Stress–Dilatancy Behaviourof Fibre-Reinforced Sand

Abstract

This paper analyses the stress–strain behaviour of fibre-reinforced sand using the results obtained by drained triaxial compression tests presented in the literature. The general stress–plastic dilatancy equation of the Frictional State Concept has been used to describe the behaviour of fibre-reinforced sand for different shear phases. The behaviour of pure sand is taken as a reference for the behaviour of sand with added fibres. It is shown that the characteristic shear phases can only be determined when the η−Dp relationships are used, which are very rarely demonstrated in the results of shear tests presented in the literature. It has been shown that tensile strains must occur in order to achieve the strengthening effect of fibre reinforcement. A reduction in the stiffness of the fibre–sand composite is observed in the absence of tensile strains below certain threshold values.

Keywords

• sand
• fibre reinforcement
• stress–dilatancy