Effects of crack inclination on shear failure of brittle geomaterials under compression

A micromechanics-based approach is proposed to predict the shear failure of brittle rocks under compression. Formulation of this approach is based on an improved wing microcrack model, the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, and a micro-macro damage model. The improved wing microcrack model considers the effects of crack inclination angle on mechanical behaviors of rocks. The micro-macro damage model describes the relation between crack growth and axial strain. Furthermore, comparing experimental and theoretical relations between crack initiation stress and confining pressure, model parameters (i.e., μ, a, β, and φ) hardly measured by test are solved. Effects of crack inclination angle, crack size, and friction coefficient on stress-strain relation, compressive strength, internal friction angle, cohesion, shear failure plane angle, and shear strength are discussed in details. A most disadvantaged crack angle is found, which is corresponding to the smallest compressive strength, cohesion, internal friction angle, and shear strength of rocks. Rationality of the theoretical results is verified by the published experimental results. This approach provides a theoretical prediction for effects of microcrack geometry on macroscopic shear properties in brittle rocks under compression.     

Interpretation of shear strength uncertainty and reliability analyses of slopes

The variance of the friction angle or friction coefficient (tan ?) is often considered in geotechnical reliability analyses, which implies that the variance of the shear strength as defined by a Mohr-Coulomb envelope increases as the normal stress on the shearing surface increases. However, shear strength data sometimes has approximately constant variance, and most simple regression techniques assume constant variance. Four effective stress shear strength data sets are evaluated using both the constant variance (homoscedastic) and constant coefficient of variation (heteroscedastic) interpretations. The impact of the variance interpretation on slope stability is evaluated using infinite slope, homogeneous dam, and zoned dam examples. For relatively shallow infinite slope surfaces, the reliability index for the heteroscedastic interpretation of shear strength variance was about twice the reliability index obtained using the homoscedastic approach. In the dam examples, the difference in the reliability indices resulting from the heteroscedastic and homoscedastic interpretations was about one, indicating a tenfold increase in the probability of failure. The typical assumption of constant coefficient of variation of shear strength may result in unconservative estimates of the reliability of shallow failure surfaces and overly conservative results for deeper failure surfaces.     

黄土坡滑坡滑带土非饱和力学特性试验研究

以三峡库区黄土坡滑坡临江I号崩滑体的滑带土为研究对象,研究基质吸力对非饱和滑带土的强度与变形等力学性质的影响。利用GDS非饱和反压直剪仪对滑带土进行了不同净法向应力和基质吸力组合下的直剪试验。试验结果表明:相同的基质吸力作用下,滑带土抗剪强度随着净法向应力的增大而增大。当滑带土试样中基质吸力较小时(50kPa),试样剪切过程中的应力-应变曲线,随着净法向应力的增大表现为应变硬化型。之后随着基质吸力的增加,当吸力大于净法向应力时,剪切应力-应变曲线表现为较明显的达到峰值后软化。反之,应力-应变曲线表现为应变硬化型。相同净法向应力下,抗剪强度随着吸力的增大而增大,剪切应力-应变曲线由低法向应力下的达到峰值后软化向高法向应力下的应变硬化转变。剪切过程的轴向位移表现为:当吸力大于净法向应力时,表现为剪胀; 反之,表现为剪缩。滑带土固结排水剪切条件下得到的黏聚力随着基质吸力呈线性增长关系。得到了滑带土的吸力摩擦角b为13.7,有效内摩擦角有较小增长,平均有效内摩擦角15.9。     

Correlation of large displacement drained shear strength of landslide soils measured by direct shear and ring shear devices

Based on a laboratory study of drained direct shear tests of remoulded, pre-cut and polished specimens and drained ring shear tests of uncut and remoulded specimens of slip surface materials of five landslide soils, significant correlations of the mobilized shear strength parameters, cohesion (c, c _r) and internal friction angle (Φ, Φ_r), are proposed. The investigated soils consisted of the slip surface material belonging to tuffaceous clay, mudstone, loess and siltstone. Most of the previous studies on residual shear strength measured by reversal direct shear and ring shear devices have obtained significantly different results using the two devices, even when pre-cut and polished specimens were used in the direct shear device. In this study, the residual shear strength values of remoulded specimens measured by a ring shear device are shown to significantly correlate with the drained large displacement shear strength values of remoulded specimens, which were measured using pre-cut and polished specimens in a direct shear device. The correlation between the cohesion measured in the two shear devices is expressed by the linear relationship, $ {c_{\text{r}}} = 0.{7394}c - {6}.{6857} $ , while the correlation between the friction angle measured in the two devices is expressed by the linear relationship, $ {\Phi_{\text{r}}} = {1}.0{852}\Phi - {6}.0{247} $ . The proposed linear correlations for effective cohesion (c′) and effective friction angle (Φ′) have yielded significant coefficients of determination within an effective normal stress range of 30–150?kN/m².     

