Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development Vol.8.No.

4(2014)018

Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristic of

Soft Soil under Cyclic Loads *

LlU Jia-shun (xU*JrW!) " , , ZHANG Xiang-dong ('*[0]*) 1, ZHANG Hu-wei (51Em.1'11) 2

(1. School of Civil Engineering and Transportation. Liaoning Technical University. Fuxin Liaoning 123000. China;
2. Depar tment of Architectural Economics. Liaoning Jianzhu Architecture Vocational University. Liaoyang Liaoning 111000. China)

Abstract: To study the change law of the dynamic characteristics of soft soil, particularly the inadequate bearing capacity of
highway and railway roadbeds induced by traffic loads, the soft soil in Yingkou area was taken as the research object. A series
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of dynamic strength and dynamic modulus tests were performed under different dynamic stress amplitude amplitudes, consolida
tion ratios, confining pressures, dynamic stress amplitudes, consolidation confining pressures, consolidation ratios, vibration
frequencies, soft soil dynamic strains, dynamic strengths, dynamic backbone curves, dynamic moduli, and dynamic damping
ratios. The results show that (1) Yingkou soft soil has a significant structural property. A strain turning point was found in the
Ed - N and dynamic curves. The deformation of soil increases rapidly when the strain is larger than this turning point. (2) Dy
namic strength increases as consolidation confining pressures increase, but the influence of consolidation ratio and vibration fre
quencies on soft soil dynamic strength is not limited to an increase or decrease. (3) The dynamic mooulus increases as consoli
dation confining pressure, consolidation ratio, and vibration frequencies increase, whereas dynamic damping ratio decreases with
increasing pressure and ratio but increases with increasing vibrational frequency. The above results provide a theoretical basis for
studying the insufficient bearing capacity of highway and rail roadbeds caused by long-term cyclic loads.
Key words: road engineering; soft soil; cyclic loads; dynamic strength; dynamic backbone curve; dynamic modulus; dynamic
damping ratio; strain turning point

characteristics of soil according to a large amount of ex

1 Introduction
The problem of soft soil foundation settlement
caused by long cyclic load has gained considerable atten
tion and has become the focus of academic research with
the rapid development of highway, railway, and city
track traffic engineering. Long cyclic loads are different
from seismic load in that the effect numbers often reach
up to hundreds of thousands of times, which results in a
decrease in soil strength and causes inadequate founda
tion bearing or even failure. Thus, a more comprehen
sive research on the dynamic characteristics of soft clay
under long cyclic loads is necessary[l 2J.
Dynamic strength, cumulative plastic defonnation,
dynamic modulus of elasticity, and dynamic damping ra
tio under long cyclic load are the main focus when stud
ying soil dynamic characteristics. In the 1960s, Hardin
studied the influencing factors that affect the dynamic
perimental data obtained from improved dynamic triaxial
equipment. Hardin also established the calculation for
mula for soil dynamic shear modulus and damping
ratio[3 5J YASHUARA K[6 7J, FUJIKAWA[8J, and
CHAI[9J et al. examined the dynamic modulus, dynamic
damping ratio, and dynamic cumulative plastic defonna
tion of soft soil.
ZHANG[lOJ and HUANG[ll 12 J studied the cumula
tive plastic strain development pattern of saturated soft
clay under traffic load by using the undrained dynamic
triaxial test. The established the stability cumulative
plastic strain equations of saturated soft clay. Through a
series of dynamic triaxial tests, the dynamic stress-strain
backbone curves and dynamic characteristics parameters
were obtained by DING[13J , who also investigated the in
fluence of soil structure on dynamic parameters. LEI[14J
researched investigated dynamic stress and dynamic

Manuscript received June 27, 2014

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50978131); the Specialized Research Fund for Doctoral Pro
gram of Higher Education (No. 20112121110004) ; and Liaoning Province High School Talent Support Program (No. 2008RC23)
E-mail address: liujiashunOOO@163. com

