Development of Strain During Monotonic Shear of Soft Clay

Abstract

The development of shear strain in a soft, marine clay undergoing monotonic shear in torsional and simple shear equipment has been studied. The ratio between the irrecoverable, or plastic, shear strain to the overall shear strain that develops on a particular plane was found to be related to the overall shear strain developed on that plane by a continuous, increasing function. The function was found to be linear on a semilogarithmic scale up to a shear strain of the order of 25%, and it appears to be relatively unaffected by the previous development of shear strains on other planes. A similar functional relationship was found to be applicable, also, for shear strain increments. The Masing model was found to reasonably predict the shape of the unloading branch of the shear stress‐strain curve under various boundary conditions, making it possible to estimate plastic strains from monotonic loading tests. On the basis of observations made in the study, it appears that kinematic rather than isotropic work‐hardening models are best suited to describe the stress‐strain behavior of soft clay.