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Macro- and micro-scale behavior of inherently anisotropic sands under true triaxial loading paths considering partial drainage conditions

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Abstract

The actual drainage conditions in situ will be neither perfectly drained or undrained but will be partially drained. In the meantime, granular material behavior is sensitive to the intermediate principal stress ratio b = (σ2−σ3)/(σ1−σ3). While the conventional triaxial behavior of granular material under partial drainage condition has been extensively investigated, true triaxial behavior of granular material under partial drainage condition has not been studied. In this study, a series of DEM simulations are conducted to investigate both the macro- and micro-scale behavior of sand, considering the combined effects of the partial drainage conditions and intermediate principal stress ratios (b = 0, 0.5, and 1.0). The initial fabric anisotropy is integrated into consideration, which is measured through a bedding plane angles α = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The second order work criterion is used to detect the occurrence of instability under different loading conditions. During the entire loading process, the internal structure evolutions of the granular assemblies are quantified through a contact-normal-based fabric tensor. The interplay between the external loading and the internal fabric evolution is analyzed in detail, which can provide useful insights into the macro-scale observations.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52208366 and 52078236) and the Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province (Grant No. 2023AFB578). The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China,52208366,Qixin Wu,52078236,Jun-Jie ZHENG,Department of Science and Technology,Hubei Provincial People's Government,2023AFB578,Qixin Wu

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Author notes

  1. Jun-jie Zheng

    Present address: School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

  2. Dr. Qixin Wu and Prof. Jun-jie Zheng made equal contributions to this sutdy.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China

    Seyedeh Fateme Faraji

  2. Institute of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jun-jie Zheng

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Qixin Wu

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  1. Seyedeh Fateme Faraji
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Correspondence to Jun-jie Zheng or Qixin Wu.

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Faraji, S., Zheng, Jj. & Wu, Q. Macro- and micro-scale behavior of inherently anisotropic sands under true triaxial loading paths considering partial drainage conditions. Granular Matter 26, 30 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-024-01400-y

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