Contraction, Dilation, and Failure of Sand in Triaxial, Torsional, and Rotational Shear Tests
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 135, Issue 10
Abstract
The response of a saturated fine sand (Nevada sand No. 120) with relative density in drained and undrained conventional triaxial compression and extension tests and undrained cyclic shear tests in a hollow cylinder apparatus with rotation of the stress directions was studied. It was observed that the peak mobilized friction angle for this dilatant material was different in undrained and drained tests; the difference is attributed to the fact that the rate of dilation is smaller in an undrained test than it is in a drained test. Consistent with the findings of others, the material is more resistant to undrained cyclic loading for triaxial compression than for triaxial extension. In rotational shear tests in which the second invariant of the deviatoric stress tensor is held constant, the shear stress path (after being normalized by the mean normal effective stress) approached an envelope that is comparable but not identical in shape to a Mohr-Coulomb failure surface. As the stress path approached the envelope, the shear end deviatoric strains continued to increase in an unsymmetrical smooth spiral path. During the rotational shear tests, the direction of the deviatoric strain-rate vector (deviatoric strain increment divided by the magnitude of change in Lode angle) was observed to be about midway between the deviatoric stress increment vector and the normal to a Mohr-Coulomb failure surface in the deviatoric plane. The stress ratio at the transition from contractive to dilative behavior (i.e., “phase transformation”) was also observed to depend on the direction of the stress path; therefore this stress ratio is not a fundamental property. Results from torsional hollow cylinder tests with rotation of stress directions are presented in new graphical formats to help understand and interpret the fundamental soil behavior.
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Acknowledgments
The studies presented in this paper were conducted under the US Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory Contract No. UNSPECIFIEDN47408-89-C-1058 and the ROC National Science Council Contract No. UNSPECIFIEDNSC89-2211-E-309-004. This support is gratefully acknowledged. Professor R. W. Boulanger and Professor Y. F. Dafalias provided valuable advice at several stages of this research. The technical assistance from Professor X. S. Li in all aspects of the experimental work is greatly appreciated. For this study, some triaxial tests were conducted by Mr. James Wickstrom and Mr. Shiyo Chen under the direction of Professor C. K. Shen.
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© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Mar 19, 2007
Accepted: May 21, 2009
Published online: Sep 15, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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Note. Associate Editor: Ching S. Chang
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