Entre os objetivos da engenharia geotécnica está a busca pelo entendimento e previsão do comportamento mecânico dos solos. Para isso, existem basicamente duas abordagens: ensaios de laboratório ou ensaios de campo. Em cada obra o Engenheiro Geotécnico deve julgar quais são os métodos e procedimentos mais indicados de investigação, que resultarão em parâmetros confiáveis de projeto. Os ensaios de campo foram desenvolvidos baseados nos solos argilosos e arenosos em virtude dos comportamentos distintamente bem definidos, especialmente em termos de drenagem. O mesmo ocorre para o ensaio DMT, cuja execução e interpretação são influenciadas pelo tipo de solo e pelas condições de drenagem. O grande desafio, neste caso, está na interpretação dos ensaios em solos cuja solicitação ocorre sob condição de drenagem parcial, como nos casos de barragens de rejeito de mineração, ou em depósitos naturais de solos siltosos, onde esta condição pode levar a erros de interpretação. No DMT, a ocorrência de drenagem parcial influencia tanto na etapa de cravação da lâmina, quanto na etapa de expansão da membrana. Neste sentido, o foco deste trabalho está no problema da dissipação de poropressão durante a expansão da membrana, apresentando procedimentos especiais para realização do ensaio DMT. Serão apresentados dois métodos de interpretação de resultados, visando compensar os erros de interpretação causados pela dissipação parcial de poropressão: Método de Dissipação Completa e, Método de Dissipação Incompleta. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido baseado na realização de ensaios de campo, com uma campanha executada em solo brasileiro argiloso, que serviu de base à interpretação, sendo complementada por 6 ensaios realizados em diferentes sítios na Itália. Os resultados dos ensaios realizados pelo Método de Dissipação Completa foram interpretados através de duas abordagens: Método da Igualdade (analítico) e Método Simplificado. Enquanto a interpretação do Método de Dissipação Incompleta é permitida apenas através de procedimento simplificado. A análise paramétrica apresentou comportamentos similares entre ambas abordagens, demonstrando que a taxa de dissipação é o fator que mais influencia nos resultados. Ao final, os métodos foram aplicados e validados em diferentes locais, apresentando resultados adequados e compatíveis com o comportamento previamente definido através de outros ensaios. / Among the geotechnical engineering goals are the understanding and prediction of soil behavior. For this, there are basically two approaches: laboratory or in situ tests. In this case, the Geotechnical Engineer must judge the most appropriate investigation methods and procedures that will result in reliable design parameters. In situ tests were developed for clay and sand given to the fact that the behavior of these soils is well-defined and drainage conditions are properly controlled. The DMT is no exception, with test and interpretation methods influenced by the drainage conditions. The challenge resides in the interpretation of tests carried out in soils under partial-drainage conditions, such as tailings dams or natural deposits of silty soils, where partial-drainage conditions are taking place around the DMT blade leading to errors on its interpretation. The partial drainage condition influences both the DMT blade penetration phase and the membrane expansion phase. In this sense, this work focus on the problem of the pore pressure dissipation taking place simultaneously to membrane expansion. A non-standard procedure is proposed to sounding the DMT in silts that include two methods for DMT interpretation in order to compensate the errors caused by the partial pore pressure dissipation: Method of Complete Dissipation Curve and Method of Incomplete Dissipation Curve. This work was developed based on tests carried out in Brazilian clay soils to develop the proposed approach that was validated latter in non-standard tests carried out in different Italian sites. The results of the tests performed by the complete dissipation method were interpreted through two approaches: Equality Method (analytical) and Simplified Method, while the interpretation of the incomplete dissipation method is possible only through simplified procedure. The parametric analysis showed that these approaches yield similar results, demonstrating that the dissipation rate is the most important factor in the analysis. At the end, the methods were applied and validated at different sites, showing results that are compatible to previously defined behavior of the soils.

No description available.

