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Investigation on shear modulus and damping ratio of transparent soils with different pore fluids

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Abstract

Transparent soil, manufactured with transparent granular particles and pore fluid with matching refractive index, used to mimic the behavior of natural saturated soil, is widely used in visualization model tests. The properties of transparent soils are not only affected by granular particles’ characteristics, but also influenced by pore fluids’ characteristics. However, the researches focused on the dynamic properties of transparent soil influenced by pore fluids are relatively rare in the literature. In this paper, the dynamic shear modulus and damping ratios of transparent soils manufactured by fused quartz and three different pore fluids (mixed oil, calcium bromide \((\hbox {CaBr}_{2})\) solution, and sucrose solution) were measured through a series of resonant column tests and dynamic torsional shear tests. The laboratory tests on dry fused quartz specimens were also carried out for comparative analysis. It is found that the transparent soils have a certain similar dynamic behaviors as those of natural soil, and the values of dynamic shear modulus and damping ratios are influenced by pore fluids. With the test results, transparent soil manufactured by fused quartz and mixed oil shows a great potential as a substitute for natural sand and is expected to be widely used in dynamic model tests.

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Acknowledgements

The research was financially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51478165, 51306080), and the fundamental research funds for the central universities of China (Nos. 2013B31814, 2017B12114). We are grateful to Dr. JiLiang Li from Purdue University Northwest-Westville Campus for his help in English paper writing.

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  1. College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Xikang Road No. 1, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu, China

    Gangqiang Kong, Hui Li, Gui Yang & Zhaohu Cao

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  1. Gangqiang Kong
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  2. Hui Li
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Correspondence to Gangqiang Kong.

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Kong, G., Li, H., Yang, G. et al. Investigation on shear modulus and damping ratio of transparent soils with different pore fluids. Granular Matter 20, 8 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-017-0779-5

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