SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS Vol. 12, No.1, Mar.

1972
Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering

INITIAL FABRICS AND THEIR RELATIONS TO

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
GRANULAR MATERIAL

MASANOBU 0DA*

ABSTRACT
Sand fabrics were fixed \vith polyester-resin without disturbing the spatial arrangement
of granular particles. Thin sections prepared from thus fixed sand specimens were studied
under the optical microscope to find the preferred orientations and spatial relations of
constituting grain particles with the following conclusions:
(1) The characteristics of configuration relations of nonspherical particles are deter-
mined not only by the shape of particles but also by the method of compaction. Sands
which are composed of flat or elongated particles indicate strong anisotropic feature of
fabric character.
(2) The initial fabric of granular material as sand has important influences on the
mechanical properties such as mobilized stress ratio and secant deformation m.odulus.

Key words: compressive strength, anisotropy, void ratio, __ '!!l:!<;!~~~"\?EY~ triaxial compres-
sion test, sand, soil E.r.:~lCtur~~ grain shape

IGC: D3/D6

INTRODUCTION
Discrete nature among particles is one of the most important characteristics of granular
sand. Some of the important mechanical properties of granular sand such as conspicuous
dilatancy in the process of shear deformation have been believed to be due to discrete na-
ture among constituting grain particles and their configuration characters. Consequently,
in order to realize the mechanical properties of granular materials, one must first study in
detail morphological and physical properties of granular particles and their configuration
relations.
Several important papers on the state of relative configuration of constituting grain
particles in random granular assembly have been published as mentioned below:
Smith (I 932) and Bernal and Mason (1960) suggested a simple method to determine
the average coordination number C. N. of an assembly of homogeneous spheres having
* Assistant, Department of Foundation Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Saitama
University, Urawa, Saitama.
Written discussions on this paper should be submitted before January l, 1973.

This is an Open Access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

NII-Electronic Library Service

18 ODA

a certain porosity n.
Smith et al. (1929) thought that an aggregate of equal spheres randomly oriented may be
regarded as being made up of clusters of simple cubic and face-centered cubic arrays,
each being present in such a propotiion as to give the observed porosity of the assetnbly.
They obtained the following equation, which agrees with the observed experin1ental
values:
7262
C.N. = 26.4858- IO.
1-n

Kallstenius and Bergau (1961) investigated granular texture of glass balls which were
allowed to fall freely under the action of gravity. They showed that the assembly is ani-
sotropic and that the constituting glass balls tend to be arranged in chains.
Field (1963) studied granular assemblies of rounded stones of different sizes and grad-
ings and determined the relationship between average coordination number C. N. and
porosity, n, i.e., C. N. = 12 (1 - n). He also measured the angler between the tangent
planes at the contact points and the horizontal plane. Then, he detnonstrated that ac-
tually n1easured frequency distribution of these contact angles accorded with the theore-
tical distribution obtained on the assumptions that granular assetnblies were composed of
random sized but spherical particles and were cotnpacted to the desired density in a forceless
field. The theoretical equation obtained is p = sin r, where p is the proportion of the total
number of contacts which occurs at angles less than r- He also demonstrated that at..
though the characters of granular fabric were determined to some degree by the action of
gravity force, the gravitational effect on the fabric characters would no doubt be of
secondary importance in most practical applications, and that a granular assembly whose
constituting grain particles were statistically spherical was isotropic in so far as the
frequency distribution of these contact angles was concerned.
In these studies by Smith, Kallstenius and Field, the shape, size and size distribution of
granular particles tested are limited in narrow ranges. There is aln1ost no study on
the following important problems:
(1) Fabric elements which seem to determine the n1echanical properties of granular
materials co1nposed of nonspherical particles.
(2) Experimental procedures to find the fabric elements of granular materials.
(3) The relation between the characteristics of mechanical behaviour and the charac-
teristics of intitial fabric of granular materials.
The author will discuss these problems in detail in this paper.
Fabric: Before commencing with the main argument, it may be suitable to explain
what is meant by "fabric" of a cohesionless particle assembly. In this paper, the concept
of the term "fabric" is used to be identical to that defined by Brewer (1964) to represent
the spatial arrangement of solid particles and associated void.
Principally two types of fabric features, i.e., homogeneous fabric and heterogeneous
fabric, can be distinguished. The granular mass of heterogeneous fabric is composed of
component parts or submasses of homogeneous fabric having different kinds and degrees

