Mechanical behaviour of sand in simple shear at low stress levels and small strains

This work presents experimental results of cyclic simple shear tests at low effective stresses and in the small strain range, thus representative of the dominant stress path, stress and strain levels experienced by soil tested in flexible soil containers at 1-g stress conditions. The results constitute a useful database for the formulation and calibration of soil constitutive models in research works aimed at replicating soil behaviour in flexible soil containers. The measurements of soil response show clearly the importance of consideration of two types of hysteresis when replicating the mechanical response of soil at different strain levels representing the propagation of shear waves at different excitation levels. Applications of the obtained experimental results beyond earthquake geotechnical engineering, in offshore geotechnical engineering and in extraterrestrial environment, are briefly highlighted.