Os ensaios em solos sob altas pressões tiveram seu interesse renovado nos últimos anos em parte devido a trabalhos que anseiam por uma investigação mais profunda da mecânica dos solos fundamental a altas pressões para aplicação de modelos constitutivos em solos granulares. Para desenvolvimento desses modelos é necessária uma completa compreensão do comportamento volumétrico dos solos, assim como a aplicação da teoria do estado crítico aos mesmos, o que requer ensaios em níveis de tensões que são ordens de magnitude maiores que os aplicados na maioria das estruturas de engenharia no caso de solos arenosos. Este trabalho estudou o comportamento mecânico de materiais compósitos constituídos a partir da utilização de um solo arenoso, cimento Portland CP-V e fibras de polipropileno sob altas pressões. O solo utilizado foi uma areia fina de granulometria uniforme extraída de uma jazida localizada no município de Osório - RS. Ensaios de compressão isotrópica sob altas pressões foram realizados em amostras de areia, areia-fibra, areia-cimento e areia-cimentofibra, em uma variedade de volumes específicos iniciais. Os resultados indicaram mudanças no comportamento do material não reforçado devido à inclusão de fibras e/ou cimento. Foram observadas linhas de compressão normal distintas e paralelas para cada mistura. Os comprimentos das fibras, medidos após a aplicação de altas tensões, mostraram que algumas fibras sofreram quebra e outras extensão, indicando que as fibras trabalham em compressão isotrópica. Um aumento do modulo volumétrico devido à presença de ambos: fibras e cimento foi observado. Uma redução na quebra das partículas devido à presença de fibras também foi observada. Para o estudo do estado crítico, ensaios triaxiais isotropicamente consolidados drenados levados a deformações cisalhantes de até 40% foram realizados. As envoltórias de estado crítico dos materiais reforçados no plano p': q apresentaram-se bi-lineares. As linhas de estado crítico no plano v:lnp' para a areia com e sem reforço mostraram-se inicialmente distintas e curvilíneas certo nível de tensões, a partir do qual convergiram para uma única LEC. O material cimentado apresentou o mesmo comportamento do material não cimentado no estado crítico, assim como o material cimentado reforçado em relação ao solo reforçado sem cimentação. Mesmo a tensões confinantes baixas as fibras apresentaram alongamento e ruptura para o nível de deformações cisalhantes atingidas. O aumento da tensão de confinamento ocasionou progressiva ruptura das fibras e a perda gradual da sua atuação benéfica sobre o comportamento do solo. A cimentação pode aumentar a eficiência deste sistema melhorando o ancoramento das fibras, permitindo que as fibras atuem mais efetivamente na matriz, ao menos para as tensões mais baixas. / Nowadays the interest in soil testing under high stresses has been renewed dueto the greater depths reached by foundation structures as well as the need of a better understanding of fundamental soil behaviour and its application in soil models for granular materiais. To develop these models it is necessary a complete understanding of the volumetric behaviour of soils and the application of Critical State theory, which for granular materiais require triaxial tests at stresses much higher than those typical on the majority of the engineering structures. This work studied the mechanical behaviour of composite materiais, using sand, Portland cement CP-V and polypropylene fibres, under high stresses. The soil used in this study is an uniform fine sand extracted from a quarry in Osório - RS. High stress isotropic triaxial tests were undertaken in samples of sand, sand-fibre, sand-cement and sand-cement-fibre in a variety of initial specific volumes. Comparison between the test results indicated changes on the behaviour of the un-reinforced material due to the inclusion of fibres and/or cement. Distinct and parallel normal compression lines were observed for every mixture. The fibre lengths, measured after high pressure application, have shown that some fibres suffered an elongation and others were broken, indicating that fibres work in tension under isotropic compression. An increase in bulk modulus was observed in the presence of both: fibres and cement. Reduced amounts of particle breakage were also found in the mixtures containing fibres. To better determine critical state the samples were sheared up to 40% of shear deformation after the isotropic consolidation took place. The critical state envelopes of the reinforced materials, in the stress space p': q, have shown a bi-linear behaviour. The critical state line in the space v:lnp' for the sand and reinforced sand was distinct and curved and converged to a stress threshold, becoming linear and unique. On the critical state the cemented material have shown the same behaviour as the uncemented soil. The same happened to the cemented reinforced material related to the reinforced soil. It can be seen that even at small stresses the fibres present elongation and rupture after reaching high strains. The increase in confining stress led to a progressive rupture ofthe fibres anda gradual loss of the benefit of having fibres mixed in the soil. Cementation can increase the efficiency of the system, improving the bonding between fibres and soil particles, this allow the fibres to be more effective in the soil matrix, at least at low stress levels.

