Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029

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Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

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

A novel procedure to determine shear dynamic modulus and damping ratio

for partial saturated compacted fine-grained soils
Juan P. Villacreses a, b, Bernardo Caicedo a, *, Silvia Caro a, Fabricio Y�epez b
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1E #19A-40, Mario Laserna (ML) Building, Piso 6, Bogot�
a, 111711, Colombia
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Diego de Robles y Via Interoceanica, Quito, Ecuador

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

Keywords: This paper presents a new procedure for the characterisation of the dynamic mechanical properties of unsatu­
Dynamic shear modulus rated fine-grained soils (i.e., dynamic shear modulus and phase angle). The procedure uses a rheometer, which is
Damping ratio a conventional device for the characterisation of viscous and viscoelastic materials but with limited used in the
Partial saturation
area of geotechnical engineering. Tests were carried out on cylindrical samples following a dynamic loading
Rheometer
Fine grained soils
scheme under strain-controlled conditions. This research is divided into two phases. The first phase aims at
validating the proposed experimental methodology. Thus, one sample of kaolin was tested using the proposed
methodology, and the results were compared against those obtained from the conventional Resonant Column
test. During the second phase, samples of kaolin were compacted at the optimum Proctor Standard; conditioned
at different degrees of saturation, and tested using the proposed procedure to show its applicability on partially
saturated soils. The dynamic shear modulus and phase angle of these samples were measured using a strain level
ranging from 6�10-6 to 1�10-3 with different suction conditions and without confinement pressure. The results
suggest that the newly developed procedure could be more versatile and accurate than available standardized
tests.

1. Introduction
The general concern about seismic site effects, which can amplify
earthquake movements of soil deposits, has increased after several
natural disasters had caused loss of lives and economic damages. The
case of the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 exemplifies the conse­
quences of site amplification [1]. After the succession of different
amplification events, it is now recognized that human and material
losses could be avoided by better understanding soil behaviour under
dynamic loading conditions.
Dynamic shear modulus, damping and soil density are the main
variables that control the seismic response of a soil layer [2]. Indeed,
seismic site response analysis uses dynamic shear modulus and damping
as input parameters to assess soil stresses and strains, as well as the
displacement and accelerations when a soil deposit undergoes dynamic
effects caused by an earthquake [3]. As a consequence, many field and
laboratory tests have been developed to measure soil shear modulus for
a particular strain level. The Resonant Column and Cyclic Triaxial tests
are, for instance, common laboratory procedures to measure the
dynamic properties of the material at different strain levels. The Reso­
nant Column test is a torsional low strain level test that uses cylindrical
samples subjected to free and forced vibrations to measure dynamic
shear modulus and damping properties; while the Cyclic Triaxial test
measures dynamic young modulus and damping at high strain levels by
applying a vertical cyclic loading on a cylindrical sample. Usually, to
measure the complete relationship between dynamic shear modulus,
damping, and strain, it is necessary to combine the results of the dy­
namic properties using these two different tests [4].
Using the results provided at low and high strain level tests, several
relationships between dynamic properties and strain conditions have
been developed for clayey and sandy soils [2,5,6]. Particularly [2,5],
developed normalized shear modulus degradation curves for laboratory
re-moulded clay and sand samples. The results of this work showed that
shear modulus is susceptible to the variation of the plasticity index of
clayey soils, and is greatly affected by the confinement pressure on
sandy soils. Their studies used fully saturated samples, and they
currently constitute an efficient tool to characterize soils when labora­
tory tests are not available.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: jp.villacreses@uniandes.edu.co (J.P. Villacreses), bcaicedo@uniandes.edu.co (B. Caicedo), scaro@uniandes.edu.co (S. Caro), fyepez@usfq.edu.
ec (F. Y�
epez).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.106029
Received 27 May 2019; Received in revised form 27 December 2019; Accepted 30 December 2019
Available online 16 January 2020
0267-7261/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J.P. Villacreses et al.
Although previous studies have contributed to a better understand­
ing of the behaviour of the shear modulus of soils under dynamic con­
ditions, there is still a lack of information about the influence of soil
water content on the dynamic shear modulus and damping properties of
these materials. However, it is currently well documented that when soil
samples are in unsaturated condition, the interaction between the soil
phases creates an internal negative pressure, known as suction, that
modifies their mechanical response. Thus, it is expected that the shear
modulus and damping index would depend on the water content and
suction pressure. In fact, evidence of the influence of suction on the
dynamic properties of soil had been widely studied in the field of
pavement engineering through the quantification of the resilient
modulus of unbound granular materials used for bases and subbases [7],
as well as in the dynamic modulus and phase angle of asphalt mixtures
[8,9]. Therefore, a proper analysis of the earthquake response of un­
saturated soil deposits requires to quantify each property at different
suction and strain values.
The present study proposes a new experimental procedure that al­
lows the incorporation of the effects of partial saturation in the quan­
tification of the dynamic shear modulus and damping coefficient of fine-
grained soils. For this purpose, cylindrical soil samples with a diameter
of 13 mm and 40 mm in height were compacted, conditioned at different
suction levels, and subjected to a sinusoidal torsional loading scheme
under strain-controlled conditions using a dynamic shear Rheometer AR
2000 from TA Instruments. This methodology was selected as an alter­
native to standardized dynamic geotechnical tests because of its high
performance when measuring the dynamic response of cohesive mate­
rials [10].
It is noteworthy that few research works had explored the possibility
of using a rheometer to study the mechanical properties of soils. One of
the first works focused on developing a motorized vane rheometer to
determine the undrained cohesion of clay loam in strain-controlled tests
[11]; in this research work, the rheological properties of samples with
different moisture contents and compaction levels were measured. A
rheometer was also used to study the influence of salt content in clayey
and silty soils [12]. This work used a parallel plate rheometer of 25 mm
of diameter with samples having between 2 mm and 4 mm of height. The
samples were tested using a torsional strain sweep test in order to
measure their mechanical properties. The results suggest that salt
Fig. 1. Operational ranges of the different tests used in soil dynamics in the deformation, frequency and wavelength level domains.
2
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
concentration and the mineralogy of the samples affect their viscoelastic
properties. Also, in Ref. [13] a parallel plate rheometer was used to
analyse the influence of soil organic content in the viscoelastic proper­
ties of samples having 25 mm of diameter and 4 mm of height. However,
despite the good results obtained using rheometers to characterize soil
samples, few efforts have focussed on the study of the dynamic prop­
erties of compacted unsaturated materials as intended in this work.
To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology, this
paper is divided into two sections. The first section presents a back­
ground of dynamic tests used in geotechnical engineering, describes the
main components of the new methodology, and compares the results
obtained using the rheometer with the results of a Resonant Column test,
which is a standardized method [14]. The second part of the paper il­
lustrates the potential of the developed methodology for testing unsat­
urated soil samples under dynamic loading schemes.
2. Dynamical tests for soil characterizations
Laboratory tests to measure the dynamic properties of soils can be
classified according to their level of deformation and their frequency of
operation, as observed in Fig. 1. Another variable that distinguishes
laboratory tests is the relationship between the wavelength of the test
input signal, λ, and the length of the sample, Lref. This variable typifies
the dynamic condition of the test. In fact, when the wavelength of the
input signal is sufficiently large compared to the length of the sample,
the test is essentially static that can be performed following a cyclic
scheme. On the other hand, when the wavelength of the input signal is
smaller or approaches the length of the sample, the test becomes dy­
namic, and requires the mass of the sample to be involved in the inter­
pretation of the results.
As described in Table 1, testing devices capable of measuring the
mechanical properties of soil with strain levels below 1 � 10-4 are
classified as low strain level tests, while equipment that works above this
level is useful to characterize the response of soils under high strain
levels. The low strain level tests provide information on the mechanical
properties of the soil in the elastic domain, while the high strain level
tests measure the properties of the material when the modulus of the
materials degrades.
The most common low strain level tests are the Resonant Column,
J.P. Villacreses et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029