Influence of cementation level on the strength behaviour of bio-cemented sand

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is used increasingly to improve the engineering properties of granular soils that are unsuitable for construction. This shows MICP technique significant advantages such as low energy consumption and environmentally friendly feature. The objective of the present study is to assess the strength behaviour of bio-cemented sand with varying cementation levels, and to provide an insight into the mechanism of MICP treatment. A series of isotropic consolidated undrained compression tests, calcite mass measurement and scanning electron microscopy tests were conducted. The experimental results show that the strength of bio-cemented sand depends heavily on the cementation level (or calcite content). The variations of strength parameters, i.e. effective friction angle φ′ and effective cohesion c′, with the increase in calcite content can be well evaluated by a linear function and an exponential function, respectively. Based on the precipitation mechanism of calcite crystals, bio-clogging and bio-cementation of calcite crystals are correlated to the amount of total calcite crystals and effective calcite crystals, respectively, and contributed to the improvement in the effective friction angle and effective cohesion of bio-cemented sand, separately.     

Tailings composition effects on shear strength behavior of co-mixed mine waste rock and tailings

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of mine tailings composition on shear behavior and shear strength of co-mixed mine waste rock and tailings (WR&T). Crushed gravel was used as a synthetic waste rock and mixed with four types of tailings: (1) fine-grained garnet, (2) coarse-grained garnet, (3) copper, and (4) soda ash. Co-mixed WR&T specimens were prepared to target mixture ratios of mass of waste rock to mass of tailings (R) such that tailings “just filled” interparticle void space of the waste rock (i.e., optimum mixture ratio, R _opt). Triaxial compression tests were conducted on waste rock, tailings, and mixed waste at effective confining stresses (\(\sigma_{\text{c}}^{{\prime }}\)) ranging from 5 to 40 kPa to represent stresses anticipated in final earthen covers for waste containment facilities. Waste rock and co-mixed WR&T specimens were 150 mm in diameter by 300 mm tall, whereas tailings specimens were 38 mm in diameter by 76 mm tall. Shear strength was quantified using effective stress friction angles (?′) from undrained tests: ?′ for waste rock was 37°, ?′ for tailings ranged from 34° to 41°, and ?′ for WR&T mixtures ranged from 38° to 40°. Thus, shear strength of co-mixed WR&T was comparable to waste rock regardless of tailings composition. Shear behavior of WR&T mixtures was a function of R and tailings composition. Tailings influenced shear behavior for R < R _opt and when tailings predominantly were silt. Shear behavior was influenced by waste rock for R ≥ R _opt and when tailings predominantly were sand or included clay particles.     

Shaft capacity of the pre-bored grouted planted pile in dense sand

The pre-bored grouted planted pile is a new type of composite pile foundation that consists of a precast concrete pile and the surrounding cemented soil. A series of shear tests were conducted in a specific shear test apparatus to investigate the shaft capacity of the different pile–soil interfaces. The test results show that the frictional capacity of the cemented soil–sand interface is controlled mainly by the sand properties, while the strength of the cemented soil slightly influences the interface properties by affecting the normalized roughness coefficient R_n. The frictional capacity of the concrete–sand interface is similar to the frictional capacity of the cemented soil–sand interface, and the existence of mud cake layer virtually hampers the frictional properties of the interface. The maximum skin friction of the concrete–cemented soil interface increases approximately linearly with the increasing cemented soil strength, and the value of the maximum skin friction is much larger than that of the cemented soil–sand interface of identical cemented soil strength, which demonstrates the integrity of the pre-bored grouted planted pile in the load transfer process.     

