Geotechnical Properties of a Pumice Sand

The pumice sand found in the North Island of New Zealand has properties which lie beyond those usually associated with cohesionless soils. The grains are very soft and the sand has a high void ratio, thus forming a compressible material. This paper presents the results of a series of drained triaxial and K₀ tests on dry pumice sand. The tests were conducted to evaluate the geotechnical properties, particularly the critical state parameters, of the sand and also to provide background information for interpretation of cone penetration tests in the material. The K₀ tests were used to evaluate the compression envelope under conditions of no lateral strain and to determine values of constrained modulus. Significant grain crushing was found to occur during testing even at low confining stress, in fact the stress-strain-strength behaviour of the material is dominated by particle crushing. Routine soil testing techniques were found to be inadequate for the evaluation of the specific gravity of pumice sand particles and a different technique was used for this purpose. The angle of friction of pumice sand was found to be larger than that of quartz sands, however pumice sand required very large shear strains to mobilise the peak and critical state shear strength and, for several tests, critical state conditions were not reached.     

A unified approach to link small-strain shear modulus and liquefaction resistance of pumiceous sand

Natural pumiceous (NP) sands containing pumice particles, a type of volcanic soil, are commonly found in the central part of the North Island in New Zealand. The pumice particles are highly crushable, compressible, lightweight and angular, making engineering assessment of their properties problematic. In this paper, several series of bender element and undrained cyclic triaxial tests were performed on reconstituted and undisturbed NP sands to determine their small-strain shear modulus (G_max) and cyclic resistance ratio (CRR). Furthermore, similar tests were also conducted on normal hard-grained sands (e.g., Toyoura sand) for the purpose of comparison. The results showed that the NP sands have considerably lower G_max compared to normal sands, resulting in their higher deformability during the initial stages of the cyclic loading test. The high angularity of NP sands play an important role toward the end of the cyclic loading and contributed to their higher CRR. Next, the ratio of CRR/G_max for each sample was correlated to a level of strain denoted as cyclic yield strain (ε_ay), which was found to be significantly dependent on the percentages of pumice particles present in the natural soils. On the other hand, the ε_ay was found to be less sensitive to the consolidation stress (σ′_c) and the relative density (Dr) of the materials. For example, over different values of σ′_c and Dr, NP sands have substantially higher values of cyclic yield strain due to their lower G_max and higher CRR when compared with those of ordinary sands.     

Influence of Freeze-Thaw Action on Deformation-Strength Characteristics and Particle Crushability of Volcanic Coarse-Grained Soils

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of freeze-thaw action on the deformation-strength characteristics of crushable volcanic coarse-grained soils, wherein significant particle breakage occurs even under relatively low stress levels and saturated conditions. A series of monotonic triaxial compression tests was performed for volcanic coarse-grained soils under various freeze-thaw histories. On the basis of the test results, we examined the above-mentioned effect and the relationship between the degree of particle breakage and the freeze-thaw history. The results indicate that the degree of particle breakage under consolidation and shear increased with freeze-thaw action; and consequently, the strength and the stiffness of the soils decreased with an increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles. Moreover, to examine the influence of freeze-thaw action on the single-particle hardness of volcanic coarse-grained soils, single-particle crushing tests were conducted. The test results revealed that volcanic soil particles become more fragile after being exposed to freeze-thaw action, and as a result, the degree of particle breakage increases. These results indicate that the freeze-thaw action has a strong influence on the deformation-strength characteristics of crushable volcanic soils in terms of an increase in particle breakage, even if the soils lack frost-heave characteristics.     

Factors influencing the crushing strength of some Aegean sands

Engineering properties of sands mainly depend on the integrity of the particles, which in turn has a strong bearing on their crushing strength. Seven different Aegean sands were tested for mineralogy, particle shape, size and specific gravity and the influence of aspect ratio, particle composition, particle shape and size on the crushing strength was examined. As the Aegean sands have a small range of sphericity and roundness, crushing strength tests were also performed on five Anatolian sands. A multiple regression analysis was carried out and an equation proposed to determine the crushing strength value of the Aegean sands. The computed values were found to be in good agreement with those obtained from the experimental investigations. It is concluded that the equation is sufficiently accurate to be a useful, time- and cost-effective way of obtaining crushing strength estimations at the preliminary stage of site investigations.     

