ON THE MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF SATURATED CEMENTED MATERIALS .2. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

Results of experimental investigation and numerical simulations of the mechanical response of the saturated cemented materials are reported. Saturated as well as dry samples cored from commercially available fire bricks are used. The samples were tested in a triaxial rock cell at different initial confining pressures. The tests have been simulated using the constitutive framework proposed in Part I of this paper. The results both experimental and numerical, provide the evidence in support of the proposed stress decomposition, thereby questioning the validity of Terzaghi's principle for the considered class of materials.