Unsaturated Shear Strength Parameters of Tropical Volcanic Residual Soils

R. Karlinasari P. Rahardjo
Catholic University of Parahyangan Bandung, Indonesia Catholic University of Parahyangan Bandung, Indonesia

ABSTRACT: The uppermost zone of tropical residual soil is a zone of unsaturated soil with a unique characteristic. The uppermost zone intensively change from unsaturated-saturated phase, because the intensity of sun heat is high and the intensity of rainfall is much higher than its soil permeability. A series of research on the unsaturated shear strength of tropical volcanic residual soil were conducted with Triaxial Consolidated Drained Unsaturated (TXCD-UNSAT) Method. The research is resulted on unsaturated shear strength parameters. These parameters were evaluated with another researchs results on unsaturated shear strength. An analysis based on the two methods of constitutive behaviour of unsaturated shear strengh ; The Two Independent Stress Variable Method and Effective Stress Method was conducted. From the nature of the uppermost zone which is intensively change from unsaturated-saturated phase, the Effective Stress Method concluded has a better preferences. Keywords : Unsaturated, Shear Strength Parameters, TXCD-UNSAT, Independent Stress Variable Method, Effective Stress Method shear strengh : The Two Independent Stress Variable Method and Effective Stress Method was conducted. 2 UNSATURATED SHEAR STRENGTH TEST (TXCD-UNSAT) The Triaxial Consolidated Drained Test (TXCD) with constant matrix suction is a triaxial test in one series with four stages. The stages are saturation, consolidation, matrix suction equalisation and compression. The triaxial equipment consist of : 1. A triaxial cell with a modified pedestal to conduct unsaturated shear strength test with constant suction. 2. Cell pressure application system 3. Back pressure application system 4. Air pressure application system 5. Pore water pressure measurement system. 6. Volume change measurement system. The diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1-1 below. The pedestal of the modified triaxial test is shown in Figure 1-2. This test procedure was conducted in a lengthy period of time. One sequel of test need three to four weeks. Table 1-1 below listed the stages and 1

1 INTRODUCTION This research is a part of a study on the characteristic tropical volcanic residual soil. To determine the shear strength of the soil a series of triaxial tests were conducted. The triaxial test were Triaxial Consolidated Undrained Test (TXCU) for determined the saturated shear strength parameters and Triaxial Consolidated Drained Unsaturated (TXCD-UNSAT) for determined the unsaturated shear strength parameters. In attempt to measure unsaturated soil parameters, an extensive test is usually conducted using Modified Consolidation Drained Triaxial Test with sophisticated equipment. A simplified modified Consolidated Drained Triaxial Test were developed at the Geotechnical Laboratory of Parahyangan Catholic University Bandung. A high air entry value porous disc were installed to the modified Triaxial Cell equipment. An addition procedure of matrix suction equalisation were conducted after consolidation stage, resumed with sample compression under constant matrix suction. The results were analyzed based on the two methods of constitutive behaviour of unsaturated

Table 1-1. The example of pressure values applied at every stages of TXCD unsaturated test. STAGE 1 ua Consolidation 1.8 Matrix suction equalisation 1.8 0.8 Shearing 1.8 0.8 STAGE 2 Consolidation 2.6 Matrix suction equalisation 2.6 1.2 Shearing 2.6 1.2 Figure 1-1. Modified triaxial cell to test unsaturated soils STAGE 3 Consolidation 3 Matrix suction equalisation 3 1.4 Shearing 3 1.4

uw -ua ua-uw
0.8 0.4 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.4 1.4 0.4 0.4 1 1 1 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1 1 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.4

The application of back pressure on sample was conducted by water pressure application from top and from the bottom of the sample. On saturation and consolidation stages the back pressure were applied via the top cap, and on matrix suction equalisation stage via the water compartement at the bottom of the sample. The application of the air pressure on sample was started to conducted at matrix suction equalisation stage via the top cap, and will continue to the compression stage.

At the beginning, the sample is saturated, then it is consolidated with cell pressure of 1.8 kg/cm2 and back pressure of 0.8 kg/cm2 . After dissipation of pore water pressure achieved, matrix suction was applied. The matrix suction was modelling as the soil condition on nature, where the top of the soil is dry and the bottom of the soil is wet. The moisture tension then happen between the top and the bottom of the sample. The compartment at the bottom of the sample is functioned as the water table in nature. The sample is separated from the water by high air entry value disc, this lay out makes the air cannot escaped from the bottom of the sample, meanwhile the water will attracted to the top of the sample by capillarity. The back pressure were kept at 0.4 kg/cm2, air pressure from air compressor were applied at the top of the sample at 0.8 kg/cm2, so a matrix suction of 0.4 kg/cm2 was attained. After the water volume change was stabilized, then the compressions were begin(axial compression application). Below is the water volume change curves and the total volume change curves at matrix suction equaliasation stage. It is interesting that on the second stages curve, a drop of volume change were occured, this phenomenon may be related to the macropore of the soils as mention by Feurharmel, Gehling & Bica, 2006.

