otechnique 64, No. 2, 165170 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/geot.12.P.168] Consoli, N. C. et al. (2014).

Ge

TECHNICAL NOTE

MohrCoulomb failure envelopes of lime-treated soils

N. C . C O N S O L I , L . DA S I LVA L O P E S J R , B. S . C O N S O L I a n d L . F E S T U G ATO

The aim of this study is to quantify the inuence of amount of lime and porosity in the assessment of the MohrCoulomb failure envelope of lime-treated soils based on unconned compressive strength (c ) and splitting tensile strength (t ) of such materials, without the necessity of carrying out triaxial testing. Based on a previously established concept that the t /c relationship is unique for each specic ne-grained soil and lime blend, it is shown that the effective angle of shearing resistance of a given lime-treated soil is independent of the porosity and the amount of lime of the specimen and that effective cohesion intercept is a direct function of c (or t ) of the improved soil; this in turn depends on the porosity and volumetric amount of lime in the soillime blends. Finally, the concepts are successfully tested for clayey sand treated with lime at two distinct curing time periods, considering weak to moderate cementation levels.
KEYWORDS: failure; shear strength; soil stabilisation

INTRODUCTION Determination of MohrCoulomb failure envelope parameters of lime-treated soils requires carrying out triaxial tests (e.g. Consoli et al., 1997, 2001), among many other complex and time-consuming tests. An alternative methodology to assess such parameters of lime-treated soils is suggested in the present study. The concept is to carry out basic tests, such as unconned compression and splitting tensile tests. In addition, the methodology presented allows increasing reliability and a widening range of validity of the results; once the set-up of the basic tests has been carried out for a given ne-grained soil and a specic lime, the effective cohesion intercept (c9) and the effective angle of shearing resistance (9) can be determined for any specic condition falling inside the range of porosity and amount of lime employed during basic testing. Linear failure envelopes, such as MohrCoulomb, were used in the present research since they usually t perfectly well the ultimate behaviour of articially cemented soils at relative low stress levels, which includes the majority of practical geotechnical applications involving such geomaterials. All the concepts developed herein were successfully tested for clayey sand treated with lime for two distinct curing time periods, considering weak and moderate cementation levels. MOHRCOULOMB FAILURE THEORY The MohrCoulomb failure theory is represented in the shear strength () against effective normal stress (9) space by plotting Mohr semi-circles representing stress states at
Manuscript received 7 November 2012; revised manuscript accepted 11 October 2013. Published online ahead of print 4 December 2013. Discussion on this paper closes on 1 July 2014, for further details see p. ii. Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Formerly Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; now Multisolos Piles and InSitu Testing, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil.

failure and then drawing a tangent to these semi-circles. As presented in Fig. 1, in such theory, of a given material is assumed, considering effective stress conditions, to vary linearly with 9, according to two parameters: c9 and 9, as shown in equation (1). t c9 9 tan 9 (1) Using unconned compression and splitting tensile tests principal stress states at failure in which the minimum effective principal stress ( 3 9 ) and maximum effective principal stress ( 1 9 ) are, respectively, zero and c for unconned compression and t and 3t (Jaeger et al., 2007) for splitting tensile tests it is possible to establish the following equations for unconned compression (equation (2)) and splitting tensile (equation (3)) test results. sin 9  c =2  c c9 2 tan 9 2 t  sin 9  c9 t tan 9 (2)

(3)

In the development of a rational dosage methodology for

c c /2 2t 3t t 3c zero 1t 3 t 1c c

Fig. 1. MohrCoulomb envelope based on Mohr circles from splitting tensile and unconned compression tests

