Abstract
The difference in the shear strength and other characteristics of the cohesive soil containing calcareous nodules (CSCN) between samples with large size and corresponding scaling size, which is called scaling effect, is significantly affected by its calcareous nodule content (CNC) of the gradation composition. However, current researches rarely reveal the influence of the CNC on the scaling effect in shear strength of samples. In this study, how and why the CNC affects the scaling effect in shear strength were explored. Then a method to reduce the scaling effect based on the reason for influence was proposed. Results show that the correlation between the scaling effect in shear strength and the CNC presents a step curve. This is attributed to that it is easier to form a skeleton effect in samples with scaling size for the same CNC. Considering the skeleton effect, a calculation model for the shear strength parameters of CSCN samples with large size is proposed to reduce the scaling effect. This paper demonstrates that the proposed calculation model provides an access to obtain calculated shear strength parameters of CSCN samples with large size by using measured results of samples with corresponding scaling size.
Highlights
The difference in the shear strength and other characteristics of the cohesive soil containing calcareous nodules (CSCN) between samples with large size and corresponding scaling size, which is called scaling effect, is significantly affected by its calcareous nodule content (CNC) of the gradation composition
Many gradation equations based on the gradation composition have been proposed, which study the influence of gradation composition on the scaling effect by changing the equation fitting parameters[13,18,19]
This suggests that a greater degree of influence on the scaling effect in shear strength is caused by the CNC of 20%–30%
Summary
The difference in the shear strength and other characteristics of the cohesive soil containing calcareous nodules (CSCN) between samples with large size and corresponding scaling size, which is called scaling effect, is significantly affected by its calcareous nodule content (CNC) of the gradation composition. In lab direct shear tests, since the particle size of calcareous nodules is generally between 1 and 80 mm[3], a large-scale direct shear apparatus of which the ring with 300 mm in diameter and 150 mm in height[5] is preferred to be used for CSCN samples. The oversize elimination method that sieving oversize calcareous nodules from CSCN samples decreases the calcareous nodule content (CNC) to change the gradation composition of the sample[10], decreasing the shear strength of CSCN samples with scaling s ize[11]. The current research on how and why the scaling effect in shear strength would be affected by the CNC is still superficial or even absent
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