Experimental study of the mechanical behavior of plastic concrete in triaxial compression

This paper is going to present the results of an extensive experimental parametric study of the mechanical responses of various types of plastic concrete in unconfined and triaxial compression tests. Plastic concrete consists of aggregates, cement, water and bentonite, mixed at a high water cement ratio, to produce a ductile material. It is used for creating an impermeable barrier (cut-off wall) for containment of contaminated sites or seepage control in highly permeable dam foundations. A plastic concrete cut-off wall acts essentially as a barrier to stop or reduce the groundwater flow. In this study the effect of specimen age, cement factor, bentonite content and confining pressure on shear strength and permeability of plastic concrete were investigated. The observed behavior is more and more ductile for increasing confining pressure. It is shown, also, that any increase in confining pressure increases the compressive strength as well as the elastic modulus and the deformability of the specimen. It is shown that an increase in cement factor increases the shear strength as well as the elastic modulus. It is obtained that increase of bentonite content, decreases the compressive strength as well as the elastic modulus. Increasing the age of the specimens causes an increase of the compressive strength as well as the elastic modulus and also the shear strength parameters are affected. Also, it is obtained that increase in confining pressure and cement factor reduces the permeability. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.