Strength anisotropy of granular material consisting of perfectly round particles

The strength anisotropy of granular materials deposited under gravity has mostly been attributed to elongated particles' tendency to align long axes along the bedding plane direction. However, recent experiments on near‐spherical glass beads, for which preferred particle alignment is inapplicable, have exhibited surprisingly strong strength anisotropy. This study tests the hypothesis that certain amount of fabric anisotropy caused by the anisotropic stress during deposition under gravity can be locked in a circular‐particle deposit. Such locked‐in fabric anisotropy can withstand isotropic consolidation and leads to significant strength anisotropy. 2D discrete element method simulations of direct shear tests on circular‐particle deposits are conducted in this study, allowing for the monitoring of both stress and fabric. Simulations on both monodispersed and polydispersed circular‐particle samples generated under downward gravitational acceleration exhibit clear anisotropy in shear strength, thereby proving the hypothesis. When using contact normal‐based and void‐based fabric tensors to quantify fabric anisotropy in the material, we find that the intensity of anisotropy is discernible but low prior to shearing and is dependent on the consolidation process and the dispersity of the sample. The fact that samples with very low anisotropy intensity measurements still exhibit fairly strong strength anisotropy suggests that current typical contact normal‐based and void‐based second‐order fabric tensor formulations may not be very effective in reflecting the anisotropic peak shear strength of granular materials. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

散粒介质临界状态细观力学结构特征的数值模拟与分析

基于离散单元法对不同密实度理想散粒体进行了双轴剪切试验的宏微观数值模拟,通过网格剖分将Voronoi多边形表征的loop单元作为散粒介质细观力学结构的基本单元,模拟了剪切过程中不同类型loop单元数量、几何形态和力学特征的演化过程,并重点分析了临界状态时散粒介质的细观力学结构特征。模拟结果显示,初始密实度不同的试样在向临界状态发展的过程中,高阶单元与低阶单元的发展规律完全不同,不同初始密实度试样中同阶loop单元的发展规律也不相同,但同阶loop单元的数量比例、几何形态、颗粒接触力及单元内滑动率最终均达到了各自的临界状态。从细观角度分析,散体介质的临界状态是高阶和低阶loop单元在荷载作用下相互转化的结果,是所有loop单元物理力学状态的综合平均与外在表现,临界状态时不同阶数的loop单元处于一个动态平衡状态,宏观上表现为常剪应力和常体积下剪切变形的不断发展。数值模拟结果也表明,loop细观结构单元包含了丰富的信息,其数量、几何形态、受力特征及接触稳定性的发展与散粒体的强度、剪胀以及临界状态的发展密切相关,可以将其作为散粒介质细观尺度的分析单元。     

Effects of Soil Aging on Mechanical and Hydraulic Properties of a Silty Soil

The aging phenomenon, which produces changes in material state over time, is associated with significant modification of mechanical and physical soil properties. This change should be accounted for during geotechnical design. Although soils sometimes improve with aging, the opposite effect is occasionally observed. This paper describes a study performed to investigate the effect of aging on the mechanical behavior and the permeability of a silty soil. Undrained unconsolidated triaxial shear tests and triaxial permeability tests were performed on disturbed and compacted samples. Upon conclusion of these tests, the samples were sealed from air and moisture. The results show an important increase in both the undrained shear strength and the deformation modulus caused by silt rigidification during the aging process. These changes cause an over estimation of laboratory measured shear strength. For instance, the increase in the deformation modulus and undrained cohesion can approach 100 % for an approximate 328 day storage period. Sample permeability was found to decrease with aging. This reduction can be ascribed to several causes including micro-organisms growth, secondary sample consolidation and progressive filling caused by the migration of very fine particles. These phenomena might have negated the expected increase in permeability with aging time reported in the literature.     

循环剪切荷载作用下含二阶起伏体模拟岩石节理力学特性研究

利用人工材料浇注含二阶起伏体的模拟岩石节理试样,进行常法向荷载循环剪切试验,研究节理剪切力学特性在循环剪切过程中的劣化规律。试验结果表明：二阶起伏体对节理循环剪切力学特性有重要影响,剪切强度、剪切刚度、剪胀角随剪切循环次数增大而衰减,衰减趋势随着二阶起伏度的增大而加快;法向应力、二阶起伏度较大时,二阶起伏体对剪切力学特性的影响主要体现在第1轮剪切循环中,在随后的剪切循环中影响不明显;法向应力、二阶起伏度较小时,二阶起伏体的影响在前几轮循环剪切过程中均有较清晰的体现。基于Hertz接触力学理论,提出了节理面微凸体球面接触细观模型,揭示了节理循环剪切宏观试验现象的力学机制     

颗粒级配对粒状材料不排水力学特性的影响

为了研究颗粒级配对粒状材料不排水力学特性的影响,采用两种形状自相似度很高的材料（玻璃球和Hostun砂）进行了一系列传统三轴不排水压缩试验。对于每种材料,保持相近的相对密实度制作了6个不同颗粒级配（不均匀系数 1.1～20）的试样,然后进行剪切。试验结果表明,颗粒级配对粒状材料的不排水力学性能存在明显影响：两种材料试样的偏应力水平随着不均匀系数的增加而降低,抗剪强度随着材料的不均匀系数 的增加而降低,并在 5后呈现出趋稳势态。基于不排水剪切试验中颗粒集合体二阶功的演化规律,对材料受荷载过程中出现不稳定性的条件进行分析。结果表明,在相同密实度下,粒状材料的静态液化潜能随着材料不均匀系数 的提高而增强,高不均匀系数的材料变得不稳定。     

典型红层滑坡滑带土自愈合效应试验研究

在滑坡稳定性分析和设计计算中往往选用滑带土的残余强度值,但许多研究发现滑带土在稳定期会有自愈合现象发生,表现为抗剪强度的提高。对于以蠕滑为主的红层滑坡,自愈合恢复值应该在滑坡稳定性评价中予以考虑。通过对典型红层滑坡滑带土样进行“剪切―保持―剪切”试验,研究处于残余状态下的剪切面在不同法向应力、不同保持时间下的愈合情况,并进行相应的分析与讨论。试验结果表明：（1）残余状态下的土样在保持一定时间后再次剪切出现明显峰值,证明了剪切面自愈合效应存在,但是继续剪切时恢复的强度随位移快速消失;（2）随着保持时间的增长,剪切面的强度恢复值越来越大;（3）剪切面的自愈合相比法向应力更依赖于保持时间。将得到的摩擦系数值运用断层强度恢复经验公式拟合,提出不同法向应力下常数A的取值,可在滑坡安全系数计算中参考。     

水泥加固不同地区软土的试验研究

对不同地区软土经水泥加固后的强度形成特征进行了研究。进行直接剪切试验及无侧限抗压试验测定了水泥加固土的力学指标,发现不同地区的软土经水泥加固后力学性质存在很大差异,从试样的粒度成分、有机质含量及加固后试样的微观结构特征等方面对此进行解释。结果表明,试样的粒度成分及有机质含量会对加固效果产生很大影响,黏粒含量越大,有机质含量越高,对水泥加固土强度的形成越不利。为在用水泥进行不同性质的软土加固处理时采取合理的附加措施提供了理论依据。     

含二阶起伏体的模拟岩体节理试样剪切特性试验研究

利用规则的小尺寸锯齿构造二阶起伏体,对不同二阶起伏体高度的人工节理进行常法向应力下的直剪试验,研究了节理剪切力学特性。对节理的剪切强度、变形特征进行了分析,并对破坏特征做出解释。试验结果表明：二阶起伏体对节理剪切力学特性有重要影响,含二阶起伏体节理的剪切力学特性与只含有一阶起伏体节理的剪切力学特性不同,只含一阶起伏体的节理剪应力只有一个峰值,含二阶起伏体的节理会出现波浪状的剪胀曲线和多峰值剪应力,且峰值剪应力随剪切位移增大依次出现并逐个减小;随着二阶起伏体高度增大,节理峰值剪切强度增大,节理依次出现磨损破坏、多次性剪断破坏、一次性剪断破坏。     

