Fabric and Effective Stress Distribution in Internally Unstable Soils
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 12
Abstract
Internal instability is a form of internal erosion in broadly graded cohesionless soils in which fine particles can be eroded at lower hydraulic gradients than predicted by classical theory for piping or heave. A key mechanism enabling internal instability is the formation of a stress-transmitting matrix dominated by the coarse particles, which leaves the finer particles under lower effective stress. In this study, discrete element modeling is used to analyze the fabric and effective stress distribution within idealized gap-graded samples with varying potential for internal stability. The reduction in stress within the finer fraction of the materials is directly quantified from grain-scale data. The particle-size distribution, percentage finer fraction, and relative density are found to influence the stress distribution. In particular, effective stress transfer within a critical finer fraction between 24 and 35% is shown to be highly sensitive to relative density.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The computing resources provided by Research Councils UK’s HECTOR HPC (via EPSRC Grant No. EP/I006761/1), the European PRACE Program, and the CX1 HPC at Imperial College are gratefully acknowledged. T. S. was funded by an EPSRC Doctoral Training Account.
References
Barreto, D. (2008). “Numerical and experimental investigation into the behaviour of granular materials under generalised stress states.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, London.
Chang, D. S., and Zhang, L. M. (2013). “Critical hydraulic gradients of internal erosion under complex stress states.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1454–1467.
Cundall, P. A. (1988). “Computer simulations of dense sphere assemblies.” Micromechanics of granular materials, J. T. Jenkins, ed., Vol. 4, Elsevier Science, New York, 113–123.
Cundall, P. A., and Strack, O. D. L. (1979). “A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies.” Géotechnique, 29(1), 47–65.
Fannin, R. J., and Moffat, R. (2006). “Observations on internal stability of cohesionless soils.” Géotechnique, 56(7), 497–500.
Garner, S. J., and Fannin, R. J. (2010). “Understanding internal erosion: A decade of research following a sinkhole event.” Int. J. Hydropower Dams, 17(3), 93–98.
International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). (2013). Bulletin on internal erosion of dams, dikes and their foundations, Vol. 1, Paris.
Kenney, T. C., and Lau, D. (1985). “Internal stability of granular filters.” Can. Geotech. J., 22(2), 215–225.
Kézdi, Á. (1979). Soil physics: Selected topics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Li, M. (2008). “Seepage induced instability in widely graded soils.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Li, M., and Fannin, R. J. (2008). “Comparison of two criteria for internal stability of granular soil.” Can. Geotech. J., 45(9), 1303–1309.
Li, M., and Fannin, R. J. (2012). “A theoretical envelope for internal instability of cohesionless soil.” Géotechnique, 62(1), 77–80.
Marot, D., Bendahmane, F., and Nguyen, H. H. (2012a). “Influence of angularity of coarse fraction grains on internal erosion process.” Houille Blanche, 6, 47–53.
Marot, D., Le, V. D., Garnier, J., Thorel, L., and Audrain, P. (2012b). “Study of scale effect in an internal erosion mechanism: Centrifuge model and energy analysis.” Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng., 16(1), 1–19.
Minh, N. H., and Cheng, Y. P. (2013). “A DEM investigation of the effect of particle-size distribution on one-dimensional compression.” Géotechnique, 63(1), 44–53.
Moffat, R., and Fannin, R. J. (2011). “A hydromechanical relation governing internal stability of cohesionless soil.” Can. Geotech. J., 48(3), 413–424.
Moffat, R., Fannin, R. J., and Garner, S. J. (2011). “Spatial and temporal progression of internal erosion in cohesionless soil.” Can. Geotech. J., 48(3), 399–412.
Plimpton, S. (1995). “Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular-dynamics.” J. Comput. Phys., 117(1), 1–19.
Potyondy, D. O., and Cundall, P. A. (2004). “A bonded-particle model for rock.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 41(8), 1329–1364.
Russell, A. R., Muir Wood, D., and Kikumoto, M. (2009). “Crushing of particles in idealised granular assemblies.” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 57(8), 1293–1313.
Shire, T. (2014). “Micro-scale modelling of granular filters.” Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, London.
Shire, T., and O’Sullivan, C. (2013). “Micromechanical assessment of an internal stability criterion.” Acta Geotech., 8(1), 81–90.
Shire, T., O’Sullivan, C., Barreto, D., and Gaudray, G. (2013). “Quantifying stress-induced anisotropy using inter-void constrictions.” Géotechnique, 63(1), 85–91.
Skempton, A. W., and Brogan, J. M. (1994). “Experiments on piping in sandy gravels.” Géotechnique, 44(3), 449–460.
Thevanayagam, S., Shenthan, T., Mohan, S., and Liang, J. (2002). “Undrained fragility of clean sands, silty sands, and sandy silts.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 849–859.
Thornton, C. (2000). “Numerical simulations of deviatoric shear deformation of granular media.” Géotechnique, 50(1), 43–53.
Tordesillas, A., Zhang, J., and Behringer, R. (2009). “Buckling force chains in dense granular assemblies: Physical and numerical experiments.” Geomech. Geoeng., 4(1), 3–16.
Vallejo, L. E. (2001). “Interpretation of the limits in shear strength in binary granular mixtures.” Can. Geotech. J., 38(5), 1097–1104.
Wan, C. F., and Fell, R. (2004). “Experimental investigation of internal instability of soils in embankment dams and their foundations.” UNICIV Rep. R429, Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 24, 2013
Accepted: Jul 25, 2014
Published online: Aug 26, 2014
Published in print: Dec 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 26, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.