Influence of soft clays on the response spectra for structures in eastern Canada

The 1990 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (Associate Committee of the National Building Code, National Research Council, Ottawa, 1990) makes a clear distinction between eastern and western Canada in terms of seismic acceleration and velocity zones. While it is well established that ground motions can be amplified significantly through loose clay deposits, no results are available that take into consideration the typical high frequency content of ground motions in eastern Canada. This paper develops ground amplification curves for clays having depths between 10 and 70 m excited by typical eastern Canadian ground motions scaled to two different values of peak horizontal accelerations. Simplified free-field spectral design curves, which could be used by structural designers, are proposed. The curves show that maximum spectral accelerations occur for structural periods between 0.2 and 0.5 s. In addition, soil depth does not appear to be an important parameter controlling the response of typical clay deposits in eastern Canada.     

SANICLAY: simple anisotropic clay plasticity model

SANICLAY is a new simple anisotropic clay plasticity model that builds on a modification of an earlier model with an associated flow rule, in order to include simulations of softening response under undrained compression following K_o consolidation. Non‐associativity is introduced by adopting a yield surface different than the plastic potential surface. Besides, the isotropic hardening of the yield surface both surfaces evolve according to a combined distortional and rotational hardening rule, simulating the evolving anisotropy. Although built on the general premises of critical state soil mechanics, the model induces a critical state line in the void ratio–mean effective stress space, which is a function of anisotropy. To ease interpretation, the model formulation is presented firstly in the triaxial stress space and subsequently, its multiaxial generalization is developed systematically, in a form appropriate for implementation in numerical codes. The SANICLAY is shown to provide successful simulation of both undrained and drained rate‐independent behaviour of normally consolidated sensitive clays, and to a satisfactory degree of accuracy of overconsolidated clays. The new model requires merely three constants more than those of the modified Cam clay model, all of which are easily calibrated from well‐established laboratory tests following a meticulously presented procedure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Note on Soil Structure Resistance of Natural Marine Deposits

It has been well documented that natural normally-consolidated marine soils are generally subjected to the effects of soil structure. The interpretation of the resistance of soil structure is an important issue in the theory study and engineering practice of ocean engineering and geotechnical engineering. It is traditionally considered that the resistance of soil structure gradually disappears with increasing stress level when the applied stress is beyond the consolidation yield stress. In this study, however, it is found that this traditional interpretation of the resistance of soil structure can not explain the strength behavior of natural marine deposits with a normally-consolidated stress history A new interpretation of the resistance of soil structure is proposed based on the strength behavior. In the preyield state, the undrained strength of natural marine deposits is composed of two components: one developed by the applied stress and the other developed by the resistance of soil structure. When the applied stress is beyond the consolidation yield stress, the strength behavior is independent of the resistance of soil structure.     

Sample Disturbance in Soft and Sensitive Clays: Analysis and Assessment

Despite the sophisticated methods employed to obtain high quality samples, they are prone to disturbance, due to stress release, let apart, due to sampling tools and techniques adopted. Critical reappraisal of different methods suggest that any method of sample quality assessment involving strength and deformation parameters would enable easier implementation and correct other engineering parameters for estimated sample disturbance. In this technical paper, sample disturbance index, using merely the slopes of compression paths, (representing mechanical response), in the pre- and post-yield stress regimes under odeometric loading conditions is proposed. This method is based on single oedometer test results on samples of unknown degrees of disturbance during sampling and handling. The unique feature of this approach is that the ideal rigid plastic material behavior is taken as reference. This eliminates the need for any additional experimental data or any calculations from the relationships formulated with any set of assumptions.     