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 19

of particle configurations. Three-dimensional orientations of these homogeneous sub-

masses and their mutual relationships must be the most important fabric feature prevailing
in the heterogeneous granular mass.
On the other hand, the concept of homogeneous fabric of a granular mass should include
at least two main subconcepts, i.e., (I) orientation of an individual particle, and (2) posi-
tion of the particle and its mutual relationship to other particles. (Absolute position of
the particle is one of the most important fabric components. As it has no influence on
mechanical properties of granular sand, the author will not discuss it in this paper.)
The orientation of a nonspherical particle can be represented by the inclination of the
longest and the shortest axes (L-ax is and S-axis, respectively) of the grain to the :fixed direc-
tions (Fig. 1).

( 1} Orientation ( 2) Relative Configuration

Fig. 1. Fabric elements of granular sand

Suppose that a grain G1 is surrounded by grains G2, Gs, .... G5 with contacts Pb P2,
.... P4, respectively. The normal N1. to the tangental plane at the contact P1. can be de-
fined by the angle with the reference axes, X, Y and Z. Thereupon, it is possible to define
the mutual relation of the particle G1 to other particles G2 to Gn by the number of four con-
tacts and directions of N1 to N4.
Starting with the concepts as mentioned above, one has to make an attempt to reduce
them to an operational definition, in order to obtain meaningful values on the fabric
elements which can be obtained by a suitable measuring procedure. Because the fabric
of a particle assembly embraces several concepts, there is no known way to perform this
measurement through a single procedure. In the following section, the author will des-
cribe the experimental procedure for the determination of the homogeneous fabric.

EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATIONS
Samples Tested
The index properties and the grain size distribution of sands used in this investigation
are shown in Table 1 and Fig. 2, respectively.
Limiting void ratios: The maximum void ratios of these sands were measured by the
method suggested by Kolbuszewski (1949). The minimum void. ratios were determined

NII-Electronic Library Service

20· ODA

Table 1. Index properties of sands

Sands Specific Axial

Tested G1·avity em In Ratio, n
Sand A 2.68 1.047 0.610 0.605
Sand B 2.65 0.986 0.630 0.605
Sand C 2.65 0.859 0.539 0.690
Sand D 2.67 1.132 0.714 0.706

......... I
~
... ,"'II
-
...._

~ I
I
I
I
I

I
f
I
J
•
''
I

••
~
I I
I
• I ' I
~
I
•t•
I '' nd
Sand ~·i
•I -rSa
l... 1
AandC
(lJ I

it
c:: I ''
J I

- c::
a,
u
l...
I

I
'
,'
•
''
I
J
•I
IJ

ClJ
0...
0 I
Q02 20 ao
Grain Size (mm)
Fig. 2. Grain size distribution curves

by applying repeated vibration by a hand tamper on dry sand in four layers with load
{1.0 kg) at the top for about 10 minutes. Kolbuszewski's method to determine the mini-
mum void ratio was not used to avoid the grain fracturing.
Axial ratios: As will be discussed in the following section, the characteristics of fabric
are closely related to the shape of particles, especially to the average flatness or slenderness.
In this paper, the following method (axial ratio method) was used to n1easure the shape
factor of constituting grain particles:
(1) Project the image of sand grain on the screen by means of thin sections of sands
and a projector (Fig. 3).
{2) Measure the length of apparent shortest axis L 2 and apparent longest axis L 1 •
I
(3) Calculate the axial ratio (L2/L1)i and :ii = (1/f) i=l
L: (L2/L 1);., where/is the total num..
ber of measurements.
The value fi ranges from 0 to 1. When fi approaches unity, the average of the projected
images of the sand grains becomes close· to circle. Therefore, :ii can be considered as a
coefficient indicating the characteristic of particle shape. The value of n of the sands stu-
died in this paper are shown in Table 1. From this table, it can be said that sands A and
B are mainly composed of elongated or fiat particles, while sand D consists chiefly of rela..

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 21

ABCD: Thin Section

EFGH: Completed Tan-
_;gent Rectangle
FG : Apparent Long
_f.Xis ot Pa rt i cle
F I : Parc:lllel to
Reference Axis X

Fig. 3. Deviation angle fli of apparent long axes from reference axis X

tively spherical grains.