Table 1
Available tests for measuring Soil Dynamic properties.
Test Sample Characteristics Test Strain Level Test Frequencies (kHz) Measured properties References
-4
Low strain level test < 1£10

Resonant Column Diameter 40–100 mm 1�10-5 to 1�10-3 1�10-3 to 1 Dynamic Shear Modulus/Damping [17]
Height 150–400 mm [16]
[14]
Ultrasonic Pulses Diameter 101.6 mm 1�10-6 20 to 1�103 Dynamic Shear and Young Modulus [18]
Height 116.4 mm [20]
Piezoelectric Bender Element Diameter 50 mm 1�10-5 1 to 10 Dynamic Shear and Young Modulus [19]
Height 100 mm [21]
[22]

High strain level test > 1£10-4

Cyclic Triaxial Test Diameter 36 mm 2�10-4 - 1�10-2 4�10-4 to 2�10-3 Dynamic Young Modulus/Damping [15]
Height 64–72 mm [23]
-4 -3 -3
Cyclic Direct Simple Shear Test Diameter 100 mm 1�10 - 1�10 0–5�10 Dynamic Shear Modulus/Damping [24]
Height – 25 mm

Proposed Methodology in this paper

Rheometer Diameter 13 mm 6�10-6 - 1�10-3 7�10-9 - 1�10-1 Dynamic Shear Modulus/Damping

Height 40–70 mm

the Ultrasonic Pulses, and the Piezoelectric Bender Element (see cell [25]. On the other hand, the Cyclic Direct Shear test is a procedure
Table 1). The Resonant Column is a torsional test capable of measuring that modifies the standardized Direct Simple Shear test to a cyclic
dynamic shear modulus and damping under different confining pres­ loading scheme. The procedure is capable of controlling vertical load
sures. The properties of the samples are reported at the resonance fre­ and horizontal displacement. Nowadays, many studies have focused on
quency of the system created by both, the sample and the equipment incorporating the effect of suction in the Cyclic Direct Shear test. As an
[15]. This test can be done under strain levels varying between 1� 10-5 example [24], developed a cyclic direct shear device to generate suc­
and 1� 10-3 [16]. Despite being a popular test used in soil dynamics, it tions over the sample up to 2 MPa, using the axes translation technique.
has been found that it presents coupling difficulties between the sample Despite the development of the Cyclic Direct Shear test apparatus, ho­
and the cell’s fixtures. In fact, Picornell et al. [17] carried out an mogeneous stress distribution over the sample are not achieved [26].
investigation in which the coupling agent between the sample and the Due to the different measuring ranges covered by each equipment,
upper and lower cup accessories was modified. The authors used two the results of at least two tests must be combined to relate the shear
plates, one with radial blades and the other with epoxy adhesives for modulus and the damping properties of the soil in a wide range of de­
coupling. The results of the Resonant Column showed that depending on formations. However, overlapping the results to fit a single curve is
the used coupling technique, the reported dynamic shear modulus ten­ generally not guaranteed [15].
ded to be underestimated together with an overestimation of the On the other hand, the rheometer is an apparatus that is currently
damping properties if radial blades were used. In contrast, the mea­ used for measuring the dynamic properties of a wide variety of mate­
surements conducted with epoxy adhesives were more consistent. In the rials, including fluids of any viscosity, polymer melts, and solids. As
Ultrasonic Pulse test, the velocity of ultrasonic waves is measured and shown in Fig. 2, the rheometer used in this study includes:
the dynamic modulus is computed based on the theory of wave propa­
gation in a continuous elastic medium. The test propagates waves
through the body by applying an impulse at a very low strain level
(around 1 � 10-6) and the travel time of the wave is recorded [18]. Then,
the wave velocities are calculated using the length of the sample and the
wave’s travel time. This information is used to estimate the shear dy­
namic modulus through existing relationships between this property and
wave velocities for elastic materials. Finally, the piezoelectric bender
element uses the same principle of the ultrasonic pulse wave velocity. In
this case, waves are transmitted to the sample through the deformation
of two ceramics inserted at the ends of the soil sample; these ceramic
elements bend in both directions depending on the input voltage [19].
Similar to the previous test, this experimental approach can only mea­
sure the shear modulus in the elastic range. Table 1 summarizes the
main characteristics of these procedures.
The most common high strain level tests for soil characterization are
the Cyclic Triaxial and the Cyclic Direct or Simple Shear Tests. These
tests quantify the dynamic mechanical properties using strains greater
than 1�10-4 (Table 1). The Cyclic Triaxial test is a standardized pro­
cedure that uses a harmonic controlled vertical axial load to deform the
sample and to measure the dynamic young modulus and the vertical
damping. The shear dynamic modulus can be calculated indirectly if the
sample’s horizontal strain is recorded or after assuming a value of the
Poisson’s ratio. This computation also assumes the existence of material
isotropy. The main shortcoming of this test lies in the difficulty of
measuring small strains directly over the sample and inside the pressure Fig. 2. (a) Schematic drawing of the components of the rheometer, and (b)
sample installed in the rheometer.

