Direct shear tests of coarse-grained fillings from high-speed railway subgrade in cold regions

Abstract

In order to study the shear behavior of coarse-grained fillings taken from the subgrade bottom layer of a cold region high-speed railway, large scale direct shear tests were conducted with different normal pressures, water contents and temperatures. The results indicate that the relationship between shear displacement and shear stress changed from strain-softening at lower normal pressures to strain-hardening at higher normal pressures, in both unfrozen and frozen states. This phenomenon was mainly due to the shear dilatation deformation effect. The shear displacement-shear stress curves show similar stages. Besides, the shear stress rapidly increased and there was not an increment in the shear displacement during the initial stage of the shear process in the frozen state. In both the unfrozen or frozen states at the same water contents, the shear strength increased with increasing normal pressure.