Abstract
The fabric anisotropy of a granular soil deposit can strongly influence its engineering properties and behavior. This paper presents the results of a novel experimental study designed to examine the effects of fabric anisotropy on smallstrain stiffness and its evolution with loading on the elastic shear modulus of granular materials under a K 0 condition. Two primary categories of fabric anisotropy, i.e., deposition-induced and particle shape-induced, are investigated. Toyoura sand deposits with relative densities of 40% and 80% were prepared using deposition angles oriented at 0° and 90°. Piezoelectric transducers were used to obtain the elastic shear modulus in the vertical and horizontal directions (G vh and G hh). The measurements indicate distinct differences in the values of G with respect to the different deposition angles. Particle shapeinduced fabric anisotropy was examined using four selected sands. It was concluded that sphericity is a controlling factor dominating the small-strain stiffness of granular materials. The degree of fabric anisotropy proves to be a good indicatorin the characterization of stress-induced fabric evolution during loading and unloading stress cycles. The experimental data were used to calibrate an existing micromechanical model, which was able to represent the behavior of the granular material and the degree of fabric anisotropy reasonably well.
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Supported by: National Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 41202186 and the Zhejiang National Science Foundation under Grant No. LQ12E08007
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Li, B., Zeng, X. Effects of fabric anisotropy on elastic shear modulus of granular soils. Earthq. Eng. Eng. Vib. 13, 269–278 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-014-0229-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-014-0229-x