Effect of pore fluid on strength properties of transparent soil

A kind of new transparent soil, which is made of glass sand (also called as baked quartz) and pore fluid with the same refraction index, is used for geotechnical engineering visualization model tests. Based on the consolidated drained (CD) triaxial test method, the mechanical properties of transparent soil with different pore fluids (mixed oil, calcium bromide solution, sucrose solution and pure water) are investigated. The stress-strain curves, volume change and friction angles are measured and analyzed. The laboratory test results show that the mechanical properties of the transparent soil samples with different pore fluids are similar, while the values have some difference. Under the experimental conditions of this study, the strength of the transparent soil with sucrose solution pore fluid is the largest, at with mixed oil pore fluid is the smallest, and that with calcium bromide solution pore fluid is close to that with water pore fluid. © 2016, Editorial Office of Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering. All right reserved.