基于3D打印技术的岩体结构面各向异性剪切力学行为

结构面形貌特征是影响结构面剪切行为的重要因素,而且结构面形貌特征的各向异性与其剪切力学行为的各向异性之间存在一定的联系。利用三维激光扫描和3D打印技术模拟了天然结构面,并以水泥砂浆为材料浇筑了尺寸为100 mm×100 mm×150 mm的含结构面试样,开展了不同法向应力下沿不同方向的剪切试验。结果表明,结构面的剪切行为具有明显的各向异性,这种特性可以体现在峰值剪切强度及相应的剪切位移和抗剪强度参数上;在低法向应力条件下,峰值剪切强度各向异性的强弱程度与法向应力之间并非呈现简单的单调变化关系;抗剪强度参数c（黏聚力）、f（内摩擦角）值沿不同剪切方向的变化趋势总体上较相似;通过分析不同剪切方向上c、f值相对于0°方向的差异程度,可以发现剪切方向对c值的影响更为强烈。移动阅读      

黏性材料细观与宏观力学参数相关性研究

岩土工程数值模拟技术中参数选取的正确性是反应材料真实力学特性的基本前提。借助于颗粒离散元分析软件PFC2D,对黏性土类材料样本开展了大量的平面双轴压缩试验。通过记录不同围压下样本的轴向应力峰值,并依据摩尔-库仑强度准则对数值试样的剪切强度参数（内摩擦角、黏聚力）进行标定。着重探讨了黏性材料细观参数中颗粒刚度比kn /ks（0.5～10共12组）、颗粒粘结强度SBS（0～50 kPa共12组）、颗粒摩擦系数?（0～6共16组）以及颗粒粘结强度比K（0.1～10共15组）和材料宏观剪切强度参数以及材料剪切特性之间的相关性。研究结果表明：颗粒粘结（法向、切向）强度同对材料黏聚力呈线性相关;颗粒摩擦系数与材料内摩擦角呈近似对数相关;颗粒刚度比大小对材料剪切强度参数变化亦有微弱的影响;此外,K值（切向粘结强度/法向粘结强度）是影响材料的剪切破坏形态的重要因素。最后,采用了两个多元非线性拟合公式,定量地描述了以上各细观参数和材料宏观剪切强度参数的联合关系,并给出了K值的建议取值,为后续的研究提供重要的理论基础。     

钙质砂与钢板接触面力学特性试验研究

对一种人工制备的钙质砂与光滑铜板接触面进行了一系列的单调和循环剪切试验,表明钙质砂与光滑钢板的接触属于摩擦接触,界面剪应力与正应力之比与剪切位移关系有较好的归一性。等正应力试验中钙质砂的的缩性较大;等体积试验中接触面的抗剪强度因正应力的降低而远低于等正应力试验;循环剪切中加荷与卸荷曲线基本重合,经历循环剪切作用后接触面的抗剪强度有降低的趋势。界面湿摩擦系数低于干摩擦系数。     

超孔隙水压力对低塑性黏性土桩土界面抗剪强度的影响

研究黏性土中桩土界面的抗剪强度及其参数受超孔隙水压力影响的规律,对工程实践具有重要意义。利用自制的大型恒刚度直剪仪,完成了一系列不同界面粗糙度、不同试样含水率和不同剪切速率试验条件下的直剪试验,分析了在不同试验条件下超孔隙水压力变化规律,进而得到考虑超孔隙水压力的桩土界面抗剪强度及其参数的变化规律。研究结果表明：随着界面粗糙度等级提高,桩土界面超孔隙水压力减小,桩土界面抗剪强度、有效黏聚力和有效摩擦系数增加;随着含水率的增加,桩土界面超孔隙水压力增加,桩土界面抗剪强度降低,含水率对桩土界面抗剪强度的影响主要是改变了桩土界面的黏聚力,黏聚力先增大后减小,对摩擦系数的影响较小;特定试验条件下,随着剪切速率的增加,桩土界面超孔隙水压力增加,桩土界面抗剪强度降低,桩土界面黏聚力先增大后又减小,变化幅度不超过2 kPa,对摩擦系数的影响较小。因此,桩土界面抗剪强度及其参数是界面粗糙度、试样含水率和剪切速率变化引起超孔隙水压力变化共同影响的结果,试验结果可供相关工程设计参考。     

A frozen soil creep model with strength attenuation

A frozen soil creep model with shear strength attenuation was proposed based on a soft soil creep model. K ₀ compression and triaxial shear tests were conducted to obtain the model parameters. With triaxial creep tests, the performance of soft soil creep model was verified at first. It was shown that different creep stages can only be described separately, which was due to a constant failure line used in the model. After incorporating strength attenuation into the original model, relative position between stress point and failure line is time dependent, and the progressive development of creep strain from primary to tertiary stage can be captured reasonably.     

