Ronald Chaney

• Doctor of Engineering
• Humboldt State University

This work was conducted under the sponsorship of Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. The opinions findings, and conclusions expressed in this report are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the project sponsor.

A series of resonant column tests on sediments from offshore Haifa, Israel are presented in this paper. Samples were obtained from both the Akhziv submarine canyon and the undisturbed slope located on the continental terrace of Northern Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean using a gravity corer in 59 to 699 m of water depth. The continental shelf of...

The dual-equilibrium desorption (DED) model was introduced in 2002 illustrating the apparent biphasic nature of desorption of contaminants from soil. This model was applied to a gasoline fueling station investigation in northwestern California in which it was tested against empirical data for dissolvedphase gasoline constituents in groundwater in t...

Marine pollution has received considerable attention during the past few years as the news media has focused on such topics as contaminated seafoods, algae blooms, fish and mammal kills, and dirty beaches. The source of these pollution problems are many and include: sewage outfalls, industrial discharges, storm runoff from agricultural lands and me...

The verification of the cleanup of dune sands from a dissolved phase petroleum hydrocarbon plume at an active service station site undergoing ozone treatment Is being accomplished through soil and groundwater sampling. We hope to use modeling by the dual-equilibrium desorption (DED) model in order to determine when remedial goals negotiated with th...

This paper reports on the potential performance of earthfill and tailings dams, and other saturated earthen structures, subjected to blast vibrations. Relationships between explosive-induced residual pore pressure increase and crest settlement versus peak particle velocity are presented. Eight explosive tests, conducted on a 2.25-m-high dam constru...

A triaxial apparatus was modified and developed for performing shearing-infiltration tests under saturated and unsaturated conditions. Miniature pore-water pressure transducers were installed at different heights of the soil specimen for pore-water pressure measurement. Two different types of miniature pressure transducers were used, and problems a...

This paper presents experimental data concerning the lateral earth pressures acting against a small-scale retaining wall, with a backfill consisting of waste foundry sand (WFS) mixtures. The instrumented retaining-wall facility at Dongeui College in Korea was used in the testing. Two different testing methods were employed in this study: the contro...

A limited amount of data exist on the shear strength properties of municipal solid waste. Similar to the soil strength parameters, the data on wastes are reported in terms of a cohesion intercept and an angle of internal friction. Most often the strength parameters reported are for the maximum values mobilized in laboratory testing. Recent state-of...

Influence of layering and presence of rigid boundary in the soil mass on natural frequency and resonant amplitude are studied experimentally by conducting model block vibration tests in vertical mode. Tests are conducted on different layered beds prepared in a tank using a model footing. A Lazan type mechanical oscillator is used for inducing vibra...

A new technique is presented for the simulation in a centrifuge of the excavation and lining of a model tunnel. It involves the use of a polystyrene foam core that is placed tightly inside the tunnel lining and that can be dissolved using an organic solvent. This technique is an improvement over other contemporary methods of modeling tunnel constru...

This technical note examines the difficulty of measuring specific gravity and estimating void ratio in pumice because of its vesicular nature and soft grains. Pumice particles each contain a dense network of fine holes, some of which may be interconnected and open to the surface, while others are isolated inside the particle. This paper examines di...

In foundation engineering, due to the complexity of the problems investigated, the need for laboratory testing of prototype models arises. The results of these tests are usually utilized to validate theories, or to develop empirical formulae for design purposes. The success in obtaining good predictions from these theories and empirical formulae li...

In a consistent, coupled approach to surface wave testing, experimental dispersion and attenuation curves should be both measured and inverted simultaneously. This paper proposes a new procedure based on displacement transfer functions in which dispersion and attenuation data are derived simultaneously (i.e., coupled) from a single set of measureme...

This paper describes a device that can accurately measure the small strain behavior of geomaterials in the triaxial apparatus. It makes use of two miniature submersible linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) mounted on a pair of yokes which clamp onto the soil specimen. A highly stable, low noise, custom designed signal conditioning syst...

Raw sludge from a water treatment plant and pulverized fuel ash (PFA) from a coal-fired power plant are normally considered to be waste. The raw sludge is usually soft and weak, and takes a large area for storage if stockpiled on open ground, or requires a heavy dam/retaining structure if impounded. Strength and stiffness of the sludge are importan...

The authors are to be congratulated for presenting some interesting results on the interfacial friction angle between sands and solid surfaces. The author's results are consistent with some of the findings of the writers, which they are presenting in this discussion.

