Particle breakage and energy dissipation of carbonate sands under quasi-static and dynamic compression

Acta Geotechnica - Quasi-static and dynamic compression tests are conducted on carbonate sand using a Material Testing System and a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar, respectively. The particle...     

Particle breakage and deformation of carbonate sands with wide range of densities during compression loading process

In this technical note, evolutions of the particle size distribution, particle breakage, volume deformation and input work of carbonate sands with varying relative densities were investigated through performing a series of one-dimensional compression tests. Loading stress levels ranged from 0.1 to 3.2 MPa. It was found that the initial relative density could greatly affect the magnitude of particle size distribution, particle breakage, volume deformation and input work. Particularly, it was observed that the specimen at a lower relative density underwent much more particle breakage than that at a higher relative density. This could be attributed to the change of the coordination number with the initial density. However, a unique linear relationship between the particle breakage and input work per volume could be obtained, which is independent of the initial relative density.     

The influence of grading on the shear strength of loose sands in stress-controlled ring shear tests

Three silica sand samples—well graded, intermediately graded, and narrowly graded—having different uniformity coefficients, were constituted to allow the investigation of the influence of particle size distribution on their mechanical behavior. Using a ring shear apparatus, samples were tested under a wide range of laboratory conditions. Results of the tests clearly indicate that, for specimens confined under identical stress conditions, well-graded specimens have higher values of peak and steady state strengths than the rest of the specimens. A relationship between uniformity coefficient and shear strengths shows that the higher the uniformity coefficient, the higher the shear strength. On account of these, well-graded specimens have higher static liquefaction resistance than the poorly graded specimens. Within the range of normal stresses employed in the tests, results reveal that not only are poorly graded sands more likely to suffer higher postfailure strength reduction, but that their steady-state strengths are easily reduced to zero, the magnitude of the confining stress notwithstanding. This reduction of shear resistance to zero has been described as complete liquefaction in this paper. While almost all of the narrowly graded specimens suffered complete liquefaction, widely graded ones did not; an observation that seem to highlight the influence of grading on the mechanical behavior of the sands.     

Acoustic emission characteristics of a dry sandy soil subjected to drained triaxial compression

Acoustic emission (AE) technique that is capable of diagnosing the failure process of stressed materials has rarely reported its application to sandy soils subjected to triaxial compression. In this paper, drained triaxial compression tests incorporating with a high-performance AE measurement system were conducted for dry sands with different confining stresses and initial relative densities. Generally, an increased confining stress or initial relative density generates more acoustic emissions, while there also exist exceptions due to different failure patterns. A good resemblance between stress–strain and AE hit rate–strain relations was observed, and power functions between the mechanical parameters and AE hit rate were well established regardless of different confining stresses and initial relative densities. Besides, the behavioral state of yield and peak during compression could be also evaluated by AE hit rate, compared with conventional stress–strain determination. Particularly, the peak AE hit rate is found not always synchronous to but fluctuating at around the peak stress depending on different failure patterns, which might provide beneficial insights into the incipient failure of sands. The present good consistencies suggest that AE characteristics could be used as alternative parameters to evaluate and even predict the mechanical behavior of dry sands.

     

K0固结粗粒土剪胀特性大型三轴试验研究

采用大型三轴剪切仪对不同相对密度的双江口心墙坝覆盖层料,进行了 固结及各向等压固结条件下的排水剪切试验,探讨了 固结及各向等压固结条件下粗粒土剪胀性的差异,并检验了修正Rowe剪胀方程对 固结粗粒土的适用性。结果表明：粗粒土在 固结条件下,较各向等压固结条件下的剪胀性明显,且这种差异性在密度较小的粗粒料中体现较为突出,而随着密度的增加,差异性逐渐减弱;对试验数据进行非线性拟合,总结出剪胀因子 与相对密度 、围压 之间的关系式,据此可分析不同紧密程度粗粒料剪胀性的强弱;对 固结粗粒土,修正Rowe剪胀方程能较好地描述其剪胀性。     

Mechanism of cultivation soil degradation in rocky desertification areas under dry/wet cycles