165

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CONSOLI, DA SILVA LOPES, CONSOLI AND FESTUGATO

Table 2. Studied lime characteristics Calcium oxide + magnesium oxide: % Loss on 10008C ignition: % Passing no. 30: % Passing no. 200: % Specic gravity 84.3 12.8 100.0 92.0 2.49

soillime, Consoli et al. (2012) have shown that the porosity/lime ratio (/Liv ), dened as the porosity of the compacted mixture divided by the volumetric lime content, is an appropriate parameter to evaluate the unconned compressive strength (c ) and the splitting tensile strength (t ) of ne-grained soils treated with hydrated lime. The t /c ratio was shown to be a scalar for the studied mixtures, being independent of /Liv : As a consequence, dosage methodologies based on rational criteria can concentrate either on tensile or compression tests, once they are interdependent. Further studies by Consoli et al. (2010, 2013) have corroborated that the t /c ratio is also a scalar for other soils and cementing agents. Considering such ndings, it is proposed herein to consider that t c , where is a scalar usually found in the range of 0.09 0.18; when this is introduced into equations (1) and (2), 9 and c9 are then given by equations (4) and (5).   1 4 (4) 9 arcsin 1 2    1 4 c 1 1 2    c9 (5) 1 4 2 cos arcsin 1 2 As a consequence, it can be observed that for a given soil and cementing agent, is a scalar and 9 is a constant, and consequently is independent of c and t , as well as of the lime content, porosity or porosity/lime ratio of the studied blend, being a function only of the t /c ratio. On the other side, the c9 value of the blend is a function of and c , the latter being a function of /Liv : Consequently, c9 is a function of , and Liv : EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME In order to check the accuracy of the presented methodology, it is applied to experimental results carried out in the present work using clayey sand treated with hydrated lime. A series of unconned compression and splitting tensile tests were conducted to establish the inuence of the amount of lime and the porosity on compressive and splitting tensile strength of compacted soillime specimens. Then a number of triaxial compression tests were undertaken on specimens within a range of conning pressures, porosities, quantity of lime and curing time periods. Materials The soil samples used in the present study were derived from weathered sandstone (C horizon) and obtained from the region of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil. The soil characteristics are presented in Table 1. The soil is classied as clayey sand (SC), according to the unied soil classication system (ASTM, 2000). Hydrated lime was used as the cementing agent. Its

characteristics are presented in Table 2. Its slow gain of strength demanded the adoption of curing time periods of 90 and 360 days for lime-treated soils. Tap water was used for moulding specimens for all tests.

Methods and procedures Moulding and curing of specimens. Cylindrical specimens 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm high were used. After the clayey sand, lime and water were weighed, the soil and lime were mixed to a uniform consistency. The water was then added, continuing the mixing process until a homogeneous paste was created. The amount of lime for each mixture was calculated based on the mass of dry soil. The specimen was statically compacted in three layers inside a cylindrical metallic split mould so that each layer reached the specied dry density. The specimens were cured in a humid room at 238 28C and a relative humidity above 95% for 90 or 360 days.

Unconned compression and splitting tensile tests. The unconned compression tests used in this study followed Brazilian standard NBR 5739 (BSA, 1980), which is in accordance with ASTM C39 (ASTM, 2012), being simple and fast, while also reliable and inexpensive to carry out. Splitting tensile tests followed Brazilian standard NBR 7222 (BSA, 1983), which is in accordance with ASTM C496 (ASTM, 2011). Before testing, the specimens were submerged in a water tank for 24 h to achieve saturation and to minimise suction.

Table 1. Studied soil characteristics Medium sand: % Fine sand: % Silt: % Clay: % Specic gravity Liquid limit: % Plastic limit: % Unied soil classication system 16.1 45.5 33.4 5.0 2.64 23 13 Clayey sand

Triaxial compression tests. The static drained triaxial tests were carried out under full saturation, for the conning pressures of 20, 200 and 400 kPa. The back-pressure saturation procedure ensured B-values of at least 0.90 for the lime-treated specimens. Previous works by Schnaid et al. (2001) and Consoli et al. (2001) on triaxial response of cemented soils have shown that B-values of about 0.90 or higher result in negligible suctions, if any. Full drainage during shear was guaranteed by using a rate of deformation of 0.0173 mm/min. Pressure transducers monitored the pore pressure and conning stress, while the deviator load was measured with a load cell with a capacity of 10 kN and a resolution of 0.005 kN, located within the triaxial chamber. The axial strains were measured by means of two independent systems: an internal system, using Hall effect sensors (Clayton & Khatrush, 1986), allowed the measurement of the initial strains with a resolution smaller than 1 m and an externally mounted linearly variable differential transformer with a resolution smaller than 10 m measured the relative displacement between the triaxial chamber and the loading piston. For the calculation of the applied stresses, the area corrections proposed by La Rochelle et al. (1988) were adopted.

