The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the migration of fine granular materials into overlying layers under cyclic loading using a modified large-scale triaxial system as a physical model test. Samples prepared for the modified large-scale triaxial system comprised a 60 mm thick gravel layer overlying a 120 mm thick subgrade layer, which could be either tailings or railway sand. A quantitative analysis of the migration of fine granular materials was based on the mass percentage and grain size of migrated materials collected in the gravel. In addition, the cyclic characteristics, i.e., accumulated axial strain and excess pore water pressure, were evaluated. As a result, the total migration rate of the railway sand sample was found to be small. However, the total migration rate of the sample containing tailings in the subgrade layer was much higher than that of the railway sand sample. In addition, the migration analysis revealed that finer tailings particles tended to be migrated into the upper gravel layer easier than coarser tailings particles under cyclic loading. This could be involved in significant increases in excess pore water pressure at the last cycles of the physical model test.

A laboratory investigation was conducted to identify principal variables-initial mixing water content, porosity, and binder content- impacting undrained shear strength (qu) of stabilized sulfur-rich silty soil. An equation for predicting qu of stabilized soil was established based on the experimental data. Initially, samples were prepared with soils sample with different initial water and binder contents. Multicem, a binder consisting of a mix of cement and cement kiln dust, was added to the samples. Three different percentages of Multicem were mixed at five different soil water contents to measure qu of stabilized mixtures to understand how water content and porosity levels in the samples affect the performance of the binder and their combined impact on the strength of the samples. The soil-binder mixtures were compacted and subsequently cured in laboratory-controlled environment. The prepared samples were tested in uniaxial compression test apparatus. The results evidenced that binder content and corresponding porosity affect the strength of specimens at an equal water content. The results showed that at equal initial mixing water content, the qu of a sample increased by increasing binder content. Furthermore, it was observed that increase of binder content has a reverse effect on porosity. It was appeared lowering the soil water content, initially increased the strength until an optimum water content. Further lowering water content increased the porosity and consequently decreased qu of samples. Moreover, a ratio of porosity/volumetric binder content was chosen to evaluate the impact of these two variables on strength of samples. This study showed that qu is an exponential function of porosity/binder volumetric content ratio which depends on initial mixing water content of mixtures. It was shown at water content lower than the optimum, results of stabilization are more effective than in soil at higher water contents. Therefore, reducing the water content and thereby porosity has more significant effect on improving qu than increasing the binder content.

Sulphide-rich soil, a prevalent soft alluvial type along the Baltic Sea coast, is characterised by its sulfur content, low strength, high compressibility and significant organic components. Common practice involves replacing this soil with more resilient subgrade materials; however, excavated sulphur-rich soil necessitates to be treated as environmentally hazardous, due to its oxidation potential, leading to increased construction expenses. If instead, sulphide-rich soil is going to be used as subgrade, it becomes crucial to define its cyclic mechanical properties. This requires representative samples, which may not always be available through conventional undisturbed sampling methods. In this paper, the slurry deposition method was adopted to generate reconstituted samples of sulphide-rich soil for static triaxial testing. The method provided consistent samples and captured the characteristics of the natural soil. The triaxial results are the first step towards the understanding and definition of the cyclic behaviour of sulphide-rich soil.

Understanding the mechanism of excess pore water pressure generation in subgrades is essential for not only designing but also further maintenance purposes. The primary goal of this research was to investigate excess pore water pressure generation in fine granular materials under cyclic loading. A series of undrained cyclic triaxial tests were performed to study the excess pore water pressure generation in two selected fine granular materials: (1) railway sand and (2) tailings. The excess pore water pressure response of these materials was evaluated in terms of density conditions, number of cycles, and applied cyclic stress ratios (CSR). As a result, excess pore water pressure accumulated over time due to cyclic loading. However, its accumulation was significantly dependent on the governing factors, i.e., densities, CSR values, and material types. The excess pore water pressure exhibited a slight increase at low CSR values, but a sharp increase was observed at higher CSR values, which ultimately led to a failure state after a certain number of cycles. In addition, under the same loading conditions, the samples that had higher relative compaction showed better resistance to cyclic loads as compared to those with lower relative compaction. Finally, a relationship between excess pore water pressure and cyclic axial strain of the fine granular materials was discovered.

