Resonant column and torsional shear tests for the evaluation of the shear modulus and damping ratio of soil

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Lentini ◽  
Francesco Castelli
Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 2743
Author(s):  
Seongnoh Ahn ◽  
Jae-Eun Ryou ◽  
Kwangkuk Ahn ◽  
Changho Lee ◽  
Jun-Dae Lee ◽  
...  

Ground reinforcement is a method used to reduce the damage caused by earthquakes. Usually, cement-based reinforcement methods are used because they are inexpensive and show excellent performance. Recently, however, reinforcement methods using eco-friendly materials have been proposed due to environmental issues. In this study, the cement reinforcement method and the biopolymer reinforcement method using sodium alginate were compared. The dynamic properties of the reinforced ground, including shear modulus and damping ratio, were measured through a resonant-column test. Also, the viscosity of sodium alginate solution, which is a non-Newtonian fluid, was also explored and found to increase with concentration. The maximum shear modulus and minimum damping ratio increased, and the linear range of the shear modulus curve decreased, when cement and sodium alginate solution were mixed. Addition of biopolymer showed similar reinforcing effect in a lesser amount of additive compared to the cement-reinforced ground, but the effect decreased above a certain viscosity because the biopolymer solution was not homogeneously distributed. This was examined through a shear-failure-mode test.


2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1426-1438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-Ung Youn ◽  
Yun-Wook Choo ◽  
Dong-Soo Kim

The bender element method is an experimental technique used to determine the small-strain shear modulus (Gmax) of a soil by measuring the velocity of shear wave propagation through a sample. Bender elements have been applied as versatile transducers to measure the Gmax of wet and dry soils in various laboratory apparatuses. However, certain aspects of the bender element method have yet to be clearly specified because of uncertainties in determining travel time. In this paper, the bender element (BE), resonant column (RC), and torsional shear (TS) tests were performed on the same specimens using the modified Stokoe-type RC and TS testing equipment. Two clean sands, Toyoura and silica sands, were tested at various densities and mean effective stresses under dry and saturated conditions. Based on the test results, methods of determining travel time in BE tests were evaluated by comparing the results of RC, TS, and BE tests. Also, methods to evaluate Gmax of saturated sands from the shear-wave velocity (Vs) obtained by RC and BE tests were investigated by comparing the three sets of test results. Biot’s theory on frequency dependence of shear-wave velocity was adopted to consider dispersion of a shear wave in saturated conditions. The results of this study suggest that the total mass density, which is commonly used to convert Gmax from the measured Vs in saturated soils, should not be used to convert Vs to Gmax when the frequency of excitation is 10% greater than the characteristic frequency (fc) of the soil.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dervis Volkan Okur ◽  
Seyfettin Umut Umu

Waste automobile tires are used as additives or replacements instead of traditional materials in civil engineering works. In geotechnical engineering, tires are shredded to certain sizes and mixed with soil, especially used as backfill material behind retaining walls or fill material for roadway embankments. Compared to soil, rubber has high damping capacity and low shear modulus. Therefore, it requires the determination of the dynamic characteristics of rubber/soil mixtures. In this paper, the cyclic behavior of recycled tire rubber and clean sand was studied, considering the effects of the amount and particle size of the rubber and confining stresses. A total of 40 stress-controlled tests were performed on an integrated resonant column and dynamic torsional shear system. The effects of the relative size and proportion of the rubber on the dynamic characteristics of the mixtures are discussed. The dynamic properties, such as the maximum shear modulus, strain-dependent shear modulus, and damping ratio, are examined. For practical purposes, simple empirical relationships were formulated to estimate the maximum shear modulus and the damping ratio. The change in the shear modulus and damping ratio with respect to shear strain with 5% of rubber within the mixture was found to be close to the behavior of clean sand.


2013 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. 1350031 ◽  
Author(s):  
BO LI ◽  
YUANQIANG CAI ◽  
XIANGWU ZENG ◽  
LINYOU PAN

The dynamic behavior of lightly cemented sand under long-term seawater attack was evaluated in this study. Resonant column and cyclic triaxial tests were employed to investigate the evolution of the shear modulus and damping ratio of cemented sand with respect to soaking period (SP), confining pressure, and cement content (CC). The results of this study show that the cementation of the sand is affected by soaking in seawater to a greater extent than by soaking in tap water. The shear modulus of the cemented sand soaked in seawater was smaller than that of the cemented sand soaked in tap water. The damping ratio increased significantly, as the SP increased and was greater for the cemented sand soaked in seawater than for the cemented sand soaked in tap water. The dynamic behavior of nonhomogenous specimens was examined. Crystallization of salts could be clearly observed and probably explains the evolution of the dynamic behavior of the cemented sand. Finally, the shear modulus was fitted using Rollins' Law [Rollins et al., 1998], which demonstrates that the parameters used in the equation can be reasonably fitted linearly over a range of SPs.


Author(s):  
Xiaobo Yu ◽  
Rui Sun ◽  
Xiaoming Yuan ◽  
Zhuoshi Chen ◽  
Jiuqi Zhang

The shear modulus and damping ratio of frozen soil are thebasic parameters of its dynamic properties and are often testedwith the dynamic triaxial apparatus. However, the resonantcolumn apparatus is more suitable for the testing at the microstrainlevel. A resonant column apparatus was here used toidentify the varying modes with negative temperature of theinitial shear modulus, modulus ratio, and damping ratio of frozensilt. Correction factor curves indicate that the temperaturehas a great effect on the shear modulus and damping ratio offrozen silt. The curves also show that, within the sensitive stage,the temperature significantly affects the modulus and damping.Within the insensitive stage, the modulus and dampingwere insensitive to the temperature. The experimental resultsand analysis given here provide support for improving seismicdesign codes and offer reasonable parameters for seismicresponse analysis in engineering construction in cold regions.


Author(s):  
Ayushman Gupta ◽  
Lisheng Shao ◽  
Roy H. Borden

During resonant column and torsional shear tests using a Stokoe device, conventionally only the change in height of the specimen is measured. To obtain the change in diameter of the specimen, a relationship between radial strain and longitudinal strain is assumed. In this study, the Stokoe device was modified to enable the measurement of change in diameter of the specimen along with the change in its height during resonant column and torsional shear tests. The diameter change measurement system comprises three proximity probes, coaxial cables, proximitor conditioners, and DC power supply. The probes (7.9 mm diameter) are capable of making noncontact displacement measurements with a resolution of 0.025 mm using a metallic target. These probes are fixed along the circumference of the outer chamber at equal 120 degree spacing. The vertical location of these probes is such that they correspond to the midheight of the specimen. Each probe is mounted on a micrometer to enable accurate adjustment of the probe. This system gives a linear output for a distance range of 0.38 to 2 mm between the probe tip and the metallic target. During the tests, the targets (circular copper foils 26 mm in diameter) are fixed on the soil specimen, and output voltage from each of the three proximity probes is recorded directly by a computer. The average readings of the three probes are used to calculate the change in diameter of the specimen. This paper will present the results of tests on seven residual soil specimens.


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