3
J.P. Villacreses et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029

(i) a servo motor that has extremely low moment of inertia and
provides reliable measurements into six decades of torque; it
permits to carry out tests under controlled stress, controlled rate,
step-strain, or direct oscillation strain control,
(ii) a set of axial and radial air bearings, and
(iii) a low inertia, high-resolution optical encoder for measuring the
angular deflection and speed.

This particular conception permits carrying out measurements with

very high precision. Indeed, Table 2 presents the measurement ranges
and resolution of the rheometer and compares them to other recent
geotechnical devices. It is important to note that the rheometer’s torque
resolution is millions of times better than commercial HCAs and that its
displacement resolution is approximately 50 times better than existing
geotechnical equipment. This enhanced resolution permits to work with
small specimens, which is useful to measure the dynamic properties of
unsaturated materials since, in small size specimens, the equilibrium of
water content and suction occurs much faster than in larger ones.
The proposed methodology has other additional advantages
compared to traditional methods. First, its wide range of operational
strains (i.e., 6 � 10-6 to 1 � 10-3) allows computing the complete
degradation curve of the material using a single equipment in a single
sample. Also, the wide range of frequencies allows measuring the dy­
namic properties of the soil in the frequency range required by the
specific field problem under study; that is, machine vibrations, earth­
quakes or pavements, among others. Finally, the dynamic properties are
measured directly in the sample using a torsion test, and neither the
Fig. 3. (a) Torque and displacement measured in the rheometer, and (b) hys­
isotropy nor the behaviour of the material, elastic or inelastic, is
teretic loop.
assumed. As observed in Fig. 1, the operational range of the rheometer
covers the operational range of all traditional tests combined. It is
the energy loss during the cycle that results from plastic strains or
noteworthy that a current disadvantage of the proposed methodology is
viscous behaviour of the material, these two signals are out of phase by a
the impossibility of imposing confining pressure. However, this limita­
scalar known as the phase angle (δ). Measurements of torque and rota­
tion could be overcome by complementing this test with a bender
tion permit to obtain the strain (γ) and shear stress (τ) signals of the test
element test performed with different confinement stresses.
in the time domain. Most of the tests presented in this paper are carried
out on solid cylindrical specimens. For this geometry, the shear strain is
3. Rheometer test for measuring the dynamic properties of soils nonuniform in the radial direction of the sample, and the amplitude of
the shear strains and stresses is defined in the external radius of the
3.1. Theoretical considerations sample. However, using the rheometer is also possible to carry out tests
on samples with a hollow cylindrical shape, as explained later in section
Rheometers that operate by applying cyclic signals of strains or 3.1.
stresses are known as Dynamical Mechanical Analysis (DMA) testers. The dynamic shear modulus, |G*|, can be computed as the ratio
DMA is an experimental technique that consists of applying harmonic between shear stress and strain signal amplitudes (i.e., τ0 and γ0) [28].
oscillatory stress or strain signals with a controlled frequency to measure Moreover, the damping coefficient (D) can be computed as the ratio
the mechanical properties of a sample [27]. DMA constitutes the base of between loss energy (ΔW), which is represented by the area of the ellipse
the proposed methodology. The dynamic shear modulus, |G*| and in Fig. 3b, and the maximum stored energy by the system (Ws) [4]. The
damping coefficient (D) of the material can be computed using the sig­ parameter Ws is directly related with the elastic behaviour of the ma­
nals acquired and recorded by the rheometer [28]. Fig. 3a shows the terial and it is computed by integrating Fig. 3b over one-quarter of a
signals of torque and angular rotation carried out during the tests. Due to period (T) [29]. The expressions to calculate ΔW and Ws are summarized
in Equations (1) and (2) respectively, while equation (3) can be used to
Table 2 calculate D [29]. Notice that according to this equation, D can be
Measurement ranges and resolution of the rheometer, compared with other computed using δ, the phase angle representing the lag between both
recent geotechnical apparatus.
signals. It is important to remark that, as shown in Fig. 3a, the high
Characteristic Unit Rheometera Geotechnical resolution of the rheometer permits to identify the phase lag between
apparatus
the stress and strain signals, even when working at low frequencies.
Minimum Torque N.m 3*10-8 Indeed, this phase lag and, therefore, the phase angle are difficult to
Oscillation identify when using modern cyclic triaxial and torsion shear tests.
Minimum Torque Steady N.m 5*10-8
Maximum Torque N.m 0.2 400b, 255c
Z T Z T
dγ
Torque Resolution N.m 1*10-9 0.03b, ΔW ¼ τ dγ ¼ τ dt ¼ πγ0 τ0 sinðδÞ (1)
dt
Motor Inertia μN.m. 15 0 0