Figure 1-2. The water compartment at the bottom of ceramic disc triaxial cell pedestal.

Figure 1-4. The failure envelope of versus (ua-uw) plane of BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m Figure 1-3. Water volume change and total volume change at matrix suction equalisation stage.

3 UNSATURATED SHEAR STRENGTH PARAMETERS ANALYSIS The analysis of the TXCD-Unsat test results were conducted by two methods : The Two Independent Stress Variable Method after Fredlund & Rahardjo,1993 and Unsaturated Effective Stress Method after Khalili & Khabbaz, 1998. 3.1 TXCD-UNSAT results in the Two Independent Stress Variable Method.

It is shown on the diagram above that at BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m results, the b almost the same magnitude as angle, at 0.09 kg/cm2 to 0.29 kg/cm2 matrix suctions (or below the air entry value (AEV) of the soil at 0.3 kg/cm2). After the AEV the b decrease almost a quater of the b at 0.29 kg/cm2 to 0.69 kg/cm2 matrix suctions. 3.2 TXCD-UNSAT results in Unsaturated Effective Method.

The Independent Stress Variable Method is a method that separated the effect of the nett normal stress and the effect of matrix suction on soils shear strength in a diffeent axis of stress. The results of Unsaturated Triaxial CD test of BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m on 3D Mohr-Coulomb diagram was shown in diagram of Figure 1-5 below. On Figure 1-4, it is shown the increase of soils shear strength in the raise of matrix suction.

The Unsaturated Effective Stress Method analysis started by the determination of efective stress parameters (. Khalili & Khabbaz (1998) in Khalili, Geiser & Blight (2004), were collected some formerly research results and determined the relationship between effective stress parameters (and suction ratio as shown in Figure 1-6 below. Khalili concludes that the effective stress parameter (is a parameter strongly related to soils structures.

Figure 1-5. Mohr Coulomb failure envelop for unsaturated soil samples of BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m

the top of state line for saturated shear strength of M= 1.048. By taking a and of saturated soil samples, a prediction of the relationship between deviatoric stress q and matrix suction will be defined. The prediction was defined by calculated deviatoric stress q relations as follow :

Figure 1-6. Effective stress parameters () versus suction ratio (Khalili & Khabbaz (1998))

(2) Figure 1-8 below shown the prediction and the actual deviatoric stress over suction for BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m soil. For the 0.09 kg/cm2 and 0.29 kg/cm2 matrix suctions, the actual results are fit on the prediction line, meanwhile the actual results of 0.69 kg/cm2 matrix suction is higher than the prediction line.

The suction ratio is the magnitude of matrix suction over suction value at the time that air start to enter the pore in soil structure (sae, suction Air Entry Value (AEV). The relation on Figure 1-6 has a top limit of y = 1.045 (s/sAEV)-0.46 and bottom limit of y = 1.008 (s/sAEV)-0.68. Khalili & Khabbaz take the relation and then define the relation on drying process as follow :

(1) The results of BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m samples, then expressed in failure envelope plane of q-p and the diagram shown at Figure 1-7 below. The diagram shown that the maximum point of unsaturated TXCD stress path from 0.09 0.09 kg/cm2 to 0.69 kg/cm2 matrix suction lay on

Figure 1-7. The relation of matrix suction and deviatoric stress on effective method analysis for BH 02 Neglajaya 0.51.0 m sample

Figure 1-8. The failure envelope of q-p for a saturated soil and the maximum stress path point of stress from unsaturated soil of BH02 Neglajaya 0.5-1.0 m