MOHRCOULOMB FAILURE ENVELOPES OF LIME-TREATED SOILS Programme of tests The experimental programme was carried out to evaluate the inuence of both dry unit weight and lime content. The specimens were moulded with dry unit weights ranging from 16.0 to 18.8 kN/m3 with the same moisture content (14%). The lime percentages ranged from 3 to 11%. These percentages were chosen considering both the international and Brazilian experience with soillime mixtures (e.g. Mitchell, 1981; Consoli et al., 2001, 2009a, 2009b, 2011, 2012), in both experimental and practical work. Nine drained triaxial compression tests were carried out on lime-treated specimens, details of which are given in Table 3, with lime contents ranging from 5.0 to 10.0% and porosities from 26.8 to 42.5%. TESTING RESULTS AND ANALYSIS According to Consoli et al. (2009a, 2009b, 2012), the relations c and t against /Liv suggest that /Liv includes the distinct effects of both variables ( and Liv ) in a unique factor controlling both c and t : This means that and 1/Liv affect separately both c and t and that the effect on both c and t of increasing values of porosities can be counteracted by increasing values of volumetric lime contents, ending up with /Liv governing both c and t : Figures 2(a) and 2(b) present the unconned compressive strength for 90 and 360 days of curing, respectively, as a : function of the adjusted porosity/lime ratio (/(Liv )0 12 ) for the lime-treated soil studied (according to Consoli et al. (2009a, 2009b, 2012) the application of a power is suggested to be used on Liv and the optimum t was found by applying a power equal to 0.12), highlighting distinct lime contents used. Best-t curves for c for 90 days (equation (6)) and 360 days (equation (7)) of curing present reasonable correla: tions (coefcient of determination, R2 0.95) with /(Liv )0 12 for the studied soillime mixture.  3:00 (6) c (kPa) 8:67 3 106 : (Liv )0 12  3:00 (7) c (kPa) 2:10 3 107 : (Liv )0 12 Results of splitting tensile strength (t ) carried out in the present study were divided by unconned compressive strength (c ) at the same conditions of moulding and curing, yielding t /c 0.15 for both 90 and 360 days of curing. Thompson (1966) studied the split tensile strength of lime-reactive soils and observed that the ratio of split tensile to unconned compressive strength of the mixtures was approximately 0.13 for all of the soillime mixtures studied.
Table 3. Summary of the triaxial compression tests on limetreated soil Specimen Curing time period: days 90 90 90 90 90 90 360 360 360 3 9: kPa : % L: % /(Liv )0 12 1 9 3 9: kPa
:

167

1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 20 22 24 26

L 3% L 5% L 7% L 9% L 11% ---- c 867 106[/(Liv)012]300 R2 095

c: kPa

28

30 /(Liv)012 (a)

32

34

36

38

40

2400 2000 1600

L 3% L 5% L 7% L 9% L 11% ---- c 210 107[/(Liv)012]300 R2 095

c: kPa

1200 800 400 0 20 22 24 26 28 30 /(Liv)012 (b) 32 34 36 38 40

Fig. 2. Variation of c with adjusted porosity/lime ratio (/(Liv )0 12 ) for lime-treated soil at (a) 90 days of curing and (b) 360 days of curing

Figure 3 presents the deviatoric stressaxial strain volumetric strain curves for the drained triaxial tests on : lime-treated soil (T-01 for /(Liv )0 12 21, T-02 for 26, T-03 for 30 and T-04 for 35) (see Table 3) and 90 days of curing at conning pressure of 20 kPa. Fig. 4 presents the deviatoric
1200 1000 /(Liv)012 21 /(Liv)012 26 /(Liv)012 30 /(Liv)012 35

