Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028

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Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/soildyn

On the influence of the sample preparation method on strain accumulation

in sand under high-cyclic loading
T. Wichtmann a, *, K. Steller b, T. Triantafyllidis c
a
Chair of Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering and Environmental Geotechnics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universit€
atsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
b
DB Engineering & Consulting, Karlsruhe, Germany
c
University of Patras, Department of Civil Engineering, Patras, Greece

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: A study on the influence of the sample preparation method on the cumulative strains in sand under high-cyclic
High-cyclic loading loading is presented. Numerous drained cyclic triaxial tests with 105 cycles were performed on samples prepared
Sample preparation method by either air pluviation out of a funnel, air pluviation using a multiple sieve apparatus, water pluviation, moist
Fabric
tamping or dry loose deposition with a subsequent compaction by either vibration or tapping. The test results
Sand
Drained cyclic triaxial tests
reveal a significant influence of the sample preparation method on the intensity of strain accumulation. While
very loose samples prepared by moist tamping show much larger strain accumulation rates than their air-
pluviated counterparts at same density, it is the other way around at medium and high densities. Samples
prepared by procedures involving compaction in the dry state are more resistant against cumulative effects than
samples directly prepared to the same relative density. The differences in the rates of strain accumulation are the
result of a different initial fabric generated by the various constitution methods. A micromechanical explanation
based on the distribution of contact normal orientations is provided. In contrast, the direction of strain accu­
mulation (cyclic flow rule) and the elastic portion of deformation during the cycles (strain amplitude) are rather
insensitive to the choice of the sample preparation method.

1. Introduction pluviation techniques are usually assumed to be more anisotropic than

A high-cyclic loading of a foundation may be caused by traffic (e.g.
high-speed railways), wind and wave action (e.g. onshore and offshore
wind power plants), machines (e.g. gas turbines) or repeated filling and
emptying processes (e.g. tanks, silos, watergates). Such loading is
characterized by many cycles (N � 103 ) of small to intermediate strain
amplitudes (ε ​ ampl � 10 3 ). It may cause an accumulation of permanent
strains in the soil, leading to a progressively increasing settlement of a
shallow foundation or a tilting of a pile foundation. In order to estimate
the cumulative behaviour of a given soil, laboratory tests with drained
high-cyclic loading are performed. They are also necessary to calibrate
high-cycle accumulation (HCA) models [1,5,7,12,16,22,29,38,40,41,
46] applied in numerical investigations of geotechnical structures under
high-cyclic loading. For the laboratory tests a suitable sample prepara­
tion method has to be chosen.
It is well known that different sample preparation methods lead to
different initial fabrics of the sand, i.e. different preferred orientations of
the grains, grain contact normals and voids. Samples prepared by
those constituted in the moist condition. When deposited by air or water
pluviation, elongated grains tend to lie with their longer axis along the
horizontal directions [8,25,30,32,33,84]. Samples prepared in the moist
condition are reported to possess a more random orientation of the
grains [84]. This is explained with the capillary forces that impede
particle reorientations during the preparation process [17]. A random
orientation of the grains is also reported for sand compacted by pene­
tration of a rod [32,33]. In some other experimental studies, however,
no significant differences in the particle orientation between samples
prepared by either air-pluviation, dry vibratory compaction or moist
tamping were detected [27].
Samples prepared by moist tamping show a high degree of contact
normals oriented in the vertical direction. This degree is significantly
lower for air-pluviated samples [27,85]. An additional dynamic
compaction (e.g. by tapping or vibration) causes the contact normals to
concentrate more in the vertical direction [31,32,85]. Therefore,
regarding the degree of vertical orientation of the contact normals,
samples constituted by air pluviation with subsequent dynamic