Mineral composition: From petrographic study by thin sections, the following ap ..
proximate mineral compositions were obtained:
Sand A: rock fragments of chert 90 %, heavy minerals 5 %, and others 5 %.
Sand B: quartz grains 75 %, feldspars 22 %, and others 3 %.
Sand C: quartz grains 92 %, and feldspars 8 %.
Sand D: quartz grains 97 %, and others 3 %-
Preparation of Test Specimens
Sand was washed in water and then oven-dried. The oven-dried sand was poured into
a cyclindrical mold (5 em in internal diameter and 10 em in height) and then compacted
densely by means of the follmwing two methods:
(1) Tapping method: Tap the side wall of the mold by a hand tamper.
(2) Plunging method: Plunge the hand tamper directly into sand.
Henceforth, polyester resin was poured into the mold. Mter three hours, resin became

X-axis
/,;If

Fig. 4. Preparation of thin sections

NII-Electronic Library Service

22 ODA

a hard vitreous matrix maintaining firn1ly the sand grains in their origittal configuration.
The sand sample fixed by resin has sufficient strength to be cut and polished in order to
make thin sections. Viscosity of the polyester resin used in this study is low enough
(coefficient of viscosity being 0.5 to 2 poise) to penneate into voids an1ong grains without
disturbing the fabric.
As shown in Fig. 4, the fixed sample was cut with a diatnond saw along four planes;
(A E G D), (E B C G), (E F G) and (E G H). Four thin sections (0.04 to 0.07 1nm thick)
which are parallel to the above four planes were 1nade by the standard method for the
preparation of thin rock sections. In this paper, these fo11r thin sections prepared are

V -section H .. section

Photo. 1. Microphotographs of sands

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 23

called V1~section, V2-section, 45-section, and H-section, respectively.

The reference axes, X, Y and Z are selected as shown in Fig. 4; X is an intersection of
horizontal and vertical planes, Y is perpendicular to x.. and Z-axes, and Z is the vertical
direction. Photo. 1 was obtained by direct projection of the translucent thin sections on
photographic paper.
Orientation of Particles
The orientation of a particle must be represented by the inclination of true long or short
. axis of the grain with respect to the fixed reference axes. In practice, however, it is very
difficult to find a true long or short axis of finegrained particles in thin sections. An
alternative method was used. That is, the state of three-dimensional orientation of grain
particles was estimated on the basis of the degree of preferred orientation or parallelism
of apparent longest axes observed in the V1-, 45- and H-sections, in the following
manner:
(1) Measure the angles 0.;, between apparent longest axes of about 200 grains and the
reference axis X on each thin section by means of a petrographic microscope equipped with
a point counter and a mechanical stage.
(2) Make the frequency histograms of O., thus obtained. The frequency histograms of
0;, of sands compacted by the tapping method are shown in Figs. 5 to 8.
In the case of both the V-section and the 45-section of sands A and B, there can be found

0 0 30 60
!It:. r;,: €h'
( 7 ) V-section ( 2) 45 ~section {J)H-section
Fig. 5. Frequency histograms ~f 8;, in various sections of sand A

Bi
{ 2 ) H -section
Fig. 6. Frequency histograms of 8;, in various sections of sand B

NII-Electronic Library Service

 24 ODA

{1)
Fig. 7. Frequency histograms of 0.;, in various sections of sand C

{ 1)
Fig. 8. Frequency histograms of 0.;, in various sections of sand D

almost unimodal frequency distribution having distinct peak near IJ.;, = 0. In the case of
H-section, however, the distribution is polymodal. As far as judged by the statistical
examination (Rayleigh test of significance) of these frequency distributions, it can be said
that both the V-section and the 45-section have statistically significant preferred orientation
of apparent long axes but the H-section does not have any preferred orientation (Curray,
1956). Similarly, the v. section and the 45-section of sand C show weaker preferred
orientation than those of sands A and B, but stronger preferred orientation than those
of sand D. In the v. , 45- and H-sections of sand D, no preferred orientation can be
observed.
From the experimental results illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8, it is clear that, for the three
kinds of sand, A, B and C, which are composed of nonspherical particles, the fabrics of
the specimens compacted by the tapping method are characterized by conspicuous ar-
rangement of the principal planes defined by the true long and short axes of particles parallel
to the horizontal plane, but the orientation fabric of sand D, which is composed of com-
paratively spherical particles, is almost isotropic (Fig. 9).
Fig. 10-(1) shows the results of orientation fabric of sand D compacted by the plung-
ing method. The frequency histogram of fJ.;, of the V-section of sand D exhibits U-shaped
frequency distribution, but the H-section of the same specimen shows random distribution.
It m.ust also be noted that the fabric with respect to the grain orientation of constituting
grain particles has axial symmetry with a symmetry axis which is parallel to the vertical
direction Z (Fig. 10-(2)),

