Instability of Loose Sand under Drained Conditions
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 2
Abstract
A type of prefailure instability which occurs under fully drained conditions is studied in this paper. It is observed experimentally that when a specimen is sheared along a drained stress path involving a decrease in effective mean stress, it becomes unstable after the stress path crosses an instability line. The instability occurring under drained conditions is different from the type observed under undrained conditions. The differences and similarities between the two types of instability are elaborated. The practical implication of the study in analyzing the failure mechanisms of granular soil slope is also discussed.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 2 • February 2012
Pages: 207 - 216
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 4, 2009
Accepted: Jun 6, 2011
Published online: Jan 17, 2012
Published in print: Feb 1, 2012
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