Undrained Behavior of Sand-Fines Mixtures and Their

State Parameter
Md. Mizanur Rahman, M.ASCE1; and S. R. Lo2

Abstract: The influence of fines on the undrained behavior of sand was investigated experimentally over a range of fines content and effective
mean stress. The role of fines on compressibility and formation of meta-stable soil fabric was analyzed. For a fines content in the range of 5–
30%, most of the specimens manifested reverse behavior opposed to the normal behavior of clean sand. The addition of fines led to shifting of
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both the isotropic consolidation line and the steady-state line, increased compressibility, and occurrence of reverse behavior. All these behavior
attributes are linked when the test results are interpreted in the context of the critical-state soil mechanics framework. In particular, reverse
behavior is associated with an isotropic consolidation line that locates above the steady-state line. Several quantitative measures for
characterizing the undrained deviator stress-strain responses were proposed, and these measures manifested correlation with the state
parameter at the start of undrained shearing. These correlations were also tested with two published datasets. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-
5606.0001115. © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Sand with fines; State parameter; Reverse behavior; Void ratio; Steady state.

Introduction Jefferies (1985), is most commonly used in published literature. c is

The deviator stress-strain and effective stress path responses of
a sandy soil in undrained shearing can be classified into three types
of behavior: flow (F), nonflow (NF), and limited flow (LF), as il-
lustrated in Fig. 1. For flow behavior, the deviator stress, q, after
attaining an initial peak, reduces with shearing until a minimum
value was attained at the steady-state (SS) value. When the SS
strength is zero, it is referred to as complete liquefaction (Yamamuro
and Lade 1997). In this paper, SS is taken as equivalent to critical
state as discussed in detail in Bobei et al. (2009). For LF behavior,
the deviator stress, after attaining the initial peak, also reduces with
shearing but to a transient minimum value referred to as the quasi-SS
(QSS). Further shearing beyond QSS yields a gradual strain hard-
ening to the SS. In case of NF behavior, strain hardening occurs
throughout shearing. A dense specimen showing NF behavior often
approaches but does not reach SS at the end of a test. In such a case,
many researchers estimated the SS by extrapolation (Murthy et al.
2007; Carrera et al. 2011). According to the critical-state soil me-
chanics (CSSM) framework, ðdɛ v =dɛ 1 Þp and thus behavior type is
related to the state of the soil element relative to the SS line (SSL). This
can be quantified by various measures, e.g., state parameter (Been and
Jefferies 1985), state index (Ishihara 1993), pressure index (Wang
et al. 2002), and modified state parameter (Bobei et al. 2009). Among
these measures of state, the state parameter, c, as defined by Been and
1 significance, few researchers have further explored reversed behavior.
Senior Lecturer, School of Natural and Built Environments and
Barbary Hardy Institute, Univ. of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA
5095, Australia (corresponding author). E-mail: Mizanur.Rahman@unisa
.edu.au
2
Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Information Tech-
nology, Univ. of New South Wales, Canberra, BC 2610, Australia. E-mail:
s.lo@adfa.edu.au
Note. This manuscript was submitted on September 11, 2012; approved
on February 18, 2014; published online on April 16, 2014. Discussion period
open until September 16, 2014; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 1090-0241/04014036
(12)/$25.00.
the difference between the current void ratio and the void ratio at the
same mean effective stress on the SSL as illustrated in Fig. 2. In
undrained shearing, a positive cð0Þ value is usually associated with F
or LF, whereas a negative cð0Þ value is associated with a NF behavior,
where (0) denotes the start of undrained shearing. Furthermore, c has
been incorporated as a state variable in some constitutive models for
clean sands (Jefferies 1993; Manzari and Dafalias 1997; Li and
Dafalias 2000).
Although the behavior of clean sands is relatively well understood,
many natural granular soils contain fines (particle size smaller than
0.075 mm). The effect of fines was initially regarded as improving the
resistance of a loose sandy deposit against liquefaction (Seed et al.
1983; Pitman et al. 1994). Later work by Zlatovic and Ishihara (1995),
Thevanayagam et al. (2002), and Yang et al. (2006a) suggested that
the early understanding could have limitations.
Furthermore, an unusual behavior was reported by Yamamuro
and Lade (1998) that sand with fines became more liquefiable when
undrained shearing commenced at lower effective stresses compared
with that at higher effective confining stresses. Such a trend is
opposite to the commonly reported behavior of clean sand, which is
less liquefiable for undrained shearing commencing from lower
effective confining stresses. Thus, the term reverse behavior was
coined (Yamamuro and Lade 1998). It was hypothesized that the
cause of such reverse behavior was the increase of compressibility
and formation of a meta-stable soil fabric (with the fines located
between the sand grains) (Yamamuro and Lade 1998). Despite its
Bobei et al. (2009) reported that Sydney sand with 10% fines also
manifested reverse behavior. Their work suggested that the shape
and location of the isotropic consolidation line (ICL) relative to the
SSL in the e-logðp9Þ space was significantly affected by the presence
of 10% fines, where e is void ratio and p9 is mean effective stress.
Although the SSL of clean sand and sand with 10% fines content had
a similar shape (but located apart), the ICLs of clean sand and sand
with 10% fines content had different shapes. The ICL for clean sand
started below the corresponding SSL, followed a flatter slope than
the SSL, and tended to cross the SSL at higher confining stress.
Hence, cð0Þ , 0 at an adequately low p9, but its value will become

