Cumulative Deformation Behavior of Coarse-Grained Red Mudstone Soil under Cyclic Loading
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 11
Abstract
Red mudstone is a problematic soil that is easily subjected to weathering, disintegrating, and swelling. In this study, a series of large-scale cyclic triaxial tests were performed to investigate the cumulative deformation behavior of red mudstone clay mixed with weathered red mudstone gravel as an improved coarse-grained red mudstone soil (IRMS). The influences of compaction moisture content and confining pressure were investigated. The cyclic loading was applied from 25 to 225 kPa with an increment of 25 kPa and 1,000 or 2,000 cycles for each stage at a frequency of 2 Hz. The experimental results indicate that the strains at the onset of failure are approximately 1% for the optimal moisture content (OMC) with the number of cycles N = 14,000–16,000, and the strains are approximately 1% for the moisture content 2% dry of OMC with N = 12,000–14,000, while the strains exceed 10% for the moisture content 2% wet of OMC with N = 3,000–4,000. The cumulative strain decreases with increasing confining pressure from 20 to 50 kPa, but the influence becomes more significant under higher dynamic stress. A prediction model is proposed for the evolution of cumulative strain under cyclic loading. The IRMS could be used as a construction material for railway subgrade with proper control of field compaction moisture content.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB1200401), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. 2042023kf1014 and 2042023kfyq03), and the Fellowship of China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (Grant No. BX20220259). The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance.
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Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 11 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 4, 2023
Accepted: May 17, 2024
Published online: Aug 23, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jan 23, 2025
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Coarse-grained soils
- Continuum mechanics
- Cyclic loads
- Deformation (mechanics)
- Dynamic loads
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic properties
- Hydrology
- Material mechanics
- Materials engineering
- Soil deformation
- Soil dynamics
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soils (by type)
- Solid mechanics
- Stones
- Strain
- Structural dynamics
- Structural engineering
- Structural mechanics
- Water and water resources
- Water content
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