ABSTRACT
A large-scale slope failure of embankment, which consists of volcanic sediment, in Fukushima Prefecture of Japan, occurred due to the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Some signatures of liquefaction have been observed in the site. When investigating the embankment slope failure mechanism, it is necessary to study the effects of particle breakage. In this study, some monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were conducted for the sampled soil to investigate the change of the particle size distribution caused by applying various stress and the influence on the shear strength characteristics due to the particle breakage. From the test results, it was revealed that the sampled soil, subjected to the effective isotropic consolidation stress of 100 kPa or less, increases the particle breakage amount rapidly and the shear resistance angle is significantly reduced with the increase of the particle breakage amount.
