Cardinal Theme

Effect of cement type on the mechanical behavior of a gravely sand.

The behavior of a cemented gravely sand was studied using triaxial compression tests. Gypsum, Portland cement and lime were used as the cementing agents in sample preparation. The samples with different cement types were compared in equal cement contents. Three cement contents of 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5% were selected for sample preparation. Drained and undrained triaxial compression tests were conducted in a range of confining pressures from 25 kPa to 500 kPa. Failure modes, shear strength, stress–strain behavior, volume and pore pressure changes were considered. The gypsum cement induced the highest brittleness in soil among three cement types while the Portland cement was found to be the most ductile cementing agent. In lower cement contents and lower confining pressures the soil cemented with Portland cement showed the highest shear strength. However, in the same range of cement content, the soil cemented with gypsum showed highest shear strength for highest tested confining stress. For higher cement contents the shear strength of soil cemented with Portland cement is higher than that for the two other cement types for the range of confining pressures tested in the present study. The samples cemented with lime had the least peak and ultimate shear strength and the highest pore pressure generation in undrained tests. Contrary to the soil cemented with lime, the brittleness of soil cemented with gypsum and Portland cement reduces in undrained condition. Finally it was found that the effect of cement type on the shear strength of cemented soils is more profound in drained condition compared to undrained state.


S. Mohsen Haeri
Amir Hamidi
S. Mahdi Hosseini