Comparative Study of Stress History Effects on Shear-Deformation Relations of Sands from the Mediterranean Region Integrating Specimen Preparation Techniques
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 2
Abstract
Despite several parameters having been identified as having an impact on the undrained monotonic response of granular soils, the impact of the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) is still a contentious issue. One of the significant reasons for the inconsistencies in the undrained behavior is the method by which the stresses are applied––specifically, the effective preconsolidation and confining pressures. To address this, two separate series of triaxial compression tests were realized in order to examine and compare the influence of the OCR (OCR = 1, 2, 4, and 8) on the mechanical response of Chlef River (Algeria) sand, considering the way the stress state was applied. During the first series, the OCR was accomplished by consolidating the specimens to an effective preconsolidation pressure ( = 100, 200, 400, and 800 kPa) and subsequently unloading them to a constant desired effective confining pressure of 100 kPa. In the second series, all specimens were consolidated to a maximum effective preconsolidation pressure of = 800 kPa (constant effective preconsolidation pressure) and then unloaded to different effective confining pressures ( = 800, 400, 200, and 100 kPa), using two different sample preparation techniques––dry funnel pluviation and moist tamping. The test results revealed a suitable increase in the shear strength with an increase in OCR in the first series, with the opposite trend observed in the pore water pressure. For the second series, an increase in the OCR parameter resulted in a minimized shear strength and pore water pressure (although the trend in pore water pressure evolution did not really reflect the behavior of the deviator stress for this series). In addition, certain parameters, such as normalized behaviors, the brittleness index, ratio of excess pore water pressure to deviator stress at the critical state, and flow potential, appear to be reliable predictors for clarifying and, consequently, explaining the studied behaviors.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the Directorate General for Scientific Research and Technological Development, Algeria.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- Af
- ratio of excess pore water pressure to deviator stress at the critical state;
- B
- Skempton’s pore pressure parameter;
- Cc
- coefficient of curvature;
- Cu
- coefficient of uniformity;
- D
- diameter of the sample;
- DFP
- dry funnel pluviation;
- Dr
- initial relative density;
- D10
- effective grain size;
- D50
- mean grain size;
- ec
- postconsolidation global void ratio;
- ei
- initial global void ratio;
- emax
- maximum global void ratio;
- emin
- minimum global void ratio;
- F
- axial load;
- Gs
- specific gravity of solids;
- H
- height of the sample;
- H/D
- height to diameter ratio of the sample;
- IB
- brittleness index;
- M
- mass of samples;
- MT
- moist tamping;
- OCR
- overconsolidation ratio;
- p′
- effective mean pressure;
- p′/
- normalized effective mean pressure;
- critical state effective mean pressure;
- /
- normalized critical state effective mean pressure;
- q
- deviator stress;
- q/
- normalized deviator stress;
- qcs
- critical state shear strength;
- qcs/
- normalized critical state shear strength;
- qpeak
- first peak shear strength;
- Qss
- quasi-steady state;
- R2
- coefficient of determination;
- u
- excess pore water pressure;
- u/
- normalized pore water pressure;
- ucs
- critical state pore water pressure;
- ucs/
- normalized critical state pore water pressure;
- Vf
- flow potential;
- W
- water content;
- ɛ
- axial strain;
- effective confining pressure; and
- effective preconsolidation pressure.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 2 • February 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 14, 2022
Accepted: Aug 21, 2023
Published online: Dec 12, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 12, 2024
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