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: torsten.wichtmann@rub.de (T. Wichtmann).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.106028
Received 14 April 2018; Received in revised form 30 December 2019; Accepted 30 December 2019
Available online 25 January 2020
0267-7261/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. Wichtmann et al.
compaction lie somewhere between samples prepared by air pluviation
(lowest degree) and moist tamping (highest degree) [85].
The sample preparation method should be chosen in accordance with
the depositional history of the sand in situ. It should lead to an inherent
fabric of the laboratory sample that reproduces the structure of the grain
skeleton in the field. Air or water pluviation can be considered as
representative for sand deposits formed by sedimentation through air or
water [10,35,53,58] (e.g. offshore conditions). Water sedimentation
with a subsequent densification can simulate the in situ compaction of
submerged artificially deposited sand layers [53]. Moist tamping is
appropriate for simulating the in situ compaction of moist sand deposits
by vertical tamping on the ground surface [53]. Moist placement and
subsequent vibratory compaction may be applied in the laboratory to
reproduce moist sand layers in the field compacted by vibration [53].
For parametric studies in the laboratory the choice of an appropriate
sample preparation method sometimes depends on the grain size dis­
tribution curve of the test material. For example, sample preparation
methods involving moist placement are advantageous in case of
well-graded soils since they prevent particle segregation [84].
Previous studies on the influence of the sample preparation method
were primarily dedicated to the sand response to drained or undrained
monotonic loading or to undrained cyclic loading. In several in­
vestigations with monotonic loading, loose samples prepared by moist
tamping were found to have higher values of stiffness and strength and
to exhibit a more dilative material behaviour than their air-pluviated
counterparts [84,89]. In contrast, Miura & Toki [24] observed an
opposite (although not very strong) trend, that means a somewhat
higher stiffness and dilatancy for medium dense samples prepared by
pluviation using a multiple sieve apparatus than for specimens consti­
tuted by wet rodding. The latter method, however, differs from moist
tamping, since a rod of 10 mm diameter is repeatedly penetrated into the
wet sand, presumably leading to a more random distribution of particle
and contact normal orientations. Vaid et al. [63] also noticed a stronger
dilatancy for medium dense samples prepared by water pluviation than
for those built by moist tamping. These contradictory conclusions give
hints that the effect of the sample preparation method may be affected
by other parameters like the tested material and density. A unique
critical state ec ðpÞ, independently of the initial fabric, was concluded by
several researchers (e.g. Refs. [4,15]), while few other studies [50,63]
found differences in the final states ðe; pÞ for different sample prepara­
tion techniques, probably due to inhomogeneities of the tamped samples
[63]. Inhomogeneities in the samples due to the preparation process are
discussed in detail e.g. in Refs. [9–11,56,63].
Another question related to fabric concerns the influence of the angle
α between the sedimentation direction and the direction of loading, i.e.
the direction of major principal stress. Due to their more pronounced
anisotropy, pluviated samples are reported to respond stiffer and
stronger when the direction of major principal stress is parallel to the
sedimentation direction (α ¼ 0∘ ), i.e. parallel to the preferred orienta­
tion of the contact normals and perpendicular to the preferred orienta­
tion of the elongated grains (bedding plane). In contrast, the behaviour
is weaker and more contractive if the major principal stress acts parallel
to the bedding plane (α ¼ 90∘ ). As a consequence samples prepared by
conventional air pluviation usually show a lower stiffness, a higher
contractancy and a lower shear strength in triaxial extension (α ¼ 90∘ ,
b ¼ ðσ2 ’ σ 3 ’Þ=ðσ1 ’ σ3 ’Þ ¼ 1) than in compression (α ¼ 0∘ , b ¼ 0)
[14,24,25,61,62,81,86]. Triaxial compression tests with the loading
direction perpendicular or parallel to the preferred particle orientation
show the same tendencies [30]. A more or less smooth transition
(decrease of stiffness, dilatancy and shear strength) with increasing α (at
b ¼ constant) is documented in several studies [2,3,20,21,23,28,31,33,
36,44,45,47–49,52,54,59,60,64,66,86], partly involving hollow cylin­
der torsional shear or biaxial shear tests. The residual stress ratio is
usually not affected by α [36], since the initial anisotropic fabric is
completely erased, at least within the shear bands. The effect of α on the
sand behaviour (at least on shear strength) is less pronounced for
2
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
particles with higher sphericity [3,13,31], for lower densities [3] and
samples compacted by rodding [33]. However, even assemblies of
almost perfect spheres may show such anisotropy due to a preferred
orientation of the contact normals [33], despite the absence of a
preferred particle orientation.
The investigations with undrained cyclic loading have demonstrated
that the liquefaction resistance of sand strongly depends on the sample
preparation method. Usually, the lowest undrained cyclic strength is
observed for uncompacted samples prepared by air pluviation, while
samples constituted in the moist condition are reported to withstand
larger numbers of cycles till failure [17,18,24,26,27,37,39,42,43,50,53,
58]. Due to their inherent anisotropy, despite an isotropic initial stress,
air-pluviated samples are reported to show a larger accumulation of pore
water pressure on the extension side of the p-q plane, that means during
the test phases with deviatoric stresses q < 0, compared to samples
prepared by moist tamping [24], leading to the lower undrained cyclic
strength. Despite similar density, samples loosely placed and compacted
by vibration or tapping usually exhibit a larger liquefaction resistance
than their non-preloaded counterparts (i.e. samples directly prepared to
the desired density) [10,24,26,27,53,55,82]. Consequently, samples
prepared by water pluviation and a subsequent compaction by vibration
or tapping have been found stronger than air-pluviated sand of same
density [10,53,55]. Sometimes even the liquefaction resistance of
uncompacted water-pluviated samples is reported to be larger than that
of air-pluviated ones [80]. The positive effect of a vibrational preloading
on the undrained cyclic strength is less pronounced or even absent [53]
if the samples are vibrated in the moist condition.
The higher strength and stiffness and the more dilative response in
the monotonic tests as well as the higher liquefaction resistance in the
undrained cyclic tests observed for the samples prepared by moist
tamping is sometimes argued with the higher degree of contact normals
oriented in the vertical direction [27]. With respect to the monotonic
behaviour, this hypothesis has been confirmed by discrete element
(DEM) simulations of Yimsiri & Soga [85], who studied packings of
spherical particles with different initial distributions of the contact
normal orientations. Furthermore, the coordination number, that means
the number of contacts per particle, may influence the material
response. Based on DEM simulations, Yang & Dai [83] reported on a
decrease of the average coordination number during the contractive
phase of an undrained monotonic shearing, followed by a re-increase
during the dilative phase after passing the phase transformation point.
The course of the coordination number with axial strain was demon­
strated to depend on the angle between the loading and deposition
direction.
In contrast to the undrained conditions, the influence of the inherent
fabric on the sand response to drained high-cyclic loading has not been
systematically investigated so far. This served as the motivation for the
experimental study described herein. Prior to the cyclic tests some
preliminary tests with monotonic loading have been performed on
samples prepared by the same methods.
2. Test material
All tests of the present study have been performed on clean Karlsruhe
fine sand (KFS). The grain size distribution curve of this sand is shown in
Fig. 1. Its mean grain size is d50 ¼ 0.14 mm and its uniformity coefficient
Cu ¼ d60 =d10 ¼ 1.5.
Fig. 2 shows an image of grains of this sand taken with an optical
microscope. Most of the particles have a subangular shape. The grain
shape of this sand was further quantified by means of an automated
analysis based on scanned grain images using the program ImageJ with
the plugin Particle8. The procedure is explained in detail in Ref. [77].
The definition of two of the shape parameters, Aspect Ratio and Circu­
larity, is illustrated in Fig. 3. Aspect Ratio is defined as the ratio of the
length F of the longest axis divided by the length B of the largest
dimension in the orthogonal direction. Circularity is obtained as the
T. Wichtmann et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028

The following sample preparation methods have been applied in the

current experimental study. They are depicted by the schemes in Fig. 4:

� Dry air pluviation out of a funnel (Fig. 4a). The relative density has
been varied by chosing different outlet diameters of the funnel. In
this method the distance between the outlet of the funnel and the
actual sand surface in the mould is kept constant, while the funnel is
continuously moved in the horizontal direction.
� Homogeneous dry sand rain over the whole cross section of the
sample using a multiple sieve apparatus similar to the one proposed
by Miura & Toki [24] (Fig. 4b).
� Dry air pluviation by means of a large sand spreader (diameter d � 1
m), usually applied for model testing at the former institute of the
authors (Institute of Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, IBF, at
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT) [79,88] (Fig. 4c).
� Water pluviation (Fig. 4d). In this method dry sand is pluviated out of
a funnel on the water surface. After submergence the sand grains sink
in the water column. The height of the water column has been varied
by means of a plexiglas tube that can be mounted on the mould.
Fig. 1. Grain size distribution curve of Karlsruhe fine sand.
Relatively unaffected by the height of the water column and the
volume flow of the sand poured onto the water surface, only rela­
tively low relative densities Dr0 ¼ ðemax eÞ=ðemax emin Þ⋅100 � 30%
were obtained by this sample preparation method.
� Water pluviation with subsequent compaction (for densities Dr0 >
30%) either by vibration applied with a shaking table (Fig. 4e) or by
tapping of the mould using a rubber hammer (Fig. 4f). The intensity
of compaction (duration and intensity of vibration, number of strikes
with the hammer) has been varied in order to reach different
densities.
� Dry deposition in the loosest state with subsequent compaction by
either vibration or tapping (Fig. 4g).
� Moist tamping in 8 layers (Fig. 4h) using the undercompaction
Fig. 2. Image of grains of Karlsruhe fine sand taken with an optical microscope. method of Ladd [19] with a water content of 10% and a degree of
undercompaction of 5%. Applying the undercompaction method
each layer is compacted to a slightly higher degree than the previous