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.     

含软弱夹层板岩抗剪强度试验及表征方法

在微机控制岩石剪切试验机上,针对预裂的含薄层黏土充填结构面板岩试件,进行不同法向应力下的结构面直剪试验,发现:结构面直剪试验中,并不是整个结构面都参与抗剪工作,只有部分结构面发挥抗剪作用,而且发挥抗剪作用的有效摩擦面积随法向应力的增大而增大,但是增大速率逐渐减小。基于整个结构面发挥抗剪作用的假设,获得了结构面表观剪应力-剪位移关系曲线,拟合计算了结构面表观抗剪强度指标;同时基于每次直剪试验中结构面部分区域发挥抗剪作用的假设,获得了结构面有效剪应力-剪位移关系曲线,拟合计算了结构面有效抗剪强度指标。对比两者发现:结构面抗剪强度指标中,内摩擦角与发挥抗剪作用面积的选取无关,黏聚力则受发挥抗剪作用面积选取的影响;基于结构面有效摩擦面积计算得到的有效黏聚力,相比表观黏聚力,提高了95%。本文研究成果对于滑坡工程治理方案的评估与选择具有重要的意义和价值。     

Shear Behaviors of the Binary Structural Plane

Binary-medium contact interfaces widely exist in rock engineering. They have significant impacts on the safety of rock engineering due to their poor shear behavior. A material of different strength is produced by pouring mortar of a different sand-to-cement ratio on the top of a rock-like mortar material (with the ratio of 1:1), thereby forming a binary-medium structural plane. Then, direct shear test is performed on the structural plane by applying different normal stresses. The shear strength parameters of the structural plane (cohesion \(c\) and friction angle \(\varphi\)) are obtained from the Mohr–Coulomb criterion. Moreover, the mechanical behaviors of the structural plane are compared with the unitary-medium specimen in the shearing process. A similar shear stress–shear displacement rule is observed in the shearing process. However, the peak and residual shear strengths of the binary structural plane are far lower than those of the unitary ones. The difference between the unitary and binary planes at cohesion \(c\) decreases with the increasing sand–cement ratio, whereas a up-down trend is observed in the friction angle \(\varphi\) with the increasing sand-to-cement ratio. When the upper and lower parts of the structural plane are different in sand-to-cement ratio, the cohesion \(c\) of the structural plane slightly increases with the increasing ratio of the upper specimen. However, when the two parts are identical in ratio, the cohesion of the structural plane reaches the peak, and its friction angle \(\varphi\) substantially increases with the increasing ratio of the upper part.     

Effect of Soil–Water Characteristic Parameters on Saturation Line and Stability of Slope

Rainfall infiltration is the main factor that causes slope instability. To study the effect of hydraulic parameters on the final saturation line and stability of slopes, a numerical slope model is established with a saturated–unsaturated seepage analysis method. Analysis results show the following, (1) When parameter a increases, the effective rainfall duration decreases linearly, and the ultimate safety factor increases gradually; when parameter m increases, the effective rainfall duration increases linearly, and the ultimate safety factor decreases linearly; when parameter n increases, both the effective rainfall duration and the ultimate safety factor decrease first and then remain stable. (2) When the saturated permeability coefficient decreases, the effective rainfall duration presents a crescent trend, and the ultimate safety factor decreases first and then remains the same after rainfall intensity exceeds the saturated permeability coefficient of soil. (3) When rainfall intensity is less than the saturated permeability coefficient of soil, the location of the final saturation line rises as the saturated permeability coefficient decreases and is thus independent of parameters a, m, and n.     

