This study was motivated by the fact that many times intact specimens with a number of oversized particles are dynamically tested in the laboratory and the impact of the particles on the dynamic properties is unknown. The effects of oversized particles represented by gravel particles on the shear modulus (G) and material damping ratio (D) of a uniform sand were evaluated in the linear (γ ≤ 0.001%) and nonlinear (γ > 0.001%) ranges of shear strain with combined resonant column and torsional shear (RCTS) equipment. The sand used in this investigation is a uniform sand as a reference, well-characterized material on the dynamic properties. Sand-gravel specimens were constructed using the undercompaction method. A variety of rounded gravel particles was used in building the specimens. Dynamic tests on the sand-gravel specimens were performed, and the tests results are presented. Among the findings of this investigation are that, compared to uniform sand: (1) oversized gravel particles symmetrically located along the longitudinal axis in uniform sand generally decreased slightly the small-strain shear modulus (Gmax), (2) oversized gravel particles asymmetrically located away from the longitudinal axis of rotation resulted in slight increases in Gmax and the small-strain material damping ratio (Dmin), (3) the G – log γ relationships of sand-gravel specimens with asymmetrically located gravel particles are generally above those with gravel particles symmetrically located along the longitudinal axis, and (4) the G/Gmax – log γ relationships of all specimens were reasonably close for the nonlinear ranges covered in these tests (γ < 0.05 % and G/Gmax > 0.6). As long as the oversized particles were near the axis of rotation, the particles had little effect on the dynamic properties (Gmax, Dmin and G – log γ relationships) regardless of sizes and numbers of particles. However, once the oversized particles were located away from the axis of rotation and closer to the perimeter of the specimen, the oversized particles influenced the dynamic properties. Finally, the additions of oversized particles located both symmetrically and asymmetrically in the uniform sand specimens have little impact on the nonlinear dynamic properties (G/Gmax – log γ and D – log γ relationships) which compared well with uniform sand. / text

Dynamic properties of soils (shear stiffness and damping ratio) are critical for the design of structures subjected to vibrations. The dynamic properties of a benchmark standardized laboratory sand (Ottawa silica sand) were evaluated with two different resonant column devices, utilising software with different analytical approaches for the evaluation of soil properties. The dynamic properties (shear modulus and damping ratio) are evaluated as a function of the shear strain level. The results are compared to evaluate the effect of the type of equipment and the form of the data analysis on the measured dynamic properties of the samples. The results are discussed in light of the applicability of the procedures in practice, the ease of the testing methods, and the errors they introduced into analysis and design. In general, the shear wave velocities obtained from the two different devices are in good agreement. However, the damping ratios they give show considerable differences as strains increase. Dynamic properties are typically measured by curve fitting of the transfer function between the excitation and the response using the resonant column device. However, the force function generated by sinusoidal sweep or random noise excitations induce different shear strain levels at different frequencies. Consequently, the shape of the measured transfer function is distorted and differs from the theoretical transfer function for an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom system. The difference between the measured and theoretical transfer functions as well as the bias in the computed dynamic properties becomes more pronounced with the increase in shear strain. This study presents a new methodology for the evaluation of dynamic properties from an equivalent constant-strain transfer function. The soil specimen is excited simultaneously using a sinusoidal excitation (carrier signal) at the required strain level and a small amplitude, narrow band random noise. The strain level induced by the fixed sine is shown to control the resonant frequency of the specimen; whereas the random noise introduces the required frequency bandwidth to determine the transfer function and hence the dynamic properties at a constant strain level. The new methodology also shows a good potential for the evaluation of frequency effects on the dynamic properties of soils in resonant column testing.

