Structural-morphological features of kaolinite from clayey rocks subjected to different stages of lithogenesis: Evidence from the Voronezh anteclise

This paper reports the results of precision structural-morphological study of kaolinite from clayey rocks taken in various areas of the Voronezh anteclise subjected to different stages of lithogenesis: primary kaolins of the weathering crust, proluvial-talus and lacustrine secondary kaolins, as well as lacustrine-swampy fireproof and deltaic-lagoonal refractory clays. The clayey material was transported over more than 300 km. The formation of the fireproof and refractory kaolin deposits in the Voronezh anteclise was related to the Devonian and Early Cretaceous stages of the geological evolution of the region. In terms of spatiotemporal and facies features, the studied genetic series of the kaolin clay deposits is unique. It was established that the sequential structural-morphological evolution o kaolinite in the considered deposits was caused by its mechanical disintegration during transport and redeposition. Interrelation between organic and mineral matters in the fireproof clays was revealed for the first time. Experimental studies of the behavior of kaolinite during sequential grinding and heating confirmed the main reasons for its natural degradation. The formation of virtually monomineral kaolin clays was provoked by the “flow-through” diagenesis, which is similar to weathering in trend. Evolution of mineral matter of the considered genetic series in kaolinite clay deposits was accompanied by the increase of δ¹⁸O values and their dispersion. Peculiarities identified in the behavior of kaolinite and related oxygen isotope characteristics of different-aged denudation and redeposition products of the Devonian weathering crust can play an indicator role in studying different stages of the lithogenesis of clayey rocks.     

A Solution to the Problem of Predicting the Suitability of Silty–clayey Materials for Cement-stabilization

Major geotechnical problems in construction involving silty–clayey soils are due to their low strength, durability and high compressibility of soft soils, and the swell–shrink nature of the overconsolidated swelling soils. Confronted with these problems, a suitable ground improvement technique is needed, for deep excavations in soft clays, for stability, durability and deformation control. Cement-stabilization is one of the alternatives. An increase in strength and durability, reduction in deformability are the main aims of this method. Conventional cement-stabilization methods are used mainly for surface treatment. However, the use of cement has recently been extended to a greater depth in which cement columns were installed to act as a type of soil reinforcement (deep cement–soil mixing and cement jet grouting). In situ engineering properties of these silty–clayey soils are often variable and difficult to predict. For this reason cement-stabilization methods have a basic target to control the aforementioned engineering properties of these clays so that the properties of a silty–clayey soil become more like the properties of a soft rock such as clayey shale or lightly cemented sandstone. So cement-stabilization of these soils is essential to control their engineering properties and to predict their engineering behaviour for construction. In an effort to predict, classify and study the suitability of silty–clayey soils for cement-stabilization both slaking and unconfined compressive strength tests were carried out on clayey–sand mixtures consisted of two types of clays, kaolin and bentonite. Finally diagrams were prepared to study the variation of slaking and strength due to compaction, curing time and cement percentage and also to predict areas of efficient cement-stabilization.     

爆炸挤淤作用对海相软黏土压缩特性的影响

浙江漩门三期围垦项目中采用爆炸挤淤置换法进行筑堤工程,为了对爆炸置换后海堤的固结沉降预测及稳定性评价提供可靠的试验参数,取爆炸前后地基范围内的海相软黏土,进行一维压缩和各向等压固结试验,并对该地区软土的压缩变形与结构特性进行初步研究。试验结果表明,海相软黏土存在一定的结构特性,表现出与其重塑土不同的性质;通过引入孔隙指数的概念,研究该地区软黏土的结构性,证实土体结构性的存在是其压缩特性不同于重塑样压缩曲线的内在原因,在高压力范围内其压缩曲线趋近于固有压缩曲线。爆炸挤淤作用对海相软黏土产生较强的扰动效应,也对其基本物理性质与压缩特性均产生重要影响;扰动效应造成软黏土的结构屈服应力降低,结构强度下降,采用新定义的结构破坏比来定量评估爆炸挤淤作用对海相软黏土结构性的破坏程度,可为爆炸挤淤置换法处理软基的海堤工程提供一定的理论基础。     

Mass property variability of some estuarine sediments

Bottom sediments from two areas of the York River Estuary of southeastern Virginia were systematically sampled to depths of 40 cm and analyzed for their mass properties, i.e., water content, unit weight, and shearing strength. The samples fell into: (1) a coarse-grained group of clayey sands, silty sands, and sand—silt—clays; and (2) a fine-grained group of silty clays and clayey silts. Analysis of variance between both groups revealed distinct differences in the mass properties. Means, variances, and coefficients of variation for each parameter were determined and made possible a statistical characterization of each sediment type.The data presented may be used to predict expectable values of mass properties for similar sediments, having experienced similar depositional histories, e.g., from neighboring estuaries and Chesapeake Bay.     