A laboratory apparatus for measuring the chemico-osmotic efficiency coefficient, w, for clay soils in the presence of electrolyte solutions is described. A chemico-osmotic experiment is conducted by establishing and maintaining a constant difference in electrolyte concentration across a soil specimen while preventing the flow of solution through th...

Based on the well-known and largely consolidated experience of bender element transducers housed inside both the top cap and the pedestal of the triaxial cell, a novel technique is here presented, that allows velocity measures of seismic waves propagated through the triaxial specimen along horizontal and oblique directions. After a detailed descrip...

The potential use of the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) as a compaction quality control tool is investigated in this study. The DCP is a simple device and relatively inexpensive to operate. Results from a laboratory testing program performed on three piedmont residual soils with appreciable fine content (> 60%) yielded correlation patterns for the...

The design and construction of a biaxial loading machine is presented in this paper. Two major concerns are addressed in designing the machine: alignment between the loading axes and the specimen, and shear stresses (friction) that may develop between the loading platens and the specimen. The alignment requirement is solved by constructing a multi-...

The effects of the method of installation of centrifuge model sand compaction piles (SCPs) in soft clay are studied. The comparative study involves the frozen pile method, a 1-g displacement method, and a high-g displacement method. The results show that, although all the SCP-improved models exhibit higher strength compared to the unimproved models...

An optical, nonintrusive technique for measuring soil deformation in three-dimensional laboratory scale tests is described. The technique combines the use of a video camera capable of recording the movement of targets to a high resolution, and a transparent porous material possessing geotechnical properties similar to natural clay. The technique is...

Depending upon the initial water content of the soil sample, a family of compression curves is possible. Identification of characteristic limiting water contents for any fine grained soil system, along with the unique mechanisms controlling them, helps obtain the limiting compression curves. In the present note, it has been demonstrated that the co...

This paper presents the effect of compaction methods on soil swell pressure, unconfined compressive strength, and swell potential of three types of soils in Jordan. Undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were collected from the field and used for this study. Compacted soil specimens were prepared using dynamic compaction, static compaction, and kne...

Strain path control during loading in addition to the often-desired stress path control is shown to constitute a versatile method of characterizing stress-strain response of soils in the laboratory. It allows probing stress or strain increments to be applied in study the stress,my direction at an ambient effective stress state to history and stress...

Novel horizontally mounted bender element devices capable of high-quality transmission and reception of horizontally propagated shear waves polarized in orthogonal planes across the mid-height of a triaxial clay specimen are described. Mounting of these mini benders, in a T-shaped configuration, is in the pads of a radial strain belt on 100 mm diam...

The paper presents a method of analyzing variable-head permeability tests in driven flush-joint casings equipped with a flush shoe. Strict drilling conditions must be followed for accurate testing. For example, permeability tests in borehole casings can be done only in a driven flush-joint casing. When a casing is rotated, its contact against the a...

When stiff clay dredged from the seabed is deposited by barge as fill material, large voids exist between the stiff clay lumps in the reclamation fill. One major concern is that the voids may close up upon loading, resulting in a large and sudden increase in the fill settlement. In the present study, an experimental investigation is carried out to...

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) systems are being used widely for in situ measurement of soil water content. Water content is calculated based on the measured dielectric properties of the soil system. TDR systems for water content measurement were originally developed for use in soils with low bulk densities similar to those found in agriculture. F...

The general research situation of the shear strength of the unsaturated soils is reviewed in the paper. The hyperbola model is put forward based on the triaxial test results of the unsaturated soils. It can be used to predict the suction strength. The predicted results compare well with the measured data and show that the hyperbola model can be use...

The ever-increasing demand for the use of marginal lands for various human activities necessitates the need to understand the behavior of soft sediments under the action of external forces. As the segregated sediments are of common occurrence in a freshwater depositional environment, it is essential to understand the compressibility and permeabilit...

This paper describes comparative results of liquid limits for fine-grained soils, determined by the percussion-cup standard procedure and alternative techniques with penetrating cones. Microwave oven drying is used as a complement to fall-cone tests. In this way, the liquid limit for a soil sample can be accurate and reliably obtained in about 45 m...

During cut and fill operations, compaction using sands from different sources may be carried out. The resulting mixed sand will have different compaction characteristics than those of the parent sands. An increase in dry density will result as the grading moves towards more ideal characteristics for dense packing. Laboratory compaction tests using...

