Influence of groundnut shell ash on strength and durability properties of clay

Groundnut shell ash, cement and their combinations are used as soil stabilizers in various percentages to improve the strength of locally available highly compressible clay soil. The effect of stabilizer in improving the strength of the soil is evaluated through change in consistency limits, compaction characteristics, undrained cohesion and modulus of elasticity. The durability characteristics of stabilised soil were studied based on the improvement of undrained shear strength for various days of curing by increasing the percentage of cement. Stabilised soil showed satisfactory improvement in strength and consistent durability characters. Groundnut shell ash and cement increased the optimum moisture content. There was a slight decrease in the dry density and modulus of elasticity of soil. These can be used as a viable economic alternative in construction of roads and for stabilising soil acting as bearing medium. The use of groundnut shell ash, an agricultural waste, helps in waste management and promotes sustainable development of local construction industry.     

Experimental Study of Undrained Shear Strength of Silty Sand: Effect of Fines and Gradation

Two strong earthquakes occurred in the region of Chlef (north western part of Algeria) during the last century. From the geological context, there were several great masses of sandy soil ejections on to the ground surface level and severe damages to civil and hydraulic structures. These damages were due to the soil liquefaction phenomenon. The objective of this laboratory investigation is to study the effect of low plastic fines and gradation characteristics on the undrained shear strength (liquefaction resistance) response of sand-silt mixture samples. For this purpose, a series of undrained monotonic triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted saturated silty sand samples with different fines content ranging from 0 to 50?% at two initial relative densities (D_r?=?20 and 91?%). The initial confining pressure was kept at 100?kPa. The evaluation of the data indicates that the undrained shear strength at the peak (q_peak) can be correlated to the undrained residual strength (S_us), the excess pore pressure (Δu), the fines content (F_c) and the intergranular void ratio (e_s). The test results indicate also that the undrained shear strength at the peak decreases with the increment of the coefficient of uniformity and fines content as well as with the decrement of the mean grain size in the range of 0–50?% fines content for both relative densities (D_r?=?20 and 91?%).     

Effects of surfactants and electrolyte solutions on the properties of soil

Biosurfactants are frequently used in petroleum hydrocarbon and dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) remediation. The applicability of biosurfactant use in clayey soils requires an understanding and characterization of their interaction. Comprehensive effects of surfactants and electrolyte solutions on kaolinite clay soil were investigated for index properties, compaction, strength characteristics, hydraulic conductivities, and adsorption characteristics. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and NaPO₃ decreased the liquid limit and plasticity index of the test soil. Maximum dry unit weights were increased and optimum moisture contents were decreased as SDS and biosurfactant were added for the compaction tests for mixtures of 30% kaolinite and 70% sand. The addition of non-ionic surfactant, biosurfactant, and CaCl₂ increased the initial elastic modulus and undrained shear strength of the kaolinite–sand mixture soils. Hydraulic conductivities were measured by fixed-wall double-ring permeameters. Results showed that the hydraulic conductivity was not significantly affected, but slightly decreased from 1×10⁻⁷ cm/s (water) to 0.3×10⁻⁷ cm/s for Triton X-100 and SDS. The adsorption characteristics of the chemicals onto kaolinite were also investigated by developing isotherm curves. SDS adsorbed onto soil particles with the strongest bonding strength of the fluids tested. Correlations among parameters were developed for surfactants, electrolyte solutions, and clayey soils.     

含水率对重塑淤泥不排水强度性质的影响

通过室内调配不同含水率的重塑淤泥,利用研制的室内微型高精度十字板剪切仪,研究了含水率对重塑淤泥重塑不排水强度的影响。该仪器的剪切强度分辨率为1 Pa,经试验验证,仪器测量结果的稳定性较好,但对强度越低的重塑淤泥试样其测量值的相对平均偏差越大。淤泥含水率对淤泥的不排水强度有显著影响,不排水强度均随含水率/液限的增大而减小,含水率/液限越大,不排水强度下降趋势越小。相同的含水率/液限时,不同种类的重塑淤泥的不排水强度比较接近。在双对数坐标中,不排水强度均随含水率/液限的增大而线性减小。由试验数据得出了不同种类重塑淤泥的不排水强度与含水率/液限之间的关系式,利用该关系式可以求得每一种重塑淤泥任意含水率下的不排水强度。文中的试验值大于洪振舜提出的关系式的计算值。当IL >2时,试验值与Locat和Leroueil提出的关系式的计算值基本吻合,当IL <2时,试验值大于Locat和Leroueil提出的关系式的计算值。     