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 LIU lia-shun, et al: Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristic of Soft Soil under Cyclic wads 19

strain relations of structural clay under traffic loads. The
research results showed that structural muddy-silt clay
has a critical dynamic stress ratio and vibration frequency
threshold value. The change in dynamic elastic modulus
and dynamic shear modulus of consolidation pressure was
shown to have a turning point under the half sine wave
type condition. LIU[15 16J studied sub grade deformation
characteristics, calculated the theoretical relationship be
tween settlement and time, and provided a soil constitu
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structures built on a foundation of soft soil often exhibit
large settlement and insufficient bearing capacity[14J.
Yingkou soft soil is a typical cenozoic quaternary
loose accumulation layer. This type of soil is primarily
composed of artificial soil, cohesive soil, and weathered
granite in the exploration range. The soil layers from top
to bottom include : (1) Plain fill, which ranges in ap
pearance from tawny to puce, is primarily composed of
cohesive soil and weathered rock debris and misdistribu

tive equation and a subgrade calculation model. The dy
namic stress attenuation curves were obtained through re
search on the elastic deformation and plastic deformation
properties of subgrade under train dynamic load.
The above research results serve as a basis for fur
ther research on soft soil dynamic characteristics. How
ever, these studies remain in the exploratory stage. Mo
reover, the research results are inconsistent[17 18J. This
study takes the soft soil in Yingkou area as the research
object. The influence of dynamic amplitude, consolida
tion confining pressure, consolidation ratio, vibration fre
quency, and vibration values on dynamic strain, dynam
ic strength, dynamic backbone curves, dynamic modu
Ius, and dynamic damping ratio is examined through a
series of dynamic elasticity modulus and dynamic strength
tests under different dynamic amplitude, consolidation
confining pressure, consolidation ratio, and vibration
conditions. This work provides a basis for the insufficient
bearing capacity of highway and railway subgrade caused
by the change in the mechanical property of soft soil un
der cyclic loads.
tion. The exposed thickness ranges from 0.4 m to 2. 2
m. (2) Muddy clay, which ranges in appearance from
tawny to bronze, has a slight gloss but no shaking shock
responses. The exposed thickness ranges from O. 8 m to
6. 3 m, with continuous distribution that has undistribut
ed thickness. (3) Silt sand ranges in appearance from
tawny to charcoal gray and is dense and moist. The ex
posed thickness ranges from O. 5 m to 2. 6 m. (4) Silty
fine sand ranges in appearance from ash black to buff,
and is slightly less dense, saturated, and composed of
15% clay. The intermediate density layer is below 12 m
with a thickness of 3. 2 m; (5) Silty clay appears tawny
and can be characterized as soft plastic. The thickness
ranges from 3. 8 m to 4. 1 m, with continuous distribu
tion. The layer thickness does not significantly vary.
3 General situation of the test
3. 1 Soil specimen
The undisturbed soil samples used in these tests
were taken from Binhai Road in the Beihai new district.
The basic physical and mechanical parameters of the soil

2 Engineering properties of soft soil

are shown in table 1.
Tab. 1 Physical-mechanical properties of soft soil in

Fine-grained soils with natural void ratio (e) that is Yingkou region

equal to or greater than one and with natural moisture Moisture liquid Coefficient of Friction
Density liquidity Void Cohesion
contents greater than the liquid limit (cuL) are called soft contents limit compressibility
(kP,)
angle
(glom') index ratio
soil, which includes muck and mucky soil, turf, and cu (% ) (%) (MPa -1 ) (0)
77 40.31 30.2 0.81 1.09 0.69 6.09 20.88
mulosol. This type of soil is easily found in the Bohai
Gulf, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Jiangsu, Table 1 shows that Yingkou soft soil is characterized
and Zhejiang in the Fujian coastal region in China. by high water content that is larger than the liquid limit,
The mechanical behavior of soft soil differs from that high void ratio, high compressibility, and low shear
of clay in terms of its special sedimentary environment, strength. The soil belongs can be characterized as qua
complex material composition, and high moisture con ternary soft soil with poor physics mechanical property.
tent. Soft soil is often characterized by low strength, high 3.2 Test conditions

creep properties, and high sensitivity. The buildings and The diameter of the soil specimen is 39. 1 mm, and

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 20 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development

the height is 80 mm. The DDS -70 microcomputer con

trol electromagnetic vibration triaxial apparatus is used in 5
:
40kPa . ...I
.20kPa .
)( . '
4 .
the tests. The load method is stress control shape. )(60kPa : )(
3 ...80kPa. )(
The cyclic load equivalent was converted into a half .100kPI;l ... )(


...,
-
..
2 . ...

