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This paper presents the results of a series of monotonic and post-cyclic triaxial tests carried out on a clay specimen and three types of clay-sand mixed specimens. The focus of the paper is on the post-cyclic mechanical behavior of the mixed specimens, as compared to their monotonic behavior. Analyses of the tests results show that cyclic loading degrade undrained shear strength and deformation modulus of the specimens during the post-cyclic monotonic loading. The degradation depends on the sand content, the cyclic strain level and to some degrees to the consolidation pressure.

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Series of undrained monotonic triaxial tests and cone penetration tests were conducted on loose silty sand samples to study correlation between undrained shear strength of silty sands (Sus) and piezocone test results. CPT tests were conducted at 27 silty sand samples in calibration chamber. The results indicate that, in low percent of silt (0-30%), as the silt content increases, the undrained shear strength (Sus) and cone tip resistance (qc) decreases. It is shown that, fines content affects undrained shear strength (Sus) and cone tip resistance (qc) similarly. On the basis of obtained results, equations were proposed to determine the normalized cone tip resistance (qc1n) and undrained shear strength (Sus) of silty sand in term of fines content. Finally based on those equations, a correlation between normalized cone tip resistance and undrained shear strength of silty sand is presented. It is shown that the normalized undrained shear strength and normalized cone tip resistance of loose silty sands (F.C. <30%) decreases with increase of silt contents.

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Conventional investigations on the behavior of reinforced and unreinforced soils are often investigated at the failure point. In this paper, a new concept of comparison of the behavior of reinforced and unreinforced soil by estimating the strength and strength ratio (deviatoric stress of reinforced sample to unreinforced sample) at various strain levels is proposed. A comprehensive set of laboratory triaxial compression tests was carried out on wet (natural water content) non-plastic beach silty sand with and without geotextile. The layer configurations used are one, two, three and four horizontal reinforcing layers in a triaxial test sample. The influences of the number of geotextile layers and confining pressure at 3%, 6%, 9%, 12% and 15% of the imposed strain levels on sample were studied and described. The results show that the trend and magnitude of strength ratio is different for various strain level. It implies that using failure strength from peak point or strength corresponding to the axial-strain approximately 15% to evaluate the enhancement of strength or strength ratio due to reinforcement may cause hazard and uncertainty in practical design. Hence, it is necessary to consider the strength of reinforced sample compared with unreinforced sample at the imposed strain level. Only one type of soil and one type of geotextile were used in all tests.

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In the present investigation, the cyclic load deformation behaviour of soil-fly ash layered system is

studied using different intensities of failure load (I = 25%, 50% and 75%) with varying number of cycles (N =

10, 50 and 100). An attempt has been made to establish the use of fly ash as a fill material for embankments of

Highways and Railways and to examine the effect of cyclic loading on the layered samples of soil and fly ash.

The number of cycles, confining pressures and the intensity of loads at which loading unloading has been

performed were varied. The resilient modulus, permanent strain and cyclic strength factor are evaluated from

the test results and compared to show their variation with varying stress levels. The nature of stress-strain

relationship is initially linear for low stress levels and then turns non-linear for high stress levels. The test

results reveal two types of failure mechanisms that demonstrate the dependency of consolidated undrained

shear strength tests of soil-fly ash matrix on the interface characteristics of the layered soils under cyclic

loading conditions. Data trends indicate greater stability of layered samples of soil-fly ash matrix in terms of

failure load (i) at higher number of loading-unloading cycles, performed at lower intensity of deviatoric stress,

and (ii) at lower number of cycles but at higher intensity of deviatoric stress.

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In this paper shear behavior of two calcareous sands having different physical properties are

investigated using drained and undrained triaxial tests. The investigated sands are obtained from two different

zones located in Persian Gulf, Kish Island and Tonbak region. Analysis based on energy aspects show that

friction angle in these soils, having crushable particles, is formed of three components: substantial internal

friction angle, dilation and particle breakage angle. Dilation component is available in the two investigated

sand. Particle breakage component is a function of grains hardness, structure and geometry shape. Particles

breakage decreases the volume of sample during drained tests and creates positive pore water pressure during

undrained tests. Two investigated sands show different amount of dilation and particle breakage under similar

conditions. Simultaneous dilation and particles crushing and different amount of them result in different shear

behavior of the two studied sands. Energy aspects are used to determine the effect of particle crushing on the

shear strength. There is a suitable compatibility between relative breakage of grains and consumed energy

ratio for particle breakage.

