Abstract
This paper presents results from an experimental study on the undrained behavior of sand–structure interfaces subjected to cyclic undrained torsional shearing. The goals of the study are to develop understanding of the response of sand subjected to cyclic torsional loading and to develop a theoretically sound and scale-sensitive framework for interpretation of results. The results characterize the effects of initial void ratio, confining stress, surface roughness, particle angularity, and imposed loading conditions (i.e., torsional versus axial shearing). The responses of all specimens subjected to torsional shear, including those prepared at high relative density, were dominated by contractive tendencies characterized by significant excess pore-water pressure generation. Mechanisms for excess pore-water pressure generation based on experimental evidence of local volume-change tendencies at various locations within the specimens are presented. Torsional interface shearing consistently generated pore-water pressures at faster rates than axial shearing, making the former more efficient for studying cyclic soil behavior. Implications of the results of this study on the deployment of a proposed soil characterization tool are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The studies presented in this paper are being undertaken by researchers in the NSF funded ERC on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG). The support of NSF through PTE Federal Award No. EEC-1449501 is acknowledged. The research work of the first author was also supported in part by the Goizueta Foundation Fellowship.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 9 • September 2018
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2017
Accepted: Apr 2, 2018
Published online: Jul 5, 2018
Published in print: Sep 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Dec 5, 2018
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