_.
..
.}- 1)(;"-
sine wave load according to the research results from LI
xl".$
111. .- . .......
'1iiiH.I .
ANG[19] . The vibration frequencies are taken as 1, 2 O "' __ __ __ ___

1 10 100 1 000 10 000

Hz, and 5 Hz. N(times)
(a) <130=50kPa
To simulate the cyclic load influence on the founda
tion soil, dynamic stress amplitudes of 20, 40, 60, 80 " 5
..
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.20kPa
.
kPa, and 100 kPa are used in the dynamic strength test. 1S
4
:m
"' .80kPa .
- " 3 .100kPa
Moreover, the consolidation confining pressures are 50, " "
" rtI'
....
2
g
100 kPa, and 150 kPa. :. ,('"
..
..
"' : : ::.... <X x:... . . .....
0

f-< .
The anisotropic consolidations with consolidation ra .. : : . ..- .
0 : ; ; ,...
tio equal to 1.5 or 2 and the isotropic consolidations with
1 10 100 1 000 10000
N(times)
consolidation ratio equal to 1 were adopted in the dynam (b) <13c=100kPa

ic modulus tests. The dynamic loads are from 25 kPa to .

" 5 .20kPa

55 kPa, divided into 15 levels. Vibration tests are con 040kPa

. .60kPa.
4
ducted during each stage while dynamic load size remains
1S
,, :!8k :

I .'
oJ" 3 ..-
.

'
.

unchanged. u " 2

.

g " .
.
To eliminate the influence of pore pressure, the :J' "". . ... ..,.
0

'" III ........

.. . . ..
drain valve quickly opens and closes alternately after 0
10 100 1 000 10 000
each level of dynamic load. N(times)
Dynamic stress and dynamic strain relationship (c) <130=150kPa

curves during each level of vibration for 10 numbers were Fig. 1 Curves between dynamic strain vs. vibration nmnbers

measured during the test. The unconsolidated-undrained

test method is used in this study because saturated soft
soil has no time to discharge water during single cyclic
loads[20 21]
4 Analysis on experimental results
4. 1 Dynamic deformation characteristics
The curves for dynamic strain and the vibration
numbers of Yingkou soft soil under different confining
pressure conditions are showed in figure 1. The specimen
failure criterion is E
d
equal to 5% .
Figure 1 shows that dynamic strain increases as vi
bration numbers increase. The growth rate of dynamic
strain is small during the initial vibration phase and then
gradually increases until the soil specimen is damaged. A
larger dynamic stress amplitude makes the growth rate
more obvious.
This phenomenon occurs because the vibration load
effect on the soil continuously damages the structure of
soft soil. Moreover, higher moisture contents facilitate
connection and friction between soil particles, which are
then weakened. The self-healing function generated by
confining pressures is insufficient to compensate for the
strength loss which caused by the dynamic loading.
Thus, soil samples are rapidly destroyed.
A strain turning point ( Etp) is observed. The dy
namic axial strain increases rapidly when the strain or the
vibration number reaches a certain value. The strain cor
responding to the turning point is definitely a failure
strain [21 J. The research results show that the turning
point is not obvious at a low dynamic stress. Conversely,
the turning point is obvious at a high dynamic stress.
Figure 1 also shows that the turning point and the
failure strain vibration numbers differ under different con
fining pressure conditions. The turning point emerge ear
lier and vibration numbers reach the failure strain less of
ten when the confining pressure under the same dynamic
stress conditions is small. The patterns of the curves dif
fer with different dynamic stress amplitudes.