Marijampolės rajonas kartu su Marijampolės miestu užima 156771 ha žemės plotą. Marijampolės rajone šlapių žemių fondas yra 102346 ha. Darbo tikslas: išnagrinėti esamą melioracijos statinių būklę Marijampolės rajone ir numatyti priemones tolimesnės eksploatacijos užtikrinimui. Iki 1996 metų sausio 1 d. nusausinta 82456,6 ha žemės, iš jų drenažu – 74514,6 ha, iš jų intensyviai – 65038 ha. Pagal atliktos 2006 metų inventorizacijos duomenų analizę melioruotos žemės plotas, įskaitant plotą sausinamą drenažu, padidėjo nuo 1996 metų daugiau nei 2 kartus. Blogos būklės statinių padaugėjo 10,75 karto. Po atliktos inventorizacijos nuspręsta nurašyti 434,74 ha melioruotos žemės ploto, 2,4 karto daugiau nei 1996 m. Didžiausi pažeidimai melioruotame plote: užmirkęs drenuotas plotas, žemės ūkio naudmenos neveikiančio drenažo plote ir drenuotas plotas užstatytas statiniais, kur yra nutiesti keliai ar kitos komunikacijos. Išanalizavus 2006 m. inventorizacijos duomenis paaiškėjo, kad pralaidų būklė Marijampolės rajone yra gera: 70,38% jų yra techniškai tvarkingos. 26% pralaidų yra pažeistos vietinių įgriuvų, įgriuvę antgaliai, apirę betoniniai elementai. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: melioruota žemė, melioracijos statiniai, drenažas, grioviai, pralaidos, techninė būklė. / Marijampole district, including the city takes 156771 hectares area. Wet territory corpus is 102346 hectares in Marijampole district. Main job goal is to inspect existing melioration building‘s condition in Marijampole district and foresee armamentarium for further operating conditions. At period in 1996-01-01 there were drained 82456,6 hectares of land, 74514,6 hectares of them by drainage (65038 hectares intensively). According inventorisation data analysis accomplished in 2006 improved land‘s area, including drained area become bigger twice from 1996. Quantity of buildings in bad shape became bigger almost 11 times. 434,74 hectares were discarded as unusable. Most common drainage system break is influated by new buildings, roads and communication systems. After inventorisation were done become clear that 70,38% trenches system is working properly and 26 % needs to be renovated.

One of the largest environmental threats believed to be facing us today is global warming due to the accumulation of green house gases (GHG). The concentrations of GHG in the atmosphere are a result of the net strength of different sinks and sources. Forests, in this context, are of particular interest because of their dual role as both sinks and sources. Most forests are net sinks for CO2 but others, such as drained forests, may be significant sources of both CO2 and N20. Consequently, it is essential to understand the fluxes of GHG between drained forests and the atmosphere in order to obtain accurate estimates of national GHG budgets. The findings reported in this thesis and the accompanying papers are based on dark chamber flux measurements of soil GHG fluxes and modelled annual net primary productions in five drained forest sites and two undrained sites situated on organic soil. Temporal variations in forest floor CO2, release could be explained, to a large extent, by differencies in temperature and groundwater level. The within-site spatial variation in soil GHG fluxes could only be explained to a very small extent by distance to tree stems. Much of the among-site variations in soil CO2 and CH4 release could be caused by differences in the mean annual groundwater table, while N20 emissions were strongly correlated to the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of soil organic matter. Most poorly drained forested areas are probably net sinks for GHG as the CO2 uptake by trees more than compensates for the soil GHG emissions. However, the total drained forested area in Sweden was estimated to be a net source of GHG. The CO2 release from decomposition of soil organic matter stored before drainage was estimated to be substantial. Corresponding to 15% of the CO2 release from the consumption of fossil fuels. / <p>On the day of the public defence of the doctoral thesis the status of the articles I and II was: Conditionally accepted; article III was: Submitted and articles IV and V was: Manuscript. The title of article III was on the day of the public defence "Can the distribution of trees explain the spatial variation in N2O emissions from boreal forest soils?".</p>

