Peak Shear Strength and Dilatancy of a Pleistocene Age Sand
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Abstract
This paper summarizes results of laboratory investigations performed to quantify the influence of diagenesis (or aging processes) on the peak shear strength and dilatancy of an uncemented Pleistocene age sand sampled near Charleston, South Carolina. Drained triaxial compression tests were performed on high-quality intact specimens retrieved using the in situ freezing and sampling method, and on remolded specimens prepared with matching densities. The stress-strain behavior of intact specimens is accompanied by dilation and a peak shear value, whereas remolded specimens generally contracted throughout shearing. An age-dilatancy term is added to a dilatancy index equation to account for the difference between intact and remolded peak friction angles. The resulting equation suggests that dilatancies due to age and density are suppressed with increasing confining pressure. A profile of peak friction angle with depth is established from the results and compared with estimates from empirical relationships.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0751278 and Grant No. CMS-0556006. Additional support was provided by the Aniket Shrikhande Memorial Assistantship fund. The views and conclusions contained in this paper are those of the writers and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the National Science Foundation. The writers gratefully acknowledge the many helpful review comments from the anonymous reviewers, which have greatly improved this paper. The writers also sincerely thank John Sanders of the Clemson University National Brick Research Center for performing and interpreting XRD tests; Billy Camp of S&ME, Inc. who contributed to the design and construction of the ground freezing system and coordinated drilling, cone testing, and sampling services; and Harold Hanvey, farm manager at CREC.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 1 • January 2017
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 14, 2015
Accepted: May 24, 2016
Published online: Jul 21, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2016
Published in print: Jan 1, 2017
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