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 LIU lia-shun, et al: Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristic of Soft Soil under Cyclic wads 21

The increase velocity of dynamic strain is small 4.2 Dynamic strength characteristics

when the dynamic stress amplitude is small. A power
function relationship exists between the dynamic strain
and vibration numbers. The soil is not damaged until the
vibration number reaches 10 000. The increase velocity
of dynamic strain is rapid when the dynamic stress ampli
tude is large, such that the dynamic strain and vibration
numbers have an exponential function relationship. The
vibration times that result in soil failure are smaller when
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To study the shear strength change of soft soil under
long-term cyclic load, the curves of dynamic strength vs.
failure vibration times when dynamic strain is equal to
5% are obtained according to the curves of dynamic
strain vs. the vibration numbers under different test con
ditions. That is, Td vs. 19 Nf curves. Figure 2 shows the
dynamic shear strength curves of Yingkou soft soil. The
curves are obtained through the dynamic strength test un

the dynamic stress amplitude is smaller and the confining der different consolidation ratio, confining pressure, and
pressure is larger. vibration frequency conditions.

10 100 1 000 10 000

N(times)
(c) kc----c2

Fig.2 Td vs. 19 Nr curves

Figure 2 shows that the dynamic shear strength de bration frequency, can be obtained by performing regres
creases as vibration number Increases. The dynamic sion analyses on the data in table 2.
strain and vibration numbers exhibit a negative power The above factors can be divided by the maximum
function relationship: value, such that the various factors fall within the range
Td = AN B , (1) of the 0 - 1 interval. Thus, the influence of the above
where, Td is dynamic shear strength; N refers to the vi factors on dynamic shear strength can be intuitively ex

bration numbers; and A and B are the experimental pa amined. According to equations (2) and (3) :

rameters shown in table 2. k 3

A 65.737 + 1. 153 --
, + 9. 846 --
(]" , - O. f '
623 .-
Jmax
=

kcmax (j 3cmax
Tab.2 Experimental parameters of dynamic shear

strength curves
RZ = 0.87, (2)
kc (j3c
Confining The dynamic B = 0.174 + O. 024 ... - O. 038 -- - O. DOl
Consolidation Frequency L (j 3cmax
A B
"aA
pressure strength when
ratio (H,)
N = 104 (kPa)
RZ = 0. 95. (3)
50 76.27 0.148 19.55 the dynamic shear strength formula of Yingkou soft soil
100 2 72. 09 O. 157 18.48 can be obtained by substituting equations (2) and (3)
150 5 70.48 O. 175 18.07
into equation (1) :
kc (j3c
1.5 50 2 77.69 O. 153 19.91 Td = (65.737 + 1. 153 ._
... + 9. 846 -- -
k"aA (j 3cmax
1.5 100 5 72.26 O. 162 18.52
kc 0" 3c L
38
) N (0.174+0.024kcrn"" 0.0 0"3 0.OO12fma)
1.5 150 71.41 O. 181 18.30 0.623 f crn"" . (4)
imax
2 50 5 78.69 O. 163 20.17
Equation (4) shows that the dynamic shear strength
2 100 72.32 O. 168 18.54
increases as the confining value increases because soft
2 150 2 71. 06 O. 185 18.21
soil is compact. The friction and connection effect be
The empirical formula of A and B, which relate to tween soil particles is enhanced. Thus, the failure effect
the consolidation ratio, confining pressure, and the vi- on the soil aroused by the dynamic loads is reduced,