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / With population growth, and the resulting increase in urbanization, the disposal of solid waste in water bodies in Brazil has increased in recent years, especially in the outskirts of the cities. These residues, along with the waste drainage system tributary, are transported by the stream, causing the siltation of its bed, and frequent overflows, as well as contamination of soil and water. Within this context, it was mounted on a stream a structure for urban solid waste collection in a stretch of Cancela - Tamandaí s watershed in Santa Maria RS. The structure was developed and adapted to the circumstances and location. In this work were quantified and qualified solid waste present in urban drainage of Santa Maria RS according to the CONAMA Resolution n.º 275/2001 and related to data of rainfall. The results concerning the monitoring structure were satisfactory, as the waste was retained in most rainfall events effectively. Were collected in total 1153.2 kg of solid waste in three months of collection with a rainfall total for the period of 518.94 mm, 93.9% of these being composed of organic matter, the same consisting of the expressive value of 86.0% of vegetation debris. The inorganic matter found is composed mostly of plastic (2.5%). Processed wood was also significant, representing 7.8 % of total quantified. Cancela Tamandaí s watershed presented a load of solid waste equal to 17.27 kg/ha/year or 0.424 kg/inhab./year, different from watersheds studied by Salles (2010) and Brites (2005), however the differences are related to the characteristics of each watershed. The prediction curve of drained solid waste is a parameter for decision to municipal managers in relation to solid waste generated within the Cancela - Tamandaí s watershed, because it relates the drained solid waste carted due to rainfall. The results demonstrate the significant environmental impact represented by the society against the inadequate disposal made by them. An environmental education program associated with measures for solid waste management would form the basis for the solution of this vast urban problem. / Com o crescimento da população, e o consequente aumento da urbanização, o lançamento de resíduos sólidos nos corpos d água no Brasil tem aumentado nos últimos anos, principalmente em regiões periféricas das cidades. Esses resíduos, juntamente com os resíduos do sistema de drenagem afluente, são transportados pelo arroio, causando o assoreamento de seu leito, e frequentes transbordamentos, além da contaminação do solo e da água. Dentro desse contexto, foi montada em um arroio urbano uma estrutura para coleta de resíduos sólidos em um trecho da Bacia Hidrográfica Cancela Tamandaí no município de Santa Maria RS. A estrutura foi desenvolvida e adaptada às circunstâncias e ao local. Nesse trabalho foram quantificados e qualificados os resíduos sólidos presentes na drenagem urbana de Santa Maria RS conforme a resolução do CONAMA n.º 275/2001 e relacionados com os dados de precipitação pluviométrica. Os resultados referentes à estrutura de monitoramento foram satisfatórios, pois os resíduos foram retidos na maioria dos eventos de precipitação pluviométrica de forma efetiva. Foram coletados ao todo 1153,2kg de resíduos sólidos em três meses de coletas com uma precipitação pluviométrica total para o período de 518,94mm, sendo desses 93,9% composto por matéria orgânica, a mesma constituída pelo expressivo valor de 86,0% de restos de vegetação. A matéria inorgânica encontrada é composta em sua maioria por plástico (2,5%). Madeira processada também foi expressiva, representando 7,8% do total quantificado. A Bacia Cancela Tamandaí apresentou uma carga de resíduos sólidos igual a 17,27 kg/ha/ano ou 0,424 kg/hab./ano, diferente das bacias estudadas por Salles (2010) e Brites (2005), no entanto as diferenças encontradas estão relacionadas com as características próprias de cada bacia. A curva de previsão de resíduos sólidos drenados é um parâmetro para a tomada de decisão dos gestores municipais em relação aos resíduos sólidos gerados no âmbito da Bacia Hidrográfica Cancela Tamandaí, pois relaciona os resíduos sólidos drenados carreados em função da precipitação pluviométrica. Os resultados obtidos demonstram o significativo impacto ambiental representado pela sociedade frente à disposição final inadequada realizada pelos mesmos. Um programa de educação ambiental associado a medidas de gerenciamento dos resíduos sólidos serviriam de base para a solução desse vasto problema urbano.

The consequence of climate change will be more flooding in some areas and problems with sea-level rise. Drained wetlands and lakes that today are used for agriculture in the future may need to be rewetted because it might be unsustainable to continue to drain them. Rewetting these lands will have many positive effects like for instance decreased greenhouse gas emissions since these lands due to their high organic matter content are emitting a lot of CO2 and N2O. In this study two sites that could become candidates for rewetting have been studied and compared for their CO2 and N2O emissions. This was done by using a method for sampling gases both from a closed chamber and directly from soil. The emission rates were higher for Ramsjön compared to Vesan for both gases that could probably be an effect of season. A strong covariation between the two gases was shown for Ramsjön and the relationship was fairly strong for Vesan this indicates a common process for releasing the two gases. Rewetting these areas would probably have a high potential for saving greenhouse gas emissions and possibly also serve as flood adaptation areas with a high biodiversity and recreational value.

No description available.