Fig. 3. Definition of grain shape parameters Aspect Ratio ¼ F= B and Circu­

larity ¼ A ​ Grain =A ​ Circle

ratio of the cross-sectional area of the grain A ​ Grain divided by the area
A ​ Circle of a circle having the same perimeter as the original grain.
Circularity is thus a measure of how much the shape of a grain resembles
a circle. For Karlsruhe fine sand, the average value of Aspect Ratio is
1.29, while that of Circularity is 0.80.
Furthermore, index tests on KFS gave a maximum void ratio emax ¼
1.054, a minimum void ratio emin ¼ 0.677 and a grain density of ϱs ¼
2.65 g/cm3.

3. Sample preparation methods

All samples of the present study measured 100 mm in diameter and

100 mm in height. Smeared end plates, realized by a rubber disk
covering a layer of grease, and small central porous stones connected to
the drainage system were used. For a comparative study on the influence
of the sample geometry, including cylindrical samples of different di­
ameters (d ¼ 50, 100 and 150 mm) and height-to-diameter ratios (h= d
¼ 1 or 2) the interested reader is referred to Ref. [77].
Fig. 4. Applied sample preparation methods.

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T. Wichtmann et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028

one, assuming that the compaction of a new layer leads to a further
compaction of the underlying layers. For details of this method the
interested reader is referred to Ref. [19]. For samples with Dr0 >
80% a constitution procedure analogous to the Proctor test has been
alternatively used.
� Moist tamping in a large number (about 50) of layers (Fig. 4i). For
each layer, a small amount of moist sand was placed in the mould
and compacted by the own weight of the same tamper also used for
the undercompaction method. These tests belong to an earlier study
documented in detail in Ref. [68] and comprise only loose samples
(29% � Dr0 � 43%).
After preparation, all samples were handled in the same way, i.e.
they were saturated with deaerated demineralized water. A back pres­
sure of 500 kPa was applied in all tests. The B-values were generally
larger than 0.99, confirming a high degree of saturation. After the B
value test the samples were consolidated at the initial effective stress of
the respective test, which was generally isotropic in the monotonic tests
and either isotropic or anisotropic in the cyclic tests.
4. Monotonic triaxial tests
Prior to the cyclic tests, the influence of the sample preparation
method was studied in both drained and undrained monotonic triaxial
tests. A standard triaxial device was used for that purpose. The shearing
was started from an isotropic state of stress with different values of the
mean effective stress p0 . Mean effective stress is defined as p ¼ ðσ 1 ’ þ
2σ3 ’Þ=3, while deviatoric stress is calculated from q ¼ σ1 σ 3 . Keeping
cell pressure constant, the samples were compressed with a displace­
ment rate of 0.1 mm/min in the axial direction. In additional tests the
influence of the bedding plane inclination has been investigated.
numerous other tests with undrained monotonic loading presented in
Fig. 6 (see also [75,76]).
4.2. Results of drained monotonic tests
In the drained monotonic tests all sample preparation methods
except those involving a homogeneous sand rain (Fig. 4b and c) or a
tamping in 50 layers (Fig. 4i) were applied. The drained shearing was
started at an isotropic initial effective stress of p0 ¼ 100 kPa in all tests.
Fig. 7 compares the curves of deviatoric stress q and volumetric strain εv
versus axial strain ε1 measured for loose, medium dense and dense
samples prepared by either air pluviation, water pluviation (followed by
vibration in case of the higher densities) or moist tamping. The differ­
ences between the three sample preparation methods in Fig. 7 are less
evident than in the case of the undrained tests (Fig. 5). Nevertheless, a
higher initial stiffness and a lower axial strain to peak for the samples
prepared by moist tamping compared to both pluviation methods can be
concluded from Fig. 7a.
A closer inspection of the data from the drained tests is undertaken in
Fig. 8. The individual diagrams compare the peak friction angles φP , the
axial strains at peak ε1;P , the Young’s moduli E50 (secant stiffness be­
tween q ¼ 0 and q ¼ qmax =2), the dilatation angles ψ (defined as the
maximum inclination of the curve of volumetric strain εv versus shear
strain γ, that means as the maximum value of the quantity
arctanð_εv =_γÞ) and the stress ratios ηc d (η ¼ q=p) at the transition from
the contractive to the dilative material response. Evidently, the influ­
ence of the sample preparation and compaction method on φP and ηc d is
rather weak (Fig. 8a,e). In contrast, a significant effect on stiffness can be
concluded (Fig. 8c). At similar densities, the samples prepared by moist
tamping show a considerably larger E50 than their air-pluviated

4.1. Results of undrained monotonic tests

The undrained tests have been restricted to loose samples prepared

by the two most popular sample preparation methods air pluviation and
moist tamping. The samples were isotropically consolidated under three
different initial pressures (p0 ¼ 100, 300 or 500 kPa). Fig. 5 presents
some of the test results. It compares the stress-strain relationships and
the effective stress paths measured for samples of similar density (27% �
Dr0 � 33%). The data in Fig. 5 reveal a strong effect of initial fabric on
the material response to undrained monotonic shearing at low to in­
termediate strains. The pluviated samples show a much larger relaxation
of mean effective stress p in the initial phase of a test, i.e. a more
contractive response, than those constituted by moist tamping. In
contrast to the tamped samples, the pluviated ones pass a quasi-steady
state (QSS), i.e. a local minimum of the deviatoric stress at phase
Fig. 6. States ðe; pÞ at ε1 ¼ 25% (approximately critical state ec ðpÞ) of samples
transformation. The samples prepared by both methods, however, reach
prepared with different initial densities by either moist tamping or air pluvia­
a similar effective stress (critical state) at large strains, which confirms a
tion and consolidated at different initial pressures (p0 ¼ 100, 300 or 500 kPa).
unique critical state ec ðpÞ. This is corroborated by the results of

Fig. 5. a) Stress-strain relationships and b) effective stress paths from undrained monotonic triaxial tests performed on loose samples prepared by either moist
tamping or air pluviation.