Karst rocky desertification is a process of land degradation involving serious soil erosion, extensive exposure of basement rocks. It leads to drastic decrease in soil productivity and formation of a desert-like landscape. In this regard, changes in climatic conditions are the main origin of the soils degradation. Indeed, soils subjected to successive dry/wet cycling processes caused by climate change develop swelling and shrinkage deformations which can modify their water retention properties, thus inducing the degradation of soil–water capacity. The ecological characteristics of cultivation soils in karst areas, Southwest of China, are extremely easy to be affected by external environmental factors due to its shallow bedding and low vegetation coverage. Based on the analysis of the climate (precipitation) of this region during the past decades, an experimental study has been conducted on a cultivated soil obtained from the typical karst area in southwestern China. Firstly, the soil–water properties have been investigated. The measured soil–water retention curve shows that the air-entry value of the soil is between 50 and 60 kPa, while the residual saturation is about 12%. Based on the experimental results, three identifiable stages of de-saturation have been defined. Secondly, a special apparatus was developed to investigate the volume change behavior of the soil with controlled suction cycles. The vapor equilibrium technique was used for the suction control. The obtained results show that under the effect of dry/wet cycles, (1) the void ratio of the cultivated soil is continuously decreasing, leading to a gradual soil compaction. (2) The permeability decreases, giving rise to a deterioration of water transfer ability as well as a deterioration of soil–water retention capacity. It is then obvious that the long-term dry/wet cycling process caused by the climate change induce a continuously compaction and degradation of the cultivated soil in karst rocky desertification areas.     

干砂强夯动力特性的细观颗粒流分析

通过引进和开发二维颗粒流程序,基于相似理论建立了可以模拟砂土地基强夯加固的细观颗粒流模型,结合小比尺室内细观模型试验,从颗粒细观力学角度入手对干砂在强夯冲击加固过程中的动力反应特性进行了数值模拟。结果表明,数值模拟结果与试验结果有较好的一致性,利用颗粒流模型可以很好地模拟干砂在冲击荷载作用下的锤底动接触应力、颗粒间动接触应力和颗粒位移场分布情况,并可以实时跟踪颗粒的变位及接触应力变化,实现从细观角度揭示干砂强夯动力响应特性,研究工作为今后砂土强夯加固宏细观机制研究提供了一条新的思路。     

The examination of fracturing process subjected to triaxial compression test in Inada granite

The behavior of a granite subject to a triaxial compression test ranging from the prefailure stage to the postfailure stage was studied using a fluorescent technique from the geological point of view. Microscopic observations of the specimens at different stages showed changes in the failure process. The start of formation of new microcracks paralleled the compression direction through their propagation until the onset of faulting and ended with the failure of shear zones after the strength failure point. Pores chiefly identified in the feldspar increased in length and width in the early stages, but not in number. It seems that the effect of pore spaces did not have any effect of failure. The microcracks generated on angular edges of quartz or feldspar grains and around biotite grains with increasing compression force. The phenomenon appearing on the crystal boundaries among biotite and quartz or feldspar agrees with the result calculated based on the theory on stress fields with ellipsoidal inhomogeneity suggested by Eshelby.     

单轴压缩下含孔脆性材料的力学行为研究

运用材料破裂过程分析MFPA2D系统,在单轴压缩条件下对含单孔和双孔脆性材料破坏过程进行数值模拟。结果表明：原始的萌生裂纹不一定是最后形成宏观贯通破坏的主裂纹。岩石等脆性材料破坏的局部化特征,说明非均匀性是岩石类脆性材料发生局部破裂的根本原因。分析了孔的分布对材料强度以及破坏模式的影响,并给出破坏过程的应力-应变关系。指出了有的孔洞分布会增加应力的集中程度,而有的孔洞分布可以降低应力集中。数值模拟与试验结果具有较好的一致性。     

Kinetics of fine wet grinding of zeolite in a steel ball mill in comparison to dry grinding

