Abstract
The explanation is performed about the modified triaxial apparatus which can independently control three principal stresses. This apparatus can generate different principal stresses in the cubic specimen by means of the loading system placed in the conventional triaxial chamber. By using this apparatus, the drained shearing tests are carried out under general stress conditions including the repeated loading and the test results are shown. The used material is sandy soil called Toyoura sand. The numerical experiments are also carried out by applying the mechanical model which has been proposed by the author (Kitamura, 1981 a, b) to the mechanical behaviours of particulate material. The results of numerical experiments are compared with the stress-strain relations of Toyoura sand under general stress conditions. From the comparison of these results, it clear that the proposed model can follow the mechanical behaviours of particulate material by using several model parameters, which reflect the mechanical properties at the particle scale, when the energy transferred into or out the specimen, the initial void ratio and the distribution of contact angles are known. Thus, it may be concluded the proposed model is a unified, simple and comprehensive one that can express the various mechanical behaviours of particulate material.
