Influence of plastic fines content on the liquefaction susceptibility of sands: cyclic loading

Acta Geotechnica - The paper presents an experimental study on the effect of plastic fines content on the undrained behavior and liquefaction susceptibility of sand-fines mixtures under cyclic...     

Analysis of liquefaction susceptibility of nearly saturated sands

A new constitutive formulation for simulating the behaviour of nearly saturated sands under seismic loads is presented. The formulation is based on combining the Henry's law for dissolution of gas in water, the ideal or perfect gas law and the law of conservation of mass. The effects of transient air dissolution in water on the compressibility of partially saturated soils are also taken into account. The model was calibrated based on numerical simulations of isotropically consolidated cyclic triaxial tests conducted on partially saturated samples of Toyoura sand. A multi‐yield plasticity soil constitutive model implemented in the finite element code DYNAFLOW was used for these numerical simulations. It is shown that the formulation proposed here is able to reasonably predict the soil cyclic undrained behaviour at various degrees of saturation (95% and higher). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

细粒含量对尾矿材料液化特性的影响

为了模拟沉积分选后颗粒组成的变化对尾矿材料的动力特性的影响,尾矿筛分后按不同的细粒（颗粒直径小于 0.074 mm）含量制备尾矿试样,并进行了大量的土动力学试验。分析了细颗粒含量对尾矿材料的动力液化特性的影响规律。研究表明,对于铜矿类尾矿坝的尾矿材料,当细颗粒含量占到总量的35 %时其抗液化性能最佳。根据尾矿材料动力特性试验的研究结果,并结合现场的标准贯入试验成果,提出了适用于尾矿材料的细粒含量对标准贯入击数的修正式。该式可以分析不同细粒含量的尾矿材料的抗液化强度,提高尾矿坝液化判别方法的判别准确程度。     

细粒含量对饱和砂类土液化强度的影响

为研究细粒含量FC对不同密实状态饱和砂类土液化强度CRR的影响,将不同FC的砂类土试样分为3组：（1）相同的相对密实度 50%;（2）相同的孔隙比 0.90;（3）相同的骨架孔隙比 1.20,对不同FC和密实状态（ 、e和 ）的砂类土进行了一系列不排水循环三轴试验。试验结果显示：e或 相同的砂类土CRR随着FC的增加逐渐降低;具有相同 砂类土的CRR随FC的增加迅速增大,砂类土的CRR与 、e或 都没有较好的相关性。分析表明：不同FC和密实状态砂类土的CRR随等效骨架孔隙比 的增大而降低,两者呈现较好的负幂函数关系,这表明考虑细粒影响程度的 是合理表征不同种类砂类土CRR的一个物理状态指标。通过对比已有的砂类土的试验结果发现：砂类土中的砂粒是影响CRR的重要因素,且随着砂粒的形状从圆状向角状变化,砂类土的总体CRR逐渐增大。     

饱和砂土液化特性的可视化试验研究

针对目前散粒体液化细观机制研究的局限性,对C.K.C型动态三轴仪进行改进,研制了可用于研究散粒体细观组构特征的动三轴可视化试验系统。利用该系统对循环荷载作用下标准砂的颗粒运动规律及细观组构特征进行初步探讨,从颗粒的运动规律、定向性、配位数和孔隙率等细观角度分析了循环荷载作用下饱和砂土发生液化的细观机制,认为液化的发生是土体在循环荷载作用下颗粒不断运动、重新排列的结果,指出颗粒长轴方向、配位数和孔隙率等细观组构参量是反映循环荷载作用下饱和砂土液化宏观响应的重要参量     

细粒含量对粗粒土冻胀特性影响的试验研究

为了得到同时满足冻胀率和击实效果的最大细粒土含量,通过葡氏击实和冻胀试验,研究了不同细粒土含量、不同干密度条件下细圆砾土填料的冻胀特性。研究结果表明,9%细粒土含量下细圆砾土试样的压实效果最好;细圆砾土试样的冻结过程可以划分为快速冻结区、过渡区、似稳定区和稳定区;细粒土含量低于10%时,细圆砾土属于弱冻胀填料;同时满足冻胀率和压实效果的最大细粒土含量为9%;细粒土含量相同时,细圆砾土试样的冻胀率随干密度的增加,先增大而后减小,即存在一个最不利干密度;冻结48 h后,细圆砾土试样冻土段的含水率均大于初始含水率,其不同位置含水率分布曲线呈S型,且随着细粒土含量的增加逐渐呈现倒三角形分布;细圆砾土试样干密度的增大有效地阻断了水分迁移路径。     

