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Stress Strain Behavior of Clayey Sand

Article in Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering · February 2014

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 Stress Strain Behavior of Clayey Sand

Logeshwari J
PG Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, CEG, Anna University.
jlogeshwari@yahoo.co.in

Premalatha K
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, CEG, Anna University.
kvprema@annauniv.edu

ABSTRACT
Fine-grained soils comprising silt and clay are the most complicated engineering material. It is
of great importance in geotechnical engineering to make realistic predictions of the behaviour
of soil under various conditions. Understanding the behaviour of clay is not easy, as slight
variations in the existing conditions will result in enormous changes in the stress-strain-
strength response. The difficulty to retrieve undisturbed samples has been experienced by
many researchers, and in-situ testing is challenging because of its dilative tendencies during
shearing. Low plastic clay samples are more disturbed than high plastic clays, and reduction in
water content during sample disturbance would result in gain in strength. Also increase in
disturbance would result in decrease in strength. Literature also supports the importance of
sample preparation in the stress-strain behaviour of soil. Unconsolidated undrained tri axial
tests were conducted for various confining pressures. The test results were compared with
other types of soils and their differences are quantified.
KEYWORDS: Stress strain behavior, consolidation, unconsolidated undrained tests.

INTRODUCTION
Fine-grained soils comprising silt and clay are the most complicated engineering material. It is
of great importance in geotechnical engineering to make realistic predictions of the behaviour of
soil under various conditions. Most geotechnical engineers consider the behaviour of silts as being
somewhere between the behaviour of clays at one extreme, and the behaviour of sands at the other.
Clays and sands have modes of behaviour that are distinctly different in a number of respects, and
the widely used concept of interpolating between them does not provide a realistic approach to deal
with the behaviour of silts. Silts have characteristics in common with both sands and clays. They
are subjected to more compression by static pressures than sands, and are subjected to more
densification by vibrations than clays. Similarly understanding the behaviour of clay is not easy, as
slight variations in the existing conditions will result in enormous changes in the stress-strain-
strength response.
Reduction in water content during sample disturbance would result in gain in strength. Also
increase in disturbance would result in decrease in strength. The quantity of plastic and non plastic
fines in sand influences the stress strain behaviour.

- 775 -
 Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. B 776

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Specimen Details: The collected soils were stored in dry place. Then they were air dried and
pulverized, making it suitable for testing. The tests those were conducted are Specific gravity, Grain size
analysis and, Atterberg limits. They were done as per relevant IS Standards. The specific gravity of Sample 1
was found to be 2.75, the percentage of sand size, silt size and clay size particles in it are 67%, 5% and 28%
respectively. The liquid limit, plastic limit and the plasticity index values are 39%, 15.5% and 23.5%.
According to IS Classification the sample was found to be clayey sand (SC).

SPECIMEN PREPARATION
The literature review reveals the importance of sample preparation on the stress-strain-
strength behaviour of silt. Testing of homogeneous samples under uniform states of stress and
strain is required for fundamental studies of soil property characterization. It is also necessary to
be able to precisely replicate several homogeneous specimens for such study purpose.
A reconstituted sample preparation method must fulfil the following criteria:
1. The method must be able to procedure loose to dense samples in the density range expected
within an in situ soil deposit.
2. The sample must have uniform void ratio throughout. The samples must be fully saturated,
particularly for undrained testing.
3. The samples should be well mixed without particle size segregation, regardless of particle
size gradation or fines content.
4. Sample preparation method should simulate the mode of soil deposition commonly found
in the soil deposit being modelled.
Slurry Consolidation Method: The specimens were prepared by Slurry consolidation
method as shown in Figure 1. In slurry consolidation method, the specimen is made from
consolidating the slurry. The thoroughly mixed sample is allowed to consolidate to the required
density by adding loads. Four specimens thus prepared have less variation in its initial properties,
which is given in Table 1.
 Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. B 777

