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Effects of sand and water contents on the small-strain shear modulus of loess
Abstract Characterizing soil properties at small-strains (<10−5) is a subject of long-standing interest for geotechnical engineers at both academic and practical levels. Compared to conventional soil types, such as sand or clay, the small-strain properties of loess are less extensively studied and remain poorly understood. This paper presented an experimental study to investigate the influence of sand and water content on the small-strain shear modulus (G 0) of Yan'an loess. A specifically designed experimental program was conducted for a sequence of sand-loess mixtures under unsaturated conditions using the resonant column technique. It was found that, in general, the G 0 of loess decreases with the water content. By using the water content as a state variable, its dependence on G 0 was established. The study also showed that under otherwise similar conditions, the G 0 of the sand-loess mixture is lower than that of loess without sand. However, a further increase of sand content beyond a threshold value (15%) induces no remarkable difference in terms of G 0. These findings suggested that the presence of sand plays an important role in the small-strain behaviours of loess. The underlying reasons behind these observations were provided, along with a detailed interpretation at the micro-scale level. To enhance the practicability, an empirical model was also proposed for sandy loess, and it could provide reasonable estimates of G 0 for both loess samples in the current study and loess data in the literature.
Highlights An empirical relationship was proposed for estimating G 0 considering the effects of sand and water contents. A transitional sand content was found to be approximately 15%. Conceptual models were developed to account for the reduction of G 0 with sand content.
Effects of sand and water contents on the small-strain shear modulus of loess
Abstract Characterizing soil properties at small-strains (<10−5) is a subject of long-standing interest for geotechnical engineers at both academic and practical levels. Compared to conventional soil types, such as sand or clay, the small-strain properties of loess are less extensively studied and remain poorly understood. This paper presented an experimental study to investigate the influence of sand and water content on the small-strain shear modulus (G 0) of Yan'an loess. A specifically designed experimental program was conducted for a sequence of sand-loess mixtures under unsaturated conditions using the resonant column technique. It was found that, in general, the G 0 of loess decreases with the water content. By using the water content as a state variable, its dependence on G 0 was established. The study also showed that under otherwise similar conditions, the G 0 of the sand-loess mixture is lower than that of loess without sand. However, a further increase of sand content beyond a threshold value (15%) induces no remarkable difference in terms of G 0. These findings suggested that the presence of sand plays an important role in the small-strain behaviours of loess. The underlying reasons behind these observations were provided, along with a detailed interpretation at the micro-scale level. To enhance the practicability, an empirical model was also proposed for sandy loess, and it could provide reasonable estimates of G 0 for both loess samples in the current study and loess data in the literature.
Highlights An empirical relationship was proposed for estimating G 0 considering the effects of sand and water contents. A transitional sand content was found to be approximately 15%. Conceptual models were developed to account for the reduction of G 0 with sand content.
Effects of sand and water contents on the small-strain shear modulus of loess
Liu, Xin (author) / Zhang, Ning (author) / Lan, Hengxing (author)
Engineering Geology ; 260
2019-06-13
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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