s
Angular Velocity Range rad/s 1�10-8 to 300 cosðδÞ
Ws ¼ γ0 τ0 (2)
Frequency Range Hz 1.2�10-7 to 100 2 or 5b, up to 30c 2
Displacement Resolution rad 4*10-8 1.7*10-6b,
ΔW π
a
TA-Instruments 2000ex [32]. D¼ ¼ tanðδÞ (3)
b 4Ws 2
GDSHCA [33].
c
GCTS [34].

4
J.P. Villacreses et al.
where τ is the applied shear, γ0 and τ0 are the strain and stress shear
amplitude, respectively.
4. Material and methods
In this work, the dynamic shear modulus |G*| and phase angle (δ) of
soils were determined for samples fabricated using kaolin. Table 3 de­
scribes the main properties of this material. In terms of the Soil Atterberg
limits, its liquid limit is 87%, the plastic limit 31%, and its plasticity
index is 56%. Considering the particle’s size distribution and the
Atterberg limits (Table 3), the soil corresponds to a high plasticity clay
(CH), according to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). Regarding
compaction properties, the optimum water content and maximum soil
dry density are 31.3% and 1.35 g/cm3 respectively, according to the
Standard Proctor Test [30].
For the preparation of the samples, a cylindrical stainless-steel mould
was designed and built for these purposes (Fig. 4). The cylindrical tube
has an outer diameter of 30.1 mm, a hole with an inner free diameter of
13.0 mm, and a total height of 90.1 mm. Also, the mould has an enlarged
base of 38.1 mm outer diameter and a height of 10.0 mm at its base to
facilitate gripping the device with the press that is used for compaction.
It should be highlighted that the centre of the mould has a Teflon coating
to reduce any friction stress that may alter the target density during the
fabrication of the sample. The mould has two sets of different pistons
(Fig. 4), piston P1 with a length of 25.1 mm that provides a controlled
height of 39.9 mm to the compacted sample; and a second piston, P2,
that is used to remove the sample from the mould.
This mould was used to fabricate samples with a controlled density
and water content, parameters that varied in each phase of this research.
Samples were compacted using the methodology proposed by Ref. [31],
which consists in inserting a controlled weight of material inside the
mould and applying a monotonic pressure with the two pistons shown in
Fig. 4. Water content was controlled during soil preparation by adding
distilled water to the dry kaolin until achieving the required moisture
level. Density was controlled by limiting the height of the samples by
controlling the displacement of the pistons. The constructed samples had
a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 13.0 mm and a height of
approximately 41.1 mm.
The rheometer used in this study has an operating frequency range of
7.5�10–7 to 628 rad/s [32], in which a harmonic oscillatory strain can
be applied to the sample and stress can be recorded. Additionally, as
listed previously in Table 2, the magnitudes of the applied torque are in
the range between 0.1 μN m and 200 mN�m, and the minimum strain
that the equipment can measure is 6�10-7. Besides some common ap­
plications on liquids, polymers and other viscous and viscoelastic ma­
terials, the rheometer has been successfully used in Ref. [35] to study the
dynamic properties of lateritic soils stabilized with different percentages
of cement. The results of that work suggested that this methodology
could be extended to characterize the dynamic properties of cohesive
soils, as proposed in this work. Metallic holders were used for placing the
sample in the solid geometry of the rheometer, as illustrated in Fig. 2b.
These holders are adhered to the sample using a cyanoacrylate adhesive.
Vaseline was spread out on the surface of the sample, and the sample
was wrapped in a plastic wrap sheet to prevent changes in the water
content of the material during testing. Consequently, tests were
Table 3
Soil properties.
Characteristics of the used kaolin
Liquid Limit wL (%) 87
Plastic Limit wP (%) 31
D30 (%) 1.5 μm
D50 (%) 2.5 μm
D90 (%) 9.0 μm
Specific gravity (Gs) 2.59
5
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
performed under constant water content conditions.
4.1. Validation of the test
The objective of the first phase of the study was to measure |G*| and δ
of a sample compacted to a dry density (ρd) of 1.30 g/cm3 and water
content (w) of 36.0%, and to compare the measurements obtained with
the rheometer with those obtained using the Resonant Column test.
Samples used in this phase had a lower density than the optimum
proctor density and their saturation degree were close to 95%.
Rheometer measurements were carried out using a strain sweep meth­
odology that consisted on applying a sinusoidal torsional strain signal
over a period of 1 min while the oscillation stress was recorded. A total
of 17 signals were used for the strain sweep test, ranging from 5�10-6 to
1 �10-3, where the strain was doubled at each increment. During these
tests, the frequency was kept constant at a magnitude of 1 Hz. The
Resonant Column test was conducted on a sample of 50.9 mm of
diameter and 103.3 mm of height, according to Ref. [13], under strain
levels ranging from 4 �10-5 to 4 �10-4. Samples were prepared trying to
obtain similar densities and water contents; however, as shown in Fig. 9,
small differences appear due to the different sample sizes. These small
differences in water content lead to a difference in the suction of 0.04
MPa, which results in 0.15 MPa for the sample analysed in the rheometer
and 0.11 MPa for the sample analysed in the resonant column. Both tests
were carried out without confining stress and using a thin plastic sheet to
avoid evaporation of water (i.e., constant water content tests).
Fig. 5 shows the relationship between the dynamic shear modulus (|
G*|) and the strain (γ) measured with the rheometer and the Resonant
Column. As describe above, the proposed methodology is able to mea­
sure soil behaviour in a wider range of strains than the Resonant Column
test. The wide deformation range of the measurements allows identi­
fying the zone where the degradation of the sample initiates. In fact,
using the proposed methodology, it can be easily identified that the
maximum |G*| value of was 130 MPa, which is close to the value
identified using the Resonant Column test. Using both techniques, the
percentage difference of |G*| ranged between 7.3%, for low strains, to
27.9%, for strains greater than 1� 10-4. These differences could be
attributed to changes in suction and in the number of loading cycles
applied to the sample in each test. It should be also noted that [36]
quantified the differences in shear modulus between the Resonant Col­
umn and Bender Element test on sandy soils, and the authors reported
discrepancies between the shear modulus measured with both tests that
varied from 100% to 400%, depending on the confinement pressure.
Based on these findings, the differences obtained in this study could be
considered acceptable, showing that the methodology developed could
be a valid alternative to existing standardized methods to measure |G*|.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between the strain level and the phase
angle of the two tested samples. In the elastic region (i.e., strains below
4� 10-4), the phase angle presented a noticeable difference between the
two procedures, of approximately 7� . This difference decreased as the
material entered the plastic region up to a value of 5� . This discrepancy
can be explained using the results of the work done by Picornell et al.
[17]. The authors demonstrated that the technique used for coupling the
sample with the base and the head of the apparatus (i.e., using glue or
dented plates) plays an important role in determining the damping
measurements of the Resonant Column test. In his research, when an
epoxy resin was used as a coupling agent for placing the sample in the
Resonant Column equipment, data tended to have a narrower confi­
dence interval, and the measured damping properties were lower than
the cases when other coupling techniques, like dent plates, were used.
Moreover, the Resonant Column test assumes a Kelvin-Voigt material (i.
e., frequency dependent model) to compute the damping coefficient
[11], and the damping ratio is obtained during the exponential decay of
the torsional movement, while the rheometer directly measures the
damping from the phase angle. Therefore, the resulting value of
damping using a Resonant Column may have discrepancies with the
J.P. Villacreses et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029