Figure 1: Slurry Consolidation

Table 1: Details of the Specimen Prepared by Slurry Consolidation Method

PARAMETERS 1 2 3 4 5 6

w\c 17.5 17.78 17.4 15.7 17.2 16.7

Bulk density (g/cc) 2.05 2.18 2.12 2.22 2.03 2.05

Dry density (g/cc) 1.74 1.85 1.81 1.92 1.78 1.75

Void ratio .56 .45 .50 .41 .51 .50

Degree of saturation (%) 100 99 98.2 100 93.5 91.5

UNCONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED TESTS

The unconsolidated undrained tests were performed in digital tri axial testing machine for the
confining pressures of 200kPa, 300kPa, 400kPa and 500kPa. The strain adopted was
0.02mm/min. In order to saturate the specimen, back pressure was slowly applied from the bottom
of the specimen until water flows from the drain provided at the top of the specimen. It is applied
in small increments along with confining pressure.
The tests were conducted up to a strain of 5%. The Mohr’s circles were drawn for the tests
and the stress vs strain graph for the tests is shown in Figure 2. The results obtained from the tests
are given in the table 2.
 Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. B 778

300

250
200 kPa
deviatoricstress

200

300 kPa
150

100 400 kPa

50 500 kPa

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
strain
Figure 2: stress vs deviatoric stress

Table 2: Results Obtained from Tests

PARAMETERS 1 2 3 4

σ3 (kPa) 200 300 400 500

Δσd (kPa) 223.05 234.81 235.98 239.03

σ 1(kPa) 423.05 534.81 635.98 739.03

Cu (kPa) 111.52 117.40 117.94 119.51

Cu/P0’ 0.43 0.45 0.45 0.46

The results thus obtained were compared with the charts those were published earlier. Figure
3 shows the relation between the ratio of Cu/P0’ and the plasticity index. It is observed that values
are found to be in agreement with the Bjerrum (1972).

Figure 3: The Relation between the Ratio of Cu/P0’ and the Plasticity Index (after
Bjerrum (1972))
 Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. B 779

Figure 4 shows the relation between liquidity index and shear strength of remoulded clays
(after Skempton and Northey). It is observed that all the specimens fit into the Horten clay curve.

Figure 4: The Relation between liquidity Index and shear strength of remolded clays
(after Skempton and Northey).

Fig 5 shows the relation between liquidity index and Cu/P0' for Norwegian clays (after
Bjerrum and Simons, 1960) and the SC type soil. It is observed that there is an increase in Cu/P0'
value for SC type soil by 55.5%, than Norwegian clays for the same liquidity index

0.5
0.4
Norveygian Clay
0.3
Cu/P0'

SC type soil
0.2
0.1
0
0 2 4
Liquidity index,LI
Figure 5: The Relation between Liquidity Index And Cu/P0' For Norwegian Clays (after
Bjerrum and Simons, 1960).

The Cu versus γd of clayey silty sand and clayey were sand were compared and they were
almost the same for both samples. The Cu versus Sr of CH type soil and SC type soil were
compared and the SC type soil gave 77.3% increase in Cu for the same Sr. The Cu versus γd of CI
 Vol. 19 [2014], Bund. B 780

type soil and SC type soil were compared and it showed that the Cu value of SC type soil was
greater than CI by 54.5%.

CONCLUSIONS
The soil was tested and the results obtained were compared with other established results and
the differences were quantified. It is also observed that the while working with remolded clays, its
specimen preparation influences its strength and deformation behavior.

REFERENCES
1. Bjerrum L and Simons N.E (1960), ‘Comparison of Shear Strength Characteristics of
Normally Consolidated Clays”, Proceedings of the ASCE Research Conference on the Shear
Strength of Cohesive Soils, Boulder, pp. 711- 726.

2. Bjerrum L (1972), ‘Embankments on Soft Ground’, Proceedings of the ASCE Specialty

Conference on Performance of Earth and Erath-Supported Structures, Purdue University,
Vol. II, pp. 1- 54.

3. Holtz R.D and Kovacs W.D (1981), An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, Prentice
Hall, Inc., New Jersy.

4. Imam Aschuri and Tranggono M (2010), ‘Characteristics of some Tropical Residual Soils on
West Java’, accessed on 13th August, 2012,

5. Kuerbis R. and Vaid Y.D. (1988), ‘Sand sample preparation-the slurry deposition method’,
soils and foundation, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Vol.28, No.4, pp. 107-118.

6. Skempton A.W and Norrthey R.D (1952), ‘The Sensitivity of Clays’, Geotechnique, Vol. III,
No. 1, pp. 30-53

7. Subash Chand (2002), ‘Behaviour of Bombay high marine clay under tri axial loading’, Dept.
of Civil Engg., IIT Delhi.

© 2014, EJGE

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