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Fig. 1. Types of undrained behaviors of sand (reprinted from Rahman et al. 2011, with permission from Springer-Verlag)
Fig. 2. Definition of state parameter c by Been and Jefferies
(1985) (reprinted from Rahman et al. 2011, with permission from
Springer-Verlag)
positive at an adequately high p9 value, and this explains the normal
behavior of clean sand. However, the ICL for sand with 10% fines
content started and remained above the SSL. Therefore, irrespective
of the value of p9, the value of cð0Þ is always positive, and this
provides part of the basis for explaining the reverse behavior.
Similarly, Jefferies and Been (2006) also emphasized to use c to
explain part of the reverse behavior. It is still unclear whether this
can be generalized to other fines contents to offer an explanation
of reverse behavior.
A number of researchers have investigated the influence of fines
on the shape and location of SSL. Been and Jefferies (1985) reported
that the slope of the SSL for Kogyuk 350 sand increased with in-
creasing fines content, fc . Bouckovalas et al. (2003) reported clock-
wise rotation of the SSLs with an increase in fc . However, both
studies interpreted the test results based on the assumption that the
SSL in the e-logðp9Þ space is linear, which might not be appropriate
(Ishihara 1993; Yang et al. 2006b; Carrera et al. 2011). A number of
researchers reported that the SSLs were curved and parallel and
shifted downward with increasing fc until a threshold fines content,
fthre , was reached (Zlatovic and Ishihara 1995; Thevanayagam et al.
2002; Ni et al. 2004; Yang et al. 2006a; Chiu and Fu 2008; Rees
© ASCE 04014036-2
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2010). It was hypothesized, by Thevanayagam et al. (2002), that the
soil fabric changes from a fines-in-sand to a sand-in-fines soil matrix
at fc 5 fthre .
The objective of this paper is to investigate, experimentally, the
influence of fines and fines contents, fc on compressibility, undrained
behavior (in shearing), and the presence (or absence) of reverse
behavior. The study is restricted to fc , fthre so that the soil fabric
still has a fines-in-sand matrix. The two different hypotheses on
reverse behavior, increase in compressibility associated with for-
mation of a meta-stable soil fabric as proposed by Yamamuro and
Lade (1998) and change in relative location and shape of ICL and
SSL, were examined. A systematic study on the influence of fc on
both ICL and SSL and their relationship with reverse behavior is
lacking. Particular emphasis was given to the shape and location of
the ICL relative to the SSL in an attempt to link the various observed
behavior affected by fc with the CSSM framework.
Experimental Investigation
A series of undrained triaxial tests on sand-fines mixtures was
conducted to investigate the issues discussed in the previous section.
The host sand, referred to as Sydney sand, is a clean uniform size
quartz sand (SP) with a mean size of 0.30 mm. The maximum and
minimum void ratios are 0.855 and 0.565, respectively (D4253-00
and D425400031; ASTM 2006a, b). The tests for maximum and
minimum void ratio were not conducted for sand with fines as the
ASTM method is only recommended for sand with up to 15% fines
content, which would not provide a consistent comparison basis for
all fines contents in this study. The fines was constituted from
a natural silt from the Majura River bank deposits and commercial
kaolin with a 2=3 and 1=3 mixing proportion (by dry mass) to give
well-graded low plasticity fines (uniformity coefficient of 21.56 and
a plasticity index of 27). This is different from most of the earlier
studies that used fines that were either nonplastic and/or had a very
low uniformity coefficient. Optical and scanning electron micro-
scope photographs of the material tested (both sand and fines) and
their grading curves can be found in other publications (Lo et al.
2010; Rahman et al. 2011). The testing program covers (1) four dif-
ferent fines contents in the range of 0 to 30%, (2) mean effective stress
at start of shearing, p9,
0 ranging from 100 to 1,300 kPa, and (3) a void
ratio at start of shearing, e0 , ranging from 0.455 to 0.892.
The experimental investigation was based on a fully automated
triaxial testing station. Axial load was measured with an internal
load cell. The axial deformation was measured by two independent
means: a pair of internal LVDTs mounted directly across the platens
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
 and an external LVDT mounted on the loading ram. The former was
used in the early stage of shearing, whereas the latter was used at large
deformation. Cell pressure was controlled by large-capacity digital
pressure volume controllers (DPVCs). The pore pressure line was
connected to a small-capacity DPVC for controlling backpressure
(and measuring the volume change at the consolidation stage) and for
imposing an undrained condition with measurement of the resultant
pore pressure response. Two pressure transducers were also used to
verify pore pressure equilibrium.
Specimen Preparation
Several methods are available for forming reconstituted specimens
in the laboratory. Because none of these methods can replicate exact
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the cell chamber was assembled, the change in specimen diameter
could not be directly measured. Therefore, the change in radial
dimensions during backpressure saturation was approximated by
dɛ 1  2dɛ 3 based on the ratio between volumetric and axial strain
change caused by isotropic unloading, where dɛ 3 denotes the change
in radial strain. After backpressure saturation, the change in spec-
imen volume, and thus the void ratio, was accurately tracked by the
DVPC. The specimen was then initialized with a standardized ef-
fective means stress of 20 kPa, and the void ratio at this initialized
condition, ei , was then measured. As discussed extensively in Bobei
et al. (2009, 2013), this was used to denote replicate specimens for
the same soil (with the same fines content).

