Experimental investigation of asymptotic state for anisotropic sand

Abstract

The asymptotic behavior of soil under constant strain increment ratio is a topic of current research interest. In this paper, the effect of anisotropy on the asymptotic behavior of sand is investigated. A new device is developed for testing soil samples along paths with constant strain increment ratio. This triaxial test apparatus with hydraulic loading systems is particularly suitable to study the asymptotic behavior of soil. An extensive testing program was carried out on specimens prepared with different sedimentation directions. The effect of anisotropy on the asymptotic stress ratio is shown. Experimental results show that the inherent anisotropy of compressibility has a greater effect on the asymptotic ratio than the strength anisotropy. Finally, an equation is formulated to quantitatively determine the relation between the asymptotic stress ratio and strain increment ratio for anisotropic sand, and its effectiveness is confirmed experimentally.