Landslide susceptibility assessment in Apulian Southern Apennine: heuristic vs. statistical methods

In this paper, a bivariate-heuristic model (modified Stevenson’s method) and two multivariate statistical procedures (discriminant analysis and logistic regression) were used in order to assess and map landslide susceptibility in the north-western side of Daunia region (Apulia, Southern Italy). The whole Daunia region is characterized by complex and composite landslides, which are located on clayey slopes, near urban centers, affecting structures and infrastructures. The high predisposition to landsliding of the Daunia hillslopes is related to the very poor strength properties of clayey formations. The comparative analysis of landslide susceptibility using different methods, on the same test site and with the same inventory map allowed understanding the dependence of the results from the dataset and the capability of models under different levels of use, from expert to simple operator. By comparing the performance of the three models through the success rate curves, it emerges that the simple modified Stevenson’s method produces reliable outcomes, comparable with those deriving from more complex multivariate statistical models. This result is related to the characteristics of clayey slopes, in which the landslide occurrence is so much controlled by the poor strength properties of the clayey formations that the multivariate analysis of a large set of morphometric, geological and land-use variables results to be somehow superfluous. This suggests that, for clayey slopes, a simple, easy-to-manage bivariate-heuristic model based on expert opinion can be used with reliable results.     

Landslide susceptibility assessment using the bivariate statistical analysis and the index of entropy in the Sibiciu Basin (Romania)

The Sibiciu Basin is located in Romania between the Buzău Mountains and the Buzau Subcarpathians (Curvature Carpathians and Subcarpathians). The geology of the basin consists of Paleogene flysch deposits represented by an alternation of sandstones, marls, clays and schists and Neogene deposits represented by marls, clays and sands. The area is affected by different types of landslides (shallow, medium-deep and deep-seated failures). In Romania, in the last decades, direct and indirect methods have been applied for landslide susceptibility assessment. The most utilized before 2000 were based on qualitative approaches. This study evaluates the landslide susceptibility in the Sibiciu Basin using a bivariate statistical analysis and an index of entropy. A landslide inventory map was prepared, and a susceptibility estimate was assessed based on the following parameters which influence the landslide occurrence: slope angle, slope aspect, curvature, lithology and land use. The landslide susceptibility map was divided into five classes showing very low to very high landslide susceptibility areas.     

Stratigraphy and radiolarians of upper cretaceous sedimentary cover of the Arakapas ophiolite massif (Cyprus)

In the basal interval, sedimentary cover of the Arakapas ophiolite massif (southern Cyprus) is composed of metalliferous sediments of the Perapedhi Formation that is divided into three sequences based on diverse radiolarian assemblages. These are basal umbers of the Cenomanian age presumably (2–20 m), interlayering cherts and umbers of the Turonian-Coniacian (6–10 m), and opoka-like cherts of the Coniacian-Santonian. Higher in the succession, there are olistostrome deposits of the Moni Formation, which unconformably rest on the eroded underlying strata. In this formation also divisible into three sequences, the lower one 200 to 300 m thick is composed of variegated, presumably Campanian silty clays containing olistoliths of basic, presumably Upper Triassic volcanics, Lower Cretaceous sandstones, and opoka-like cherts and cherty limestones of the Albian-lower Cenomanian. Next sequence (100–200 m) is represented by alternation of variegated silty and green bentonitic clays of the Campaian, which enclose frequent olistoliths and horizons of fine-clastic olistostrome breccias. The upper sequence of upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian bentonitic clays (50–100 m) contains interlayers of ash tuffs and clayey cherty sediments. Carbonate deposits of the upper Maastrichtian-Paleogene, conformably overlie the Moni Formation.     

