Experimental Characterization of Dynamic Property Changes in Aged Sands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
This study investigates the aging effects on the small-strain shear modulus and damping ratio of sands and offers explanations for the measured results based on the concept of contact-force homogenization. Resonant column tests of aged sands under various aging conditions were conducted. The results show that loose sands exhibit greater aging effects than dense sands do at a confining pressure of and the effects are completely opposite when the aging pressure is increased to . The aging effects can be partially erased by unloading-reloading; the remaining effects can be restored when the applied pressure is the same as the original pressure used during aging and cannot be further erased by additional unloading-reloading cycles. The stress history is also a factor that affects aging behavior: unloading reloading and overconsolidation can reduce the aging rate in terms of the shear-modulus increase. The aging effects, however, can be wiped out by large strain shearing. An addition of fines (dry kaolinite powder) in the sand samples can increase the aging rate because of higher creep made by the kaolinite.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (UNSPECIFIEDHIA04/05.EG02). The writers are grateful to the reviewers for valuable comments.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 2 • February 2009
Pages: 259 - 270
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 8, 2007
Accepted: Apr 16, 2008
Published online: Feb 1, 2009
Published in print: Feb 2009
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