Shear-Induced Matric Suction in Unsaturated Clayey Sand during Constant Water Content Triaxial Tests

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muwafaq Awad ◽  
Inthuorn Sasanakul
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Triaxial Tests ◽  
Clayey Sand

Impacts of matric suction equalization on small strain shear modulus of soils during air drying

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1982-1997
Author(s):  
Thang Pham Ngoc ◽  
Behzad Fatahi ◽  
Hadi Khabbaz ◽  
Daichao Sheng
Keyword(s):  
Shear Modulus ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Sample ◽  
Closed System ◽  
Small Strain ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Air Drying ◽  
Small Strain Shear Modulus ◽  
The Impact

In this study, a weight-control bender element system has been developed to investigate the impact of matric suction equalization on the measurement of small strain shear modulus (Gmax) during an air-drying process. The setup employed is capable of measuring the shear wave velocity and the corresponding Gmax of the soil sample in either an open system in which the soil sample evaporates freely or in a closed system that allows the process of matric suction equalization. The comparison between measurements of Gmax in the open and closed systems revealed underestimations of Gmax when matric suction equalization was ignored due to the nonuniform distribution of water content across the sample cross-sectional area. This study also investigated the time required for matric suction equalization tse to be established for samples with different sizes. The experimental results indicated two main mechanisms driving the matric suction equalization in a closed system during an air-drying process, namely the hydraulic flow of water and the flow of vapour. While the former played the key role when the micropores were still saturated at the high range of water content, effects of the latter increased and finally dominated when more air invaded the micropores at lower water contents.

Experimental verification of the theory of consolidation for unsaturated soils

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harianto Rahardjo ◽  
Delwyn G. Fredlund
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Pore Water ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Pore Water Pressure ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Loading Tests ◽  
Undrained Loading

An experimental program was designed to study the behavior of unsaturated soils during undrained loading and consolidation. A Ko cylinder was designed and built for the testing program. Simultaneous measurements of pore-air and pore-water pressures could be made throughout a soil specimen using this Ko cylinder. Four types of tests were performed on a silty sand. These are (1) undrained loading tests where both the air and water are not allowed to drain, (2) constant water content tests where only the water phase is not allowed to drain, (3) consolidation tests where both the air and water phases are allowed to drain, and (4) increasing matric suction tests. Undrained loading tests or constant water content loading tests were conducted for measuring the pore pressure parameters for the unsaturated soil. Drained tests consisting of either consolidation tests or increasing matric suction tests were conducted to study the pore pressure distribution and volume change behavior throughout an unsaturated soil during a transient process. The experimental pore pressure parameters obtained from the undrained loadings and constant water content leadings agreed reasonably well with theory. The pore-air pressure was found to dissipate instantaneously when the air phase is continuous. The pore-water pressure dissipation during the consolidation test was found to be faster than the pore-water pressure decrease during the increasing matric suction test. The differing rates of dissipation were attributed to the different coefficients of water volume change for each of the tests. The water volume changes during the consolidation test were considerably smaller than the water volume changes during the increasing matric suction tests for the same increment of pressure change. Key words : consolidation, Ko loading, matric suction, pore-air pressures, pore-water pressures, unsaturated soils

scholarly journals The Effect of Confining Pressure and Water Content on Energy Evolution Characteristics of Sandstone under Stepwise Loading and Unloading

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuren Wang ◽  
Paul Hagan ◽  
Yanhai Zhao ◽  
Xu Chang ◽  
Ki-Il Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Dissipation ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Elastic Energy ◽  
Strain Energy ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Triaxial Tests ◽  
Energy Evolution ◽  
Evolution Characteristics ◽  
Loading And Unloading ◽  
Stepwise Loading

To investigate the mechanical properties and energy evolution characteristics of sandstone depending on the water contents and confining pressure, the uniaxial and triaxial tests were conducted. The test results show that the strain energy was stored in the sandstone samples at the prepeak stage, and that is suddenly released when the failure occurred, and energy dissipation is sharply increased at the postpeak stage. The damage and energy dissipation characteristics of the samples are observed clearly under the stepwise loading and unloading process. The critical strain energy and energy dissipation show a clear exponential relationship. The critical elastic energy decreases linearly as the water content increases. As the confining pressure increases, the critical elastic energy of the samples transforms from linear to exponential. The concept of energy enhancement factor is proposed to characterize the strengthening effect induced by the confining pressure on the energy storage capacity of the rock samples. The energy evolution of the sandstone samples is more sensitive to the confining pressure than that of the water content.

