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An investigation of natural London Clay is reported Cet article présente une étude réalisée sur des échantil-
involving advanced triaxial, hollow cylinder apparatus lons d’argile de Londres naturelle, qui utilise les techni-
(HCA) and dynamic testing techniques. Significant aniso- ques d’un appareil triaxial à cylindre creux (HCA) de
tropy was revealed at all scales of deformation, and the technologie avancée et d’essais dynamiques. Ces tests ont
framework of cross-anisotropic elasticity was found to révélé une anisotropie significative à toutes les échelles de
apply broadly to the initial elastic behaviour. The stiff- déformation et ont montré que le cadre de l’élasticité en
ness parameters obtained by independent techniques gen- anisotropie croisée s’appliquait globalement au comporte-
erally exhibited good agreement, with the greatest ment élastique initial. Les paramètres de rigidité obtenus
deviation being seen in the Poisson’s ratios, which fell far par des techniques indépendantes montrent dans l’ensem-
from the values usually assumed in conventional founda- ble un bon accord. Les rapports de Poisson affichent la
tion analysis. Probing tests established the limits to the déviation la plus importante, puisque leurs valeurs
elastic domain over a range of depths, showing that these s’écartent très fortement de celles normalement suppo-
scaled in proportion to the mean effective stress level, as sées pour l’analyse de fondation conventionnelle. Des tests
did those of a second kinematic surface that surrounded de sondage ont établi les limites du domaine élastique sur
the elastic domain. Once engaged, this second surface une plage de profondeurs, montrant que celles-ci s’adap-
signified a new pattern of strain increment directions, taient en proportion au niveau de contrainte effective
faster elastic-plastic stiffness decay with strain, and also a moyen, comme le faisaient celles d’une seconde surface
greater dependence of behaviour on recent stress history. cinématique qui entourant le domaine élastique. Une fois
However, the two kinematic surfaces cover a relatively engagée, cette seconde surface conduisait à une nouvelle
small proportion of the admissible stress space, and be- tendance de directions d’incrément de résistance, un
haviour at larger strains is both anisotropic and strongly affaiblissement de la rigidité élastique-plastique plus ra-
non-linear, features that affect profoundly the soil displa- pide en fonction de la déformation et à une dépendance
cements induced by geotechnical construction in this plus forte du comportement par rapport à l’historique de
deposit. contrainte récent. Cependant, les deux surfaces cinéma-
tiques couvrent une proportion relativement faible de
l’espace de contrainte admissible et le comportement
pour des contraintes plus importantes est à la fois aniso-
trope et fortement non linéaire, caractéristiques qui
KEYWORDS: anisotropy; clays; constitutive relations; fabric/ affectent profondément les déplacements du sol induits
structure of soils; laboratory tests; stiffness par la construction géotechnique dans ce dépôt.
33
34 GASPARRE, NISHIMURA, MINH, COOP AND JARDINE
including failure, so avoiding the assumptions associated plastic strain development accelerates. It has been speculated
with hybrid wave velocity techniques (Zdravkovic & Jardine, that this surface corresponds to the limit beyond which
1997; HongNam & Koseki, 2005). However, high-resolution, particle contacts fail and particle movements occur. The
stable stress and strain instrumentation is essential in both conventional yield surface Y3 corresponds in normalised
cases if the initial linear range is to be characterised stress space to the local boundary surface (LBS), which
successfully, and this is more difficult to achieve with HCA cannot be crossed by undrained stress paths. The LBS exists
equipment. Hybrid HCA experiments combining static tor- within the more extensive state boundary surface (SBS),
sional shear and dynamic resonant column measurements which provides the outermost boundary between admissible
provide a further useful source of stiffness data (Jardine, and non-admissible normalised effective stress states (Jardine
1995; Hight et al., 1997). et al., 2004). The focus in this paper is on the London
A comprehensive study has been completed recently by a Clay’s stiffness behaviour within its Y3 surface. Other
team from Imperial College, London, into the natural Lon- aspects of the work are reported in companion papers by
don Clay encountered at the Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5) site. Gasparre et al. (2007), Hight et al. (2007) and Nishimura et
The research included multiple static and hybrid dynamic al. (2007); full details of the test procedures and data
triaxial and HCA measurements on high-quality samples obtained are given in Gasparre (2005), Nishimura (2006)
from a single location close to which field wave velocity and Minh (2006).
