Laboratory Fall Cone Testing of Unsaturated Sand
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 8
Abstract
Laboratory fall cone penetration is measured as a function of saturation for four sands using equipment more commonly used to quantify plasticity and undrained strength of fine-grained soils. Relations between penetration depth and saturation display nonmonotonic behavior characteristic of the more general behavior of unsaturated sands. Penetration-saturation () relations are interpreted in three behavioral regimes: is largest for dry sand, decreases sharply with increasing up to residual saturation, continues to decrease slightly and approximately linearly between residual saturation and of approximately 50 to 90%, and then increases at full saturation to a penetration value less than that under dry conditions. Observations are partially attributed to suction induced by a dilative soil rupture zone and are interpreted using an effective stress framework that links soil-water retention curves and suction-stress characteristic curves for the sands.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant CMMI 0968768. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 8 • August 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 3, 2013
Accepted: Apr 14, 2014
Published online: May 2, 2014
Published in print: Aug 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 2, 2014
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