Triaxial Experimental Study of Zinc Contaminated Red Clay under Different Temperature Conditions

Abstract

Temperature is one of the important factors affecting the mechanical properties of geotechnical soils, and its role in engineering construction in China cannot be underestimated. In order to study the effects of temperature and zinc contamination concentration on the mechanical properties of Guilin local red clay, a temperature-controlled triaxial shear test was conducted on Guilin red clay under three variables of temperature, zinc contamination concentration and surrounding pressure. The test findings revealed that there are significant differences in the effects of temperature, zinc contamination concentration and surrounding pressure on the mechanical properties of Guilin red clay. The stress–strain curves of the red clay at various temperatures, contamination concentrations and envelope pressures are of the strain-hardening type, and the deformation modulus showed a tendency to increase rapidly with increasing strain, then decrease rapidly, and finally, decrease slowly. With the increase of temperature, the cohesion of Zn-contaminated red clay increases, while the angle of internal friction increases and then decreases, both of which increase the shear strength of red clay. As the concentration of Zn contamination grows, the shear strength of the red clay increases, while the internal friction angle increases and then decreases, and the shear strength of the soil increases and then decreases. The shear strength of the Zn-contaminated red clay improved as the surrounding pressure increased.