The contents of both water and rock particles are important factors affecting the mechanical strength of a soil–rock mixture(SRM)filled subgrade in the western mountainous area of China.Therefore,the purpose of this paper is to study the mechanisms of reconstituted landslide deposit samples with different water and rock particle contents by analysing the characteristics of shear strength,volumetric strain and‘jumping’phenomenon via large-scale direct shear tests.The results show that the influence of water content on shear strength is greater than the influence of rock particle content under a lower normal stress,and the results are reversed in the case of a higher normal stress.The effect of water content on the equivalent cohesion is bigger,especially for the sample with a high rock particle content.The friction angle of the specimen with same water content increases with the increasing rock particle content,but when the number of rock particles increases to a certain extent,there is a little effect on the friction angle.However,the friction angle decreases with increasing water content at the same rock particle content.Specimens with the same rock particle content change from dilation to compression with increasing water content.Finally,the continuous stage of the‘intense jumping’at different water content has been analysed.The‘jumping’phenomenon of samples with low water and rock particle content will first strengthen and then weaken the samples with increasing normal stress.
Longqi LiuXuesong MaoYajun XiaoTiequan WangMenglan Nie
In a cost-saving move, the soft rocks composed of highly-weathered phyllites available on- site were used to fill the subgrade in the eastern Ankang section of the expressway of Shiyan to Tianshui, China. Cement admixture was used to improve the performance of the weathered phyllites. In order to determine the best mix ratio, values corresponding to compaction performance, unconfined compressive strength, and the California bearing ratio (CBR) were analyzed for variable cement content weight percentages (3%, 4%, 5%, and 6%) using test subgrade plots in the field. Field measurements of resilience modulus and deflection confirmed that the strength of the subgrade increased as the cement ratio increased. In order to further evaluate the cement/phyllite mixture, the performance of the 3% cement ratio sample was evaluated under saturated conditions (with various levels of moisture addition and soaking time) using both the wetting deformation and resilient modulus values. Results suggest that moisture added and soaking time are key factors that affect the seepage depth, water content, and resilient modulus. The recommend values for the cement addition and for the water content are given out. This study can aid in pre- vention of highway damage by improving the foundation capacity and lengthening the lifecycle of the highway in phyllite distributed region at home and abroad.
In arid regions, water vapor diffusion predominates the total water migration in unsaturated soil, which significantly influences agriculture and engineering applications. With the aim of revealing the diffusion mechanism of water vapor in unsaturated soil, a water vapor migration test device was developed to conduct the water vapor migration indoor test. The test results demonstrate that the characteristics of water vapor diffusion in unsaturated soil conformed to Fick’s second law. A mathematical model for water vapor diffusion under isothermal conditions in unsaturated soil was established based on Fick’s law. Factors including the initial moisture content gradient, initial moisture content distribution, soil type and temperature that affect the water vapor diffusion coefficient were analyzed. The results show that there was good agreement between the moisture content calculated by the mathematical model and obtained by the indoor experiment. The vapor diffusion coefficient increased with increasing initial moisture content gradient and temperature. When the initial moisture content gradient is constant, the vapor diffusion coefficient increases with the increase of matrix suction ratio in dry and wet soil section. The effect of soil type on the water vapor diffusion coefficient was complex, as both the moisture content and soil particle sizes affected the water vapor diffusion.
LIU Fei-feiMAO Xue-songZHANG Jian-xunWU QianLI Ying-yingXU Cheng