Separation of pumice from soil mixtures

Pumice-rich deposits are found in a number of locations around the world, and in particular across large areas of the North Island of New Zealand. Pumice grains are commonly described as being lightweight, highly crushable, and vesicular in nature. These characteristics give rise to a unique set of behaviours under loading, and pumice-rich soils are highly problematic in terms of in situ characterisation in large part due to their crushability. The presence of pumice within a soil mixture has the potential to completely alter the stress–strain behaviour of these soils as well as require a different interpretation of results from commonly used site characterisation technique. It is therefore important to be able to determine quantitatively the percentage of pumice within a given soil deposit. This paper proposes a methodology based on a gravity separation of pumice-bearing mixtures with a heavy fluid. The application of the method to artificial mixtures of fine pumice and non-pumiceous sands is shown to be sufficiently accurate for engineering purposes.     

Evaluation of shear strength and mechanical properties of granulated coal ash based on single particle strength

The authors have been studying the mechanical properties of granulated coal ash formed by the milling process with a small amount of cement added, with particles almost equivalent in size to sand or fine gravel. The use of granulated coal ash has many advantages, such as the suppression of leaching of heavy metals and the possibility of outdoor curing. In addition, since granulated coal ash is produced artificially, their particle strength can be understood easily. Another advantage is that it is possible to control the particle strength, something which cannot be performed in natural sands. The present research was carried out in order to investigate the possibility of putting such advantages to good use.Single particle crushing tests were carried out on various kinds of granulated coal ash to evaluate the crushing characteristics of each individual grain. Also, the characteristics of the individual particle, such as shape, were investigated. Next, one-dimensional compression tests were conducted to investigate their compression characteristics. Finally, drained monotonic triaxial compression tests were performed under different confining pressures. The effects of the confining pressure on the shear characteristics, as well as their relation to shear strength, were examined with the single particle crushing strength taken into account.Contrary to observations in natural sands, the single particle crushing strength of granulated coal ash did not depend on particle size. Regarding compression characteristics, granulated coal ash compressed very easily because the crushing strength of a single particle was low. Therefore, the yield stress of granulated coal ash was found to be smaller than that of natural sands. Moreover, the crushing strength affected the shear characteristics, i.e., as the crushing strength increased, the shear stiffness became higher and the compressive volumetric strain became smaller. Therefore, crushing strength can be a useful parameter in evaluating the shear characteristic of granulated coal ash.     

Microscopic Particle Crushing of Sand Subjected to High Pressure One-Dimensional Compression

It is commonly accepted that the yield point during one-dimensional compression is related to the initiation of marked particle crushing. Different materials have clear to very amorphous yield points depending on the compression line curvature. In order to examine the relationship between the curvature and slope of the compression line and the statistics of individual particle crushing taking into account particle size and overall grading, high pressure one-dimensional compression tests on silica sand samples seeded with marked particles were carried out. Five levels of particle damage were obtained and defined from microscopic observations of the particles before and after testing. A statistical analysis was carried out on the data for the observed levels of damage to investigate the frequency variation with increasing applied stress. Additionally, one-dimensional compression tests were conducted to examine the effects of initial void ratio and grain size distribution on soil crushability and consequently the compression behaviour. It was found that even for the same material the yielding characteristics were dependent on the grading curve with much more marked yielding occurring for uniformly graded sands in comparison with well graded sands. This was related to the nature of the microscopic particle crushing during yielding. As the material changed from uniform to well graded, the nature of the particle crushing changed from the sudden catastrophic onset of splitting to the gradual splitting of smaller size particles, breaking of the smaller asperities and grinding of the surface.     

