Abstract
We have extended the micromechanics-based analytical (M-A) model to make it capable of simulating Nuozhadu rockfill material (NRFM) under different stress paths. Two types of drained triaxial tests on NRFM were conducted, namely, the stress paths of constant stress ratio (CSR) and the complex stress paths with transitional features. The model was improved by considering the interparticle parameter variation with the unloading-reloading cycles and the effect of the stress transition path. The evolution of local dilatancy at interparticle planes due to an externally applied load is also discussed. Compared with Duncan-Chang’s E-u and E-B models, the improved model could not only better describe the deformation properties of NRFM under the stress path loading, but also present the volumetric strain changing from dilatancy to contractancy with increasing transitional confining pressures. All simulations have demonstrated that the proposed M-A model is capable of modelling the mechanical behaviour of NRFM in the dam.
Highlights
Rockfill materials (RFMs) are widely used in the constructions of rockfill dams because of their high strength and low cost [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The reason might be that the parameters are chosen from the conventional triaxial test; the model cannot reflect the effect of the stress path on the deformation of the samples
Because the load path of the test is similar to the stress variation of the actual RFM in the dam, this model could well describe the constitutive relationship of the Nuozhadu rockfill material (NRFM) under the paths of a constant stress ratio during dam construction and the transitional stress paths upon reservoir filling
Summary
Rockfill materials (RFMs) are widely used in the constructions of rockfill dams because of their high strength and low cost [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The large-scale conventional triaxial compression (LCTC) test (i.e., the confining pressure is constant) is used to study the mechanical properties of RFMs [8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. During such tests, the loading path is not consistent with that in actual engineering applications. The M-A model appropriately considers the microstructure of soils and is easier to be applied in engineering practice Based on this model, Chang and Hicher [30] simulated the conventional triaxial test of Hostun sand under drained and undrained conditions. The overall applicability of the proposed model is evaluated through comparisons of the prediction and test results
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