Soil-Structured Interaction Parameters for Structured/Cemented Silts

This report describes the research completed under the project titled "Soil-Structure Interaction Parameters for Structured Silts." The main objective of this research was to characterize the drained stress-strain behavior of naturally occurring structured/cemented silts. The results of this research were also used to develop a database of hyperbolic stress-strain and Mohr-Coulomb shear strength parameters for use in soil-structure interaction analyses involving structured/cemented silts. This research utilized extensive oedometer and isotropically consolidated-drained triaxial compression tests on structured/cemented and reconstituted specimens to evaluate the importance of the structure/cementation on the stress-strain behavior of silts. Triaxial compression tests were also conducted on structured/cemented and reconstituted specimens at the natural degree of saturation and after laboratory saturation to investigate the effect of inundation on the drained stress-strain behavior of silts. In addition, unload/reload triaxial compression tests were conducted to estimate the unload/reload modulus and the effect of unloading/reloading on the degradation of the structure/cementation of silt. This report summarizes the test procedures, test results, and the resulting hyperbolic stress-strain and Mohr-Coulomb shear strength parameters for structured/cemented and reconstituted silt.