Resonant Column Test on the Frozen Silt Soil Modulus and Damping at Different Temperatures

Abstract

Keywords resonant column, frozen silt, shear modulus, damping ratio, Hardin-Drnevich model IntroductionLarge frozen regions are distributed around the world, as in subarctic countries [1,2]. Compared to soil under normal conditions (15°C to 25°C), under which pore water remained in a liquid state inside the soil, the dynamics of frozen ground varies significantly with the seasons, resulting in different vibratory responses for building and civil engineering structures; even seismic damage is related to the season. The seasonal influences were demonstrated in the seismic damage caused by the earthquake swarm that occurred in Dedu county, China, in 1986. These earthquakes occurred in the summer and winter; the stiffer buildings suffered more during the winter earthquake events, while the more flexible buildings were damaged during the summer events [3]. Research on the frequency of building during an Alaskan winter illustrates that the firstorder mode frequency of reinforced concrete frame structures with a shallow foundation increases nearly 50% over construction performed during the summer [4].There are many researchers studying the shear modulus and damping ratio of normal soil [5][6][7][8][9][10], also some researchers have made significant achievements using specific soils [11][12][13][14][15]. Common used testing devices are resonant column apparatus (RCA) and dynamic triaxial apparatus (DTA), and the utilization frequency of DTA is higher than RCA. But in fact, the resonant column test (RCT) at normal temperatures (15°C to 25°C) is relatively reliable, and certain codes, such as the Chinese standard (SL237-1999) and the American standard (D4015-92) [16,17], have proven to be useful.In contrast, research on the shear modulus and damping ratio of frozen soil is limited [3,[18][19][20]. These researches revealed each factor that affects the modulus and damping to a different extent. However, the equipment performance and technological level required for a low temperature environment are more complex than those found in normal temperature tests. For all of the research noted above, there is a limit to the equipment's capabilities as well as some issues with the methodology, as shown in the following list.

The Dynamic Properties of Sand under Torsion: A Literature Review

“…Yu et al [92] used a special resonant column apparatus (RCA) to study the dynamic behavior of frozen silt soils, where a cooling bath (Thermo Scientific HAAKE Bath, Waltham, MA, USA) controlled the specimen temperature to ±0.01 • C. The sample was compacted, placed in a chloroprene rubber membrane, saturated, and confined in silicon oil. The study showed that the stiffness and damping ratio remained constant with temperature until −1.4 • C. The properties started to increase considerably until −3 • C (sensitive range), and at colder temperatures, the change was gradual (insensitive stage).…”

“…Parameters of the frozen silt modulus ratio and damping ratio curves at different temperatures[92] (reprinted, open access CC BY).…”

Verification of the Ramberg-Osgood Material Model in Midas GTS NX with the Modeling of Torsional Simple Shear Tests

“…Some of these factors can be assessed by state of the art laboratory investigations e.g. Torsional Simple Shear (TOSS), [5], Resonant Column [6], [7], or Bender Element [8] testing. Results of such investigations are used to improve existing material models or create new models, which represent more aspects of the real behavior than earlier ones.…”

Numerical investigation of seismic behaviour of railway embankments in cold regions

“…Even a relatively small change in temperature may cause a drastic change in dynamic response [7]. For instance, the Young's modulus of frozen soil is expressed in magnitudes that are tens to hundreds times higher compared to those of unfrozen soil, and the frozen soil is characterized by higher shear wave velocities in comparison with unfrozen soils [8][9][10][11]. The soil temperature exerts a large influence on the shear modulus and damping ratio.…”