Scale Effects in the Indirect Tensile and Unconfined Compressive Strength Tests of Cement-Stabilized Base Materials

Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Scale Effects in the Indirect Tensile and Unconfined Compressive Strength Tests of Cement-Stabilized Base Materials

Mohammad Rashidi and Reza S. Ashtiani, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the relevance and to quantify the influence of the specimen dimensions on the tensile and compressive behaviour of the cement treated base materials. This objective was achieved by post processing of laboratory measured properties of over 50 fabricated specimens coupled with numerical simulations to quantify the compressive and tensile strength properties in the UCS and IDT tests. The trend analysis of laboratory data underscored the influence of the specimen dimension, characterized by length to diameter (L/D) ratio on the strength properties of cement treated reclaimed and virgin mixes. Additionally, several numerical simulations were conducted to study the role of the bearing strip on the stress distributions in the IDT tests. The simulation results were further validated by laboratory tests to demonstrate the simultaneous influence of the (L/D) and loading strip on the tensile strength of the cement treated materials. Primarily, the UCS test results indicated that the unconfined compressive strength decreases appreciably with increasing length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio. The laboratory validated results showed that the adjustment of the loading strip can potentially minimize the variation in the tensile strength of cement treated materials in the IDT tests.

Recommended
Show more Show less

Chapter Authors:

Mohammad Rashidi
Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., Engineering Bldg., Room M-104, El Paso, TX 79968. E-mail: [email protected]
Reza S. Ashtiani, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., Engineering Bldg., Room A-217, El Paso, TX 79968. E-mail: [email protected]
Book Title: Geo-Congress 2019: Geotechnical Materials, Modeling, and Testing

Book Authors:

Edited by Christopher L. Meehan, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Delaware
Sanjeev Kumar, Ph.D., P.E.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Miguel A. Pando, Ph.D., P.Eng.
University of North Carolina Charlotte
Joseph T. Coe, Ph.D.
Temple University
https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784482124.064
Published online: March 21, 2019
ASCE Subject Headings: Scale effect, Tensile strength, Compressive strength, Material tests, Strength of materials, Material properties, Base course, Cement
Conference Information
Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
March 24–27, 2019 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers