Strain Rate Effect on Artificially Cemented Clay with Fully Developed and Developing Structure
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Rate Effect on Developed Structured Clay
3.2. Rate Effect on Developing Structured Clay
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The fully developed ACK exhibited a shearing behaviour primarily governed by the proportion of intact bonds under low confining stresses, making it insensitive to strain rate. In contrast, under a large confining stress, the cementing bonds are significantly destroyed during isotropic compression, and a negative rate effect is observed due to local drainage at a slow rate of shearing. During the post-peak stage, the shear behaviour of the fully developed ACK switched to a pure isotach with a well-formed shear plane owing to its inherent viscosity.
- (2)
- The ACK with a developing structure shows a slight negative effect during the pre-peak stage under both low and high confining stresses, resulting from the combined effect of curing time and local drainage. In the post-peak stage, the presence of an intense stick-slip shear pattern and increased bond breakage at a well-formed shear plane results in an increase in shear resistance, i.e., a negative rate effect.
- (3)
- Two types of stick-slip shear patterns were observed during the undrained shearing of ACK with a developing structure. Both types of stick-slip only occurred with a critical threshold strain rate associated with the confining stress. The stick-slip effect at the post-peak stage could be manifested by the normal force on the sliding shear plane, and a linear relationship was found
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ACK | Artificially Cemented Kaolin |
YACK | Young Artificially Cemented Kaolin |
OACK | Old Artificially Cemented Kaolin |
CRS | Constant Rate of Strain |
SRS | Stepwise change Rate of Strain |
PWP | Pore Water Pressure |
OC | Overcosolidated |
NC | Normal Consolidated |
CF | Clay Fraction |
Recon. | Reconstituted Soil |
SEM | Scanning Electron Microscope |
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Test Name | Curing & Consolidation Stress (kPa) | Curing Time (Days) | p’0 | Pre-Peak Strain Rate (%/h) | Post-Peak Strain Rate (%/h) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OACK-P100-R0.01 | 100 | 30 | 100 | 0.01 | 0.1/5 |
OACK-P100-R0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1/5 | |||
OACK-P100-R1 | 1 | 0.1/5 | |||
OACK-P600-R0.1 | 600 | 0.1 | 0.1/5 | ||
OACK-P600-R5 | 5 | 0.1/5 | |||
OACK-P600-R5Cr ^ | 5 + creep | 0.1/5 | |||
YACK-P100-R0.01 | 100 | 2 | 100 | 0.01 | 0.1/5 |
YACK-P100-R1 | 1 | 0.1/5 | |||
YACK-P100-R5 | 5 | 0.1/5 | |||
YACK-P600-R0.1 | 600 | 0.1 | 0.1/5 | ||
YACK-P600-R5 | 5 | 0.1/5 |
Type of Soil | Soil Structure Status | Shearing Procedure | Shear Rate (%/h) | Rate Effect | Mechanism | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-Peak/Small Strain | Post-Peak /Large Strain | ||||||
Belfast clay | OC Undisturbed | Triaxial SRS | 0.05-0.5-5 | Positive | Positive | Shear viscosity | Graham et al. [8] |
Hong Kong Marine clay | NC + OC Recon. | Triaxial CRS | 0.15-1.5-15 | Positive | Positive | Shear viscosity | Zhu & Yin [34] |
OC Undisturbed | Triaxial SRS | 0.2-2-20 | Positive | Positive | Shear viscosity and smaller excess PWP at a higher rate | Cheng & Yin [35] | |
London clay | NC + OC Recon. | Triaxial SRS | 0.007-0.05-0.5 | Positive | Insensitive | Shear viscosity and decaying isotach at large strain | Sorensen et al. [14] |
OC Undisturbed | Triaxial SRS | 0.05-0.2-0.8 | Positive | Positive | Rate dependence of post-sedimentation structure | ||
