Performance And Check-out Verification Testing Of A New True Triaxial Apparatus Using Partially Saturated Silty Sand

A stress-controlled, flexible boundary, true triaxial (cubical) testing apparatus has been developed to test 3-inch cubical specimen of partially saturated soil under different moisture contents and for a wide range of multiaxial stress paths. A series of HC, CTC, TC, TE, and SS tests were conducted in order to perform a thorough performance and check-out verification testing of the newly developed device by investigating the multiaxial stress-strain response of partially saturated silty sand specimens artificially prepared in the laboratory. The development of the apparatus, specimen preparation process, test procedure, and the corresponding validation of its suitability for testing partially saturated sandy soils are described. In this work, specimens were prepared using a dual-mesh pluviation technique at four different moisture contents: w = 2.0, 4.5, 5.3, and 6.1%. In all cases, initial total soil suction was induced and found to exert a paramount influence on the stress-strain-strength behavior of partially saturated silty sand.