field conditions, the choice of a method largely depends on the Results

purpose of the study. A modified moist tamping technique as de-
tailed in Bobei et al. (2009) was chosen for this study. To ensure
uniformity of the void ratio within a specimen, a specimen was
formed by placing 10 layers of predetermined quantities of moist soil
inside a split mold and with each layer worked into a prescribed
thickness. The void ratio achieved at this stage is referred to as the as-
placed void ratio, eap . This technique can produce specimens over
a larger range of void ratios relative to water sedimentation or air
pluviation methods (Ishihara 1993). The specimens thus formed do
not suffer from particle segregation, which is an important con-
sideration for sand with fines. The soil fabric formed is more relevant
A total of 32 triaxial tests were performed, and details of these tests
are summarized in Table 1. Each test is identified by a name with the
format S-MII-XX-YY, where XX indicates the percentage of fines
and YY is the tests number. Sometimes, a descriptor for the type of
undrained behavior, F, NF, or LF, was added in brackets after the
test reference.
Effects of Fines and Reverse Behavior
The influence of p9,
0 the effective mean stress at the start of undrained

to sandy soil placed by end-tipping above the water table, and shearing, on undrained behavior of both clean sand and sand with
conclusions drawn in this paper would be more relevant to these 15% fines is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. Fig. 3(a)
soils. The specimen dimensions were 100 mm in height and 100 mm
in diameter, i.e., 1:1. Enlarged end platens with free ends, as de- Table 1. Summary of All Tests
scribed by Lo et al. (1989), were used to minimize end restraint. The Test name fc (%) p09 (kPa) ei e0 Behavior
specimens manifested essentially uniform deformation even at
a high axial strain of ∼30% (Bobei et al. 2009). Filter papers were S-MII-00-01 00 100 0.747 0.810 NF
also used on the top of small circular porous disks of the top and S-MII-00-03 00 100 0.899 0.892 LF
bottom platens to minimize the risk of fines flushing out along with S-MII-00-04 00 350 0.876 0.864 LF
water during vacuum flushing and saturation. The detail of this S-MII-00-05 00 350 0.858 0.851 LF
technique can be found in Rahman (2009). There was no evidence of S-MII-00-06 00 350 0.752 0.743 NF
fines flushing out. Saturation of the specimen was accomplished in S-MII-00-07 00 600 0.878 0.850 LF
two stages: (1) vacuum flushing under a small head and (2) back- S-MII-00-08 00 600 0.880 0.852 T
pressure application. A Skempton B-value of at least 0.98 was S-MII-00-09 00 600 0.755 0.735 NF
achieved in all the tests. S-MII-00-10 00 850 0.933 0.886 T
S-MII-00-11 00 850 0.881 0.848 LF
S-MII-05-01 05 350 0.819 0.810 F
Measurement of Void Ratio S-MII-05-02 05 600 0.856 0.821 F
S-MII-05-03 05 600 0.833 0.780 LF
Accurate void ratio measurement is needed for examining the be-
S-MII-05-04 05 850 0.817 0.770 LF
havior of a soil using the CSSM framework. Although void ratio can
S-MII-15-01 15 100 0.626 0.617 NF
be inferred by measuring the water content of a sample retrieved
S-MII-15-02 15 350 0.721 0.658 F
after testing, this procedure is only reliable if the sample does not
S-MII-15-03 15 600 0.734 0.655 F
manifest significant nonuniformity at end of shearing. Furthermore,
S-MII-15-04 15 600 0.703 0.623 T
this method will be highly problematic if the sample has been
S-MII-15-05 15 600 0.684 0.628 LF
sheared to a state of complete liquefaction, i.e., p9 → 0. To ensure
S-MII-15-06 15 600 0.558 0.535 NF
void ratios are measured consistently and reliably for all tests,
S-MII-15-07 15 600 0.629 0.588 LF
changes in sample dimensions are tracked at all stages after the
S-MII-15-08 15 850 0.734 0.647 F
measured as-placed void, i.e., specimen was still supported by mold,
S-MII-15-09 15 1,100 0.735 0.645 T
as explained hereafter. Two digital dial gauges were placed at the top
S-MII-15-10 15 1,300 0.630 0.569 LF
platen before applying a vacuum pressure and removal of the split
S-MII-20-01 20 350 0.674 0.588 TF
mold so that any change in specimen height could be tracked. After
S-MII-20-02 20 600 0.662 0.573 T
removal of the split mold, the specimen diameter was measured with
S-MII-20-03 20 850 0.688 0.576 LF
a linear tape. Then, water flushing was performed under a vacuum
S-MII-20-04 20 1,100 0.680 0.560 T
pressure of 20 kPa, and the change in void ratio during vacuum
S-MII-30-01 30 350 0.643 0.511 F
flushing was fully tracked. A pair of submersible LVDTs was
S-MII-30-02 30 600 0.591 0.485 LF
mounted directly across the platens before removing the digital dial
S-MII-30-03 30 850 0.610 0.460 F
gauges (and installation of the triaxial chamber) so that the change in
S-MII-30-04 30 1,100 0.634 0.455 LF
axial strain, dɛ1 , was directly recorded at all stages. However, once

