Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society ISSN:1229-2427(Print) 2288-646X(Online) 한국지반공학회 논문집

Clay or sand does not exist alone but various sizes of soil are mixed in the field. In this study, the effect of water content on large deformation of such mixed soils is studied by using soil column tests and a particle method. A soil column with 7 cm in diameter and 13 cm in height, which was made out of kaolinite with sand content of 0, 10, 25, or 50%, was tested for large deformation. Its deformation was monitored with time. While increasing its water content from 40, 60, to 80%, a total of 12 types of soil column tests were carried out. The particle method simulated their deformation with time. A maximum plastic shear modulus, which was a function of undrained shear strength and plasticity index for soils with different water contents, was associated with soil viscosity to simulate large deformation of soil column. When a sand content of soil column was constant, the deformation of soil column increased with increasing water content. When a water content of soil column was constant, large deformation occurred with increasing the sand content. The maximum deformation, which was 22 cm in diameter, was observed in the case of water content of 80% and sand content of 50%. The particle method was able to relatively well simulate such large deformation and stress change of soils.