The engineering geology of the Lower Lias Clay at Blockley,Gloucestershire, UK

Summary The Lower Lias Clay at Blockley, 20 km due south of Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, is thought to be representative of this clay formation over much of the Severn Basin. As far as the mineralogy of the clay is concerned, illite is the dominant clay mineral, kaolinite being subsidiary, with quartz, calcite, pyrite and chlorite/vermiculite present in subsidiary or accessory amounts. Weathering changes the mineralogy, with illite being degraded and calcite and pyrite being removed. Furthermore free iron oxide coatings become important as a result of weathering, with the maximum concentrations being present in the highly weathered material.The unweathered clay possesses a preferred orientation associated with turbostratic structures. At certain horizons microfolding and remoulding occurs in the unweathered clay and silty layers are displaced. Weathering has progressively destroyed the micro-structures present in the weathered clay horizons.The fissures in the Lower Lias Clay occur in five uniplanar sets. In the unweathered clay the intensity is fairly constant but it increases in a narrow zone just below the weathered horizons. The number of curved fissures also increases at this depth. This intense fissuring continues into the lowest zone of weathered clay where weathering is confined to the fissure surfaces. Fissures become less apparent in the more weathered horizons as more and more degradation has taken place. However, new smaller fissure systems are developed in the weathered clay, as are desiccation cracks.Engineering index properties and values of shear strength are given. Relationships between moisture content and strength, liquid limit and iron (Fe) content were observed, and a relationship between weathering zones and the shear strength-depth curve was established.     

Stress-strain properties of Belfast estuarine clay

The extensive area of Postglacial soft silty clay at the head of Belfast Lough has caused many engineering problems in the central Belfast area. The clay is usually considered unsuitable as a bearing stratum, and consequently little attention has been paid in the past to detailed examination of its stress-strain behaviour. However, in the light of recent advances in foundation design based on clearer understanding of the response of soft clay to applied loading, tests have recently been carried out on typical samples of Belfast clay to achieve a more fundamental insight into the behaviour of the material. The paper describes triaxial tests on hand-trimmed samples of the clay and examines the behaviour with respect to yield and failure criteria, porewater pressure generation during shear, dependence of strength on direction and rate of testing, and “elastic” properties of the soil. The results show that the clay is lightly over-consolidated in the field, and that its behaviour is much more brittle, elastic and anisotropic than is suggested by routine sampling and testing procedures.     

The Speeton Clay of North Yorkshire, England: An investigation of its geotechnical properties

The Lower Cretaceous in North Yorkshire is represented by a marine succession termed the Speeton Clay. The principal minerals in these clays consist of quartz, mica and clay minerals, although pyrite, glauconite and siderite are notable in some beds. The proportions of clay minerals change within the Speeton Clay and generally illite becomes more important in the younger horizons.

The Speeton Clay is a silty clay which generally has a high plasticity, the latter being influenced by the proportion of clay fraction present. All the clays tested were inactive although they would appear to have a potential for expansion. Neither the plasticity nor the moisture content were affected by depth.

In terms of its undrained shear strength, most of the Speeton Clay could be regarded as a stiff clay. It was also insensitive with generally a low slake-durability index. Its coefficients of volume compressibility were characteristic of overconsolidated and heavily overconsolidated days.     

南海迭层土物理力学特性的研究

我国海域普遍分布有迭层土,由于结构的特殊性,对于其性质的准确把握,直接影响到海洋工程诸如打桩、钻井船插深等问题预测的准确性,关系到海洋工程建设的安全。现场进行孔压静力触探CPTU试验以及室内试验,分析我国南海海域迭层土的物理、力学性质的特点,对迭层土抗剪强度值的确定进行探讨。CPTU试验数据显示,迭层土的物理力学性质与单一土层具有较明显的差异;由于迭层土中砂层的存在,室内三轴不排水剪切试验（UU试验）确定的不排水强度明显偏低,是CPTU确定的不排水抗剪强度的下限值。CPTU的结果可以较好地反映了迭层土的特点,根据CPTU试验结果得到的摩阻比变化范围较大,在0～8之间远大于一般的砂土或黏土的变化范围,摩阻比与修正端阻之间的关系可用双曲线近似表示。建议进行静力分析时,迭层土不排水抗剪强度参数选取应参考CPTU试验结果。     

