Course:

Soil Dynamics Module 3: Dynamic Soil Properties

LECTURE3
Course: Soil Dynamics Module 3: Dynamic Soil Properties

FACTORS AFFECTING:

Shear modulus, Elastic modulus and Elastic constants :

Type of soil including grain characteristics, grain shape, grain size, grading and
mineralogy.
Void ratio.
Initial average effective confining pressure.
Degree of saturation.
Frequency of vibration, number of cycles of load.
Ambient stress history and vibration history.
Magnitude of dynamic stress.
Time effects.

Soil behavior over a wide range of strain amplitudes is nonlinear and on unloading
follows a different stress-strain path forming a hysteresis loop.

The area inside this loop represents the energy absorbed by the soil during its
deformation and is a measure of the internal damping within the soil.

At very low strain amplitudes (< 0.0001 %) the soil acts essentially as a linear
elastic material with little or no loss of energy.

The shear modulus under these conditions is maximum but as the strain
amplitudes are increased, the shear modulus decreases and the damping within the
soil increases.