Esta tese tem por objetivo analisar o comportamento mecânico de um solo coluvionar de arenito não saturado (Solo AV) em condições indeformadas e remoldados. Sua localização é na divisa dos estados de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. Os corpos de prova foram moldados com o mesmo índice de vazios na condição indeformada e na condição remoldada com o intuito de se avaliar o papel da estrutura deste solo. Para este estudo foi modificado o equipamento triaxial com sucção controlada, apresentado por Pereira (2006), inserindo os medidores de deslocamentos locais nos corpos de prova (sensores de efeito Hall). A partir dos medidores de deformação locais foi possível observar a influência da sucção nos módulos de deformabilidade do solo AV para a condição remoldada. Foram determinadas as envoltórias de resistência ao cisalhamento para os ensaios na condição não saturada para corpos de prova indeformados e remoldados. Na condição não saturada observou-se que o ângulo de atrito interno (’) é influenciado pelo nível de sucção e tensão normal líquida aplicada. As envoltórias no plano tensão cisalhante versus sucção são não lineares e resultam, para baixos valores de sucção, em valores de b sempre superiores a ’. Os resultados indicaram que os corpos de prova indeformados, na condição saturada, apresentaram parâmetros e resistência ao cisalhamento superiores aos corpos de prova remoldados. Entretanto, para a condição não saturada, os corpos de prova remoldados apresentaram resistência ao cisalhamento superiores a dos corpos de prova indeformados. Os resultados dos ensaios do hollow cylinder indicaram que a magnitude da tensão principal intermediária influencia na resistência ao cisalhamento obtida. Pela variação da direção da tensão principal maior observou-se um comportamento anisotrópico nos corpos de prova remoldados. Em termos de parâmetros de resistência ao cisalhamento os ensaios triaxiais e hollow cylinder apresentaram resultados consistentes, de acordo com a literatura. Os principais modelos de previsão de resistência ao cisalhamento existentes, baseados em dados básicos do Solo AV, não apresentaram um bom ajustes para as condições de moldagem. Baseado em análises estatísticas, foi possível obter duas equações de ajuste, sendo uma linear exponencial para a condição indeformada e uma parabólica para a condição remoldada. / This thesis aims to analyze the mechanical behavior of an unsaturated sandstone colluvium soil (Soil AV) in undisturbed and remolded conditions. The colluvium is located on the border of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The specimens were prepared with the same void ratio for undisturbed and remolded conditions in order to evaluate the soil structure. For this study the triaxial apparatus with suction-controll, presented by Pereira (2006), was improved by inserting local displacement traducers (Hall effect sensors). These tranducers allowed the evaluation of the influence of the suction on the Young’s modulus for the soil AV in the remolded condition. Shear strength envelopes were determined based on tests on unsaturated condition on undisturbed and remolded specimens. For the unsaturated condition, it was noted that the internal friction angle ('’) is influenced by the level of suction and net normal stress applied. The shear envelopes on the shear stress versus suction plane are nonlinear and showed b higher than ’, for low suction values. The results showed that undisturbed specimens in saturated conditions presented shear strength parameters and shear strength higher than the remolded specimens. However, in the unsaturated condition the remolded specimens showed higher shear strength than undisturbed specimens. The Hollow Cylinder test results indicated that the intermediate principal stress has influence on shear strength of the soil. By varying the direction of major principal stress it was noticed an anisotropic behavior in the remolded specimens. In terms of shear strength parameters triaxial and hollow cylinder tests presented consistent results as it was observed in the literature. Some of the models used to predict the shear strength, based on basic parameters of the soil AV, have not shown good matches for both, undisturbed and remolded conditions. Based on statistical analysis, it was possible to obtain two adjustment equations being a linear exponential to the undisturbed conditions and a parabolic for the remolded condition.

Une analyse expérimentale approfondie avec une approche micro macro a été réalisée sur un matériaucomposé d’un mélange d’argile Kaolinite/Smectite. L’étude a permis de montrer à l’échelle macroscopiquecomme à l’échelle microscopique un comportement particulièrement sensible à la proportion de smectitedans le mélange. La kaolinite (Kaolinite P300) est bien connue du point de vu de sa caractérisation et deson comportement, la smectite (également nommée argile grecque) est de type calcique et a égalementfait l’objet de plusieurs études.Dès 35% de smectite dans le mélange, les résultats sur chemin triaxial montrent que le comportementapproche considérablement celui de la smectite. Par ailleurs, l’investigation à l’échelle microscopique (aumoyen de Microscope Electronique à Balayage complétée par une analyse de diffractions des rayons X)réalisé sur les échantillons après l’essai, met en évidence le fait que, lorsqu’elle dépasse un certain seuil, lafraction en smectite favorise le développement de plans de glissement. Ces plans apparaissent clairementsous forme de groupes de particules de smectite orientées.L’analyse microstructurale utilisée est basée sur une méthode rigoureuse, développée dans le cadre decette thèse, avec un traitement d’images automatisé permettant de fournir des résultats quantitatifs.Cette démarche d’investigation multi‐échelles a été employée afin caractériser le comportement d’unsédiment marin prélevé au large de Golfe de Guinée par 700 m de profondeur d’eau. L’étude, initialementmenée dans le cadre du projet CLAROM (2002‐2005), intéresse l’industrie Offshore. Le sédiment naturelcontient jusqu’à 60% de proportion argileuse avec approximativement 15% de smectite et 50% dekaolinite. / A thorough experimental analysis with a micro macro approach was performed on a material composed ofa mixture of Kaolinite / Smectite clays. The study showed at macroscopic scale as the microscopic scalethat the behaviour is particularly sensitive to the proportion of smectite in the mixture. Kaolinite(Kaolinite P300) is well known from the point of view of characterization and behaviour, smectite (also called Greek clay) is a calcic type and was also the subject of several studies.From 35% of smectite in the mixture, the results show that the behaviour on triaxial path approachconsiderably to that of smectite. Furthermore, investigation on the microscopic level (using scanningelectron microscope supplemented by X‐ray diffraction analysis) performed on the samples after the testshows that, if it exceeds a certain threshold, the smectite fraction promotes the development of slipplanes. These plans are evident as oriented groups of particles of smectite.The used microstructural analysis is based on a rigorous method, developed in the context of this thesis,with an automated image processing to provide quantitative results.This multi‐scale investigation has been used to characterize the behaviour of a marine sediment taken ofGulf of Guinea by 700 m water depth. The study, originally conducted in the CLAROM project (2002‐2005), interested to the offshore industry. The natural sediment contains up to 60% proportion of claywith approximately 15% smectite and 50% kaolinite.

