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Open AccessArticle
Exploring the Macroscopic Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Lightly Cemented Sand in the Post-Liquefaction Process Using DEM
by
Fuguang Zhang
Fuguang Zhang 1,2,3,
Cheng Chen
Cheng Chen 4 and
Huaiping Feng
Huaiping Feng 1,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and System Safety of Traffic Engineering Structures, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang 050043, China
2
Key Laboratory of Roads and Railway Engineering Safety Control (Shijiazhuang Tiedao University), Ministry of Education, Shijiazhuang 050043, China
3
School of Civil Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang 050043, China
4
Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2024, 17(15), 3721; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153721 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 26 June 2024
/
Revised: 21 July 2024
/
Accepted: 25 July 2024
/
Published: 27 July 2024
Abstract
This study investigates the post-liquefaction monotonic undrained shearing behavior of cemented sand at the macro- and microscales, using the discrete element method. A series of cyclic undrained triaxial tests with different stress amplitudes and post-liquefaction monotonic undrained triaxial tests were simulated on cemented sand with diverse cement contents (CCs). For comparison, a series of monotonic undrained triaxial tests on cemented sand without liquefaction (virgin cemented sand) were also modeled. The macroscopic behavior was analyzed in conjunction with the microscopic characteristics of the assembly, such as the deviator fabric of contact normal orientation, mechanical coordination number, energy components, and bond breakage. The results show that the DEM model can capture the effect of CC and cyclic stress ratio (CSR) on the undrained shear strength, stiffness, and pore pressure observed in laboratory experiments. Referring to the virgin specimen, with an increase in CC, the mechanical coordination number and the input work increment increase, while the deviator fabric for total contacts changes irregularly, leading to a greater initial stiffness and shear strength. In the case of the liquefied specimen, the smaller initial mechanical coordination number results in a very low initial stiffness regardless of CC. Contrary to the uncemented sand, both the mechanical coordination number and the input work increment decrease with an increasing CSR for the cemented sand. The microstructure evolution governs the effect of cementation level and liquefaction history on the macroscopic post-liquefaction behavior.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhang, F.; Chen, C.; Feng, H.
Exploring the Macroscopic Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Lightly Cemented Sand in the Post-Liquefaction Process Using DEM. Materials 2024, 17, 3721.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153721
AMA Style
Zhang F, Chen C, Feng H.
Exploring the Macroscopic Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Lightly Cemented Sand in the Post-Liquefaction Process Using DEM. Materials. 2024; 17(15):3721.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153721
Chicago/Turabian Style
Zhang, Fuguang, Cheng Chen, and Huaiping Feng.
2024. "Exploring the Macroscopic Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Lightly Cemented Sand in the Post-Liquefaction Process Using DEM" Materials 17, no. 15: 3721.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153721
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