Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Shear strength and shear bands of anisotropic sand

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Acta Geotechnica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Due to sedimentation, irregular particles of sand arrange anisotropically in nature. Anisotropy diversifies the internal friction angles between relative research planes at different directions in soil material. Thus, to analyze the mechanical mechanism of strength anisotropy, except for conventional inherent anisotropy of the material, stress distribution caused by external loads should also be considered in addition. The level and direction of the inherent strength anisotropy of geomaterials can be measured by a modified anisotropic variable, which is derived from the stress tensor and the fabric tensor. It is assumed that the overall shear strength of the material depends on the shear strength of the most mobilized plane, which is the spatially mobilized plane (SMP) and has a closely relationship with the stress state according to the SMP criterion. Therefore, the orientation of the most mobilized plane builds a bridge that connects the anisotropy of geomaterials and the magnitude and direction of stress. On this basis, a general description of anisotropic strength, considering both the magnitude and directions of the principal stresses, is given, of which the parameters can be easily obtained by triaxial tests. Besides, the variation of the sliding plane along with the direction of the major principal stress is approached. Furthermore, three types of tests, including the direct shear test, the true triaxial test and torsion shear test, were performed to prove the reliability of the new criterion. It shows that both the anisotropic shear strength and the orientation of the sliding plane can be predicted accurately by the newly built anisotropic strength criterion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Abelev AV, Asce SM, Lade PV (2003) Effects of cross anisotropy on three-dimensional behavior of sand. I: stress–strain behavior and shear banding. J Eng Mech 129(2):160–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Abelev AV, Lade PV (2004) Characterization of failure in cross-anisotropic soils. J Eng Mech 130(5):599–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Arthur JRF, Menzies BK (1972) Inherent anisotropy in sand. Géotechnique 22(1):115–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Arthur JRF, Dunstan T, Al-Ani QAJL, Assadi A (1977) Plastic deformation and failure in granular media. Géotechnique 27(1):53–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Cai Y (2010) An experimental study of non-coaxial soil behaviour using hollow cylinder testing Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham

  6. Chu J, Lo S-CR, Lee IK (1997) Strain softening and shear band formation of sand in multi-axial testing. Géotechnique 47(5):1073–1077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dafalias YF, Papadimitriou AG, Li XS (2004) Sand plasticity model accounting for inherent fabric anisotropy. J Eng Mech 130(11):1319–1333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Dong T, Zhe M (2016) Controlling and realizing of generalized stress paths in HCA test. Electron J Geotech Eng 21:5269–5283

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gao Z, Zhao J, Yao Y (2010) A generalized anisotropic failure criterion for geomaterials. Int J Solids Struct 47(22–23):3166–3185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Gao Z, Zhao J (2015) Constitutive modeling of anisotropic sand behavior in monotonic and cyclic loading. J Eng Mech 141(8):04015017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Guo P, Stolle DFE (2013) Coupled analysis of bifurcation and shear band in saturated soils. Soils Found 53(4):525–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gutierrez M, Ishihara K, Towhata I (1993) Model for the deformation of sand during rotation of principal stress directions. Soils Found 33(3):105–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kong Y, Zhao J, Yao Y (2013) A failure criterion for cross-anisotropic soils considering microstructure. Acta Geotech 8(6):665–673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kumruzzaman M, Yin JH (2010) Influences of principal stress direction and intermediate principal stress on the stress-strain-strength behaviour of completely decomposed granite. Can Geotech J 47(2):164–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lade PV, Kirkgard MM (2000) Effects of stress rotation and changes of b-values on cross-anisotropic behavior of natural, K0-consolidated soft clay. Soil Found 40(6):93–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lade PV (2008) Failure criterion for cross-anisotropic soils. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 134(1):117–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lade PV, Dyck EV, Rodriguez NM (2014) Shear banding in torsion shear tests on cross-anisotropic deposits of fine Nevada sand. Soils Found 54(6):1081–1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Li XS, Dafalias YF (2002) Constitutive modeling of inherently anisotropic sand behavior. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 128(10):868–880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Miura K, Miura S, Toki S (1986) Deformation behavior of anisotropic dense sand under principal stress axes rotation. Soils Found 26(1):36–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Matsuoka H, Nakai T (1974) Stress-deformation and strength characteristics of soil under three different principal stresses. Proc JSCE 232(9):59–70

    Google Scholar 

  21. Matsuoka H, Nakai T (1986) Relationship among Tresca, Mises, Mohr Coulomb and Matsuoka-Nakai failure criteria. Soils Found 25(4):123–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Matsuoka H, Jun-Ichi H, Kiyoshi H (1984) Deformation and failure of anisotropic sand deposits. Soil Mech Found Eng 32(11):31–36

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mtsuoka H, Nakai T (1985) Relationship among Tresca, Mises, Mohr–Coulomb and Matsuoka–Nakai failure criteria. Soils Found 25(4):123–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Muhunthan B, Chameau JL, Masad E (1996) Fabric effects on the yield behavior of soils. Soils Found 36(3):85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Oda M (1972) Deformation mechanism of sand in triaxial compression tests. Soils Found 12(4):45–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Oda M, Nakayama H (1989) Yield function for soil with anisotropic fabric. J Eng Mech 115(1):89–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Oda M (1993) Inherent and induced anisotropy in plasticity theory of granular soils. Mech Mater 16(1–2):35–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Pietruszczak S, Mroz Z (2001) On failure criteria for anisotropic cohesive-frictional materials. Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 25(5):509–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rodriguez NM, Lade PV (2013) Effects of principal stress directions and mean normal stress on failure criterion for cross-anisotropic sand. J Eng Mech 139(11):1592–1601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Roscoe KH (1970) The influence of strains in soil mechanics. Geotechnique 20(2):129–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Saada AS (1988) Hollow cylinder torsional devices: their advantages and limitations. Advanced triaxial testing of soil and rock, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, pp 766–795

  32. Sivathayalan S, Vaid YP (2002) Influence of generalized initial state and principal stress rotation. Can Geotech J 39(1):63–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Tong Z, Fu P, Zhou S, Dafalias YF (2014) Experimental investigation of shear strength of sands with inherent fabric anisotropy. Acta Geotech 9(2):257–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Wang Q, Lade PV (2001) Shear banding in true triaxial tests and its effect on failure in sand. J Eng Mech 127(8):754–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Yao YP, Kong YX (2011) Extended UH model: three-dimensional unified hardening model for anisotropic clays. J Eng Mech 138(7):853–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Zhu H, Nicot F, Darve F (2016) Meso-structure organization in two-dimensional granular materials along biaxial loading path. Int J Solids Struct 96:25–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research described in this paper was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Number 51909268), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Number 51778311) and the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (BX2021115).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Defense Engineering, Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing, 100850, China

    Tong Dong

  2. State Key Laboratory of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Explosion and Impact, Army Engineering University of PLA, Nanjing, 210007, Jiangsu, China

    Tong Dong

  3. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geoenvironmental Protection, Army Logistics University of PLA, Chongqing, 401311, China

    Yingren Zheng

  4. School of Sciences, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 FuShun Road, Shibei District, Qingdao, 266033, China

    Kong Liang & Chao Liu

Authors
  1. Tong Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yingren Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kong Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chao Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tong Dong.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dong, T., Zheng, Y., Liang, K. et al. Shear strength and shear bands of anisotropic sand. Acta Geotech. 17, 2841–2853 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-021-01372-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-021-01372-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation