Anisotropic Drained Deformation Behavior and Shear Strength of Natural Soft Marine Clay

The deformation behavior and shear strength of soft marine clays subjected to wave or traffic loads are different from that in triaxial loading due to the changes of major principal stress direction β and intermediate principal stress coefficient b. To investigate the anisotropy affected by β and b in natural soft marine clay, a series of drained tests were conducted by hollow cylinder apparatus. The principal stress direction relative to vertical direction were maintained constant under an increasing shear stress, with fixed intermediate principal stress coefficient b. The influence of the b and β on anisotropy of typically Wenzhou intact clay is discussed. It was found that octahedral stress–strain relationships expressed anisotropy with different b and β. The friction angle and deviator stress ratio with different b and β were presented to provide guidance for engineering projects in the coastal zone.     

Experimental investigation on cyclic deformation behavior of soft marine clay involved principal stress rotation

To investigate cyclic deformation behavior of natural soft marine clay-involved principal stress rotation, a series of undrained tests were conducted by using GDS hollow cylinder apparatus. The principal stress rotates 5000 cycles while the deviator stress was kept at a constant level. The tests results show that the deformation behavior of the tested samples are significantly dependent on cyclic stress ratio (CSR). Furthermore, different type of generation of axial strains occur under different CSRs. With the same CSR, the type of axial strain is different between that considering and ignoring principal stress rotation. When CSR is larger than CSR = 0.42 under principal stress rotation, the axial strain grows rapidly after a few cycles. Compared with the results conducted by cyclic triaxial results, the effect of principal stress rotation on the axial strain is significant.     

Stiffness Degradation of Undisturbed Saturated Soft Clay in Yangtze Estuary under Complex Stress Conditions

Stiffness degradation will occur due to the generation of accumulated pore pressure in saturated soft clays under cyclic loading. The soil static-dynamic multi-purpose triaxial and torsional shear apparatus in Dalian University of Technology was employed to perform different types of test on saturated soft marine clay in the Yangtze estuary. Undisturbed samples of the clay were subjected to undrained cyclic vertical and torsional coupling shear and cyclic torsional shear after three-directional anisotorpic consolidation with different initial consolidation parameters. Investigated were the effects of the initial orientation angle of the major principal stress, initial ratio of deviatoric stress, initial coefficient of intermediate principal stress and continuous rotation of principal stress axes on the stiffness degradation. It is found that the degradation index decreases (or degradation degree increases) significantly with increasing initial orientation angle of the major principal stress and initial ratio of deviatoric stress. Compared to the effects of the initial orientation angle of the major principal stress and initial ratio of deviatoric stress, the effect of initial coefficient of intermediate principal stress is less evident and this trend is more clearly reflected by the results of the cyclic torsional shear tests than those of the cyclic coupling shear tests. At the same cycle number, the degradation index obtained from the cyclic torsional shear test is higher than that from the cyclic coupling shear test. The main reason is that the continuous rotation in principal stress directions during cyclic coupling shear damages the original structure of the soil more than the cyclic torsional shear does. Based on a series of experiments, a mathematical model for stiffness degradation is proposed and the relevant parameters are determined.     

Secondary Compression Features of Jiangsu Soft Marine Clay

The results of one-dimensional compression tests conducted on undisturbed specimens of Jiangsu soft marine clay is presented. Because of its high in situ void ratios and natural water content, Jiangsu soft marine clay displays high values of both the virgin compression index, C_c, and the secondary compression coefficient, C_α. The laboratory data indicates that the value of the ratio C_α/C_c for Jiangsu soft marine clay is constant. However, neither C_α nor C_c are constant: they both depend upon the natural water content (or void ratio) and thus are also dependent on the deformation (or compression) of Jiangsu soft marine clay. Settlement analyses show that the secondary settlement of Jiangsu soft marine clay is a significant component of the field settlement. The concept of a constant value for C_α/C_c is used to predict the secondary settlement of a surcharged embankment founded upon Jiangsu soft marine clay. The predictions are in agreement with the limited post-construction field measurements of the embankment settlement.     

Cyclic behavior of natural organic clay under variable confining pressure that match traffic loading conditions

ABSTRACT

One-way cyclic loading is more typical for traffic loading and cyclic triaxial test has been recognized as a useful method for solving many engineering problems. Under traffic loading, the influence of variable confining pressure on cyclic behavior of natural organic clay subjected to cyclic traffic loading is rarely reported in the literature. In this study, a laboratory investigation on undrained cyclic behavior of natural organic clay is presented and conducted by cyclic triaxial apparatus. Tests are conducted by both constant confining pressure and variable confining pressure, to simulate the loading conditions induced by passing vehicles in actual engineering. Different stress levels are also considered in this study. By comparing between the results of constant confining pressure tests and variable confining pressure tests, it shows that the one-way cyclic behavior of organic clay is influenced significantly by variation of confining pressure, in terms of pore water pressure, permanent axial strain and stress–strain hysteretic loops.     

Experimental study on the effect of soil saturation on the electric permeability coefficient during electroosmosis process

Abstract

The electrokinetic treatments on high natural moisture content, large compressibility, and low strength dredged marine soil are regarded as an innovative method, but it has not been widely applied due to the difference between theory predictions and realities. To minimize the difference which is resulted from the electric permeability coefficient variations due to pore water drainage and the degree of saturation drops during the electrokinetic treatment of soils, several one-dimensional indoor experiments were conducted with single kaolin clay and natural soft clay. The test results indicate that the electric permeability values conform to the predicted value of Helmholtz–Smoluchowski (H-S) theory under saturated conditions. The permeability for unsaturated soils can be described with relative electric permeability, that is, k_e,rel=a(Sr)^b. The ranges of fitting parameters are 0.8–1.2 for a and 3–9 for b. The fitting parameters are dependent on the soil type, electric potential gradient, and pore size distribution and so on. The smaller the soil pore size is the more sensitive the permeability coefficient is to the degree of saturation.     

Undrained Dynamic Strength Behavior of Saturated Nanjing Fine Sand under Wave Load

Cyclic vertical-torsional coupling tests were performed on saturated Nanjing fine sand with a relative density of 50% using a hollow cylinder apparatus. The effect of complex initial stress conditions on undrained dynamic strength of saturated Nanjing fine sand was investigated. It is shown that the initial confining pressure, p₀, the initial stress ratio, R₀, and the initial angle of maximum principal stress direction, α₀, have great effects on the characteristics of the dynamic strength of Nanjing fine sand. The dynamic strength increases with p₀ and R₀, while it decreases with α₀. The effect of initial intermediate principal stress parameter b₀ on the dynamic strength is slight.     

Effects of frequency and cyclic stress ratio on creep behavior of clay under cyclic loading

The mechanical behavior of clay subjected to cyclic loading is important to consider in the design of the foundations of many types of structures that must resist cyclic loading, such as subgrades and offshore foundations, because clay undergoes greater settlement under cyclic loading than under static loading. The difference in settlement between these two loading patterns due to creep behavior is affected by the cyclic frequency and the cyclic stress ratio. This study investigated the effects of the frequency and cyclic stress ratio of cyclic loading on the creep behavior of a natural clay in China using stress-controlled triaxial tests. The assessed the following parameters: three frequencies, four cyclic stress ratios, and six vertical stresses. The test results indicate that the soft clay displays accelerated creep behavior under dynamic loads. A specific “limit frequency” (in this case, 0.2 Hz) and a “safe load” at which the strain of the soft clay increases very slowly were observed. The effect of the effective axial stress on the creep behavior increases with the increase in the cyclic stress ratio. Based on the tests, the critical cyclic stress ratio is 0.267 at a certain effective axial stress and frequency.     

Effect of angle between initial and cyclic shear stress on behaviors of marine clay

An angle exists between the initial static shear stress and cyclic shear stress when embankment and retaining walls are subjected to cyclic loadings. To investigate the influence of this angle on the dynamic properties of marine soft clay, tests were performed on Wenzhou soft clay. When the angle was varied from 0° to 90°, the shear strain and excess pore pressure decreased as θ increased while increased as θ increased from 120° to 180°. Shear strain developed more rapidly when θ was 120°, 150°, or 180° than that when θ was 0°, 30°, or 60°. These results indicate that the number of cycles to failure at the larger angles was greater than at the smaller angles. When θ was 90°, the strain in the x-axis direction increased as the number of cycles increased. The development of the excess pore pressure associated with specimen failure was different for different cyclic shear stress ratios and shearing angles. The effect of θ on the strain and excess pore pressure increased as the cyclic shear stress ratio increased.     

Primary yielding locus of cement-stabilized marine clay and its applications

ABSTRACT

Strength and stiffness properties of materials are widely studied and used in civil engineering practice. However, most studies are based on unconfined conditions, which are different from real status of soil. This study investigated the primary yielding and yield locus for cement-stabilized marine clay. In this study, two types of cement-stabilized soils were studied through isotropic compression, triaxial drained shearing, unconfined compression, and bender element testing. Specimens with 20–50% of cement content and 7–90 days of curing period were used for the tests. Stress–strain behavior and primary yielding were evaluated, followed by construction of the primary yield locus. The characteristics of the primary yield locus and its development with curing time then were studied. The results showed that the properties of the primary yield locus were dependent on the type of stabilized soil, but were independent of the cement content and curing period. Thus, the approach provides a way to estimate the primary yield stress and drained stress path before primary yielding for cement-stabilized soil under confined condition. An empirical function was used to fit the primary yield locus. The primary isotropic yield stress was correlated to unconfined compressive strength or maximum shear modulus. Three indirect methods were proposed to predict the primary yield stress for cement-stabilized marine clay. The results showed that the primary yield stress can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.     

Field Evaluation of Undrained Shear Strength from Piezocone Penetration Tests in Soft Marine Clay

The use of the piezocone penetration test (CPTU) in a geotechnical site investigation offers direct field measurement on stratigraphy and soil behavior. Compared with some traditional investigation methods, such as drilling, sampling and field inspecting method or laboratory test procedures, CPTU can greatly accelerate the field work and hereby reduce corresponding operation cost. The undrained shear strength is a key parameter in estimation of the stability of natural slopes and deformation of embankments in soft clays. This paper provides the measurements of in situ CPTU, field vane testing and laboratory undrained triaxial testing of Lianyungang marine clay in Jiangsu province of China. Based on the literature review of previous interpretation methods, this paper presents a comparison of field vane testing measurements to CPTU interpretation results. The undrained shear strength values from both the field vane tests and cone penetration resistances are lowest at the mid-depths of the marine clay layers, and the excess pore water pressures are highest at the mid-depths of the marine clay layers, indicating that the marine clay layer is underconsolidated.     

Modeling of embankment beneath marine deposited soft sensitive clays considering straightforward creep degradation

Abstract

One method straightforwardly describing the creep degradation behavior of soft marine clay is proposed and applied to the embankment modeling. Based on the experimental phenomena, the evolution of creep coefficient of soft structured clay is identified comparing with reconstituted clay, and formulated using the creep coefficient of reconstituted clay and a creep-based structure parameter relating to the inter-particle bonding. The contributions of inter-particle bonding and debonding to creep coefficient are thus considered and the creep degradation behavior is then captured straightforwardly. The creep coefficient is extended to 3D and incorporated into a newly developed elasto-viscoplastic model to describe the creep degradation in a direct way. Based on the correlations, the liquid limit is adopted as the viscosity related input parameter. The model is derived using Newton–Raphson algorithm and implemented into a Finite Element code for coupled consolidation analysis. The general applicability on creep degradation of the model is validated by simulating 1D creep, 1D CRS (constant strain rate) and 3D undrained creep tests. Finally, the enhanced model considering creep degradation is applied and validated by simulating one test embankment and one test fill on marine deposited soft sensitive clays.     

Cumulative Deformation of Soft Clay Under Cyclic Loading

Reconstituted specimens are prepared by means of vacuum preloading. Both static and cyclic triaxial tests are carried out, with the specimens consolidated under different principal stress ratios. A finite element method is put forward for calculating the cumulative deformation of soft clay under cyclic loading.     

Effects of periodic saturation on K0 for a sandstone-mudstone particle mixture

Abstract

Sandstone-mudstone particle mixture (SMPM) is one of the main materials, which has been widely used for filling in and around reservoirs for water conservation projects. During the periodic rising and falling of the water level, the fill material for the embankments, dam, and other waterfront features will also undergo drainage-saturation cycles. The deformation and coefficient of lateral pressure at rest K₀ may be affected by periodic saturation. In this study, a device is modified for testing the K₀ for gravel-soil under periodic saturation. In order to investigate the effects of periodic saturation on K₀, a series of experiments were performed for SMPM under different vertical stress and saturation cycling. K₀^N values of SMPM containing 20% mudstone particles under periodic saturation were obtained. The results shows that the K₀^N initially increased, but eventually reached a stable value with the increasing number of periodic saturation cycles. The magnitude of the coefficient increment was also found to be related to the stress condition. K₀^N is a logarithmic function of the saturation cycling time. By calculating K₀^N with the proposed empirical formula, the deformation and stress distribution of the SMPM filler in waterfront engineering works can be calculated with greater precision.     

Behavior of a helical anchor under vertical repetitive loading

Abstract

In the field of ocean engineering, anchors are used for several purposes. This article studies the behavior of a helical anchor embedded in soft marine clay under vertical repetitive loading. Helical anchors are simple steel shafts to which one or more helical plates are attached at regular intervals. The tests are conducted on a model helical anchor installed in a soft marine clay bed prepared in a test tank. Repetitive loading is applied using a pneumatic loading arrangement. Different cyclic load ratios and time periods are adopted. In each test, after the application of repetitive loading, poststatic‐pullout tests are conducted to observe the effect of repetitive loading on anchor behavior. From the test results, it is found that, up to a cyclic load ratio of 55%, there is no reduction in capacity. Instead, there seems to be a marginal increase in capacity and reduction in displacement. The reasons for this behavior are explained in terms of induced changes in strength and deformation behavior of marine clay under repetitive load. However, at higher cyclic load ratios, there seems to be reduction in pullout capacity of the anchor, and the reason for this is explained in terms of strain criteria. From this investigation, it can be concluded that the deep anchor is more suitable to a marine environment than a shallow anchor.     

Dynamic characteristics of marine soft clay under variable phase difference and initial static shear stress

Abstract

Under seismic loading, the soil layer is subjected to multidirectional cyclic shear stress with different amplitudes and frequencies because of the coupling of multiple shear waves and the soil element within a slope or behind a retaining wall is subjected to initial static shear stress before subjected to cyclic loading. Due to the complexity of seismic loading propagation, a phase difference exists between the initial static shear stress and cyclic shear stress. To investigate the influence of the phase difference and initial static shear stress on cyclic shear strain, cyclic modulus, and cyclic strength, a series of laboratory tests are performed on Wenzhou marine soft clay by multi-directional simple shear system, which can simulate the actual state better by controlling the horizontal cyclic stress in the x and y directions simultaneously. As the phase difference varies from 0° to 90°, the dynamic shear modulus increases and cyclic strain accumulation decreases with an increasing number of cycles. The shear strain increases with the initial shear stress.     