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 25

CD SandsA,B,andC (2) Sand D

Fig. 9. Orientation of particles in granular saud
compacted by the tapping method

H- section

( 7)

( 3 )

-
lJ..J 0.7

( 2 }
0
13
Fig. 10. Fabric of sand D compacted by the plunging method

From the facts described above, it can easily be said that the arrangement of the long
axes in an assembly of non-spherical particles varies from high degree of preferred orienta-
tion with diverse mean direction to no preferred orientation, and the degree and nature
of the orientation are mostly determined by the shape characters of constituting grain
particles and by the method of compaction.
Mutual Relation of Particles
Suppose a granular assembly composed of particles which contact with each other by
M contacts. Corresponding to each contact, there are two contact points (or contact
smrfaces) of which one belongs to grainl and another to grain 2 (Fig. 11). Corresponding
to each contact point, there is normal direction (Nl or N/') which is perpendicular to

NII-Electronic Library Service

26 ODA

Fig. 11. Measurement of normals (N1. 1, Ni 2) to tangent plane (ni)

the tangent plane(ni) at the point of contact(Pi) between grains 1and2. When theorthogo-
nalreference axes X, Y and Z are selected in the smne way as Fig. 4, the direction of N/4
can be detennined by the measure1nents of two angles a and f3 as shown in Fig. 11. Simi-
larly, Nl can be determined by the angles a -1- 1e and :rr - j3.
These angles a and (3 can be easily n1easured with the h'elp of the microscope equipped
with a universal mechanical stage (Turner and Weiss, 1963). In this study, about 500 con-
taos were selected at random from two V-sections and one H-section, which are perpen-
dicular to the orthogonal reference axes X, Y and Z, respectively, and these angles a and f3
were 1neasured at each contact. The direction of normals (Ni) measured were plotted on the
Schn1idt net for each section. Diagrams for two V-sections were rotated, transferred and
co1npiled into the Schmidt projection of the data obtained from the H-section (Turner and
Weiss, 1963). Distribution of the angular dispositions of normals N;. within the granular
assetnbly of sand can be easily estimated fron1 this con1piled Schmidt diagram.
The total number of normals within the angle a to a + da, f3 to f3 + df3 is represented
by
2M E(a, /3) sin f3dadf3 (1)
where E(a, {3) represents the probability density of point of contact and is considered
as a function of a and {3. Then, if an integration is performed from a = 0° to a = 360°,
{3 = 0° to f3 = 180°, E(a, f3) must satisfy the following equation.
S~ E(a, /3) sin {3dadf3 = 1 (2)
Since each contact has two normal directions which are opposite to each other (Nl and
N/·), E(a, {3) is equal to E(a + 1e, 1e- /3). It must also be noted that E(a, {3) can be regard-
ed to be independent of a, because the actual fabric shows axial symmetry having the axis
of symmetry parallel to the vertical direction Z. Then, equation (2) can be rewritten
as follows:

M = 4:rrM [~
loo
oo
E(f3) sin f3df3 + ~2oo E(/3) sin f3df3 + ... + ~goo
1(}0 aoo
E(/3) sin {3df3
J (3)

Let the total number of contact points (or contact surfaces) within the angle {3 from 0°

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 27

to 10° be Mh then

~
100

M 1 = 4;rM E((3) sin (3df3 (4)

O"