孔隙溶液对粉质黏土界限含水率的影响

针对桂林地区的粉质黏土,运用液、塑限联合测定法探讨了不同孔隙溶液作用下土体的界限含水率,并利用扫描电镜（SEM）技术从微观层面分析了水化学环境变异下土体的水化学-力学耦合作用对结构特性造成的影响。试验结果表明,随着孔隙溶液浓度的增大,粉质黏土的界限含水率均减小,且在相同浓度下同价阳离子半径较小的水溶液使得粉质黏土界限含水率下降的较为明显,随着阳离子价位的增高,其下降的幅度更大;该现象的产生主要是由于离子浓度及离子价位的增大,使得扩散双电层的厚度减小,而双电层对于土体界限含水率存在直接的控制作用。除此以外,通过探测土体的微观结构发现,水化学-力学耦合作用使得粉质黏土颗粒间发生絮凝作用,致使土粒形成粒团,土颗粒间孔隙增大,架空孔隙变多。     

扰动后黏土强度指标与细观参数相关性初探

受扰动后土体抗剪强度常发生衰减,从细观尺度探讨了黏土细观参数与动后强度指标的关系。发现扭剪和单剪对土体静强度影响显著,稳定后强度折减范围在20%～50%,但仍然高于重塑土静强度。随着扰动次数增加,黏聚力与内摩擦角均表现出前期迅速衰减,之后放缓并稳定的趋势。选取了5种典型细观参数进行分析,发现扭剪作用下,土体纵断面与横断面孔隙数增长率相近;单剪作用下,由于径向平面内不存在切应变,横断面的孔隙增长率将小于纵断面。随着细观土颗粒数的增加,黏聚力首先线性下降,之后稳定在较低水平;而内摩擦角未呈现收敛趋势。     

安徽池州地区下蜀组沉积环境及成因探讨

采用磁化率、黏土矿物测试及粒度分析等手段,结合区域第四纪地质特征,从气候演变和岩相古地理等角度探讨了安徽池州地区下蜀组的沉积环境及成因。该区下蜀组磁化率曲线呈波峰、波谷旋回特征;黏土矿物以伊利石为主,个别层位以蒙脱石、高岭石、绿泥石为主;粒度以粉砂为主,个别层位以粉砂及中粗砂为主。下蜀组沉积期间存在多次寒冷干燥到温暖潮湿的气候转换,整体为寒冷干燥气候的风成沉积,受古地理位置影响,沿江局部地区夹温暖潮湿气候条件下的长江水系冲积沉积。     

Consolidation behaviour of finely laminated clays

Thin highly permeable laminations have a significant influence on the rate of consolidation of many natural clays. Horne [1] presented analytical solutions for a particular type of problem. The range of solutions has been extended by the authors, who have used the more general finite element technique to solve consolidation problems of finely laminated clays under various geometry, load, and boundary conditions. Solutions are presented in graphical form to enable engineers to predict the rate of settlement for strip loads imposed on the surface of laminated clays. The effect of the laminations on the pore water pressure distribution, and the significant difference between a laminated (composite) material and an anisotropic material, are examined.     

