Cyclic Triaxial Testing on Undisturbed Samples of Rhyolitic Material from the Waikato Region

Abstract

This report describes the suite of cyclic triaxial testing which has been undertaken at the University of Canterbury on undisturbed specimens of rhyolitic deposits from the locations of AP12a, AP13a and AP14a close to Waihi. The main body of the report contains descriptions of laboratory procedures and a summary of the testing and results from the triaxial testing. Detailed plots of test data for each specimen is provided in the appendices. Testing on the specimens was conducted in two series: the first (on specimens from AP13a at approx. 10 -12m depth) involved testing at 1.05 times the estimated in-situ effective stresses (assuming a saturated unit weight of 16kN/m3 and a water table depth of 0.5m as advised by Engineering Geology Ltd). The second test series involved testing specimens at 400kPa to investigate the behaviour of the material under elevated stress levels.