川藏交通廊道黏土化蚀变岩发育特征及其对大型滑坡的促滑作用

黏土化蚀变岩是在岩浆期后热液作用或后期水热作用下形成的具有不良工程地质性质的特殊地质体.在野外调查、黏土矿物测试和物理力学试验分析的基础上,阐述了川藏交通廊道黏土化蚀变岩的形成条件、区域分布特征、地质特征及蚀变程度的判据,以白格滑坡为例揭示了黏土化蚀变岩对大型滑坡的促滑作用.结果表明,黏土化蚀变岩的区域分布受活动断裂、热液作用和地层岩性控制,常沿侵入岩脉、断裂带、岩浆岩节理密集带、侵入岩体与其他岩层的接触带等部位发育,其蚀变程度按蚀变系数可划分为微蚀变、弱蚀变、中等蚀变和强蚀变4个等级,在干湿交替和松弛条件下极易发生崩解、软化,中等-强蚀变的岩体抗剪强度低.黏土化蚀变岩对滑坡的促滑作用主要体现在强度弱化效应、岩体结构劣化效应及失稳滞后效应3个方面,是促进构造混杂岩带深切河谷斜坡失稳、形成大型滑坡不可忽视的重要因素.      

The role of the diagnostic areas in the assessment of landslide susceptibility models: a test in the sicilian chain

The aim of the research was to verify and compare the predictive power of different diagnostic areas in assessing landslide susceptibility with a multivariate approach. Scarps, landslide areas (the union between scarp and accumulation zones) and areas uphill from crowns, for rotational slides, source or scarp areas and landslide areas, for flows, have been tested. A multivariate approach was applied to assess the landslide susceptibility on the basis of three selected conditioning factors (lithology, slope angle, and topographic wetness index), which were combined in a Unique Condition Unit (UCU) layer. By intersecting the UCU layer with the vector layer of the diagnostic areas, landslide susceptibility models were produced, in which the susceptibility is assigned to each UCUs on the basis of the computed density function. In order to test the effects produced by selecting different diagnostic areas in the performance of the susceptibility models, validation procedures have been applied to evaluate and compare the performances of the derived predictive models. The validation results are estimated by comparing the prediction and the success rate curves, exploiting three morphometric indexes. A test area, the Guddemi river basin, was selected in the northern Sicilian Apennines chain, having a total area of nearly 25 km² and being mainly characterized by the outcropping of clays, calcilutites, and marly limestones. Aerial analysis, integrated with a field survey, resulted in the recognition of 111 earth-flow and 145 earth-rotational slide landslides. Scarps, for rotational slides, and both source and landslide areas, for flows, produced very satisfactory validation results. For rotational slides, areas uphill from crowns and landslide areas are both responsible for lower predictive performances, characterized by validation curves close to being flat shaped, due to their incapability of identifying specific slope (UCU) conditions. Moreover, because of their limited size, the areas uphill from crowns seem to suffer from a relevant geostatistical “instability”, when a splitting is performed to produce the validation domains, so that an enhanced shift between success and prediction rate curves is produced. By comparing the relative susceptibility maps, the research allowed us to evaluate the key role played by the selection of the diagnostic areas; the validation of the models is proposed as a tool to quantify such differences in terms of predictive performance.     

Nature minéralogique et rôle nutritionnel des argiles de sols céréaliers en région subhumide à semi-aride (Tunisie)

The cereal soils of the Northwest of Tunisia derive most of the time, from alluvial deposits or altered remains of carbonated and clayey rocks. Extraction of the clayey fraction permitted to reveal the presence of the following clayey minerals: kaolinite, illite, smectite, chlorite, as well as an illite–smectite interstratified layer, which is present in the deep horizons of the vertisol and in the isohumic soil. The presence of such types of clays shows that the evolution mechanism of soils is weathering of primary minerals inherited from the sedimentary rocks of the Northwest of Tunisia. These clays ensure to soils most of their cationic exchange capacity. Thanks to these clays, which have Ca⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺ and K⁺ as exchangeable cations, the chemical fertility of these soils is ensured. It may be improved by increasing contents of organic matter, which is naturally few abundant in these soils. To cite this article: H. Ben Hassine, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Soil erosion susceptibility assessment and validation using a geostatistical multivariate approach: a test in Southern Sicily

