Small strain behavior of sand under various stress paths considering anisotropic initial stress state

Abstract

The stress-strain characteristics in small strain region for a Chinese sand were investigated under different stress paths. The strain contour circle method was used to simulate the small strain characteristics of the sand under various stress paths. The test results showed that the inherent stress-strain characteristics of the sand depend on the anisotropic initial stress state. The contraction and dilation behaviors of the tested sand under various K₀ initial stress conditions are different from that under isotropic initial stress state conditions. The test results of the sand agreed with the Wong-Mitchell’s research results very well. The strain contour circle method can approximately simulate small stress-strain characteristics of the sand for various stress paths by using the proportion function λ and expansion function l. The calculation results from the new method agree with the test results for Bothkennar clay.