Enhancing the mechanical properties of marine clay using cement solidification

Abstract

The use of soft clay and dredged marine clays as the construction material is challenging. This is because the high water content, high compressibility and low permeability of the clay causing the instability of ground and structure. This detrimental effect of soft clay can be improved by the cement solidification process, which is relatively cheap and efficient. This paper mainly focuses on the study of improvement on the mechanical behavior of cement mixed marine clay. The soil is reconstituted by using ordinary Portland cement of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by its mass. The study reveals that cementation of clay significantly improves the peak and residual strength of soil. Similarly, the primary yield stress of the soil is also improved from 16 to 275?kPa as cement content increases from 5% to 20%, respectively. By using statistical tools, the relationships between various parameters are established, which are very important to define the mechanical behavior of the clay. This study reveals that the yield surface of the solidified marine clay is not a smooth elliptical surface. Rather it is composed of two linear surfaces followed by a log-linear surface which can be modeled by using simple parameters obtained from triaxial tests.     

长江口新桥水道动力地貌变化过程研究

以泰国湾 T155号柱状沉积物为研究对象,利用地球化学和矿物学手段探讨了全新世以来泰国湾古气候演化历史。(La/Sm)UCC-(Gd/Yb)UCC指示了全新世以来泰国湾西南部物质来源较为稳定,主要来自于马来半岛,季风控制下的沿岸流是其主要驱动力。通过对高岭石/(绿泥石+伊利石)(ωk/(ωc+ωl))、化学蚀变指数(CIA)和钾铝质量分数比值(ωK/ωAl)的变化规律进行综合研究,将全新世以来泰国湾古气候演化过程划分为两个阶段:①早中全新世(12000~6500calaBP):ωk/(ωc+ωl)值和CIA 值较高,ωK/ωAl值则较低,指示了该段时期强盛的东亚季风;发生于11200~10500calaBP和8500~7500calaBP的冷事件指示了泰国湾对新仙女木事件和8.2ka冷事件的响应;②中全新世(6500calaBP)以来:ωk/(ωc+ωl)值和 CIA 值明显下降,ωK/ωAl值则逐渐上升,指示了该段时间东亚季风呈逐渐减弱的趋势;在3200~1800calaBP时地球化学和黏土矿物指标呈现一个明显低值,对应于热带海域“斜氏普林虫低值事件”,揭示了全球气候变化在泰国湾海域良好的区域性响应特征。     

晚上新世以来菲律宾海盆XT4孔黏土矿物特征及其古环境意义

菲律宾海是典型风尘汇聚区,菲律宾海远离吕宋岛的深海沉积物是重建构造尺度亚洲风尘演化历史的良好载体。选取菲律宾海盆XT4孔沉积物开展了黏土矿物研究,并结合前人研究成果,在明确该孔黏土矿物来源的基础上,探讨了晚上新世以来亚洲风尘的演化历史及其可能的影响机制。菲律宾海盆XT4孔黏土矿物以伊利石为主,平均含量为39%,蒙脱石含量次之,平均为28%,绿泥石平均含量为18%,高岭石平均含量为15%。XT4孔黏土矿物组成符合亚洲大陆风尘与周边火山岛弧的二端元混合模型特征,其中蒙脱石主要为周边火山岛弧物质贡献,而伊利石、绿泥石和高岭石主要是亚洲风尘贡献。晚上新世以来XT4孔的伊利石/蒙脱石比值表现为阶段性变化,主要反映了北半球高纬冰川的扩张导致亚洲中纬度地区干旱化加剧。此外,东亚夏季风降雨强弱和空间分布的变化也是源区风尘释放的重要环境因子之一。本文结果初步揭示了晚上新世以来中国干旱-半干旱地区的环境演化历程,有助于深入理解多圈层相互作用下的风尘循环及其生物地球化学效应。     

Time-Dependent Deformation Behavior of Jiangsu Marine Clay

In this article, the mechanical behavior of a Jiangsu marine clay was investigated by drained triaxial tests, traixial rheological tests, and one-dimensional compression and swelling tests. A visco-plastic model, the Bingham model combining two yield surfaces model, was proposed to describe the time-dependent deformation behaviors of the marine clay. The governing equation of Biot's consolidation theory for the visco-plastic soil is solved using a finite element code which incorporates the visco-plastic model. Using the finite element method, settlements of a typical embankment on the Lianxu expressway in China are calculated. Settlement calculations using the visco-plastic model are in agreement with the measured settlements in the field. The results demonstrate that the visco-plastic model is appropriate for calculating the visco-plastic deformations of Jiangsu marine clay. Theoretical and experimental studies show that the visco-plastic deformation of Jiangsu marine clay is substantial.     