A extração e processamento de minério resultam na geração de elevadas quantidades de resíduos, cuja disposição gera impacto e risco ambiental. O lançamento direto em reservatórios contidos por diques consiste na forma mais comum de disposição dos resíduos de mineração em superfície. Estes diques podem ser construídos por alteamentos sucessivos a montante (upstream), prática desaconselhada em alguns países. Apesar de se tratar de um processo de baixo custo, o tipo de aterro a montante é uma operação de risco, pois a montante as barragens são sensíveis à liquefação e também porque a estabilidade das barragens pode ser ameaçada pelo excesso de poro pressão gerado dentro do depósito durante a construção. Para atender às exigências de projetos de áreas de disposição de resíduos é, portanto, fundamental entender o comportamento destes materiais. Resíduos exibem considerável variabilidade em suas características físicas, químicas e mineralógicas, que conferem um comportamento distinto dos geomateriais usualmente encontrados em depósitos naturais. Entre os diferentes resíduos destacam-se ouro e bauxita cuja prática de exploração no Brasil é revestida de considerável interesse econômico e ambiental. Nesta tese estes materiais são analisados a partir de uma extensa campanha de investigação geotécnica baseada em um programa de ensaios de laboratório destinados à caracterização destes resíduos e à definição de parâmetros constitutivos. Para fins comparativos são realizados ensaios com um material siltoso, porém inerte. A condutividade hidraúlica e compressibilidade dos resíduos foram obtidas através de ensaios oedométricos executados com estágios de carga e gradientes hidráulicos constantes. Ensaios triaxiais foram realizados com altos níveis de tensões de confinamento e distintas trajetórias de tensões, para a definição da linha do estado crítico e a identificação do comportamento destes materiais através de ensaios com Bender Elements. A análise dos resultados obtidos permitiu comparações entre a linha de consolidação oedométrica (LCO), a linha de consolidação isotrópica (LCI) e a linha do estado crítico (LEC) que definiram a resposta de liquefação estática do material. No espaço e - log (p´) o aparecimento de um comportamento instável alterou significativamente a inclinação da LEC com relação a LCI e a LCO. A mesma mudança de inclinação é observada tanto no parâmetro de estado como no módulo cisalhante do solo quando plotados contra a tensão efetiva média. Com base nessas evidências, é defendido que o LEC de resíduos de mineração é altamente não-linear, e servem como indicativo de três respostas distintas do solo: uma resposta estável quando LCO, LCI e a LEC exibem paralelismo, um comportamento meta-estável em baixas tensões de confinamento levando à liquefação e quebra de grãos para altas tensões de confinamento da amostra. O avanço nas pesquisas relativas à disposição de resíduos provenientes de indústrias de mineração com o conhecimento dos fenômenos que se processa, poderá evitar a ocorrência de ruptura de barragens, que teria como conseqüência desastres ambientais de grande impacto. / Production and deposition of mining tailings is a problem confronting geotechnical engineers given the dimension of tailings deposits and environmental risks. The direct launching of tailings in reservoirs contained by dikes consists in a common type of waste disposal. These dikes can be constructed by successive upstream embankments, a relatively simple and economical process adopted in some countries. Although it is a low cost process, the upstream embankment is an operation of great risk, especially because tailings are susceptible to liquefaction and also because the stability of the dams can be threatened by excess of pore pressures generated inside the deposit during construction. To meet design requirements of disposal of residues it is therefore essential to understand the behavior of these materials. Tailings show a considerable variability in their physical, chemical and mineral characteristics that confer a distinct behavior to the geo-materials usually found in natural deposits. The present work gives emphasis to gold and bauxite tailings that encompass substantial economic and environmental interest in Brazil. In the thesis, an extensive laboratory geotechnical investigation program is carried out in an attempt to characterize these residues and to establish design constituent parameters. For comparative purposes an inert silty material is also tested. Compressibility and hydraulic conductivity were measured in oedometer tests performed at constant load and constant hydraulic gradient tests. Triaxial tests were carried out at high stress levels and different stress paths in order to establish the position and shape of the critical state line. In addition measured with Bender Elements are evaluated. The results between the oedometer consolidation (OCL), isotropic consolidation (ICL) and critical sate (CSL) lines allowed the static liquefaction response to be directly assessed. In a e-log (p’) space, the onset of a meta-stable behaviour significantly changes the slope of the CSL relative to both ICL and OCL. The same change in slope is observed on both the state parameter and the small strain shear modulus measured by bender elements when plotted against mean stress. Based on these evidences it is advocated that the CSL of the tailing is highly non-linear in nature, which lead to three distinct soil responses: a stable response when OCL, ICL and CSL exhibit similar slopes, a meta-stable beahaviour at lower stress leading to liquefaction and a crushable response for higher mean stresses. Advanced research on tailings from mining industries with due recognition of the phenomena of liquefaction may prevent dam failure, and consequently may prevent major environmental disasters.