Micromechanical Aspects of Aging in Granular Soils

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dc.contributor.authorSuarez Zambrano, Nestor Ricardoen
dc.contributor.committeechairBrandon, Thomas L.en
dc.contributor.committeecochairMitchell, James K.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGreen, Russell A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberFilz, George M.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:16:31Zen
dc.date.adate2012-11-09en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:16:31Zen
dc.date.issued2012-09-03en
dc.date.rdate2012-11-09en
dc.date.sdate2012-09-21en
dc.description.abstractGranular soils exhibit a generally beneficial change in engineering properties with time after deposition or densification, during a process commonly known as aging. Soil properties reported to change during aging include the small strain modulus and stiffness, penetration resistance, liquefaction resistance, and pile setup. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the occurrence of aging in granular soils, including cementation induced by dissolution of silica and precipitation at the particle contacts, cementation due to microbiological activity, internal stress redistribution caused by particle crushing, and buckling of the load chains due to particle slippage. New evidence points out that internal and time-dependent changes in the soil structure caused by particle slippage and rearrangement as the source of the time-dependent variations in soil properties. This investigation is focused on the study of aging at the particle scale to determine its main driving mechanism and define the factors which affect it. Results from an extensive laboratory testing program and computer simulations based on the discrete element method provide insight into the causes of aging and its effects on the macroscopic properties of sands based on the analysis of the interaction between sand grains.en
dc.description.degreePh. D.en
dc.identifier.otheretd-09212012-220649en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09212012-220649/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/29048en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartSuarez_NR_D_2012_2.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectAgingen
dc.subjectcreepen
dc.subjectsanden
dc.subjectacoustic emissionsen
dc.subjectcomputed tomographyen
dc.subjectdiscrete element methoden
dc.subjectrate process theoryen
dc.titleMicromechanical Aspects of Aging in Granular Soilsen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.namePh. D.en

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