Experimental investigation of the influence of drainage condition on change in saturation of sheared sand

Elnur, Mohammed; Alshibli, Khalid A.

doi:10.1680/jgeot.24.01088

Experimental investigation of the influence of drainage condition on change in saturation of sheared sand

Journal Article · Tue Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Geotechnique

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.24.01088· OSTI ID:3008856

Elnur, Mohammed ^[1]; Alshibli, Khalid A. ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Here, this paper investigates the validity of the interpretation of results from testing saturated axisymmetric triaxial compression (ATC) sand specimens utilising three-dimensional (3D) synchrotron micro-computed tomography (SMT) to probe localised events that are completely missed or misinterpreted when analysing ATC measurements based on global standard measurements. Drained and undrained experiments were conducted at low and high back-pressures (BPs) coupled with multiple in situ 3D SMT to acquire high-resolution scans of the specimens at different axial strains. Specimens tested under low BP exhibited a large pore air volume change, which was not detected by the pump system that represents standard volume measurement. The increase in air volume caused a significant reduction in the degree of saturation leading to a possible transition from saturated to partially saturated constitutive behaviour. Undrained experiments exhibited a significant volume change contrary to the assumption of negligible volumetric strain for saturated undrained experiments. Air bubbles within the shear band for drained and undrained low-BP specimens showed opposite capillary pressure responses, increased for drained and decreased for undrained cases, due to the variation in the mechanism by which each of the two experiments predominantly counters the volume expansion within the shear band.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357; FG02-94ER14466; SC0020112

OSTI ID:: 3008856

Journal Information:: Geotechnique, Journal Name: Geotechnique Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 75; ISSN 1751-7656; ISSN 0016-8505

Publisher:: ICE PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Experimental investigation of the influence of drainage condition on change in saturation of sheared sand

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