An experimental investigation of the independent effect of suction and degree of saturation on very small-strain stiffness of unsaturated sand

The paper presents an experimental investigation of very small strain stiffness of unsaturated sand. A triaxial test apparatus was equipped with bender elements and compression discs in order to assess the stiffness at very small strains by measuring the velocity of propagation of shear and compress...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pagano Arianna, Tarantino Alessandro, Bagheri Meghdad, Rezania Mohammad, Sentenac Philippe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2016-01-01
Series:E3S Web of Conferences
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20160914015
Description
Summary:The paper presents an experimental investigation of very small strain stiffness of unsaturated sand. A triaxial test apparatus was equipped with bender elements and compression discs in order to assess the stiffness at very small strains by measuring the velocity of propagation of shear and compression waves through an unsaturated sample. The negative water column method was adopted to apply suction at the base of the sample. The experiments were designed to investigate the independent effect of suction and degree of saturation on the wave propagation velocities. This was achieved by testing the sand sample on both the drying and wetting path.
ISSN:2267-1242