Fig. 4. (a) sketch, and (b) photograph of the components of the metallic mould for sample preparation.

materials. However, when the soils are analysed, different points along
the radial direction experience a different shear strain and, therefore,
experience a different level of degradation of the shear modulus.
In order to assess the impact of this non-uniformity shear strain
distribution, two samples of different geometry (solid and hollow cyl­
inders) were tested in the rheometer to verify the effect of the nonuni­
formity of the shear strain. Samples were prepared using the compaction
mould previously described, reaching the same density and water con­
tent (ρd ¼ 1.54 g/cm3, w ¼ 31%). The geometry of the solid cylinder was
12.95 mm in diameter and 44.05 mm in height, whereas the hollow
cylinder had 12.95 and 4.33 mm of outer and inner diameters, respec­
tively, with a height of 44.35 mm (see Fig. 7a). Both samples were
subjected to a torsional strain sweep test to measure the degradation of
the shear modulus.
For each geometry, shear moduli were computed using the polar
Fig. 5. Relationship between the strain level and the dynamic shear modulus
moment of inertia of the corresponding cross-section. Fig. 7a shows that
obtained with the rheometer (frequency 1 Hz) and the Resonant Column. Tests
were conducted under unconfined conditions.

Fig. 6. Relationship between the strain and phase angle obtained using the
rheometer (frequency 1 Hz) and the Resonant Column. Tests were conducted
under unconfined conditions.

values obtained with the developed methodology, which is considered

to provide more reliable results.

4.2. Effect of the cylindrical shape of the sample

When a solid cylindrical sample is twisted, the shear strain distri­ Fig. 7. (a) hollow specimen and comparison of shear modulus measured using
bution is significantly non-uniform in the radial direction. This non- solid and hollow cylindrical samples (frequency 1 Hz), and (b) comparison
uniformity is not a problem when working with linear elastic when using normalized moduli.