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar o comportamento mecânico de uma areia não saturada, com e sem reforço de fibras, através de ensaios de placa realizados em densidade relativa de 50% e 90%. Para o reforço da areia foi acrescentada a quantidade de 0,5% de fibra de polipropileno em relação ao peso seco de solo. A análise dos resultados dos ensaios de placa indica que a inclusão de fibras influencia significativamente no comportamento carga-recalque do material. O melhor resultado foi obtido para o ensaio realizado na maior densidade relativa (DR = 90%) com adição de fibras, apresentando uma mudança significativa no comportamento carga-recalque. Ensaios triaxiais também foram realizados a fim de obter os parâmetros de resistência e deformação dos materiais estudados. Além disso, ensaios de sucção foram realizados para avaliar a sua influência sobre os parâmetros de resistência do solo não saturado, com e sem reforço. / The aim of present research was to study the mechanical behavior of unreinforced and fiber-reinforced unsaturated sand through plate load tests carried out at relative densities of 50% and 90%. For the reinforced sand, 50 mm long polypropylene fibers were added at a concentration of 0.5% by dry weight. The analysis of the plate test results indicates that the soil load-settlement behavior is significantly influenced by the fiber inclusion. The best performance was obtained for the densest (DR=90%) fiber-sand mixture, where a significant change in the load-settlement behavior was observed. Triaxial tests were also carried out in order to establish the strength and deformation parameters of the materials studied. Furthermore, suction tests were carried out to investigate its potential influence on the strength parameters of the unsaturated fiber-reinforced and unreinforced materials.

Usualmente as propriedades do solo não são adequadas às características e às necessidades de projeto. É apresentada, como alternativa, a técnica de reforço com inclusão de elementos fibrosos à matriz de solo. Nesse sentido, a análise do comportamento mecânico de um solo micro-reforçado com fibras de distintos índices aspecto é objetivada. Para tanto, uma célula de compressão triaxial com medidas internas de deformações é construída, instrumentada e calibrada para realização de ensaios, sob trajetórias de tensões convencionais, em amostras com 100mm de diâmetro e 200mm de altura. O solo, uma areia fina, de granulometria uniforme, é reforçado com fibras de polipropileno com diferentes comprimentos, 12, 24, 36 e 50mm, e diferentes diâmetros, 0,023 e 0,100mm, equivalentes a índices aspecto entre 120 e 2174. As amostras apresentam densidade relativa de 50%, teor de umidade de 10% e adição de 0,5% de fibras em relação à massa de solo seco. Os resultados demonstram a eficácia da utilização do reforço no ganho de resistência das amostras em relação ao material nãoreforçado. Dessa forma, os parâmetros de resistência da matriz reforçada apresentam notável aumento. Os valores de ângulo de atrito interno das misturas não são influenciados pelo índice aspecto das fibras. Em contrapartida, os valores de intercepto coesivo dos compósitos são fortemente influenciados pelo índice aspecto dos reforços. Ainda, é verificado um valor de índice aspecto a partir do qual o compósito passa a apresentar comportamento de enrijecimento mais pronunciado, em torno de 300 neste estudo. É verificado, também, que a rigidez da areia não é alterada pela inclusão dos micro-reforços. Semelhantemente, o comportamento dilatante da areia não é sensivelmente afetado pela adição de fibras. Todavia, a relação de tensões final das misturas é reduzida com o aumento da tensão confinante e ampliada com o aumento do índice aspecto das fibras. Por fim, a medida dos comprimentos das fibras antes e após a realização dos ensaios mostra que os reforços não rompem por tração. A interação entre a matriz de solo e as fibras se dá através do deslizamento e do alongamento das fibras. / The study of the mechanical behavior of a soil micro-reinforced with distinct aspect ratios fibers is the purpose of this investigation. Thus, a triaxial compression cell is built and drained standard triaxial tests on 100mm diameter and 200mm high specimens are carried out. The soil, a uniform fine sand, is reinforced with polypropylene fibers with different lengths, 12, 24, 36 and 50mm, different diameters, 0.023 and 0.100mm, and consequently with a large spectrum of aspect ratios, up to about 2200. The samples are compacted to a relative density of 50% and a water content of 10% with a fiber content of 0.5% by weight of soil. The results show the effectiveness of fiber reinforcement in the strength increase of the samples compared to non-reinforced material. Thus, the parameters of resistance of the reinforced matrix exhibit remarkable increase. The values of mixtures friction angles are not influenced by aspect ratio of the fibers. However, the values of cohesive intercepts of the composites are strongly influenced by fibers aspect ratio. In addition, it is found an aspect ratio value from which the composites present more pronounced strain hardening features, around 300 in this study. It is also found that sand stiffness is not influenced by the micro-reinforcements inclusion. Similarly, the dilation behavior of sand is not significantly affected by fibers addition. However, the mixtures final stress ratio is reduced with the confining pressure increase and with the decrease of fibers aspect ratio value. Finally, the measurement of fiber lengths before and after the tests shows that the reinforcements do not break in tension. The failure is a composite of slippage and yielding of fibers.

