{"title":"Hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite under the erosion of alkaline solution and its prediction model","authors":"Guosheng Xiang, Yunze Bai, Shaohui Song, Guojun Cai, Yongfu Xu, Jinkun Huang, Hongri Zhang, Jin Chang, Yinkang Zhou","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03191-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03191-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bentonite is widely employed in landfill liners for hazardous waste containment owing to its strong adsorptive and swelling capacity. However, alkaline industrial effluents can induce significant degradation, impairing its hydraulic performance. This study investigates the influence of NaOH solutions on the swelling and permeability of bentonite through swelling and consolidation tests. Results indicate that elevated alkalinity reduces the swelling rate and increases the permeability coefficient. XRD analyses confirm a progressive decrease in montmorillonite content with increasing NaOH concentration, which directly explains the loss of swelling ability. SEM observations reveal that alkaline conditions cause montmorillonite particles to fragment and aggregate into clusters, forming larger inter-aggregate seepage channels. MIP data further corroborate a shift in pore size distribution from small to larger pores, facilitating more permeable pathways. The swelling behavior was modeled using an <i>e–p</i><sub><i>e</i></sub> fractal approach, where <i>e</i> is the void ratio and <i>p</i><sub><i>e</i></sub> denotes effective stress incorporating osmotic suction. Fitted parameters show that the swelling coefficient <i>η</i> decreases with montmorillonite content, while the fractal dimension <i>D</i><sub><i>s</i></sub> increases due to microstructural coarsening. By incorporating the number of montmorillonite layers (<i>n</i><sub><i>s</i></sub>), the permeability–void ratio relationship was refined. A predictive model for permeability under external load was developed and validated against experimental data. This work clarifies the microstructural evolution of bentonite under alkaline attack and provides a theoretical basis for predicting its long-term engineering performance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5479 - 5496"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03227-8
Jiayuan Fu, Yan Su, Jun Jiang, Xiaohe Lai, Chuan Lin, Xiudong Xie, Guoye Zhao
{"title":"A regional landslide susceptibility mapping framework considering mechanism uncertainty and cross-class adversarial constraints","authors":"Jiayuan Fu, Yan Su, Jun Jiang, Xiaohe Lai, Chuan Lin, Xiudong Xie, Guoye Zhao","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03227-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03227-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>AI-driven models have become an important tool for regional landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM). However, existing methods rarely account for heterogeneity-induced mechanism uncertainty, which often manifests as ambiguous typology boundaries among landslide units under multi-factor controls. They also fail to capture the divergent responses of landslide and non-landslide units in similar environments, weakening interpretability and generalization. This study proposes a regional LSM framework based on unsupervised clustering and heterogeneous graph learning, aiming to explicitly encode a cluster-derived landslide typology and cross-class contrastive constraints within a unified modeling framework to improve regional-scale interpretability and predictive performance. The framework first applies unsupervised clustering to characterize latent differentiation in predisposing mechanisms among landslide slope units. It then constructs a multi-semantic heterogeneous graph from the derived typology groups and non-landslide samples: within-group consistency relations reinforce shared representations, while cross-class contrast relations model divergent responses under similar environments. A confidence-driven pseudo-label strategy further enables dynamic relation updating to enhance robustness. Finally, a heterogeneous graph attention network performs probabilistic susceptibility prediction on the resulting graph. A case study in a county of Fujian Province, southeastern coastal China, shows that the proposed model achieves an <i>AUC</i> of 0.941, representing an average relative improvement of 17.040% over the baselines (LR, MLP, RF, SVM, and GCN). The resulting susceptibility map also captures 124 recurrently failed slope units (RFSs), and the derived typology supports interpretation of type-specific predisposing conditions. The proposed framework provides a data-driven pathway that advances both predictive performance and process-level interpretability for regional landslide risk identification and refined susceptibility zoning.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5455 - 5478"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03215-y
Junyu Ren, Xuanming Ding, Zhaogang Luo, Changhe Yan, Lixing Liu