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Fig. 3. Undrained behavior of clean sand: (a) ESP; (b) deviator stress-
strain response
compares the effective stress paths (ESPs) of three tests on clean
sand with a similar void ratio, ei of 0:873 6 0:012. These ESPs
suggested that as p90 increased, the behavior changed from NF to LF.
This change of behavior type, from NF to LF, was more evident from
the deviator stress-strain plots of Fig. 3(b). A similar comparison was
made for sand with 15% fines in Figs. 4(a and b). However, both
ESPs and deviator stress-strain plots indicated that, as p90 increased,
the behavior type (for sand with 15% fines) changed from F with
complete liquefaction to F with finite SS strength and then to LF.
This is in line with reversed behavior as reported by Yamamuro and
Lade (1998) and Lade and Yamamuro (2011) for sand with fines. A
similar observation was also reported for the same host sand with
10% fines by Bobei et al. (2009). A systematic study for a wide range
of fines contents will be presented later.
Yamamuro and Lade (1997) examined the liquefaction resistance
of Nevada sand with 6% fines by plotting qmin =qIS against p9, 0 where
qIS is the first peak deviator stress at onset of instability and qmin is the
minimum deviator stress attained during postpeak deviator strain
softening. For qmin =qIS 5 0, the specimen exhibits complete lique-
faction; when qmin =qIS → 1, the specimen exhibits stable (NF) be-
havior. It is pertinent to note that liquefaction potential defined by
ðqIS 2 qmin Þ=qIS 5 1 2 qmin =qIS (Ishihara 1993; Lade and Yamamuro
© ASCE 04014036-4
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Fig. 4. Undrained behavior of sand with 15% fines: (a) ESP; (b) de-
viator stress-strain response
2011), which is a normalized amount of strain softening, may be
expected to bear a correlation with c. Noting that liquefaction po-
tential is related to qmin =qIS , this infers qmin =qIS may be correlated
to c. Along the same line, 16 data points (corresponding to 16 tests)
for fc in the range of 0–30% were plotted in Fig. 5. Tests corre-
sponding to the same fc had approximately the same void ratio, ei ,
and thus they were joined by a trend curve. For clean sand ( fc 5 0%),
qmin =qIS increased with reduction in p9, 0 and qmin =qIS eventually
attained unity at p90 of 350 kPa. This means liquefaction resistance
increased with reduction in p9, 0 which is normal behavior. However,
for the other four trend curves (corresponding to four different fc ),
qmin =qIS was reduced; that is, liquefaction resistance was reduced,
with reduction in p9. 0 Thus, the influence of p90 on liquefaction re-
sistance was reversed; that is, the specimens for fc  0 manifested
reverse behavior.
Critical States
The interpretation of the test results will be based on the CSSM
framework, which does not require any particular type of initial soil
fabric. However, SSLs of sand with different fines contents have to
be established. Most of the specimens were sheared to the SS
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Fig. 5. Effect of fines content on liquefaction potential and reverse behavior
condition as defined by dp9 5 0, dq 5 0, and du 5 0. However, in
some tests, a clear SS condition was not approached. In such a case,
the rate of change of excess pore pressure, dðDuÞ=dɛq was plotted
against the stress ratio h, where Du is the pore water pressure de-
velopment. The value of hSS 5 M was estimated by extrapolating
dðDuÞ=dɛ q to zero as illustrated in Fig. 6(a) for two such tests. Then,
p9 at the SS was estimated from the h-p9 plot, this time by ex-
trapolating h to M. Such an extrapolation approach was also used in
other studies presented in the literature (Murthy et al. 2007; Carrera
et al. 2011).
The SS data points are presented in e-logðp9Þ space as shown in
Fig. 6(b). The SSLs are curved and almost parallel, which is con-
sistent with Thevanayagam et al. (2002) and others (Zlatovic and
Ishihara 1995; Yang et al. 2006a; Rees 2010). They can be repre-
sented by the following power function as proposed by Wang et al.
(2002):
 j
p9
e ¼ elim 2 L
pa
where pa 5 100 kPa; and elim , L, and j 5 curve fitting parameters.
The values for L and j are 0.0375 and 0.60, respectively, irre-
spective of fc , thus ensuring parallel SSLs. The parameter elim
defines the location of the SSL and reduces with an increase in fc .
It takes a maximum value of 0.920 for clean sand.
Effect of Fines on the Compressibility
The compressibility caused by the presence of fines is believed to be
one of the main causes of reverse behavior (Yamamuro and Lade
1997). To obtain a detailed view on the increase in compressibility
caused by the presence of fines, five specimens with fines content of
0, 5, 15, 20, and 30% were prepared at almost the same as-placed
void ratio, eap , and their volumetric change at different stages of
specimen preparation was plotted in Fig. 7. The change in void ratios
between as-placed to start of vacuum flushing increased with an
increase in fc . During this stage of specimen preparation, the ap-
plication of a vacuum increased the effective confining stress. Thus,
this overall pattern suggests an increase in compressibility with
increase in fc . However, a more pronounced reduction in void ratio
during flushing (at constant vacuum) was observed, and this re-
duction in void ratio increased with a higher fc . This cannot be
© ASCE
