Effect of Initial Density, Particle Shape, and Confining Stress on the Critical State Behavior of Weathered Gap-Graded Granular Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
Weathered gap-graded soils are a common geological body in mountainous regions, and they are widely used as construction materials. The shear strength is the controlling parameter for the design of civil projects; however, there is still a controversy on the coarse fraction effect on the shear strength of gap-graded soils. To this end, 22 triaxial shear tests are performed on gap-graded soils, and the factors affecting the coarse fraction effect have been analyzed, including the confining stress, the particle shape of aggregates, and the initial density of sand matrix. Partial contacts and sand bridges between aggregates are responsible for the transmission of loading and thus affect the coarse fraction effect. The results of triaxial tests reveal: (1) The overall shear strength of sand-beads mixtures is rather independent of the confining stress and the coarse fraction, and even the volume of aggregates is as high as 44.5%. (2) The effect of the shape of aggregates is effective only at a high coarse volume fraction (44.5%) for loose-sand-gravel mixtures, where the partial contacts between aggregates play an important role in forming the interaggregate structure. (3) The overall shear strength of gap-graded soils with a denser matrix increases continuously with a rising coarse fraction. The formation of a densified sand bridge is correlated with the initial density of sand matrix, contributing to the loading transmission in the interaggregate structure and, in turn, affecting the overall critical state behavior of gap-graded soils. The insights drawn from this study provide a reference for assessing the deformation behavior of weathered residual soils.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. (data in Figs. 2–14).
Acknowledgments
This study was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (under Grant No. 51908193). The work in this paper is also supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (under Grant No. B200201050), three Research Grants Council (RGC)/GRF projects (Grant Nos. 16201419, PolyU 152196/14E, and PolyU 152796/16E), a Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) project (Grant No. PolyU12/CRF/13E) from the RGC of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) of China. The authors also acknowledge the financial supports from the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, grants (1-ZVCR, 1-ZVEH, 4-BCAU, 4-BCAW, 5-ZDAF, and G-YN97) from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 2 • February 2021
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© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 2, 2020
Accepted: Sep 10, 2020
Published online: Nov 24, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 24, 2021
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