Characteristics of Deformation and Damping of Cement Treated and Expanded Polystyrene Mixed Lightweight Subgrade Fill under Cyclic Load
Characteristics of Deformation and Damping of Cement Treated and Expanded Polystyrene Mixed...
Lu, Weihua;Miao, Linchang;Zhang, Junhui;Zhang, Yongxing;Li, Jing
2019-01-04 00:00:00
applied sciences Article Characteristics of Deformation and Damping of Cement Treated and Expanded Polystyrene Mixed Lightweight Subgrade Fill under Cyclic Load 1 2 3 , 1 2 Weihua Lu , Linchang Miao , Junhui Zhang *, Yongxing Zhang and Jing Li School of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; whlnjfu@njfu.edu.cn (W.L.); zhanguongxing81@aliyun.com (Y.Z.) Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; lc.miao@seu.edu.cn (L.M.); whl361@163.com (J.L.) National Engineering Laboratory of Highway Maintenance Technology, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China * Correspondence: zjhseu@csust.edu.cn; Tel.: +86-137-8716-2685 Received: 8 December 2018; Accepted: 27 December 2018; Published: 4 January 2019 Abstract: To investigate the deformation and damping characteristics of cement treated and expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads mixed lightweight soils, this study conducted a series of triaxial shear tests cyclic loading for different confining pressures, cement contents, and soil categories. Through repeated loading and unloading cycles, axial accumulative strain, resilient modulus, and damping ratio versus axial total strain were analyzed and the mechanical behavior was revealed and interpreted. Results show that the resilient modulus increases with increasing confining pressure and cement content. A decreasing power function can be used to fit the relationship between the resilient modulus and the axial total strain. Although sandy lightweight specimens usually own higher resilient modulus than silty clay lightweight specimens do, the opposite was also found when the axial total strain is larger than 8% with 50 kPa confining pressure and 14% cement content. For damping ratio the EPS beads mixed lightweight soil yields a weak growth trend with increasing axial total strain and a small reduction with higher confining pressure and cement content. For more cementations, the damping ratio of the sandy lightweight soil is always smaller than the silty clay lightweight soil. Nonetheless, the differences of damping ratios that were obtained under all of the test conditions are not significant. Keywords: EPS lightweight soil; cyclic load; axial accumulative strain; resilient modulus; damping ratio 1. Introduction With the rapid development of transportation in China, highways or high-speed railways would inevitably encounter the situation of soft soil foundations. How to deal with unacceptable settlements of embankments on these foundations has become one of the most challenging tasks for engineers [1,2]. Traditionally, the composite foundation and plastic drainage are always utilized to reinforce the soft soil foundation to diminish the potential settlement [3,4]. However, use of embankments with lightweight backfill material, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) blocks (also called EPS geo-foam) or EPS beads mixed with soil and binder [5,6], can also reach this goal. Obviously, the latter is much more time saving, cost-effective, and even environmentally friendly. Since Frydenlund [7] firstly reported that the EPS geo-foam was used as an embankment fill in Norway, more and more studies about this artificial material have been conducted and its good performances have been confirmed. For example, replacing the typical embankment fill material in highways [5], diminishing the maximum lateral earth pressure of a reinforced soil platform [8], Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167; doi:10.3390/app9010167 www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 2 of 14 and reducing the swelling pressure by expansion of soil behind the retaining wall [9], etc. At the same time, a lightweight fill consisting of dredged soil and air foam and cement (i.e., EPS beads) was adopted to reduce the embankment self-weight on soft foundations in Japan [10]. Miki [11] pointed out that the EPS beads could even reduce the weight of the fill to a great extent, even to be 50%, which is of great beneficial for the post-construction settlement control. Liu et al. [12] pointed out that the unconfined compressive strength of the lightweight fill, as well as the shear strength and stiffness, increases considerably if the cement-soil ratio of 10% to 15% is used. Moreover, Miao et al. [13] inspected the mechanical properties of the lightweight fill through a series of road performance tests, verifying that embankments with the lightweight backfill obtain an obviously smaller settlement over embankments with the conventional lime-stabilized fill. As a subgrade filling replacement material, the lightweight soil should have good bearing capacity and deformation properties under static loading, but it also needs good mechanical performance under repeated traffic loading. As early as 2002, Minegishi et al. [14] has pointed out that the mechanical behaviors of lightweight soil under static and dynamic loads would be quite different from the natural soils. At present, the research on the dynamic characteristics of lightweight soils mainly focuses on the acquisition of basic dynamic characteristics parameters and the effects of various influencing factors. For example, Gao et al. [15] analyzed the characteristics of skeleton curve, dynamic shear modulus, and damping ratio of EPS composite soils based on nineteen combined axial-torsional tests on hollow cylinder specimens. Through resonant column and cyclic triaxial tests on sand-EPS bead mixtures, El-Sherbiny et al. [16] discovered that the material damping is relatively unaffected at small shear strains but it increases at larger strains, and the decrease in shear stiffness with increasing bead content occurs at all strain levels. Moreover, Alaie et al. [17] carried out a series of laboratory tests to evaluate the monotonic, cyclic, and post-cyclic behavior of the contact interface between lightweight soil and reinforced geogrid. Nonetheless, the road performance of the lightweight fill, especially the mechanical behavior under complex loading conditions as well as the difference with different natural soils is still not clear. In this study, a series of triaxial shear tests, under repeated loading-unloading conditions, were conducted to investigate the characteristics of deformation and damping of EPS beads-mixed lightweight soils. The axial accumulative strain, the resilient modulus and the damping ratio versus the axial total strain under different confining pressures, cement contents, and soil categories were systematically analyzed. Subsequently, a further understanding of the mechanical properties of the EPS mixed lightweight soil under cyclic loading was obtained. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Materials The silty clay and sand (as shown in Figure 1) that were adopted in this study were taken from the Beigu lake of Zhenjiang City, which belongs to the Yangtze River basin in the eastern China. Large particles that were more than 2 mm were removed from the material by a sieve. According to the Unified Soil Classification System (ASTM D2487-11) [18], the sand belongs to the poorly graded fine sand (SP). Its coefficient of uniformity (Cu) and coefficient of gradation (Cc) are 1.41 and 0.69, respectively. The grain size distributions of these two soils are illustrated in Figure 2. The main physical property indices of the silty clay are summarized in Table 1. Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 15 Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 3 of 14 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 15 (a) (b) (a) (b) (c) (c) Figure 1. Test materials used in the tests: (a) Silty clay; (b) Sand; and, (c) expanded polystyrene (EPS) Figure 1. Test materials used in the tests: (a) Silty clay; (b) Sand; and, (c) expanded polystyrene (EPS) Figure 1. Test materials used in the tests: (a) Silty clay; (b) Sand; and, (c) expanded polystyrene beads. beads. (EPS) beads. Silty clay Silty clay 80 Sand Sand 0.001 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.0001 Particle size (mm) 0.01 0.001 0.0001 10 Figure 2. Par 1ticle size dist 0.1 ribution of soils used in the tests. Particle size (mm) Table 1. Properties of the test silty clay. Figure 2. Particle size distribution of soils used in the tests. Figure 2. Particle size distribution of soils used in the tests. Water Content Natural Density Liquid Limit Plastic Limit Liquidity Plasticity Table 1. Properties of the test silty clay. Table 1. Properties of the test silty clay. (%) (g/cm ) (%) (%) Index Index 52.6 1.75 44.2 23.0 1.4 21.2 Water Content Natural Density Liquid Limit Plastic Limit Water Content Natural Density Liquid Limit Plastic Limit Liquidity Plasticity Liquidity Index Plasticity Index (%) (g/cm ) (%) (%) (%) (g/cm ) (%) (%) Index Index 52.6 52.6 1.75 1.75 44.2 44.2 23.0 23.0 1.4 1.4 21.221.2 Percentage passing (%) Percentage passing (%) Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 4 of 14 The EPS beads (as shown in Figure 1c) that were used in this study are manufactured by expandable polystyrene resin (from Suzhou Yizhan Purification Technology Co., Ltd. in China, 2017), containing microscopic cells that are foamed with pentanes or butanes. When the beads are formed after the blowing agent expands, volume of individual resin beads would increase by up to 40 to 50 times. The particle size of the round EPS beads ranges from 3 to 5 mm, with the bulk unit weight of 0.013 g/cm . The Portland cement (P. O. 32.5) (Nanjing Pukou Youwei Cement Products Factory Co., Ltd. in China, 2018) was used as a binding material to bind the EPS beads with sand or silty clay, and water was used to carry out the hydration reaction and facilitate the mixing process. Subsequently, the lightweight mixture can be easier to be compacted to carry the required load after an appropriate curing time. 2.2. Specimen Preparation To make standard triaxial specimens, the silty clay and sand were used as the raw material soil, and then cement and water were added by mass percent while the EPS beads were added by volume ratios. The cement content a (or cement weight) was designed to be 14, 16, 18, and 20%, relative to the weight of silty clay or sand. The volume ratios of the sand/silty clay together with cement to the EPS beads were determined at 1:1. A machine mixer (Wuxi Chiba Mixing Equipment Co., Ltd. in China, 2014) was utilized to mix the mixture thoroughly, with the capacity bucket rotating at certain speeds of 102/204/388 r/min. The untreated soil was weighed to get the mass and firstly placed into the mixer, then the cement and the EPS beads were uniformly added into the soil and forcibly stirred for 5 min. At last, water was poured into the mixing bucket and stirred more than 5 min until the components were evenly distributed. Once the lightweight soil was mixed thoroughly and stirred evenly, the weighed mixtures were put into a triple-piece mold and then compacted for 25 times in five layers, using a mini compaction hammer with a 295.8 g weight and a 12 cm drop distance. The size of the triple-piece mold was 3.91 cm in diameter and 8.0 cm in height. After compaction, the specimens were cured in a standard box with the temperature of 20 C and the humidity of 100% for 24 h. Afterwards, the specimens were taken out and immediately put in plastic bags for a curing time of 14 days. 2.3. Test Procedure To investigate the physical and mechanical properties of EPS composite soil, conventional testing methods, such as the unconfined compression test, the uniaxial compression test, the direct shear test, and the triaxial compression test, are always adopted. The current researches paid many attentions to interpret the mechanical behavior and its influence on strength, deformation, and failure modes under static loading [19–21]. However, as embankment fill subgrades, the EPS composite soil is likely to undertake cyclic loadings, such as the traffic loading or the seismic loading. Therefore, the dynamic properties of the EPS mixed lightweight fill are a concern for engineering [14]. In general, the conventional dynamic characteristic study on EPS composite soil is focused on the dynamic stress-state relationship, dynamic modulus and strength, damping ratio, and so on [15]. Although the conventional resonance column test and dynamic triaxial test would be the most commonly used methods to conduct the above research activities, the modification or new use of conventional test instruments can also fulfill some research tasks. Therefore, a conventional strain-controlled triaxial apparatus (Nanjing Soil Instrument Factory Co., Ltd. (type-ASPTTS) in China, 2012) was adopted to carry out the consolidated undrained (CU) test under confining pressures of 50, 100, and 150 kPa [22]. The CU test procedures in ASTM D4767-11 [23] were followed in the laboratory. In the traditional dynamic cyclic loading test, a cyclically changing direction dynamic load is applied to the specimen. However, the cyclic loading in this study is defined as a different repeated loading process. For example, under a confining pressure of 50 kPa, the specimen was firstly loaded by lifting the triaxial chamber with a rate of axial strain to a predetermined total strain value, Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 5 of 14 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 15 and then the acted load was gradually removed by declining the chamber. Subsequently, the reloading Subsequently, the reloading and reunloading action would be developed repeatedly. In the scheme and reunloading action would be developed repeatedly. In the scheme of this experimental study of this experimental study (see Figure 3), each specimen underwent nine repeated actions and the (see Figure 3), each specimen underwent nine repeated actions and the corresponding unloading corresponding unloading strains were 2%, 3%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 14%, and 16%, respectively. strains were 2%, 3%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 14%, and 16%, respectively. To reveal the dynamic properties of the EPS composite soil under repeated loading conditions, To reveal the dynamic properties of the EPS composite soil under repeated loading conditions, several affecting factors, such as the stress state, soil type, and cement content should be evaluated, several affecting factors, such as the stress state, soil type, and cement content should be evaluated, as as well as the effect variation on mechanical characteristics. The stress state and loading-unloading well as the effect variation on mechanical characteristics. The stress state and loading-unloading times times were also checked for accessing the dynamic response of the lightweight material. Several were also checked for accessing the dynamic response of the lightweight material. Several mechanical mechanical indexes were evaluated, such as the axial cumulative strain, the resilient modulus, and indexes were evaluated, such as the axial cumulative strain, the resilient modulus, and the damping ratio. the damping ratio. Figure 3. Test procedure for the consolidated undrained (CU) test in the laboratory under cyclic Figure 3. Test procedure for the consolidated undrained (CU) test in the laboratory under cyclic loading. loading. 3. Results and Discussion 3. Results and Discussion 3.1. Axial Cumulative Strain 3.1. Ax The ial axial Cumulat cumulative ive Strain strain is one of the important indexes to characterize the deformation ability of the lightweight soil. In this study, the axial cumulative strain is defined as the residual strain when The axial cumulative strain is one of the important indexes to characterize the deformation the overlying load is removed. As shown in Figure 4 for sandy lightweight soil, the axial cumulative ability of the lightweight soil. In this study, the axial cumulative strain is defined as the residual strain increases with the increasing cyclic loading times, as well as the axial total strain of the specimen. strain when the overlying load is removed. As shown in Figure 4 for sandy lightweight soil, the axial There exists a good linear relationship between the axial cumulative strain and the axial total strain cumulative strain increases with the increasing cyclic loading times, as well as the axial total strain of (see Figure 5), and the ratio of axial cumulative strain to axial total strain remains constant. The same the specimen. There exists a good linear relationship between the axial cumulative strain and the also applies to the tested silty clay lightweight soil specimens. However, the influence of confining axial total strain (see Figure 5), and the ratio of axial cumulative strain to axial total strain remains pressure, cement content, and soil type on the ratio is very small through inspecting all of the tested constant. The same also applies to the tested silty clay lightweight soil specimens. However, the specimens in this study (not shown here). influence of confining pressure, cement content, and soil type on the ratio is very small through inspecting all of the tested specimens in this study (not shown here). Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 6 of 14 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 15 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 15 For sandy lightweight soil For sandy lightweight soil Monotonic loading Monotonic loading Cyclic loading Cyclic loading =16% =16% =50kPa =50kPa 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Axial total strain /% Axial total strain /% Figure 4. Typical stress-strain curve under monotonic loading and cyclic loading. Figure 4. Typical stress-strain curve under monotonic loading and cyclic loading. Figure 4. Typical stress-strain curve under monotonic loading and cyclic loading. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 /% a /% Figure 5. Relationship between axial accumulative strain and axial total strain. Figure 5. Relationship between axial accumulative strain and axial total strain. Figure 5. Relationship between axial accumulative strain and axial total strain. Under lower confining pressures, the cementing structure (with relatively high cement content) Under lower confining pressures, the cementing structure (with relatively high cement content) Under lower confining pressures, the cementing structure (with relatively high cement content) of the mixed lightweight soil plays the main role in bearing the load capacity, and the damage of the of the mixed lightweight soil plays the main role in bearing the load capacity, and the damage of the of the mixed lightweight soil plays the main role in bearing the load capacity, and the damage of the specimen is very small. In this condition, the EPS particles are still constrained by the cementation specimen is very small. In this condition, the EPS particles are still constrained by the cementation specimen is very small. In this condition, the EPS particles are still constrained by the cementation force, indicating that the characteristics of larger elastic deformation cannot be brought into full force, indicating that the characteristics of larger elastic deformation cannot be brought into full force, indicating that the characteristics of larger elastic deformation cannot be brought into full activity. Although the elastic deformation of the lightweight soil would mainly come from the elastic activity. Although the elastic deformation of the lightweight soil would mainly come from the elastic activity. Although the elastic deformation of the lightweight soil would mainly come from the elastic deformation of the EPS particles, the elastic strain is always at a lower level when the stress state is deformation of the EPS particles, the elastic strain is always at a lower level when the stress state is deformation of the EPS particles, the elastic strain is always at a lower level when the stress state is relatively small. Therefore, the difference of the elastic strains under different conditions is not obvious. relatively small. Therefore, the difference of the elastic strains under different conditions is not relatively small. Therefore, the difference of the elastic strains under different conditions is not obvious. obvious. 3.2. Resilient Modulus 3.2. Resilient Modulus 3.2. Resilient Modulus According to the linear relationship between the axial cumulative strain and the axial total strain, a formula can be expressed as: According to the linear relationship between the axial cumulative strain and the axial total According to the linear relationship between the axial cumulative strain and the axial total # = k# (1) L a strain, a formula can be expressed as: strain, a formula can be expressed as: where # is the axial cumulative strain, # is the axial total strain, and k is the ratio of the axial L a = k (1) = k (1) La La cumulative strain to the axial total strain. where is the axial cumulative strain, is the axial total strain, and k is the ratio of the axial where is the axial cumulative strain, is the axial total strain, and k is the ratio of the axial L a L a cumulative strain to the axial total strain. cumulative strain to the axial total strain. /% /% deviator stress /kPa deviator stress /kPa LL Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 7 of 14 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 15 Subjected to the monotonic loading, the relationship between the principal stress difference and Subjected to the monotonic loading, the relationship between the principal stress difference and the recoverable strain can be formulated as: the recoverable strain can be formulated as: − = f = g = g 1− k (2) ( ) ( ) (( ) ) 13 a h a s s = f (# ) = g(# ) = g((1 k)# ) (2) 3 a a 1 h where and are the principal stresses and is the recoverable strain. 1 3 h where s and s are the principal stresses and # is the recoverable strain. 1 3 The resilient modulus of the specimen under the monotonic loading can be defined as: The resilient modulus of the specimen under the monotonic loading can be defined as: −− s s s s 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 E== E = = (3) (3) urur # (1 k)# 1− k a h ( ) ha The resilient modulus here can also be defined as the average of the unloading modulus and The resilient modulus here can also be defined as the average of the unloading modulus and the the reloading modulus [24]. The unloading modulus is the ratio of the stress at the unloading point reloading modulus [24]. The unloading modulus is the ratio of the stress at the unloading point to to the recoverable strain (i.e., elastic strain), and the reloading modulus is the ratio of the stress at the recoverable strain (i.e., elastic strain), and the reloading modulus is the ratio of the stress at which it is reloaded to the unloading point to the recoverable strain. Although the elastic strain that is which it is reloaded to the unloading point to the recoverable strain. Although the elastic strain that mentioned above is very small, the variation will have a significant influence on the resilient modulus is mentioned above is very small, the variation will have a significant influence on the resilient of the lightweight soil. modulus of the lightweight soil. In Figures 6 and 7, the resilient modulus decreases with the increasing axial total strain, In Figures 6 and 7, the resilient modulus decreases with the increasing axial total strain, and it and it increases with the increasing confining pressure and cement content. Similar to the dynamic increases with the increasing confining pressure and cement content. Similar to the dynamic modulus [25], the resilient modulus will gradually approach a same critical value of 40 kPa, even under modulus [25], the resilient modulus will gradually approach a same critical value of 40 kPa, even different confining pressures and cement contents in this study. Due to the increasing axial total strain, under different confining pressures and cement contents in this study. Due to the increasing axial the cementation structure of the mixed lightweight soil is gradually damaged and its strength decreases total strain, the cementation structure of the mixed lightweight soil is gradually damaged and its step by step. Simultaneously, the constraint on the deformation of EPS particles is also reduced, and its strength decreases step by step. Simultaneously, the constraint on the deformation of EPS particles is elastic deformation is playing an increasingly important role afterwards. When the cementation also reduced, and its elastic deformation is playing an increasingly important role afterwards. When structure is completely destroyed, the mixed lightweight soil tends to be loose, and whose resilient the cementation structure is completely destroyed, the mixed lightweight soil tends to be loose, and modulus arrives at a same level. whose resilient modulus arrives at a same level. =50kPa =100kPa =150kPa 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 /% Figure 6. Resilient modulus versus axial total strain under different confining pressures. Figure 6. Resilient modulus versus axial total strain under different confining pressures. E /kPa ur Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 8 of 14 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 15 Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 15 Cement content 14% Cement content 16% 14% 100 18% 16% 20% 18% 20% 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0 2 4 6 8 /% 10 12 14 16 18 /% Figure 7. Resilient modulus versus axial total strain under different cement contents. Figure 7. Resilient modulus versus axial total strain under different cement contents. Figure 7. Resilient modulus versus axial total strain under different cement contents. On the one hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the restraint on the specimen On the one hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the restraint on the specimen and On the one hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the restraint on the specimen and and then on the EPS particles. On the other hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the then on the EPS particles. On the other hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the then on the EPS particles. On the other hand, the increasing confining pressure enhances the destr destruc uction tion of o the f th ce e mentation cementati str on uctur struc e ture and thus and weakens thus wea the ken restraint s the re on stra the int EPS on particles. the EPS Ther parti efor cles. e, destruction of the cementation structure and thus weakens the restraint on the EPS particles. the combination of the two actions increases the strength of the mixed lightweight soil increases, Therefore, the combination of the two actions increases the strength of the mixed lightweight soil Therefore, the combination of the two actions increases the strength of the mixed lightweight soil weakens increases, the r we estraint, akens but the incr restra eases intthe , belastic ut incr deformat eases thion e el of ast the ic EPS defo particles. rmation Obviously of the EPS , the pa multiple rticles. increases, weakens the restraint, but increases the elastic deformation of the EPS particles. ofO str bv ength iously, incr thease e mul istlar iplger e ofthan stren the gth multiple increase ofis elastic larger deformation than the mincr ultipl ease, e of and elathis stic can defobe rma easily tion Obviously, the multiple of strength increase is larger than the multiple of elastic deformation increase, and this can be easily found in Figure 8. found in Figure 8. increase, and this can be easily found in Figure 8. 120 0.30 120 0.30 100 0.25 100 0.25 80 0.20 80 0.20 60 0.15 60 0.15 4040 0.100.10 Stre Stn re gtn hgth ElaEl stia c st st ic rast inrain σ3=50kPa σ3=50kPa σ3=50kPa σ3=50kPa 20 0.05 20 0.05 σ3=100kPa σ3=100kPa σ3=100kPa σ3=100kPa σ3=150kPa σ3=150kPa σ3=150kPa σ3=150kPa 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Axial total strain/% Axial total strain/% Figure 8. Strength and elastic strain corresponding to the resilient modulus. Figure 8. Strength and elastic strain corresponding to the resilient modulus. Figure 8. Strength and elastic strain corresponding to the resilient modulus. With increasing cement content, the cementation becomes stronger, as well as the strength of With increasing cement content, the cementation becomes stronger, as well as the strength of the With increasing cement content, the cementation becomes stronger, as well as the strength of the specimen. Deformation of the EPS particles is constrained, indicating that the elastic deformation specimen. Deformation of the EPS particles is constrained, indicating that the elastic deformation the specimen. Deformation of the EPS particles is constrained, indicating that the elastic deformation would be reduced, which contributes to the increase of resilient modulus of the lightweight soil. would be reduced, which contributes to the increase of resilient modulus of the lightweight soil. would be reduced, which contributes to the increase of resilient modulus of the lightweight soil. Under the tested confining pressures and mixture ratios, the relationship between the resilient Under the tested confining pressures and mixture ratios, the relationship between the resilient modulus Under the tested confining pressures and mixture ratios, the relationship between the resilient modulus and the axial total strain can be established as: and the axial total strain can be established as: modulus and the axial total strain can be established as: Ea = b (4) ur b a Ea = (4) E = a# (4) ur ur a a where a and b are all the fitting parameters and they are related to the confining pressure and cement where a and b are all the fitting parameters and they are related to the confining pressure and cement where a and b are all the fitting parameters and they are related to the confining pressure and cement content. Subsequently, the fitting relation can be formulated by the following function: content. Subsequently, the fitting relation can be formulated by the following function: content. Subsequently, the fitting relation can be formulated by the following function: Strength/kPa E /kPa Strength/kPa ur E /kPa ur Elastic strain/% Elastic strain/% Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 15 a = a a + b a + c 111 ww Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 167 9 of 14 (5) b = a a + b a + c 222 ww a = a a + b a + c where a1,2, b1,2, and c1,2 are all the fitting coeffici 1ents re1 lated w to1 the confining pressure. Then, a general (5) b = a a + b a + c formula can be deduced as: w 2 w 2 2 y = + + (6) where a , b , and c are all the fitting coefficients related to the confining pressure. Then, a general 1,2 1,2 1,2 formula can be deduced as: where is the confining pressure, α, β, and γ are also the fitting coefficients, which can be 3 y = as + bs + g (6) deduced in Table 2. where s is the confining pressure, , b, and g are also the fitting coefficients, which can be deduced in Table 2. Table 2. Deduced values of α, β, and γ. Table 2. Deduced values of , b, and g. LSES LCES Fitting Parameters α β γ α β γ LSES LCES Fitting Parameters a1 4.082 −871.570 47389.000 −0.887 130.350 4556.900 a b g a b g b1 −1.372 295.900 −15571.000 0.194 −23.908 −1809.500 a 4.082 871.570 47,389.000 0.887 130.350 4556.900 c1 0.118 −25.067 1346.900 −0.005 0.104 238.290 b 1.372 295.900 15,571.000 0.194 23.908 1809.500 a1 −0.032 7.820 −446.140 0.003 −0.125 −45.564 c 0.118 25.067 1346.900 0.005 0.104 238.290 a b2 0.032 0.011 7.820 −2.769 1 446.140 59.200 − 0.003 0.000 −