THE COMPARATION OF THE TXCDUNSAT RESULTS The shear strength of tropical volcanic residual soil based on the TXCD-Unsat in this research have a range of value as follow : (a) Based on the Two Independent Stress-State Variable Method the results was resumed in Table 4-2 below. The maximum value of b is approaching the value of . The magnitude of b drastically decrease on the further increase of suction value. The same results was obtained by Rahardjos research on residual soil of Singapore (Rahardjo, et all, 2004), the resume of the results is shown on Table 4-1. (b) Based on effective parameters of (s/sAEV) -0.55 all the results were resumed in Figure 4-1. As general the point of maximum stress path is lay above the saturated state line. The distance of the points from the saturated state line is indicating a function of the magnitude of suction. There is a specific shapes of the dot line compare to the previous research collected by Khalili at Figure 4-2.
Table 4-1. Shear strength parameter of Singapore residual soils (Rahardjo, et al, 2004) Depth (m) 5-9 10-15 15-21 Granitic Bukit Timah Formation c (kg/cm2) ( o) 0.26 27 0.13 35 0.12 38 b (o) 29 to 8 35 to 6 35 to 4

Table 4-2. Shear strength parameters from TXCD-UNSAT tests Matriks Suction (ua-uw) (kg/cm2) 0.29 0.68 0.89 0.40 0.80 1.00 0.09 0.29 0.69 0.40 0.60 0.90 0.07 0.26 0.35 0.00 0.20 0.60 BH02 Cij 0.5-1.0 m c (kg/cm2) (o) 0.23 22 0.35 22 0.40 22 BH01 Cil 4.5-5.0 m 0.66 32 0.68 32 0.71 32 BH02 Neg 0.5-1.0 m 0.38 26.5 0.48 26.5 0.55 26.5 BH02 Neg 13.0-13.5 m 0.93 33 1.06 33 1.09 33 BH03 Neg 2.5-3.0 m 0.16 33 0.24 33 0.30 33 BH05 Neg 0.5-1.0 m 0.46 23 0.49 23 0.50 22 b (o) 16.9 14.4

4.88 4.88

26.69 9.51

33.26 4.545

20.63

9.255 1.556

Figure 4-1. Failure envelope on q-p plane for saturated soil and the maximum point of stress path for unsaturated soils in this research.

Figure 4-2.The evolution of critical state line over suction on p-q plane, kaolin clay soil (Wheller Sivakumar, 1995) on Khalili et all, 2004

5 THE APPLICATION OF THE UNSATURATED SHEAR STRENGTH ON TROPICAL VOLCANIC RESIDUAL SOILS CONDITION The uppermost zone of tropical residual soil is a zone of unsaturated soil with a unique characteristic. The uppermost zone intensively change from unsaturated-saturated phase, because the intensity of sun heat is high and the intensity of rainfall is much higher than its soil permeability. From this nature of the uppermost zone which is intensively change from unsaturated-saturated phase, it is important to have a method that could modelling this behaviour. The Effective Stress Method not as the Two Independent Stress State Variable Method could unified the saturated and unsaturated condition on one method. Figure 5-2 shown the failure envelope of q-p for a saturated soil and the maximum stress path point of stress from unsaturated soil of BH02 Cij 0.5-1.0 m, and Figure 5-1 shown the stress-strain curve for saturated and unsaturated soil of BH02 Cij 0.5-1.0 m. The saturated soils is on positive pore pressure of 90 kPa, it is clearly that the method can compared the stress path of the saturated and the unsaturated condition of soils.

Figure 5-2. The stress-strain curve for saturated and unsaturated soil of BH02 Cij 0.5-1.0 m

6 CONCLUSION The shear strength parameters obtained from the simplified TXCDUnsat have been compared to the previously result both from the Two Independent Stress State Method and the Unsaturated Effective Method, and the results is conformer. 7 REFERENCE
Melani, I., 2004. Shear Strength Charactheristics of A Compacted Kaolin Under Infiltration Conditions, Disertation, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University Karlinasari, R, 2009, Karakteristik Tanah Residual Tropik Vulkanik Formasi Gunung Api Tua (Qob) Jawa Barat, Disertasi pada Program Doktor Teknik Sipil Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, Bandung. Rahardjo, H, Aung, K.K, Leong, E.C, Rezaur, R.B.,2004, Charachteristic of Residual Soils in Singapore as formed by weathering, Engineering Geology 73, 157-169 Khalili N, Geiser F, Blight GE., 2004, Effective stress in unsaturated soils: A critical review with new evidence, International Journal of Geomechanics. ASCE; 4(2), 115-126. Khalili, N. and Khabbaz, M.H., 1998, A unique relationship for for shear strength determination of unsaturated soils, Geotechnique, 48(5), 681-688.

Figure 5-1 The failure envelope of q-p for a saturated soil and the maximum stress path point of stress from unsaturated soil of BH02 Cijengkol 0.5-1.0 m