Static liquefaction behavior of saturated fiber-reinforced sand in undrained ring-shear tests

The problem of static liquefaction of sand is nowadays a classical soil mechanics subject. Using a ring-shear apparatus, we explore the possibility of fiber reinforcement as a new method to improve the liquefaction resistance of sand. In order to understand the effect of the fiber content and sand density on the static liquefaction behavior of fiber-reinforced sand, a series of undrained ring-shear tests were carried out on saturated samples with different fiber content and sand density, and the test results and mechanisms of fiber reinforcement were then analyzed. The results indicate that the undrained shear behavior of fiber-reinforced loose samples is not greatly influenced by the presence of fiber, but for medium dense and dense samples, the presence of fiber clearly affects their undrained behavior. Untreated specimens showed a continuous decrease in shear resistance after failure, while the specimens treated with fiber showed fluctuations even after shear failure, and these fluctuations become stronger with increasing fiber content. The peak shear strength increases with the fiber content, especially in dense specimens. After shearing, all the fiber-reinforced and untreated dense samples maintained structural stability, while the unreinforced loose samples showed a completely collapse of structure. The presence of fibers may thus limit or even prevent the occurrence of lateral spreading that is often observed in unreinforced sand. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.