The fully softened shear strength was defined by Skempton (1970) as the peak drained shear strength of a clay in a normally consolidated state. All the experience available on the applicability of the fully softened shear strength for slopes is based on back-analyses. Back-analyses of first-time failures in cuts in stiff-fissured clays and embankments constructed of fat clays have shown that, over a long period of time, the shear strength gets reduced from what is measured in the laboratory using undisturbed samples to the fully softened shear strength. These back-analyses require knowledge or assumption of pore pressures in the slope, which will have a significant influence on the shear strength obtained. Karl Terzaghi, in 1936, was the first person that qualitatively explained the behavior of cut slopes in stiff-fissured clays. According to Terzaghi (1936), a softening process is initiated by the water percolating into the fissures causing swelling and decreasing the overall shear strength of the clay mass. Investigations presented later by Skempton and his colleagues showed that the controlling shear strength for cuts in stiff-fissured clays was equal to the fully softened shear strength and recommended this shear strength to be used for design (Skempton 1970; Chandler and Skempton 1974; Chandler 1974; Skempton 1977). Skempton (1977) concluded that displacements caused by progressive failure decrease the shear strength of stiff clays toward the fully softened shear strength. At first, it was believed that only stiff-fissured clays were subjected to softening and that intact clays should be designed using the peak shear strength measured using undisturbed samples (Skempton and Brown 1961; Skempton 1964, 1970). Recent publications have showed that the likelihood of a clay experiencing softening is more dependent on the plasticity of the clay rather than the fissures (Bjerrum 1967; Chandler 1984a; Mesri and Abdel-Ghaffar 1993). Fat clays, when compared to lean clays, tend to be more brittle. This means that fat clays have a more pronounced decrease in shear strength after the peak shear strength is achieved and for this reason are more susceptible to progressive failure. First-time failures in stiff clays usually occur a long period of time after construction. For this reason, steady state seepage was used in the back-analyses of the case histories presented by Skempton and his colleagues. They found that a pore pressure ratio of 0.3 was applicable to first-time failures in cuts in stiff-fissured clays (James 1970; Vaughan and Walbancke 1973; Chandler 1974; Skempton 1977). Investigations presented by Professor Steve Wright and his colleagues of the University of Texas at Austin showed, based on back-analyses, that the fully softened shear strength is also the controlling shear strength of compacted embankments constructed of highly plastic clays (Green and Wright 1986; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright 2005; Wright et al. 2007). Steve Wright and his colleagues concluded that weathering, expressed in cycles of wetting and drying, was the main mechanism decreasing the shear strength of compacted clay embankments toward the fully softened shear strength. Failures in this type of projects were found to be shallow (less than 10 ft deep) and to occur numerous years after construction (USACE 1983; Stauffer and Wright 1984; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright et al. 2007). A pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 was found to be applicable for the case histories analyzed by Wright and his colleagues. Day and Axten (1989) recommended the use of the infinite slope method with seepage parallel to the slope face for slope stability analyses. This same recommendation was presented by Lade (2010). A seepage parallel to the slope face corresponds to a pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.5 for slopes with ratios of 2H:1V to 5H:1V. Failures on compacted clay embankments related to softening have been reported in Texas (Stauffer and Wright 1984; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright 2005; Wright et al. 2007), and Mississippi (USACE 1983). According to McCook (2012), softening of this type of structures also occur in Louisiana To perform slope stability analyses using fully softened shear strength parameter, the type of soils, type of projects, and depths where this shear strength is applicable, and the pore pressures and factor of safety to be used in design should be determined. As stated above, the fully softened shear strength has been found to be the controlling shear strength of cuts in stiff clays and compacted embankments constructed of highly plastic clays. Steady state seepage conditions should be used to design cuts in stiff clays, and a pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 or a phreatic surface at the surface of the slope should be used to design compacted embankments made of fat clays. In cuts in stiff clays, both shallow and deep failures related to fully softened shear strength have been observed. For this type of project, the recommended methodology for design is to assign a curved fully softened failure envelope to the whole slope, search for the critical failure surface, and obtain the factor of safety. This approach will provide the correct factor of safety but the critical surface obtained might not be what is expected to occur in situ. Pore pressures corresponding to steady state seepage should be used for design. It should be emphasized that the recommendation to use fully softened shear strength in first-time failures in stiff clays is based on the back-analyses of case