SHEAR MODULUS AND DAMPING BY DRAINED TESTS ON CLEAN SAND SPECIMENS RECONSTITUTED BY VARIOUS METHODS

ABSTRACT Comprehensive tests on a clean sand were performed to evaluate the effects of the methods of sample preparations on shear moduli and hysteretic damping ratios of sands with use of a resonant-column apparatus and a static torsional shear device. All of the tests were conducted under the fully drained condition. Specimens for resonant-column tests were solid cylindrical and those for torsional shear tests were hollow cylindrical. These specimens were sheared torsionally and cyclically. It was found that for a wide range of shear strain the shear modulus and the hysteretic damping ratio of the sand tested by cyclic drained shear tests are quite insensitive to the methods of sample preparations adopted in this investigation. These include the different methods of pouring, compacting, moistening, saturating, unsaturating or so.