Dynamic properties of soils (shear stiffness and damping ratio) are critical for the design of structures subjected to vibrations. The dynamic properties of a benchmark standardized laboratory sand (Ottawa silica sand) were evaluated with two different resonant column devices, utilising software with different analytical approaches for the evaluation of soil properties. The dynamic properties (shear modulus and damping ratio) are evaluated as a function of the shear strain level. The results are compared to evaluate the effect of the type of equipment and the form of the data analysis on the measured dynamic properties of the samples. The results are discussed in light of the applicability of the procedures in practice, the ease of the testing methods, and the errors they introduced into analysis and design. In general, the shear wave velocities obtained from the two different devices are in good agreement. However, the damping ratios they give show considerable differences as strains increase. Dynamic properties are typically measured by curve fitting of the transfer function between the excitation and the response using the resonant column device. However, the force function generated by sinusoidal sweep or random noise excitations induce different shear strain levels at different frequencies. Consequently, the shape of the measured transfer function is distorted and differs from the theoretical transfer function for an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom system. The difference between the measured and theoretical transfer functions as well as the bias in the computed dynamic properties becomes more pronounced with the increase in shear strain. This study presents a new methodology for the evaluation of dynamic properties from an equivalent constant-strain transfer function. The soil specimen is excited simultaneously using a sinusoidal excitation (carrier signal) at the required strain level and a small amplitude, narrow band random noise. The strain level induced by the fixed sine is shown to control the resonant frequency of the specimen; whereas the random noise introduces the required frequency bandwidth to determine the transfer function and hence the dynamic properties at a constant strain level. The new methodology also shows a good potential for the evaluation of frequency effects on the dynamic properties of soils in resonant column testing.

Using a specially constructed Gas Hydrate Resonant Column (GHRC), the University of Southampton explored different methods of hydrate synthesis and measured the properties of the resulting sediments, such as shear wave velocity (Vs), compressional wave velocity (Vp) and their respective attenuation measurements (Qs -1 and Qp -1). Two approaches were considered. The first utilises an excess gas technique, where known water volume in the pore space dictates the quantity of hydrate. The second approach uses a known quantity of methane gas within the water saturated pore space to constrain the volume of hydrate. Results from the two techniques show that hydrates formed in excess gas environments cause stiffening of the sediment structure at low concentrations (3%), whereas, even at high concentrations of hydrate (40%) in excess water environments, only moderate increase in stiffness was observed. Additionally, attenuation results show a peak in damping at approximately 5% hydrate in excess gas tests, whereas in excess water tests, damping continues to increase with increasing hydrate content in the pore space. By considering the results from the two approaches, it becomes apparent that formation method has an influence on the properties of the hydrate bearing sand, and must therefore influence the morphology of the hydrate in the pore space.

Liquefiable soils are common at ports due to the use of hydraulic fills for construction of waterfront facilities. Liquefaction-induced ground failure can result in permanent ground deformations that can cause loss of foundation support and structural damage. This can lead to substantial repair and/or replacement costs and business interruption losses that can have an adverse effect on the port and the surrounding community. Although numerous soil improvement methods exist for remediating a liquefaction-prone site, many of these methods are poorly suited for developed sites because they could damage existing infrastructure and disrupt port operations. An alternative is to use a passive remediation technique. Treating liquefiable soils with colloidal silica gel via permeation grouting has been shown to resist cyclic deformations and is a candidate to be used as a soil stabilizer in passive mitigation. The small-strain dynamic properties are essential to determine the response to seismic loading. The small-to-intermediate strain shear modulus and damping ratio of loose sand treated with colloidal silica gel was investigated and the influence of colloidal silica concentration was determined. The effect of introducing colloidal silica gel into the pore space in the initial phase of treatment results in a 10% to 12% increase in the small-strain shear modulus, depending on colloidal silica concentration. The modulus reduction curve indicates that treatment does not affect the linear threshold shear strain, however the treated samples reduce at a greater rate than the untreated samples in the intermediate-strain range above 0.01% cyclic shear strain. It was observed that the treated sand has slightly higher damping ratio in the small-strain range; however, at cyclic shear strains around 0.003% the trend reverses and the untreated sand begins to have higher damping ratio. Due to the nature of the colloidal silica gelation process, chemical bonds continue to form with time, thus the effect of aging on the dynamic properties is important. A parametric study was performed to investigate the influence of gel time on the increase in small-strain shear modulus. The effect of aging increases the small-strain shear modulus after gelling by 200 to 300% for the 40-minute-gel time samples with a distance from gelation (time after gelation normalized by gel time) of 1000 to 2000; 700% for the 2-hour-gel time sample with a distance from gelation of 1000; and 200 to 400% for the 20-hour-gel time samples with a distance from gelation of 40 to 100. The treatment of all potentially liquefiable soil at port facilities with colloidal silica would be cost prohibitive. Identifying treatment zones that would reduce the lateral pressure and resulting pile bending moments and displacements caused by liquefaction-induced lateral spreading to prevent foundation damage is an economic alternative. Colloidal silica gel treatment zones of varying size and location were evaluated by subjecting a 3-by-3 pile group in gently sloping liquefiable ground to 1-g shaking table tests. The results are compared to an untreated sample. The use of a colloidal silica treatment zone upslope of the pile group results in reduced maximum bending moments and pile displacements in the downslope row of piles when compared to an untreated sample; the presence of the treatment zone had minimal effect on the other rows of piles within the group.