土工格栅加筋橡胶砂强度特性试验研究

橡胶砂作为轻质、耗能填料在土木工程中有广泛的应用前景,但其强度往往会随橡胶含量的增大而降低。土工格栅常用于对散体材料的加筋补强,研究土工格栅对橡胶砂强度特性的加筋效应具有重要意义。基于三轴压缩试验,对3种不同格栅布置方式（1、2、3层）下的干燥橡胶砂强度特性展开研究,重点考察加筋层数对不同围压（50、100、200 kPa）下、不同配比（0%、10%、20%、30%、40%）橡胶砂的强度参数,如峰值强度、似黏聚力、内摩擦角的影响规律。结果表明：土工格栅加筋橡胶砂的强度参数,包括峰值强度、似黏聚力、内摩擦角,相对于未加筋橡胶砂均有明显提高,提高幅度随土工格栅加筋层数的增加而增大,随着围压的降低而增大;土工格栅对配比为20%橡胶砂的强度加筋效应最为明显;土工格栅加筋橡胶砂的强度参数恢复系数与加筋密度之间呈良好的线性关系;土工格栅加筋橡胶砂的强度特性可由试验所得的经验恢复函数较好地估计。     

Evolution of Shear-Zone Structure in Undrained Ring-Shear Tests

Undrained monotonic torque-controlled tests were conducted on fine-grained silica sand to study the shear-deformation process in granular materials by using a ring-shear apparatus. Shear-zone structures at various stages in the undrained shear tests were observed during a series of tests in which the experiments were terminated at different shear displacement. For undisturbed samples, the shear zone was only developed during the post-failure stage and its thickness increased with progressed shearing. First the shear surfaces had undulating and asymmetric structures; later they gradually became smooth and parallel to the shearing direction. During this process, pore water pressure was generated, and the effective friction angle decreased correspondingly. Generally, the shear zone could be divided into three parts: the compacted core, the adjacent zone above the core, and the adjacent zone below the core. Grain-size analysis on the sample from the shear zone revealed that grain crushing occurred during each stage and the extent of grain crushing differed for different shear stages. An interesting phenomenon occurred during the steady-state deformation where the coarse and fine particles within the shear zone segregated during motions and a parallel orientation structure developed. These results are helpful for understanding the mechanism of progressive failure in granular material as well as the rapid landslide with long runout study.     

大型原位直剪试验设备改进研制与应用

大型原位直剪试验的试样尺寸大,对土体扰动小,是获取岩土体强度参数的有效方法。中国科学院武汉岩土力学研究所在参考室内、现场两用大型直剪仪后,又改进研制了一套大型原位剪切设备。与传统原位直剪设备不同,该设备采用上、下两个刚性剪切盒,可完成尺寸为50 cm×50 cm×41 cm,最大粒径为5 cm的原位土体试样的剪切试验。该直剪设备组装方便,采用高精度传感器可自动采集数据,更适合于复杂的现场试验环境。介绍了该设备的结构组成、工作原理、技术优点。结合实例详细介绍了大型原位直剪试验的试验方法及注意事项。将此大型原位直剪设备应用于向家坝库区两个滑坡现场试验,得到了滑坡滑带、滑体的原位抗剪强度参数,分析了不同试样大型原位直剪试验剪切曲线的特点,进一步论证了该直剪设备的优良工作性能。     

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。     

Micromechanical investigation of the particle size effect on the shear strength of uncrushable granular materials