Undrained Monotonic and Cyclic Shear Behaviour of Sand Under Low and High Confining Stresses

Monotonic and cyclic loading tests have been carried out on a silica sand over a wide range of stresses in order to compare non-crushing and crushing behaviour. Samples were sieved at several stages of testing to theoretically determine the increase in particle surface area and hence degree of crushing. Undrained shear behaviour was compared for crushing and non-crushing regions above 3 MPa. Samples consolidated to 0.1 MPa demonstrated strong dilative behaviour, while above the yield stress of 3 MPa dilation was suppressed and considerable particle crushing occurred. Shearing caused a marked increase in particle crushing particularly after the phase transformation point. Crushing at the steady state was similar for isotropic and anisotropically consolidated sands. At high confining pressures the cyclic strength curves were similar to those for loose sands except for confining pressure dependency due to particle crushing. For low confining stresses cyclic strength increased with initial stress ratio, while for high confining stresses it decreased with initial shear stress ratio. In the cyclic tests there was no significant crushing for 0.1 MPa. Crushing was seen to increase rapidly after the phase transformation point, where high strains developed and where particle rotation and translation contributed to the crushing process.     

A case study of crushing resistance of Anatolian sands at lower and higher density

Particle breakage occurs when the stresses imposed on soil particles exceed their strength. In order to determine the crushing resistance, Anatolian sands were collected from three different locations in Turkey. Mineralogical, particle shape and size characteristics were first determined by laboratory testing and compaction and triaxial tests then undertaken. Particle breakage factors were calculated from the initial and final gradations of the samples. It was noted that the sample containing a third calcite experienced higher particle breakage.      

颗粒破碎对砂土剪切性质影响的离散单元研究

采用离散单元方法,建立了圆形颗粒、不破碎非圆形颗粒和破碎非圆形颗粒的数值试验模型,进行了砂土的双轴剪切试验,研究了颗粒破碎现象对砂土物理力学性质的影响,分析了颗粒破碎和颗粒形状对试样强度的影响以及围压对颗粒破碎性质的影响。研究结果表明：颗粒破碎现象严重影响砂土的峰值强度以及体积应变性质,并且低围压下颗粒形状对强度影响大于颗粒破碎,随着围压增大,颗粒破碎的影响逐渐增强;围压影响颗粒破碎发生的速率和最终的破碎率;由对颗粒破碎的位置和试样内位移场的追踪可得到颗粒破碎的细观演化规律及破碎带的分布范围,破碎带分布范围与围压有关。     

考虑颗粒破碎的砂土临界状态特性描述

近年来,随着土石坝和高填方等工程的兴建,粒状土得到了广泛的应用。粒状土在高应力作用下会发生颗粒破碎的现象相当严重,因此粒状土的颗粒破碎问题不容忽视。为了更合理地描述颗粒破碎对粒状土中砂土力学特性的影响,首先分析砂土试验结果,得出了砂土颗粒分别在平均正应力和剪应力作用下的破碎特性。其次,基于UH(unified haedening,统一硬化)模型,引入可以表示砂土压缩破碎和剪切破碎的相关参数,建立了可以考虑颗粒破碎的砂土本构模型。该模型不仅能够反映砂土的剪胀、剪缩、应变硬化和软化等特性,而且可以反映在平均正应力的作用下,不同的压缩曲线最终会归一的特点,同时还能够反映剪应力作用下砂土临界状态线下移的现象。最后,使用模型预测了Lade的常规三轴试验,模型预测结果与试验结果符合良好,说明该模型能够合理地描述砂土的力学特性。     

冻结砂土三轴试验中颗粒破碎研究

压力作用下颗粒发生破碎是引起砂土力学特性变化的重要因素之一,冻结砂土也是如此。对冻结砂土进行了不同温度和围压下的三轴剪切试验,并筛分得到三轴试验前后的颗粒大小分布曲线。通过引入Hardin定义的颗粒破碎率Br,分析了围压与颗粒破碎的关系及颗粒破碎对冻土抗剪强度的影响。结果表明:在温度为-0.5℃,-1℃,-2℃,-5℃和围压为0.5,2,5,10 MPa的条件下,三轴剪切过程中会产生较为可观的颗粒破碎;颗粒破碎率Br随围压增大,到达一定围压后Br不再随着围压的增大发生明显变化,即存在一个颗粒不再发生明显破碎的临界围压σr。结合前人研究发现,-5℃下一般工程关心的围压范围内压融对冻土力学特性没有显著影响,而颗粒破碎起控制性作用。分析表明:-5℃条件下在不同的围压范围颗粒破碎对抗剪强度具有不同的影响。试验所采用的围压范围内,随着围压的增大,颗粒破碎率增大使得冻土的抗剪强度降低;破碎率达到极限以后,由于破碎的颗粒重排列又导致抗剪强度有所提高。     