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2014, 140(7): 04014036
explained by a change in effective confining stress. At the end of
flushing, a specimen was close to saturation, and the capillary
suction was mostly removed. One might expect a void ratio increase,
i.e., a swell, rather than further reduction in void ratio. However, this
observation is indicative of a loose soil with a meta-stable soil fabric.
Unsaturated soil with a meta-stable soil fabric will manifest sig-
nificant reduction in void ratio on wetting from a unsaturated state to
near saturation, a characteristic referred to as wetting collapse in
unsaturated soil mechanics (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993; Khalili
et al. 2004). The formation of a meta-stable soil fabric is in line with
the hypothesis that fines particles are caught in between the contacts
of large particle, thus leading to a meta-stable soil fabric as suggested
by Yamamuro and Lade (1998).
On saturation, the reduction in void ratio during consolidation
was also more significant at higher fc . This is more evident from the
comparison of ICLs in Fig. 8. Despite that a specimen with a higher
fc had a lower void ratio at the start of consolidation, the corresponding
slope for the ICL was higher, thus indicating higher compressibility.
(1)
ICL, SSL, and Reverse Behavior
This section attempts to bring together the influence of fines on
compressibility, location, and shape of ICL, SSL, and reverse be-
havior with the CSSM framework. Both ICL and SSL for clean sand
and sand with fines are presented in Figs. 9(a–e). Each ICL corre-
sponded to an isotropic consolidation test. On completion of iso-
tropic consolidation, the specimen was then subject to undrained
shearing, and therefore each test reference was given a behavior
type (F, NF, or LF) descriptor in Fig. 9. Each figure corresponds to a
fixed fc value. These graphs showed that the ICL, for a given fc ,
does not have to be unique, and this is in line with the findings of
Pestana and Whittle (1995), among many others, for clean sand.
However, as explained later, one can still interpret the shape and lo-
cation of these ICLs relative to their respective SSL plots under
the CSSM framework, so that the role of fines in the occurrence of
normal or reverse behavior become evident.
The ICLs of nine tests for clean sand ( fc 5 0%) were plotted
together with their SSL in Fig. 9(a). These nine tests represent
specimens prepared over a range of ei . All the ICLs started below the
SSL, followed a flat slope, and crossed or tended to cross the SSL.
It is noted that the ICLs of three tests did not cross the SSL at the end
of consolidation because these tests were not consolidated to an
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Fig. 6. (a) Extrapolation procedure to estimate steady state; (b) steady-
state lines for sand with fines (adapted from Rahman et al. 2011)
adequately high mean effective stress; however, extrapolation of
these tests suggested that their ICLs would cross the SSL. For these
three tests, subsequent undrained shearing commenced with cð0Þ
, 0, and the resultant behavior type is NF. For other tests, sub-
sequent undrained shearing commenced from cð0Þ . 0, and the
behavior types were F or LF. This is normal behavior and conforms
with the CSSM framework.
The ICLs and the SSL for sand with 5% fines are presented in
Fig. 9(b). The ICLs of all three tests are located above the SSL
because the SSL shifted significantly downward because of com-
pressibility. Undrained shearing for Test S-MII-05-01 commenced
from p90 of 350 kPa, the lowest of these three tests, and manifested F
behavior, whereas Test S-MII-05-04 commenced from the highest
p90 of 850 kPa and manifested LF behavior. This is reverse behavior.
The liquefaction resistance, qmin =qIS , of these three tests in fact
corresponded to the three data points plotted in Fig. 5, which showed
reverse behavior. In particular, Test S-MII-05-03, which had un-
drained shearing commencing from an intermediate p90 of 600 kPa,
also had an intermediate qmin =qIS value of 0.590. It appears that
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Fig. 7. Change in void ratio at different stages of specimen preparation
Fig. 8. Isotropic consolidation lines for a range of fines content
reverse behavior manifested in these three tests is associated with the
ICL being located above the SSL.
The ICLs and SSLs for sand with fc 5 15% are presented in
Fig. 9(c). The SSL shifted further downward. However, this graph
contains two groups of ICLs. One group of ICLs was located above
the SSL. Subsequent undrained shearing for this group corresponded
to the data points plotted in Fig. 5, which showed reverse behavior.
The ICLs of the second group (Tests S-MII-15-01 and S-MII-15-10)
started below the corresponding SSL. Consolidation of Test
S-MII-15-10 was completed at a state well above the SSL [i.e., cð0Þ
clearly positive] and subsequent undrained shearing yielded LF
behavior. However, consolidation of Test S-MII-15-01 was com-
pleted below the SSL and thus cð0Þ , 0 for subsequent undrained
shearing. NF behavior was observed. Thus, these two tests (of the
second group) showed normal behavior. It appears from these six
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Fig. 9. (a) ICL and SSL clean sand ( fc 5 0%); (b) ICL and SSL for fc 5 5%; (c) ICL and SSL for fc 5 15%; (d) ICL and SSL for fc 5 20%; (e) ICL and
SSL for fc 5 30%

