Artificial soil development for geotechnical properties evaluation

Abstract

The hydraulic and mechanical properties of soils depend of physical and chemical interaction between particles. The artificial soil pretends to decouple the interparticle interaction effects. These material is obtained from sodium silicon dioxide can be used in the laboratory for modeling geotechnical problems. This paper presents an inert material development. Images of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical compositions of soil have been determined by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The materials designed have indices and physical properties equivalent to silty loess. Artificial and natural soils are compared in plasticity indices, particle size and maximum dry unit weight in Standard Proctor test. The mechanical characterization was made by one dimensional compression tests and hydraulic properties are tested. The potential of artificial soil material in geotechnical laboratory tests are discussed.