Camadas granulares desempenham um importante papel no comportamento global de pavimentos, especialmente daqueles com revestimentos delgados ou sem revestimento. Para conhecer as características de resistência e deformabilidade de materiais componentes dessas camadas são realizados ensaios triaxiais. No caso de ensaios em materiais granulares, o corpo de prova deve ter diâmetro de pelo menos cinco vezes o tamanho máximo de partícula e altura igual a duas vezes o seu diâmetro. Como as especificações do DNIT permitem o emprego de agregados de até 5 cm em camadas de brita graduada ou solo-agregado, os corpos-de-prova devem ter diâmetro de 25 cm e altura de 50 cm. Equipamentos capazes de ensaiar corpos-deprova com estas dimensões são raros no mundo e inexistiam no Brasil até 2008. Com o intuito de superar esta carência e avançar no conhecimento do comportamento mecânico de agregados graúdos, a pesquisa relatada nesta tese teve como objetivos desenvolver um equipamento triaxial de grande porte capaz de aplicar carregamentos estáticos, monotônicos e cíclicos em corpos-de-prova de grandes dimensões (25 cm x 50 cm); bem como realizar e interpretar os primeiros ensaios. A concepção e a montagem do equipamento são descritas considerando as partes principais. Também é detalhada a instrumentação utilizada composta por: duas células de carga, três transdutores de deslocamento e dois transmissores de pressão. Para os primeiros ensaios foi escolhida uma brita graduada de basalto, anteriormente utilizada em pistas experimentais solicitadas por simulador de tráfego. Ensaios em corpos-de-prova de 10 cm de diâmetro e 20 cm de altura foram realizados para comparação com resultados de ensaios em corpos-de-prova maiores, realizados no novo equipamento. Os ensaios de módulo de resiliência foram conduzidos segundo o método de ensaio do DNIT, com algumas modificações para adequá-lo ao padrão internacional. Os ensaios triaxiais monotônicos e os cíclicos de deformações permanentes foram conduzidos tanto em multiestágios, quanto em estágio único de tensões. Os resultados obtidos foram interpretados segundo diversas teorias e modelos, obtendo-se parâmetros de resistência e de deformabilidade. Uma análise mecanística utilizando os parâmetros obtidos nos ensaios permitiu analisar o comportamento do material estudado como camada de pavimento. Conclui-se que o equipamento triaxial de grande porte atende as necessidades para as quais foi projetado, permitindo obter parâmetros para caracterização do comportamento de agregados graúdos e prever desempenho de pavimentos, quanto a deformações permanentes e ruptura por cisalhamento de camadas granulares. / Unbound aggregates layers play an important role in the performance of thinly surfaced or unsurfaced pavements. In order to assess the strength-strain characteristics of soils and aggregates used in those layers, triaxial tests must be carried out on cylindrical specimens with diameter not smaller than 5 times the particle maximum size and height twice the diameter. Since Brazil National Roads Department allows using 2” aggregates in granular bases, specimens for triaxial tests should be at least 25 cm in diameter and 50 cm in height. All over the world there are only a few equipments for testing such specimens; and up to 2008 none of them in Brazil. Aiming at overcoming this deficiency and enhance the knowledge on the mechanical behavior of coarse aggregates, the objectives of research reported in this thesis were to develop a triaxial equipment capable of applying static, monotonic and repeated loadings on large specimens (25 cm x 50 cm) and perform and analyze the first tests. The design and assemblage of the equipment are describe, detailing its main components and the instrumentation, that included two load cells, three displacement transducers and two pressure transmitters. The first tests were carried out on specimens made of dense crushed aggregates, formerly used in APT test sections. Tests were also carried out on specimens with 10.0 cm diameter and 20.0 cm height, in order to compare their results to those of tests carried out in larger specimens tested in the new triaxial equipment. Resilient modulus tests were carried out according to the Brazilian standard, but some modifications were introduced to follow international patterns. Triaxial monotonic and repeated loading permanent deformation tests were carried out both in multiple stages and unique stage of stresses. The results were interpreted were calculated taking into account several theories and models, strength and strain parameters being obtained. A mechanistic analysis using parameters obtained in tests allowed analyzing the behavior of the studied aggregates making part of pavement layers. It is concluded the new triaxial equipment for large specimens fulfills the requirements that motivated its design and construction, making possible to obtain parameters for characterizing the behavior of coarse aggregates and estimating pavements performance regarding permanent deformation and shear failure of granular layers.