In this study, a mixing procedure of sulfur-rich soil and cement-based binder to enhance the soil’s unconfined compressive strength (UCS) was tested in field conditions for geotechnical applications. The focus was to evaluate uniformity of industrial size soil-binder mixture, blended by existing method. This paper outlined sampling strategy and the number of samples needed for a valid uniformity evaluation. Moreover, this study emphasized the difference between field mixing and laboratory mixture preparation by comparing UCS of stabilized soil samples in the field and UCS of corresponding samples mixed and prepared in the laboratory environment. In the field, soil and cement were blended in two to four stages with 5% and 7% cement—the percentages being based on the soil’s dry weight under field conditions. Samples were taken from the field mixtures after each stage. Since the number of samples needed to be representative of mixture characteristics for large-scale mixing is not standardized, this field experiment included two phases. The first phase was dedicated to finding a sampling strategy for a large soil pile along with measuring UCS of collected samples. In the second phase, sample collection was conducted based on the results of sampling strategy from the first phase. In the laboratory, samples with percentages of binder similar to the amount of binder in the field were also prepared. Both field and laboratory samples were prepared using the tapping method in the laboratory for UCS test. Samples were cured under similar conditions for 28 days. The results showed that the uniformity of mixture improved after each additional mixing stage. In addition, while spots with low UCS were observed in the second mixing step, these spots were eliminated in the third mixing step, and results of the UCS tests were comparatively uniform. Moreover, comparison of the samples revealed that the UCS of the laboratory mixture is higher than that of the field mixture. This showed that even though the UCS is a good standard for comparing the strength of different soils stabilized with different percentages or types of binders in the field mixing, the actual strength of the stabilized mixtures under field circumstances is lower than that in laboratory prepared mixtures.

This paper outlines the design and development of a trapdoor test setup used to simulate the effect of a geosynthetic reinforcement on the load distribution in a timber piled embankment. Geosynthetic-reinforced pilesupported embankment (GRPSE) is a common foundation method for both roads and railways on soft subsoil. Timber piling allows for a solution with lower carbon footprint than concrete or steel piling. The removal of concrete pile caps further reduces the footprint but increases the requirements of the geosynthetic reinforcement. The purpose of the trapdoor test setup is to find the best suited number, placement, stiffness, and strength of the layers of geosynthetic reinforcement for different embankment heights and pile spacings. The tested embankment model consists of a vertical cross section of the embankment between two adjacent piles, assuming plane strain. The test is performed under Earth’s gravity. A hydraulically controlled trapdoor mechanism in between the two pile heads acts as the deformed subsoil. The trapdoor is composed of several segments to model a non-horizontal top surface of the displaced subsoil. Displacements are captured using optical measurement techniques to confirm and study the arch formation. The arching efficacy is quantified by pressure cells on each of the two pile heads. Though the primary application is timber piled embankments, the test results can be extrapolated to GRPSE designs in general.

Timber piling allows for a solution with lower carbon footprint than concrete or steel piling, yet there exist few well-documented cases of modern timber piled embankments. In this paper, field measurements on a geosynthetic-reinforced timber pile-supported road embankment are reported and evaluated. The monitored road embankment is a section of a newly reconstructed semi-motorway in northern Sweden. The embankment was constructed on 8 m long untreated timber piles with 1.1 m spacing in a triangular pattern, without pile caps. On top of that, a 1.7 m high embankment was constructed, reinforced by two layers of biaxial geogrids. A long-term monitoring program is being carried out from when the semi-motorway was reconstructed. This study presents results from the first year of monitoring. The measurements include the load on the pile heads and subsoil, geogrid strain, pore water pressures, and settlements. The measurements show the development of arching over time, the interlocking of geogrid and embankment material, the subsoil consolidation, etc. The results of the monitoring are compared with results of analytical models from recommendations and codes.

Tailings fluidization (i.e., tailings behave as being fluidized) under cyclic loading is one concern during the construction of tailings dams, especially in the shallow tailings layers. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the responses of tailings under cyclic loadings and the tailings potential for fluidization. A series of cyclic triaxial undrained and drained tests were performed on medium and dense tailings samples under various cyclic stress ratios (CSR). The results indicated that axial strain and excess pore water pressure accumulated over time due to cyclic loading. However, the accumulations were dependent on CSR values, densities, and drainage conditions. The fluidization potential analysis in this study was then evaluated based on the obtained cyclic axial strain and excess pore water pressure. As a result, tailings samples were stable (unfluidized) under small CSR values, and the critical CSR values, where the tailings fluidized, varied depending on the density of tailings samples. Tailings fluidization is triggered as cyclic stress ratios reach critical values. In this study, the critical CSR values were found to be 0.15 and 0.40 for medium and dense samples, respectively.