Time-Dependent Behavior of Crushable Materials in One-Dimensional Compression Tests

Particle crushing is a progressive phenomenon. This study examines time-dependent behavior due to particle crushing. A review of the literature was made to find evidence of time-dependent behavior due to particle crushing. Single particle crushing tests and one-dimensional compression tests were carried out on four crushable materials with careful visual observations. The mechanism of time-dependent compression was discussed. The following observations were made: (1) The time-dependent behavior under one-dimensional compression stems mainly from a repetitive cycle of crushing, rearrangement of particles and redistribution of contact stresses. (2) Crushing patterns and rearrangement in one-dimensional compression tests are different depending on the characteristics observed in single particle crushing tests.     

One-dimensional dynamic compressive behavior of dry calcareous sand at high strain rates

Calcareous sand has distinct characteristics in comparison with silica sand, such as dynamic behavior at high strain rates (HSRs). This is closely related to pile driving, aircraft wheel loading and mining activities. To understand the response of calcareous sand at HSRs, a series of dynamic tests is performed using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) with steel sleeve, including 6 validation tests of bar-against-bar and 16 comparative tests relevant to the relative density and strain rate of calcareous and silica sands. The apparent dynamic stiffness of calcareous sand is approximately 10% of that for silica sand due to different particle shapes and mineral compositions. The axial stress-strain response of silica sand is mainly governed by the deformation of individual grain and soil skeleton, and particle crushing. However, porous calcareous sand shows yielding and strain-hardening responses that are always followed by particle crushing. As the applied loading increases, the particle crushing of calcareous sand develops from local instability to whole breakage. Calcareous sand has lower viscous flow effects compared with silica sand at HSRs.     

Effects of fine aggregate content on the mechanical properties of the compacted decomposed granitic soils

Decomposed granitic soil is widely used as the subgrade material in Korea. The mechanical behavior of the soil can differ depending on the fine aggregate content of the soil. Due to particle crushing during loading and compaction, the soil may behave as either cohesive or cohesionless. In order to evaluate the effects of fine aggregate content on the mechanical properties of the compacted decomposed granite soils, the direct shear test, the triaxial shear test as well as some fundamental property tests were made by using samples with the five different fine aggregate contents of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% by weight. Results of the triaxial tests showed that as the percentage of the fine aggregates decreased, the cohesion decreased as well as the internal friction angle increased. In the direct shear test, the soils containing lower amount of fine aggregates exhibited that the shear strength was considerably reduced after it reached the peak value. Comparably, soils with the high fine aggregates showed that the shear strength was quite constant after the peak strength. The critical state friction parameter showed that the parameter decreased with an increase of the fine aggregate content. Results of the triaxial and direct shear tests indicated also that the fine aggregate content of 30% could be one indicator for soil materials behaving either as sand or as clay materials. Thus fine aggregate content, less than 30% by weight, could be more obtainable for the subgrade materials when leading also to the increased stability of the roads. With the lower fine aggregate content the soils then also show similar and better characteristics of sands not clays. Further studies are recommended on understanding of the mechanical behavior of the decomposed granitic soils.     

