Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering
Published in: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 2/2014

01-04-2014 | Original paper

Semi-empirical Model for Estimating the Small-Strain Shear Modulus of Unsaturated Non-plastic Sandy Soils

Authors: Won Taek Oh, Sai K. Vanapalli

Published in: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering | Issue 2/2014

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The shear modulus at small-strain, G max is a maximum value of shear modulus for a given stress state and void ratio, and is a key parameter to evaluate the dynamic response of geotechnical structures. However, the laboratory testing procedures for determining G max are time-consuming, cumbersome and require elaborate equipment especially for unsaturated soil samples. A semi-empirical model is proposed in this paper that can be used to estimate the variation of G max with respect to matric suction for non-plastic sandy soils (i.e. I p  = 0 %). The proposed model uses the Soil–Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) and the shear modulus at saturation condition along with two fitting parameters ζ and ξ. The proposed model permits estimation of the variation of G max with respect to matric suction over different zones of the SWCC (i.e. boundary effect, transition, and residual zones) for various non-plastic sandy soils. The fitting parameters ζ and ξ required for the proposed semi-empirical model can be estimated from simple relationships derived from the grain size distribution curve.
previous article Sensitivity Analysis of Selected Input Parameters for an Advanced Constitutive Model
next article Probabilistic Inverse Analysis of Excavation-Induced Wall and Ground Responses for Assessing Damage Potential of Adjacent Buildings