4
T. Wichtmann et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028

Fig. 7. Curves of a) deviatoric stress qðε1 Þ and b) volumetric strain εv ðε1 Þ measured in drained monotonic triaxial tests on loose, medium dense and dense samples
prepared by three different methods (air pluviation, water pluviation with subsequent vibration, moist tamping in eight layers).

Fig. 8. a) Peak friction angle φP , b) axial strain ε1;P at peak, c) Young’s modulus E50 , d) dilatatancy angle ψ and e) stress ratio ηc d at the onset of dilatancy as
functions of initial relative density Dr0 measured in drained monotonic triaxial tests on samples prepared by different methods.

counterparts (factor 2.5 at Dr0 � 60%). The stiffness of non-compacted
water-pluviated samples is of similar magnitude as that of air-
pluviated ones. At intermediate densities (50% � Dr0 � 90%), howev­
er, the water-pluviated samples compacted by vibration are somewhat
stiffer than those prepared by air pluviation, although their E50 values
are still much lower than in case of the moist tamping method. At large
densities (Dr0 � 100%) air- and water-pluviated samples deliver a
similar stiffness again. Compaction of water-pluviated samples by
tapping leads to an even larger initial stiffness than vibration. The cor­
responding E50 values approach those of the samples constituted by
moist tamping. The stiffness moduli of samples compacted in the dry
state lie somewhere between the water-pluviated specimens compacted
by either vibration or tapping. In case of the samples compacted in the
dry state tapping also generates larger stiffness values than vibration.
In the diagram showing the axial strain at peak as a function of initial
relative density (Fig. 8b), the curve for the samples prepared by moist

5
T. Wichtmann et al.
tamping significantly differs from the data for all other sample prepa­
ration methods. The higher E50 values of the tamped samples are
accompanied by considerably smaller axial strains to peak ε1;P , at least at
densities Dr0 � 30%. In the range 60% � Dr0 � 100% the peak occurred
at almost the same axial strain, independently of the initial density of the
tamped specimens. Furthermore, the samples prepared by moist tamp­
ing show slightly higher dilatancy angles than the pluviated ones
(Fig. 8d). The higher stiffness and the more pronounced dilatancy of
sand placed by moist tamping compared to air pluviation agrees well
with the results from the undrained tests (Fig. 5).
The stiffer response and the more dilative material behaviour of the
samples prepared by moist tamping observed in the drained and un­
drained monotonic tests of the present study are in accordance with
several other investigations in the literature [84,89]. Following Yimsiri
& Soga [85], these experimental observations can be explained by the
different initial distributions of the contact normal orientations. The
samples prepared by moist tamping possess the highest degree of contact
normals oriented in the vertical direction, and consequently they show
the highest stiffness and dilatancy when loaded in the same (vertical)
direction. The much lower degree of contact normals with vertical
orientation encountered in the air-pluviated samples leads to the lowest
values of stiffness and dilatancy measured in the current study. All
methods involving dynamic compaction, either by tapping or vibration,
increase the number of contact normals with vertical orientation [31,32,
85] and therefore the properties of these samples lie in between those of
the air-pluviated and tamped specimens. Considering the higher stiff­
ness values, the re-orientation of the contact normals seems to be
stronger for the tapping than the vibration method. The differences in
the stiffness almost vanish at very low and very high densities. This gives
hints that the initial distributions of contact normals could be quite
similar in samples prepared to very low or high densities, independently
of the applied constitution method. However, these assumptions have to
be confirmed by micromechanical investigations in future.
Fig. 9. Influence of the bedding plane inclination α on the results of drained monotonic triaxial tests: a) Sample preparation procedure with inclined mould, b) peak
friction angle φP , c) stiffness E50 and d) dilatancy angle ψ as functions of initial relative density.Dr0
6
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
4.3. Influence of bedding plane inclination
In order to investigate a possible influence of the bedding plane
inclination angle α, a procedure often applied in the literature [2,13,31,
33,34,36,51,54,57,87] has been followed in additional tests on Karls­
ruhe fine sand. The mould was inclined by a certain angle α during
sample preparation (Fig. 9a). The sand was then deposited in the vertical
direction. Afterwards, the mould was rotated back into the horizontal
plane and a conventional drained triaxial compression test was per­
formed on that sample (Fig. 9a). Tests with four different α values (0� ,
15� , 30� and 45� ) have been performed on samples with different initial
relative densities prepared by either air pluviation or moist tamping.
The data for α ¼ 0∘ were overtaken from Fig. 8.
The tests on air-pluviated samples did not show any significant dif­
ferences in the stress-strain and dilatancy behaviour between the four
tested α values (Fig. 9b–d), that means the bedding plane inclination
seems to be of minor importance for these types of samples. For the
medium dense samples prepared by moist tamping, however, lower
values of peak friction angle φP , initial stiffness E50 and dilatancy angle
ψ were obtained for α ¼ 45∘ than for α ¼ 0∘ (Fig. 9b–d). These obser­
vations could be attributed to a loading direction deviating from the
direction of the main contact normal orientations, which is perpendic­
ular to the bedding plane. Insofar these results seem to confirm that with
respect to the distribution of contact normal orientation the tamped
samples are more anisotropic than the air-pluviated ones.
5. Cyclic triaxial tests
A scheme of the cyclic triaxial device used for the present study is
shown in Fig. 10. In this device the axial loading is applied by means of a
pneumatic cylinder mounted below the pressure cell. The axial force is
measured at a load cell being located directly below the bottom end
plate of the sample, i.e. inside the pressure cell. The axial deformation is
obtained from a displacement transducer attached to the load piston.
The system compliance was determined in preliminary tests on a steel
dummy and subtracted from the measured values. Volume changes are
T. Wichtmann et al.
Fig. 10. Scheme of the cyclic triaxial device used for the present study.
determined via the pore water being sucked in or squeezed out from the
sample, using a burette system and a differential pressure transducer
(not shown in Fig. 10). Two pressure transducers are applied for
monitoring cell pressure and back pressure. The data of all transducers is
continuously recorded by a data acquisition system, with 100 data lines
per cycle. For the purpose of noise reduction an averaging over a very
short time period is done when gathering each of these data lines.
The stresses and strains in the cyclic tests are shown schematically in
Fig. 11. Following the B value test, the desired average stress was
applied and kept constant for 1 h. This average stress is described by the
average values of vertical and horizontal effective stress σ1 ’ ​ av and σ3 ’ ​ av
or by the average values of effective mean pressure p ​ av ¼
Fig. 11. a) Axial effective stress σ1 ’ and b) axial strain ε1 versus time in a
drained cyclic triaxial test.
7
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
ðσ 1 ’ ​ av þ2σ 3 ’ ​ av Þ=3 and deviatoric stress q ​ av ¼ σ1 ’ ​ av σ3 ’ ​ av and their
ratio η ​ av ¼ q ​ av =p ​ av , respectively. Afterwards the cyclic loading in the
axial direction with the amplitude σ1 ’ ​ ampl ¼ σ1​ ampl ¼ q ​ ampl was su­
perposed to this average stress. In the tests of the present series the
lateral effective stress σ3 ’ has been kept constant, i.e. σ 3 ’ ​ av ¼ σ3 ’ ¼
constant and σ 3 ’ ​ ampl ¼ 0 holds.
The first irregular cycle was applied with a low loading frequency of
0.01 Hz, considering that the first quarter of this first cycle represents a
first loading and usually generates significantly larger residual strains
than the subsequent cycles (Fig. 11). A higher frequency of 0.2 Hz was
chosen for the subsequent 105 regular cycles. Using these loading fre­
quencies for the first or the subsequent cycles, respectively, fully drained
conditions during the cycles were guaranteed and thus a build-up of
excess pore water pressure was prevented.
From the measured changes of height and volume the axial (ε1 ) and
the volumetric strain (εv ¼ ε1 þ 2ε3 ) are calculated. The deviatoric
strain is obtained from εq ¼ 2=3ðε1 ε3 Þ and the total strain from ε ¼
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðε1 Þ2 þ 2ðε3 Þ2 . All these components of strain are functions of time or
the number of cycles, respectively. They can be split into a portion ε ​ irreg
resulting from the irregular cycle, an accumulated portion ε ​ acc
remaining after the completion of a full regular cycle and an elastic
portion ε ​ ampl (strain amplitude), as shown for the vertical component in
Fig. 11b. Typical data of axial strain during the regular cycles from a
drained cyclic triaxial test on an air-pluviated sample are shown in
Fig. 12. The data of all transducers were recorded during the whole 105
cycles, with 100 data points per cycle. However, Fig. 12 shows only ε1 ðtÞ
data for selected cycles, including the first 24 cycles and a package of 5
cycles each (i.e. 5 � 100 ¼ 500 recorded data points) after N ¼ 50, 100,
200, …105 cycles. Therefore, there are time gaps between the individual
packages of data shown in Fig. 12. The determination of the accumu­
lated and elastic portions of strain based on the measured data is
explained in more detail in Ref. [72].
In the following the effect of the sample preparation method on the
intensity of strain accumulation (expressed by the rate of total strain
accumulation ε_ ​ acc ¼ ∂ε ​ acc =∂N or by the total accumulated strain ε ​ acc ),
its direction (cyclic flow rule, expressed by the ratio ε_ v​ acc =_εq​ acc of the
rates of volumetric and deviatoric strain accumulation or by the strain
path in a εq​ acc -εv​ acc diagram) and the strain amplitude ε ​ ampl is discussed.
The splitting of the strain in an elastic and a plastic portion, and of the
strain accumulation rate in an intensity and a direction follows several
previous publications on the high-cycle accumulation (HCA) model of
Niemunis et al. [29] (e.g. Refs. [69,71,74]). In agreement with these
earlier experimental studies, only the accumulation during the regular
Fig. 12. Axial strain ε1 versus time during selected phases of a drained cyclic
triaxial test on an air-pluviated sample.
T. Wichtmann et al.
cycles is discussed in the following, since only the regular cycles are
described by the HCA model. In finite element simulations with the HCA
model at least the first two cycles are calculated with a conventional
constitutive model, e.g. an elastoplastic or hypoplastic model. There­
fore, it is not necessary to capture the residual strain caused by the first,
irregular cycle in the HCA model. In the following the values of initial
relative density Dr0 specified for the cyclic tests describe the state before
the start of the regular cycles.
All sample preparation methods mentioned in Section 3 have been
applied in a first series of cyclic tests. Therein, for each constitution
method several drained cyclic triaxial tests with different initial relative
densities but same average and cyclic stresses (p ​ av ¼ 200 kPa, η ​ av ¼
0.75, q ​ ampl ¼ 60 kPa) were performed. The effective stress path during
the cycles in these tests is shown in Fig. 13b. In a second test series,
samples prepared by the two most common methods, air pluviation and
moist tamping, were also compared at different stress amplitudes q ​ ampl ,
average mean pressures p ​ av and average stress ratios η ​ av . The corre­
sponding effective stress paths are given in Fig. 13a,c,d. For comparison
some characteristic lines for medium dense (Dr ¼ 60%) Karlsruhe fine
sand have been added in Fig. 13, based on the results of the testing
program described in Ref. [75]: the failure line FLd (η ¼ 1.56) from
drained monotonic triaxial tests, corresponding to the peak friction
angle φP ¼ 38:3∘ , the failure line FLu (η ¼ 1.43) from undrained
monotonic triaxial tests, the critical state line CSL (η ¼ 1.34) derived
from the critical friction angle φc ¼ 33:1∘ and the phase transformation
line PTL (η ¼ 1.10) also obtained from the undrained monotonic triaxial
tests. With the exception of the tests with higher values of η ​ av in the
series with a variation of the average stress ratio, the cycles have been
applied in a sufficient distance to the critical state and failure lines. A
third series of tests has been performed to investigate the influence of
the bedding plane inclination on the response of air-pluviated samples to
cyclic loading.
5.1. Results of first test series: comparison of various sample preparation
methods at different initial densities
Fig. 14 presents results from the first test series. In those diagrams the
development of the accumulated strain ε ​ acc with increasing number of
cycles N and the εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths measured for loose, medium
dense and dense samples prepared by the different methods are shown.
As obvious in Fig. 14a, loose samples (Dr0 ¼ 25 30%) prepared by
either air or water pluviation (without any further compaction) show
similar cumulative strains when subjected to the same cyclic stresses.
The only exception pertains to large numbers of cycles N � 104 where
the water-pluviated sample shows somewhat larger strain accumulation
rates ε_ ​ acc than its air-pluviated counterpart.
Considering the loose samples prepared in the moist condition, the
number of layers seems to play a role. Despite similar density, the
sample prepared in 8 layers shows considerable larger cumulative rates
than that constituted in 50 layers (Fig. 14a). This effect is not completely
understood yet and needs further testing, with a systematic variation of
Fig. 13. Stress paths in the cyclic tests shown in the p-q diagram: Variation of a) stress amplitude q ​ ampl , b) initial relative density Dr0 , c) average mean pressure p ​ av
and d) average stress ratio η ​ av . FLd ¼ failure line for drained conditions, FLu ¼ failure line for undrained conditions, CSL ¼ critical state line, PTL ¼ phase
transformation line, all lines evaluated for medium density (Dr ¼ 60%) based on [75].
8
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
the number of layers and the degree of undercompaction. In­
homogeneities within the samples may be a possible cause. As evident in
Fig. 14a, the sample preparation method affects the shape of the curves
ε ​ acc ðNÞ. At lower numbers of cycles, the sample prepared by moist
tamping in 8 layers shows lower strain accumulation rates than those
constituted by either air or water pluviation. The opposite conclusion
applies for larger numbers of cycles, resulting in a considerably larger
permanent strain after 105 cycles in case of the tamped specimen. In
contrast, the direction of accumulation is quite similar for all loose
samples (Fig. 14b), irrespective of the constitution procedure applied.
The differences between the various preparation methods are much
more pronounced for medium dense samples (51% � Dr0 � 65%,
Fig. 14c and d). While samples prepared by water pluviation and com­
pacted by either vibration or tapping showed almost similar intensities
of strain accumulation ε_ ​ acc as specimens built by air pluviation (using
either the funnel or the multiple sieve apparatus), the cumulative rates
were much less for samples constituted by loose dry deposition followed
by compaction in the dry state (Fig. 14c). The residual strains of the
sample prepared by moist tamping in eight layers were comparable to
the latter two types of samples. Differences in the shape of the ε ​ acc ðNÞ
curves between the tamped and the pluviated samples were observed
also for medium density (Fig. 14c).
Compared to the air-pluviated samples, the direction of strain
accumulation measured for the medium dense samples prepared by
water pluviation and compacted by either vibration or tapping was
found somewhat more volumetric (Fig. 14d). The deviations were even
more severe for the samples densified in the dry state. In the range of
medium densities, also a sample preparation by moist tamping resulted
in considerably higher ε_ v​ acc =_εq​ acc values than obtained for air pluviation
(Fig. 14d).
If the density was further increased the influence of the sample
preparation method got negligible. Neither the strain accumulation
curves ε ​ acc ðNÞ in Fig. 14e nor the εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths in Fig. 14f
measured for dense samples (81% � Dr0 � 94%) reveal a significant
effect of the constitution method.
In Fig. 15 the accumulated strains ε ​ acc after 105 cycles are given as a
function of the initial relative density. The data are subdivided into four
separate diagrams for the sake of clarity. The diagram in Fig. 15a con­
firms that samples prepared by the different dry pluviation techniques
gave almost identical results. The conventional air pluviation technique
and the procedure involving a multiple-sieve apparatus, leading to a
homogeneous sand rain over the whole sample cross section, seem thus
to generate a similar initial fabric. Similar conclusions were drawn by
Miura & Toki [24] from monotonic tests on samples prepared by both
pluviation methods. Somewhat conflicting results have been gathered
by Tatsuoka et al. [55] who observed a substantially smaller undrained
cyclic strength for medium dense sand samples prepared by a
multiple-sieve pluviation (MSP) apparatus than for air-pluviated (AP)
samples. At large densities, however, the liquefaction resistance of the
MSP samples in Ref. [55] was even slightly larger than that of AP ones.
The good agreement between the results for the conventional air-
T. Wichtmann et al.
Fig. 14. Strain accumulation curves ε ​ acc ðNÞ and εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths for a,b) loose (without compaction), c,d) medium dense and e,f) dense samples prepared by
different methods.
pluviated samples and those constituted by means of the model test sand
spreader (Fig. 15a) confirms that parameters (e.g. material constants of
constitutive models) obtained from conventional laboratory samples are
representative for the sand in the model tests, i.e. may be regarded as
appropriate for FE simulations of the model tests (see e.g. simulations of
small-scale model tests on offshore wind power plant foundations pre­
sented in Ref. [88]).
The data in Fig. 15b reveals that for Dr0 ¼ constant, water-pluviated
samples compacted by vibration show similar or even slightly larger
cumulative strains than those constituted by air pluviation. Likewise, the
residual strains measured for the water-pluviated samples compacted by
tapping scatter around the data for the air-pluviated specimens. In
contrast, in the range of medium densities considerably lower residual
strains were generated in samples prepared by dry loose deposition
followed by compaction in the dry state (Fig. 15c). These samples
showed, however, similar residual strains as the air-pluviated ones at
lower and higher densities.
Analyzing the data for moist tamping, it is a matter of density
9
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
whether these samples deliver higher or lower rates of strain accumu­
lation than the air-pluviated specimens. The tamped samples constituted
in eight layers showed higher permanent strains in the loose state, but
lower rates at medium density (Fig. 15d), leading to a considerably
different shape of the ε ​ acc ðDr0 Þ curve. Considering the differences in the
shape of the curves ε ​ acc ðNÞ of the tamped and the pluviated samples
(Fig. 14), the deviations between both types of samples in a ε ​ acc -Dr0
diagram are additionally dependent on N. Within the range of tested
densities, the samples constituted in 50 layers always showed lower
cumulative rates than those built in only eight layers (Fig. 15d).
Although no double tests with identical initial and loading conditions
have been performed for the individual sample preparation methods, a
good repeatability of the test results can be concluded from the ε ​ acc ðDr0 Þ
data points for the samples prepared by air pluviation and moist tamping
in eight layers in Fig. 15a,d, which both can we well approximated by a
curve. The reproducibility of the test results for air-pluviated samples
has been already demonstrated in Ref. [67], where four tests with
identical average and cyclic stresses gave almost the same results. The
T. Wichtmann et al.
Fig. 15. Accumulated strain after 105 cycles versus initial relative density for all tested sample preparation methods.
samples prepared by water pluviation followed by dynamic compaction
in the present study show a somewhat larger scatter of the ε ​ acc ðDr0 Þ
data, however (Fig. 15b).
Some of the tendencies in the accumulated strains among the
different sample preparation methods are quite similar to those
observed in the stiffness E50 from the drained monotonic tests (Fig. 8c).
It can be assumed that the distribution of contact normal orientations
influence the rates of strain accumulation in a similar way as it affects
the initial stiffness and the dilatancy behaviour under monotonic
loading. At medium densities the samples prepared by moist tamping
possess a higher degree of contact normals oriented in the vertical di­
rection, and thus a cyclic loading applied in the same direction leads to
lower strain accumulation rates compared to air-pluviated samples. All
dry pluviation methods seem to result in a similar initial fabric, since
their cumulative strains do not differ much. A dynamic compaction of
dry samples causes the degree of contact normals with vertical orien­
tation to increase, and thus these samples show lower rates of strain
accumulation than samples prepared to the same density by air pluvi­
ation. In agreement with the conclusions from the monotonic tests,
samples constituted by the different methods must have a similar fabric
at very low and very high densities, considering that the measured re­
sidual strains were quite similar in those cases. The only exception are
the samples prepared by moist tamping, which show considerably larger
residual strains at low relative densities. These unexpected large strains
could be due to some kind of honeycomb-shaped fabric [6,65], with a
denser matrix surrounding larger pores. The larger pores may result in
the higher compressibility under cyclic loading. Some differences be­
tween the tendencies in the static and cyclic tests should be mentioned.
For example, with reference to the air-pluviated specimens,
water-pluviated sand compacted by either vibration or tapping showed
higher values of stiffness E50 in the static tests, but comparable or even
larger residual strains in the cyclic tests. Also with respect to the cyclic
behaviour the role of microstructure needs further investigations in
future.
It should be stressed that the accumulation of residual strains in the
cyclic tests is solely a result of particle reorientations, including rolling
and slipping of the particles at their contacts. No visible signs for grain
10
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
crushing were detected in these experiments. For a discussion of
experimental investigations on grain crushing in sand under drained
high-cyclic loading the interested reader is referred to Refs. [77,78].
Despite the obvious differences between the various εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain
paths for medium dense samples in Fig. 14d, the collection of the
εq​ acc -εv​ acc data at N ¼ 105 for various densities in Fig. 16a suggests that
the influence of the sample preparation method on the direction of
accumulation may be disregarded as a first approximation, particularly
with regard to the much larger dependence on the average stress ratio
η ​ av [70,73] (see also Fig. 18).
In contrast to the cumulative rates, the elastic strains depicted in
Fig. 16b show only a moderate dependence on the sample preparation
method. At medium dense to dense states the strain amplitudes
measured for samples prepared by moist tamping are generally slightly
lower than those obtained from the tests on the air-pluviated samples.
5.2. Results of second test series: comparison of tamped and air-pluviated
samples at different amplitudes and average stresses
In the second test series samples prepared by either air pluviation or
moist tamping were subjected to a drained cyclic loading with different
amplitudes and average stresses. All samples of this series were medium
dense (54% � Dr0 � 65%). For each sample preparation method, four
tests were performed with the same average stress (p ​ av ¼ 200 kPa, η ​ av
¼ 0.75), while the amplitude was varied between q ​ ampl ¼ 20 kPa and
80 kPa from test to test (see effective stress paths in Fig. 13a). In three or
four additional tests the average mean pressure was chosen between
p ​ av ¼ 50 kPa and 300 kPa, while the average stress ratio η ​ av ¼ 0.75 and
the amplitude-pressure ratio q ​ ampl =p0 ¼ 0.30 were kept constant (see
effective stress paths in Fig. 13c). Finally, different average stress ratios
between η ​ av ¼ 0 and 1.25 were tested at p ​ av ¼ 200 kPa and with an
amplitude q ​ ampl ¼ 60 kPa (see effective stress paths in Fig. 13d). Again,
105 cycles were applied in all tests of this series.
The upper row of diagrams in Fig. 17 shows mean values of the strain
amplitudes ε ​ ampl over the applied 105 cycles measured in the tests with
a variation of stress amplitude (Fig. 17a), average mean pressure
T. Wichtmann et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028

Fig. 16. Influence of the sample preparation method on a) pairs of accumulated deviatoric and volumetric strain (εq​ acc , εv​ acc ) at N ¼ 105 and b) mean values of strain
amplitude ε ​ ampl over 105 cycles.

Fig. 17. a-c) Average values of strain amplitude ε ​ ampl during 105 cycles and d-f) accumulated strain ε ​ acc after 105 cycles in dependence of stress amplitude q ​ ampl ,
average mean pressure p ​ av and average stress ratio η ​ av for samples prepared by either air pluviation or moist tamping.

(Fig. 17b) and average stress ratio (Fig. 17c). Evidently, the almost
linear increase of ε ​ ampl with the amplitude, its underproportional in­
crease with p ​ av and the moderate reduction with η ​ av is similar for both
sample preparation methods. However, for all test conditions the strain
amplitudes of the tamped samples are slightly smaller than those of the
pluviated ones. This moderately higher secant stiffness of the tamped
samples is in good agreement with the data for medium density in
Fig. 16b. Furthermore, it fits well to the higher initial stiffness E50 of the
tamped samples derived from the initial stage of the drained monotonic
tests (Fig. 8c).
The accumulated strain ε ​ acc after 105 cycles is presented as a func­
tion of q ​ ampl , p ​ av and η ​ av in the second row of diagrams in Fig. 17. The
trends for both sample preparation methods are similar: ε ​ acc ðN ¼ 105 Þ
increases slightly faster than linear with the stress amplitude (Fig. 17d),
strongly faster than linear with the average stress ratio (Fig. 17f) but
shows only a small variation with average mean pressure (Fig. 17e). If
the data in Fig. 17e is purified from the influence of the different strain
amplitudes (Fig. 17b), i.e. if ε ​ acc ðN ¼ 105 Þ data for a constant strain
amplitude ε ​ ampl are compared, then the residual strain decreases with
p ​ av for both sample preparation methods. In accordance with the con­
clusions for medium dense samples from Fig. 15d the diagrams in
Fig. 17d–f reveal about twice lower values of the residual strain after the
application of the 105 cycles for the tamped samples compared to their
pluviated counterparts. The only exception is the pair of tests with the

