Constitutive Model of Cemented Coarse-Grained Soil and Its Application in High Concrete Face Rockfill Dam

Abstract

Recently, research on cemented coarse-grained soil has gradually deepened. However, in water conservancy projects, cemented coarse-grained soils are often used in temporary buildings, such as cofferdams. There are a few applications in permanent buildings. Due to the lack of a widely accepted constitutive model, the numerical calculations for cemented coarse-grained soil are unreliable. Based on the results of triaxial tests, this paper uses the hump curve equation to reflect the softening of cemented coarse-grained soil. The Rowe dilatancy equation is revised to improve the predicted accuracy of dilatancy. A concise and applicable elastoplastic model could be obtained by extending the model into three-dimensional space according to the generalized plastic theory. The new model is used for numerical calculations, and the cemented coarse-grained soil arranged at the bottom of the concrete face could effectively reduce the slope stress. The optimum arrangement of cemented coarse-grained soil in the Dashixia Project is studied with numerical calculations, which provides theoretical support for the application of cemented coarse-grained soil in a concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD).