Small-Strain Shear Modulus of Cement-Treated Marine Clay

Abstract

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for describing the small-strain shear modulus (Gmax) of cement-treated clay based on the results of parametric studies covering the influence of mix ratio, curing time, void ratio, stress state, overconsolidation, and yielding on the small-strain shear modulus of cement-treated soft clay. The small-strain shear modulus under the unconfined condition (Gmax0) is first examined and the results are correlated to the unconfined compressive strength (qu). The influence of effective confining stress (p′) is then included and shown to be well-described by a superposition relation. Finally, the small-strain shear modulus of overconsolidated specimens is discussed. The results show that the modulus of these specimens can also be characterized as a sum of two components, one reflecting the effects of cementation and stress history and the other reflecting the effects of the current mean effective stress, overconsolidation, and destructuration history. Of these three factors, the mean effective stress was found to have the most significant effect, whereas the effects of overconsolidation and history of loss of cementation are generally much less significant.