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The deformation and stiffness characteristics of a cemented gravely sand was investigated using triaxial equipment. The triaxial tests were conducted in both dry and saturated undrained conditions. Artificially cemented samples are prepared using gypsum plaster as the cementing agent. The plaster was mixed with the base soil at the weight percentages of 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6. The applied confining pressure varied between 25 to 500 kPa in triaxial tests. The process of yielding of the soil was investigated for the considered soil and the bond and final yield points were identified for the cemented soil with different cement contents. The variations of deformation and stiffness parameters with cement content and confining stress were studied as well. Some of the parameters were determined for both drained and undrained conditions to investigate the effect of drainage condition on the stiffness and yield characteristics of the tested cemented gravely sand. According to the results, the difference between drained and undrained tangent stiffness decreases with increase in confining stress. Finally the effect of cement type was investigated as an important parameter affecting the stiffness at bond yield. The rate of increase in tangent stiffness at bond yield changes with cement content for different cementing agents.

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Mixed clayey soils occur as mixtures of sand (or gravel) and clay in widely varying proportions. Their

engineering behavior has not been comprehensively studied yet. An experimental program, comprising monotonic,

cyclic, and post-cyclic triaxial tests was undertaken on compacted clay-granular material mixtures, having different

proportions of clay and sand or gravel. This paper presents the results of cyclic triaxial tests and explains the behavior

of the mixtures based on number of loading cycles, cyclic strain amplitude, granular material content, grain size, and

effective confining pressure. The results indicate an increase in degree of degradation and cyclic loading-induced pore

water pressure as the number of loading cycles, cyclic strain and granular material content increase. Also the results

show that the grain size has no significant effect on the degree of degradation and cyclic loading-induced pore water

pressure in the specimens. The effect of granular material content on pore water pressure during cyclic loading in

equal-stress-level was also examined. The pore water pressure increases with the increase of granular material

content.

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Laboratory data, which relate the liquefaction resistance of Firoozkooh sand and non-plastic silt mixtures to shear wave velocity are

presented and compared to liquefaction criteria derived from seismic field measurements by Andrus and Stokoe [1]. In the work

described herein, cyclic triaxial and resonant column tests were conducted on specimens of clean sand and sand-silt mixtures with silt

content up to 60%, prepared at different densities. Cyclic undrained strength and small strain shear wave velocity were determined

for identical specimens formed by undercompaction method. It was found that silt content affects cyclic resistance and shear wave

velocity. In addition, the laboratory results indicated that using the existing field-based correlations will overestimate the cyclic

resistance of the Firoozkooh sand-silt mixtures when silt content is 60%. For clean sand and the specimens containing up to 30% fines,

results of this study on cyclic resistance are fairly consistent with Andrus and Stokoe correlations. These findings suggest the need for

further evaluation of the effects of non-plastic fines content upon liquefaction criteria derived from seismic field measurements.

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The effects of cementation and the physical properties of grains on the shear behavior of grouted sands are investigated in this

paper. The consolidated-undrained triaxial shear behavior of three grouted carbonate sands with different physical properties,

including particle size distribution, particle shape and void ratio, was studied. Two sands were obtained from the north shores

of the Persian Gulf, south of Iran, called Hormoz and Kish islands sands, and one sand was obtained from the south beaches

of England and called Rock beach sand. The selected sands were grouted using a chemical grout of sodium silicate and tested

after one month of curing. Test results showed that the effect of bonding on the shear behavior and strength depends on the bond

strength and confining pressure. In addition, the shear behavior, yield strength and shear strength of grouted sands under

constant conditions, including the initial relative density, bonds strength, confining pressure and loading, were affected by the

physical properties of the sands. Furthermore, the parameters of the Mohr-Coulomb shear strength failure envelope, including

the cohesion and internal friction angle of grouted sands under constant conditions, were affected by the physical properties

and structure of the soils.

