Failure evolution in granular material retained by rigid wall in active mode

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed study of a selected small scale model test, performed on a sample of surrogate granular material, retained by a rigid wall (typical geotechnical problem of earth thrust on a retaining wall). The experimental data presented in this paper show that the deformation of granular sample behind retaining wall can undergo some cyclic changes. The nature of these cycles is not clear -it is probably related to some micromechanical features of granular materials, which are recently extensively studied in many research centers in the world. Employing very precise DIC (PIV) method can help to relate micro and macro-scale behavior of granular materials.

Cyclical changes in deformation process in granular material in active state

“…The tests were registered both in ordinary and polarized light, to give not only strain, but also stress information based on photo-elasticity, but the latter is not a subject of this paper. Due to the demands of photo-elastic method the granular specimen was saturated with clove oil, having the same refraction index as glass [1][2][3][4].…”

“…The experimental set-up applied in this work was described in detail in [1][2][3][4][5]. Small-scale tests on granular samples retained by a movable rigid wall were performed in a glass-sided box (Fig.1).…”

Active earth pressure model tests versus finite element analysis

“…The tests were registered both in ordinary and polarized light, to give not only strain, but also stress information based on photo-elasticity, but the latter is not a subject of this paper. Due to the demands of photoelastic method the granular specimen was saturated with clove oil, having the same refraction index as glass [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. Volume weight of granules was 16,80 kN/m3.…”

“…The experimental setup and the techniques applied in this research were described earlier [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Specific boundary conditions -external load distributed on the sample through the set of five metal segments, Fig.1, [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11] arose the question of their influence on the deformation field. Therefore, a simulation of model test was carried out for two types of load distribution: direct (continuous load Fig.…”