Hydromechanical Characterization of Soil-Rockfill Mixtures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 7
Abstract
In order to improve the rather insufficient knowledge about the hydromechanical behavior of soil–rockfill mixtures (SRMs) applied in embankment dams, a testing program was undertaken in which several mixtures with different coarse fractions (CFs) were tested (30, 40, 50, and 70%). SRMs are an environmentally-friendly material that takes advantage of the material excavated for spillways, cut-off trenches, outlet works, and other structures that can be reused. This study presents, for the first time, a systematic experimental program for this type of natural material, involving isotropic and compression tests, undrained triaxial tests, and permeability tests for different CFs. It aims to improve the knowledge about the behavior of this material. All tests performed revealed that SRMs present the same mechanical behavior irrespective of the CF of the mixture. Also, it may be concluded that it is beneficial to add soil to rockfill to constitute an SRM because this results in a stiffer material.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the owner of Odelouca Dam, Águas do Algarve, SA, for making the materials available for the tests. We would also like to express our gratitude to the LNEC technicians for their contribution to the experimental work. The financial support provided by FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) to the first author under Ph.D. Grant No. SFRH/BD/87315/2012 is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 7 • July 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 26, 2017
Accepted: Nov 29, 2017
Published online: Apr 21, 2018
Published in print: Jul 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Sep 21, 2018
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