An origin for laminated glacimarine sediments through sea-ice build-up and suppressed iceberg rafting

Laminated glacimarine sediments are observed in visual core logs and x-radiographs from Scoresby Sund and Nansen Fjord, east Greenland. They are mostly underlain and overlain by massive or stratified glacimarine diamicton (Dmm or Dms), which is a product of iceberg delivery of heterogeneous debris and, in Scoresby Sund, reworking by deep-drafted iceberg keels. The laminated sediments are AMS radiocarbon dated to two cold periods since the last, Late Weichselian deglaciation: the Younger Dryas stadial (Milne Land Stadial in east Greenland) and the Little Ice Age. During cold climatic events, multiyear shorefast sea ice ('sikussak') formed in these fjords and trapped the icebergs. Fine-grained, laminated muds (Fl) were deposited in Scoresby Sund when the flux of icebergs was suppressed, but turbid meltwater continued to provide some sediment flux to the fjord systems, varying through time to produce laminations. In Nansen Fjord, thinner and often massive mud layers (Fm) resulted from shorter intervals of sea-ice cover with no ice rafting. Stratified diamicton layers (Dms), which alternate with mud deposition to produce a laminated unit, probably represent intervening times of more open conditions with iceberg rafting. In Scoresby Sund, foraminifera are either absent from the laminated unit or begin to appear towards the end of its deposition. The absence of both benthic and planktonic foraminifera also suggests that multiyear sea ice was covering the core sites. There is no evidence of macrofaunal activity, and bioturbation is absent from the laminated sediments. Satellite data show that multiyear shorefast sea ice is present in several areas of the high Arctic today, and this traps icebergs calved from interior ice-cap drainage basins. Thus, the process of laminated glacimarine sediment formation is likely to be applicable to a number of areas of the modern and Quaternary Arctic.     

冻融循环对石灰处置粉质黏土静强度影响研究

以吉林－荒岗高速公路沿线的粉质黏土为研究对象,对不同石灰掺入比的土样试件进行0、2、4、6、8、10、12次冻融循环试验。通过室内静三轴试验,研究了冻融循环作用对石灰处置粉质黏土强度的影响。研究结果表明,石灰处置粉质黏土的应力-应变关系曲线呈应变软化型,峰值强度随围压增大而升高,粉质黏土峰值强度降低幅度值比石灰处置粉质黏土峰值强度降低幅度值大,经历4次冻融后应力-应变曲线峰值强度趋于稳定;冻融作用后石灰处置粉质黏土抗剪强度衰减率比粉质黏土的抗剪强度衰减率小,抗剪强度随围压的升高而增大;同一围压条件下石灰处置粉质黏土弹性模量随着冻融次数增加逐渐减小,经历4次冻融后基本趋于稳定。     

Laboratory and In Situ Simulation Tests of the Excavation Damaged Zone Around Galleries in Opalinus Clay

In the context of nuclear waste disposal in clay formations, laboratory and in situ simulation experiments were performed to study at reduced scale the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) around tunnels in the indurated Opalinus Clay at Mont Terri, Switzerland. In the laboratory, thick-walled hollow cylindrical specimens were subjected to a mechanical unloading mimicking a gallery excavation. In samples cored parallel to bedding, cracks sub-parallel to the bedding planes open and lead to a buckling failure in two regions that extend from the borehole in the direction normal to bedding. The behaviour is clearly anisotropic. On the other hand, in experiments performed on specimens cored perpendicular to bedding, there is no indication of failure around the hole and the response of the hollow cylinder sample is mainly isotropic. The in situ experiment at Mont Terri which consisted in the overcoring of a resin-injected borehole that follows the bedding strike of the Opalinus Clay showed a striking similarity between the induced damaged zone and the fracture pattern observed in the hollow cylinder tests on samples cored parallel to bedding and such a bedding controlled “Excavation” Damaged Zone is as well consistent with the distinct fracture patterns observed at Mont Terri depending on the orientation of holes/galleries with respect to the bedding planes. Interestingly, the damaged zone observed in the hollow cylinder tests on samples cored parallel to bedding and in situ around URL galleries is found to develop in reverse directions in Boom Clay (Mol) and in Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri). This most probably results from different failure mechanisms, i.e. shear failure along conjugated planes in the plastic Boom Clay, but bedding plane splitting and buckling in the indurated Opalinus Clay.     

动、静载环境下界面土直剪试验

为了探究土体界面土的力学性质及其变化规律,以粉土、粉质黏土和碎石土作为试验材料,以法向应力大小、上下土层类型、界面处理方式、动载环境、静载环境和动载作用时长等作为试验变量因素,运用正交试验设计方法对不同类型的原状土和重塑土试样进行室内直剪试验,得到了土体界面土的剪力-位移本构曲线,根据曲线中的峰值抗剪强度计算出了能够反映界面土抵抗黏性破坏能力的黏结系数。试验结果表明：粉土的黏结系数小于粉质黏土;界面土的抗剪强度与上下土层的结合类型相关,界面土的粗糙度越大,界面土处的土体接触越充分,则界面土的力学性质越好;随着动载作用时间的增加,土体界面土的抗剪强度会有所下降;并且,界面土的力学性质与上下土层性质之间有一定的联系。     

Anisotropic viscoplastic modeling of rate‐dependent behavior of clay

The objective of this study is to derive an effective stress‐based constitutive law capable of predicting rate‐dependent stress–strain, stress path and undrained shear strength and creep behavior. The flow rule used in the MIT‐E3 model and viscoplasticity theory is employed in the derivation. The model adopts the yield surface capable of representing the yield behavior of the Taipei silty clay and assumes that it is initially symmetric about the K₀‐line. A method is then developed to compute the gyration and expansion of the loading surface to simulate the anisotropic behavior due to the principal stress rotation after shear. There are 11 parameters required for the model to describe the soil behavior and six of them are exactly the same as those used in the Modified Cam‐clay model. The five additional parameters can be obtained by parametric studies or conventional soil tests, such as consolidation tests, triaxial compression and extension tests. Finally, verification of the model for the anisotropic behavior, creep behavior and the rate‐dependent undrained stress–strain and shear strength of the Taipei silty clay is conducted. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大连滨海粉质黏土剪切力学特性环剪试验

以大连滨海地区典型粉质黏土为研究对象,利用大型高速环剪仪,针对不同法向应力和剪切速率条件下该粉质黏土大剪切力学性质的变化情况进行了试验。环剪试验结果显示：1）该滨海粉质黏土在正常固结状态下出现明显的应变软化现象,分析表明其应变软化特性主要与土中黏土矿物质量分数及其在剪切过程中的定向排列有关。2）在相同剪切速率下,峰值强度和残余强度随法向应力的增加而增大,峰值强度与法向应力之间表现出良好的线性关系。3）由于峰值强度产生过程中土体内部黏聚力的变化,峰值强度随剪切速率的增加而增大;残余强度变化与剪切速率具有一定的相关性,这与不同剪切速率下剪切带（面）处黏土颗粒定向排列程度不同有关。     

粉质黏土的真三轴试验及强度特性研究

为研究复杂应力路径下粉质黏土强度特性,利用TSW-40型土壤真三轴仪,开展了不同试验条件下粉质黏土的真三轴试验。研究了真三维应力状态下粉质黏土应力-应变曲线变化规律,探讨了含水率、固结围压和中主应力比等试验条件对粉质黏土强度的影响规律,对比分析了真三维应力状态下 平面上粉质黏土试验值与Mohr-Coulomb（简称M-C）强度准则和双剪强度准则的差异。研究结果表明：真三维应力状态下粉质黏土的广义剪应力-剪应变曲线主要表现为应变硬化型。粉质黏土强度随中主应力比和固结围压的增大而增大,随着含水率的增大而减小。 平面上粉质黏土的强度包络线随静水压力 的增大向外逐渐扩展,随含水率 的增大向内逐渐收缩。 平面上M-C强度极限线和双剪强度屈服极限线与试验值对比分析表明,M-C强度准则描述土体强度时结果偏小,采用双剪强度准则时结果偏大。     