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This paper studies thoroughly and deeply the results of about one hundred triaxial compression tests on thirty types of rockfill
materials. The materials are categorized in accordance with their particles shape (angular / rounded) and gradation
characteristics. The main tool of the study is the Hyperbolic Model developed by Duncan and Chang. The focus of the study is
on the variations of deformation modulus of the materials (Ei and Et) with confining stress (&sigma3). Features of the mechanical
behavior of the rockfill materials, as compared with the general behavior of soils, are highlighted through the exponent
parameter (n) of the Hyperbolic Model. It is shown that high confining stresses may have adverse effects on the deformation
modulus of the rockfill materials and make them softer. The particle breakage phenomenon which happens during compression
and shearing is found as the main factor responsible for the above effects and, in general, responsible for controlling the
behavior of the materials. For the rockfill materials of this study, two correlations for estimating the initial elasticity modulus (Ei)
and the internal friction angle (&phi) in terms of particles shape, confining pressure (&sigma3), and coefficient of uniformity (Cu) are
suggested.

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A series of tests and also numerical analyses were conducted to explore the mechanical behavior of a mixture of coarse gravelsize
particles floating in a matrix of silt, sand or clay. The research is a step forward in an ongoing investigation on behavior of
composite clay, which is used as the core material of some large embankment dams all over the world. After providing the reader
with an overall image about behavior of such materials through the literature, the paper focuses on a predominant feature of the
composite soil behavior: increase of non-deformable solid inclusions in a mixture leads to formation of heterogeneity of stress
field, excess pore water pressure and strain distribution along the specimens. This paper mainly probes formation of such
heterogeneity by the aid of special experiments and also numerical analyses. In addition to loading details, it is clarified through
the paper that position of inclusions relative to loading direction also affects heterogeneity of stress/strain and excess pore water
pressure distribution through the mixture. Despite the former, the latter redistributes with a rate proportional to material
hydraulic conductivity.

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Portland cement can be mixed with sand to improve its mechanical characteristics. Many studies are reported in literature on this topic, but the effect of principal stress rotation has not been investigated yet. Considering the inherent anisotropy of most sands, it is not clear whether the added cement shall contribute to equal increase in strength and stiffness at vertical and horizontal directions or not. Furthermore, it is not well understood how the cement as an additive in non-compacted (loose) sand compared to compacted (dense) sand without cement, contribute to improving the material behavior in undrained condition such as limiting the deformations and the liquefaction potential. In this research, undrained triaxial and simple shear tests under different stress paths are carried out on different mixtures of Portland cement (by adding 1.5, 3 and 5 percent) with clean sand to investigate the effect of principal stress rotations. The triaxial test results revealed that the cement mixture reduces the anisotropy, while it improves the mixture mechanical properties compared to compacted sand without cement. The results of the simple shear tests validated the triaxial test results and further clarified the effect of the  parameter or rotation of principal stresses on the behavior of cemented sand mixtures.

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This research shows the results of studies carried out to define and analyze the effect of aging on MSW behavior of Kahrizak Landfill, the biggest landfill in Iran. Studied samples consisted of fresh samples and also aged ones with 5.5, 14 and 21 years of age which were obtained by mechanical excavators in aged burial locations. Analyzing variation in MSW components illustrates that paste fraction of MSW decreases due to aging process while fibers show a rising trend. Also the moisture content and the organic content of MSW reduce below half of the initial values while the degree of decomposition (DOD) increase up to almost 60% after 14 years. These variations over the time are significantly related to the burying methods and environmental condition of burying location. Shear strength behavior of MSW material was analyzed by some CU tests using large scale triaxial apparatus (D=150mm, H=300mm) on remolded MSW specimens. General observations depict that with an increase in strain level, loading rises without any peak point on stress-strain curves. Fresh samples represent the lowest shear strength followed by 21, 14 and 5.5 year-old samples respectively. There is a direct relationship between fiber content and shear strength. Internal friction angle of aged samples decreases in comparison with fresh ones while cohesion has an inverse trend and rises over the time. According to the effect of burying condition on MSW characteristics, it seems that DOD factor is a more appropriate factor than age in order to analyze long-term behavior of MSW.

