Abstract:
Anisotropy is the inherent property of coral sand. A series of undrained monotonic shear tests are carried out on the saturated Nansha coral sand by using the GDS hollow cylinder torsional shear apparatus. The effects of consolidation stress direction angle
α0 and monotonic loading direction angle
αm on the undrained response of saturated coral sand are investigated. The test results show that
α0 and
αm have significant influences on the undrained response of saturated coral sand. The undrained response characteristics of coral sand will become more complex under the coupling effects of
α0 and
αm. For all the test conditions considered, the excess pore water pressure
ue of saturated coral sand presents contraction first and then dilatancy trend. The change of the shear resistance (
SPT) and its effective angle (\phi '_\textPT) mobilized at the phase transformation state along with
αm are significantly different for various
α0. There is a unique linear correlation between
SPT and the dimensionless parameter
β, which is a cosine function with
α0 and
αm as variables. With the increase of the generalized shear stress
qg, obvious strain hardening phenomenon can be observed for the samples.