Permanent Deformation Behavior of Unbound Granular materials(UGM) under cyclic loading

Application: Base and Subbase layers of low traffic (flexible) pavements

30th January,2012
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Contents
1. Introduction 2. Mechanical performance tests for Unbounded Granular Materials(UGM) 3. Cyclic Behavior of unbound granular materials

4. Permanent (Plastic) deformation behavior 5. Laboratory testing and Results

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1. Introduction:
Unbound granular materials (UGMs) are continuously graded granular materials, consisting in general of crushed rocks or crushed natural gravels. They usually contain a certain amount of fines (typically 4% to 10 %) and water. In Pavements, the behavior of unbound granular materials is characterized by the accumulation of permanent deformations, leading to rutting of the pavement.

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2. Mechanical performance tests for unbound granular materials

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2.1 .Stress conditions in unbound pavement layers

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2.2 . UGM in Pavement base and its grain size

Asphalt pavement Base UGM Subbase

Sub-Soil Grain size distribution curve of UGM used in Laboratory tests

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2. 3. The cyclic load triaxial test- LCPC laboratory - Equipments

View of the instrumented specimen View of the LCPC cyclic load triaxial apparatus for unbound granular materials Hall effect local stain transducer were used to measure axial and Kyung Hee University- Geotechnical strains radial
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2. 4. The cyclic load triaxial test- LCPC laboratory Equipments (Cont.)

View of the LCPC cyclic load triaxial apparatus for unbound granular materials

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2. 5. The cyclic load triaxial test- LCPC laboratory Equipments (Cont.)

The specimens are compacted using a specific vibro-compression apparatus, which compacts the specimens in one layer, under the simultaneous application of a vertical load and a horizontal vibration

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2. 6. The cyclic load triaxial test- LCPC laboratory Specimens preparation

Cylindrical specimens are prepared using vibro-compression with density and water content very closed to that of Optimum Proctor : 160 mm Diameter 320 mm Height 15 kg of mass

Specimens were compacted to corresponding site Dry Unit weight value of 2130 kg/m3

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3. Cyclic( repeated loading) Behavior of Unbound granular Materials(UGM)

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3. 1. Cyclic behavior of unbound granular materials

The cyclic behaviour of unbound granular materials, and the modelling of this behaviour, are based essentially on cyclic triaxial testing . The response of the material is elasto-plastic,

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4. Permanent(Plastic) deformation behavior

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4.1. Performed permanent deformation tests with different stress level

Range A, called the plastic shakedown range, where a complete stabilisation of permanent strains is observed after a finite number of load cycles, and the behaviour becomes entirely resilient (plastic shakedown)
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4.2 Experimental behavior

The most common procedure to study permanent deformations of UGMs using the cyclic triaxial apparatus consists in applying a large number of load cycles

Usually, for stress levels found in granular pavement layers, the permanent deformations increase rapidly during the first few thousand load cycles, and then tend to stabilise (shakedown). Kyung Hee University- Geotechnical
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4.3. Factors influencing permanent deformations

Deviatoric and confining stresses have a significant influence on axial permanent deformation based to cycle loading number Rotation of Principal stresses. ( Lode angle). Water content Density fine % Effect of loading history; when path q/p is constant there is no longer loading history effect
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5. Laboratory Testing and Results

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5.1. Determination of mechanical properties

One of the key aspects of the flexible pavement design is to limit the development of permanent (plastic) deformations in unbound granular layers of flexible pavements.

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5.1.1.Study of Long term Behavior- Plastic Deformation

The objective of the study is to evaluate the behavior of the GNT permanent depending on the water content of the specimen. 50000 cycles for each loading level have been applied for long term tests, following different stress paths as shown in following figures. Ratio q/p = 1; 2 and 2.5. For example: Four loading steps have been carried successively for stress path q/p= 2 : ( q= 150, p= 75) then (q=300, p=150) again (q=450, p= 225) and finally (q=600, p= 300).

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5.1.1.Study of Long term Behavior- Plastic Deformation (Cont.) Program of permanent deformation testsI
Test Loading Sequence Number of Cycle N 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 P max (Kpa) 75 150 225 300 Q max q/p (Kpa) 150 300 450 300 2 2 2 2
p 1

MA 0407 1 2 3 4

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Program of permanent deformation tests Testing No MA 0419 Test Permanent ( Plastic)- 4% Path q/p 1 2 2.5 1 2 2.5 1 2 3 1 2 3
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MA 0407 Permanent ( Plastic)- 4% MA 0416 Permanent ( Plastic)- 4% MA 0412 Permanent ( Plastic)- 5% MA 0420 Permanent ( Plastic)- 5% MA 0411 Permanent ( Plastic)- 5% MA 0733 Permanent ( Plastic)- 6% MA 0732 Permanent ( Plastic)- 6% MA 0734 Permanent ( Plastic)- 6% MA 0801 Permanent ( Plastic)- 7% MA 0739 Permanent ( Plastic)- 7% MA 0802 Permanent ( Plastic)- 7%

Different samples for different water content and applied stress Kyung Hee University- Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory paths

5.1.2. The applied stress levels and several loading stages

For the study of plastic or permanent behavior, the following figure shows the stress paths applied successively. These stress paths are compatible with failure line. For both 2 tests conducted at W= 4% and 5%, the loading is identical.

Palier: is loading sequence Droite de rupture: is Failure line

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5.1.2. The applied stress levels and several loading stages(Cont)

For both 2 tests conducted at W= 6% and 7%, the loading is identical

Palier is loading sequence Droite de rupture is Failure line

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5.1.3. Presentation of test results for permanent deformation analyses

The Analysis of the mechanical behavior is based on axial I p 1 and radial I 3p plastic strains The following figures present the test results (axial plastic strain) corresponding to 4% and 5%. The stress paths are q/p = 1; 2; 2.5 W=5% W=4%

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Observations
The figures above show the results of Triaxial tests- cyclic loading on unbound granular material at water content of 4 % and 5%. The evolution of axial plastic strain, for each step is characterized by a rapid increase during the first loading cycles, followed by a gradual stabilization. The stabilization is attained for low stress levels (in the first two steps of loading). This stabilization is more important for water content of 4% and 5%.

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5.1.4. Results obtained for prediction of the experimental results- Gidel Model
These rests have been analyzed and used with a plastic behavior model, developed to describe the permanent deformation behavior of unbound granular material. The model is known as empirical model developed by Gidel in 2001

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Gidel Model

Empirical permanent deformation relationships selected for evaluation, and parameters obtained for the two materials, by Gidel 2001

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5.1.5. Predictions obtained with the function of variation with the number of load cycles f(N) proposed by Gidel,2001
Calibration of the empirical model on axial plastic deformation

w=5%

w=6%

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5.1.5. Predictions obtained with the function of variation with the number of load cycles f(N) proposed by Gidel,2001 (Cont)

Calibration of the empirical model on axial plastic deformation

w=7%

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5.1.6. Model Parameters values obtained from tests

Tests

Correlation Index

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5.1.7. Remarks
The parameter B is set be cause there is a problem of convergence of the model. These convergence problems are related to the non- uniqueness of the pair values of A and B proposed by Hornysh. Other parameters are in no way influenced by the value of the parameter B. But the Value of A is a direct function of B.

The permanent deformation is growing up until a limit value A as N increases toward infinity. B controls the shape of the plastic strains curve evolution

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Thank you!

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