Particle size strongly influences the shear strength of granular materials. However, previous studies of the particle size effect have focused mainly on the macroscopic behavior of granular materials, neglecting the associated micro-mechanism. In this study, the effect of particle size on the shear strength of uncrushable granular materials in biaxial testing is investigated using the discrete element method (DEM). First, a comprehensive calibration against experimental results is conducted to obtain the DEM parameters for two types of quartz sand. Then, a series of biaxial tests are simulated on sands with parallel particle size distributions to investigate the effect of particle size on macro- and microscopic behaviors. Finally, by adopting the rolling resistance method and the clump method, irregular-shaped particles are simulated to investigate how the particle size effect will be influenced by the particle shape. Simulation results demonstrate that (1) the peak shear strength increases with particle size, whereas the residual shear strength is independent of particle size; (2) the thickness of the shear band increases with the particle size, but its ratio decreases with particle size; (3) the particle size effect can be explained by the increase of friction utilization ratio with particle size; and (4) the particle size effect is more significant in granular materials that consist of particles with higher angularity.

     

Geotechnical properties of 3D-printed transparent granular soil

This paper proposes a 3D-printed transparent granular soil technique based on the contour rotation interpolation method, 3D printing and transparent soil technologies. Laboratory tests, including one-dimensional compression, direct shear and triaxial compression tests, are assessed for mechanical properties of 3D-printed transparent granular soil. The results show that 3D-printed transparent granular soil can be used to consider the effect of shape on macromechanical soil properties, which is an advantage that cannot be achieved by the previously presented transparent soil techniques. Subsequently, a simple model test of rigid flat plate penetration into transparent granular soil is performed. The obtained soil displacements using the PIV technique are compared with the classical shallow strain path method solution. This comparison indicates that the proposed 3D-printed transparent granular soil can capture the soil deformation pattern, although the accuracy needs to be further improved. The proposed 3D-printed transparent granular soil technique could be used for model test that needs to consider the shape of sand particle.

     

Effects of confining pressure and loading path on deformation and strength of cohesive granular materials: a three-dimensional DEM analysis

This paper is devoted to numerical analysis of strength and deformation of cohesive granular materials. The emphasis is put on the study of effects of confining pressure and loading path. To this end, the three-dimensional discrete element method is used. A nonlinear failure criterion for inter-granular interface bonding is proposed, and it is able to account for both tensile and shear failure for a large range of normal stress. This criterion is implemented in the particles flow code. The proposed failure model is calibrated from triaxial compression tests performed on representative sandstone. Numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data. In particular, the effect of confining pressure on compressive strength and failure pattern is well described by the proposed model. Furthermore, numerical predictions are studied, respectively, for compression and extension tests with a constant mean stress. It is shown that the failure strength and deformation process are clearly affected by loading path. Finally, a series of numerical simulations are performed on cubic samples with three independent principal stresses. It is found that the strength and failure mode are strongly influenced by the intermediate principal stress.

     

A finite element analysis of direct shear tests on stiff clays

A finite element analysis is presented of some direct shear tests carried out on samples of a stiff, heavily overconsolidated clay. The effects of softening are accounted for through a simple material model which views this phenomenon as a consequence of an intrinsic loss of strength of the material taking place when plastic strains increase. After illustrating the main characteristics of the finite element approach, with particular reference to the correct determination of the non-reversible strains, its use in the interpretation of the mentioned shear tests is discussed. Some comments are also presented on the mesh dependence of the numerical results, and on the use of a relation between material parameters and element size which reduces this negative effect. Finally, the solution procedure is applied to the simulation of a compression test in order to investigate the possibility of numerically detecting the ‘spontaneous’ (i.e. not directly induced by the boundary conditions) formation of shear zones within the specimen.     