Merville stiff clay | NC + OC Recon. | Triaxial CRS | 0.26-2.6-26.0 | Positive | Positive | Shear viscosity | Han et al. [18] |
OC Undisturbed | Triaxial CRS | 0.26-2.6-26.0 | Positive | Insensitive | Rate dependence of interparticle debonding | ||
Pure Kaolin clay | NC + OC Recon. | Triaxial SRS | 0.1-0.5-2-10 | Positive | Positive | Shear viscosity | Li & Baudet [12] |
Artificial cemented Kaolin clay | OACK at low p’ | Triaxial CRS + SRS | 0.01-0.1-1-5 | Insensitive | Positive | Stiff bonds at pre-peak; shear mode change at post-peak | This study |
OACK at high p’ | Triaxial CRS + SRS | 0.1-5 | Negative | Positive | Bonds broken and local drainage near shear plane; | ||
YACK at low p’ | Triaxial CRS + SRS | 0.01-1-5 | Negative | Negative | Combined curing effect and stick-slip | ||
YACK at high p’ | Triaxial CRS + SRS | 0.1-5 | Negative | Negative | Combined curing effect and stick-slip |
Type of Soil | Soil Structure Status | Shearing Procedure | Shear Rate (mm/min) | Rate Effect on Residual Strength | Mechanism | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaolin clay | Recon. CF = 74% | Ring shear | 0.013-0.13-1.12-9.9-90.8-230 | Positive | Shear viscosity; sliding to turbulent shear with a higher rate | Tika et al. [22] |
Claystone | Recon. CF = 52% | Ring shear | 0.05-0.92-10-100-400-6000 | Negative | Soils with transitional shear | |
Amber clay | Recon. CF = 66% | Ring shear | 12-60-120-300 | Negative | Healing, broken bonds restoration at a lower rate | Gratchev & Sassa [26] |
Brown clay | Recon. CF = 19% | Ring shear | 12-60-120-300 | Negative | Healing, broken bonds restoration at a lower rate | |
Kaolin clay | Recon. CF = 100% | Direct shear | 3.6-36-360 | Negative | Larger excess PWP with a higher rate | Li et al. [19] |
Kaolin clay | Recon. CF = 74% | Ring shear | 0.09-0.6-1-11.1 | Positive | Shear viscosity; Only significant v > 0.5 mm/min | Scaringi & Di Maio [36] |
Kualiangzi landslide | Recon. CF = 74% | Ring shear | 0.002-0.6-1-120 | Positive | Shear viscosity; only positive v > 3 mm/min | |
Kaolin clay | Recon. CF = 74% | Ring shear | 0.02-0.1-0.2-1-10 | Positive | Shear viscosity; Only significant v > 0.1 mm/min | Suzuki et al. [32] |
4% Cemented Kaolin clay | Recon. | Ring shear | 0.02-0.1-0.2-1-10 | Insensitive | undulating shear behaviour | |
Kaolin clay | Recon. CF = 46% | Ring shear | 0.02-0.2-2-20 | Positive | Shear viscosity; sliding to turbulent shear; | Duong et al. [27] |
Kaolin + Bentonite clay | Recon. CF = 50.8% | Ring shear | 0.02-0.2-2-20 | Negative | Larger excess PWP and finer particles at the shear zone with a higher rate |
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Li, Q.; Baudet, B.A.; Zhang, X. Strain Rate Effect on Artificially Cemented Clay with Fully Developed and Developing Structure. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 5839. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15115839
Li Q, Baudet BA, Zhang X. Strain Rate Effect on Artificially Cemented Clay with Fully Developed and Developing Structure. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(11):5839. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15115839
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Qiang, Beatrice Anne Baudet, and Xiaoyan Zhang. 2025. "Strain Rate Effect on Artificially Cemented Clay with Fully Developed and Developing Structure" Applied Sciences 15, no. 11: 5839. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15115839
APA StyleLi, Q., Baudet, B. A., & Zhang, X. (2025). Strain Rate Effect on Artificially Cemented Clay with Fully Developed and Developing Structure. Applied Sciences, 15(11), 5839. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15115839