histories. Research is required to better understand progressive failure and its influence on the shear strength mobilized in situ. In compacted embankments constructed of fat clays, only shallow failures related to fully softened shear strength have been observed. For this type of projects, the recommended methodology for design is to assign a curved fully softened failure envelope to the whole embankment, search for the critical failure surface, and obtain the factor of safety. If for any reason deep failures are to be considered in designing compacted embankments constructed of fat clays, based on the fact that failures in this type of projects are usually shallow, the first 10 ft below the surface of the slope should be assumed to have a shear strength equal to the fully softened shear strength. Pore pressures should be calculated based on a water table coincident with the slope face. The fully softened shear strength should not be used in the foundation soil. If any softening occurred in the foundation soil, this should be reflected in the shear strength measured using undisturbed samples. Softening of the foundation soil is not expected to occur after the embankment is constructed. The consequences of shallow and a deep failures are usually not the same. For this reason, is reasonable that the same factor of safety should not be required for both cases. A shallow failure may be considered by some agencies solely as a maintenance issue. The factor of safety should be based on the uncertainties in the parameters being used for design and the consequences of failure of the structure (Duncan and Wright 2005). The parameters that have more impact on the factor of safety obtained for slope stability are shear strength and pore pressures. The fully softened shear strength is the lowest shear strength expected to be mobilized in first-time slides. This shear strength, coupled with a conservative assumption of pore pressure gives a low uncertainty in the parameters that have the most influence in the factor of safety. For shallow failures, the consequences of failure are very low. For this reason, if the fully softened shear strength is used, coupled with a water table corresponding to the worst case scenario possible, a factor of safety as low as 1.25 can be used. For deep failures, the consequences of failure will vary depending on the structure. The pore pressure for this type of analyses should be based on the worst seepage condition expected throughout the life of the project. In this case, for structures with low to mid consequences of failure, a factor of safety of 1.35 can be used. For structures with a high consequence of failure, a factor of safety of 1.50 can be used. These factors of safety are based on the recommendations presented by Duncan and Wright (2005) for factors of safety based on uncertainties in the parameters and consequences of failures. The fully softened shear strength should be measured using normally consolidated remolded specimens as recommended by Skempton (1977). Soil samples should be hydrated for two days using distilled or site-specific water. The soil sample should then be washed or pushed through a No. 40 (425 µm) sieve. To achieve the desired water content, the soil sample cab be air-dried or more water should be added. Water contents equal to or higher than the liquid limit should be used to prepare test specimens for fully softened shear strength measurements. The direct shear device is recommended for fully softened shear strength measurements. The Bromhead ring shear device does not provide accurate values of fully softened shear strength. The triaxial device requires more time and effort to measure the fully softened shear strength and provides about the same fully softened shear strength as the direct shear device. The fully softened shear strength failure envelope can be estimated using the correlation presented in Figure 6.59 for the parameters required for Equation 4.1. This correlation is only intended to be used in preliminary design or if better information is not available. Laboratory determination of fully softened shear strength is always recommended for final designs. If this is not possible, the confidence limits presented in Figure 6.59 should be used to determine the fully softened shear strength parameters. / Ph. D.

ABSTRACT SHEAR STRENGTH BEHAVIOUR OF SAND - CLAY MIXTURES &Ouml / LMEZ, Mehmet Salih M.S., Department of Civil Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ufuk ERGUN May 2008, 106 pages A clean sand having about 5 % fines has been mixed with 5 to 40 % commercial kaolin to form different sand-clay soil mixtures. The purpose of making this study is to observe the effects of fraction of fine materials in the soil mixture on the behavior of shear strength. Three series of experiments have been performed throughout the study. Undrained triaxial compression tests (series 1) are performed on specimens taken out from homogeneously mixed soil mixtures at specified kaolin contents consolidated in a box without keeping the mixture under water. In series 2 experiments specimens are taken from a box where soil mixtures are consolidated under water and undrained triaxial compression tests are performed on the samples. Drained direct shear tests are performed on samples prepared without performing initial consolidation in large boxes but directly prepared in the direct shear boxes and consolidated prior to shear (series 3). It has been found that about 20 % kaolin - 80 % sand mixture seems to be a threshold composition and changes in both undrained and drained shear stress-strength behaviour occur afterwards with increasing fine material content.