Batch wet grinding of zeolite was studied with emphasis on a kinetic study in a laboratory size steel ball mill of 200 mm diameter. The breakage parameters were determined by using the single sized feed fractions of − 850 + 600 µm, − 600 + 425 µm and − 425 + 300 µm for the zeolite samples. The S_i (specific rate of breakage) and B_i,j (primary breakage distribution) values were obtained for those feed size fractions in order to predict the product size distributions by simulation for comparison to the experimental data. The specific rates of breakage values for wet grinding in the first-order breakage region were higher than the dry values reported previously by a factor 1.7 at the same experimental conditions, but the primary breakage distribution (B_i,j) values were approximately the same. The simulations of the product size distributions of zeolite were in good agreement with the experimental data using a standard ball mill simulation program. The wet grinding of zeolite was subjected to slowing-down effect in the mill at 2 min of grinding, corresponding to an 80% passing size of about 400 µm. On the other hand, the slowing down effect in the dry grinding of zeolite was also seen at 4 min of grinding. In addition, effects of some operational parameters on dry and wet grinding of zeolite were determined by simulation using the breakage parameters obtained experimentally.     

Instability of loose sand in constant volume direct simple shear tests in relation to particle shape

Acta Geotechnica - Post-peak flow instability of six sands notably different in terms of average particle shape characteristics, gradation, and mineralogy was investigated. Tests were carried out...     

Experimental characterization and 3D DEM simulation of bond breakages in artificially cemented sands with different bond strengths when subjected to triaxial shearing

This paper describes the mechanical behavior of artificially cemented sands with strong, intermediate, and weak bond strengths, using experimentation and 3D discrete element method (DEM) simulation. The focus is on the features of bond breakage and the associated influences on the stress–strain responses. Under triaxial shearing, the acoustic emission rate captured in the experiment and the bond breakage rate recorded in the simulations show resemblance to the stress–strain response, especially for strongly and intermediately cemented samples, where a strain softening response is observed. The simulations further reveal the shear band formation coincides with the development of bond breakage locations due to the local weakness caused by the bond breakages. Strain softening and volumetric dilation are observed inside the shear band, while the region outside the shear band undergoes elastic unloading. The weakly cemented sample exhibits a strain hardening response instead; bond breakages and the associated local weaknesses are always randomly formed such that no persistent shear band is observed. Note that in the DEM simulation, the flexible membrane boundary is established by a network of bonded membrane particles; the membrane particle network is further partitioned into finite triangular elements. The associated algorithm can accurately distribute the applied confining pressure onto the membrane particles and determine the sample volume.     

黏土中两种不同直径单桩水平循环加载模型试验与分析

为探讨海上风机在风、浪等水平往复循环荷载下大直径单桩基础的循环弱化特性,设计了稳定输出长期循环荷载的机械加载装置,开展了软黏土中长期水平循环荷载下海上风电大直径单桩基础和传统长桩基础的模型试验对比研究。根据API给出的骨干曲线和Masing二倍准则构建循环荷载下的p-y（荷载-位移）曲线,并借鉴前人工作,采用累积塑性应变描述软黏土的不排水抗剪强度弱化,提出了分析大周数水平循环荷载下单桩基础循环弱化的理论方法。该方法将循环荷载次数、幅值等外界条件与桩周土体的循环弱化特性建立联系,以适应海洋环境复杂多变的水平循环荷载形式。通过模型试验和理论研究认为,大直径单桩基础因刚度较大,在同样的水平力循环荷载条件下,其抵抗循环荷载的能力明显优于传统长桩。在海上风机大直径单桩的设计中采用基于黏土残余强度的循环后稳定水平承载力更为合理。     

Use of discrete element modeling to study the stress and strain distribution in cyclic torsional shear tests