Thus the mean value of E(f3) within the angle 0° < (3 < 10° (or 170° < (3 < 180°) can
be represented as follows:
(5)
In the same way, we can calculate other mean values of E([3), i.e., E2((3), Ea(f3) • .. Eo(f3).
If the distribution of the angular dispositions of Ni throughout the angle 0 < (3 < 180°
is uniform, as in the case of an isotropic assembly, E(/3) must have a constant value: i.e.,
£ 1((3) = E2((3) = . . . = E9((3) = 1/47r. The relations between E(/3) and (3 of sands A, B,
C and D are shown in Fig. 12.
The dotted lines in Fig. 12 represent the theoretical lines calculated in the case of an iso-
tropi<.: assembly. The solid line which shows the distribution of Ni of sand A deviates
clearly from· the dotted line as follows:

0 < (3 < 50, or 130 < (3 ::;; 180

50 < (3 :::;;; 90, or 90 < (3 < 130

- (7) Sand A (2)5and 8

-
tt:!

ltJ 0.7 0.7

o· 90" o· 90"
13 !3

- (3) Sand C (4) Sand D

-
ltJ 0.7

o· 90" o· 90"
13 fj

Fig. 12. The function E ({:J) of sands

NII-Electronic Library Service

28 ODA

Consequently, it can easily be said that the three-dimensional distribution of normal direc-
tion (Ni) has a high concentration close to the vertical direction Z. Almost the same facts
are discovered in regard to sands B, C and D.
The relation between E(/3) and f3 of sand C compacted by the plunging method is shown
in Fig. 10-(3). The solid line deviates slightly from the dotted line as follows:
I
0 f3 < 40, or 140 < (3 < 180 E((3) < -4;--

40 < f3 s 90, or I 40 (3 90 E(f3) > ·!n

From Fig. I2-(3) and Fig. 10-(3) showing E(f3)-(3 relations of sand C, it is apparent that
the spatial distribution of normals N-& as well as the orientation of constituting particles
are different depending on the compaction method.

Anisotropy of Granular Fabric

Although it has been assumed that controlled pouring and compaction of sand produce
a uniform but anisotropic fabric, the nature and degree of anisotropy with respect to
granular fabric have hardly been understood. Kallstenius and Bergau (1961) have in-
vestigated the fabric of assemblages of glass balls which fell through air freely under the
gravity, and found that the most tetrahedral forms constructed by four adjoining balls within
the ball aggregate are not ideal tetrahedron but somewhat fiat-shaped ones, and the number
of grains in contact with vertical area are different from the number of grains in contact
with horizontal area. These facts mean that, even when spherical grains are used, an ani-
sotropic fabric of sand can be formed by a simple mechanism of aggregation of particles.
By the results obtained by the present author and Kallstenius and Vergau, it has become
clear that when sand grains are deposited in the gravity field irrespective of their shape
character, they tend to rest in a stable position relative to the forces acting upon them.
An anisotropic fabric of assembly must be due to this tendency. Experimental evidences
also show that the nature and degree of fabric anisotropy of sand are determined by the
shape characters of sand grains and by the way in which they are deposited.

EFFECTS OF INITIAL FABRIC ON THE RESULTS OF TRIAXIAL TEST

Testing Procedure
In order to make clear the effects of initial fabric on the shear strength and deformation
behaviour of granular sand, some tests were conducted by the following procedure with
sand specimens having different initial fabrics:
(1) Make the specimens having different values of the deviation angle (q;) between
the original horizontal plane and the direction of maximum principal stress (a1) (Fig. 13).
Two kinds of sand (sand B and sand D) are used. Sand B is chiefly composed of elongated
or flat-shaped particles, while sand grains of sand D are relatively close to sphere.
A metal cylindrical split mold assembly (5 em in internal diameter) was submerged un-
der water and inclined at the angle q; as shown in Fig. 14. Sand grains were slowly poured

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 29

Water

Split Mold
/
!f"
Fig. 13. Relation between the origi~
nal horizontal plane and the
maximum principal stress direc-
Horizon tal Table
tion Fig. 14. Forming of specimens having various angles tp;,

into the mold and the side wall of the mold was tapped sufficiently to make specimens of
desired initial void ratio. The angle <p in this study were taken to be 90°, 60°, 30° and 0°.
The water was frozen at -27°C, and the frozen specimen of sand (5 em in diameter and
10 em in height) was taken out from the split mold and trimmed by a cutter with a diamond
saw. In the following discussion, the specimens having the angle <p = 90°, 60°, 30° and
0° will be called 90- 60- 30- and 0-specimen, respectively.
(2) Cover the frozen specimen wholly with a rubber membrane and place it quickly
in the triaxial chamber. Low confining pressure of about 0.3 kg/cm 2 was applied to
strengthen the specimen until ice in it thawed completely. While the specimen was frozen