Effects of boundary conditions and partial drainage on cyclic simple shear test results—a numerical study

Owing to imperfect boundary conditions in laboratory soil tests and the possibility of water diffusion inside the soil specimen in undrained tests, the assumption of uniform stress/strain over the sample is not valid. This study presents a qualitative assessment of the effects of non‐uniformities in stresses and strains, as well as effects of water diffusion within the soil sample on the global results of undrained cyclic simple shear tests. The possible implications of those phenomena on the results of liquefaction strength assessment are also discussed. A state‐of‐the‐art finite element code for transient analysis of multi‐phase systems is used to compare results of the so‐called ‘element tests’ (numerical constitutive experiments assuming uniform stress/strain/pore pressure distribution throughout the sample) with results of actual simulations of undrained cyclic simple shear tests using a finite element mesh and realistic boundary conditions. The finite element simulations are performed under various conditions, covering the entire range of practical situations: (1) perfectly drained soil specimen with constant volume, (2) perfectly undrained specimen, and (3) undrained test with possibility of water diffusion within the sample. The results presented here are restricted to strain‐driven tests performed for a loose uniform fine sand with relative density D_r=40%. Effects of system compliance in undrained laboratory simple shear tests are not investigated here. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Undrained behavior of silty sand: effect of the overconsolidation ratio

This experimental study deals with the effect of the overconsolidation ratio on the monotonic undrained shear behavior of silty sand. The study is based on the undrained monotonic triaxial tests for the overconsolidation ratios (OCR?=?1, 2, 4, and 8), with different silt contents ranging from 0% to 40%. The laboratory tests were carried out at an initial relative density of Dr?=?50%. The paper is composed of two parts. The first one presents the tested soils; the second one gives an analysis of the test results and discusses the influence of the overconsolidation ratio on the shear strength of the soil. The test results indicate that the shear strength of the soil increases with the increase of the overconsolidation ratio resulting in an increase of soil dilatancy. The increase in the amount of fines from 0% to 40% increases the phase of the contractancy and consequently reducing the phase of dilatancy of the tested material     

含气软黏土的不排水抗剪强度计算模型

含气软黏土广泛分布在世界五大洲,大量离散气泡的存在对软黏土的不排水抗剪强度具有强化或损伤作用,然而目前仍缺乏能综合考虑气相强化与气相损伤竞争机制的含气土不排水剪切强度解析表达式。结合临界状态土力学理论,基于笔者提出的含气土屈服函数,建立了v-lnp¢ 空间下临界状态线截距与土体含气特性(u_{w 0},y₀)的数学关系,进而推导了含气软黏土在三轴应力状态下不排水抗剪强度s_u的理论显式表达式。同时,采用所提出的含气软黏土不排水抗剪强度理论计算公式,分别对比了3种典型的含气软黏土在不同含气特性下的不排水抗剪强度理论预测与试验结果,包括马来西亚高岭土、Combwich 黏土和高岭黏土。另外,对比分析了4种不同的含气软黏土不排水抗剪强度理论计算模型的预测误差百分比,证明了提出的基于改进的含气软黏土本构模型的不排水抗剪强度理论计算式的合理性,能够更加准确地同时考虑含气软黏土的气相强化与气相损伤双重效应。     

Evaluation of Static Liquefaction Characteristics of Saturated Loose Sand Through the Mean Grain Size and Extreme Grain Sizes

