Cyclic Behavior of Fine-Grained Soils at Different pH Values
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
The effects of pH on the liquefaction susceptibility of fine-grained soils were examined by performing undrained cyclic ring-shear tests on artificial mixtures and a natural soil under different pH conditions. Solutions of diluted sulphuric acid and dissolved sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used to create acidic and alkaline environments, respectively, while distilled water was used as a reference liquid. Low plasticity kaolin and illite-sand mixtures and a medium plasticity bentonite-sand mixture were selected to investigate the influence of plasticity and clay mineralogy on the pH-dependent response of soil to cyclic loading. The results showed that the effects of pH were more pronounced for the medium plasticity mixture, and depended greatly on the mineralogy of clay fraction. For example, in an acidic medium, the kaolin-sand mixture became slightly more resistant to liquefaction while the illite-sand mixture became more susceptible to liquefaction. The bentonite-sand mixture was observed to be the most sensitive to changes in pH environment. While resistant to liquefaction in distilled water, it rapidly liquefied in acidic and alkaline mediums. Cyclic behavior of a medium plasticity soil, which was collected from an earthquake-induced landslide, was also affected by changes in pH. Although being overall resistant to liquefaction regardless of pH, it decreased its cyclic strength in both acidic and alkaline environments. Based on the available literature and the obtained results, an attempt was made to explain the influence of pH on the undrained cyclic behavior of fine-grained soils.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank V. G. Shlykov (Moscow State University, Russia) for invaluable help with x-ray analysis. Useful suggestions and comments by Professor V. Osipov and Professor V. Sokolov (Moscow State University) are highly appreciated. The first writer thanks Ms. Grace Suda for help and support throughout this research. Financial support of this study was provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho) of the Japanese Government.
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© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Mar 22, 2007
Accepted: Apr 4, 2008
Published online: Feb 1, 2009
Published in print: Feb 2009
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