Fig. 15. The initial fabric of sand B

NII-Electronic Library Service

30 ODA

.__
0
.u
i."::
~~~--~----~----~---+----~

t1

Fig. 16. The initial fabric of sand D

thawed) its dimensional change was carefully measured with a dial gauge. Judging from and
the fact that the dimensional change was negligibly small (less than 1 %), it can be assumed
that the freezing of the interstitial water and melting of the interstitial ice would exert no
appreciable effect on the initial fabric of the sand. After the ice completely thawed and
temperature of the triaxial chamber became constant, confining pressure (<ls) was gradual-
ly increased to 0.5, 1.0 or 3.0 kgjcm 2, and a drained triaxial compression test was performed
by using the Bishop-type triaxial testing machine at desired constant confining pressure
with the strain rate of 0.2 %/min. The influence of friction of a loading piston, the constra-
int at the ends of specimen, non-uniform deformation and other minor error sources on
the test results are considered to be negligibly small.
The initial fabrics of sand specimens determined by the previously described methods
are shown in Figs. 15 and 16.
Test Results
Careful observations on the progressive deformation of sand specimens indicate that
neither shear plane nor shear zone was visible before the peak deviator stress was reached.
However, when some appreciable strain was added after the peak stress had passed, either
of these failure planes began to appear. No systematic preferred orientation of these
failure planes in regard to the original horizontal plane has been observed.
The relationships between stress-strain and volume change in a series of drained triaxial
compression tests on the specimens with the same initial void ratio and different angle <p
are shown in Fig. 17. At the same time, the similar relationships of the specimens pre-
pared at the identical angle <p but with different initial void ratios are also shown in Fig. 18.
These figures illustrate the effects of the initial void ratio and the angle <p on the stress-
strain and volume change characteristics. The following significant natures of the stress-
strain and volume change are found from these figures:

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 31

03 = 7.0 kg/em?.

·-
u

-
I...
Q,)

§
,......

-
~
0 0
Strain ( 11
/.)

(1) Sand B Specimen Initial Angle

Void Ratio cpo
(1) 0.722 90°
(2) 0.715 60°
(3) 0.718 30°
(4) 0.728 oo

(2) Sand D Specimen Initial

void Ratio
(1) 0.861 90°
(2) 0.854 60°
(3) 0.867 30°
(4) 0.860 oo
Fig. 17. Effect of angle rp on stress-strain and volume change curves

NII-Electronic Library Service

32 ODA

"'"'
-·-
~
c::
C\1
I...
......
V>s
0
'i:
......
Cb
E
-
~
::,

0
10
Strain
(1) Sand B Specimen Initial Angle
void Ratio t.po
(1) 0.675 90°
(2) 0.722 90°
(3) 0.792 90°

10 4

-'ll
~ /"'
...........
l
:.-------_._......__..._____

~
-
~
~

V)
V)
(b 2 /
;"/
.,/
,/'

,,.,. .;#/',
,..._.,.
...
........
.,.,:::........
.. 2 ..--~---- 3
_ ;::::.:.--------
1--.....

.;
1...
...... I
I P"
"-'"
.,. .,. ...

V) I if' ].,.·/
1... f/ ........
0
y
·- ,
.......
1'\t
£
:::.. .,."'.-
~,.........
//
..;""
;*""
2 ....................
,,,:_.,.-'*.,. 3
.,.,.......
,,_,:;~
Q
(b

to... ,.,, ~~ .. . .
0
- ,~""' 70

(2} Sand B Specimen Initial Angle

Void Ratio 'Po
(1) 0.650
(2). 0.728
(3) 0.777
Fig. 18. Effect of initial void ratio on stress-strain
and volume change curves

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 33

(1) There is a systematic effect of the angle 'P on the maximum deviator stress at
failure in sands Band D, although the effect in sand Dis not so conspicuous as in sand B.
(2) With a decrease in the angle 'P from goo to 0°, the brittle character of the stress-
strain curves decreases, the strain at failure increases and the tendency to dilate decreases.
(3) The stress-strain-volume change relations of dense sand prepared at 'P = 0° are
similar to those of loose sand prepared at 'P = goo.
Effect (If the Initial Fabric on the Characteristics of Deformation Behaviour
General stress-strain-volume change relations have already been described in the pre-
vious section. In this section, the effects of the initial fabric on deformation character