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Airey DW, Wood DM (1987) An evaluation of direct simple shear tests on clay. Géotechnique 37(1):25–35CrossRef
Asslan M, Wuttke F (2012) Wave velocity change and small-strain stiffness in unsaturated soils: experimental investigation. In: Proceedings of the 2nd European conference on unsaturated soils (E-UNSAT 2012), 20–22 June 2012, Napoli, pp 355–362
Atkinson JH, Sallfors G (1991) Experimental determination of soil properties. In: Proceedings of the 10th European conference on soil mechanics and foundation engineering, 26–30 May 1991, Florence, pp 915–956
Chang N-Y, Ko H-Y (1982) Effect of grain size distribution on dynamic properties and liquefaction potential of granular soils. Research Report R82-103, University of Colorado at Denver
Cho GC, Santamarina JC (2001) Unsaturated particulate materials—particle-level studies. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 127(1):84–96CrossRef
Ferreira C, da Fonseca AV, Santos JA (2006) Comparison of simultaneous bender elements and resonant column tests on Porto residual soil. Soil Stress-strain behaviour: measurement, modeling and analysis, geotechnical symposium in Roma, 16–17 March 2006, pp 523–535
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. Wiley, New YorkCrossRef
Fredlund DG, Xing A, Fredlund MD, Barbour SL (1996) Relationship of the unsaturated soil shear strength to the soil-water characteristic curve. Can Geotech J 33(3):440–448CrossRef
Ghayoomi M, McCartney JS (2011) Measurement of small-strain shear moduli of partially saturated sand during infiltration in geotechnical centrifuge. Geotech Test J 34(5):1–11
Hardin BO (1973) Shear modulus of gravel. Report TR74-73-CE19, Civil Engineering Department, University of Kentucky
Hardin BO (1978) The nature of stress-strain behavior of soils. In: Proceedings of the geotechnical engineering division specialty conference on earthquake engineering and soil dynamics, vol 1. ASCE, Pasadena, CA, pp 1–90
Hardin BO, Drnevich VO (1972) Shear modulus and damping in soils: measurements and parameter effect. J Geotech Eng 98(6):603–624
Hardin BO, Kalinski ME (2005) Estimating the shear modulus of gravelly soils. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 131(7):867–875CrossRef
Hardin BO, Richart FE (1963) Elastic wave velocities in granular soils. Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division ASCE 89(1):33–65
Heitor A, Indraratna B, Rujikiatkamjorn C (2013) Laboratory study of small-strain behavior of a compacted silty sand. Can Geotech J 50(2):179–188CrossRef
Hoyos LR, Suescun EA, Puppala AJ (2011) Small-strain stiffness of unsaturated soils using a suction-controlled resonant column device with bender elements. In: Proceedings of the geo-frontiers 2011 conference, 13–16 March 2011, Dallas, Texas, pp 4313–4322
Inci G, Yesiller N, Kagawa T (2003) Experimental investigation of dynamic response of compacted clayey soil. Geotech Test J 26(2):125–141
Ishihara K (1996) Soil behavior in earthquake geotechnics. Oxford Science Publications, New York
Khosravi A (2011) Small strain shear modulus of unsaturated, compacted soils during hydraulic hysteresis. Ph.D thesis, University of Colorado at Boulder
Khosravi A, McCartney JS (2009) Impact of stress state on the dynamic shear moduli of unsaturated, compacted Soils. In: Proceedings of the 4th Asia-Pacific conference on unsaturated soils, Newcastle, Australia, 23–25 November 2009, pp 795–764
Khosravi A, McCartney JS (2012) Impact of hydraulic hysteresis on the small-strain shear modulus of low plasticity soils. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 138(11):1326–1333
Khosravi A, Ghayoomi M, McCartney JS, Ko H-Y (2010) Impact of effective stress on the dynamic shear modulus of unsaturated sand. In: Proceedings of GeoFlorida, Florida, USA, 20–24 February 2010, pp 410–419
Kim DS, Seo WS, Kim MJ (2003) Deformation characteristic of soils with variations of capillary pressure and water content. Soils Found 43(4):71–79CrossRef
Kokusho T (1980) Cyclic triaxial test of dynamic soil properties for wide strain range. Soils Found 20:45–60CrossRef
Kurtulus A, Stokoe KH (2008) In situ measurement of nonlinear shear modulus of silty soil. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 134(10):1531–1540CrossRef
Ladd RJ, Dutko P (1985) Small-strain measurements for stability of soft clays. In: Koshla V (ed) Advances in the Art of Testing Soils Under Cyclic Conditions. ASCE, New York, pp 148–166
Lee SH, Seo WS, Kim DS (2007) Evaluation of modulus of unsaturated compacted soils in various matric suctions using modified volumetric pressure plate extractor. In: Proceedings of the 60th Canadian geotechnical conference, Ottawa, Canada, 21–24 October 2007, pp 1037–1044
Mancuso C, Vassallo R, d’Onofrio A (2002) Small strain behavior of a silty sand in controlled-suction resonant column—torsional shear tests. Can Geotech J 39(1):22–31CrossRef
Mendoza CE, Colmenares JE, Merchán VE (2005) Stiffness of an unsaturated compacted clayey soil at very small strains. In: Proceedings of international symposium on advanced experimental unsaturated soil mechanics, 27–29 June, Trento, Italy, pp 199–204
Menq F-Y (2003) Dynamic properties of sandy and gravelly soils. PhD thesis, University of Texas at Austin
Nazarian S, Stokoe KH (1983) Use of spectral analysis of surface waves for determination of moduli and thickness of pavement systems. Transportation Research Record 954, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
Ng CWW, Menzies B (2007) Advanced unsaturated soil mechanics and engineering. Taylor & Francis, New York
Ng CWW, Yung SY (2008) Determination of the anisotropic shear stiffness of an unsaturated decomposed soil. Géotechnique 58(a):23–25CrossRef
Oh WT, Vanapalli SK (2011a) The relationship between the elastic and shear modulus of unsaturated soils. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on unsaturated soils, Barcelona, Spain, 6–8 September 2010, pp 341–346
Oh WT, Vanapalli SK (2011b) Modelling the applied vertical stress and settlement relationship of shallow foundations in saturated and unsaturated sands. Can Geotech J 48(3):425–438CrossRef
Oh WT, Vanapalli SK, Puppala AJ (2009) A semi-empirical model for the prediction of modulus of elastic for unsaturated soils. Can Geotech J 46(8):903–914CrossRef
Picornell M, Nazarian S (1998) Effect of soil suction on the low-strain shear modulus of soils. In: Proceeding of the 2nd international conference on unsaturated soil, 27–30 August 1998, Beijing, China, pp 102–107
Qian X, Gray DH, Woods RD (1993) Void and granulometry: effects and shear modulus of unsaturated soils. J Geotech Eng 119(2):295–314CrossRef
Richart JE, Hall JR, Woods RO (1970) Vibrations of soils and foundations. Prentice-Hall Inc, New Jersey
Rinaldi VA, Santamarina JC, Redolfi ER (1998) Characterization of collapsible soils with combined geophysical and penetration testing. In: Robertson PK, Mayne PW (eds) Proceedings 1st international conference on site characterisation, ISC’98, Balkema, Brookfield, pp 581–588
Roesler SK (1977) Correlation methods in soil dynamics. In Proceeding of DMSR77. Karlsruhe, Germany 1:309–334
Sawangsuriya A (2006) Stiffness-suction-moisture relationship for compacted soils. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin
Sawangsuriya A, Edil TB, Bosscher PJ (2008) Modulus-suction-moisture relationship for compacted soils. Can Geotech J 45(7):973–983CrossRef
Seed HB, Idriss IM (1970) Soil moduli and damping factors for dynamic response analyses. Report EERC 70-10, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Shirley DJ, Anderson AL (1975) Acoustic and engineering properties of sediments. Report ARL-TR-75-78, Applied Research Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin
Takkabutr P (2006) Experimental investigations on small-strain stiffness properties of partially saturated soils via resonant column and bender element testing. PhD thesis, University of Texas, Arlington
Vanapalli SK, Mohamed FMO (2007) Bearing capacity of model footings in unsaturated soils. In: Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on unsaturated soils, Weimar, pp 483–493
Vanapalli SK, Fredlund DG, Pufahl DE, Clifton AW (1996) Model for the prediction of shear strength with respect to soil suction. Can Geotech J 33(3):379–392CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Semi-empirical Model for Estimating the Small-Strain Shear Modulus of Unsaturated Non-plastic Sandy Soils
Authors
Won Taek Oh
Sai K. Vanapalli
Publication date
01-04-2014
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering / Issue 2/2014
Print ISSN: 0960-3182
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1529
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-013-9708-5

Other articles of this Issue 2/2014

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 2/2014 Go to the issue

Original paper

Characterization of Colliery Spoils in León: Potential Uses in Rural Infrastructures

Original paper

Construction of Large-Span Twin Tunnels Below a High-Rise Transmission Tower: A Case Study

Original paper

Mine Overburden Dump Failure: A Case Study

Original paper

Extreme Learning Machine Based Modeling of Resilient Modulus of Subgrade Soils

Original paper

On Joint Roughness: Measurements and Use in Rock Mass Characterization

Original Paper

Analytical Expression for Vertical Stress within an Inclined Mine Stope with Non-parallel Walls