The reliability of results of lab tests on soils depends on the specimen quality or the initial specimen condition. The quality of specimens prepared using different methods can be evaluated based on the measurement of residual porewater pressure. For a lab-fabricated normally consolidated clay, the residual porewater pressure decreases when using...

A servo-controlled, true triaxial (cubical) testing apparatus has been modified to test 10-cm cubical specimens of unsaturated soil under suction-controlled conditions and for a wide range of stress paths. The equipment is a mixed-boundary type of device, with the specimen seated on top of a saturated high-air-entry disk and between five flexible m...

The Marchetti flat dilatometer is a simple to operate in-situ testing device that was designed for use in clays, silts, and sands. A new dilatometer has been developed for use in a greater variety of soil types, in particular glacial tills. This probe is more robust than the Marchetti dilatometer because it uses a rigid piston instead of a flexible...

An in-situ direct shear test apparatus, in both small and large sizes, and its testing techniques have been developed. This test is performed simply by pulling horizontally a latticed shearing frame, embedded in the ground, with a flexible rope or chain under the application of a constant vertical load on the sample. In the new test, the real norma...

A series of drained (constant suction) true triaxial tests has been conducted on several identically prepared, 10-cm side, cubical specimens of recompacted silty sand to study the stress-strain-strength behavior of an unsaturated soil under multiaxial stress states and suction-controlled conditions. The experiments were conducted in a stress/suctio...

A technique is developed for measuring the size, porosity, and density of clay clusters (flocs) and the distributions of these fundamental quantities during sedimentation. A laser-particle counter is used to detect cluster size and size distribution. Cluster velocities are computed by taking measurements at successive time intervals. By comparing t...

The American Petroleum Institute (APT) filter press is commonly used to measure the hydraulic conductivity of soil-bentonite, both during mix design and as a part of construction quality assurance and quality control. However, interpretation of the test results is complicated by the fact that, during the test, the soil-bentonite specimen is consoli...

This paper presents the design and testing procedures for a new type of permeameter that combines the methods of a constant-head permeameter for large hydraulic gradients (used to simulate hydraulic gradients in centrifuged geotechnical models) and a sinusoidal head permeameter (used to simulate internal flow in soils due to waves). The flow of per...

Transport of air and water in soil is an important issue in many engineering problems. This paper describes the use of computerized tomography (CT) as a nondestructive method to estimate the three-dimensional spatial distributions of porosity, air, and water saturations during air-water displacement tests in a soil column. Local porosity was found...

A new apparatus to conduct impregnation of granular materials has been developed to facilitate specimen preparation for microstructure observations. New experimental and analytical procedures have been presented to quantify the nonuniformity and anisotropy of granular materials. The nonuniformity of porosity distribution within a specimen was evalu...

A brief state-of-the-art review is given on backfill materials and laboratory tests. A new system developed for testing backfill material in the laboratory is described. In this system, most of the limitations of previously applied techniques have been eliminated. In performing unconfined-deformability tests (UDT) and confined-deformability tests (...

The surface/interfacial properties and soil-liquid interaction are studied to serve as a preliminary study to interpret engineering behavior of soils. To fully understand the nature of fine-grained soil-pore fluid interaction, the work of adhesion of liquids on kaolinite and bentonite is determined by means of measuring soil-liquid contact angle by...

The Standard Test Method for Particle-Size Analysis (ASTM D422-63) relies on the well-known Stokes' equation for estimating particle diameters. The validity of Stokes' equation for fine-grained particle size analysis is based on assumptions, including the assumption that actual particle shapes can be approximated by smooth spheres. This paper provi...

Laboratory techniques for the measurements of very small strain stiffness parameters of coarse-grained materials include: (a) static tests using local strain transducers like LDTs and (b) wave propagation measurements performed using bender elements, shear plates, and so on. The former method has been employed for most kinds of soil, while the use...

A discussion of an article with the aforementioned title, by K.K. Muralleetharan and K.K. Granger, published in this journal (Vol. 22, No. 3, September 1999) is presented. The discusser points out additional issues related to the measurement of matric suction in soils such as the cavitation nuclei. The discusser also presents a valuable conditionin...

The unique chemical features of calcium sulfate are largely manifested by its phase transformation due to the reversible hydration-dehydration reaction. Due to the harsh climatic and environmental conditions in eastern Saudi Arabia, such phase changes add to the potential swelling hazards of local expansive clays. The adsorption of water by expansi...

A method for measuring the shear wave velocity (Vs) of soil in a centrifuge model using a "mini-air hammer" is presented. Propagation of shear waves in a model soil profile was recorded in-flight by a vertical array of four accelerometers placed at different depths. Shear wave velocities were measured at different centrifugal accelerations for Neva...