辽西地区风积砂土振动液化特性的试验研究

本文对辽西地区风积砂土地震液化特性进行了实验研究,对围压、固结比、密度和细粒含量进行了分析,得出了它们对抗液化强度的影响规律,同时分析了不同细粒含量和干密度对砂土振动孔压发展模式的影响规律.在偏压固结情况下,振动孔压的发展趋势可以用双曲线对其进行模拟;在均压固结条件下,振动孔压的发展趋势和H.B.Seed、张建民等人研究的振动孔压发展趋势的曲线形态相一致.通过实验分析表明细粒含量、密度等都会对孔压的增长规律有一定影响.     

The effect of carbonaceous fines on the cyclic resistance of poorly graded sands

The potential damage to man-made structures associated with earthquake-induced liquefaction has been demonstrated in catastrophic fashion over the past 40–50 years. The phenomenon of liquefaction of relatively clean, poorly graded, sands is well understood. However, the same cannot be said for cases when fine-grained materials are present within the sand matrix. A resolution of what appears in some reported studies as conflicting observations related to the effect of fines on cyclic resistance is of concern, particularly for land reclamation projects and sea fills where the material source is variable and may contain significant levels of fines. The nature of the fines themselves may have a measurable effect on the matrix behavior. The work presented herein explores the effect of silt and clay-size carbonaceous fines on the liquefaction susceptibility of sand. The choice of fines was guided by the conditions associated with the Lebanon coastal reclamation projects, where limestone/marlstone quarry source materials are dominant. The results obtained confirm the significant effect of fines on the cyclic resistance. They also confirm the existence of a limit fines content and a plasticity index threshold and establish their effect on observed behavior.     

Experimental study of the grading characteristic effect on the liquefaction resistance of various graded sands and gravelly sands

The liquefaction vulnerability of fine- to coarse-graded saturated sand and gravelly sand is evaluated by stress control cyclic triaxial laboratory tests. Cyclic triaxial test on reconstituted specimens is carried out with relative density of 45 %. Cyclic triaxial tests performed by sinusoidal wave form with 1-Hz frequency and with the effective consolidation pressure equal to 100 kPa. Cyclic stress ratio which caused initial liquefaction in 15 cycles recognized as the liquefaction resistance in cyclic triaxial test of present study. The result had been used to find a relationship between liquefaction resistance and the grading characteristics (e.g., coefficient of curvature and coefficient of uniformity) of various graded sands and gravelly sands. Then, it is realized that a relationship between liquefaction resistance and any of the sizes (i.e., D ₁₀, D ₃₀, D ₅₀, D ₆₀) appears to be more practical.     

砂土液化判别方法可靠性评价

在进行液化评价简化法与规范液化判别方法对比基础上，利用液化概率的对数回归方程，讨论了规范液化判别方法的可靠性。研究结果表明，我国规范液化判别方法其液化概率变动较大，对于烈度 Ⅶ 度，规范法的液化概率在0.17～0.42间，小于简化法概率0.36～0.43，偏保守。对于烈度 Ⅷ 度和 Ⅸ 度近地表场地，规范法的液化概率高达0.65～0.70，远远高于简化法的液化概率，安全裕度不够。对于含粘粒土质液化评价，规范方法的液化概率总体上都较简化法高，特别是烈度Ⅷ度高粘粒含量其液化概率为0.9。     