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 22 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development

whereas the soil shear strength is increased. However,
the dynamic shear strength change tendency with the
consolidation ratio and vibration frequency is contradicto
ry. Equation (1) shows that the dynamic shear strength
increases with A but decreases with B.
tions (2) and (3) show that A and R increase as confi
ning ratio increases but decrease as vibration frequency
decreases.
The above results show that detennining how consol
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effect on the dynamic strength of soft soil. Vibration fre
quency has the least effect.
To study the dynamic shear strength of soft soil un
der long-tenn dynamic load, dynamic shear strength was
However, equa obtained according to equation (4) when vibration num
bers are equal to 10 000. The calculation results are
shown in table 2.
The calculation results show that the dynamic
strength of Yingkou soft soil is small at approximately

idation ratio and vibration frequency affect shear strength 20 kPa under long - tenn dynamic load with vibrations
is difficult. This finding shows that the effect of consoli equal to 10 000. Thus, the bearing capacity must be
dation ratio and vibration frequency on soil is not always considered when soil is taken as railway or expressway
limited to an increase or decrease. Consolidation ratio subgrade.
and vibration frequency have a critical value. The dy 4.3 Dynamic backbone curves

namic shear strength of soft soil increases or decreases The dynamic backbone curve is the most important
when the value is less than the critical value. Mean detail that represents the dynamic constitutive relation of
while, the dynamic shear strength of soft soil decreases soft soil. This curve is also the basis for analyzing dy
or increases when the value is larger than the critical val namic instability and for studying dynamic modulus and
ue. Reference [23] shows that the consolidation ratio al dynamic damping ratio.
so has a critical value. Meanwhile, reference [14 ] The dynamic backbone curve model includes the hy
shows that vibration frequency has a critical value. perbolic model proposed by Hardin et aI, the Matasovic
Parameters A and B in equation (1) can be exam Vucetic model, the Martineed-Davidenkov modified mod
ined on the basis of the extent of the dynamic shear stress el, and the Pyke model, among others[3,18] . However,
of such factors as consolidation ratio, consolidation confi the Hardin hyperbolic model is the most frequently used.
ning pressure, and vibration frequency. Moreover, the That is,
extent of the dynamic shear stress of the above factors can
be obtained according to equations (5) and (6) , (7)
aA aA
= 1. 153 , = 9. 846, = - O. 623 (5) where, tT d is the dynamic stress; Ed is the dynamic
ak, aif3, aj
aR = 0. 024,- aR = - O. aR strain; and a and b are the parameters.
k 038, --;-;: = - O. DOl 2. (6)
a c atT3c a) Figure 3 shows the dynamic backbone curves of
Equations (5) and (6) show that confining pres- Yingkou soft soil under different vibration frequency and
sure, followed by consolidation ratio, has the maxImum consolidation ratio conditions.

......0",0--.150kPa,f- -5 Hz
___0'0=100kPa.,/'=2 Hz
.......0 j,=50 kPa.j'=l Hz
45
P- 10
35
. 20 +0"3c=l 50kPa,j'=l Hz -+-0"3,,'----150kPaJ---2 Hz
1'i -III- 0"3c=l 00kPa,j'=5 Hz -II-(J":'c=100 kPa,i=l Hz
l -.t.- 0", --50kPa,j-"2 Hz --6-0":'c---50kPa.f5 .Hz
v
5 v

[.S O "--------- [.S O"--------

o 2 3 4 5 0 2 ,) 4
The dynamic strain (%) The dynamic strain (%) The dynamic strain (%)
(a) ke,----l (b) kc.-----1.5 (C) kc.-----'],

Fig. 3 Dynamic stress-strain curves of Yingkou soft soil

Figure 3 shows that the dynamic strain of Yingkou ever, the dynamic strain changes rapidly according to dy
soft soil changes minimally during the initial stage. How- namic load time because of the decrease in connection

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 LIU lia-shun, et al: Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristic of Soft Soil under Cyclic wads 23

and friction strength, as well as the damage to the soil The linear regression equation of the dynamic back
structure, which eventually results in failure strain. bone curves of parameters a and b, which relate to con
The dynamic backbone curves of Yingkou soft soil solidation ratio, confining pressure, and vibration fre
exhibit an obvious turning point in figure 3. The dynamic quency, are obtained through the regression analysis of
strain increases quickly when the strain is larger than the the data in table 3, based on which we derive equations
turning point strain. The soil structure collapses as a re (8) and (9).
sult of damage after this time. Experimental data analysis a = 0.063 6 - O. 007 3kc - O. 000 2 (T3c - O. 001 9/,
shows that larger confining pressures and consolidation R
Z
= O. 95 , (8)
ratios result in earlier turning points. A smaller vibration b = 0.312 7 - O. 025 Ik, - O. 000 2 lT3, - O. 002 9f,
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frequency results in an earlier turning point. R

