ABSTRACT
This paper presents the results of a laboratory study of the effect of time on the secant stiffness and stress-strain behaviour of loose Fraser River sand on four stress paths. The results show that the stiffness increased linearly with the logarithm of time when samples were allowed to age at constant stress ratio. Stiffness changed very rapidly over the first 1000 minutes after completion of consolidation, particularly for small increments of strain. The rate of stiffness increase varied with stress path. The modulus degradation curve became steeper with time for specimens aged at a particular stress ratio; with the effect more pronounced at higher stress ratios. The ratio of volumetric to shear strain during shear also varied with ageing time and stress path. Isotropically consolidated and aged samples displayed much lower influence of time on stiffness and volume change behaviour than samples aged at higher stress ratios.
