Critical state behaviour of anthropogenic clay in a direct simple shear test
Critical state behaviour of anthropogenic clay in a direct simple shear test
In practical engineering the direct simple shear, DSS, tests are a valuable tool for parameter assessment, despite its known shortcomings. The shear stress mobilised at the end of the test is often used as a proxy for critical state strength. Several aspects complicate conducting reliable tests at large strain. One of these effects is slippage between the sample and the platens. When slippage occurs, the measured resistance follows from the interface properties rather than soil behaviour. To better understand the large strain behaviour of clays under DSS conditions a test series is conducted on an anthropogenic stiff silty clay. The test series not only shows that critical state conditions are reached before the end of the tests, but also that slippage tends to occur after reaching critical state conditions. A complimentary series of direct shear, DS, tests were conducted to further confirm critical state conditions are obtained. This confirms the applicability of OC DSS tests on anthropogenic clay in dike design if a soil specific proxy for critical state conditions has been determined from laboratory tests as opposed to the strength at the end of the test.
N. S. Walrave; C. Zwanenburg; I. E. van Gelder
18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)
E - Environment, water and energy
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