{"title":"Quantitative assessment of the liquefaction resistance of Zanda silty sand using SHAP analysis","authors":"Junyu Ren, Xuanming Ding, Zhaogang Luo, Changhe Yan, Lixing Liu","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03215-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03215-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>With the rapid development of railway and highway infrastructure across the seismically active Tibetan Plateau, understanding the liquefaction behavior of local plateau lacustrine deposits has become increasingly important. This study investigates the liquefaction resistance of Zanda silty through a comprehensive series of undrained cyclic simple shear tests, considering the effects of consolidation pressure, relative density, initial shear stress ratio (<i>α</i>), and cyclic shear stress ratio (CSR). Both the individual and coupled effects of these factors were quantitatively evaluated using novel SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis. The distinctive mechanical behavior of Zanda silty sand is revealed, and a groundbreaking framework for multi-factor soil analysis is also established. The results show that the adverse interaction between α and <i>CSR</i> becomes more pronounced with increasing <i>α</i>. Zanda silty sand exhibits relatively low sensitivity to relative density and a non-monotonic relationship between liquefaction resistance and initial vertical stress. In addition, a critical cyclic loading threshold was identified, beyond which the soil structure deteriorates rapidly, leading to brittle failure particularly under high <i>α</i> and <i>CSR</i> conditions. This study provides essential insights into the behavior of plateau silty sand and offer valuable parameters for seismic design of infrastructure in the Tibetan Plateau region.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5405 - 5432"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03190-4
Chao Liu, Tong Dong, Sui Wang, Likun Hua, Liang Kong
{"title":"Effect of inherent anisotropy and principal stress rotation on the cyclic response of calcareous sand","authors":"Chao Liu, Tong Dong, Sui Wang, Likun Hua, Liang Kong","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03190-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03190-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Calcareous sand foundations or seabed face numerous challenges in complex marine environments. Among these, the coupled effects of principal stress rotation and inherent anisotropy on the cyclic properties of calcareous sand remain unclear. Therefore, this study utilized an inclined sand specimen preparation apparatus (ISSPA) to prepare specimens with different bedding angles <i>α</i><sub>3</sub>. Based on this, a series of principal stress rotation tests accounting for inherent anisotropy—also termed biaxial rotation of principal stress tests—were conducted. The test results indicate that pore pressure and deformation exhibit two distinct development patterns. Liquefaction resistance initially increases and subsequently decreases with increasing bedding angle <i>α</i><sub>3</sub>, while it decreases with increasing cyclic stress ratio (CSR). Specimens with a bedding angle <i>α</i><sub>3</sub> of 45° demonstrate the highest resistance to liquefaction. Interestingly, the pore pressure at the strain turning point was approximately 0.83 times the mean effective pressure <i>p</i>′. Furthermore, both bedding angle <i>α</i><sub>3</sub> and CSR significantly influenced the stress–strain relationship. Larger bedding angles resulted in a slower stiffness decay of calcareous sand under principal stress rotation. Based on the test results, mathematical models describing excess pore pressure Δ<i>u</i>, generalized shear strain <i>γ</i><sub>g</sub>, axial shear modulus <i>E</i><sub>a</sub>, and damping ratio <i>D</i><sub>a</sub> were established.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5383 - 5404"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03217-w
Minguo Lin, Zi Ye, Geng Chen, Yonghui Chen, Ruobin Su, Yanxiang Guo
{"title":"Engineering properties and microstructure of ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash-based geopolymer stabilized dredged sludge prepared with a novel activator","authors":"Minguo Lin, Zi Ye, Geng Chen, Yonghui Chen, Ruobin Su, Yanxiang Guo","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03217-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03217-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Geopolymers synthesized from aluminosilicate precursors and activators offer lower carbon emissions than cement for dredged sludge (DS) stabilization. However, the high cost and energy consumption of conventional sodium silicate (SS)-based activators (sodium silicate + sodium hydroxide) hinder their widespread adoption. This study proposed a new room-temperature mixed silica fume (SF)-based activator (silica fume + sodium hydroxide) as an alternative to SS-based activators, which require high-temperature fusion/hydrothermal synthesis, for geopolymer preparation in marine DS stabilization engineering. The effects of six factors (activator content, activator modulus, aluminosilicate content, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) proportion, moisture, and content curing age) on the engineering properties (strength and workability) and microstructure of SF-based geopolymer stabilized DS were investigated. A comparative analysis of unconfined compression strength (UCS), cost, and carbon emissions was conducted among SF-based geopolymer stabilized DS, SS-based geopolymer stabilized DS, and cement stabilized DS. The results showed that reducing the activator modulus and moisture content, while increasing the aluminosilicate content, curing age, and GGBS proportion, effectively improved the UCS of SF-based geopolymer stabilized DS. The peak UCS value was achieved at a mass ratio of SF-based activator to aluminosilicate of 1:3. The setting time decreased with higher activator content, aluminosilicate content, GGBS proportion, and curing age, but increased with higher activator modulus and moisture content. Compared with conventional stabilized DS, the SF-based geopolymer stabilized DS exhibited the highest UCS, the lowest cost, and the lowest carbon emissions. Microstructural analysis revealed that the SF-based activator underwent geopolymerization with GGBS and FA to form C–A–S–H gel. This gel enhanced the compactness of the DS skeleton by cementing loose particles and filling interparticle pores, thereby accelerating hardening and improving strength of stabilized DS.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5433 - 5454"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-08-31DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03242-9
