Shear Strength and Stiffness of Sands Containing Plastic or Nonplastic Fines
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 9
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a systematic laboratory investigation on the static behavior of silica sand containing various amounts of either plastic or nonplastic fines. Specimens were reconstituted using a new technique suitable for element testing of homogeneous specimens of sands containing fines deposited in water (e.g., alluvial deposits, hydraulic fills, tailings dams, and offshore deposits). The fabric of sands containing fines was examined using the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Static, monotonic, isotropically consolidated, drained triaxial compression tests were performed to evaluate the stress-strain-volumetric response of these soils. Piezoceramic bender element instrumentation was developed and integrated into a conventional triaxial apparatus; shear-wave velocity measurements were made to evaluate the small-strain stiffness of the sands tested at various states. The intrinsic parameters that characterize critical state, dilatancy, and small-strain stiffness of clean, silty, and clayey sands were determined. All aspects of the mechanical behavior investigated in this study (e.g., stress-strain-volumetric response, shear strength, and small-strain stiffness) are affected by both the amount and plasticity of the fines present in the sand. Microstructural evaluation using the ESEM highlighted the importance of soil fabric on the overall soil response.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 9 • September 2009
Pages: 1167 - 1178
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 2, 2006
Accepted: Jul 18, 2008
Published online: Aug 14, 2009
Published in print: Sep 2009
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