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New basis for the constitutive modelling of aggregated soils

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Abstract

Natural and compacted soils are usually characterized by aggregation of particles. The mechanical behaviour of these materials depends on soil structure. The oedometric compression tests performed on aggregated samples presented here showed that these materials exhibit a yield limit depending not only on stress history and stress state but also on soil structure. Evidence is provided using the neutron tomography technique. These results revealed that soil structure modification occurs together with plastic deformations. The experimental results are used to propose a new state parameter to quantify the soil structure. Based on pore-scale experimental observations, an evolution law for this parameter is proposed as a function of associated plastic strains. Considering both soil fabric and inter-particle bonding effects, a new yield limit depending on stress state, stress history and soil structure is introduced for the aggregated soils. Accordingly, a new constitutive framework consistent with strain hardening plasticity is proposed to consider soil structure effects in the modelling of aggregated soils.

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Abbreviations

e m :

Macrovoid ratio

n, n μ, n m :

Total, micro- and macroporosity

p c′:

Apparent preconsolidation pressure

p c′*:

Intrinsic preconsolidation pressure corresponding to reconstituted soil

R :

Degree of soil structure

εD :

Destructuring strain

Ψst :

Soil structure function

ω:

Rate controlling parameter for structure degradation

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by EPFL. The authors wish to thank Dr. P. Lehmann for his help in image processing and the partners of this project at ITÖ-ETHZ, Prof. H. Fluehler and Dr. A. Carminati, and at PSI for access to the neutron beam facility, in particular Dr. E. Lehmann and Mr. P. Vöntobel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), EPFL-ENAC-ICARE-LMS, Station 18, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Azad Koliji, Laurent Vulliet & Lyesse Laloui

Authors
  1. Azad Koliji
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  2. Laurent Vulliet
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  3. Lyesse Laloui
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Correspondence to Azad Koliji.

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Koliji, A., Vulliet, L. & Laloui, L. New basis for the constitutive modelling of aggregated soils. Acta Geotech. 3, 61–69 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-007-0052-x

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