A deformabilidade é uma propriedade fundamental em projetos geotécnicos. A constatação de que as deformações em várias obras de engenharia se situam na faixa de pequenas e muito pequenas deformações e as limitações das técnicas de ensaio em medir tal nível de deformações levaram ao desenvolvimento de técnicas com base em solicitações dinâmicas, dentre as quais, as de coluna ressonante e bender elements. Particularmente, o emprego da técnica de bender elements tem crescido devido à simplicidade de execução dos ensaios, e determinação do módulo de cisalhamento máximo dos solos. Diversos estudos acerca das propriedades deformacionais dos solos determinadas por este método têm sido conduzidos em solos saturados ou secos, não obstante, estudos desta natureza em solos não saturados ainda são relativamente escassos. Esta pesquisa investigou a influência de algumas variáveis, como a sucção e a tensão confinante sobre a deformabilidade de um solo laterítico não saturado típico do interior do Estado de São Paulo, empregando bender elements, coluna ressonante e compressão triaxial com instrumentação interna. Além disso, buscando uma caracterização mais completa deste solo, ensaios de compressão triaxial foram realizados para quantificar sua resistência ao cisalhamento. Os resultados destes ensaios sugeriram a ocorrência de encruamento em solo indeformado, e uma envoltória planar de resistência foi usada para representar a resistência ao cisalhamento da amostra compactada. Já no que se refere à deformabilidade, os resultados indicaram que a redução do teor de umidade de compactação, o aumento do confinamento isotrópico ou da sucção são responsáveis por um solo menos deformável. Dados dos ensaios com bender elements foram bem representados por uma função potencial quando o módulo de cisalhamento máximo e a sucção foram normalizados pela tensão confinante líquida. Para o solo compactado não saturado, também ensaiado em coluna ressonante, dados obtidos por ambas as técnicas foram comparados, notando-se velocidades de ondas de cisalhamento um pouco superiores para os ensaios com bender elements, que foram atribuídas às mais altas frequências nestes ensaios. / Stiffness is a fundamental property in geotechnical design. The fact that strains are in the smallto- very small strain range in several engineering works and the limitations of testing techniques in measuring such level of strains led to the development of dynamic techniques, such as resonant column and bender elements. Specifically, the bender elements technique has been increasingly used due to the simplicity in performing tests and computing the maximum shear modulus of the soil. Several studies have been carried out to assess stiffness properties of dry or saturated soils via bender elements, however, studies of this nature are still relatively scarce in unsaturated soils. This research investigated the influence of some variables, like suction and confining stress, on the stiffness of a lateritic unsaturated soil, typical of São Paulo State, via bender elements, resonant column and triaxial compression tests with local gauges. Furthermore, aiming at a more complete characterization of this soil, triaxial compression tests were performed in order to quantify its shear strength. Results from these tests suggested the occurrence of strain hardening on undisturbed specimens, and a planar shear strength envelope was used to represent the compacted sample data. Regarding soil stiffness, results indicated that it increases with a reduction in the compaction moisture content or an increase in isotropic confining stress or suction. Data from bender elements tests were nicely represented by a power function when maximum shear modulus and suction were normalized by the net confining stress. Results of unsaturated compacted soil obtained from bender elements and resonant column tests were compared and slightly larger shear wave velocities were noticed in bender elements tests, which were attributed to the larger testing frequencies used in these tests.