measurements were made, which showed broad agreement
with the laboratory data (Hight et al., 2007). This paper
reports the measurements and discusses the new insights Coordinate system
offered into the London Clay’s stiffness. The soil behaviour Cylindrical coordinates (a, r, Ł) are the most appropriate
has been interpreted using the kinematic strain-hardening to describe conditions in HCA or triaxial cylindrical tests.
plasticity framework proposed by Jardine (1995), who identi- However, Cartesian coordinates (v, h1 , h2 ) are often used to
fied two kinematic surfaces, named Y1 and Y2, that exist report anisotropic wave velocity or stiffness data. In this
within the conventional main yield surface, termed Y3. A paper, the stiffness parameters are presented in the Cartesian
scheme of the model is shown in Fig. 1. Within the zone v–h coordinate system, assuming the material remained
limited by the Y1 surface the soil response is linear elastic cross-anisotropic throughout the small-strain shear tests, and
and the strains are fully recoverable. The Y2 surface corre- the stresses and the strains are presented in the a–r–Ł
sponds to the contour of a zone beyond which the strain system, as shown in Fig. 2.
increment vector may change direction and the rate of
where E9v and E9h are the drained Young’s moduli in the
0 vertical and horizontal directions respectively; 9hh and 9hv
Äp¢ are the drained Poisson’s ratios for horizontal strains due to
Y 1 Y2 Y3 horizontal and vertical strain respectively, and 9vh is the
drained Poisson’s ratio for vertical strains due to horizontal
Fig. 1. Scheme of multiple yield surfaces (Jardine, 1995) strain; Gvh and Ghv are the shear moduli in the vertical
THE STIFFNESS OF NATURAL LONDON CLAY 35
For cross-anisotropic material
Ev ⫽ E a νvh ⫽ νar ⫽ νaθ
Resonant column σa
Gvh
τaθ
σθ Ghh, Ghv
Bender elements
σr
σa
a a(v)
σr
σr
θ r(h)
r
(a) (b)
Fig. 2. Coordinate systems in triaxial and hollow cylinder tests: (a) HCA specimen; (b)
(cylindrical) triaxial specimen
plane; and Ghh is the shear modulus in the horizontal plane. 1 9hh
h ¼ h9 (8)
The z-axis is taken as the vertical here. E9h
The following two constraints apply, in addition to Gvh ¼
Ghv , leading to just five independent parameters to be Kuwano & Jardine (1998) show how the Ghh measure-
identified. ments are combined with equations (7) and (8) to derive E9h ,
9hh , 9vh and 9hv and complete the analysis, assuming full
9hv 9vh compatibility between the dynamic and static measurements.
¼ (2)
E9h E9v Whereas in a triaxial test 9vh may be measured directly from
E9h an axial loading probe, the other two Poisson’s ratios, 9hv
Ghh ¼ (3) and 9hh have to be calculated indirectly from the derived E9h
2ð1 þ 9hh Þ values. The Poisson’s ratio 9hh can be obtained from equa-
tion (8), and 9hv can be obtained from equation (2) or from
Kuwano & Jardine (1998) and Lings (2001) describe how
equations (7) and (8), which can be rewritten as
Ghh and Gvh or Ghv may be obtained directly from bender
element measurements and combined with static vertical and
9v ð1 9hh Þ
radial effective small-strain probes in hybrid triaxial tests to 9hv ¼ (9)
obtain all five independent parameters. Under conventional h 2
triaxial conditions (i. e. v9 ¼ 9z and h9 ¼ 9x ¼ 9y ), equa- E9h v
tion (1) reduces to 9hv ¼ (10)
2 h9
2 3
1 29hv ( ) Equations (9) and (10) give very similar values, but these
6
v 6 E9v E9v 7 7 v9 values are about three times those obtained from equation
¼6 7 (4) (2) and about 1.5 times those directly measured in the HCA
h 4 9vh 1 9hh 5 h9
(as will be discussed later). This discrepancy might be due
E9v E9h to the indirectly measured quantities involved in equations
Performing axial probes under constant radial stress probes (9) and (10) and in the consequent amplification of errors in
(9h ¼ 0), equation (4) reduces to the estimation of 9hv .
