Dynamic behavior of natural sand soils and fiber reinforced soils in heavy-haul railway embankment under multistage cyclic loading

Abstract In this study, dynamic triaxial tests of natural sand soils and fiber reinforced soils were conducted. The influence of loading frequency, water content, and compaction degree on the dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio of natural soils were identified. Different fiber length, confining pressure, and fiber content were studied to gain the dynamic characteristics of fiber reinforced soils. The results show that the water content and compaction degree has a significant effect on the dynamic behavior of natural soils, and confining pressure and fiber content has a visible reinforcement effect on the dynamic characteristic of fiber reinforced soils. The empirical formulas of maximum dynamic shear modulus (Gd max), ultimate shear stress (τdult), and damping ratio ( λ ) were generate, which can provide references for fiber reinforced soil design.