tests that sand with fines can have either reverse behavior or normal
behavior, and the behavior type is associated with the shape and
location of the ICL relative to SSL.
The ICLs and SSLs for sand with fc of 20 and 25% are presented
in Figs. 9(d and e), respectively. Subsequent undrained shearing of
these tests corresponded to the data points presented in Fig. 5, which
showed reverse behavior. Therefore, the occurrence of reverse
behavior was again associated with the ICL started from and located
above the SSL.
It is important to note that an increase in fc shifts both the ICL and
SSL downward. However, the amount of downward shift for ICL
and SSL is different. Furthermore, fc will also affect the shape of the
ICL. The combined effect may lead to an ICL that locates above the
corresponding SSL, which then yields reverse behavior.

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 Analysis of Behavior Using State Parameter
Despite that the behavior of sand with fines appeared to be different
from that of clean sand, the authors hypothesized that cð0Þ could still
be used to predict the overall behavior pattern of sand-fines mixtures
for a range of fc , fthre , noting that the cð0Þ was calculated using
the SSL specific to the fines content of the sand-fines mixture.
The initial states of the all 32 tests were plotted in a p9-cð0Þ
0 space
(Fig. 10), with F, LF, and NF behavior. For some tests, it was difficult
to differentiate between F and LF and hence they were noted as
transition (T) between F and LF. As evident from Fig. 10, the data
points for NF behavior are plotted in the negative cð0Þ zone, where-
as data points for F, T, and LF behavior are plotted on the positive
cð0Þ zone. In general, cð0Þ values for F behavior are more positive
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A reasonable correlation can be observed. The scatter of the data
points around the best-fit trend had a RMSD value of 0.015. In sum-
mary, important characteristics of the deviator stress-strain curves
manifested reasonable correlation with cð0Þ, irrespective of fc .
The influence of cð0Þ on normalized liquefaction resistance,
ðqmin =qIS Þ=p90 is examined in Fig. 13. The data points, as a first
approximation, can be approximated by a trend curve.
Equivalent Granular Void Ratio
The correlations examined in the previous section suggested that
cð0Þ can be correlated to a range of behavior attributes of sand with