HCAs that offer independent control of Ł , r , a and aŁ
1 (or x , y , z and zx ) and accurate Ł , r , a or ª Ł (or x ,
v ¼ v9 (5) y , z and ª zx ) measurements allow direct determinations
E9v through suites of drained probes in which one component is
9vh varied at a time while all other effective stresses are held
h ¼ v9 (6)
E9v constant (Zdravkovic & Jardine, 1997):
Triaxial apparatus
MATERIAL, APPARATUS AND TEST PROCEDURES The hybrid triaxial cells employed to test 100 mm dia-
Material and sampling meter, 200 mm high intact samples were fitted with the
Tables 1, 2 and 3 summarise the triaxial and HCA high-resolution axial and radial strain LVDT sensors de-
experiments performed for the present study on high-quality scribed by Cuccovillo & Coop (1997) and laterally mounted
Note: ac ¼ axial compression; ae ¼ axial extension; rc ¼ radial compression; re ¼ radial extension ; ctq ¼ constant-q probe; ctp9 ¼
constant-p9 probe.
B2(c) IS0590 5.2 m (12.5 mOD) block 280 0 Undrained shear with Æ ¼ 908 and b ¼ 0.5
HCDT 5.2 m (12.5 mOD) block 280 140 Drained, ˜ aŁ . 0, ˜a ¼ 0, ˜r ¼ 0 and ˜Ł ¼ 0
HCDQ 5.2 m (12.5 mOD) block 280 140 Drained, ˜ aŁ ¼ 0, ˜a ¼ 0, ˜r ¼ 0 and ˜Ł . 0
HCDZ 5.2 m (12.5 mOD) block 280 110 Drained, ˜ aŁ ¼ 0, ˜a . 0, ˜r ¼ 0 and ˜Ł ¼ 0
Note: Æ is the angle between 1 and the vertical, and b ¼ (2 3 )/(1 3 )
THE STIFFNESS OF NATURAL LONDON CLAY 37
Table 3. Samples and conditions for resonant column and simple shear tests
London Clay unit Depth: m Reconsolidation path Sample Gvh : MPa p90 : kPa q0 : kPa Water content: %
* As specified in Fig. 3.
† No reloading (i.e. as for unit B2(c)).
bender elements (see Fig. 2) to measure Ghh and Ghv , the p⬘: kPa
shear moduli associated with horizontally propagating shear 200 400 600 800
0
waves that are polarised in the horizontal and vertical planes
respectively (Pennington et al., 1997). No bender element B2(c)
measurements of Gvh were made (vertical propagation and A3
horizontal polarisation), as Jovicic & Coop (1998) had found ⫺100
C
q: kPa
3 3
2 2
∆σ⬘a: kPa
∆σ⬘θ : kPa
1 1
0 0
0·0005 0·0005
0 0
0 0·001 0·002 0 0·001 0·002
∆εa: % ∆εθ: %
⫺0·0005 ⫺0·0005
(c) (d)
4
∆τaθ: kPa
0
0 0·002 0·004
∆γaθ: %
(e)
Fig. 4. Typical stress–strain and strain–strain relationships in HCA drained probes (HC-DT, p9
280 kPa, K ó91 =ó93 1.7): (a) E9v 112 MPa; (b) E9h 226 MPa; (c) í9vh 0.19; (d) top, í9hh 0.17,
bottom, í9hv 0.35; (e) Gvh 70 MPa
dent field shear wave velocity measurements made at T5 and Note that the plotted bulk moduli were directly measured by
synthesise these with the laboratory measurements. constant-q triaxial probing tests, rather than deduced from
the cross-anisotropic elastic parameters obtained by the
hybrid procedure described above.