Esta tese tem por objetivo analisar o comportamento mecânico de um solo coluvionar de arenito não saturado (Solo AV) em condições indeformadas e remoldados. Sua localização é na divisa dos estados de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. Os corpos de prova foram moldados com o mesmo índice de vazios na condição indeformada e na condição remoldada com o intuito de se avaliar o papel da estrutura deste solo. Para este estudo foi modificado o equipamento triaxial com sucção controlada, apresentado por Pereira (2006), inserindo os medidores de deslocamentos locais nos corpos de prova (sensores de efeito Hall). A partir dos medidores de deformação locais foi possível observar a influência da sucção nos módulos de deformabilidade do solo AV para a condição remoldada. Foram determinadas as envoltórias de resistência ao cisalhamento para os ensaios na condição não saturada para corpos de prova indeformados e remoldados. Na condição não saturada observou-se que o ângulo de atrito interno (’) é influenciado pelo nível de sucção e tensão normal líquida aplicada. As envoltórias no plano tensão cisalhante versus sucção são não lineares e resultam, para baixos valores de sucção, em valores de b sempre superiores a ’. Os resultados indicaram que os corpos de prova indeformados, na condição saturada, apresentaram parâmetros e resistência ao cisalhamento superiores aos corpos de prova remoldados. Entretanto, para a condição não saturada, os corpos de prova remoldados apresentaram resistência ao cisalhamento superiores a dos corpos de prova indeformados. Os resultados dos ensaios do hollow cylinder indicaram que a magnitude da tensão principal intermediária influencia na resistência ao cisalhamento obtida. Pela variação da direção da tensão principal maior observou-se um comportamento anisotrópico nos corpos de prova remoldados. Em termos de parâmetros de resistência ao cisalhamento os ensaios triaxiais e hollow cylinder apresentaram resultados consistentes, de acordo com a literatura. Os principais modelos de previsão de resistência ao cisalhamento existentes, baseados em dados básicos do Solo AV, não apresentaram um bom ajustes para as condições de moldagem. Baseado em análises estatísticas, foi possível obter duas equações de ajuste, sendo uma linear exponencial para a condição indeformada e uma parabólica para a condição remoldada. / This thesis aims to analyze the mechanical behavior of an unsaturated sandstone colluvium soil (Soil AV) in undisturbed and remolded conditions. The colluvium is located on the border of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The specimens were prepared with the same void ratio for undisturbed and remolded conditions in order to evaluate the soil structure. For this study the triaxial apparatus with suction-controll, presented by Pereira (2006), was improved by inserting local displacement traducers (Hall effect sensors). These tranducers allowed the evaluation of the influence of the suction on the Young’s modulus for the soil AV in the remolded condition. Shear strength envelopes were determined based on tests on unsaturated condition on undisturbed and remolded specimens. For the unsaturated condition, it was noted that the internal friction angle ('’) is influenced by the level of suction and net normal stress applied. The shear envelopes on the shear stress versus suction plane are nonlinear and showed b higher than ’, for low suction values. The results showed that undisturbed specimens in saturated conditions presented shear strength parameters and shear strength higher than the remolded specimens. However, in the unsaturated condition the remolded specimens showed higher shear strength than undisturbed specimens. The Hollow Cylinder test results indicated that the intermediate principal stress has influence on shear strength of the soil. By varying the direction of major principal stress it was noticed an anisotropic behavior in the remolded specimens. In terms of shear strength parameters triaxial and hollow cylinder tests presented consistent results as it was observed in the literature. Some of the models used to predict the shear strength, based on basic parameters of the soil AV, have not shown good matches for both, undisturbed and remolded conditions. Based on statistical analysis, it was possible to obtain two adjustment equations being a linear exponential to the undisturbed conditions and a parabolic for the remolded condition.