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Compared to quartz sand, the shear behavior of carbonate sand differs in  appearance, origin, and kind. Carbonate sand is found mainly in the northern coast of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea. In this research, a comparison is made between the shear behavior of carbonate sand retrieved from the eastern region of the Chabahar Port, located north of the Oman Sea, and quartz sand obtained from Firoozkooh, north of Iran. Both carbonate and quartz sands have identical and uniform particle size distributions. A total of 4 one-dimensional consolidation tests, and 16 triaxial consolidated-undrained (CU) tests under confining pressures of 100, 200, 400, and 600 kPa were performed with initial relative densities of 20%-80%. The results indicated that despite  their uniform properties,  including size and grading, the two types of sand  can differ in other  properties as  inherent interlocking, compressibility, stress-strain behavior, internal friction angle, changes in pore water pressure and stress path. For instance, Chabahar carbonate sand has more compressive potential than Firoozkooh sand because of the fragility of its grains. Moreover, the internal friction angle of carbonate sand is more than that of quartz sand. Quartz sand is more affected by initial relative density, whereas, carbonate sand is influenced by  inherent packing.

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To investigate the saturation induced collapse deformation behavior of rockfill material, a set of large-scale triaxial tests were conducted in saturated and dry-saturated conditions. Specimens were tested under various confining pressures. For dry-saturated tests, specimens were sheared in various stress levels. Results of all dry saturated tests indicate a sudden reduction in the specimen volume during the submerging process. The ratio of the minimum axial strength of a submerged specimen (at the end of the saturation process) to the shear strength of the specimen before saturation is defined as the coefficient of stress recovery, Csr. Results show that this ratio increases as the confining pressure increases, and decreases as the shear stress level increases. According to the results of dry-saturated tests, reduction values of the internal friction angle caused by saturation (c), the ratio of the elasticity modulus of the material after saturation to its elasticity modulus in dry condition, i.e., Ewet/Edry, and the saturation induced sudden volumetric strain (vc) decrease as the confining pressures increase. However the shear stress level does not have any meaningful effect on the variation of c, Ewet/Edry and (vc).

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Experimental study of the cyclic behavior of unsaturated materials is more complex than that of the saturated materials due to the required equipment, experience and time. Furthering investigations in the field of unsaturated materials is necessary to better understand its complexity and sensitivity of unsaturated cyclic parameters to different determinants such as suction path, stress path, loading speed, deviatoric stress amplitude, physical specifications, and etc. To this end, the main focus of this study has been to analyze the effects of factors such as mean net stress and deviatoric stress levels in fast cyclic loading on the cyclic behavior of a normally consolidated unsaturated fine-grained trade soil, namely the Zenoz kaolin. Various unsaturated tests were performed in three mean net stress levels and three amplitudes of cyclic deviatoric stress levels. Results showed that increase of suction in the same strain level leads to increase in stiffness in normally consolidated samples (i.e. increase in elastic modulus and shear modulus and decrease in damping ratio). Also, in the same suction value and strain level, increase of the mean net stress during the isotropic consolidation causes to the denser normally consolidated samples and results to increase of elastic modulus and shear modulus, and decrease of damping ratio.