For reliable deformation measurements at small strains, calibration of the entire testing system in addition to routine transducer calibrations are very important. Seven synthetic specimens of varying stiffness (4.3 to 1500 MPa) were constructed and tested to measure the compliance of testing equipment and to improve the measurement setups. Testing...

This paper presents a new method for testing tensile strength in unsaturated soils. A rigid tensile mold has been designed and simple testing procedures developed. A series of tension tests has been carried out on densely compacted unsaturated soil specimens to evaluate the method. The material tested in this study was a highly plastic 50:50 (by dr...

A complete methodology has been presented and implemented that enables the independent determination of the five mechanical parameters required to describe the elastic behavior of a transverse isotropic rock. The uniqueness of the methodology is that only one specimen is required. A single hollow specimen is subjected to a series of specific stress...

The growth of microbes on the surface of an object results in the formation of a biofilm, which in sand can lead to a reduction of hydraulic conductivity and can be used for groundwater containment and remediation. Sample preparation and testing techniques for triaxial and oedometer experiments were devised for the purpose of examining the influenc...

Based on both field data collected from engineering literature and measurements made using model piles, a correlation for the residual pressure at the pile tip point is presented. The resulting correlation suggested that pile flexibility is a key parameter controlling the magnitude of the residual point pressure, q res The calculated residual point...

This paper contains the fundamental outline of an experimental work developed over a period of several years covering the instrumentation and execution of horizontal load tests on bored reinforced concrete piles and pile groups. The instrumentation used is described, with particular emphasis on a system that is a completely original concept in stra...

Processed waste tires mixed with soils are applicable in lightweight fills for slopes, retaining walls, and embankments that may be subjected to seismic loads. Rubber's high damping capacity permits consideration of granulated rubber/soil mixtures as part of a damping system to reduce vibration. The dynamic properties of granulated rubber/soil mixt...

An experimental study that included detailed observation of four 305-mm-diameter test shafts, one reference shaft of standard design, and three test shafts with isolation tubes to mitigate skin friction in the vadose zone, is described. The shafts were loaded by naturally expanding and contracting soil over a period of 17 months. The soil at the te...

Water jetting can be utilized as an effective aid to impact pile driving when hard strata are encountered above the designated tip elevation. When jetting, the immediate neighborhood of the pile is first liquefied due to high pore pressure induced by the water jet and subsequently densified with its dissipation. In addition, the percolating water a...

Capillary phenomena in cohesionless soils play an important role in the migration of liquids through the unsaturated zone above and close to groundwater sources. The aim of this paper is to present results of a theoretical and experimental study of capillary flow in the radial direction. A closed-form solution for the time-dependent advance of wett...

The internal fabric and localized deformation patterns of triaxial sand specimens were investigated using computed tomography (CT). Three displacement-controlled, conventional, drained axisymmetric (triaxial) experiments were conducted on dry Ottawa sand specimens at very low effective confining stresses (0.05, 0.52, and 1.30 kPa) in a microgravity...

The aim of the present study was to improve understanding of the interaction of drilled shaft concrete, polymer slurry (used to stabilize boreholes during construction of the drilled shaft), and the foundation soil. Interface shear tests were performed in the laboratory to investigate the shear resistance between soil and a cement mortar interface...

Anisotropy plays a significant role in many geotechnical problems. This paper describes how anisotropic stiffness properties of soils can be assessed through stress path triaxial tests. Local strain instrumentation has been optimized to identify the linear elastic region of sand without sacrificing the ability to study behavior at strains up to 15%...

Dense, uncemented, locked Athabasca oil sand specimens were tested in drained triaxial compression with enlarged lubricated platen ends. Computer tomography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging techniques were used to examine the micro-structural features of the intact and sheared specimens. The micro-structures studied in this paper incl...

Design of offshore foundations in cemented calcareous sediments requires a full understanding of the strength and deformation properties of the cemented soils. However, obtaining natural undisturbed samples from offshore sites is very expensive, and so there is a need to prepare reconstituted soils in the laboratory to replicate the natural materia...

The mechanisms controlling the liquid limit of montmorillonitic and kaolinitic soils are different. The observation that the liquid limits obtained by both the conventional percussion method and the cone penetration method differ quite appreciably from each other at low and high plasticity ranges indicates that the mechanisms dominating the two tes...

