ABSTRACT

Axisymmetric or plane strain deformation response of cemented sands at

different densities and confining pressures have been examined to assess the influence of cementation processes on dilatancy characteristics. The data

originated from laboratory testing of sands artificially cemented with inorganic materials, e.g., gypsum plaster, and ordinary portland cement, and those cemented with microbial action. Friction and dilation angles and cohesion mobilization with major principal strain was worked out for assessing the influence of relative density, effective confining pressure, and cementation mechanisms on strength mobilization.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
CEMENTED SANDS
From a mechanical point of view, cemented soils, weak rocks, and similar bonded materials constitute an intermediate class of geo materials placed between classical soil mechanics and rock mechanics .In poor soil conditions, engineering behaviour can often be enhanced by some method of ground treatment, such as grouting, that produces an artificially cemented structure, which reduces significantly soil compressibility. These few examples highlight the need to improve the understanding on the behaviour of naturally and artificially cemented soils for geotechnical engineering purposes. Cemented sands are widely found in nature, for example in aged sedimentary deposits. The addition of cementing agents, especially Portland cement, is usually adopted to improve the mechanical characteristics of soils, an inorganic technique often applied to current geotechnical problems. But recently as result of emergence of Microbial

Geotechnology , branch of Geotechnical Engineering , technique of Biocementation to generation of particle-binding materials through microbial processes in situ so that the shear strength of soil can be increased is developed. From a mechanical point of view, cemented soils, weak rocks, and similar bonded materials constitute an intermediate class of geomaterials placed between classical soil mechanics and rock mechanics.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To find the collective influence of effective stress ,soil density and cementation, by examining Axisymmetric deformation response in case of both inorganically and microbially induced cementation ,on dilatancy angle of sand.

Obtaining values of friction and mobilized cohesion , having determined the dilatancy characteristics for assessing the influence of relative density, effective confining pressure. Using the above parameters we find the mobilized shear against principal strain.

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW CEMENTATION IN SAND The study of cemented soils is of significant interest to geotechnical engineers. Soil cementation can be found naturally, or induced artificially for the purpose of improving the bearing capacity of weak soils. Saxena and Lastrico (1978) suggested that at low axial strains (<1%), the cohesion caused by the cement bonding between particles is the major component of the strength. The cohesion component of the shear strength vanishes around at 1% strain and at the same time the frictional strength becomes dominant. Clough et al. (1981) suggested that the nature and amount of cement, confining stress, density, gradation and structure of the soil are the governing variables for the behavior of cemented soils. Data also indicated that cemented sands exhibit greater dilatation rate mainly because of particles agglomeration leading to the development of highly interlocked cemented groups (Lade and Overton 1989) Schnaid et al. (2001) preformed unconfined compression and drained Triaxial compression tests on an artificially cemented sandy soil by Portland cement. It was concluded that the unconfined compression resistance is a direct measurement of the degree of cementation and the triaxial shear strength can be expressed as a function of the internal shear angle of the non-structured material and the unconfined compression resistance. . The cementing agent is mainly carbonate materials such as calcite (Haeri et al, 2002). Experimental research on naturally cemented gravely sands is rare, because acquiring undisturbed samples from naturally cemented coarse-grained soils is extremely difficult. Therefore, most of experimental studies on the behavior of cemented sands and gravels are on artificially cemented specimens. The mechanical behavior of cemented alluvium of Tehran, Iran, has been under study for a number of years. Haeri et al. (2002) carried out some large direct shear tests on undisturbed samples, uncemented and artificially cemented gravely sands of the Tehran alluvium using lime as a cementing agent for artificially cemented samples. The results showed a curved failure envelope for cemented samples and an increase in cohesion intercept by cementation process. Asghari et al. (2003) performed a series of triaxial tests on uncemented and artificially cemented samples using hydrated lime as a cementing agent. Tests results show that shear strength increases with increase in cement content, however the influence of the cementation decreases as the confining pressure increases and the failure envelope for cemented samples are curved. . In a study Haeri et al. (2005) conducted 3

drained and undrained triaxial tests on the same soil but cemented artificially with gypsum plaster. Test results show that even at the highest confining stress and the least cement content dilation occurs. The behavior of the cemented soil is found to be more brittle in drained condition than that in undrained one. Abdulla et al. (1996) experimentally demonstrated that the cohesion intercept and initial stiffness of the cemented sand increased as a function of cement content. Consoli et al. (2009) suggest that the values of internal friction angle , Cohesion intercept

c and

initial shear modulus

G0 are

increasing

function of cementation. A triaxial tests and numerical simulations using the discrete element method (DEM) are combined to explore the underlying mechanisms of the unique behavior of artificially cemented sands has been reported Wang et al. (2008). The experimental results show that strength enhancement, volumetric dilation, and the shear banding associated failure mode are observed in Portland cement sand; these features become more pronounced with increasing cement content. Different responses are found in gypsum-cemented sand even though both types of cemented sand specimens were prepared under very similar void ratios before shearing. The DEM simulations on the Portland cement sand were carried out under two particular arrangements (i.e., the use of small cementing particles and flexible membrane boundaries). The simulation results reveal that particles in the bonding network jointly share the loading and many micro force-chains associated with cementation are created.