Organic materials are ubiquitous in the geologic environment, and can exert significant influence over the interfacial properties of minerals. However, due to the complexity in their structure and interaction with soil solids, their impact has remained relatively unquantified. This study investigated the engineering behaviors of organoclays, which were synthesized in the laboratory using naturally occurring clay minerals and quaternary ammonium compounds of controlled structure and density of loading. Organic cations were chosen to study the effects of functional group structure and size. The laboratory investigation showed that the presence of the organic cations on the mineral surfaces led to increased hydrophobicity of all clays tested. Conduction studies on the electrical, hydraulic, and thermal properties of the organoclay composites suggested that increasing the total organic carbon content resulted in decreased electrical and thermal conductivity, but increased hydraulic conductivity, due to the reduced swelling of the base clay mineral phase. Electrokinetic properties of the organoclays illustrated that compared with the clay's naturally occurring inorganic cations, exchanged quaternary ammonium cations were more likely bound within a particle's shear plane. Consequently, organoclays had less negative zeta potential than that of unmodified bentonite. Increasing the length of one carbon tail was more effective at binding organic cations within the shear plane than increasing the size of the cation, when compared on the basis of total organic carbon content. In terms of large strain strength, the modified organic clays exhibited increased shear strength, in part owing to the reduction in water content caused by the presence of the hydrophobic organic layering. Shear strength increased with single carbon tail length or with cation size, although the latter effect tended to reach a plateau as the length of the four short cation tails increased from 2 to 4. In terms of small strain behavior, the shear modulus was shown to be a function of the total organic carbon content. It is believed that number of particle contacts increased as the organic carbon content increased. Stiffness increased as either the size of the cation or the total organic carbon content was increased. Damping also increased as the organic loading was increased, with the organic phase acting as an energy dissipation mechanism.

The results from an experimental study on the dynamic properties of sand with nonplastic silt are presented. Combined resonant column and torsional shear equipment is used to evaluate the effects of confining pressure, shearing strain, frequency, and number of cycles of loading on the dynamic properties of silty sand. The goal of this study is to determine if relationships in the literature for sands and gravels are accurate for predicting the shear modulus and material damping characteristics of soil with nonplastic fines or if the incorporation of a fines content parameter improves predictions. This goal was primarily accomplished by reconstituting and testing samples of an alluvial deposit from Dillon Dam, Dillon, Colorado according to predetermined gradation curves with variable amounts of non-plastic fines. Among the findings of this investigation are: (1) soil parameters such as Cu and D50 can be related to dynamic properties of soils with up to 25% fines, (2) the effects of non-plastic fines on the small-strain dynamic properties of soils are not very pronounced for soils with less than 25% fines, and (3) an increase in the amount of non-plastic fines in uniform soils or soils with more than 25% fines generally results in lower values of small-strain shear modulus, higher values of small-strain material damping, and more linear G/Gmax - log([gamma]) and D - log([gamma]) curves. The effect of non-contacting, larger granular particles in a finer soil matrix is also investigated along with the impact of removing larger particles from laboratory samples. / text

A deformabilidade é uma propriedade fundamental em projetos geotécnicos. A constatação de que as deformações em várias obras de engenharia se situam na faixa de pequenas e muito pequenas deformações e as limitações das técnicas de ensaio em medir tal nível de deformações levaram ao desenvolvimento de técnicas com base em solicitações dinâmicas, dentre as quais, as de coluna ressonante e bender elements. Particularmente, o emprego da técnica de bender elements tem crescido devido à simplicidade de execução dos ensaios, e determinação do módulo de cisalhamento máximo dos solos. Diversos estudos acerca das propriedades deformacionais dos solos determinadas por este método têm sido conduzidos em solos saturados ou secos, não obstante, estudos desta natureza em solos não saturados ainda são relativamente escassos. Esta pesquisa investigou a influência de algumas variáveis, como a sucção e a tensão confinante sobre a deformabilidade de um solo laterítico não saturado típico do interior do Estado de São Paulo, empregando bender elements, coluna ressonante e compressão triaxial com instrumentação interna. Além disso, buscando uma caracterização mais completa deste solo, ensaios de compressão triaxial foram realizados para quantificar sua resistência ao cisalhamento. Os resultados destes ensaios sugeriram a ocorrência de encruamento em solo indeformado, e uma envoltória planar de resistência foi usada para representar a resistência ao cisalhamento da amostra compactada. Já no que se refere à deformabilidade, os resultados indicaram que a redução do teor de