Abstract
Non-cohesive soils subjected to a flow may have a behavior in which fine particles migrate through the interstices of the solid skeleton formed by the large particles. This phenomenon is termed internal instability, internal erosion or suffusion, and can occur both in natural soil deposits and also in geotechnical structures such as dams, dikes or barrages. Internal instability of a granular material is its inability to prevent the loss of its fine particles under flow effect. It is geometrically possible if the fine particles can migrate through the pores of the coarse soil matrix and results in a change in its mechanical properties. In this work, we uses the three-dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC3D/DEM) to study the stability/instability of granular materials and their mechanical behavior. Kenney and Lau criterion sets a safe boundary for engineering design. However, it tends to identify stable soils as unstable ones. The effects of instability and erosion, simulated by clipping fine particles from the grading distribution, on the mechanical behaviour of glass ball samples were analysed. The mechanical properties of eroded samples, in which erosion is simulated and gives a new approach for internal stability. A proposal for a new internal stability criterion is established, it is deduced from the analysis of relations between the mechanical behaviour and internal stability, including material contractance.
Highlights
The construction of earth structures such as dams, levees and road embankments often requires the use of granular soils
These cohesionless granular media are often composed of two parts: a solid skeleton that can support and transmit the external stresses, and fine particles that can move through the constrictions
To study the impacts of suffusion on the mechanical behaviour of granular soils, five PSD identified by S1; S2; S3; S4 and S5 were defined from an alluvial deposit from the Rhône River in France [14]
Summary
The construction of earth structures such as dams, levees and road embankments often requires the use of granular soils These cohesionless granular media are often composed of two parts: a solid (coarse) skeleton that can support and transmit the external stresses, and fine particles that can move through the constrictions. These granular soils can be internally stable or unstable, and more or less resistant to the phenomena of internal erosion and suffusion. Kenney and Lau [1,2] proposed a criterion to assess the internal stability of granular media This criterion is based on the assumption that each class of grain, characterized by its diameter d must be prevented to move by the grains whose diameter is comprised between d and 4d. The common feature of both methods is the examination of the slope of the gradation curve over a EPJ Web of Conferences 140, 10011 (2017 )
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