Experimental Study of the Transitional Mechanical Behavior Presented of Granite Residual Soil

The particle size distribution of the typical granite residual soil which usually has considerable contents of sand, indicates that the soil may have transitional behavior, then isotropic consolidation tests and shear tests of various stress paths were performed. Test results show that: the mechanical behavior of the granite residual soil can not be described by the critical state framework. The consolidation lines of soils with different initial void ratios in the v-lnp′ plane can not be come together to form the unique Normal Consolidation Line (NCL), and the unique Critical State Line (CSL) can not be identified neither during shearing. The states of soils in consolidation and shearing are dominated by the initial void ratio (initial density), and this domination could not be erased by high confining pressure or shearing stress, which is a typical transitional behavior. The consolidation lines and the corresponding critical state lines of soils with different initial void ratios in the v-lnp′ plane are parallel. The distance between each normal consolidation line and its corresponding critical state line is found to be fixed, and the distance is not influenced by initial void ratio.