Yadong Wang, Wei Wu, Xiaogang Guo, Hongcheng Jiao
{"title":"A simple constitutive framework for thinning–thickening transitions in dense granular–fluid mixtures","authors":"Yadong Wang, Wei Wu, Xiaogang Guo, Hongcheng Jiao","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03242-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03242-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A unified constitutive framework is developed for dense fine-granular mixtures exhibiting apparent shear thinning and continuous or discontinuous shear thickening in the macro-viscous flow regime. The effective granular stress is decomposed into viscoplastic structural and suspension-stress contributions. The former is obtained from a hypoplastic model combined with a Herschel–Bulkley rheology, whereas the latter encompasses the <span>(mu (I_m))</span> rheology and the Wyart–Cates frictional-contact transition, and shows stress-dependent jamming state. Benchmark calculations show that the proposed formulation captures the transition between shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviour. A depth-averaged long-wave analysis further shows that non-monotonicity induced by discontinuous shear thickening may persist to promote instability in the macro-viscous flow regime.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5341 - 5362"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11440-026-03242-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-08-31DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03247-4
Kangle Zuo, Jun Yang
{"title":"Evolution and hysteresis of K0 in granular soils under repeated loading: the role of particle shape","authors":"Kangle Zuo, Jun Yang","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03247-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03247-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The coefficient of earth pressure at rest (<i>K</i><sub>0</sub>) is a fundamental parameter in geotechnical analysis and design. Its evolution under repeated loading remains inadequately understood, particularly concerning the effects of particle shape. This study systematically investigates the combined influence of particle morphology and relative density on the evolution and hysteresis of <i>K</i><sub>0</sub> using the discrete element method. Five granular assemblies with distinct, realistic particle shapes but identical particle size distributions are examined across three density states (loose, medium dense, and dense). The results show that denser specimens composed of more irregular particles exhibit lower <i>K</i><sub>0</sub> values during virgin loading. During unloading and reloading, pronounced hysteresis is observed, which becomes more significant with non-spherical particles. The unloading and reloading coefficients display clear linear correlations with various particle shape descriptors. Micromechanical analyses reveal that the hysteresis of <i>K</i><sub>0</sub> cannot be fully explained by changes in the coordination number alone but is primarily governed by the anisotropic evolution of contact force networks. The stress–force–fabric framework effectively captures the evolution of <i>K</i><sub>0</sub>, emphasizing the dominant role of normal force anisotropy, while contact normal and branch vector anisotropies play a lesser role. A unified exponential relationship between <i>K</i><sub>0</sub> and normal force anisotropy is identified, which is independent of density, stress history, and particle shape. These findings offer new insights into the micromechanical origins of <i>K</i><sub>0</sub> hysteresis and its dependence on particle morphology under repeated stress paths.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 8","pages":"5363 - 5381"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11440-026-03247-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-06-10DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03046-x
Xiaomin Liang, Xiaoqiang Gu, Jing Hu
{"title":"Numerical study on the particle shape-induced fabric anisotropy and wave velocity anisotropy in granular soils","authors":"Xiaomin Liang, Xiaoqiang Gu, Jing Hu","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03046-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03046-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Inherent anisotropy of granular materials arising from particle morphology can be characterized through fabric anisotropy, a key index linking grain-scale characteristics to macroscopic mechanical responses. We develop a theoretical framework that utilizes directional elastic wave velocity to quantify the fabric anisotropy induced by particle shape in transversely isotropic granular media. Discrete element method simulations are performed to investigate the effect of void ratio and to validate the proposed macro–micro relationships. The results reveal that the mechanical coordination number decreases with increasing void ratio, leading to a reduction in wave velocity. Branch vector anisotropy exhibits a stronger correlation with the evolution of wave velocity anisotropy than contact normal anisotropy. The analysis further confirms that, in random packings, wave velocity is primarily governed by contact stiffness and the projection of branch vector length along the wave propagation direction. A simplified particle shape-induced fabric descriptor is proposed, and the relationship with elastic wave velocity anisotropy is established based on effective medium theory with contact-stiffness linearization about the current state and Hertz–Mindlin contact law. This study enables practical characterization of inherent anisotropy and improves predictive capability of constitutive models incorporating fabric evolution in granular soils with diverse shapes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 6","pages":"3317 - 3334"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148366058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-06-06DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03051-0