Direct measurement of matric suction in triaxial tests on early-age cemented paste backfill

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Simms ◽  
Murray Grabinsky
Keyword(s):  
Testing Procedure ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Water Retention Curve ◽  
Triaxial Tests ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Cemented Paste Backfill ◽  
Triaxial Cell ◽  
Paste Backfill ◽  
Observed Behaviour ◽  
Stope Design

Hydration occurring in cemented paste backfill (CPB) is shown to generate matric suction through self-desiccation. This complicates determination of the water-retention curve and mechanical properties during curing, which are important in stope design, and renders problematic the use of axis-translation testing procedure to control suctions in strength testing. An alternative is to monitor suction directly during testing. To this end, a miniature tensiometer is inserted into the base of a triaxial cell. A series of unconfined and confined tests are performed on early-age (less than two weeks old) CPB. The observed behaviour is similar to that observed in weakly cemented soils, showing a distinct tendency to dilate during shearing.

scholarly journals Effect of soil moisture content on the bearing capacity of small bored piles in the unsaturated soil of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 337 ◽  
pp. 03006
Author(s):  
Verônica Ricken Marques ◽  
Antonio Belincanta ◽  
Mary-Antonette Beroya-Eitner ◽  
Jorge Luis Almada Augusto ◽  
Ewerton Guelssi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Bearing Capacity ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soil ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Load Test ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Static Load Test

In this study, the influence of soil moisture on the bearing capacity of piles founded in an unsaturated clay soil was investigated. The soil studied, composing the upper soil layer in Maringá, Brazil, is lateritic, has degree of saturation between 37% and 70% and has collapsible behaviour when wet. The bearing capacity was determined by full-scale load tests following the Brazilian Standard for Static Load Test. Two pile lengths, 4 m and 8 m, were considered. To analyse the influence of soil moisture, two tests were performed for each pile length: one in soil in its natural moisture content and another in pre-moistened soil. Results show that for both pile lengths, an increase in water content caused a significant reduction in bearing capacity, which is attributed to the decrease in the matric suction of the soil. This is confirmed by the results of the initial evaluation made on the variation of matric suction and its contribution to the bearing capacity with changes in water content. In summary, this study confirms that the pile bearing capacity in unsaturated soil is dependent on soil water content, highlighting the fact that the approach of assuming full saturation condition in the evaluation of the pile bearing capacity in such soil may give erroneous results. Moreover, this study demonstrate that the empirical methods most commonly used in Brazil for pile bearing capacity determination, the Décourt & Quaresma and Aoki & Velloso methods, are overly conservative when applied to the Maringá soil.

scholarly journals Effect of Soil Types on The Development of Matric Suction and Volumetric Water Content for Dike Embankment During Overtopping Tests

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwan Adil Hassan ◽  
Mohd Ashraf Mohamad Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Side Wall ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Silty Sand ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The University

The resistance of dike materials has a great effect on the development of hydraulic engineering around the world. It helps to understand the mechanism of dike failure occurred due to the influence of hydraulics and Geotechnical parameters. The overtopping moment is one of the main failures that reduces the stability of the dike embankment through initiating the breach channel inside dike crest as a result of water flow above the downstream slope of the dike. Two spatial overtopping tests were conducted at in Hydraulic Geotechnical laboratories at the University Sains of Malaysia to observe the evolution of matric suction and volumetric water content for two soil types of sand and very silty sand soils. A pilot channel was cut in dike crest along the side wall of the small flume channel to represent the transition water flow from upstream into downstream slopes during overtopping test. The results indicated that the matric suction decreases due to the increase of volumetric water content during the saturation of dike body. The proportion increasing and decreasing of volumetric water content and matric suction is lower in very silty sand than those in sand soil due to the presence of fine particles in previous soil.

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