Experimental Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Sands Reinforced with Discrete Randomly Distributed Fiber

The addition of cementitious admixtures and/or inclusion of fibers are frequently used in practice to stabilize soils and to improve their mechanical properties. In this study, ring shear tests were conducted to investigate mechanical properties such as shear strength, angle of friction and cohesion values of randomly distributed discrete fiber-reinforced sand mixtures. The length and aspect ratio of the fibers used in the current study were 12 mm and 120, respectively. Specimens were prepared at four different fiber ratios (0.1, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 % by weight of sand). A series of ring shear tests were carried out on sand alone and fiber-reinforced sand mixtures at different normal stresses. The test results indicated that the addition of fiber had a significant effect on the shear strength of the sand. Shear stress of the unreinforced sand increases 1.29–2.32, 1.16–1.39, and 1.07–1.5 times at a normal stress of 50, 150, and 250 kPa, respectively with fiber inclusion. Fiber content had positive effects on improving the shear strength parameters (angle of internal friction and cohesion) of the mixtures. The cohesion and angle of internal friction of fiber-reinforced sand prepared at different ratios of fiber increased by 5.3–27.4 kPa and 2.0°–7.3° respectively. The inclusion of fibers improves the ductility of the soil by preventing the loss of post-peak strength.     

不同边界条件下剪切速率对类岩石节理剪切力学特性的影响

为研究不同边界条件下剪切速率对岩石节理剪切力学特性的影响,采用RDS-200型岩石节理剪切试验系统对人工浇筑的具有相同节理形貌的不规则水泥节理试样进行了常法向应力和常法向刚度2种边界条件下5种剪切速率的直剪试验。结果表明：（1）常法向应力边界条件下,随剪切速率增大,相同法向应力下的类岩石节理峰前剪切刚度减速增大,峰值剪切强度和残余剪切强度呈对数降低;随剪切速率增大,类岩石节理黏聚力减速增大,内摩擦角呈对数降低。（2）常法向刚度边界条件下,随剪切速率增大,相同法向应力的类岩石节理峰前剪切刚度减速增大,峰值剪切强度呈对数降低,较高法向应力下的残余剪切强度先增大后减小;随剪切速率增大,类岩石节理黏聚力呈对数降低,内摩擦角减速增大。（3）与常法向应力边界条件相比,常法向刚度条件下,节理黏聚力平均增加了115.85%,内摩擦角平均降低了8.44%;相同初始法向应力和剪切速率下,峰前剪切刚度、峰值剪切强度和残余剪切强度分别平均增加了11.96%、19.47%和32.32%,峰值法向位移平均降低了40.12%。该研究结论可为不同剪切速率下地表和地下工程岩体节理的剪切失稳评价提供一定参考。     

钻孔剪切试验及其在黄土中的应用

钻孔剪切试验是一种通过在钻孔侧壁上进行直剪试验来测定土体黏聚力和内摩擦角的原位测试方法。阐述和总结了钻孔剪切试验的基本原理、试验和数据处理方法。为了评估钻孔剪切试验测定黄土抗剪强度指标的适用性,采用Iowa钻孔剪切试验仪实测了不同深度黄土的抗剪强度指标,并与室内三轴剪切试验（CU）和直剪试验结果进行了对比。试验结果显示,钻孔剪切试验用于测定黄土的抗剪强度指标时,抗剪强度与法向压力具有较好的线性相关性;试验黄土的钻孔剪切试验应力-应变关系曲线为应变软化型;钻孔剪切试验结果与室内三轴剪切试验（CU）和直剪试验结果相比,黏聚力降低,内摩擦角增大;均质黄土地层的钻孔剪切试验数据离散性相对较小,可采用“整体”破坏包线法对抗剪强度指标进行统计。     

安哥拉Quelo砂抗剪强度特性试验研究

基于安哥拉Quelo（Muceque）砂原状土和重塑土的直剪试验,探讨了结构性、含水率、干密度对Quelo砂抗剪强度的影响。试验结果表明,结构性对Quelo砂的抗剪强度影响较为复杂,原状土与重塑土的抗剪力学指标具有明显差异;Quelo砂遇水软化特性显著,原状土和重塑土的黏聚力和内摩擦角随含水率的增大近似呈对数衰减;Quelo砂级配良好,压实后抗剪强度高,适宜用作回填材料,重塑土的黏聚力随干密度的增大近似呈线性增大,内摩擦角随干密度的增大分为稳定段和增大段,呈分段函数的特征。