1 3: kPa

800 600 400 200 0 0 6 5 4 1 2 3 a: % (a) 4

/(Liv)012 21 /(Liv)012 26 /(Liv)012 30 /(Liv)012 35 0 1 2 3 4 a: % (b) 5 6 7 8

T-01 T-02 T-03 T-04 T-05 T-06 T-07 T-08 T-09

20 20 20 20 200 400 20 200 400

26.8 33.4 35.5 42.0 42.2 42.1 42.5 42.4 42.3

10 9 5 7 7 7 7 7 7

21.2 27.1 30.8 35.7 35.8 35.7 36.1 35.9 35.9

1007 649 398 238 538 1054 627 905 1115

v: %

3 2 1 0 1

Fig. 3. (a) Deviatoric stress and (b) volumetric strain against axial strain curves for 90 days of curing at conning pressure of 20 kPa

168
1200 1000

1 3: kPa

800 600 400 200 0 0 2 5

CONSOLI, DA SILVA LOPES, CONSOLI AND FESTUGATO Inserting the value (0.15) into equations (4) and (5) yields the 9 value of 34.98 and c9 of 0.26c : For 90 days of curing, inserting equation (6) into 0.26c results in c9 being given by equation (8).  3:00 (8) c9 (kPa) 0:26 c 2:254 3 106 : (Liv )0 12 20 kPa
200 kPa 400 kPa 10 15

a: % (a)

10 20 kPa 200 kPa 400 kPa

15

a: % (b)

For /(Liv )0 12 21, 26, 30 and 35, c9 is respectively 244.3 kPa, 128.7 kPa, 83.8 kPa and 52.8 kPa. Figure 6 presents the Mohr semi-circles of triaxial peak shear strength in a stress space (considering 90 days of : curing and conning pressure 20 kPa) for /(Liv )0 12 21, 26, 30 and 35 (see Table 3), as well as the MohrCoulomb : failure envelopes for each specic /(Liv )0 12 : It can be observed in Fig. 6 that the MohrCoulomb failure envelopes depicted are a sound representation of the tangent to the Mohr semi-circles drawn based on triaxial testing, at a specic effective conning stress, of the studied clayey sandlime blends. For 360 days of curing, c9 is given by equation (9).  3:00 (9) c9 (kPa) 0:26 c 5:460 3 106 0:12 (Liv )
: For /(Liv )0 12 35, c9 is 127.8 kPa. Figures 7 and 8 present the Mohr semi-circles of triaxial peak shear strength in a stress space (considering

Fig. 4. (a) Deviatoric stress and (b) volumetric strain against axial : strain curves for /(Liv )0 12 35 and 90 days of curing

stressaxial strainvolumetric strain curves for the drained : triaxial tests (T-04 to T-06) for /(Liv )0 12 35 (see Table 3) and 90 days of curing at conning pressures of 20, 200 and 400 kPa. Fig. 5 presents the deviatoric stressaxial strain volumetric strain curves for the drained triaxial tests (T-07 to : T-09) for /(Liv )0 12 35 (see Table 3) and 360 days of curing at conning pressures of 20, 200 and 400 kPa. The conning pressures were chosen so as to comprehend the stress levels of the majority of practical geotechnical problems in which articially cemented soils are used.
1200 1000

v: %

1500

/(Liv)012 21 c 2443 kPa 349 /(Liv)012 26 c 1287 kPa 349 /(Liv)012 30 c 838 kPa 349 /(Liv)012 35 c 528 kPa 349

1000

: kPa
500

0 0

35

30

26 500

21 1000 : kPa 1500 2000

1 3: kPa

800 600 400 200 0 0 6 4 2 5 a: % (a) 10 15 20 kPa 200 kPa 400 kPa 1500

Fig. 6. MohrCoulomb failure envelope (using methodology developed in present research) in 29 stress space for 90 days of curing at conning pressure of 20 kPa

20 kPa 200 kPa 400 kPa 0 5 10 15

1000

: kPa

c 528 kPa 349 500 400 kPa 0 0 20 kPa 200 kPa 500 1000 : kPa 1500 2000

v: %

0 2 4 6 a: % (b)

Fig. 5. (a) Deviatoric stress and (b) volumetric strain against axial : strain curves for /(Liv )0 12 35 and 360 days of curing

Fig. 7. MohrCoulomb failure envelope (using methodology developed in present research) in 29 stress space for triaxial : specimens considering /(Liv )0 12 35 and 90 days of curing

