Predictive stress modeling of resilient modulus in sandy subgrade soils

Abstract

The mechanical properties of pavement materials are crucial to the design and performance of flexible pavements. One of the most commonly used measures of these properties is the resilient modulus (Er). Many different models were developed to predict the resilient modulus of coarse soils, which are based on the states of stresses and the physical and mechanical properties of the soil. The unconsolidated unsaturated drained cyclic triaxial tests were performed for three variously graded and three well-graded sand specimens to determine the resilient modulus, and to perform predictive modeling using the K-θ, Rahim and George, Uzan, and Universal Witczak models. Obtained Er values directly depended on the confining pressure and deviatoric stress values used during the test. The Octahedral Shear Stress (OSS) model, proposed by the authors of the paper, predicts the resilient modulus with a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.85 to 0.99. The advantage of the model is the use of small-scale data tables, meaning fixed K1 and K2 regression coefficients, and it can be assigned to a specific specimen type without the need to determine them using the specific deviatoric and confining stresses.