ELASTIC STIFFNESS AND ITS ANISOTROPY Strong stiffness anisotropy is evident in Figs 4 and 5, with
Typical stress–strain data obtained from the HCA uniaxial E9h . E9v and Ghh . Gvh , and Table 4 summarises the elastic
drained probes conducted from in situ stress conditions are parameters obtained under in situ stress conditions in B2c,
shown in Fig. 4. The stiffness could generally be resolved at the only unit in which all test types were performed, show-
a strain of about 103 %. The small-strain stiffness para- ing averages and ranges as the individual stiffness results
meters calculated from these data are shown in Fig. 5 along show some scatter. The mean E9v , E9h and Gvh values
with those obtained from the triaxial probing test series. generally agree well between test types, but the HCA
40 GASPARRE, NISHIMURA, MINH, COOP AND JARDINE
Young's moduli: MPa Shear moduli: MPa Bulk modulus, K: MPa
0 200 400 0 100 200 0 100 200
0
B2(c)
10
B2(b)
Depth: m
20
B2(a)
B1
30
B2(c)
10
B2(b)
Depth: m
20
B2(a)
B1
30
resonant column Gvh data appear relatively high. It is inter- of the elastic independent parameters, as shown in Fig. 5,
esting that Nishimura (2006) found a general trend at all with the differences between the calculated and measured
depths (down to 29 m) for resonant column values to exceed values being generally in the range between 5% and 10%,
the maxima seen in static simple shear tests on the same rising to about 30% in only two cases.
specimens by 10–30%. It was suggested in his work that the The model of the elastic behaviour adopted in this paper
strain rate averaged over a cycle in the resonant column tests to represent the behaviour of the London Clay is one that is
was about 1 000 000 times faster than those applied in static cross-anisotropic and rate-independent. To some extent this
simple shear, and that the potential influence of a strain rate is a pragmatic choice, because the complete set of para-
may well have played a role in these discrepancies. As can meters for full anisotropy cannot be derived, and to obtain
be seen in Table 4, however, the dynamic bender element the full set of cross-anisotropic parameters from triaxial tests
measurements gave lower Ghv than the static measurements. requires data from both slow static and dynamic probes.
Given the uncertainty entailed in interpretations of dynamic Discrepancy between data may, to some extent, reflect some
tests, the discrepancies encountered are insufficiently clear to rate dependence or inaccuracy in the assumption of cross-
test or quantify the hypothesised rate-dependence. The val- anisotropy. Scatter within the data may reflect boundary
ues of Euv measured from undrained axial compressions conditions, strain non-uniformity and natural variability, but
agreed well with the values calculated from the combination is believed to be mostly due to the accuracy with which the
THE STIFFNESS OF NATURAL LONDON CLAY 41
Table 4. Comparison between stiffness parameters obtained in bender-element-aided
triaxial tests and HCA tests for unit B2(c)
YIELDING BEHAVIOUR 0
0 0·02 0·04 0·06
Examples of small-strain probes conducted in the HCA εvol: %
and triaxial apparatus are shown in Figs 4–6. The yield
points at the end of the elastic region Y1 were identified as Fig. 7. Y2 yield points in a drained test on a sample from Unit
the point where the stress–strain curves deviate from linear- A3(2)
42 GASPARRE, NISHIMURA, MINH, COOP AND JARDINE
ity. Unloading prior to this point was reversible, within the routine foundation engineering, and evidently increases in
scatter of the high-resolution triaxial data, whereas subse- size with depth. When the (˜q, ˜p9) values are divided by
quent unloading led to plastic strains. The kinematic Y1 p90 , the mean effective stress applying prior to probing, they
surface can be dragged by the current effective stress point, tend towards a common surface (Fig. 9). Other tests in
and grows with mean effective stress. The Y2 kinematic which samples from one unit were consolidated to the in
surface was identified from drained tests as points where the situ stresses of another confirmed that the size of the yield
strain increment vectors rotate, as revealed by plotting volu- surfaces is dependent only on the stresses applied and not
metric against deviatoric strains (Jardine, 1995). An example on the structure of the soil. The Y2 yield surface also
is given in Fig. 7; Y2 points can also be identified in expands with depth, increasing in diameter from about 10 to
undrained tests from changes in effective stress path direc- 25 kPa.