11
T. Wichtmann et al.
Fig. 18. εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths in tests with different average stress ratios η ​ av
for samples prepared by either air pluviation or moist tamping.
smallest amplitude q ​ ampl ¼ 20 kPa, where the data for both preparation
methods lie closer to each other.
Finally, Fig. 18 presents the εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths from the tests with
different average stress ratios η ​ av . For both sample preparation
methods, the strain accumulation becomes more deviatoric with
increasing η ​ av . An almost purely volumetric strain accumulation
(_εv​ acc > 0, ε_ q​ acc ¼ 0) is observed for isotropic average stress conditions
(η ​ av ¼ 0), while the cumulative response is almost purely deviatoric
(_εv​ acc ¼ 0, ε_ q​ acc > 0) at an average stress ratio η ​ av ¼ 1.25. For both
sample preparation methods the εq​ acc -εv​ acc strain paths show some slight
curvature, meaning that the strain accumulation is rendered somewhat
more volumetric (increasing strain rate ratio ε_ v​ acc =_εq​ acc ) with increasing
number of cycles. For both sample preparation procedures, the influence
of the stress amplitude and the average mean pressure on the direction
of strain accumulation was found negligible. It may be concluded that
the influence of the sample preparation method on the direction of strain
accumulation is rather small. The conclusions drawn from the present
test series for both sample reconstitution methods are in good agreement
with the results from earlier experimental investigations on the cyclic
flow rule of air-pluviated samples [70,73].
5.3. Influence of bedding plane inclination
The tests on the influence of the bedding plane inclination α were
restricted to air-pluviated samples of KFS with either α ¼ 0∘ (prepared
conventionally) or α ¼ 45∘ (prepared with the inclined mould). All
samples were medium dense (56% � Dr0 � 65%), consolidated at the
same average stress p ​ av ¼ 200 kPa, η ​ av ¼ 0.75 and loaded by 105 cycles
with the same amplitude q ​ ampl ¼ 60 kPa. At similar initial density, the
differences in the intensity of accumulation between both α values are
negligible (Fig. 19a), while the samples with α ¼ 45∘ showed a slightly
larger volumetric portion of the direction of accumulation (Fig. 19b).
These tests confirm the rather isotropic response of air-pluviated
Fig. 19. Influence of the bedding plane inclination α in tests with drained high-cyclic loading.
12
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106028
samples of KFS also for drained high-cyclic loading.
6. Summary and conclusions
The influence of the sample preparation method on the strain accu­
mulation in fine sand under drained high-cyclic loading has been studied
in numerous tests with 105 cycles. Some of the samples were prepared by
different methods of air pluviation, using either a funnel, a multiple-
sieve apparatus or a large model test sand spreader. Samples prepared
by water pluviation were generally loose, not exceeding relative den­
sities of Dr0 ¼ 30%. Therefore, for reaching higher densities they were
compacted by vibration on a shaking table or by tapping of the mould
with a rubber hammer. In a similar way, samples deposited in a dry loose
state were densified. Another group of samples was prepared by moist
tamping.
Some preliminary tests with undrained or drained monotonic
loading already revealed a significant effect of the sample preparation
method. The higher dilatancy of the samples prepared by moist tamping
compared to air-pluviated specimens was the most striking result of the
undrained tests. In contrast, the critical state reached at large strains was
rather unaffected by the initial fabric. In the drained tests, amongst
others tamped samples showed a considerably higher initial stiffness
than air-pluviated ones, while the peak friction angles were almost
identical for all sample constitution methods.
In the cyclic tests all samples prepared by the different dry pluviation
techniques showed a similar accumulation of permanent strain. Similar
or slightly higher rates of strain accumulation were measured for sam­
ples constituted by water pluviation and a subsequent compaction by
either vibration or tapping. In contrast, the samples prepared by dry
loose deposition followed by a compaction in the dry state revealed
considerably lower residual strains at medium density, independently of
the compaction method. At low densities the accumulated strains in
samples prepared by moist tamping in eight layers significantly excee­
ded those in air-pluviated specimens. With increasing density this ten­
dency is reversed, leading to considerably lower strain accumulation
rates of the tamped samples in the medium dense to dense state. Despite
the differences in magnitude, the dependencies of the strain accumula­
tion rate on stress amplitude, average mean pressure and average stress
ratio are similar for samples prepared by either air pluviation or moist
tamping.
The slight dependence of the direction of strain accumulation, i.e. the
ratio of volumetric and deviatoric strain accumulation rates, on the
sample preparation method can be neglected as a first approximation.
For the two most popular sample preparation methods, moist tamping
and air pluviation, a similar dependence of the direction of strain
accumulation on the average stress ratio was found, while the cyclic
flow rule was rather unaffected by a variation of stress amplitude,
average mean pressure or initial relative density. The strain amplitudes
were found slightly smaller for the tamped samples than for their air-
pluviated counterparts.
The results of the various test series have demonstrated a significant
T. Wichtmann et al.
influence of the sample preparation method on the cumulative response
of sand to a drained high-cyclic loading. A possible micromechanical
explanation based on the distribution of contact normal orientations has
been outlined. The validation by micromechanical investigations will be
a challenging task for the future.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
T. Wichtmann: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review &
editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. K.
Steller: Investigation, Validation, Visualization. T. Triantafyllidis:
Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Acknowledgements
This research has been performed in the framework of the project
“Improvement of an accumulation model for high-cyclic loading” (TR
218/18–1 and WI 3180/3-1). The authors are grateful to DFG (German
Research Council) for the financial support. All tests have been per­
formed by the technicians H. Borowski, P. Go
€lz and N. Demiral in the soil
mechanics laboratory of the Institute of Soil Mechanics and Rock Me­
chanics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
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