As per Lee et al. (2010) a series of cone penetration and bender element tests were performed on sands artificially cemented with gypsum in a calibration chamber to investigate the effect of cementation on the cone tip resistance (qc) and small strain shear modulus (Gmax) of sand. It was found that both the qc and Gmax of cemented sand are significantly affected by the degree of cementation while the effects of stress and density are reduced due to the cementation bonds. It is observed from the Gmax_e_m relation that cementation causes a significant reduction of the exponents for mean effective stress and void ratio. The Gmax of cemented sand appears to be more significantly affected by the cementation level than by the density and stress level. It was found that qc and Gmax increase with increasing gypsum content, but to different degrees. Cementation effect is more pronounced on Gmax rather than qc due due to the damage to cementation bondage induced during the penetration of the cone.

Stress-dilatancy relation
As per P.W Rowe the dilatancy and strength of an assembly of individual particles in contact when subjected to a deviatoric stress system is found to depend on the angle of friction between the particle surfaces, on the geometrical angle of packing, a, and on the degree of energy loss during remolding. The Mohr-Coulomb criterion of failure which is strictly applicable to a continuum is shown not to have general application to a discontinuous assembly of particles. Rowes stress-dilatancy relationship is commonly expressed as R=KcD, where R is the ratio of principal stresses, Kc is a constant and D = (1 dv/d1) is the rate of dilatancy related to volumetric and major principal strain
rates. . At small strains, dilatancy is hindered by the intact bonding network that produces a

web-patterned force chain. After yielding, the increase in the dilatancy accelerates. Two competing but intimately related processes determine the peak strength: Bond breakages cause a strength reduction but the associated dilatancy leads to a strength increase. This nding and the experimental observation that the dilatancy at the peak state increases with increasing cement content explain why the measured peak-state strength parameters, c and p, are relevant to the cement content. Following this stress dilatency relation can be used to show dilatency character of cemented soils also as given in following eqn.

x 1/(1-

)=

)2 + 2c/3 x

Eqn. (A)

As shown in this that dilatency is influenced by both the inter-particle cohesion c and the angle
of friction , which shows that dilatancy is inhibited by the presence of cohesion or bonding

between the particles of a cemented soil. This has been shown by various laboratory results as well for example triaxial compression tests on artificially cemented sand carried out by Schnaid et al. (2001) demonstrated that the dilation of artificially cemented sand is also inhibited by interparticle bonding.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the description of the study area, data acquisition and methods used for data processing.
The mechanical characteristics of cemented sands were investigated using artificially cemented samples. Data from test result graphs of samples prepared with constant grain size distribution of the base soil; at different cement contents (1%,2%, 3% and 6%). Consolidated drained tests were performed at different confining pressures ranging 50 to 300 kN/m2.

FIG. 2 Effects of cement content on - relations

for 3"=100 kPa.

FIG. 3 Effects of cement content on volumetric

Strain for 3"=100 kPa.

FIG. 4 Effects of cement content on - relations

for 3=300 kPa.

FIG. 5Effects of cement content on volumetric

Strain for 3=300 kPa.

Using coral draw (drawing software) data obtained from different graphs is given in tables I, II , & II. Further using these data ( 1 & 3 ) for drawing mohr circles and finding their failure envelop we deduce the values of cohesion (c) and soil friction () against different axial strains ( ).

Failure envelop
C

FIG. 6 Mohr failure envelop diagram.

Cohesion (c) and soil friction (D = (1 dv/d1)) thus obtained is utilized to deduce graphs between c - and - for different soils. Similarly data for Bio cemented sand is processed for tests results , conducted on Bio cemented at geotech laboratory of I.I.T Kharagpur , are given in table IV & V.

Proposed Scope of work

Using the above collected, processed data and Eqn. A rate of dilatancy (D) be obtained . Which will be compared with D = (1 dv/d1) the tabulated data. On validation of both the values dilation angle () will be calculated. Finally using all the values processed ( c, & ) mobilizes shear strength will be assessed against principal strain.

REFERENCE
Asghari , E., Toll , D.G. and Haeri, S.M. (2003) Triaxial behavior of a cemented gravelly sand, Tehran alluvium, J. Geotech. Geol. Eng., 21(1), 128. Abdulla, A., Kiousis, P.D. 1997. Behavior of cemented sands I (testing). Int. J. Num. Anal. Methd Geomech. 21, 533-547. Schnaid , F., Prietto , P.D.M. and Consoli , M.H.T. (2001), Characterization of cemented sand in triaxial compression, J. Geotech. Eng., ASCE ,Vol. 127(10), 115(10), 13731387.
Y. H. Wang and S. C. Leung2008 , Characterization of Cemented Sand by Experimental

And Numerical Investigations. J. Geotech. Eng., ASCE,10900241/2008/134:7992

Saxena, S.K. and Lastrico, R.M.(1978), Static properties of lightly cemented sand, Journal of Geotech. Engerg. Div., ASCE, 104(12), 1449-1465.

Saxena, K.S., Reddy, K.R., and Avramidis, A.S. 1988. Liquefaction resistance of artificially cemented sand. J. Geotech., Eng., ASCE, 114, 1395-1413.
P. W. Rowe, The Stress-Dilatancy Relation for Static Equilibrium of an Assembly of Particles in Contact , The Royal Society of London., Vol. 269, No. 1339 (Oct. 9, 1962)

Bolton, M. D. (1986). The strength and dilatancy of sands, Geotechnique, 20(1), 65-78.

Thesis by Ammanullah Marri , The Mechanical Behaviour of Cemented Granular Materials at High Pressures, The University of Nottingham (2010)

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