Journal Published Online: 06 July 2016
Volume 39, Issue 5

Investigation Into the Effects of the Thickness of a Hollow-Cylinder Soil Specimen on the Stress Distributions in Triaxial Torsional Shear Testing

CODEN: GTJODJ

Abstract

To investigate the effect of the thickness of a hollow cylinder on the stress distributions in a torsional triaxial shear test of clay, an equation for calculating the circumferential shear stress on a cross section of the cyclider is derived based on a linear elastic constitutive model and elastic mechanics. The “stress error” parameter and “average stress error” parameters are defined to assess the non-uniformity of stresses. The parameter ranges are discussed for specimens with various thicknesses. Torsional triaxial shear testing of specimens with different thicknesses is simulated in using a three-dimensional finite-element method (3D FEM) with Duncan–Chang's non-linear elastic model. The results show that the circumferential shear stress non-uniformity increases with increasing thickness. The maximum, minimum and average “stress error” values are analyzed for commonly used specimen dimensions. When the soil's stress–strain is linear elastic, the “average stress error” is 12.8 % for an outer radius = 50 mm and a thickness = 20 mm and 9.0 % using Duncan–Chang's model. If the “average stress error” is limited to ≤ 10 %, the ratio of the inner radius over the outer radius is 0.68.

Author Information

Guo, W.-L.
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai Univ.; and Geotechnical Research Inst., Hohai Univ., Nanjing, CN
Zhu, J.-G.
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai Univ.; and Geotechnical Research Inst., Hohai Univ., Nanjing, CN
Yin, J.-H.
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Univ., Hong Kong, CN
Wen, Y. F.
Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering, China Inst. of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, CN
Pages: 9
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Stock #: GTJ20150144
ISSN: 0149-6115
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ20150144