Numerical Simulation of the Shear Behaviour of Cement Grout

Abstract

Cement grout is widely used in civil engineering and mining engineering. The shear behaviour of the cement grout plays an important role in determining the stability of the systems. To better understand the shear behaviour of the cement grout, numerical direct shear tests were conducted. Cylindrical cement grout samples with two different strengths were created and simulated. The numerical results were compared and validated with experimental results. It was found that, in the direct shear process, although the applied normal stress was constant, the normal stress on the contacted shear failure plane was variable. Before the shear strength point, the normal stress increased slightly. Then, it decreased gradually. Moreover, there was a nonuniform distribution of the normal stress on the contacted shear failure plane. This nonuniform distribution was more apparent when the shear displacement reached the shear strength point. Additionally, there was a shear stress distribution on the contacted shear failure plane. However, at the beginning of the direct shear test, the relative difference of the shear stresses was quite small. In this stage, the shear stress distribution can be assumed uniform on the contacted shear failure plane. However, once the shear displacement increased to around the shear strength point, the relative difference of the shear stresses was obvious. In this stage, there was an apparent nonuniform shear stress distribution on the contacted shear failure plane.