Composition and origin of the clay cover on North Brazilian laterites

The Belterra Clay in Northern Brazil is a uniform, yellowish, unstratified kaolinitic clay with variable contents of gibbsite. It is generally 5–10 m thick and covers a lateritic weathering crust on remnants of a dissected table-land. Complete profiles with Belterra Clay, the underlying bauxite/laterite and saprolite/bed rock were sampled in three areas of the Amazon region. The chemical and mineralogical data show a distinct affinity between the Belterra Clay and the underlying layers above all with the saprolite. Variations in the composition of the underlaying layers are reflected by the Belterra Clay. Among the structural and textural features important for the discussion of the origin of the Belterra Clay are the sharp contact between the clay cover and the underlying laterite as well as conglomeritic/brecciate textures and occasional bedding structure in the upper part of the lateritic crust. The detailed analyses do not permit definite conclusions on the origin of the Belterra Clay. Three hypotheses ar discussed:

1. In-situ formation of the clay cover by weathering processes.
2. Clay deposition after lateral transport of saprolitic material coming from former elevations inside or outside the present laterite areas.
3. Vertical transport of the saprolitic material to the surface by termites. However, thicknesses up to 20 m of the Belterra Clay cannot be explained solely by this process.

The compositional relations of the Belterra Clay with the underlying layers are of practical relevance for geological mapping and for mineral exploration.     

鄂尔多斯盆地延长组泥页岩储层SiO2赋存状态研究

鄂尔多斯盆地泥页岩储层纯页岩段黏土矿物含量高,储集空间体积小。因此,黏土矿物转化释放的二氧化硅缺乏足够的空间,不能生长成自生石英,只能以非晶态存在于黏土矿物之间;而其粉砂质泥岩夹层中常见微米级孔洞。孔洞由长石溶蚀和黏土矿物转化形成,内部则发育晶形完好的自生石英、绿泥石及含铁方解石。此外,粉砂质泥岩的碎屑颗粒间常发育结块状非晶态二氧化硅,碎屑石英颗粒周围则以次生加大边的形式发育粒状和席状(或片状)非晶态二氧化硅。二氧化硅主要来源于黏土矿物转化与石英碎屑颗粒溶蚀。     

The fissility of some Carboniferous shales

Laminations control the fissility of a sequence of shales and mudstones from the Upper Carboniferous Coal Measures in Britain. This was established by measuring the thickness of pairs of laminations in unweathered borehole material and comparing with the thickness of shale fragments at the outcrop of the same sequence. The parallel orientation of the clay minerals is not responsible for the fissility and it could be that its importance has been overestimated. The processes responsible for the formation and preservation of the laminations will also produce a well orientated clay fabric and hence fissility and clay orientation may be indirectly related.     

Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils

Clay soil can be stabilized by the addition of small percentages, by weight, of lime, thereby enhancing many of the engineering properties of the soil and producing an improved construction material. In order to illustrate such improvements, three of the most frequently occurring minerals in clay deposits, namely, kaolinite, montmorillonite and quartz were subjected to a series of tests. As lime stabilization is most often used in relation to road construction, the tests were chosen with this in mind. Till and laminated clay were treated in similar fashion. With the addition of lime, the plasticity of montmorillonite was reduced whilst that of kaolinite and quartz was increased somewhat. However, the addition of lime to the till had little influence on its plasticity but a significant reduction occurred in that of the laminated clay. All materials experienced an increase in their optimum moisture content and a decrease in their maximum dry density, as well as enhanced California bearing ratio, on addition of lime. Some notable increases in strength and Young's Modulus occurred in these materials when they were treated with lime. Length of time curing and temperature at which curing took place had an important influence on the amount of strength developed.     

非饱和粉土静、动强度对比试验研究

针对非饱和重塑粉土,利用改进的可控制吸力式非饱和土静力-动力液压三轴-扭转多功能剪切仪,进行了多组固结排水非饱和土静、动三轴试验,探讨了非饱和粉土静、动强度特性,分析了粉土静三轴强度随固结压力、吸力变化的规律,以及动强度随固结压力、吸力以及破坏振动次数变化的规律,研究表明粉土静、动强度之间具有很强的相关性。最后,通过归一化处理提出了利用粉土的静三轴强度推求相应的动力强度曲线的公式,从而达到在非饱和土地基稳定性分析中减少工作量的目的。