Compressibility Evaluation of Reconstituted Clays with Various Initial Water Contents

Abstract

Understanding the compressive behavior of reconstituted clays plays the central role for many infrastructures, particularly for those built in coastal areas. This paper presents an enhanced approach for the determination of intrinsic compressibility of reconstituted clays with different initial water contents. Following the conventional practice of geotechnical engineering, the compression curve is expressed by two straight lines in the bilogarithmic space, with a remolded yield stress being introduced to distinguish two linear segments. On the basis of extensive experimental data from literature, parameters for the description of two linear segments can be obtained through a pair of functions of initial void ratio and void ratio at liquid limit. Then, an enhanced equation for intrinsic compressibility is formulated to replace empirical approaches based on curve fitting. The proposed equation contains a small number of parameters, which can be obtained through consolidometer tests. This approach is validated through comparison between model predictions and experimental results of remolded clays under a wide range of effective stresses and initial water contents. Application of this approach is demonstrated through interpreting a pilot test for the improvement of dredged marine clay slurry in a castle tideland area of China. A case study once again proves the capability of the proposed approach and also highlight its applicability.