ISSN: 0149-6115
Page Count: 7

Strain-Controlled, Variable Frequency Cyclic Loading System for Soft Soils

Kramer, SL
Associate professor, graduate student, and research assistant,University of Washington,WA,

von Laun, F-Y
Associate professor, graduate student, and research assistant,University of Washington,WA,

Sivaneswaran, N
Associate professor, graduate student, and research assistant,University of Washington,WA,

Abstract

A mechanical, strain-controlled, variable frequency loading system has been developed for cyclic testing for soft soils. The system consists of a variable speed driving system (variable speed electric motor) and a rotation/translation converter (crank and crank-shaft system). It is capable of producing a simple harmonic time history of axial strain at an infinite number of desired strain levels. The loading system is simple and can be easily fabricated at low cost. Performance of the system is verified by performing frequency sweep tests on a San Francisco Bay mud specimen.

Keywords:
cyclic loading, triaxial tests, frequency, loading, frequency dependence, strain-controlled loading

Paper ID: GTJ10022J
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ10022J
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