[pt] Os folhelhos correspondem a mais de 75% das formações perfuradas para exploração de hidrocarbonetos e cerca de 90% dos problemas de instabilidade em poços de petróleo são atribuídos a ele. Segundo Steiger & Leung (1991), são gastos de 600 milhões a 1 bilhão de dólares anuais com custos adicionais de perfuração, gerados por problemas de instabilidade em poços. Este trabalho propõe uma nova metodologia de ensaio triaxial axissimétrico CIU em folhelhos, capaz de obter os parâmetros necessários para análises de instabilidade em períodos de tempo relativamente curtos. Esta metodologia está baseada em procedimentos normalmente utilizados em ensaios de solos e emprega equipamentos específicos de testes em rochas. Foram realizados 12 ensaios triaxiais divididos em duas campanhas em um folhelho proveniente da Bacia de Campos. Os resultados dos ensaios comprovam a eficácia da nova metodologia. O comportamento de resistência destes folhelhos é descrito utilizando o critério linear de resistência de Mohr-Coulomb com coesão de 3,17 MPa e um ângulo de atrito interno de 25,3º. / [en] Shales constitute more than 75% of the drilled rocks in the search for hydrocarbons and an estimated high 90% of wellbore instability problems are credited to their presence. According to Steiger & Leung (1991), more than 600 Million US dollars are spent annually by the oil industry just to corrent the problems due to instabilities. This work presents a new methodology for running triaxial compression tests in shales under undrained conditions. This methodology allows shorter duration of the tests and it is based upon adaptation of concepts traditionally employed in the soil mechanics field. 12 tests have been carried out in shales obtained from offshore Brazil during this work. The tests were divided into 2 groups based upon the nature of the fluid used in the pore pressure lines. The tests results show that this methodology is very efficient. The shear strength behavior of the shale is described and by using the Mohr-Coulomb criterium, the shear strength parameters are a cohesion of 3,17 MPa and phase equal to 25,3°. / [es] Los folhelhos corresponden a más del 75% de las formaciones perforadas para exploración de hidrocarbonetos y a ellos le son atribuidos cerca de 90% de los problemas de inestabilidad en pozos de petróleo. Según Steiger & Leung (1991), se gastan de 600 millones a 1 billión de dólares anuales con costos adicionales de perforación, generados por problemas de inestabilidad en pozos. Este trabajo propone una nueva metodología de ensayo triaxial axisimétrico CIU en folhelhos, capaz de obter los parámetros necesarios para el análisis de inestabilidad en períodos de tiempo relativamente cortos. Esta metodología está basada en procedimientos normalmente utilizados en ensayos de suelos y emplea equipos específicos de pruebas en rocas. Fueron realizados 12 ensayos triaxiales divididos en dos campañas en un folhelho proveniente de la Bacia de Campos. Los resultados de los ensayos comproban la eficacia de la nueva metodología. Para describir el comportamiento de la resistencia de estos folhelhos se utiliza el criterio lineal de resistencia de Mohr-Coulomb con cohesión de 3,17 MPa y un ángulo de fricción interno de 25,3º.

Key factors that influence the design of paved and unpaved roads are the strength and stiffness of the pavement layers. Among other factors, the strength of pavements depends on the thickness and quality of the aggregates used in the pavement base layer. In India and many other countries, there is a high demand for good quality aggregates and the availability of aggregate resources is limited. There is a need for the development of sustainable construction methods which can handle aggregate requirements with least available resources and provide good performance. Hence it is imperative to strive for alternatives to achieve improved quality of pavements using supplementary potential materials and methods. The strength of pavement increases with increase in the thickness of the base which has a direct implication on construction cost whereas decreasing the thickness of the base makes it weak which results in low load bearing capacity especially for unpaved roads. The use of different types of geosynthetics like geocell and geogrid are a potential and reliable solution for the lack of availability of aggregates and studies are conducted in this direction. To better understand the performance of any geosynthetically reinforced base layers, it is essential to characterize the pavement material by studying the behavior of these materials under static as well as repeated loading. For unpaved roads, the base layer, made of granular aggregates plays a crucial role in the reduction of permanent deformation of the pavements. The resilient modulus (Mr) of these materials is a key parameter for predicting the structural response of pavements and for characterizing materials in pavement design and evaluation. Usually, during the design of flexible pavements, pavement materials are treated as homogeneous and isotropic. The use of rollers in the field during pavement construction leads to a higher compaction of material in the vertical direction which introduces stress-induced anisotropy in the base material. The effect of stress-induced anisotropy on the properties of the granular material is studied and discussed in the first part of the research by conducting repeated load triaxial tests. Isotropic consolidated and anisotropically consolidated samples were prepared to investigate the behavior of base materials under stress induced anisotropic conditions. An additional axial load was applied on the isotropically consolidated sample to create anisotropically consolidated sample. The axial loading was provided such that the stress ratio (σ1/σ3), during anisotropic consolidation was kept constant for all the tests at different confining pressures. The effect of repeated loading on the permanent deformation and the resilient modulus for both isotropically and anisotropically consolidated samples, at different confining pressure and loading conditions, are discussed. The behavior of both anisotropically and isotropically consolidated samples has been explained using the record of the excess pore pressures generated during the experiments. The experimental studies show that the permanent strains measured in the vertical direction of the anisotropically consolidated samples are less compared to the results obtained for isotropically consolidated samples. The resilient moduli of the anisotropically consolidated samples were also observed to be higher than that of the isotropically consolidated sample. The study conducted on the pore pressure of both the samples explains better performance of the anisotropically consolidated samples. The studies showed that the isotropically consolidated samples showed higher pore pressures compared to the anisotropically consolidated specimens. Another factor which influences the resilient modulus of the pavement materials is the geosynthetic reinforcement. Geocell and geogrid reinforced triaxial samples were prepared to study the effect of reinforcement in the resilient modulus of the base materials. From the literature, it can be seen that most of the research in the triaxial testing equipment were carried out in the non-destructive range of confining pressure and deviatoric stress. Several studies have been conducted by the researchers to visualize the pavement response in the elastic range. However, the studies in the plastic creep range and incremental collapse range were highly limited. In the