The structure and dynamics of 2-dimensional fluids in swelling clays

The interlayer pores of swelling 2:1 clays provide an ideal 2-dimensional environment in which to study confined fluids. In this paper we discuss our understanding of the structure and dynamics of interlayer fluid species in expanded clays, based primarily on the outcome of recent molecular modelling and neutron scattering studies. Counterion solvation is compared with that measured in bulk solutions, and at a local level the cation-oxygen coordination is found to be remarkably similar in these two environments. However, for the monovalent ions the contribution to the first coordination shell from the clay surfaces increases with counterion radius. This gives rise to inner-sphere (surface) complexes in the case of potassium and caesium. In this context, the location of the negative clay surface charge (i.e. arising from octahedral or tetrahedral substitution) is also found to be of major importance. Divalent cations, such as calcium, eagerly solvate to form outer-sphere complexes. These complexes are able to pin adjacent clay layers together, and thereby prevent colloidal swelling. Confined water molecules form hydrogen bonds to each other and to the clays' surfaces. In this way their local environment relaxes to close to the bulk water structure within two molecular layers of the clay surface. Finally, we discuss the way in which the simple organic molecules methane, methanol and ethylene glycol behave in the interlayer region of hydrated clays. Quasi-elastic neutron scattering of isotopically labelled interlayer CH₃OD and (CH₂OD)₂ in deuterated clay allows us to measure the diffusion of the CH₃- and CH₂-groups in both clay and liquid environments. We find that in both the one-layer methanol solvates and the two-layer glycol solvates the diffusion of the most mobile organic molecules is close to that in the bulk solution.     

Compressibility and swelling characteristics of Al-Khobar Palygorskite, eastern Saudi Arabia

Expansive soils are found in different locations in eastern Saudi Arabia. The area is arid with high temperatures, highly variable humidity and an excessive rate of evaporation compared to the low precipitation. This resulted in the formation of water sensitive soils. In the present investigation, line valve buildings for a sweet water feeder (1118 mm in diameter) were constructed on a highly expansive material consisting mainly of brown palygorskite and gray palygorskite with thin sheets of gypsum and limestone. Block samples from both palygorskites were brought to the laboratory and cores as well as remolded samples were obtained from the blocks. The two palygorskites were found to be highly plastic and have a very high swelling potential. The liquid limit (LL) and plastic limit (PL) values for the brown palygorskite are 261% and 140%, respectively. The gray palygorskite has a LL of a 285% and a PL of 123%. The oedometer free swell tests for the two palygorskites produced an expansion ranging between 31.8% and 42.5% for the remolded samples. However, the expansion for cores ranges between 8.3% and 19.3%. The constant volume pressure tests produced a stress in excess of 4240 kPa. The swell potential reached a steady state after four days while the swelling pressure reached a steady state in about 3 h. The paper addresses the geology of the area, the characterization of the geomaterial including mineralogical composition using X-ray diffraction and SEM techniques and the swelling characteristics of the material.     

Natural and man-induced stress evolution of slopes: the Monte Mario hill in Rome

The paper deals with stress-release effects induced by man-made cuts or excavations into natural stiff clay slopes that experienced erosion in response to valley deepening. The study was focused on the Monte Mario hill in Rome (Italy), which formed part of an area of recent urban expansion. The methodology of the study relied on a reference engineering-geology model, which was developed on the basis of site and laboratory data and stress–strain analyses. The latter analyses were carried out with the finite-difference code FLAC 4.0. Numerical modelling was based on a sequential approach, taking into account the main evolutionary stages of the Tiber river valley in Romeȁ9s urban area and then making cuts at the bottom of the slope located south of the Monte Mario Astronomical Observatory. The simulation revealed the stress-release effects that fluvial erosion and excavation fronts have caused on the investigated slopes and their consequent gravitational instabilities. These processes appear with metre-scale displacements, followed by stress-release cracks (actually observed on the slopes under review). In quantifying stress-release deformations, the simulation took into account the possible role of creep in the observed retardation of stress-release effects.Research activities were carried on with the co-operation of Dȁ9Arcangelo A. (Consorzio TREESSE, andrea.darcangelo@libero.it) and Moretti S. (IMG S.r.l. Servizi Tecnici per lȁ9Ingegneria e lȁ9Ambiente, moretti@img-srl.it)     

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.     

柱撑粘土矿物层间域的性质及其环境意义

柱撑粘土矿物是近年来胺国内外矿物学广泛关注的矿物材料之一。柱撑粘土矿物层间域是一个特殊的化学反应场所。本系统评述了氮氧化物、重金属离子、阴离子、肥料养分及有机污染物等环境污染物在柱撑粘土矿物层间域中的催化还原、吸附、脱附、控释及光催化反应机理，着重阐述了柱撑粘土矿物的层间域性质，讨论了它们的环境化学行为对环境的影响和意义。