应力路径和颗粒级配对砂土变形影响的细观机制

利用GDS应力路径三轴试验系统与颗粒流程序PFC2D,对2种不同颗粒粒径与级配的青岛海砂进行不同应力路径下的室内三轴试验与数值模拟试验,探研应力路径和颗粒级配对砂土影响的细观机制。首先,进行青岛粗细砂在不同密实度与3种应力路径下的室内三轴试验,获得青岛粗细海砂的宏观力学响应,并进行初步地机制分析;然后,进行与室内试验匹配和补充的PFC2D数值模拟试验,挖掘室内物理试验中难以得到的细观信息,如颗粒配位数,转动速度,颗粒位移等,定量地解释不同级配的砂土在不同路径下力学响应的细观原因;最后,进行不同颗粒级配砂土在循环加载路径下力学性质的PFC2D数值试验,从细观角度分析砂土在该路径下的变形机制。     

A new probabilistic approach for predicting particle crushing in one-dimensional compression of granular soil

This paper presents a new probability-based method for the prediction of particle crushing in the one-dimensional compression of granular soil. The method is comprised of a joint-probability particle crushing criterion that takes into account the statistical particle-scale stress distribution information derived from the Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations and Weibull׳s distribution of particle crushing strength. A normalized tensile stress index f and a diameter index I_d are introduced to quantify the statistical particle-scale data. The method is further implemented in DEM simulations and verified by comparing the simulation results with the experimental data of oedometer tests of sands.     

粗粒土二维模型试验的组构分析

粗粒土的组构主要指土颗粒的几何排列方式,是决定粗粒土宏观力学性质的根本因素。为研究组构对粗粒土应力应变关系的影响,进行了粗粒土二维模型试验研究。应用计算机图像测量分析系统对模型试验图片进行分析,能定量地分析试验过程中颗粒的位移、转角、长轴的定向、配位数及枝向量的变化。图像处理结果表明,模型试验过程中颗粒的运动规律与三轴试验过程中颗粒的运动规律一致,说明模型试验能反映三轴试验过程。颗粒位移矢量图和颗粒错动矢量图分析说明,宏观应变均由颗粒调整得到,在变形的不同阶段均有颗粒错动发生,随着变形的发展发生错动的颗粒数量增多,并逐渐集中到剪切带上。颗粒长轴和枝向量的定向性与偏应力有很好的关系,定向性增强应力是增长的;反之,定向性减弱应力是衰减的。对于接触紧密的颗粒,随着变形的发展平均枝长的变化不是很明显。平均配位数与体变之间没有很好的关系,可能与模型试验中采用多边形颗粒及颗粒偏大有关。     

Static Fatigue Controls Particle Crushing and Time Effects in Granular Materials

Based on observations from constant strain rate experiments and from creep and stress relaxation experiments initiated at different stress levels it is found that sand exhibits patterns of time effects different from those observed in clays. It appears that time effects in sand may be associated with crushing of particles, and a mechanistic picture of time effects in granular materials is constructed in which time effects depend on interparticle friction, grain crushing and grain rearrangement. This mechanistic picture is based on measured behavior in drained triaxial compression tests on three different sands in which strain rate effects are observed as small to negligible. While creep and relaxation are caused by the same underlying phenomenon, it appears that results of creep tests cannot be obtained from results of relaxations tests, and vice versa. The phenomenon of static fatigue of individual particles seems to be at the root of time effects in sand. A review of previous studies of static fatigue is presented. Triaxial tests on a beach sand incorporating creep and stress relaxation are followed by grain size analysis to prove that grain crushing relate to the observed time effects. Additional triaxial tests are presented in which the effect of water is demonstrated in support of the static fatigue mechanism. Load-controlled tests on individual sand particles in the form of spherical glass beads (quartz) were performed by maintaining constant loads lower than the short term crushing loads. As do rock and concrete specimens in triaxial compression, the glass beads show effects of time to crushing.     

基于Markov链的岩土材料颗粒破碎演化规律研究

从单一粒径组颗粒破碎演化规律角度入手,研究了多粒径组颗粒破碎演化规律。首先,提出了能够描述单一粒径组颗粒破碎状态的两参数Weibull分布函数;此外,提出了多粒径组颗粒有效破碎概率概念;在上述基础上建立了一个能够较好的描述多粒径组颗粒破碎演化规律的Markov链模型,选取了不同岩土材料、试验条件和颗粒大小下的试验数据对该模型进行了验证,表明提出的模型能够描述各种试验条件下多粒径组颗粒破碎的演化规律。