Granular Materials
AimsBefore you startIntroductionTerzaghi's effective stress principleGround settlement and centrifuge modelling experimentsAngle of reposePrinciple of normalityYielding of disturbed saturated soils in triaxial stress testsOriginal Cam-Clay modelLiquefactionWet sand drying underfootSummaryQuestionsGoing furtherTLP creditsTLP contentsShow all contentViewing and downloading resourcesAbout the TLPsTerms of useFeedbackCredits Print this page
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Summary
After working through this teaching and learning package, you should:
- Understand the concept of dilatation
- Have a feeling for 'typical' angles of repose for granular materials
- Recognise how friction, cohesive forces and the shapes of grains all affect the angle of repose of a pile of granular material
- Be able to appreciate the various ways in which soil can fail in compression and how the choice of failure mode is a function of the water content of the soil
- Be able to recognise the factors which cause soil to fail catastrophically and flow like a liquid – the phenomenon of liquefaction
- Recognise that quicksand is dangerous, but that if you ever happen to fall into quicksand, you can reassure yourself that you will not be sucked beneath the surface.