Cemented sand under hollow cylinder multiaxial loading

Improvement of granular soils’ mechanical properties can be achieved by the addition of bonding agents. In this research, low amount of Portland cement was added to a sand, and its beneficial shear strengthening effects were evaluated under a range of multiaxial stress paths. The influence of the orientation of the principal axes of stress and strain on the stress–strain response and failure of cemented sand has only been scarcely investigated. Therefore, this experimental investigation reports the results of a series of consolidated drained hollow cylinder torsional tests with constant principal stress path direction, α_σ, varying from 0° to 90°. Results were compared with the shear behaviour of the uncemented sand tested under similar loading conditions. Results show that the addition of cement to the sand matrix increases the soil strength for all multiaxial stress path directions. The suitability of two multiaxial strength criteria for reproducing the shape of the failure envelope as a function of the orientation of principal stress axis α_σ has also been analysed.