Modelling the responses of Athabasca oil sand in triaxial compression tests at low pressure

摘要

Experimental data from drained triaxial compression tests on Athabasca oil sand at low confining pressures ranging from 50 to 750 kPa are presented. The tested specimens exhibited severe strain-softening with significant dilation but did not approach the critical state entirely by the end of the tests due to the formation of localized shear zones. A homogeneous deformational response in which the entire specimen would reach to the critical state was derived from the experimental response and the critical state parameters. A constitutive model is established to simulate both the experimental and homogeneous deformational responses of Athabasca oil sand. The model is based on describing the evolution of internal microstructural changes with sheer loading through a scalar disturbance function. The deformational response of the material is expressed in terms of the responses of its reference states, namely the virgin and fully disturbed states, through the scalar disturbance function. The virgin state of the material is modelled by a generalized single surface plasticity model, whereas the fully disturbed state is assumed to be the critical state. The parameters required to define the model were identified and evaluated. Comparisons between the predicted results and experimental data were made for model performance evaluation. [References: 20]