• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.90-99
• /
• 1994

To investigate the undrained shear strength characteristics of marine soils with high water content, high compressibility and weak bearing capacity, a series of undrained triaxial tests with pore pressure measurements on undisturbed and disturbed Banwol marine clay in normally consolidated and overconsolidated states is carried out. The results and main conclusions of this study are summarized as follows : 1 . When the consolidation pressure is increased, the maximum deviator stress of disturbed and undistubed clay in normally consolidated state is increased. Pore pressure parameters and internal friction angle of undisturbed clay are greater than those of disturbed clay. 2. The relationship between pore pressure and axial strain of undisturbed clay in normally consolidated state can be expressed as a hyperbolic function like stress-strain relation proposed by Kondner. 3. In the pore pressure-axial strain relation of disturbed clay in normally consolidated state, failure ratio R'f is greatly deviated in the range of 0.7~0.9 proposed by Christian and Desai. 4. For overconsolided clay, when overconsolidation ratio (OCR) is increased, normalized maximum deviator stress is increased and maximum pore pressure is decreased gradually. 5. Cohesion of overconsolidated clay is greater than that of nomally consolidated clay and internal friction angle slightly is decreased. 6. Pore pressure parameter at failure (Af) of overconsolidated clay is varied with OCR, Af becomes negative values with increment in OCR

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.287-311
• /
• 2015

The ultimate bearing capacity and failure mechanism of square footings resting on a sand layer over clay soil have been investigated numerically by performing a series of three-dimensional non-linear finite element analyses. The parameters investigated are the thickness of upper sand layer, strength of sand, undrained shear strength of lower clay and surcharge effect. The results obtained from finite element analyses were compared with those from previous design methods based on limit equilibrium approach. The results proved that the parameters investigated had considerable effect on the ultimate bearing capacity and failure mechanism occurring. It was also shown that the thickness of upper sand layer, the undrained shear strength of lower clay and the strength of sand are the most important parameters affecting the type of failure will occur. The value of the ultimate bearing capacity could be significantly different depending on the limit equilibrium method used.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.77-88
• /
• 2009

Cone factors, $N_{kt}$, $N_{ke}$ and $N_{{\Delta}u}$, for estimating undrained shear strength of Busan clay are evaluated in this study. For this, CPTu and field vane tests are performed for clay layers at two sites, Busan new-port and Noksan, and also $CK_0U$ triaxial tests with undisturbed samples taken from the same site are carried out. From experimental results, it is observed that the undrained shear strengths of clay increases with depth, and the undrained shear strength obtained from triaxial tests is 1.5 times higher than one obtained from vane tests. The normalized undrained shear strengths of Busan clay from triaxial and vane shear tests are $0.26{\sim}0.44$ and $0.20{\sim}0.23$, respectively. In CPTu results, cone tip resistance ($q_c$) and pore pressure ($u_2$) linearly increase with depth, and the pore pressure ratio ($B_q$) of Busan clay is within the range of $0.3{\sim}1.0$. The cone factors, which are determined by comparing the CPTu results with $CK_0U$ triaxial and vane shear test results, are found to be $5{\sim}20$ and $10{\sim}35$, respectively. It is also observed that the cone factors are inversely proportional to the pore pressure ratio. From this, the prediction methods for evaluating the cone factors of Busan clay are developed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.65-76
• /
• 2014

For soil improvement, sand mats or sand compaction piles are often constructed on soft marine clays. In such cases, some amounts of sand and clay are inevitably mixed. Sand or gravel often exists in the weathered soils near the slope surface. This research investigates the effect of mixing sand content on consistency limits and shear strength of clays. Firstly, sand was mixed with kaolinite or bentonite at 0, 9, 17, 23, 29, 33, 50% and then liquid and plastic limits were measured. Both plastic and liquid limits decreased as a sand content increased. The water content of clay-sand mixtures with different sand content increased by 10% or 20% step by step and then their undrained shear strength was measured using a portable vane shear device called Torvane. For all cases, undrained shear strength of clay-sand mixtures decreased rapidly until reaching a certain value. Their state changed from undrained to drained state gradually as the sand content increased, which caused their undrained shear strength to decrease. On the other hand, a series of direct shear tests were also conducted on such clay-sand mixtures to investigate the effect of sand content on cohesion and angle of internal friction. It was found from clay-sand mixtures that their cohesion decreased but angle of internal friction increased as the sand content increased.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.149-163
• /
• 2023