6
J.P. Villacreses et al.
the curves of degradation of the shear modulus for the solid and hollow
cylindrical samples have small discrepancies. A difference of 12% of the
shear modulus is observed for small strains and decreases for larger
strains. Although there is a small discrepancy in the shear modulus due
to the shape of the sample, Fig. 7b shows that, when analysing the
normalized shear modulus, both degradation curves fully overlapped.
These results show the usefulness of the rheometer for testing both types
of cylindrical samples, solid or hollow.
4.3. Effect of the number of loading cycles
As it was pointed in Ref. [2], the number of loading cycles that the
sample undergoes at a constant strain level can impact the degradation
curve of the shear modulus. Four additional samples were tested using
the rheometer to verify the effect of the number of cycles on the me­
chanical response of the solid sample. Samples had a bulk density of
1.70 g/cm3 and a volumetric water content of 31%. The suction of the
samples was kept between 0.21 MPa to 0.33 MPa and tests were carried
out at 1 Hz following four different procedures:
� The first sample followed 14 steps of a strain sweep test, in the strain
range of 1�10-5 to 2�10-4. At each strain level, the sample under­
went 5 harmonic oscillations. Once achieving the maximum strain,
the test was repeated 4 times, starting from the initial strain level.
� The second sample followed 31 steps of a strain sweep test in the
range of 7�10-6 to 8.28�10-4. Each step had 5 harmonic oscillations,
and this procedure was repeated 6 times.
� The third sample underwent 21 steeps of a strain sweep test ranging
from 7.7�10-6 to 8.50�10-4, and 60 oscillations were applied at each
step, this procedure was repeated two times.
� Finally, the fourth sample was tested using only one strain oscillation
with a fixed amplitude of 5.23�10-4.
Fig. 8a shows the results of the shear modulus measured using these
different four procedures. This figure shows that the effect of the number
of cycles is small for first two tests because the results overlapped.
However, when comparing results obtained by applying only one cycle
Fig. 8. Comparison of (a) shear modulus and (b) phase angle measured using
solid and hollow cylindrical samples (frequency 1 Hz).
7
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
Fig. 9. Tested samples compared to standard proctor curve.
with the strain sweep test that applied 60 loading cycles, the effect of the
number of cycles is non-negligible due to the accumulation of plastic
strains. Indeed, the sample tested with one cycle has a shear modulus
that is 24% higher for the same strain level than the sample that was
subjected to multiple cycles (i.e., 105.5 MPa for one loading cycle and
85 MPa for 60 loading cycles). These results allow concluding that
applying a reduced number of cycles in a strain sweep test, for example 5
cycles, does not produce significant plastic strains a therefore the effect
on the shear modulus is negligible.
Regarding the phase angle, the results are similar as shown in Fig. 8b.
Indeed, when comparing the results of the one-cycle test with the results
obtained by applying 60 loading cycles, the phase angle increases from
δ ¼ 9.25� to δ ¼ 11.5� .
5. Results of phase 2: effect of suction pressure
The objective of the second phase of the study was to evaluate the
potential of the proposed procedure to assess the effect of partial satu­
ration of fine-grained soils on their dynamic properties under different
strain and frequency conditions. For this purpose, samples with a dry
density (ρd ) of 1.35 g/cm3 and water content (w) of 31.3% were pre­
pared using the procedure described above. As shown in Fig. 9, the dry
density and water content of the samples tested in this phase are closed
to the optimum of the standard proctor curve.
To measure the water retention curve (WRC) of the material, a
conditioning process was conducted after the fabrication of the speci­
mens. It consisted of drying two samples in a controlled atmosphere with
a relative humidity of 52.4%. The drying process was carried out by
exposing the samples to this relative humidity for different periods of
time. At the end of each period, specimens were carefully stored for 24 h
in hermetic plastic bags to promote a uniform water distribution within
the sample. Suction pressure (ψ ) of each sample was measured using a
chilled mirror hygrometer following the procedure stated in Ref. [37].
After the measurements, samples were exposed to another suction
condition period. This process was repeated until the samples reach a
water content of 3%. The samples used for the dynamic tests were
prepared in pairs following the same procedure of exposing them to this
relative humidity-controlled atmosphere. In this case, one sample was
used to measure suction in the material prior to testing while the second
specimen was trimmed after conducting the DMA test to measure suc­
tion using the chilled mirror hygrometer. Then, suction were measured
before and after testing to ensure that the samples had conserved their
suction conditions during testing.
Fig. 10 results obtained using the chilled mirror hygrometer for the
two control samples and the tested samples. The degree of saturation
was computed using volumetric information of the sample recorded
before and after the conditioning process and the specific gravity of the
tested soil. From the figure, it can be inferred that the WRC of the
conditioned and tested samples were equivalent.
The effect of suction in the degradation curve of the shear modulus
J.P. Villacreses et al.
Fig. 10. Soil Water Retention Curve (WRC) of the soil samples.
was studied through strain sweep tests, using the same 17 signals as in
Phase 1. Fig. 11 summarizes the relationships obtained between the
three variables of interest: dynamic shear modulus (|G*|), suction (ψ ),
and applied strain (γ). The results show that suction has a remarkable
impact on the viscoelastic properties of the tested clay for suctions
higher than 0.77 MPa. In terms of dynamic shear modulus, this property
increases with an increase in suction. For example, at a strain level of
1�10-5, the magnitude of dynamic shear modulus for a suction value of
98.5 MPa is 4.11 times higher than the value reported at a suction of
0.35 MPa. In general, for strain values in a range of 5�10-6 to 1�10-3,
the modulus presents an increment that ranges between 2.5 to 8.5 times
when the value of suction passes form 0.35 MPa–98.5 MPa. However, it
was observed that there were some difficulties when measuring the
response of the material at suction values higher than 10.3 MPa under
low strain level conditions. In these cases, the data presented an uneven
behaviour, which might be partially attributed to the adhesive used to
glue the sample to the metallic holders. Nonetheless, dynamic shear
modulus measurements for samples with suction higher than 10.3 MPa
tended to be more stable for strain levels greater than 1�10-5, which are
the ones presented in the figure.
Fig. 12 illustrates the phase angle measurements conducted during
the strain sweep test. These results show that the material tended to
behave in a more “glassy” way for high values of suction. In general, the