Steady state and liquefaction characteristics of gravely sands

Liquefaction of loose and saturated soils during earthquakes and strong ground motions has been a major cause of damage to buildings and earth embankments as well as other civil engineering structures. In order to evaluate the liquefaction potential and steady state characteristics of gravely sand of south west Tehran,a subsoil exploration program conducted dividing the region into 10 zones. In each zone of 500 m × 500 m a borehole of 20 m deep was drilled. SPT was performed at one meter intervals in each borehole and a total of 200 samples were recovered. Soils of similar grain size distribution have been considered to have similar steady state characteristics,therefore consolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed on these soils of similar grain size distribution to evaluate the steady state strength. The steady state line for each soil type was derived. Comparing the steady state strengths with the shear stress due to an earthquake with a PGA of 0.35 g,the potential of sand liquefaction and .ow failure in soil layers has been evaluated and the settlement of soil due to the liquefaction phenomena is calculated. Finally some recommendations for estimating the steady state strength from simple SPT test in gravely sands are presented.     

Cyclic liquefaction screening of sand with non-plastic fines:Critical state approach

There have been significant advances in the application of critical state,CS,in liquefaction potential assessment.This was done by comparing state parameter,j with estimated characteristic cyclic stress ratio,CSR due to an earthquake.A cyclic resistance ratio,CRR curve,which can be determined from cyclic liquefaction tests,separates historical liquefied and non-liquefied data points(j,CSR).On the other hand,the concepts of equivalent granular state parameter,j*,which was developed for sands with fines,can be used in lieu j to provide a unifying framework for characterizing the undrained response of sands with non/low plasticity fines,irrespective of fines content(fc).The present work combines these two propositions,and by merely substituting j*for j into the aforementioned CS approach to capture the influence of fc.A series of static and cyclic triaxial tests were conducted,separately and independently of the concept of j*,for sand with up to fc of 30%.The clean sand was collected from Sabarmati river belt at Ahmedabad city in India which was severely affected during the Bhuj earthquake,2001.The experimental data gave a single relation for CRR and j*which was then used to assess liquefaction potential for a SPT based case study,where fc varies along the depth.The prediction matched with the field observation.     

Liquefaction triggering in silty sands: effects of non-plastic fines and mixture-packing conditions

Acta Geotechnica - During recent seismic events, such as 2010 Darfield and 2016 Ecuador earthquakes, widespread liquefaction has been observed in sand deposits with silt content. Nevertheless, the...     

非塑性细粒对饱和砂土液化特性影响的试验研究

利用空心圆柱扭剪仪对含非塑性细粒的饱和砂土进行单调加载和循环扭剪试验,研究了不同细粒含量饱和砂土的液化特性。试验结果表明：（1）最大孔隙比与最小孔隙比均随着细粒含量的增加呈先减小后增大的趋势,分别在20%和40%时达到最小。（2）细粒含量从0%增加到20%,体积应变逐渐增加;细粒含量从20%增加到40%时,体积应变逐渐减小;之后随着细粒含量从40%增加到60%,体积应变再次增大;细粒含量超过60%以后,体积应变再次递减。（3）随着细粒含量的增加,土样的峰值强度随之降低,应力-应变关系从应变硬化特征发展为理想的弹塑性。相变角在细粒含量为30%时达到最小值。（4）细粒含量越大,达到液化所需的循环次数越小,液化时的应变越小。（5）抗液化强度曲线与抗液化应力比的变化趋势一致,在小于界限细粒含量（30%）时,随着细粒含量的增加而减小。在界限细粒含量附近（30%～50%）时,随着细粒含量的增加而增大。在细粒含量增加到60%时出现明显的骤减,之后再次随着细粒含量的增加而增大。界限细粒含量在40%左右。     

DEM analysis of the onset of flow deformation of sands: linking monotonic and cyclic undrained behaviours

