Experimental studies on effect of load repetition on dynamic characteristics of saturated Ahmedabad cohesive soil

Abstract

The present study investigates the hysteresis response, stiffness degradation/cyclic softening and energy dissipation features of Ahmedabad cohesive soil. Saturated specimens of Ahmedabad cohesive soil were reconstituted using slurry consolidation technique at different void ratios to perform the following series of tests, strain-controlled cyclic triaxial tests, shear strength, and compressibility tests. Load repetition exhibited significant degradation in shear modulus of slurry consolidated cohesive soil specimens under cyclic loading conditions. A maximum stiffness degradation of 78% was observed for the specimen possessing minimum initial void ratio. Hysteresis response of Ahmedabad soil revealed alteration in the rotation angle of hysteresis loops and their sizes with varying initial void ratios of the Ahmedabad cohesive soil. A substantial influence of initial void ratio on the energy dissipation behavior of cohesive soil was depicted in the present study. The cumulative energy dissipation of the specimen prepared with lower initial void ratio was obtained to be 7.1 times higher than the specimen possessing maximum initial void ratio.