The Tensile–Shear Behavior of Loess and the Mechanism of the Tensile Strength Measured by the Unconfined Penetration Test

Abstract

The tensile strength is an important parameter in engineering. Many engineering-related problems in buildings as well as the damage caused to them during natural disasters occur owing to a lack of tensile strength. The unconfined penetration (UP) test is an indirect method to measure the tensile strength of soil. Analyses of the mechanism of the UP test and simulations based on the discrete-element method have shown that the UP test is a complex process involving tensile and shear strengths. In this study, the authors use the modified Mohr–Coulomb model to establish a joint criterion for the failure of the tensile strength and the shear strength of loess, and derive expressions for the correlations between the relevant mechanical parameters. A combination of the results of the aforementioned model and laboratory tests showed the following: (1) the process of failure of loess samples during the UP test consisted of four stages: (I) the shaping of the wedge-shaped split body, (II) tension-induced fracture, (III) the yield stage, and (IV) damage to the sample; (2) the tensile strength of the loess decreased exponentially with its saturation; (3) the ratio of the unconfined compressive and cohesive strengths to the tensile strength of the remolded loess was 1.37 times that of the undisturbed loess, while the ratio of the unconfined compressive strength of remolded loess to its cohesion was similar to that of undisturbed loess; (4) the wedge-splitting angle ranged from 13° to 23°, and had a negative correlation with the internal angle of friction, a positive correlation with the water content, and decreased exponentially with the tensile strength.