A certain number of studies have been carried out in recent years that aim at developing and applying a model capable of assessing water erosion of soil. Some of these have tried to quantitatively evaluate the volumes of soil loss, while others have focused their efforts on the recognition of the areas most prone to water erosion processes. This article presents the results of a research whose objective was that of evaluating water erosion susceptibility in a Sicilian watershed: the Naro river basin. A geomorphological study was carried out to recognize the water erosion landforms and define a set of parameters expressing both the intensity of hydraulic forces and the resistance of rocks/soils. The landforms were mapped and classified according to the dominant process in landsurfaces affected by diffuse or linear water erosion. A GIS layer was obtained by combining six determining factors (bedrock lithology, land use, soil texture, plan curvature, stream power index and slope-length factor) in unique conditions units. A geostatistical multivariate approach was applied by analysing the relationships between the spatial distributions of the erosion landforms and the unique condition units. Particularly, the density of eroded area for each combination of determining factors has been calculated: such function corresponds, in fact, to the conditional probability of erosion landforms to develop, under the same geoenvironmental conditions. In light of the obtained results, a general geomorphologic model for water erosion in the Naro river basin can be depicted: cultivated areas in clayey slopes, having fine-medium soil texture, are the most prone to be eroded; linear or diffuse water erosion processes dominate where the topography is favourable to a convergent or divergent runoff, respectively. For each of the two erosion process types, a susceptibility map was produced and submitted to a validation procedure based on a spatial random partition strategy. Both the success of the validation procedure of the susceptibility models and the geomorphological coherence of the relationships between factors and process that such models suggest, confirm the reliability of the method and the goodness of the predictions.     

Synsedimentary deformations in member 2 of the Mila Formation in the Central Alborz Mountains,Northern Iran

In Alborz Mountains, the thickness of sediments in Member 2 of the Mila Formation (Middle Cambrian) underwent dramatic and abrupt deformations, which were accompanied by normal and reverse faults and asymmetrical folds. These deformed sediments are covered by parallel beds both in the upper and lower sides. The existence of such extension and compression structures adjacent to each other indicates the influence of non-tectonic factors in their evolution. These deformations induced by downslope gliding of sediment packages are fully compatible with the dislocation model of Farrell (J Struct Geol 6:727–736, 1984) and Farrell and Eaton (1987). Moreover, the occurrence of synsedimentary deformations in a vast area in Alborz Mountains reinforces the probability of the impact of seismic shocks in their formation. In fact, incessant seismic events in the Middle Cambrian led to numerous submarine slumpings in the sediments of Member 2 of the Mila Formation.     

A GIS-based approach for gully erosion susceptibility modelling: a test in Sicily, Italy

The aim of this study is to analyze the susceptibility conditions to gully erosion phenomena in the Magazzolo River basin and to test a method that allows for driving the factors selection. The study area is one of the largest (225 km²) watershed of southern Sicily and it is mostly characterized by gentle slopes carved into clayey and evaporitic sediments, except for the northern sector where carbonatic rocks give rise to steep slopes. In order to obtain a quantitative evaluation of gully erosion susceptibility, statistical relationships between the spatial distributions of gullies affecting the area and a set of twelve environmental variables were analyzed. Stereoscopic analysis of aerial photographs dated 2000, and field surveys carried out in 2006, allowed us to map about a thousand landforms produced by linear water erosion processes, classifiable as ephemeral and permanent gullies. The linear density of the gullies, computed on each of the factors classes, was assumed as the function expressing the susceptibility level of the latter. A 40-m digital elevation model (DEM) prepared from 1:10,000-scale topographic maps was used to compute the values of nine topographic attributes (primary: slope, aspect, plan curvature, profile curvature, general curvature, tangential curvature; secondary: stream power index; topographic wetness index; LS-USLE factor); from available thematic maps and field checks three other physical attributes (lithology, soil texture, land use) were derived. For each of these variables, a 40-m grid layer was generated, reclassifying the topographic variables according to their standard deviation values. In order to evaluate the controlling role of the selected predictive variables, one-variable susceptibility models, based on the spatial relationships between each single factor and gullies, were produced and submitted to a validation procedure. The latter was carried out by evaluating the predictive performance of models trained on one half of the landform archive and tested on the other. Large differences of accuracy were verified by computing geometric indexes of the validation curves (prediction and success rate curves; ROC curves) drawn for each one-variable model; in particular, soil texture, general curvature and aspect demonstrated a weak or a null influence on the spatial distribution of gullies within the studied area, while, on the contrary, tangential curvature, stream power index and plan curvature showed high predictive skills. Hence, predictive models were produced on a multi-variable basis, by variously combining the one-variable models. The validation of the multi-variables models, which generally indicated quite satisfactory results, were used as a sensitivity analysis tool to evaluate differences in the prediction results produced by changing the set of combined physical attributes. The sensitivity analysis pointed out that by increasing the number of combined environmental variables, an improvement of the susceptibility assessment is produced; this is true with the exception of adding to the multi-variables models a variable, as slope aspect, not correlated to the target variable. The addition of this attribute produces effects on the validation curves that are not distinguishable from noise and, as a consequence, the slope aspect was excluded from the final multi-variables model used to draw the gully erosion susceptibility map of the Magazzolo River basin. In conclusion, the research showed that the validation of one-variable models can be used as a tool for selecting factors to be combined to prepare the best performing multi-variables gully erosion susceptibility model.     