damping coefficient decreases as the suction increases, depending on the
strain levels. For strains below 1�10-4, the damping is constant, and
Fig. 11. Shear modulus measured for different levels of suction using
the rheometer.
8
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
Fig. 12. Relationship between phase angles and strain levels for samples with
different suction values.
approximately equal to 2� . On the other hand, suction has a great impact
on damping for strain levels higher than 1�10-4. For a strain level of
1�10-3, the damping increases from 6� to 21� when suction decreases
from 98.5 MPa to 0.35 MPa. For the same suction level, the phase angle
increases as the strain level increases, but this effect is less noticeable for
high values of suction. As an example, for a suction value of 0.35 MPa,
the phase angle increases from 2� to 21� , whereas for a suction value of
98.5 MPa, this value increases from 2� to 6� . It should be noted that it
was not possible to measure the phase angle at strain levels smaller than
3.00�10-5 on samples with suction values higher than 4.9 MPa.
A frequency sweep test was also conducted to assess the effect of
frequency on the dynamic response of the soil samples. The frequency
sweep test consisted in applying a sinusoidal strain for 1 min with an
amplitude of 1�10-5 under a frequency magnitude that ranged between
0.1 and 35 Hz, with a 5 Hz step. The selected strain was kept constant
and it corresponded to the elastic range selected from the strain sweep
test (i.e., 1�10-5). As in the strain sweep test, suction was measured in
the tested samples. Fig. 13 presents the dynamic shear modulus results
for the frequency sweep tests, from where it is observed that the dy­
namic shear modulus increases with frequency. This increment was
approximately 1.16 times for values measured at 30 Hz in comparison
with the values measured at 0.1 Hz, almost independently of the value of
frequency. This increment was the same for all suction values.
Results in Fig. 14 present the relationship between the phase angle
and the frequency for samples with different suction levels. As observed,
the phase angle tends to decrease as the frequency increases, as ex­
pected, but in this case this change is affected by the level of suction. In
fact, for a suction value of 4.9 MPa, the phase angle of samples are
almost not impacted by the change in frequency. On the contrary, for a
low suction value of 0.35 MPa, the phase angle was 2 times larger at 0.1
Fig. 13. Relationship between frequency and dynamic shear modulus for
samples at different suction values.
J.P. Villacreses et al.
Fig. 14. Relationship between frequency and phase angel for samples at
different suction values.
Hz frequency than at 30 Hz. Nevertheless, the phase angle converges to a
value close to 2� for frequencies above 1 Hz, independently of the suc­
tion level. This fact suggests that water content of the soil influences the
viscous behaviour of the material when subjected to low-frequency
levels.
5.1. Effective stress analysis
Rheometer tests carried out in this study permitted to measure the
shear modulus for zero confining stresses and they confirmed that, for
unsaturated materials, the effect of the suction pressure leads to a non-
null modulus for zero confining stress. In order to describe the dynamic
response of the compacted material under the combined effects of suc­
tion and confining stress, two main approaches could be followed: (i) use
a generalized effective stress analysis, or (ii) consider suction and
confining stress as two different state variables. The following equation,
suggested by Bishop [33,38] for the effective stress σ’, represents the
first approach:
σ ’ ¼ σ net þ χ s (4)
in which σnet ¼ σ-ua is the net stress, s ¼ ua-uw is the matric suction, ua
and uw are the pore air and water pressures, and χ is and effective stress
parameter, attaining a value of 1 for saturated soils and zero for dry
soils.
The validity of the effective stress principle in unsaturated soils was
questioned arguing that it cannot explain the collapse phenomenon
upon wetting [39]. Therefore, to overcome the above perceived limi­
tations, the second approach proposes to describe the constitutive
behaviour of unsaturated soils using two independent stress variables,
σnet and s¼(ua-uw) [40]. Another limitation of the effective stress prin­
ciple, which is often cited in the literature, is that there is no unique
relationship between χ and the degree of saturation.
However, recent works have demonstrated that the effective stress
approach can describe plastic deformations, such as collapse phenom­
ena when defining a yield surface, depending on the suction level
[41–45]. Also, the uniqueness of the parameter χ has been achieved by
incorporating parameters related to the soil structure, such as the re­
sidual water content or the degree of saturation, the air entry value or
other microstructural variables [46–48]. On the other hand, the use of
an effective stress approach is useful to model the mechanical behaviour
of unsaturated soils because it allows a consistent transition between
saturated and partially saturated states of soils, as well as the direct
incorporation of the hydraulic hysteresis effect on the mechanical per­
formance of the material [49].
Because of its usefulness, the analysis of the results presented in this
section uses the effective stress approach, after adopting the effective
degree of saturation given in Equation (5), for representing the param­
eter χ:
9
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
Sr S2
χ¼ (5)
S1 S2
where Sr is the degree of saturation and S1 and S2 are the maximum and
minimum degrees of saturation [50].
For isotropic loading, the maximum shear modulus, G0, depends on
the void ratio, e, and of the confining effective stress, σ0 3, such as
[51–54],
� ’ �n
G0 f ðeÞ σ
¼K 3 (6)
pa pa
where K and n are material parameters, pa is the atmospheric pressure
which normalizes both sides of the equation, and f(e) is a function of the
void ratio. Regarding this function, the following equation has been
proposed in Ref. [52]:
ð2:17 eÞ2
f ðeÞ ¼ (7)
1þe
A verification of the validity of the effective stress approach requires
the measurement of the shear modulus at different confining stresses or
σnet
3 . Fig. 15 shows the results of the measurements reported in Ref. [55],
which were carried out using a bender element device on a compacted
material with the same characteristics than the material used in this
study and a constant suction of ψ ¼ 0.8 Mpa.
The effective stress approach, represented in Equation (4) and
complemented with Equations (5) and (7), permits to analyse the results
of the maximum shear modulus measured in the rheometer on samples
having different suction and a zero confining stress, together with the
results of the bender element test, which were obtained on samples
having constant suction and variable confining stress. Data in Fig. 16
show the results of this analysis. The agreement between both measures
reveals that an effective stress approach could be a reliable tool for
analysing the effects of both, suction and confining stress, on the evo­
lution of the maximum shear modulus. It is important to remark that this
analysis assumed that the total suction, ψ was similar to the matric