Suction force below plate anchors in soft clay

The results of a number of laboratory model tests for the short‐term ultimate uplift capacity of a circular plate anchor embedded in saturated soft kaolinite and montmorillonite are presented. The tests were conducted with and without venting the bottom of the plate anchor in order to determine the variation of the suction force with embedment ratio. The variation of the suction force is presented in terms of the undrained shear strength of the clay and also the net ultimate uplift capacity.     

Comparison of vane shear and fall cone strengths of soft marine clay

A total of 1,014 measures of sediment shear strengths were measured by means of miniature vane shear and fall cone tests on five gravity cores collected in Eckernfo‐erde Bay, Baltic Sea. Paired t test was used to compare the shear strengths measured by the two methods. It was found that fall cone strength calculated with Wood's K₆₀value (0.29) overestimates the vane shear strength by 0.15 kPa (a = 0.001) and the sample mean of the fall cone strength is 4.1% higher than the mean of the vane shear strength. However, fall cone strength calculated with Hansbo's K₆₀ value (0.24) underestimates the vane shear strength by 0.88 kPa (a = 0.001), and the sample mean of the fall cone strength is 13.8% less than the mean of the vane shear strength. Both calculated fall cone strengths are significantly different from the vane shear strength, with a p value of less than 0.001. Regression analysis of the Echernfoerde Bay data indicates that a new K₆₀ value is 0.275 with a confidence interval (a = 0.01) from 0.2704 to 0.2786. Paired t test shows that there is no significant difference between miniature vane shear and fall cone tests for these samples if the fall cone strength is calculated with K₆₀ = 0.275.     

Experimental Evaluation of Leaching Effects on the Compressibility of Marine Clay and its Strain Rate Dependency

This study investigated how leaching affects compressibility behavior of marine clay and its strain rate dependency based on laboratory tests using three pairs of specimens. Each pair of specimens consisted of leached and unleached samples with identical geotechnical properties except soil salinity. The behavior characteristics of the leached and unleached specimens were evaluated using several series of constant rate-of-strain (CRS) tests with differing strain rates. The results revealed that the compressibility of leached clay increased as its salinity decreased. However, void ratio, Atterberg limits, and preconsolidation pressure in leached samples were lower than those in unleached clay. The increased compressibility and decreased preconsolidation pressure may be induced from a weakening of the interparticle bonds in the leached soil skeleton. The CRS test results with differing strain rates revealed that higher strain rates corresponded with higher levels of effective stress and higher apparent preconsolidation pressure in both leached and unleached clays.     

海洋沉积物黏土矿物相对含量不同计算方法对比研究

海洋沉积物黏土矿物相对含量计算存在多种计算方法,并不统一,限制了异源黏土矿物的整合和使用。文章选取了两种较为常见的计算方法,即Biscaye和国标中规定的计算方法,分别对东印度洋109个表层样品黏土矿物的相对百分含量进行计算,分析对比了两种方法计算结果之间的差异。结果显示,两种计算方法结果存在显著正相关,都能显示黏土矿物分布的变化趋势,4种黏土矿物相关系数由高到底分别为:蒙皂石0.986、伊利石0.974、绿泥石0.924、高岭石0.923。相对于Biscaye计算方法,国标计算方法会增加伊利石和高岭石的相对百分含量而降低蒙皂石和绿泥石的相对百分含量。两种计算方法黏土矿物的含量相关性较好,可以建立起相互数学转换关系式。但在不同的海区,由于矿物成因、结晶程度以及混层矿物的出现可能会使衍射峰形态发生改变,从而相关性系数和转换关系也会相应发生改变。     

莱州湾表层沉积物粒度和黏土矿物分布特征与运移趋势分析

运用粒度参数分析、黏土矿物含量分析、Flemming三角图示法和Gao-Collins二维的"粒度趋势分析"等方法,对采自莱州湾海域的表层沉积物样品和黏土矿物样品进行分析,了解了该研究区域的沉积环境及沉积物的运移趋势。研究区由岸向海沉积物类型大致依次为砂-粉砂质砂-砂质粉砂-粉砂-黏土质粉砂,并且研究区表层沉积物在近岸区域呈现较为明显的平行岸线的条带状特征;同时沉积物的平均粒径、分选系数、偏态、峰态等粒度参数也呈现出良好的正相关性或负相关性;研究区黏土矿物为伊利石、蒙脱石、绿泥石、高岭石,除伊利石分布大致为黄河三角洲近岸低,向研究区东北方向逐渐升高外,其余的黏土矿物都表现出了近岸高,远海低的分布特征,且主要物源为黄河物质输入。Flemming三角图研究区所有采样点大部分分布在Ⅱ区,少部分分布在Ⅲ区,说明研究区整体水动力较强;采样点在A—E区均有分布,但在C、D两区分布最多,说明研究区沉积物粒径较集中。研究区表层沉积物整体呈由岸向海输运的趋势,具体来看,黄河沉积物入海后向北、向东、向南运移,研究区内沉积物的来源是黄河输沙以及周围入海的小河流的输沙和沿岸冲刷的物质。