Z
= 0.90, (9)
The test results show that the dynamic backbone where, kc is the consolidation ratio; (T3c I S the confining
curves of Yingkou soft soil follow the Hardin hyperbolic pressure; and / is the vibration frequency.
model. The parameters a and b are obtained by using the The equation of the dynamic backbone curves was
lsqcurvefit function in Matlab on the basis of the regres obtained by substituting equations (8) and (9) into e
sion analysis of experimental data. The results are shown quation (7).
in table 3. 4. 4 Characteristic of dynamic modulus
Tab.3 Experimental parameters of dynamic stress The dynamic modulus (Ed) is the most important
strain curves
parameter for calculating and analyzing soil dynamics.
a b R' Ed=( MPa)
This factor is also the essential dynamic parameter for the
50 0.048 2 0.273 9 0.998 5 20.75
seismic response analysis of soil and foundation and is
100 2 0.029 9 0.268 0 0.977 1 33.44
necessary for seismic safety evaluation [22J. The dynamic
150 5 0.018 8 0.241 8 0.989 9 53.19
modulus can be obtained using equation (10) according
1.5 50 2 0.037 1 0.259 6 0.999 3 26.95
to Hook's Law combined with equation (7) :
I
1.5 100 5 0.024 5 0.249 1 0.999 6 40.82
lTd
Ed = - = (10)
1.5 150 0.025 4 0.237 1 0.999 1 39.37 Ed a + bEd '
2 50 5 0.031 2 0.232 8 0.996 7 32.05 where Ed is the dynamic elastic modulus.
2 100 0.027 5 0.243 9 0.998 1 36.36 Figure 4 shows the Ed vs. Edcurves of Yingkou soft
2 150 2 0.016 2 0.231 6 0.992 1 61.73 soil under different experiment conditions.

60
+
;;; 60
. UJ:-----150kPa,j---1
- liz
;;; 60
eo _ 0"3,.'----150kPaJ---5 1-Iz
50 SO
_ _

6 )0 -11- 0":'c=100kPa,i=2 Hz _____ u)0----- 100kPa,j----5 liz

.2 40 -A-- 0":'c---50kPa.fl _Hz .8 40 .t...----A- (i3c=.'I0kPa,j=2 Hz .8 40
.
0
30 .
o \!3" . 30
9
E 20
. . 2 = 20
10 ::.: , 'S In
ri c
0 -""""_a.
L::!!111....
1 f2,;a 0 '=='=
"-lo-t
.001 10
_ "

0.00] 0.01 0.] 0.01 0.1 0.00] 0.01 0.1 10

.c
a

f-- The dynamic stDlin (%) The dynamic strain (%) The dynamic strain (%)
(b)kc=l (b)k,=1.5 (C)kc=2

Fig.4 Ed vs. Sd curves of Yingkou soft soil

Figure 4 shows that the dynamic elastic modulus de
creases as dynamic strain increases but increases with in
creasing consolidation confining pressures, consolidation
ratio, and vibration frequency. The dynamic elastic mod
ulus attenuates rapidly during the initial stage. The dy
namic elastic modulus significantly varies under different
confining pressures. Vibration loads break the primary
soil structure, thus increasing soil defonnation. The dy
namic elastic modulus attenuates gradually when the de
fonnation reaches a certain strain value. The effect of
confining pressures is not as obvious as that in the initial
stage. The dynamic elastic modulus attenuates nearly to