suction, s.
Suction and effective stresses also impact the degradation of the
shear modulus as the shear strain increases. Indeed, when normalizing
the shear modulus curves using the maximum shear modulus G0, as
shown in Fig. 17a, a reduction in the degradation of the material as the
suction increases is observed. This dependency is more evident in
Fig. 17b, which shows the shear strain corresponding to a modulus
degradation of 50% (γ for G/G0 ¼ 0.5). The increase in the shear strain
for a level of degradation of 50% is small for all suction pressures, except
for the very high suction of 98.5 MPa, where it seems that the compacted
material undergoes a transition towards an elastic behaviour.
As shown in Fig. 12, suction has a clear effect on the damping ratio (i.
e., phase angle δ). Indeed, as the material dries, suction increases and the
Fig. 15. Shear modulus measured for different confining stress using a bender
element apparatus. Adapted from Ref. [50].
J.P. Villacreses et al.
Fig. 16. Maximum shear modulus analysed as a function of the effective
confining stress.
Fig. 17. (a) Degradation of the shear modulus normalized with the maximum
shear modulus G0, and (b) impact of the effective stress on the shear strain for a
degradation of 50% in the shear modulus.
phase angle decreases, indicating a more elastic behaviour. The phase
angle curves can be also normalized after dividing the results by their
maximum value at each suction pressure. In this work, the maximum
phase angle was adopted as the value corresponding to a shear strain of
10-3. Fig. 18a shows the feasibility of this normalization, while Fig. 18b
shows the clear dependency of the phase angle on the effective stress for
a shear strain of 10-3.
The transition from a ductile to a more elastic material, which is
evidenced in Figs. 17 and 18, certainly could have strong implications
when analysing the effect of earthquakes on compacted materials such
as rammed earth, retaining walls or embankments. On the other hand,
these results could be useful for analysing the combined effect of
weather and earthquakes on those types of earthworks. This analysis
could be carried out by calculating changes in suction and water content
in the soil due to weather (i.e., water infiltration or evaporation), then
by evaluating changes in shear modulus and damping coefficient and,
10
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106029
Fig. 18. (a) Degradation of the normalized phase angle, and (b) impact of the
effective stress on the phase angle for a strain value, γ, of 10-3.
finally, by analysing the dynamic response of the earthworks due to an
earthquake.
6. Conclusions
This work proposes a new procedure to measure the dynamic shear
modulus and damping properties of cohesive soils under an unconfined
state using a rheometer. Two different sets of kaolin samples were tested
using the proposed methodology. Initially, the results obtained with the
new procedure were compared to those obtained with the Resonant
Column test, which is a standardized procedure to measure the dynamic
properties of soils. Then, the versatility of the proposed procedure was
assessed by measuring the dynamical mechanical properties of the soil
sample under different partial saturated conditions.
It is important to remark that the proposed testing methodology is
similar to the classical torsion shear tests on solid or hollow cylindrical
specimens, but the precision of the rheometer apparatus allows working
with very small specimens. The use of small specimens is useful to study
the behaviour of unsaturated soils because the equilibrium of suction
and water contents occurs much faster than in the larger specimens
required for torsional tests. Although the rheometer apparatus does not
permit to apply a confining pressure, an effective stress analysis permits
to explore the effect of the confining stress on the dynamic properties of
the soil sample, at least for compacted unsaturated materials.
The results of the initial phase evidenced that the new procedure is a
feasible alternative to measure soil dynamic shear modulus in compar­
ison to existing standardized tests. Specifically, the dynamic shear
modulus computed through both methodologies presented an average
difference of range of 7.3% for low strains to 27.9% for high strain
levels, which is considered acceptable, especially when considering the
shortcomings and assumptions of the Resonant Column test.
These results also evidenced the need for further studies about the
quantification of the damping properties obtained with the proposed
procedure and existing tests. Indeed, the values of damping measured
with the proposed methodology were lower than those measured with a
J.P. Villacreses et al.
Resonant Column. These discrepancies are caused by the use of different
coupling agents in both techniques (i.e., epoxy adhesives for the new
technique and radial blades for the Resonant Column test). The damping
for the sample using the new technique was around 5%, a value that was
calculated using the equations given in this study. For the Resonant
Column, the computed damping according to Ref. [9] was around 8%.
Another reason attributed to these differences is the definition of the
stored work (Ws). While in the developed methodology considers the
phase angle to compute the elastic stored energy [4], defines the storage
energy as a quarter of the ratio of the strain and stress amplitudes, and
this concept is used by the Resonant Column test. Additionally, and
opposite to the new proposed method, existing techniques use assump­
tions about isotropy and material behaviour to compute the damping
properties of the samples, which could impact the reliability of the
results.
The strain and frequency sweep tests conducted during the second
phase of this study showed the potentialities of the developed method­
ology to measure dynamical properties on partially saturated soils.
Tested samples demonstrated that suction increases the dynamic shear
modulus, and it makes the material to behave “glassier”. This fact opens
a new field of research on the effect of suction on dynamic soil prop­
erties, and on how this influence impacts dynamic applications, such as
seismic site response evaluations. Furthermore, effective stress theory
was used in this work in combination with the results obtained from the
rheometer to estimate the influence of confining pressure on the me­
chanical properties of the soil sample.
The proposed procedure seems to be effective in obtaining dynamic
soil parameters under unconfined conditions. Furthermore, its major
strength is the possibility of obtaining such parameters for different
strain levels in just one test, or after considering suction effects using
different samples, avoiding assumptions about isotropy of the material.
The methodology proposed in this article could be useful for ana­
lysing the effect of earthquakes on compacted materials such as rammed
earth, retaining walls, and embankments, among other earth structures.
Also, the proposed methodology could be useful for analysing the
combined effect of weather and earthquakes on those types of
earthworks.
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.
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