umidade de compactação, o aumento do confinamento isotrópico ou da sucção são responsáveis por um solo menos deformável. Dados dos ensaios com bender elements foram bem representados por uma função potencial quando o módulo de cisalhamento máximo e a sucção foram normalizados pela tensão confinante líquida. Para o solo compactado não saturado, também ensaiado em coluna ressonante, dados obtidos por ambas as técnicas foram comparados, notando-se velocidades de ondas de cisalhamento um pouco superiores para os ensaios com bender elements, que foram atribuídas às mais altas frequências nestes ensaios. / Stiffness is a fundamental property in geotechnical design. The fact that strains are in the smallto- very small strain range in several engineering works and the limitations of testing techniques in measuring such level of strains led to the development of dynamic techniques, such as resonant column and bender elements. Specifically, the bender elements technique has been increasingly used due to the simplicity in performing tests and computing the maximum shear modulus of the soil. Several studies have been carried out to assess stiffness properties of dry or saturated soils via bender elements, however, studies of this nature are still relatively scarce in unsaturated soils. This research investigated the influence of some variables, like suction and confining stress, on the stiffness of a lateritic unsaturated soil, typical of São Paulo State, via bender elements, resonant column and triaxial compression tests with local gauges. Furthermore, aiming at a more complete characterization of this soil, triaxial compression tests were performed in order to quantify its shear strength. Results from these tests suggested the occurrence of strain hardening on undisturbed specimens, and a planar shear strength envelope was used to represent the compacted sample data. Regarding soil stiffness, results indicated that it increases with a reduction in the compaction moisture content or an increase in isotropic confining stress or suction. Data from bender elements tests were nicely represented by a power function when maximum shear modulus and suction were normalized by the net confining stress. Results of unsaturated compacted soil obtained from bender elements and resonant column tests were compared and slightly larger shear wave velocities were noticed in bender elements tests, which were attributed to the larger testing frequencies used in these tests.

The soil strata is often subjected to various kinds of vibrations such as that caused by earthquakes, water waves, traffic loads, wind power plants, construction related equipments, pile driving and vibratory machines. The strains induced in a soil mass due to the vibrations generated by these different sources often lie in a range of 0.0001% - 0.1%. The estimation of the shear modulus (G) and damping (D) of soils in this strain range becomes an important aspect for performing the analysis and design of various geotechnical structures subjected to different kinds of vibrations. Strain amplitude, effective confining stress, void ratio/relative density, number of vibration cycles and cyclic strain history are some of the key parameters that influence the modulus and damping characteristics of sands. Although, the effects of strain amplitude, confining pressure and relative density have been studied quite extensively in literature, only limited studies seem to have been reported in literature to examine the effects of the cyclic strain history and the vibration cycles on these dynamic properties. The objective of this thesis is to study the effects of the cyclic strain history and the number of vibration cycles on the shear modulus and damping ratio of dry sands in a strain range of 0.0001% to 0.1%. A number of resonant column tests have been performed on dry sand specimens to examine the effect of the cyclic shear strain history, by including both increasing and decreasing strain paths, on the shear modulus and damping ratio for different combinations of relative densities (Dr) and confining pressures (σ3); an increasing strain path intends to simulate a situation when a vibratory machine is just started before reaching a steady state of vibration, and on the other hand, the decreasing strain path matches a condition when the machine is shut down after running continuously in a steady state for some time. The specimen has been subjected to a series of cycles of increasing and decreasing shear strain paths approximately in a shear strain range of 0.0006% - 0.1%. For chosen values of relative density and confining pressure, two different series of tests beginning with either (i) an increasing strain path or (ii) a decreasing strain path, were performed. In addition, the influence of the numbers of the vibration cycles which are used to measure the resonant frequency of the specimen, referred to as the cycle constant, on the values of shear modulus has also been analyzed. Irrespective of the strain path adopted to commence the test or the cycle constant used to perform a resonant column test, for a given strain amplitude, the shear modulus along the increasing strain path has been found to be always greater than the corresponding modulus value along the decreasing strain path. For the series of tests which were commenced with the increasing strain path, the shear modulus corresponding to the first increasing strain path becomes always the highest as compared to the subsequent strain paths. For a given strain cycle, irrespective of relative density of sand, the difference between