抄録
The effect of water on the mechanical properties of a quartz-rich sand is investigated by using the results obtained from high pressure triaxial tests on the sand in both dry and saturated states. It is shown that water increases the compressibility and decreases the shear strength of the sand under high pressures, and that these phenomena have a close relation with the activation of particle-crushing in the presence of water. The mechanism of the water action on the lowering of particle strength is investigated from a mechano-chemical viewpoint, and it is concluded that the water sensitivity of the sand is probably due to the surface energy change of cracks which would be produced in each particle under high stresses.