than those of LF. Therefore, cð0Þ can be used as a predictor for

the undrained behavior type.
For all three types of behavior, the authors characterized the
deviator stress-strain curves with three parameters: qIS =p9, 0 q15 =p9,
0
and q25 =p9,0 where q15 and q25 were the deviator stress mobilized
at ɛ q of 15 and 25%, respectively. Normalization with p90 attempts
to embed the influence of p9. 0 One then can examine the influence
of cð0Þ on these three parameters.
The relationship between qIS =p90 and cð0Þ is shown in Fig. 11(a).
A correlation was observed irrespective of fc , and the scatter of the
data points around the best-fit trend had a RMS deviation (RMSD) of
0.088. This value is approximately 25% of the average qIS =p90 values
of all the test data. Similarly, q15 =p90 and q25 =p90 were plotted against
cð0Þ, together with the best-fit trend curve, in Figs. 11(b and c). The
scatter of the q15 =p90 data points around the trend curve had a RMSD
of 0.427, which was ∼15% of the average q15 =p90 values of all data
points. The scatter of q25 =p90 data points around the best-fit trend had
a RMSD of 0.506, which was ∼15% of the average q25 =p90 values.
Therefore, one can concluded that the correlations between cð0Þ and
these two deviator stress values are reasonable. For either NF or LF
behavior, the relationship between cð0Þ and the strain hardening
response at high strain can be examined by defining a normalized
hardening parameter, Hn 5 ½ðq25 2 q15 Þ=ðɛ q,25 2 ɛ q,15 Þ=p9. 0 Note that
ðq25 2 q15 Þ=ðɛ q,25 2 ɛ q,15 Þ represents an average rate of strain
hardening between 15 and 25% strain. This is a valid parameter for
LF because QSS occurred at ɛ q # 15% for all the tests. The nor-
malized strain hardening rate, Hn , is plotted versus cð0Þ in Fig. 12.

Fig. 10. Relation between type of undrained responses and the state Fig. 11. Relation between undrained characteristics and state pa-
parameter rameter: (a) qIS =p9-cð0Þ
0 plot; (b) q15 =p9-cð0Þ
0 plot; (c) q25 =p9-cð0Þ
0 plot

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Fig. 12. Relation between normalized strain hardening rate and state
parameter
Fig. 13. Relation between normalized qmin =qIS and state parameter
fines, despite that some scatter was observed. However, the cal-
culation of cð0Þ requires a SSL specific to the fines content. This
requires a family of SSLs. This section presents an approximate
method to bypass the extensive experimental program needed for the
measurement of a family of SSLs.
One can transform the void ratio to equivalent granular void ratio,
ep , as defined by the equation (Thevanayagam et al. 2002)
e þ ð1 2 bÞfc
ep ¼ (2)
1 2 ð1 2 bÞfc
where b 5 fraction of fines that are active in the force chain between
soil grains. Eq. (2) is based on a fines-in sand soil fabric and thus is
meaningful only if fc , fthre . If b 5 0, the fines are treated as void
spaces, an approximate concept originally proposed by Mitchell
(1976), but this is an acceptable approximation only when fc is small
relative to fthre (Zlatovic and Ishihara 1995; Rahman et al. 2008). In
general, b . 0, which implies that the fines are partially active in
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J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2014, 140(7): 04014036
Fig. 14. Inferred SSL for unknown fc using a SSL of known fc
force transmission in the solid skeleton. Rahman and coworkers
(Rahman and Lo 2008; Rahman et al. 2008, 2009) showed that b is
an increasing function of fc and can be reliably predicted using soil
grading properties. Furthermore, irrespective of fc , the SS data points
in the ep -logðp9Þ space can be described by a single relationship and
this relation is referred to as equivalent granular SSL (EG-SSL)
(Rahman et al. 2011, 2014; Baki et al. 2012; Md. Mizanur and Lo
2012).
Using the concept of a single EG-SSL, the SSL for one fc can be
used to infer the SSL at another fc as demonstrated in Rahman and Lo
(2008) and briefly summarized here for the sake of completeness. As
illustrated in Fig. 14, the SSL at a particular fc can be transformed into
the EG-SSL [by using Eq. (2) to convert e to ep ]. Because the con-
version between e and ep is dependent on both b and fc , the EG-SSL
thus obtained can then be used to infer the SSLs at a different fc .
Published Datasets
Published datasets from independent sources were used to evaluate
whether some of the findings can be generalized to other sand-fines
mixtures. However, this type of study requires that ESPs and de-
viator stress-strain curves have a clear SS and accurate void ratio
measurements. Published datasets satisfying these requirements are
rare. Two datasets that contained marginally enough information for
reanalysis were located. They are as follows: foundry sand (OS)
sand with up to 25% fines (Thevanayagam 2003) and FJ#80 (FJ)
sand with up to 25% fines (Thevanayagam 2003). The details of
these datasets are presented in Table 2.
Reanalysis of the first dataset for foundry sand (OS) is shown in
Figs. 15(a and b). An approximate correlation between the qmin =qIS
and cð0Þ was found in Fig. 15(a). The relationship between Hn and
cð0Þ was examined in Fig. 15(b). However, Hn was calculated be-
tween the ranges of deviator strain of 10 and 20% because most of the
tests were terminated at ∼20%. Tests that terminated at a significantly
lower deviator strain than 20% were not included because they could
not yield consistent and reliable Hn values. A correlation, as a first
approximation, can be observed.
Reanalysis of the dataset for FJ#80 (FJ) sand is shown in
Figs. 16(a and b). As shown in Fig. 16(a), an approximate trend
between qmin =qIS and cð0Þ was found. Hn was plotted against cð0Þ in
Fig. 16(b). Again, Hn was calculated between a deviator strain range
of 10 and 20% for the same reason as foundry sand (OS). These data
points, as a first approximation, can be correlated by a trend curve.
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.
 Table 2. Properties of Datasets and the Soil Used in This Study
Case studies Sand D10 d50 fthre elim for fc 5 0 L (1022 ) j
(Thevanayagam 2003) OS 0.160 0.0100 0.36 0.798 2.98 0.70
(Thevanayagam 2003) FJ 0.109 0.0100 0.33 0.980 11.0 0.31
This study Sydney 0.220 0.0055 0:40 0.920 3.75 0.67
Note: The procedure for fthre analysis as presented in Rahman and Lo (2008).
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Fig. 15. (a) Relation between normalized qmin =qIS and state parameter
for OS with fines; (b) relation between normalized strain hardening rate Fig. 16. (a) Relation between normalized qmin =qIS and state parameter
and state parameter for OS with fines for FJ with fines; (b) relation between normalized strain hardening rate
and state parameter for FJ with fines