the values of G associated with the increasing and decreasing strain paths becomes always the maximum corresponding to a certain shear strain level. The maximum reduction in the shear modulus, due to the cyclic variation of the shear strain, was noted to be approximately one fourth of the maximum shear modulus (G0). This reduction in the shear modulus, on account of the cyclic variation of the shear strain, increases generally with decrease in the values of both relative density and confining pressure. The damping ratio for a given shear strain for the increasing strain path was noted to be lower than the corresponding value for the decreasing strain path except for the first increasing strain path. For a particular strain level, the series of tests started with the decreasing strain path resulted in a lower value of shear modulus for all the cyclic strain paths as compared to the tests which were commenced with the increasing strain path. The modulus reduction curve for the first increasing strain path was noted to be more or less the same irrespective of the value of the chosen cycle constant. For the subsequent strain paths, an increment in the cycle constant value caused a reduction in the shear modulus at a particular shear strain level. In order to match a situation when the machine is running continuously in a steady state of vibration, resonant column tests were conducted in a torsional mode by inducing a large number of the vibration cycles with the shear strain amplitude in a range of 0.0005%-0.05%. Corresponding to a given input voltage of the drive mechanism, the specimens were subjected to a number of vibration cycles ranging from 1,000 to 50,000. The values of shear modulus and damping ratio, before and after the application of vibration cycles, were determined for several input voltages ranging from 0.001 V (minimum) to 0.3 V (maximum). The tests were carried out for different combinations of relative densities and confining pressures. For the chosen relative densities, hardly any influence of vibration cycles on the values of G and D were noted for the strain amplitude below the threshold strain level (0.0024% - 0.0044%). Beyond the threshold strain level, an induction of the vibration cycles leads to a continuous increment in the shear strain which eventually causes (i) a decrease in the shear modulus, and (ii) an increase in the damping ratio. This effect was found to become especially more significant for lower values of relative densities as well as confining pressures. The percentage changes in the values of (i) shear strain, (ii) shear modulus, and (iii) damping ratios after the introduction of vibration cycles were noted to increase with an increment in the number of vibration cycles. However, for a given increment of the vibration cycles, the changes in the values of shear modulus and damping ratio were generally noted to subside with an increase in the number of the vibration cycles. At various strain levels, the magnitude of the shear modulus was observed to increase continuously with an increase in the values of both relative density and confining pressure. For the shear strain greater than the threshold strain (0.0024% - 0.0044%), a reduction in the damping ratio values was also noted with an increase in the magnitudes of the confining pressure. On the other hand, the influence of relative density on the damping ratio was found to be relatively negligible. The shear modulus reduction curves from the present tests' data were found to compare reasonably well with the empirical curves proposed in the literature, especially for low values of the confining pressure. A deviation of the present modulus reduction curves from the empirical curves was observed generally at large shearing strains. However, the damping values obtained from the present study were noted to be lower than the values predicted by the existing empirical correlations, particularly for low values of the confining pressure. An attempt has also been made to improve the accuracy of the measurement of the arrival times of both primary (P) waves and shear (S) waves while conducting bender/extender element tests. For this purpose, a series of laboratory tests were performed on dry sand at different frequencies, varying between 1 kHz and 10 kHz, for medium dense and very dense sands with different values of the confining pressures. While determining the times of arrival of both P and S waves, two corrections have been proposed to incorporate (i) the presence of an initial offset in the input signal, and (ii) the time lag due to an existence of peripheral electronics between the input and received signals when the source and receiver elements are kept in direct contact with each other. The absolute magnitude of the resultant of these two corrections was found to reduce with an increase in the frequency of the input signal. The determination of the P-wave arrival time does not pose much difficulty. It has been noted that it becomes equally accurate to measure the arrival times of the S-wave provided the proposed corrections are incorporated. The maximum shear modulus values measured from the resonant column tests and the bender element tests by incorporating these two corrections were found to compare reasonably well with each other. The thesis brings out the effects of the cyclic strain history and the vibration cycles on the shear modulus and damping ratio of dry sand. The results obtained are expected to be useful while doing the analysis and design of geotechnical structures subjected to different kinds of vibrations.