Abstract
This study presents the experimental results of direct tension tests conducted to investigate the effect of the loading rate on the tensile behavior of cement-treated sands. The displacement-controlled and load-controlled direct tension tests were carried out at different loading rates. The tensile properties of cement-treated soil specimens in air and water were investigated in the direct tension tests. The test results showed that the strain rate does not significantly affect the tensile behavior of the cement-treated sand specimens when the strain rate ranges from 1.0 × 10−7 s−1 to 1.0 × 10−3 s−1. The test results suggested that the quasi-static tensile strength can be reasonably used when evaluating the tensile failure behavior of cement-mixed grounds during earthquakes.