Prediction of Shear Strength Parameters

of Two Rockfill Materials

Yeshpal Vasistha
Research Scholar
Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar (Punjab)
vasishtayeshpal@rediffmail.com

Ashok Kumar Gupta

Professor and Head
Civil Engineering Department
Jaypee University of Information Technology
Waknaghat (HP)
ashok.gupta@juit.ac.in

Varinder Kanwar
Professor and Head
Civil Engineering Department
Chitkara University Barotiwala, Distt.Solan(HP)
varinderkanwar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Rockfill materials obtained either by blasting rocks or collected from the riverbeds are used in
the construction of Rockfill dams. In this paper, Prediction of strength parameter on two
rockfill materials is investigated. Drained tri-axial tests have been conducted on various sizes
of rockfill materials used in the two dams using a relatively smaller size triaxial cell. Tests
data has been analyzed and effect of size of rockfill material and that of triaxial cell on
strength parameters has been studied.

KEYWORDS:

Triaxial tests, Rockfill materials and Shear strength parameters.

INTRODUCTION
Rockfill has been used commonly as a construction material for different structures like
dams, embankments etc. Many hydro-power projects are consisting of Rockfill dams. The
behavior of the rockfill material used in the construction of these dams is affected by the number
of factors, such as mineral composition, particle size, shape, grading and relative density of
rockfill. The understanding and characterization of the behavior of rockfill material are of
considerable importance for the analysis and design of the rockfill dams. After the fundamentals
of soil mechanics have been established and some developments in this domain have been
achieved, attention began to focus on rockfill materials.
- 3221 -

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3222

Rockfill may be defined as a coarse grained and free draining material obtained from
quarrying of rocks. Therefore its most obvious features are the coarse angular particles and the
absence of pore pressure. The coarseness of the particles and their interlocked state makes it
difficult to sample and test rockfill as for other soil, so that laboratory test specimens must be
scaled down to some degree as well as being reconstituted by compaction. The test samples must
also be, in relation to prototype and effected by boundary and seating condition. For these reason,
the extent to which laboratory tests can be relied upon to predict field behavior has been a rather
open question and probably remain so.
In the era of dumped rockfill material there was no restriction on the size of spalls, that could
be accepted and indeed large material was most desirable. With a move into compacted rockfill
materials, it must be spread in layers of less depth for effective compaction. The actual size of
rockfill material used is well above the capacity of normal laboratory testing equipment.
Therefore, the determination of strength and deformational parameter is done in such a way that it
must come from the substitution of a model rockfill of reduced size or the use of large test
equipment or as proves to be a realistic course, a combination of both.
Rockfill dams are increasingly used, because of their inherent flexibility, capacity to absorb
large seismic energy, and adaptability to various foundation conditions. The use of modern earth
and rock moving equipment and locally available materials make such dams economical as well.
Rockfill materials consists primarily of angular to sub-angular particles obtained by blasting
parent rock or rounded / sub-rounded particles collected from river beds. The behavior of rockfill
material is affected by factors such as mineralogical composition, particle grading, size and shape
of particles, and stress conditions etc. Testing and behavior modeling of the behavior of the
rockfill materials are essential prerequisites to the realistic analysis and design of rockfill
material.
In the earth and rockfill dams, rockfill material obtained either by blasting or from river bed
is used in the shell of the dam. The blasted rockfill materials obtained by blasting, the parent rock
consist of angular to sub-angular particles. The material collected from river bed consists of
rounded / sub-rounded particles which are primarily weathered rocks.
The rockfill material used in the dam construction is large in size and direct testing of the
prototype material would require a test apparatus of a very large size. Various methods are used
to scale down the size of the particles to facilitate testing of the rockfill materials. Tri-axial tests
have been conducted on modeled rockfill materials.
This paper deals with prediction of strength parameter of small sized alluvial (Riverbed) and
blasted (Quarried) rockfill materials,as already large sized alluvial (Riverbed) and blasted
(Quarried) rockfill materials have been tested in large triaxial testing machine. In this study, an
attempt has been made for prediction of strength parameter of rockfill materials by testing in
medium size triaxial testing machine having cell size smaller than the conventional one by
reducing the size of both alluvial (Riverbed) and blasted (Quarried) rockfill materials

REVIEW
The results of tests conducted by Marachi et al. (1972) show a decrease in internal friction
with the increase in size of grains. The results of tests conducted by Gupta (2000) shows a
decrease in internal friction with the increase in size of grains for blasted (Quarried) rockfill
materials and increase in internal friction with the increase in size of grains for alluvial
(Riverbed) materials.The results of tests conducted by Abbas (2003) shows a decrease in internal

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3223

friction with the increase in size of grains for blasted (Quarried) rock fill materials and increase in
internal friction with the increase in size of grains for alluvial (Riverbed) materials.

MATERIAL USED AND TESTING

Material of Shah-Nahar Project Site
The material collected from the river bed consists of rounded/ sub rounded particles upto
200mm in size. This contains pieces of Micaceous sand stone, quartzite. Micaceous sand stone,
equi granular in texture, well rounded and elongated few pieces in orientation, Quartz (88.5%),
Biotite (4%), Muscovite (3%), Amphibole (3%), Weathered Iron oxide (0.5%), Iron pyrite(0.5%),
Pyroxene (0.5%).
The individual particles are very strong as it is very difficult to break the medium size
particles with hammer. The rockfill material collected from the field is shown in Fig.1

Figure 1: Shah-Nahar materials

The area is occupied by rocks of upper Shivalik Group. The rocks are of sedimentary origin.
In general rocks are consisting of mature grains and sediments of quartz, clay, mica and heavy
minerals.

Material of Kol Dam Project Site

The material quarried from up stream of Dam as a suitable source consists of lime particles
upto 600mm in size and is sedimentary rock by chemical precipitation, having small tissues, gives
effervescence with dilute Hcl, grey in colour ,fine grained, calcite(98.5%)

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3224

muscovite(0.5%),weathered, Iron oxide (0.5%), clay mineral(0.5%). The rockfill material

collected from the field is shown in Fig 2

Figure 2: Koldam materials

GRADATION OF MATERIALS
Gradation of Prototype Materials
Representative rock fill materials are collected from different locations and subjected to
grain size analysis. The grain size distribution results are plotted and an average curve is drawn.
This curve has been designated as the average prototype curve of the representative rock fill
materials.
The prototype gradation curves for the Koldam and ShahNahar rockfill materials are shown
in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 respectively

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3225

Figure 3: Grain size Distribution for Prototype and Modelled Materials

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

Figure 4: Grain size distribution for prototype and modeled materials

3226

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3227

Gradation of modeled materials

The particles sizes of the actual material are scale down to some degree. The material so
obtained, popularly known as modelled material is used for the testing.
Four modelled gradation curves are derived using John Lowes Parallel Gradation
modeling techniques (Lowe-1964) having a maximum Particle size of 5.6mm, 4.75mm, 2.36mm
and 1.18mm respectively.
Modelled gradation curves in respect of Koldam and Shahnahar rockfill material are
shown above in Fig 3 and Fig. 4 respectively.
Using these model grain size distribution curves, the required quantities of various
fractions of rockfill materials have been calculated. The total quantities of materials thus required
are sieved from the materials collected from two dam sites.

Materials used for Testing

Four modeled rockfill materials obtained by geometrically reducing the particle size with
maximum particle size viz 1.18mm,2.36mm,4.75mm,5.6mm have been used for the tests for both
the materials. Fig 3 and Fig 4 show the grading characteristics of the two types of Rockfill
materials. Physical characteristics are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Physical Characteristics of Rockfill Materials

Sr.No.
1
2
3
4
5

Details
Specific gravity
Water Absorption %
Aggregate impact value %
Aggregate curve value %
Los Angeles Abrasion %

NAME OF PROJECT
Koldam
Shahnahar
2.64
2.62
3.00
5.20
41.40
38.70
45.23
40.23
28.87
29.50

The dry density is calculated for the modelled rockfill materials. The values of the maximum
dry density, minimum dry density and required dry density corresponding to 87% of relative
density are given in Table 2.

Table 2: Relative Densities for the Rock Fill Materials

S.no.

Material

Particle
size(mm)

max

Koldam

1.18
2.36
4.75
5.60

1.800
1.900
1.900
1.900

ShahNahar

1.18
2.36
4.75
5.60

1.800
1.800
1.800
1.900

Dry Density gm/cc

min
Corresponding to 87%
of relative density.
1.650
1.731
1.740
1.827
1.750
1.827
1.760
1.827
1.640
1.660
1.670
1.750

1.731
1.731
1.731
1.827

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3228

In accordance with the model gradation curves, the total dry weight required for achieving
87% of relative density is computed for each of the specimens to be tested. The quantity of
individual fraction used for the tests is given in Table 3.

Table 3: Quantities of various fractions of modeled rock fill materials (for triaxial test)
S.No.

Material

KOLDAM

Total

Fractions(mm)
5.6- 4.75
4.75- 2.36
2.36- 1.18
1.18-0.60
0.60-0.30
0.30-0.15
0.15-0.075
<0.075
Qty in (Gm)

Quantities in gm to achieve 87% of relative density

Dmax.
1.18mm
2.36mm
4.75mm
5.60mm
--0.36
--0.72
116.68
--253.45
162.23
15.98
115.60
24.05
29.83
119.34
101.60
31.59
18.67
106.98
66.41
22.98
13.64
40.80
22.98
8.26
6.28
57.80
52.41
17.95
11.31
340 gm
359gm
359gm
359gm

5.6- 4.75

SHAHNEHAR

4.75- 2.36
2.36- 1.18
1.18-0.60
0.60-0.30
0.30-0.15
0.15-0.075
<0.075
Qty in (Gm)

58.48
165.24
68.68
47.68
340gm

16.66
169.66
35.70
57.80
30.26
29.92
340gm

6.80
197.88
76.84
12.92
22.10
9.52
13.94
340gm

54.57
130.96
74.74
19.06
40.89
22.26
16.52
359gm

TRIAXIAL TESTS
Consolidated drained triaxial tests have been conducted on the modeled material at AIMIL
Ltd. New Delhi. The confining pressure ranges for the tests have been chosen depending upon the
Dam height, earth Pressure coefficient at rest, and field density of rock fill materials. Four
confining pressure viz 200, 300, 500, 700 kPa for the Kol dam modelled material and 200, 300,
500, 700 kPa for the ShahNahar Project modeled material have been used. TABLE 4 shows the
details of triaxial tests conducted.

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3229

Table 4: Details of Drained Triaxial Tests Conducted

S.No.

DETAIL

1
2
3

Maximum Particle size Dmax (mm)

Average Particle size D 50 (mm)
Confining Pressure (kPa)
Specimen size
(a) Length of specimen (mm)
(b) Diameter of the specimen.

NAME OF PROJECT
Koldam
Shahnahar
1.18,2.36,4.75,5.6
1.18,2.36,4.75,5.6
0.19,0.35,0.68,0.80
0.20,0.40,0.82,1.15
200,300,500,700
200,300,500,700
100 mm
50 mm

100 mm
50 mm

For testing the material, medium size triaxial shear apparatus available at AIMIL Ltd. New
Delhi has been used.
To study the effect of size specimen on stress, strain characteristics of rockfill, one triaxial
cell is used. Diameter of Triaxial cell is200 mm and height of triaxial cell is 325mm.
In accordance with the model gradation curves, total dry weight required for achieving 87%
of relative density are calculated for each of the specimen to be tested as indicated in Table 3. The
quantity of individual fractions is mixed thoroughly after wetting with 4% moisture content and
then mix is divided into six equal parts for compacting into six layers inside the split mould.
Porous base plate is placed on the pedestal; first part of mix is poured in to the split mould and
compacted with a frequency of 60 cycles/ second. In the same way, all six layers are placed and
compacted. Vibration time is arrived at on the basis of trial density test. Four confining pressures
in the range between 0.2 and 0.7 MPa were used for each rock fill material. The sample was
saturated by allowing water to pass through the base of the triaxial cell and using atop drainage
system for removing air voids. The sample was first subjected to the consolidation pressure and
then sheared to failure with a rate of loading of 1mm/ min.

STRENGTH PARAMETERS
Failure envelopes in p-q space were plotted for the four sizes of the rockfill materials and the
values cohesion, c and angle of internal friction, are calculated. The value of cohesion, c and
angle of internal friction, for the two materials are given in Tables 5 and 6. The relationships
between the angle of internal friction and the maximum size of the particle for the two materials
are plotted in Fig.5 along with the other six materials. There is increase in value of the Angle of
internal friction with the size of particle for ShahNahar Rock fill material. Koldam Rockfill
material shows decrease in the angle of internal friction with the increase in size. Marachi (1969)
has reported similar trends after conducting tests on blasted angular material shown as Koldam
rockfill material in this study. The value of angle of internal friction for Tipaimukh and
Ranganadi dams river bed rockfill material reported by Vanktachalam(1993), Shahnahar riverbed
rockfill material reported by Abbas(2003), having maximum particle sizes 80mm,50mm,25mm
are also superimposed in Figure 5. They show the similar trend as that of Shahnahar riverbed
material used in this study. The values reported by Abbas (2003) for material having sizes 80mm,
50mm, 25mm are extrapolated for sizes 5.60mm, 4.75mm, 2.36mm, 1.18mm and the values of
angle of internal friction comes out to be almost the samefor this study having particle sizes
5.60mm, 4.75mm, 2.36mm, 1.18mm with a variation of only 5% with that of value of angle of
internal friction as extrapolated of the values reported by Abbas (2003) for same sizes. Koldam
rockfill material used for this study shows the similar trends as reported by Marachi (1969) and

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3230

Abbas (2003) for Koldam rockfill material, but the results reported by Abbas (2003) for blasted
rockfill materials are extrapolated to Particle sizes of 5.60mm, 4.75mm, 2.36mm, 1.18mm, the
these values does not match with the value of Angle of internal friction for same sizes for this
study.

ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION (DEGREES)

100
90
80
Tapaimukh Dam

70

Purulia Dam

60

Ranjit Sagar Dam

50
40
30
20
10
0
1

10
MAXIMUM PARTICLE SIZE (mm)

100

Figure 5: Variation of Angle of Internal Friction with maximum particle size

Table 5: Values of c and for Shahnahar riverbed rockfill material.

Dmax (mm)

C (kPa)

(degrees)

5.6
4.75
2.36
1.18

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

31.36
31.14
30.41
30.23

TABLE 6: Values of c and for Koldam blasted rockfill material.

Dmax (mm)
5.6
4.75
2.36
1.18

C (kPa)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

(degrees)
14.55
15.25
17.24
23.03

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3231

CONCLUSIONS
The value of increases with the size of particles for the alluvial (Riverbed) material, these
values decrease with the size of particles for the blasted (Quarried) rockfill material. The value of
can be obtained for riverbed material in medium cell triaxial machine also by reducing the
particle size as the value obtained by this study are almost the same as extrapolated for the same
material tested in large triaxial cell testing machine. But for the blasted rockfill material, the
medium size triaxial machine is not recommended.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The assistance provided by AIMIL Limited New Delhi and various projects authorities is
gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES
1. Abbas, S. M. (2003) Testing and Modeling the Behavior of River Bed and Quarried
Rockfill Materials. Ph.D. Thesis, IIT-Delhi
2. Becker, E. (1972)Strength and Deformation Characteristics of Rockfill Materials under
Plane Strain Conditions, Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Berkley.
3. Gupta, A.K. (2000) Constitutive Modelling of Rockfill Materials. Ph.D. Thesis, IIT
Delhi.
4. Gupta, K.K.(1980) Behaviour of ModelledRockfill Materials under High Confining
Pressure, Ph.D. Thesis, IIT Delhi.
5. Kumar,R.(1985) Fundamentals of Historical Geology and Stratigraphy of India, Wiley
Eastern Ltd.,254.
6. Kjaernsli,B.,Valstad,T. and Hoeg, K.(1992) Rockfill Dams-Design and Construction,
Norwegian Institute of Technology, Division of Hydraulics Engineering., N7034,Trondheim, Norway.
7. Lowe,J.(1964) Shear Strength of Coarse Embankment Dam Materials. Proc.8th
International Congress on Large Dams,3, 745-761.
8. Marachi, N.D., Chan, C.K,Seed, H.B. and Duncan, J.M. (1969) Strength and
Deformation Characteristics of Rockfill Materials, Report No. TE 69-5,Civil Engg.
Deptt., Univ. of California, Berkeley, USA.
9. Marachi, N.D., Chan, C.K and Seed, H.B. (1972) Evaluation of Properties of Rockfill
Materials, J. of SMFE, ASCE,98,SMI, 95-114.
10. Marsal, RJ. (1965) Discussion, Proc.6th Int. Cant. On Soil Mech. And Foundation Engg.,
3, 310-316.
11. Murphy, D.J. (1987) Stress, Degradation and Shear Strength of Granular Material,
Geotech. Modelling and Applications, S.M. Sayed, Ed.,Gulf Publishing Company,
Houston, Tex.: 181-211.

Vol. 17 [2012], Bund. W

3232

12. Ramamurthy, T., Kanitkar, V.K. and Prakash, K (1974) Behaviour of Coarse Grained
Soils Under High Stresses, India Geotechnical Journal, 4(1),39-63.
13. Venktachalam, K. (1993) Prediction of Mechanical Behaviour of Rockfill Materials.
Ph.D. Thesis, IIT Delhi.
14. Vesic, AB. And Clough, G.W. (1968) Behaviour of Granular Materials under High
Stresses. J of SMFE, ASCE, 94 8M 3, 661-688.
15. Yamamuro, J.A. and Lade, P.V. (1993) Effects of Strain Rate on Instability of Granular
Soils, Geotech. Testing J., 16(3), 304-313.

2012 ejge