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In this study a series of cyclic triaxial tests were performed to examine the undrained dynamic resistance of silty sand reinforced with various arrangements of geotextile layers. The silt content of samples varies in percentage from 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%. A total of 32 laboratory cyclic triaxial tests have been performed on silty sand samples reinforced with geotextile layers in different depths. All tests were performed with 100 kPa confining pressure, subjected to an isotropic consolidated undrained (CIU) condition. The tests were conducted at a frequency of 2 Hz. Results indicate that both the geotextile arrangement and the silt content were most essential in the liquefaction potential of reinforced sands. An increase in the number of geotextile layers enhanced the cyclic resistance of reinforced samples against the liquefaction potential. It was also found that when the geotextile layer was posited near the top of the specimen (load application part) the liquefaction resistance would increase (e.g. for clean sands, the improvement of liquefaction resistance caused by the geotextile layer had a 0.2 depth, and the sample height was 5.5 times greater than the geotextile layer inserted in mid height of sample H). Based on the obtained results, effects of geotextile on liquefaction resistance decreased as fines content increased to about 33%. Further increase in the fines content however, would lead to higher in reinforcement advantages. The liquefaction improvement is more effective with a higher number of geotextile layers. The results also revealed that the reinforcement effect in FC≈33 % is at its lowest amount. 

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The behavior of Chamkhaleh sand and three other recognized sands namely, Babolsar, Firouzkuh and Standard (Ottawa) sands are compared using triaxial apparatus under undrained monotonic loading conditions. Chamkhaleh and Babolsar sands are supplied naturally from southern Caspian Sea shorelines, whereas artificial Firouzkuh and Standard sands were supplied commercially. Samples were prepared using wet tamping with regard to the reduced compaction effect at relative density of 15% under isotropic consolidation pressures of 100, 300 and 500 kPa. The results of triaxial tests have indicated that Chamkhaleh sand has much more dilation tendency than the other sands. In order to evaluate the reasons behind this behavior, the spherecity and roundness of all the four sand particles were measured using an image processing method. It was revealed that the spherecity of the four sands is not much different, but Chamkhaleh sand is more angular than the other sands. For comparison of the dilative response of the sands in undrained triaxial tests, a “dilation tendency index” is introduced. This index may be used as a criterion for measuring the dilation of sands in undrained tests. Results have shown that the internal friction angle under the steady state condition is more dependent on the shape of particles than the maximum strength condition. For spherecities greater than 0.5, the dependency rate of sand behavior on the roundness is decreased.

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The main objective of present study is to possible use of plastic waste materials for reinforcing clayey soils. An experimental study was planned to investigate compressibility and undrained shear behavior of clayey soil mixed with plastic waste. The mixtures were prepared with various amount of plastic waste (i.e. 0%, 0. 5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 3.0% in dry weight) and interactive effect of plastic waste, plastic flexibility, confining pressure and initial density on the behavior of clayey soil was studied by performing compaction, consolidated undrained triaxial and oedometer consolidation test. The results show that plastic wastes do not affect compaction characteristics of clayey soil considerably and adding them to the clay more than a specific value (i.e. 1.0% in this research) causes to change undrained behavior of samples from contractive to dilative. In addition, beyond this specific value, it improves shear strength and reduces compressibility of clay. The rate of increase in shear strength and decrease in compressibility depends on the confining pressure, flexibility of plastic and initial density of samples. It is more noticeable when plastic waste in mixtures is relatively rigid and density and confining pressure are high. Moreover, plastic waste has a negative effect on the free swelling, swelling pressure and swelling index of samples, so that these parameters for plastic waste mixed clay are higher than the associated values of plain clay.

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In this study, the shear strength parameters of the Kaolinite clay, as the control material, and the Kaolinite clay reinforced by different percentages of two different types of crumb rubber content have been evaluated. The consolidated drained and unconsolidated undrained triaxial and California bearing ratio tests have been conducted on the control and crumb rubber reinforced soils. Addition of crumb rubber would improve shear strength parameters such as cohesion, friction and dilation angles, stiffness and the ductility of the reinforced soil. 5, 10 and 15 % (by the weight of dry soil) of crumb rubber content were used in this study which were undergone confining stress levels of 100, 200 and 300 kPa and an optimum crumb rubber content is found, which results in the maximum bearing capacity of the soil. Also, due to the non-linearity of the failure mode of reinforced soil and inadequacy of Mohr–Columb envelope for describing the behaviour, a failure mode is proposed for the clay soils reinforced by crumb rubber. This failure criterion is useful for failure envelope of clay-rubber matrix.