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 24 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development

o when the soil specimen reaches the failure criteria and convenience, l iEd is used as shown in equation (11).
appears as shear failure. 1 "d
- = - = (0. 063 6 - O. 007 3k, - O. 000 2<T3, -
The accurate maximum value of the dynamic elastic Ed lTd
modulus cannot be detennined through the dynamic triax O. DOl 9f) + (0. 312 7 - o. 025 Ik, - o. 000 2<T3, -
ial tests because of the restriction of the experimental ap
0. 002 9f)"d (11)
paratus. Thus, the dynamic elastic modulus was taken as
The effect of low confining pressure, consolidation
the maximum dynamic elastic modulus according to the
ratio, and vibration frequency on dynamic elastic modu
mathematical concept of the limit when the dynamic
lus can be detennined and is favorable for soil dynamic
strain tends to O. Equation (10) shows that E elm" is
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equal to l/a. Ed is equal to 0 when the dynamic strain
tends to infinity. The soil structure is then regarded as
completely damaged. The values of the Edmaxare shown in
table 3.
Table 3 shows that the Edill" of soft soil is propor
tional to the consolidation ratio, confining pressure, and
vibration frequency because Yingkou soft soil has a very
obvious structural property. The particles of soft soil
slip, and the pores are compacted under the action of
large initial shear stress. This condition causes the skele
ton defonnation of soft soil to be more stable, which indi
cates that deformation is enhanced regardless of increases
in confining pressure or consolidation ratio owing to the
increase in dynamic elastic load.
The Ed vs. Ed equation can be obtained by substitu
ting equations (8) and (9) into equation (10). For
analysis.
4. 5 Characteristic of dynamic damping ratio
The dynamic damping ratio (Ad) is an important
parameter for measuring the energy absorption capabili
ties of soft soil. Ad is the ratio between the damping coef
ficient and critical damping coefficient and is typically
calculated by using equation (12).
AL
A = (12)
4'JTAT'
where, AL is the area of stress vs. strain hysteresis loop;
and AT is triangle area of the line that links the center
point of hysteresis loop, the line between the maximum
point of the stress and the strain, and the strain axis.
Figure 5 shows the dynamic damping ratio curves
of Yingkou soft soil under different experiment condi
tions.

The dymllTl!c strain (%) The dymm!c strain (%)

(a)kG=l (b) /{',=1.5 (C) k,=2

Fig.5 Ad vs. Bd curves of Yingkou soft soil

Figure 5 shows that the Ad of Yingkou soft soil ran
ges from the 0. 05 to 0. 45. Ad decreases as confining
pressures and consolidation ratio increase but Increases
as vibration frequency increases. The dynamic damping
ratio represents the energy wastage of the soft soil under
the action of dynamic load. The particles of soft soil be
come more compact when confining pressure and consoli
dation ratio increase. Meanwhile, the wave propagation
path increases but energy wastage is reduced [21J , which
indicates that the dynamic damping ratio is also reduced.
However, increases in vibration frequency result in a de
crease in the time for recoverable defonnation and an in
crease in energy wastage, such that the damping ratio in-
creases.
5 Conclusions
A series of dynamic strength and dynamic modulus
tests was conducted using Yingkou soft soil as the re-

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.) 2014.8:18-26.

 LIU lia-shun, et al: Experimental Study on the Dynamic Characteristic of Soft Soil under Cyclic wads 25

search object. The main conclusions are as follows : shows that the dynamic modulus increases as damping
(1) The curves for dynamic strain and vibration ratio decreases. Both dynamic modulus and
numbers show that the dynamic strain of Yingkou soft soil dynamic damping ratio increase as vibration frequency
Increases as vibration numbers increase. Moreover, Increases.
growth is minimal during the initial stage. Growth rate
References
then increases gradually until the soil structure is dam
aged. A larger dynamic stress amplitude makes the [1J ZHANG Yong. Deformation Characteristics of Wuhan Soft
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( 2) The dynamic strength decreases as vibration
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(4) The dynamic modulus test results show that the
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to infinity. The soil structure is then regarded as com
pletely damaged. Moreover, the Ed vs. Ed
Yingkou soft soil is obtained.
(5) The structural characteristics of Yingkou soft
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