpretation of the experimental results, extensive use is made of the concept of strain response envelope. The response envelopes obtained for different stress increment magnitudes are remarkably consistent with each other and indicate an inelastic and irreversible material response, i.e. a strong dependence on the stress increment direction, also at relatively small strain levels. A companion paper (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., this issue, 2006) assesses the performance of some advanced constitutive models in reproducing the behaviour of reconstituted Beaucaire Marl as observed in this experimental program. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Laboratory Experimental Study of the Hydromechanical Behavior of Boom Clay

This paper reports some results of a large experimental program on Boom Clay conducted in Grenoble in the framework of the European project SELFRAC. The program included isotropic compression up to relatively high stress, drained triaxial compression tests at different cell pressures, as well as permeability measurements under isotropic and deviatoric stress. Local measurement of axial and radial displacements allowed the detection of strain localization during deviatoric loading. The permeability of Boom Clay is found to depend on the mean effective stress. The response of Boom Clay during deviatoric loading appears to be strongly affected by the swelling experienced during the isotropic stage preceding triaxial compression. The rate of swelling decreases with isotropic stress. The longer the swelling before shear, more the response under shear becomes ductile and the lower the initial stiffness. Permeability depends on the mean effective stress and it is found to decrease of about two orders of magnitude when the mean stress increases from 1 to 32 MPa. Permeability during shear loading is essentially constant and does not seem to be affected by strain localization. These results are complemented by a few observations obtained using X-ray microtomography in the framework of the more recent European project TIMODAZ. These findings illustrate the impact of pre-existing inclusions and fissures on specimen deformation upon deviatoric loading in the laboratory.