This study explores the link between the monotonic and cyclic undrained behaviour of sands using the discrete element method (DEM). It is shown that DEM can effectively capture the flow deformation of sands sheared under both monotonic and cyclic undrained loading conditions. When subjected to cyclic shearing, flow-type failure is observed for a loose sample, while cyclic mobility is observed for a dense sample. A strong correlation between the monotonic and cyclic loading behaviour that has been revealed experimentally is also confirmed in DEM simulations: (a) flow deformation occurs in the compressive loading direction when the cyclic stress path intersects the monotonic compression stress path prior to the monotonic extension stress path, and vice versa; (b) the onset of flow deformation in q–\(p^{\prime }\) space is located in the zone bounded by the critical state line and the instability line determined from monotonic simulations. Hill’s condition of instability is shown to be effective to describe the onset of flow failure. Micro-mechanical analyses reveal that flow deformation is initiated when the index of redundancy excluding floating particles drops to below 1.0 under both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. Flow deformation induced by either monotonic or cyclic loading is characterized by an abrupt change of structural fabric which is highly anisotropic. The reason why the dense sample dilated during monotonic loading but showed cyclic mobility (temporary liquefaction) during cyclic loading is attributed to the repeating reversal of loading direction, which leads to the periodic change of microstructure.     

细粒含量对尾矿工程性质影响分析

由长期工程实践和试验研究可知,尾矿的工程性质除与尾矿的矿石成分、筑坝方式以及矿浆的沉积特性有关外,重要的是与尾矿的颗粒粒度组成有关。为了分析上游式尾矿库尾矿经排放、沉积、分选等作用下颗粒组成的变化特征及其对尾矿工程性质的影响规律,通过对上游式尾矿库沉积滩面不同距离处尾矿进行颗粒级配分析、力学性质和渗透性质试验,重点分析了细颗粒含量（颗粒直径小于0.075 mm）对尾矿工程性质的影响规律。研究表明,随着距离上游式尾矿库滩顶长度的增大,尾矿颗粒组成中的细粒含量逐渐增多,颗粒级配情况由一般到良好再到一般,孔隙比也呈现出随之先减小后增大的变化趋势。受原尾矿颗粒组成的影响,尾矿黏聚力随细粒含量的增加呈逐渐增大,而内摩擦角相对变化较小,其渗透系数受细颗粒含量影响较大,随含量增大迅速减小。     

Formulation and validation of a constitutive model for sands in monotonic shear

A constitutive model for sands in monotonic shear is presented. The model is designed to simulate the behavior of sands in the whole stress and strain range of engineering interest with enough accuracy for practical usage. Material parameters were chosen to be state independent and easy to calibrate using conventional testing procedures. The formulation is based on effective stresses, pressure-dependent hyperelasticity, non-associative elastoplasticity, an isotropic hardening law and Rowe’s stress-dilatancy theory. The implementation of Rowe’s stress-dilatancy theory within the framework of elastoplasticity theory is discussed. It is found that Rowe’s theory produces a volumetric plastic strain rate function that has a discontinuity in its first derivative w.r.t. stress, and a smoothed form is proposed instead. Finally, some experimental tests are simulated and the results are briefly discussed.     

Prediction of flow liquefaction instability of clean and silty sands

Adding a small amount of non-plastic silt to clean sands may lead to dramatic loss of shear strength and a noteworthy tendency toward contraction when the mechanical behavior of the mixture is compared with that of the clean host sand. Thus, simulation of the behavior of silty sands with varying fines content is still a challenging subject in geomechanics. A unified constitutive model for clean and silty sands is presented in this paper. To eliminate the factitious decrease of void ratio associated with inactive silt particles in various silty sand mixtures, the concept of equivalent void ratio is used in the model formulation instead of the global void ratio. In addition, the instantaneous soil state is expressed in terms of intergranular state parameter taking into account the combined influence of intergranular void ratio, mean principal effective stress and fines content. Then, dilatancy and plastic hardening modulus are directly linked to the intergranular state parameter. To improve the model capacity in simulation of cyclic tests, new features are added to the plastic hardening modulus. It is shown that the proposed model can reasonably reproduce the mechanical behavior as well as the onset of flow liquefaction instability of clean and silty sands using a unique set of parameters.     

Stability of saturated sands under earthquake loading

An analytical method used to evaluate the stability of saturated sands under earthquake loading is presented in this paper. The dynamic porewater pressure ratios in saturated sands and the critical porewater pressure ratios beyond which the sands will tend to an unstable state are computed. The above mentioned ratios are used to establish criteria for evaluating stability and liquefaction.