of granular sand will be discussed quantitatively. ·
Figs. 19 and 20 illustrate the relation between the secant deformation modulus at 50%.
strength (Eeo) and the initial void ratio of specimens treated in this paper. From these
figures it becomes clear that E 6o regularly decreases with decreasing cp value at a constant
initial void ratio. That is, among the specimens of the same initial void ratio, the 90-
specimen, in which the three-dimensional distribution of N.z has a high concentration close
to the vertical direction Z, possesses the most stable fabric. The ratio of the secant

~
~5
~
"'-....;

..C)
...._
>co4
luiJ)
V)

.23
::::J
"t:J
0
~
-2
!::
X
fU
u
~
!!= o·
(/)J

0~~~~--~-----~~--~
0.6 0.7 0.8
Initial Void
0 ... 90-specimen
e ... 60-specimen
1:::.. •• •30-specimen
x ... 0-specimen
Fig. 19. Relationship between Eso and
initial void ratio in sand B
0.9 7. 0
Ratio
0 ...90-specimen
e ... 60-specimen
1:::.. •• •30-specimen
x ... 0-specimen
Fig. 20. Relationship between Eso and intial
void ratio in sand D

NII-Electronic Library Service

34 ODA

defonnation lnodulus between90-specimen and 0-specimen is about two to three in densely

compacted sands Band D. Sand D which is composed of relatively spherical grains and
does not show statistically any preferred orientation of long axes has also a high value of
the ratio (about three). Consequently, it may be concluded that the initial fabric of granu-
lar sand represented by E({3) determines the behaviour of deformation in an early stage,
and that the orientation of particles does not affect directly the deformation behaviour
although it has some influence on the fabric.

Effects of the Initial Fabric on Shear Strength

Mobilized maximum stress ratio (a1/a3) is plotted against the initial void ratio in Fig.
21 for sand Band in Fig. 22 for sand D. From Fig. 21, it is clear that 90.. and 60-specimens
of sand B have more stable fabric in an early stage of deformation, and higher mobilized
stress ratio in later stages of deformation than 30.. and o. specimens of the san1e sand.

O·· 90 specimen
tt 60 specimen :specimen
lldJO specimen X specJm!'n
X·' 0 specimen ::: ::.pt'C!men
Suffix ~ spt'Ctmen
~
1 : Oj :: QSk
0
2 . ' :1.0 l
..... • )( oo
" : . =.w • ru ~.0 t---~·-1 ·· -~,---,-- o A "·
0
......
....
ill
Q::
Ill

~ 0.8
1 n1 tial V aid Ratio ii)-lO
Initial Void Ratio

Fig. 21. Relationship between mobilized stress Fig. 22. Relationship between mobilized stress
ratio at failure {al/as)t and initial void ratio at failure (at/<Ts)t and initial void
ratio in sand B ratio in sand D

In Fig. 22 showing the relation between a1ja8 and the initial void ratio of sand D, how-
ever, adas values of 90.. and 60.. specimens cannot be well separated from ada3 values of
other specimens of the same sand. Thus it can be said that the mobilized strength of dense
sand D is almost independent of their initial fabric characters, whereas close correlation
exists between the modulus of defonnation and the initial fabric character of dense sand
D as shown in Fig. 20.
The observations described above are explained as follows: When sand D which
cousists of relatively spherical particles was deformed, re..arrangement and re-orientation
of sand grains may occur more easily than in sand B having grains of flat or elongated
shape. Therefore, although at an earlier stage of deformation the internal fabric of sands
D formed with different tp values may have been different, the ultimate fabric at failure
point became very similar regardless of their values.
On the other hand, in sand B which consists of elongated particles and shows conspicuous
preferred orientation of long axes, the re-arrangement and re-orientation must not be so
easy as compared to the case of sand D. Therefore, the ultimate fabric at failure of

NII-Electronic Library Service

 FABRICS OF SAND 35

sand B must have become clearly different for different value of r.p.
The author has previously shown a statistically meaningful relation between the axial
ration and the ratio of deviator stress for 0-specimen to that for 90-specimen (Oda, 1970).
This means that the effect of the initial fabric on adaa must be, at least partially, determined
