Effect of the cyclic loading on the yield surface of a chemically stabilised soil

Abstract

When a soil is subjected to cyclic loading, there are changes in the material's geomechanical behaviour that need to be characterised before safely designing any future projects. In terms of cyclic loading, it is important to characterise not only the failure of the soil but also its behaviour before failure, in particular the yield point and the elastic behaviour of the material. This study examines the effects of the number of loading cycles on the behaviour of a chemically stabilised soft soil with a particular focus on the yield surface. To this end, a series of triaxial tests were performed on specimens, previously or not subjected to a different number of loading cycles (1000–100 000). The results were analysed in terms of the evolution of accumulated permanent axial strain, the yield surface and stress–strain behaviour. It was observed that an increase in the number of loading cycles promoted: an increase in the permanent axial strain, an increase in the undrained resilient modulus, a shrinkage of the yield surface but its shape is maintained, and there is a small increase in the peak strength of the stabilised soil explained by the strain-hardening effect induced by the cyclic loading.