2008 Volume 18 Issue 3 Pages 166-181
It is necessary to evaluate shear strength of rock materials, which are major materials for a rockfill dam, considering the confining pressure dependency for the rationalized design and seismic performance evaluation of this type of dam. However, the triaxial compression test, which is the most common strength test for rockfill materials, has a problem in test precision under low confining pressure condition.
In this study, we carry out large-scale triaxial compression tests under low confining pressure, large-scale box shear tests, and laboratory and field surface sliding tests for rock materials. Based on results of these tests, we investigate the evaluation method of the shear strength of rockfill materials under low confining pressure condition. In addition, we discuss the setting method of the design strength of rock materials considering the confining pressure dependency.