Long-Chuan Deng, Hailing Shi, Chi Zhang, Wentao Xu, Xiao-Zhao Li, Juan-Juan Li
{"title":"Evaluation on rock-breaking performance of different TBM disc cutters based on full-scale rotary cutting test and discrete element method","authors":"Long-Chuan Deng, Hailing Shi, Chi Zhang, Wentao Xu, Xiao-Zhao Li, Juan-Juan Li","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03051-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03051-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The cutter ring shape is one of the key factors determining the rock-breaking efficiency and force characteristics of the disc cutter. This study systematically investigates the rock-breaking performance of three typical cutter ring shapes including flat-edge, round-edge, and alloy-tooth through rotational rock-breaking experiments and discrete element method. It reveals their mechanical mechanisms, rock chip formation patterns, and energy utilization efficiency from both macro- and micro-perspectives. Findings indicate that cutter ring shape governs distinctly different rock-breaking modes by changing rock-machine contact area and stress distribution. Flat-edged disc cutters exhibit planar extrusion rock-breaking, featuring the highest size and fluctuation of cutting force. They produce large, highly flattened rock fragments with crack systems dominated by deep radial fractures. However, excessive energy consumption in rock grinding results in the lowest rock-breaking efficiency. Round-edged disc cutters achieve an efficient balance between compression and shear forces, delivering relatively stable cutting force. They produce uniformly sized, medium-sized rock chips with the lowest flatness, featuring fully regularized fracture propagation. As exhibiting lower specific energy and higher roughness index, they offer the most optimal overall rock-breaking efficiency. Alloy-toothed disc cutters employ point-impact chipping, experiencing minimal but fluctuating forces. They produce fine-grained cuttings with predominantly lateral fracture propagation and a high proportion of tensile fractures. While their rock-breaking efficiency surpasses that of flat-edged disc cutter, their alloy teeth are prone to chipping in hard rock, limiting their applicability. Furthermore, results have determined an optimal cutting depth of approximately 6 mm, yielding the most favourable rock chip morphology and highest rock-breaking efficiency. In summary, for high-strength hard rock, the round-edged disc cutter delivers superior stress management, rock fragmentation, and energy efficiency, establishing it as the optimal choice for shield tunneling. This research provides crucial theoretical foundations for the precise selection of shield cutters and the optimization of tunnelling parameters.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 7","pages":"4283 - 4309"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta GeotechnicaPub Date : 2026-06-06DOI: 10.1007/s11440-026-03098-z
A. S. M. Riyad, Buddhima Indraratna, Yujie Qi, Miriam Tawk, Chathuri Madhusanka Kulappu Arachchige, Hadi Khabbaz
{"title":"Fatigue behaviour of a rubber–coal wash mixture based on cyclic triaxial shearing","authors":"A. S. M. Riyad, Buddhima Indraratna, Yujie Qi, Miriam Tawk, Chathuri Madhusanka Kulappu Arachchige, Hadi Khabbaz","doi":"10.1007/s11440-026-03098-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11440-026-03098-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The reuse of recycled materials in transportation infrastructure has gained significant popularity in recent years. Particularly, recent studies have explored the use of coal wash and rubber crumbs mixtures (CWRC) to create a synthetic, energy-absorbing railway capping layer, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional materials. Although previous studies have examined the mixture’s deformation characteristics, particle breakage, damping properties, and resilient behaviour under cyclic loading, its fatigue behaviour remains largely unexplored. The current research aims to investigate the effect of the applied cyclic deviator stress on the fatigue behaviour of this waste mixture, by evaluating permanent deformation, particle breakage, resilient modulus, and shear modulus through a series of cyclic triaxial tests. Three distinct zones, namely the plastic shakedown zone, critical dynamic stress zone, and low-cycle fatigue zone, are identified based on the accumulated permanent deformation and the stress–life diagram. A detailed analysis of particle breakage, resilient modulus, and shear modulus associated with these three zones is also conducted. The findings of this study will significantly impact future track design by integrating the concept of fatigue under cyclic loading based on plasticity and yield envelopes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":"21 7","pages":"3787 - 3801"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11440-026-03098-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}