Rheological characteristics and one-dimensional isotache modelling of marine soft clays

Abstract

This paper presents a novel elasto-viscoplastic constitutive formulation based on the isotache concepts and the Nishihara model. Incorporating a novel viscoelastic body to include the delay elastic deformation of marine soft clays under the external load, the proposed model is used to evaluate the theories of consolidation-creep coupling, strain rate dependency and stress relaxation of saturated marine soft clays, and hence, the methodology used to determine the parameters of the model is discussed. Ningbo marine soft clay is selected as an example to interpret the determination of the model parameters on a field scale. A series of conventional oedometer tests are conducted as well. Eventually, we utilize the model to simulate several kinds of rheological tests, including one-dimensional (1-D) long-term compression tests on Ningbo marine soft clays, 1-D constant rate of strain (CRS) tests on Batiscan clays and 1-D stress relaxation tests on Hong Kong marine deposits. These findings indicate good agreement between the computational and experimental results, suggesting the given model can provide reliable forecasts for the rheological characteristics of marine soft clays.     

Anisotropic Analysis of I-Walls in New Orleans

Many numerical analyses of New Orleans levee and floodwall sections adopted mostly isotropic soil models partly due to the inherent simplicity of isotropic models. However, the isotropic models may not be sufficient to properly address the anisotropic behavior of soils. To overcome this imperfection, this study incorporated an anisotropic Modified Cam Clay model in a commercially available finite difference code, FLAC^3D, and analyzed a floodwall and levee section in the 17th St. Canal in New Orleans. The analysis showed that the anisotropic model resulted in a similar overall deformation to the Mohr-Coulomb isotropic model. However, the anisotropic model showed more widely spread yielded elements and higher shear strain gradient in the Lacustrine clay layer, reconfirming that the Lacustrine clay layer played a major role for the failure in the 17th St. Canal. This result also signified that the isotropic Mohr-Coulomb model might be good for evaluating overall behavior in moderate deformation problems, while the anisotropic Modified Cam Clay model was good even for large strain problems where more accurate evaluation of yielding is needed.     

Undrained behavior of natural marine clay under cyclic loading

To study the undrained behavior of natural marine clay under cyclic loading, two kinds of stress-controlled cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on natural K₀-consolidated Wenzhou clay. In the Series I tests, samples were cyclically sheared until failure, and the accumulative behavior was studied; based on the results, a suitable cyclic failure criterion is suggested for natural clays. The effect of loading frequency was also investigated, and it was observed that the loading duration t is a key factor in controlling the undrained cyclic behavior. In the Series II tests, cyclic undrained tests followed by strain-controlled monotonic compression tests were carried out, and special attention was given to changes in the undrained strength after cyclic loading. The degradation of the post-cyclic peak strength was affected by the accumulative behavior during cyclic shearing, but the deviatoric stresses at the critical state were nearly constant. Finally, the accumulative behavior of natural clays was simulated using a proposed anisotropic elastic viscoplastic model with a pseudo-static method of equivalent undrained creep, and the results indicate that this equivalent creep simplification is suitable in practice. By taking the apparent overconsolidation after cyclic loading into account, the post-cyclic strength degradation can also be explained by this model.     

Critical State Parameters of Dredged Chennai Marine Clay Treated with Low Cement Content

The present article discusses the stress–strain behavior and critical state parameters of the dredged Chennai marine clay stabilized with low cement content (2.5–10%). A series of one-dimensional consolidation tests and consolidated undrained tri-axial tests are performed on the cement stabilized dredged Chennai marine clay to evaluate the critical state parameters (λ, κ, M, Г, N) for varying cement contents and curing days. The results show that the slope of the critical state line M increases with an increase in the cement content. The parameter λ for the treated marine clay increases up to a cement content of 7.5% followed by a reduction. The parameter κ decreases with the addition of cement content. Finally, empirical formulations are proposed to predict the critical state parameters as the functions of the cement's contents and curing days.