Creep testing on different soils to be used as fill material

Abstract

The aim of this study is started with investigating the optimum backfill material to be used on a geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining structures by means of creep tests, where at some point it turns out to be understanding creep testing and by using the experimental data, investigating some of the properties of soil creep and some factors like time and stress levels which effects creep behaviour on different type of soils. This study is dealt at laboratory under drained conditions on disturbed clays with high and low plasticity and also greywackes obtained from a construction site in İstanbul. For low plasticity soil kaolinite is used and for high plasticity soil kaolinite is mixed with bentonite under equal proportions to obtain samples. Soils that are compacted under their optimum water contents, consolidated for 28 days. Different loading is applied after the evalution of failure loads for each type of soils by breaking numerous samples on the same consolidation device. Daily data is recorded for vertical deformations and axial strain versus time curves are plotted in accordance with various ASTM standart test methods annexed in the thesis. As a conclusion, rate of settlement of three different types of soils are investigated throughout creep tests and evaluations with comparisons are included within the results of the thesis.