Liquefaction of soils is a natural phenomenon associated with a dramatic loss of the soil shear strength in undrained conditions due to a development of excess pore water pressure. It usually causes extensive damages to buildings and infrastructures during earthquakes. Thus, it is important to evaluate extent of influential parameters on the liquefaction phenomenon of soils in order to clearly understand the different mechanisms leading to its triggering. The soil gradation is one of the most important parameters affecting the liquefaction phenomenon. In this context, a series of undrained compression triaxial tests were carried out on eighteen natural loose (Dr = 25%) sandy samples containing low plastic fines content of 2% (I_p = 5%) considering different extreme sizes (1.6 mm ≤ D_max ≤ 4 mm and 0.001 mm ≤ D_min ≤ 0.63 mm) and two mean grain size ranges (0.25 mm ≤ D₅₀ ≤ 1.0 mm) and (1.0 mm ≤ D₅₀ ≤ 2.5 mm). The initial confining pressure for all tests was kept constant (P′_c = 100 kPa). The obtained test results indicate that the mean grain size (D₅₀) and extreme grain sizes (D_max and D_min) have a significant influence on the undrained shear strength (known as liquefaction resistance) and appear as pertinent factors for the prediction of the undrained shear strength for the soil gradation under study. The undrained shear strength and the excess pore water pressure can be correlated to the extreme grain sizes (D_max and D_min) and the mean grain size (D₅₀) of tested wet deposited samples.     

细粒含量对冰碛土抗剪强度影响的实验研究

为研究细粒组颗粒在浸水/降雨条件下产生迁移对冰碛土抗剪强度的影响,从西藏林芝市帕隆藏布嘎隆寺沟流域内采取冰碛土样品,进行7种不同细粒（粒径小于2 mm）含量情况下的冰碛土比重和相对密度的测试,开展了不同围压下的大型饱和固结不排水三轴（CU）实验。结果表明：（1）细粒含量对干密度的影响较小,不同细粒含量的冰碛土孔隙比大致相同,细颗粒对孔隙具有改造作用,不同细粒含量会引起孔隙结构的差异,从而导致冰碛土的结构差异,最终导致抗剪强度的不同;（2）细颗粒迁移导致冰碛堤坡脚和内部一定深度细粒含量较高,达到一定的量值时,抗剪强度明显降低,冰碛堤容易发生剪切破坏;（3）细粒含量对抗剪强度参数的变化具有重要影响,从中还可以反映出冰碛土结构控制的变化：粗颗粒控制→粗细颗粒共同控制→细颗粒控制。研究结果对于评价冰碛堤的稳定性具有重要意义。     

Undrained Shear Strength of Normally Consolidated and Overconsolidated Clays from Pressuremeter Tests: A Case Study

Undrained shear strength (s_u) of foundation soil of Marquette interchange near Milwaukee, Wisconsin was evaluated from the results of a number of pressuremeter tests conducted on normally consolidated (NC) organic silts and overconsolidated (OC) silty clay. The s_u-values were interpreted from traditional closed-form methods. The pressuremeter geometry and test sequence as well as response of the soil profiles were also simulated using axisymmetric finite element (FE) method with Cam-Clay soil model. The Cam-Clay model parameters were estimated from laboratory tests on undisturbed soil samples. Results show that the s_u estimated from the rate of cavity pressure change with volumetric strain (referred to as direct traditional method) is almost twice the s_u estimated from an indirect traditional method that estimates s_u from shear modulus, in situ horizontal stress, and ultimate cavity pressure obtained from the cavity pressure curves. The s_u-values predicted from the FE models are lower than those estimated from the traditional methods and shows that the assumption of infinite pressuremeter length in traditional methods results in overprediction of undrained shear strength by a factor of 1.5 for NC clay and 2.2 for OC clay. The results of finite element analysis considering Cam-Clay soil model and finite length for pressuremeters suggest the undrained shear strength of 63 ± 7 kPa for NC organic silt and 259 ± 68 kPa for OC silty clay.     