Modeling of tensile strength on moist granular earth material at low water content

While most research has mainly focused on the volume change, flow, and shear strength of unsaturated earth materials, investigations of tensile strength of unsaturated earth materials especially granular materials have not received much attention except for cemented and clayey materials. Thus, direct tension experiments were carried out to quantify the actual magnitude of tensile strength induced by water in moist granular soil at especially low water contents (w<4%). The magnitudes of the measured tensile strength are significantly different from zero. A simple experimental tensile strength model is proposed. Practicing engineers can use this model for approximate estimation of the tensile strength of unsaturated granular soils without experiments and for precise design or analysis of most engineered facilities relying on the unsaturated granular soils in the vadose zone. The experimental data are also compared with a theoretical model developed for monosized spheres at low water contents, and its application for a real granular earth material having a variety of particles is discussed. The nonlinear behavior of the tensile strength for moist granular soil is appropriately simulated with a model.     

砂土颗粒形状量化及其对力学指标的影响分析

砂作为一种特殊的散体材料,其宏观物理力学性质,如密实度、剪切特性（临界状态角,剪胀角）、压缩性及颗粒破碎特征等均受到颗粒形状的影响,目前为止,对于砂粒土颗粒形状的量化工作,未到达成熟阶段。试验采用普通光学显微镜获取3种不同砂颗粒及一种相似材料（玻璃球）数字图像,利用ImageJ图形软件对其进行黑白二值化处理,获取颗粒形状轮廓边界;从3个层次定义颗粒形状参数,并利用java语言编制形状量化插件程序,计算砂粒各形状参数值,最后通过相对密度试验、直剪试验测试不同砂样的极限孔隙比、剪切强度指标。试验结果表明：整体轮廓系数、球形度、棱角度3项形状参数可作为不同砂粒形状鉴别和量化的关键参数,且与剪胀角、临界状态摩擦角均具有良好的相关性,试验提供了一种量化砂颗粒形状的有效方法,并可将得到的关键量化参数应用到宏观力学性质分析与数值模拟工作中     

Investigation of the effect of specific interfacial area on strength of unsaturated granular materials by X-ray tomography

This paper studies the effect of interfacial areas (air–water interfaces and solid–water interfaces) on material strength of unsaturated granular materials. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography technique is employed to measure the interfacial areas in wet glass bead samples. The scanned 3D images are trinarized into three phases and meshed into representative volume elements (RVEs). An appropriate RVE size is selected to represent adequate local information. Due to the local heterogeneity of the material, the discretized RVEs of the scanned samples actually cover a very large range of degree of saturation and porosity. The data of RVEs present the relationship between the specific interfacial areas and degree of saturation and gives boundaries where the interfacial area of a whole sample should fall in. In parallel, suction-controlled direct shear tests have been carried out on glass beads and the material strength has been corroborated with two effective stress definitions related to the specific air–water interfacial areas and fraction of wetted solid surface, respectively. The comparisons show that the specific air–water interfacial area reaches the peak at about 25% of saturation and contributes significantly to the material strength (up to 60% of the total capillary strength). The wetted solid surface obtained from X-ray CT is also used to estimate Bishop’s coefficient χ based on the second type of effective stress definition, which shows a good agreement with the measured value. This work emphasizes the importance to include interface terms in effective stress formulations of unsaturated soils. It also suggests that the X-ray CT technique and RVE-based multiscale analysis are very valuable in the studies of multiphase geomaterials.

     

冻融循环影响风化砂改良膨胀土抗剪强度室内试验研究

本文以三峡库区广泛分布的风化砂来改良膨胀土,通过在膨胀土中掺入10%、20%、30%、40%、50%的风化砂,进行1、3、6、9、12次冻融循环,最后对不同冻融循环次数作用后改良膨胀土制备样进行直接剪切试验,测定不同掺砂量及不同冻融次数下,各试样的强度参数,得出冻融循环对风化砂改良膨胀土抗剪强度指标及强度规律的影响.试验结果表明:在同一掺砂比例下,风化砂改良膨胀土的抗剪指标和抗剪强度随冻融循环次数的增大而减小,最后逐渐趋于稳定,其中黏聚力与冻融循环次数呈对数关系; 在同一冻融循环次数下,黏聚力随掺砂比例的增大而减小,内摩擦角随掺砂比例的增大而增大.