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Triaxial tests on undisturbed gravelly soils from the Sicilian shore of the Messina Strait

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Abstract

The paper reports the results of laboratory testing of dense sandy gravel carried out on large dimension undisturbed samples, obtained by means of in situ freezing technique. The specimens, 290 mm in diameter and 600 mm high, have been subjected to undrained cyclic triaxial tests carried out in isotropically and anisotropically consolidated conditions aimed at investigating sandy gravel susceptibility to cyclic mobility and plastic strain accumulation during earthquake induced vibrations. The quality of the undisturbed samples was corroborated by comparing the field shear wave velocities against those inferred from bender element tests, carried out in the triaxial apparatus after the specimen consolidation. The cyclic tests were supported by a series of monotonic undrained and drained triaxial tests performed on isotropically and anisotropically consolidated specimens to help in their more rational interpretation. The tests yielded valuable information as to the susceptibility of the sandy gravel in hands to cyclic mobility and plastic strain accumulation during earthquake loading.

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Abbreviations

CRR:

Cyclic resistance ratio

CSR:

Cyclic stress ratio

CU :

Uniformity coefficient

D:

Diameter of the specimen

D10 :

Particle size at which 10 % of the soil weight is finer

D30 :

Particle size at which 30 % of the soil weight is finer

D50 :

Mean particle size, i.e. particle size at which 50 % of the soil weight is finer

D60 :

Particle size at which 60 % of the soil weight is finer

e:

Current void ratio

ec :

Void ratio after the consolidation phase

eo :

Initial void ratio

ess :

Void ratio at steady state

E′:

Drained secant Young’s modulus

Eo :

Initial Young’s modulus

Go :

Initial shear modulus

H:

Height of the specimen

k:

Coefficient of permeability

Ko :

Coefficient of earth pressure at rest

Kf :

Bulk modulus of the pore fluid

Mc :

Slope of the steady state line in the q–p plane for compression loading

Me :

Slope of the steady state line in the q–p′ plane for extension loading

Md :

Slope of the phase transformation line in the q–p′ plane

n:

Porosity

N:

Number of cycles

p′:

Current mean effective stress

pa :

Reference atmospheric pressure

p′c :

Mean effective stress after the consolidation phase

p′ss :

Mean effective stress at steady state

q:

Current deviatoric stress

qc :

Deviatoric stress after the consolidation phase

qs :

Static deviatoric stress

qss :

Deviatoric stress at steady state

Ru :

Pore pressure ratio

SSL:

Steady state line

VS :

Shear wave velocity

VS1 :

Normalized shear wave velocity

Δqc :

Cyclic deviatoric stress increment

Δu:

Excess pore pressure

ΔV:

Volume change

\({\varepsilon_{\rm a}}\) :

Axial strain

\({\varepsilon_{\rm a}^{\rm DA}}\) :

Double amplitude cyclic axial strain in tests with significant stress reversal

\({\varepsilon_{\rm a}^{\rm PS}}\) :

Cumulated peak axial strain in tests with no or limited stress reversal

\({\varepsilon_{\rm v}}\) :

Volumetric strain

\({\varphi'_{\rm ss}}\) :

Angle of shear resistance at steady (critical) state

γW :

Unit weight of water

νsk :

Poisson’s ratio of the soil skeleton

θ:

Lode’s angle

ρs :

Mass density of the soil particles

ρt :

Bulk mass density

ρf :

Density of the pore fluid

σ′a :

Axial effective stress

σ′r :

Radial effective stress

σ′vo :

In situ vertical effective stress

\({\psi}\) :

State parameter (Been and Jefferies 1985)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    V. Fioravante & D. Giretti

  2. Technical University of Torino, Turin, Italy

    M. Jamiolkowski

  3. Studio Geotecnico Italiano, Milan, Italy

    G. Rocchi

Authors
  1. V. Fioravante
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  2. D. Giretti
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  3. M. Jamiolkowski
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  4. G. Rocchi
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Correspondence to V. Fioravante.

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Fioravante, V., Giretti, D., Jamiolkowski, M. et al. Triaxial tests on undisturbed gravelly soils from the Sicilian shore of the Messina Strait. Bull Earthquake Eng 10, 1717–1744 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-012-9374-7

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