Effect of Cement Type on the Mechanical Behavior of a Gravely Sand

The behavior of a cemented gravely sand was studied using triaxial compression tests. Gypsum, Portland cement and lime were used as the cementing agents in sample preparation. The samples with different cement types were compared in equal cement contents. Three cement contents of 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5% were selected for sample preparation. Drained and undrained triaxial compression tests were conducted in a range of confining pressures from 25 kPa to 500 kPa. Failure modes, shear strength, stress–strain behavior, volume and pore pressure changes were considered. The gypsum cement induced the highest brittleness in soil among three cement types while the Portland cement was found to be the most ductile cementing agent. In lower cement contents and lower confining pressures the soil cemented with Portland cement showed the highest shear strength. However, in the same range of cement content, the soil cemented with gypsum showed highest shear strength for highest tested confining stress. For higher cement contents the shear strength of soil cemented with Portland cement is higher than that for the two other cement types for the range of confining pressures tested in the present study. The samples cemented with lime had the least peak and ultimate shear strength and the highest pore pressure generation in undrained tests. Contrary to the soil cemented with lime, the brittleness of soil cemented with gypsum and Portland cement reduces in undrained condition. Finally it was found that the effect of cement type on the shear strength of cemented soils is more profound in drained condition compared to undrained state.     

多因素影响下石灰固化盐渍土抗剪性能的试验研究

北方地区季节性的冻融作用影响固化土的强度及变形特性。以冻融次数、含盐量、改性聚乙烯醇掺量（SH固土剂）、石灰掺量、养护龄期及干密度为影响因素,经正交试验设计及三轴UU压缩试验,获取固化盐渍土冻融后的抗剪强度及应力-应变性能。试验表明:试样冻融后的抗剪强度与改性聚乙烯醇掺量、石灰掺量、养护龄期和干密度呈正相关,与含盐量呈负相关;干密度和含盐量为影响固化盐渍土的黏聚力和内摩擦角的主要影响因素,冻融后土的抗剪强度逐渐降低,但抗变形能力逐渐增强,试样呈“鼓”型或弱脆性破坏;抗冻融效果最好的条件为:0.9%改性聚乙烯醇掺量与14%石灰掺量、干密度1.70 g/cm3、养护28 d、含盐量1%和冻融循环3次。     

Undrained Shear Strength in Cohesive Soils Estimated by Directional Modes of In-Situ Shear Wave Velocity

The estimated undrained shear strength (s_u) is often not a unique value because it can be evaluated by various test types and/or procedures, such as different failure modes, shear strain rates, and boundary conditions. This study explores (1) the relationship between reference undrained shear strength and in situ shear wave velocity in terms of the effective overburden stress, and (2) the independent relationships to evaluate the undrained shear strength with special consideration of different directional and polarization modes (VH, HV, HH shear waves), which has not been reported. This evaluation is done via a worldwide database compiled from 43 well-documented geotechnical test sites associated with soft ground. Finally, new correlation models are proposed to estimate the undrained shear strength based on the in situ shear wave velocity as well as the plasticity index or the overconsolidation ratio. The application of the shear wave velocity–undrained shear strength relation is illustrated through two independent case studies. The proposed relationships are expected to contribute to reasonable estimates of undrained shear strength as well as offer practical guidance on even extrapolation beyond the data that is available to geotechnical engineers.     

Influence of saturation on rainfall generated landslides in shale along Murree-Kohala road,Pakistan

On August 10, 2010 a series of landslides of more than 90,000 m³ occurred along the Muree-Kohala road in the northern area of Pakistan. A study was undertaken to evaluate the likely impacts of percent saturation and bulk density on mobilized shear strength along the basal rupture surface of the landslide. A series of unconfined compression test and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed on remolded samples of different densities with varied percentages of saturation. The results of these tests suggest that soil cohesion and friction decreases with increasing saturation. The tests also showed that the shear strength parameters tend to increase with increasing dry density; however, all the samples exhibited a noticeable loss of shear strength with increasing degree of saturation, independent of soil density.Limit equilibrium slope stability analyses were performed along the most probable failure planes, based on shear strength parameters corresponding to degrees of saturation, which varied between 30% to about 100%. This resulted in drop of factor of safety from FS = 1.64 down to 0.51 as the degree of saturation approaches unity.These results suggest that the causative factor in triggering the landslide along Murree-Kohala was the partial saturation of the zone that developed the basal rupture plane. As rain infiltrated the slope, the bulk unit weight of the soil increased, while the shear strength along the developing plane of rupture decreased sufficiently to concentrate shear strain when the material became more than 60% saturation (FS < 1.0).     