current study, testing is carried out on the triaxial samples for two different stress ranges. In the first sections, loading was applied in the elastic and elastic shakedown range as per AASTHO T-307. For various loading sequences, a comparative analysis has been done for the resilient modulus of the geogrid and geocell. In the next section, the loading was applied on the sample in the plastic shakedown range and incremental collapse range. The results of the permanent strains and resilient modulus of the sections are compared with the corresponding results of the unreinforced section. In the plastic shakedown and incremental collapse range also the permanent strains of reinforced samples were less than those observed in the unreinforced section. The performance of geosynthetically reinforced pavement layers can be better understood by studying the samples prepared under realistic field conditions. In the case of triaxial experiments the sample size is very less compared to the field conditions and the effect of other pavement layers on the performance of the base layers cannot be studied on triaxial samples. Samples were prepared in the laboratory by modeling the pavement sections in a cuboidal tank, in which different pavement layers are laid one over the other, and a static loading or repeated loading is applied to overcome the bottleneck of small sample size in the triaxial setup. The experiments were conducted on the unreinforced section; geocell reinforced section and geogrid reinforced section placed above strong and weak subgrade. The results of the study are examined regarding the resilient deformation, permanent deformation, pressure distribution and strain measurements for different thicknesses of base layers under repeated loading. The initial parts of the study present the results of experiments and analysis of the results to understand the behavior of geocell reinforced granular base during repeated loading. In this study, an attempt is made to understand the various factors which influence the behavior of geocell reinforced granular base under repeated loading by conducting plate load tests. The loads applied on the pavements are much higher than the standard axle loading used for the design of pavements. High pressure was applied on all the test sections to simulate these higher loading conditions in the field. The optimum width and height of the geocell to be provided, to get maximum reduction in permanent deformation is studied in detail. The effect of resilient deformation of reinforced and unreinforced base layers is quantified by calculating the resilient modulus of these layers. The studies showed that the geocell reinforcement was effective in reducing the permanent and resilient deformations of base layer when compared to the unreinforced samples. The resilient modulus calculated was higher for the reinforced sample with half of the thickness of the unreinforced sample. The effect of reinforcement in the stress distribution within the base layer is also studied by measuring the pressures at different depths of the base layer. The results showed that the pressure getting transferred to the subgrade level was much lower in the case of geocell reinforced base layer. The ultimate aim of any pavement design method is to reduce the distress in the subgrade level and thus leading to increased life of pavements. Pressures at the subgrade level for reinforced and unreinforced sections are studied in detail, the main parameter under study being the stress distribution angle, to investigate the distress in the subgrade level. It was observed that the geocell reinforced sample showed higher stress distribution angle when compared to its unreinforced counterpart. Another important factor that has to be studied is the strains at the subgrade level since it is the governing factor of causing rutting in the pavements. From the experiments conducted in the study, it was shown that the reinforcement is very effective in reducing the strains at the top of subgrades. The implications of the current study are brought out in terms of improved pavement performance as the carbon emission reductions. It is important to analyze the performance of reinforced section under realistic field conditions. To do that experiment were conducted on reinforced and unreinforced base layers placed on top of weak subgrade material. The study showed that the reinforcements are effective in reducing the deformations under weak subgrade conditions also but not as effective as it was under strong subgrade case. The experimental results were then validated with the two-dimensional mechanistic-empirical model for geocell reinforced unpaved roads for predicting the performance of pavements under a significant number of cycles. The modified permanent deformation model which incorporates the triaxial test results and strains measured directly from the base sections were used to model and validate. Plate load experiments were also conducted on base layers reinforced with geogrid to understand the behavior of these reinforced samples under repeated loading. Several factors like the width of the geogrid to be provided and the depth of placing the geogrid in the base layer were studied in detail to achieve maximum reduction in deformations. Permanent and resilient deformation studies were carried out for both reinforced and unreinforced sections of varying thicknesses, and a comparison was made to understand the effect of reinforcement. The geogrid reinforcement could effectively reduce the permanent and resilient deformations when compared to the unreinforced sections. A study was also carried out on the resilient modulus, which explained the better performance of the geogrid reinforced samples by showing higher resilient modulus for reinforced samples than the unreinforced specimens. The performance of the geogrid reinforced base layers was further verified by studying the pressure distribution at the subgrade level and by calculating the stress distribution angle corresponding to the reinforced and unreinforced samples. The strains at the subgrade level were also studied and compared with the unreinforced sample which showed a better performance of geogrid reinforced samples. The results from the strain gauges fixed in the geogrid were further used to model and validate the permanent deformation model. Experiments were conducted on geogrid-reinforced base layer placed above weak subgrade conditions. The results showed that the reinforcement was effective in reducing the deformations under weak subgrade conditions also. Apart from conducting the laboratory studies, experimental results were numerically modeled to accurately back-calculate the resilient moduli of the layers used in the study. 3D numerical modeling of the unreinforced and honeycomb shaped geocell reinforced layers were carried out using finite element package of ANSYS. The subgrade layer, geocell material, and infill material were modeled with different material models to match the real case scenario. The modeling was done for both static and repeated load conditions. The material properties were changed in a systematic fashion until the vertical deformations of the loading plate matched with the corresponding values measured during the experiment. The experimental study indicates that the geocell reinforcement distributes the load in the lateral direction to a relatively shallow depth when compared to the unreinforced section. Numerical modeling further strengthened the results of the experimental studies since the modeling results were in sync with the experimental data.