Assessment of the Friction Angle of Sand at the Interface of Various Construction Materials

Abstract This study compares the internal friction angle of sand at interface with different construction materials of concrete, steel, and wood. Material properties have been determined by the direct shear and pile model tests in the laboratory. Impacts of shearing rates of sand and other materials at interface were examined by the direct shear test. Pile model tests were conducted based on similar loading rates of direct shear test. According to the experimental results, a straight line of semi-logarithmic plot represents relationship among internal friction angle, interface friction angle and the shearing rate. In addition, shearing rate is increased with the enlargement of the pile diameter. Also, the interface friction angle is increased by the incremental variations of the internal friction angle of sand. Interface angles of various construction materials are less than the internal friction angle of sand because of the fluctuation of the shearing rate. However, it can be said that the interface angle depends proportionally on the roughness of materials, shearing rate, and pile diameter.