Effects of inherent anisotropy on G0 of unsaturated sand

Abstract

Inherent anisotropy, resulted from sediment process, is an important aspect when considering the behavior of sandy soils. Also, accurate initial shear modulus G0 at very small strain is an essential parameter in many seismic designs and analyses of underground structures. In this research, the influences of inherent anisotropy on G0 were investigated by conducting a series of triaxial tests employed both local small strain (LSS) measurement technique and bender element (BE) method. Specimens were prepared using air pluviation method in an inclined container at different angles to create the inherent anisotropy induced by orientation of sand particles. The experimental results obtained on both saturated and unsaturated sands indicate that G0 was affected by depositional angle of the specimen. Moreover, those results showed greater G0 on unsaturated sand than that on saturated sand because of the application of matric suction.