L'objectif technique majeur de cette thèse se rapporte au développement d'un outilde simulation numérique fiable et robuste adapté à la maîtrise et la connaissance dufonctionnement mécanique des ouvrages géotechniques. Cet outil de simulation doitnotamment permettre une maîtrise des scénarii les plus pénalisants pour leur tenue,notamment sous l'aléa sismique.La qualité des résultats d'un tel outil dans le cadre de la méthode des éléments finisest fonction du modèle de comportement utilisé, de la qualité de l'intégration dumodèle et de sa résolution numérique. Dans le cadre de ce travail, le modèleélastoplastique de comportement cyclique des sols de l'ECP (dit de Hujeux) a étéintroduit dans Code_Aster selon un schéma d'intégration implicite, permettant ainsiune représentation fine et précise des phénomènes mis en jeu durant l'aléasismique. Ce modèle possède également l'avantage d'être adapté au comportementde différents types de sols dans le cadre des milieux poreux sous l'hypothèse despetites déformations. Après validation sur des chemins de chargement variés, lemodèle est à présent utilisé pour la simulation de la construction par couches, de lamise en eau et de la tenue sismique de barrages en terre.Le caractère non standard et adoucissant de ce modèle conduit à mettre en oeuvredes techniques de régularisation pour résoudre le problème de dépendancepathologique des résultats aux maillages lors de l'apparition de modes de ruinelocalisée. Le modèle de second gradient de dilatation est utilisé en complément aumodèle de comportement de Hujeux pour contrôler la largeur des bandes delocalisation apparaissant sur les structures étudiées. La prise en compte d'unecinématique enrichie permet de rendre objectives aux maillages les réponses desstructures durant leur phase d'adoucissement mais n'instaure pas l'unicité dessolutions aux problèmes posés suite aux instabilités. Dans le cadre d'essaisbiaxiaux drainés sur des matériaux dilatants exprimés au sein des milieux dusecond gradient de dilatation, il est apparu une dépendance de la largeur desbandes de cisaillement à l'état de contraintes initial en plus des propriétés desmatériaux.A partir d'un exemple analytique d'une bande de matériau cisaillée, cettedépendance a pu être exprimée, comparée et maîtrisée en fonction des paramètresde régularisation par rapport aux résultats des simulations numériques. L'extensionde cette approche à un cas de stabilité de pente sous chargement d'une fondationsuperficielle a ensuite été entrepris. La dépendance des largeurs de bandes à l'étatde contraintes initial est apparue comme un élément clé de la maîtrise du couplageentre le modèle de second gradient de dilatation et les modèles de type Cam-Clay / The main technical objective of this PhD thesis deals with the development of a soilbehavior numerical tool. It should be robust, efficient and adapted to model themechanical behavior of geotechnical structures (e.g. embankment dam) under theworst loading scenarii such earthquakes.In the finite element method, the quality results is directly linked to the soilconstitutive model, the integration scheme and the numerical resolution. In this PhDThesis, the ECP elastoplastic soil model is introduced in Code_Aster through animplicit scheme. An implicit scheme ensures to respect the theoretical formulation ofthe model. The ECP constitutive model is one of the models available in theliterature to represent the behaviour of different kinds of soils under cyclic loadingsand it is used since the 80's by hydraulic engineers at EDF. It is expressed in termsof effective stresses and infinitesimal strains. The developments are validated forlaboratory tests in a large scale of loading paths. On the other hand, the study of asand embankment was performed and compared to the results obtained with thefinite element software GEFDyn developed at ECP.The ECP model is based on a non-associated flow rule and it is able to reproduce asoftening behavior. When shear bands occur in the structure, these properties leadto a pathological sensitivity of the results depending on the mesh size. Therefore, aregularization technique has to be used to circumvent this problem and to obtainobjective results with respect to the mesh. The second gradient of dilation model isthus chosen to be coupled to the ECP model and in this way, to ensure a spatiotemporalindependence of results. However, this mesh independence still evolves ina potential domain of solutions, when instability occurs. The simulations of drainedbiaxial tests on laboratory samples show a dependence of shear bands thickness inregard to the initial stress state and material properties.An analytical problem of a dilatant shear band is used to extract the key factors.These theoretical solutions are compared and validated to numerical responses,which are in good accordance. A bearing capacity problem was also solved todemonstrate the potential of the method. The conclusion of this work establishes themain role of initial stress state over the shear band thickness in the context of thesecond gradient of dilation model and the models based on Cam-Clay approach.