Assessment of small strain stiffness of sand-cement mixture by cyclic and dynamic test methods

Abstract

Soil stabilization with cement is a common technique applied for improvement of the mechanical properties of natural soils. Consequently, the stiffness assessment of these materials, namely at small strain levels, has particular importance both for design and quality control purposes. One novel test method developed by this research team is EMM-ARM (elasticity modulus measurement through ambient response method), which is based on resonant frequency identification of a mould that contains the sample under testing. A new sampling technique aimed for in-situ application of EMM-ARM is presented and tested in this paper. This research further involved the use of piezoelectric transducers (bender-extender elements) for discrete measurement of shear modulus in laboratory tests using reconstituted samples of this stabilized material. All test results were analysed, compared and validated through reference tests based on unconfined cyclic compression testing with local strain measurement.