by the shape character of constituting grain particles.

CONCLUSIONS
(1) The characters of the initial fabric of granular sand are determined not only by the
shape of constituting grain particles but also by the manner in which they were deposited.
(2) The difference of initial fabrics of granular sands usually give great influences on the
mechanical properties such as mobilized strength, dilatancy rate and secant deformation
modulus at 50% strength. The particle configuration character (E(p)) is an important
fabric element to determine the mechanical properties of sands. The orientation of par-
ticles does not directly affect the mechanical properties of sands although it has some
influences on the determination of the function E(p).
(3) The specimen, in which a three-dimensional distribution of the normals to the
tangents has a peak close to the axial direction of the specimen, possesses more stable
fabric than other types of specimens.
In this paper, the author has dealt with some basic problems concerning the initial fabric
and its relation to the mechanical properties of granular sands. In the following paper,
the author will discuss some mechanisms controlling the fabric reconstruction in the
process of progressive deformation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to Professor Toru Onodera and Yotaro
Seki of the University of Saitama for their kind advice and critical reading of the manu-
script. The author also wishes to thank Prefessor Joji Kojima of Hiroshima University
and Professor Kenji Ishihara of Tokyo University for their critical reading of the manu-
script.

NOTATION
C. N. = average coordination number
E(a, {9) =probability density of contact
£1({9), E2({9) •.• , Eg(p) = average probability density of contact point within the limited
angle range
El5o = secant deformation modulus at 50% strength
e = void ratio
Gh G2 ... , G5 =constituting grain particles of sand
£1 = length of the apparent longest axis of a particle
£2 = length of the apparent shortest axis of a particle
M =total number of contacts

NII-Electronic Library Service

36 ODA

M 1, M 2 , ••• , M 9 = number of contacts within the limited angle range

N1. = normal to the tangent plane at the contact point P,
n =porosity
n = average axial ratio of constituting grains
Pi = contact point
X, Y, Z = reference axes
a, f' = angles defining the direction of N;,
r =angle between the tangent planes at the contact point and the hori-
zontal plane
8~, = angle between the apparent longest axis and the reference axis X
<p = deviation angle between the original horizontal plane and the direc-
tion of maximun1 principal stress
Tr:i = tangent plane at the point of contact
a1 = axial stress
as = confining pressure
fJ'I/ a8 = stress ratio
(a1/a8)1 = stress ratio at failure

REFERENCES
Bernal, J.D. and Mason, J. (1960): "Coordination of randomly packed spheres," Nature, Vol. 188,
pp. 910-911.
Brewer, R. (1964): Fabric and Mineral Analysis of Soils, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., pp. 129-158.
Curray, J. R. (1956): "The analysis of two-dimensional orientation data,'' Jour. Geol., Vol. 64, pp. 117-
131.
Field, W. G. (1963): ~'Towards the statistical definition of a granular mass/' Proc. 4th A. and N.Z. Conf.
on Soil Mech., pp. 143-148.
Kallstenius, T. and Bergau, W. (1961): "Research on the texture of granular masses," Proc. 5th Int. Conf.
Soil Mech. Found. Eng., Vol. 1, pp. 165-170.
Kolbuszewski, J. J. (1948): "An experimental study of the maximum and minimum porosities of sands,"
Proc. 2th Int. Conf. Soil Mech. Found. Eng., Vol. 1, pp. 158-165.
Oda, M. (1970): "Studies on anisotropy in granular sand," Report of Depart. Found. Eng. Faculty Sci.
Eng. Saitama Univ., Vol. 1-34.
Smith, W. 0., Foote, P. D. and Busany, P. F. (1929): ''Packing of homogeneous spheres~" Phys. Rev.,
Vol. 34, pp. 1271-1274.
Smith, W. 0. (1932): "Capillary flow through an ideal uniform soil," Physics, Vol. 3, pp. 139-146.
Turner, F. J. and Weiss, L. E. (1963): Structural Analysis of Metamorphic Tectonites, McGraw-Hill
Book Co., New York, pp. 194-255.
(Received November 6t 1971)

NII-Electronic Library Service