Discussions and Conclusions

The major significance of interpreting the test results with cð0Þ,
which requires that the ICL and SSL specific to the fines content are
known, is that several apparently separate characteristics of sand
with fines can be linked with the CSSM framework.
The addition of fines increases the compressibility of the sandy
soil. However, a detailed analysis of the deformation of the speci-
mens during specimen preparation, in particular during saturation by
vacuum flushing, suggested that addition of fines induces a meta-
stable soil fabric. This meta-stable soil fabric is associated with
a significant increase in compressibility in shearing.
The addition of fines, maintaining the same sample preparation
method, shifts the ICL downward and increases the compressibility
during consolidation (as evidenced from an ICL with a higher slope).
However, the SSL is shifted downward to a greater extent than ICL.
The net result is that addition of fines changes the location of the
ICL relative to SSL to the extent that sand with fines can have an
ICL located above the SSL. This, from a CSSM point of view, has
significant implications. It is also tenable to argue that the increase
in compressibility during shearing will lead to further downward
shifting of SSL.
Reverse behavior was observed for sand with fines content in the
range of 5–30%. It was found that the occurrence of reverse behavior
is associated with the ICL that started from and located above the
SSL. This means that if a sand with a fines specimen has an ICL that
starts below the SSL but eventually crosses the SSL at high p9, then

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Fig. 17. Effect of ICL located above SSL
normal behavior can also occur. This is confirmed by two such tests
with fc 5 15%.
For a specimen with an ICL that locates above the SSL and with
undrained shearing commencing from a low p90 such that the cor-
responding void ratio is higher than the threshold void ratio (Ishihara
1993), complete liquefaction, i.e., qmin 5 0, has to occur. This is
because, during undrained shearing, the state attempts to track in
the negative p9 direction toward the SSL as illustrated in Fig. 17.
However, a replicate specimen can be consolidated to a much
higher p90 so that the void ratio at start of undrained shearing is less
than the threshold value. Therefore, it can meet the SSL at a nonzero
stress value. This may be part of the reason why the occurrence of
reverse behavior is associated with an ICL that locates above the
SSL.
The state parameter at the start of undrained shearing, cð0Þ, is
a good predictor of the type of undrained behavior (F, NF, or LF). It
can also be correlated approximately to a number of characteristics
of the deviator stress-strain curves in undrained shearing, irre-
spective of fc .
Acknowledgments
M. M. Rahman acknowledges that the experimental program was
conducted during his Ph.D. work at the University of New South
Wales, Canberra, Australia, and was published in part in some early
publications (Rahman and Lo 2008; Rahman et al. 2008, 2011;
Md. Mizanur and Lo 2012). However, most of the analysis and
interpretation presented in this paper are new. M. M. Rahman also
acknowledges the Australia-India Early Career Fellowship from the
Australian Academy of Sciences for their support to revise this
document on time.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
e 5 void ratio;
ep 5 equivalent granular void ratio;
ei 5 void ratio at initialized condition (after saturation
under 20 kPa);
epSS 5 equivalent granular void ratio at steady state;
fc 5 fines content in decimal;
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J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2014, 140(7): 04014036
fthre 5 threshold fines content in decimal;
p9 5 mean effective stress, p9 5 ðs91 1 2s9Þ=3;
3
q 5 deviator stress, q 5 ðs91 2 s9Þ;
3
qIS 5 deviator stress at the onset of instability;
qmin 5 minimum deviator stress caused by strain
softening (from qIS );
q15 5 deviator stress at ɛ q 5 15%;
q25 5 deviator stress at ɛ q 5 25%;
ɛ q 5 deviator strain;
hIS 5 q=p9 5 instability stress ratio;
s9,
1 s93 5 major principal effectives stresses in triaxial
condition;
c 5 state parameter;
cp 5 equivalent granular state parameter;
cð0Þ 5 state parameter before shearing; and
cp ð0Þ 5 equivalent granular state parameter before
shearing.
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