This paper describes an experimental study conducted to evaluate the elastic modulus of sand reinforced with polymeric geogrids. A total of 9 plate load tests were performed in the lab using a 1.52m by 1.52m by 1.37m test box, and a 0.3m square test plate. The measured test data were used to evaluate a modulus constant, rather than the bearing capa...

The granular fills used for land reclamation in Singapore are usually dredged from the ocean and contain a relatively high percentage of shells. The engineering behavior of this type of granular fill may well be different from that of clean sand. A series of laboratory studies were carried out to investigate the liquefaction and instability behavio...

This study examines the impact of varying the compaction (dry) density and water content on the swelling behavior of desiccated clay soil. Specimens in the shrunken state that have a history of four cycles of wetting and drying are referred to as desiccated specimens in this study. Experimental results showed that the volumetric swell potentials of...

The apparatus and procedure for performing tests to obtain inorganic diffusion coefficients for Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs) are described, and the processes (diffusion, anion exclusion and osmosis) that can affect the interpretation of these tests are discussed. Results from several inorganic diffusion tests on GCL and bentonite specimens show...

For precise estimation of shaft capacity of a pile, it is essential to determine accurately the soil-pile interface friction angle (delta). The apparatus available to measure the value of delta, the miniature pile test apparatus and the soil-pile-slip test apparatus are only available for research purposes. This paper presents the details of an inv...

In this paper, the design and construction of an apparatus for the study of electrokinetics are presented in detail. The apparatus is capable of both applying a designated effective stress to a soil sample and measuring the volume change and pore pressure during the electrokinetic testing. The results of a high voltage electrokinetic test on a remo...

Digital imaging acquisition and processing is applied for the tracking of a two-dimensional assembly of disks. The disks are used to assemble models for studying granular material behavior for which the kinematics of the individual particles, and hence the disks' trajectory during motion, are of cardinal importance. Large particle size is dictated...

This paper describes the results of laboratory model tests on geocell-supported earth embankments constructed over a soft clay foundation. The soft clay foundation was prepared in a large test tank to a depth of 600 mm. A single geocell layer was formed on this clay foundation with different thicknesses, and embankments were constructed above this...

Tapered piles have a substantial advantage over straight-sided wall piles with regard to their load-carrying capacity in the downward frictional mode; however. their behavior under cyclic axial loading has not been investigated. In this study, the characteristics of the cyclic response of tapered piles were established from experimental investigati...

The purpose of this paper is to assess the difference between surface and internal erosion processes using results from flow pump tests. Samples of 70% Ottawa sand + 30% kaolinite mixture were used with distilled water and NaCl solutions as permeants. Two kinds of tests were conducted, a surface erosion test where the permeant was pumped through a...

The parameters for load and resistance factor design (LRFD) of driven piles using dynamic methods are presented based on a database of 218 pile cases in Florida. Eight dynamic methods were studied: ENR, modified ENR, FDOT, and Gates driving formulas, Case Analysis with Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP), Case Method for Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA), Pai...

The mechanical behavior of unsaturated compacted soil affects the security of embankments. The aim of compaction methods in the laboratory is to reproduce the compaction effect induced by on-site equipment. This paper summarizes all the results obtained on kneading compaction in order to define a compaction procedure that simulates the action of co...

Experiments have been carried out to find the maximum dry density taken up by sands during pluviation. These experiments were facilitated by use of a flow divider that permitted very low depositional intensities. It was found that the maximum dry density occurred at an optimum pluviation time. Careful observation of the pluviating sand reveals that...

This paper describes a series of ring shear tests on a carbonate sandy silt designed to simulate soil shearing caused by pile installation and soil shearing resistance developed during pile loading. The tests were performed on the soil and on soil-steel interfaces at large displacements. The soil tests were carried out at constant normal stress con...

This paper describes expeditious and reliable procedures for determining the water content of soils that are alternative to the traditional convection oven technique. There exist linear relationships between the results of the conventional procedure and those obtained by the use of the microwave oven, direct heating of soils on a stove, distilling...

Due to recent research advances in understanding mechanisms that govern deep behavior foundations, vertical piles can now be used to correctly support lateral loads. This paper concerns the development of a computer program for studying non-linear behavior of lateral-loaded piles taking into account the shear stress at the sand. Some examples issue...

When testing piles in a geotechnical centrifuge, it is more efficient to drive piles into the soil in centrifuge flight instead of placing piles prior to running the centrifuge in order to simulate the real conditions. A new pile driver with loading set used to drive and load piles in a centrifuge has been designed and manufactured successfully by...