This paper presents stability evaluation of unlined tunnels with semi-circular arch and straight sides (SASS) driven in non-homogeneous and anisotropic undrained clay. Numerical analysis has been conducted based on lower bound finite element limit analysis with second order cone programming under plane strain condition. The solutions will be used for the assessment of stability of unlined semi-circular arch tunnels and tunnels in which semi-circular roof is supported over rectangular/square sections. The stability charts have been generated in terms of a non-dimensional factor considering linear variation in undrained anisotropic strength for normally consolidated and lightly over consolidated clay with depth, and constant undrained anisotropic strength for heavily over-consolidated clay across the depth. The effect of normalized surcharge pressure on ground surface, non-homogeneity and anisotropy of clay, tunnel cover to width ratio and height to width ratio of tunnel on the stability factor and associated zone of shear failure at yielding have been examined and discussed. The geometry of tunnel in terms of shape and size, and non-homogeneity and anisotropy in undrained strength of clay has been observed to influence significantly the stability of unlined SASS tunnels.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.17-24
• /
• 2009

Undrained shear strength is estimated from laboratory tests generally, but the very soft or fluid material is generally incompatible with the test setup. In-situ methods require test to be accomplished at discrete time intervals, which does not provide a method to predict strength increment as a function of time for an ongoing project. Therefore, correlation between slump test value and undrained shear strength was derived through the regression analysis of slump test and laboratory vane shear test results. For the reliability of derived correlation equation statistical analysis using the t-distribution was performed and the comparison between the results of in-situ test and laboratory experiments demonstrated the applicability of the derived correlation.

• Geotechnical Engineering
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.5-18
• /
• 1988

A series of CU triaxial compression tests were conducted to investigate the variation of -untrained shear strength of underconsolidated clay at different degrees of consolidation. The soil samples were artificially made by one-dimensional consolidation using soft Bangkok Clay. The test results showed that the undrained shear strength of clay parabolically increased convoking downward with increasing degrees of consolidation. However, all the measured shear strength were unanimously related to the effective stress. These experimental results were used in the numerical analysis. A finite element computer program was developed to investigate the stability of submarine .slope undergoing rapid deposition taking into account the variation in soil compressibility and permeability during the consolidation process. The relationships of degree of consolidation with time as a function of rate of deposition and angle of slope were established. A method of predicting the time of slope failure and the volume of moving mass of soil was also made.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.419-429
• /
• 2024

The primary goal was to assess how the addition of cement dust, a byproduct known to be harmful, could be used to stabilize clay. Various percentages of cement dust were added to soil samples, which were then subjected to triaxial testing at different rates of strain using an unconsolidated undrained triaxial machine. Six different rates of strain were applied to analyze the response of the clay under different conditions, resulting in 216 triaxial sample tests. As the percentage of cement dust in the clay samples increased, there was a noticeable increase in the strength properties of the clay, indicating a positive effect of cement dust on the clay's strength characteristics. Higher rates of strain during testing led to increased strength properties of the clay. Varying cement dust content influenced the impact of increasing the rate of strain on the clay's strength properties. Higher cement dust content reduced the sensitivity of the clay to changes in strain rate, indicating that the clay became less responsive to changes in strain rate as cement dust content increased. Potential for Clay Stabilization Cement dust proved the potential to enhance the strength properties of clay, indicating its potential utility in clay stabilization applications. Both higher percentages of cement dust and higher rates of strain were found to increase the clay's strength. It's essential to consider both the percentage of cement dust and the rate of strain when assessing the strength properties of clay in practical applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2010.09c
• /
• pp.18-23
• /
• 2010

The estimation of the undrained shear strength $s_u$ for clays using CPT results has been mainly based on the cone factor $N_k$. In this study, a new CPT-based method for the estimation of the undrained shear strength $s_u$ is presented. This aims at reducing uncertainties for the estimation of $s_u$ and enhancing the application of CPT results in more effective manner. For this purpose, a site located at a marine clay deposit is selected and test results from extensive experimental testing program are adopted. The new method defines a direct correlation between the undrained shear strength $s_u$ and the cone resistance $q_t$, excluding the procedure of the overburden pressure correction and therefore undisturbed soil sampling process. In order to verify the new CPT-based method, additional test sites and example sites from literature, which consist of a variety of soil conditions, are selected and examined. It is observed that values of su obtained from the proposed method are in good agreements with measured values of $s_u$ for all the selected verification cases.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.93-106
• /
• 2024

The present paper investigates the spatial variability effect of soil property on the three-dimensional probabilistic characteristics of the bearing capacity factor (i.e., mean and coefficient of variation) of a circular footing resting on clayey soil where both mean and standard deviation of undrained shear strength increases with depth, keeping the coefficient of variation constant. The mean trend of undrained shear strength is defined by introducing the dimensionless strength gradient parameter. The finite difference method along with the random field and Monte Carlo simulation technique, is used to execute the numerical analyses. The lognormal distribution is chosen to generate random fields of the undrained shear strength. In the study, the potential failure of the structure is represented through the failure probability. The influences of different vertical scales of fluctuation, dimensionless strength gradient parameters, and coefficient of variation of undrained shear strength on the probabilistic characteristics of the bearing capacity factor and failure probability of the footing, along with the probability and cumulative density functions, are explored in this study. The variations of failure probability for different factors of safety corresponding to different parameters are also illustrated. The results are presented in non-dimensional form as they might be helpful to the practicing engineers dealing with this type of problem.