MOHRCOULOMB FAILURE ENVELOPES OF LIME-TREATED SOILS

1500 1500

169

1000

1000 c 1278 kPa 349

: kPa

: kPa

c 1186 kPa 35 c 1186 kPa 25

500

500 400 kPa

0 0

20 kPa 500

200 kPa 1000 : kPa

400 kPa 1500 2000

0 0

20 kPa

200 kPa 500 1000 : kPa 1500 2000

Fig. 8. MohrCoulomb failure envelope (using methodology developed in present research) in 29 stress space for triaxial : specimens considering /(Liv )0 12 35 and 360 days of curing

Fig. 9. MohrCoulomb failure envelope (using typical practical relationships (Mitchell, 1981)) in 29 stress space for triaxial : specimens considering /(Liv )0 12 35 and 90 days of curing

/(Liv )0 12 35, conning pressures of 20, 200 and 400 kPa and curing time periods of 90 days (T-04 to T-06) and 360 days (T-07 to T-09)), as well as the MohrCoulomb failure envelopes. It can be seen in Figs 7 and 8 that the Mohr Coulomb failure envelopes depicted are a fair representation of the tangent to the Mohr semi-circles drawn based on triaxial testing of the studied clayey sandlime blends. The poorest representation of the failure envelopes obtained using the proposed methodology was observed at high conning pressures. In such cases the Mohr semi-circles are below the failure envelopes obtained based on the methodology developed herein, which can be explained by probable cementitious bonding breakage (yielding) occurring during application of conning stresses, as explained by Consoli et al. (2000) and Dalla Rosa et al. (2008) and/or acknowledging that in this situation the failure envelope is probably curved rather than a straight line. It is important to point out that two of the stressstrain curves in Fig. 4 seem not to have reached a peak strength and this could also be one reason for lack of t of the data in Fig. 7. Comparison with typical practical relationships. According to Mitchell (1981), an alternative way to assess the Mohr Coulomb failure envelope parameters (9 and c9) is by using 9 ranging from 258 to 358 and c9 given by the following practical relationship (equation (9)), which is valid for compacted lime-treated soils c9 (kPa) 60 0:29 c (10) in which c (kPa) was considered (in the present study) after equations (6) and (7) for 90 and 360 days of curing, respectively. Figures 9 and 10 present the Mohr semi-circles of triaxial peak shear strength in a 9 stress space respectively for : /(Liv )0 12 35 and 90 and 360 days of curing, as well as the MohrCoulomb failure envelopes considering parameters obtained using practical relationships suggested by Mitchell (1981). It can be observed in Figs 9 and 10 that the Mohr Coulomb failure envelopes drawn using the effective angle of shearing resistance range (9 258 to 358 for all curing time periods) and effective cohesion intercept c9 118.6 kPa and 201.8 kPa are a fair representation (mainly the lower bound of the variation range) of the tangent to the Mohr semi-circles drawn based on triaxial testing of the studied soillime blends. Results of 9 and c9 obtained by a typical practical relationship suggested by Mitchell (1981) and by the method-

1500 c 2018 kPa 35 1000 c 2018 kPa 25

: kPa
500

0 0

20 kPa 500

200 kPa 1000 : kPa

400 kPa 1500 2000

Fig. 10. MohrCoulomb failure envelope (using typical practical relationships (Mitchell, 1981)) in 29 stress space for triaxial : specimens considering /(Liv )0 12 35 and 360 days of curing

ology presented herein are in the same range of variation : (9 258 to 358 against 9 34.98 for all /(Liv )0 12 and c9 118.6 kPa and 201.8 kPa against c9 52.8 kPa and 127.8 kPa).