Effects of anisotropy in correlation structure on the stability of an undrained clay slope

Slopes are mainly naturally occurred deposits, so slope stability is highly affected by inherent uncertainty. In this paper, the influence of heterogeneity of undrained shear strength on the performance of a clay slope is investigated. A numerical procedure for a probabilistic slope stability analysis based on a Monte Carlo simulation that considers the spatial variability of the soil properties is presented to assess the influence of randomly distributed undrained shear strength and to compute reliability as a function of safety factor. In the proposed method, commercially available finite difference numerical code FLAC 5.0 is merged with random field theory. The results obtained in this study are useful to understand the effect of undrained shear strength variations in slope stability analysis under different slope conditions and material properties. Coefficient of variation and heterogeneity anisotropy of undrained shear strength were proven to have significant effect on the reliability of safety factor calculations. However, it is shown that anisotropy of the heterogeneity has a dual effect on reliability index depending on the level of safety factor adopted.     

基于粒间状态变量的含细粒砂土力学性状分析

在探讨含细粒砂土内部结构和粒间相互作用的基础上,引入粒间状态变量概念,对含细粒砂土力学性状随细粒含量的变化进行了预测分析:当D_rs >>0时含细粒砂土类似于e=e_c时均质砂的不排水性状,具有较高的强度;当D_rs→0时含细粒砂土最终性状具有不确定性;当D_rs < 0时含细粒砂土表现为剪缩性状。将南京砂中粗粒和细粒进行重新配制获得含不同细粒的砂土,对它们进行不排水剪试验;在利用粒间状态变量对试验结果进行分析的基础上,将试验结果与预测分析进行比对,两者的吻合性较高。在e_c-logS_us空间内稳态线随粉粒的增加而向上移动,且各稳态线间呈平行状。因此,粒间状态变量能较好地反映无黏性土力链的变化,是描述砂土微观结构的新途径。     

中主应力对饱和松砂不排水单调剪切特性的影响

利用土工静力-动力液压-三轴扭转多功能剪切仪,针对相对密度为30 %的福建标准砂,在不排水条件下控制主应力方向、中主应力系数、平均主应力保持不变,进行了单调剪切试验。以此着重探讨了中主应力系数对相变有效内摩擦角、峰值有效内摩擦角及有效应力路径的影响。研究表明,中主应力系数对在不排水单调剪切条件下饱和松砂的强度参数具有显著的影响,而对有效应力路径及应力-应变关系发展模式影响较小。基于广义双剪强度准则,从理论上探讨了土的强度参数对于中主应力的依赖性,并与试验结果进行了对比。     

扁铲侧胀试验在软土地基评价中的应用研究

在回顾分析国内外利用扁铲侧胀试验评价地基土性参数基础上,介绍了应用扁铲侧胀试验（DMT）和其它试验手段进行高速公路软土地基综合分析评价所取得的一些成果。根据扁铲侧胀试验结果估算的不排水抗剪强度与十字板试验结果基本一致,并能够反映土的强度随深度增长的规律,也分析了造成扁铲侧胀试验结果与室内试验结果之间差异的因素,研究结果可为扁铲侧胀试验在我国岩土工程领域的应用提供参考。     

原状膨胀土剪切力学特性的应变速率效应

为研究应变速率对原状膨胀土力学性状的影响,通过GDS三轴试验系统进行了不同速率和围压下的固结不排水三轴剪切试验,分析了应力−应变曲线、孔隙水压力、剪切强度以及破坏模式随应变速率的变化规律。结果表明：不同应变速率下,膨胀土应力−应变曲线均呈应变硬化型。随着应变速率的增加,不排水剪切强度单调递增,引入应变速率参数ρ_0.9后发现,不排水强度增长率为14.3%～23.2%,平均值为18.4%。低围压下,应变速率对孔隙水压力影响较小,随着围压的增大,孔隙水压力的发展趋势由软化型转变为硬化型,孔隙水压力峰值随应变速率的增大而减小。原状膨胀土应变速率效应与其多裂隙性密切相关,破坏形式表现为小应变速率下主剪切带与次剪切带共存,大应变速率下仅有主剪切带,裂隙或多剪切带的出现强化了膨胀土强度的应变速率效应。