烃源岩中可溶有机质与粘土矿物结合关系——以东营凹陷沙四段低熟烃源岩为例

采用超临界抽提(SFE)新技术和氯仿抽提(CE)以及粘土分离等手段对东营凹陷沙四段低熟油烃源岩进行不同处理,得到3种粘土样品:(1)含有机质的粘土原样;(2)氯仿抽提去有机质的样品;(3)不同实验条件下超临界抽提后的样品。然后,分别对这3种粘土样品进行X射线衍射分析(XRD)和傅利叶转换红外光谱分析(FT-IR).研究发现烃源岩中可溶有机质除了吸附于矿物表面外,还吸附于粘土矿物尤其是蒙皂石层的层间,后者主要为碳数相对较低的饱和烃类。这一发现对认识沉积岩中可溶有机质对粘土矿物结构和特性的影响有着重要意义,对烃源岩评价和探讨泥质烃源岩烃类的初次运移提供了新思路。     

烃源岩中可溶有机质与粘土矿物结合关系——以东营凹陷沙四段低熟烃源岩为例

 采用超临界抽提(SFE)新技术和氯仿抽提(CE)以及粘土分离等手段对东营凹陷沙四段低熟油烃源岩进行不同处理,得到3种粘土样品:(1)含有机质的粘土原样;(2)氯仿抽提去有机质的样品;(3)不同实验条件下超临界抽提后的样品。然后,分别对这3种粘土样品进行X射线衍射分析(XRD)和傅利叶转换红外光谱分析(FT-IR).研究发现烃源岩中可溶有机质除了吸附于矿物表面外,还吸附于粘土矿物尤其是蒙皂石层的层间,后者主要为碳数相对较低的饱和烃类。这一发现对认识沉积岩中可溶有机质对粘土矿物结构和特性的影响有着重要意义,对烃源岩评价和探讨泥质烃源岩烃类的初次运移提供了新思路。     

GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping for a problematic segment of the natural gas pipeline,Hendek (Turkey)

A segment of natural gas pipeline was damaged due to landsliding near Hendek. Re-routing of the pipeline is planned, but it requires the preparation of a landslide susceptibility map. In this study, the statistical index (Wi) and weighting factor (Wf) methods have been used with GIS to prepare a landslide susceptibility map of the problematic segment of the pipeline. For this purpose, thematic layers including landslide inventory, lithology, slope, aspect, elevation, land use/land cover, distance to stream, and drainage density were used. In the study area, landslides occur in the unconsolidated to semi-consolidated clayey unit and regolith. The Wf method gives better results than the Wi method. Lithology is found to be the most important aspect in the study area. Based on the findings obtained in this study, the unconsolidated to semi-consolidated clayey unit and alluvium should be avoided during re-routing. Agricultural activities should not be allowed in the close vicinity of the pipeline.     

Comparative Characteristics of Composition and Radioactivity of Oligocene Clays in the Greater Caucasus and Talysh

The paper presents results of the comparative analysis of organic matter (OM), mineralogical characteristics, and radioactivity in Oligocene clayey rocks from the Greater Caucasus and Talysh, which bound the South Caspian Depression on the southeast and northwest, respectively. It is established that Oligocene clays of the Greater Caucasus and Talysh substantially differ in terms of quantitative and qualitative parameters of OM, its maturity, integral radioactivity, and composition of radioactive elements. At the same time, the mineral composition of clays from these mountainous massifs shows a certain similarity. It is concluded that the Fore-Talysh subsidence zone and adjacent areas of the Caspian Sea are characterized by a lower oil and gas potential as compared with Oligocene rocks developed at the southeastern margin of the Greater Caucasus.__________Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 4, 2005, pp. 430–439.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Feyzullayev, Kheirov, Ch. Aliyev, Abbasova, K. Aliyev.     

Significance of molecular-level behaviour incorporation in the constitutive models of expansive clays – a review

Expansive clays are widely prevalent all over the world as one of the most problematic soils. These soils undergo significant volume change with a change in the moisture regime, thereby posing problems to the stability of the structures founded on such strata. Efforts have been made to model the erratic behaviour of these soils at the macro, micro, and, to a lesser extent, nano levels. Micro and nano level fabrics, believed to have a central role in the overall behaviour of expansive clays, are only partially considered in the modelling concepts; natural clay fabrics with multiple clay minerals, silt and sand inclusions, micro fissures, cementation, overconsolidation, induration and other such features have never been considered. This paper covers a review of deficiencies in the existing constitutive models for the expansive characteristics of the natural clayey soils at macro, micro and nano levels. These shortcomings are discussed in the light of the understanding of the fundamentals including fabric and structure controlling the swelling mechanism of the expansive clayey soils at the molecular level. Finally, a framework based on authors’ work to incorporate molecular level behaviour in the constitutive modelling of expansive clays is presented.     

基于流域单元的地质灾害易发性评价——以西藏昌都市为例

作为在山地地区易发的自然灾种,地质灾害每年都给中国造成严重的经济损失。为揭示阐明典型高山峡谷区地质灾害易发性影响因素,文章以昌都市为研究区例,基于区内孕灾环境的差异,对其进行流域划分,同时选取海拔、坡度、地形起伏度等10个指标构建地质灾害易发性评价指标体系,基于随机森林模型对各流域地质灾害易发性空间分布进行研究。结果表明：（1）昌都市地质灾害类型主要以小型灾害为主,大型灾害分布相对较少但危害巨大,险情等级较高,同时,区域内地质灾害的空间分布具有沿河流与道路呈条带状分布的特征;（2）总体来看,各流域地质灾害的影响因素大致相同,但仍具有一定的差异性,金沙江流域受海拔与道路影响较为突出,澜沧江流域受居民点密度影响较为突出,而怒江流域受道路因素影响较为突出;（3）各流域地质灾害易发性空间分布存在差异,金沙江流域低易发面积占比最大,澜沧江与怒江流域均为中易发面积占比最大;三大流域均以高易发所占比最小,但在全流域内均有分布,且主要分布于人类活动较为强烈、岩性较软等区域。     

Finite element analyses of rate-dependent thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviors of clayey soils based on thermodynamics

Clayey soils in the vicinity of energy geostructures may be exposed to long-term periodic thermal cycles. The creep and consolidation behaviors of the clayey soils can be both rate-dependent and temperature-dependent, and the underlying physical mechanisms are merely investigated theoretically. In this study, based on the theory of thermodynamics, a fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) finite element (FE) program for saturated soils is developed for this purpose. The FE formulation accounts for the combined effect of rate and temperature through the novel concept of granular temperature. Simulations of THM coupled validation cases and a series of experimental observations on the soft Bangkok clay are carried out. The obtained numerical results exhibit good agreement with analytical solutions and laboratory measurements. It is found that three fundamental physical mechanisms contribute to the irreversible thermal contraction observed for normally consolidated and lightly overconsolidated clays under drained thermal cycles: (1) the thermal creep excited by mass exchange from adsorbed water to free water; (2) the mechanical creep induced by confining stresses; and (3) the increase in granular packing caused by the thermal expansion of soil particles. The thermal contraction generally stabilizes within a few thermal cycles, as a result of the noticeable reduction in the thermal creep rate. It is further demonstrated that the transient heat transfer and the heating rate can greatly influence the deformation of clays subjected to thermal cycles.