CONCLUSION From the data presented in this manuscript the following conclusions can be drawn. A methodology for establishing MohrCoulomb failure envelope parameters based on unconned compressive strength (c ) and splitting tensile strength (t ) of limetreated soils has been proposed and successfully tested. The methodology developed herein allows increasing reliability and widening range of validity of the results, once the set-up of the basic (unconned compression and splitting tensile) tests has been carried out for a given soil and a specic hydrated lime; this permits the determination of c9 and 9 for any specic condition falling inside the range of porosity and amount of lime employed during basic testing, without the necessity to carry out triaxial testing or any other complex and time-consuming tests. However, the present study was limited solely to the soil and lime selected for the research; further studies are still necessary to ascertain whether the methodology

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CONSOLI, DA SILVA LOPES, CONSOLI AND FESTUGATO could be extended to other soils, as well as to other cementing agents.
ments in soil and pavement mechanics (ed. M. S. S. Almeida), pp. 217222. Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Balkema. Consoli, N. C., Rotta, G. V. & Prietto, P. D. M. (2000). Inuence of curing under stress on triaxial response of cemented soils. otechnique 50, No. 1, 99105, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/ Ge geot.2000.50.1.99. Consoli, N. C., Prietto, P. D. M., Carraro, J. A. H. & Heineck, K. S. (2001). Behavior of compacted soily ashcarbide limey ash mixtures. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Engng, ASCE 127, No. 9, 774782. Consoli, N. C., Lopes Jr, L. S., Foppa, D. & Heineck, K. S. (2009a). Key parameters dictating strength control of lime/ cement-treated soils. Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs Geotech. Engng 162, No. 2, 111118. Consoli, N. C., Lopes, L. S. Jr. & Heineck, K. S. (2009b). Key parameters for the strength control of lime stabilized soils. J. Mater. Civ. Engng 21, No. 5, 210216. Consoli, N. C., Cruz, R. C., Floss, M. F. & Festugato, L. (2010). Parameters controlling tensile and compressive strength of articially cemented sand. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Engng, ASCE 136, No. 5, 759763. Consoli, N. C., Dalla Rosa, A. & Saldanha, R. B. (2011). Variables governing strength of compacted soily ashlime mixtures. J. Mater. Civ. Engng 23, No. 4, 432440. Consoli, N. C., Johann, A. D. R., Gauer, E. A., Santos, V. R., Moretto, R. L. & Corte, M. B. (2012). Key parameters for otechtensile and compressive strength of siltlime mixtures. Ge nique Lett. 2, No. 3, 8185. Consoli, N. C., Moraes, R. R. & Festugato, L. (2013). Variables controlling strength of ber-reinforced cemented soils. Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs Ground Improvement 166, No. 4, 221232, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/grim.12.00004. Dalla Rosa, F., Consoli, N. C. & Baudet, B. A. (2008). An experimental investigation of the behaviour of articially cemented soil otechnique 58, No. 8, 675679, http:// cured under stress. Ge dx.doi.org/10.1680/geot.2008.58.8.675. Jaeger, J. C., Cook, N. G. W. & Zimmerman, R. W. (2007). Fundamentals of rock mechanics, 4th edn. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. La Rochelle, P., Leroueil, S., Trak, B., Blais-Leroux, L. & Tavenas, F. (1988). Observational approach to membrane and area corrections in triaxial testing. Proceedings of symposium on advanced triaxial testing of soil and rock, pp. 715731. West Conshohocken, PA, USA: ASTM International. Mitchell, J. K. (1981). Soil improvement State-of-the-art report. Proceedings of the 10th international conference on soil mechanics and foundation engineering, vol. 4, pp. 509565. Stockholm, Sweden: International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. Schnaid, F., Prietto, P. D. M. & Consoli, N. C. (2001). Characterization of cemented sand in triaxial compression. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Engng 127, No. 10, 857868. Thompson, M. R. (1966). Split tensile strength of lime-stabilized soils, Highway Research Record No. 92. Washington, D.C., USA: Highway Research Board.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors wish to express their gratitude to Brazilian o MCT/CNPq (projects Produtividade em Pesquisa, Iniciac a Cient ca, Edital Universal and INCT-REAGEO) for nancial support to the research group. NOTATION
c9 L Liv R2 a v /Liv : /(Liv )0 12 9 c t 1 9 3 9 9 effective cohesion intercept lime content volumetric lime content coefcient of determination axial strain volumetric strain porosity porosity/lime ratio adjusted porosity/lime ratio t /c ratio effective normal stress unconned compressive strength splitting tensile strength maximum effective principal stress minimum effective principal stress shear stress effective angle of shearing resistance

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