In this research, a torsional cyclic shear test was modeled using the 3D discrete element method (DEM). The results are compared against experimental data and micro-mechanical aspects of the soil during the loading are discussed. The aim of the work is to study the homogeneity of strains during this laboratory test and to compare the micro-mechanical behavior of the soil sample for different strain levels. The experimental investigation was performed using a synthetic soil material made of glass beads, which simplifies the modeling and calibration since normal interaction forces do not induce rotation of the particles. Both the model and experimental tests used the same grading distribution and particle size. We showed that the hysteresis cycles can be properly reproduced in terms of shape and magnitude. Thus, we obtained a robust estimation for the secant shear modulus and damping ratio at different strain levels. With this, it was possible to build stiffness degradation and damping increase curve to compare it with experimental data obtained from torsional shear tests. Based on this validation of the DEM model, we discuss the micro-mechanical behavior of the soil and its relation with the macroscopic parameters obtained. It is shown that shear strain distribution on the sample is not uniform and that large values of strains concentrate close to the top of the sample as top rotation increases, which differs from the standard assumption of a constant value across the height of the sample. Additionally, it is observed that at 0.8 times radius, the cumulative torque reaches approximately 90% of the total torque applied to sample.     

The effective stress concept and the evaluation of changes in pore air pressure under jacketed isotropic compression tests for dry sand based on the 2‐phase porous theory

The effective stress concept for solid‐fluid 2‐phase media was revisited in this work. In particular, the effects of the compressibility of both the pore fluid and the soil particles were studied under 3 different conditions, i.e., undrained, drained, and unjacketed conditions based on a Biot‐type theory for 2‐phase porous media. It was confirmed that Terzaghi effective stress holds at the moment when soil grains are assumed to be incompressible and when the compressibility of the pore fluid is small enough compared to that of the soil skeleton. Then, isotropic compression tests for dry sand under undrained conditions were conducted within the triaxial apparatus in which the changes in the pore air pressure could be measured. The ratio of the increment in the cell pressure to the increment in the pore air pressure, m, corresponds to the inverse of the B value by Bishop and was obtained during the step loading of the cell pressure. In addition, the m values were evaluated by comparing them with theoretically obtained values based on the solid‐fluid 2‐phase mixture theory. The experimental m values were close to the theoretical values, as they were in the range of approximately 40 to 185, depending on the cell pressure. Finally, it was found that the soil material with a highly compressible pore fluid, such as air, must be analyzed with the multi‐phase porous mixture theory. However, Terzaghi effective stress is practically applicable when the compressibilities of both the soil particles and the pore fluid are small enough compared to that of the soil skeleton.     

压缩条件下岩石启裂应力的识别方法探讨——以新疆天湖花岗闪长岩为例

启裂应力是岩石压缩破坏过程中的关键应力水平之一。准确确定该应力值对于客观描述岩石的力学性质以及评价地下工程围岩稳定性具有重要意义。在总结国际上已有的岩石启裂应力识别方法的基础上,探讨其各自优缺点及适用性,通过分析岩石在压缩过程中的声发射信号特征,提出了基于累计声发射撞击数客观判读岩石启裂应力的方法。与其他应变法相比,该方法克服了人工取值的随机性,保证了求解的惟一性。以国内高放废物地质处置库新疆预选区天湖花岗闪长岩为例,采用岩石力学试验机和声发射监测系统,获得了岩石在单轴压缩条件下的应力-应变关系及对应的声发射数据,通过对比不同方法求解启裂应力的结果,验证了提出的累计声发射撞击数法的合理有效性。鉴于国际岩石力学与工程学会目前尚未形成明确的求解岩石启裂应力建议方法,建议采用应变测量结合声发射监测手段对该值进行判读。     

过程响应理论及其在湖相碳酸盐岩中的应用——以辽河西部凹陷中北部地区Es_4为例

过程响应理论是在地球系统科学基础上提出的一种盆地沉积学研究方法,主要包括过程研究和响应研究两个方面,强调盆地演化过程对其沉积过程的控制意义。论文运用过程响应理论对辽河坳陷西部凹陷中北部地区Es4碳酸盐岩进行了研究,取得了很好的效果。研究表明,湖相碳酸盐岩的形成和分布在时间和空间上受湖盆演化过程控制明显,有利的地形和水动力条件、有利的气候和水介质条件、有利的物源和白云岩化条件,这三个关键要素,共同铸就了辽河坳陷西部凹陷中北部地区Es4湖相碳酸盐岩的沉积环境。运用过程响应理论,综合考虑碳酸盐岩沉积作用关键三要素,是建立更具指导作用和更具参考价值的湖相碳酸盐岩综合沉积模式的基础。