tion (or change of pore pressure against strain), although this Most of the probes that were used to determine the yield
may be less clear. As shown later, the Y2 points may also to points used slow drained loading to achieve a desired effec-
correspond to points where stiffness degradation accelerates tive stress path direction. Typical loading rates were around
markedly with strain. 0.3–0.5 kPa/h. Several of the tests were sheared undrained,
The Y1 points identified by triaxial probing tests are with loading rates around six times faster. The size of the Y1
shown in Fig. 8, plotting the increments (˜q, ˜p9) required region can be expected to grow with strain rate, particularly
to reach Y1 from the in situ stress conditions. The incre- when rates are changed by orders of magnitude (Tatsuoka &
mental presentation allows tests from different stress states Shibuya, 1992). However, the faster undrained tests, which
(and hence units) to be compared more easily. The Y1 are identified in Fig. 9, fall within the broad scatter (around
surface is very small, far below the limits assumed in 15%) of the drained yield points, which suggests that any
rate effect was not strong enough to be evident at this scale.
3·0 Those of the samples that developed ultimate failure me-
∆q: kPa
0·008 ⬍0·002%/h
∆q/p⬘0
Y1
0
0 ⫺0·04 ⫺0·02 0 0·02 0·04
∆p⬘/p⬘0
⫺0·008 ⫺0·004 0 0·004 0·008
∆p⬘/p⬘0
⫺0·02
⫺0·004
Units
Units C
C B2(c)
B2(c)
B2(a)
B2(a)
A3(2) A3(2)
Finally failed along pre-existing fissures Finally failed along pre-existing fissures
Fig. 9. Normalised contour for the Y1 surface Fig. 10. Normalised contour for the Y2 surface
THE STIFFNESS OF NATURAL LONDON CLAY 43
150
pression tests used the approach paths in Fig. 3, the triaxial
Geq,sec ⫽ ∆(σ1 ⫺ σ3)/2∆(ε1 ⫺ ε3): MPa
Unit B2(c) extension and simple shear tests used a constant-p9 unload-
Y1 in triaxial comp. TC, 6·5 m ing path to reach the in situ stresses. An example of the
100 TE, 8·6 m Geq,sec data from resonant column HCA measurements on
SS, 7·9 m rotary core samples is also shown for each unit, along with
RC, 7·9 m the corresponding undrained static simple shear test data.
The latter had broadly similar stiffness degradation charac-
50 teristics to those of the triaxial compression tests and, as
noted earlier, gave maximum stiffnesses that fell significantly
Y2 in triaxial comp.
below the resonant column Geq,sec values. The interpreted
values of Geq,sec declined very gently between the minimum
0 and maximum ªvh amplitudes applied, with the values
0·0001 0·001 0·01 0·1 1
ε1 ⫺ ε3: % recorded at around 0.005% shear strain falling less than 1%
(a) below those recorded at ªvh ¼ 105 %. Referring to the
results shown in Figs 4 and 6, the maximum dynamic strains
150
were well beyond the static elastic limit. It should be noted,
however, that ªvh is not uniform in resonant column tests
Geq,sec ⫽ ∆(σ1 ⫺ σ3)/2∆(ε1 ⫺ ε3): MPa
Y1 in triaxial comp.
Unit B2(a) but changes sinusoidally with time and height, developing
Y2 in triaxial comp. TC, 16·6 m maxima at the fixed end and minima at the free (driven)
100
TE, 22·9 m end. The ªvh value quoted is the average assessed across the
SS, 20·7 m sample (Nishimura, 2006), and each test involves many
RC, 20·7 m cycles of loading. Although it is useful for determining the
elastic stiffness, the resonant column, or dynamic testing in
50 general, may not be suitable for pinpointing the elastic limit
applying to first-time monotonic loading, even if rate inde-
pendence is assumed.
The variation of the secant moduli measured during the
0 drained shearing to failure stages of the uniaxial HCA tests
0·0001 0·001 0·01 0·1 1
ε1 ⫺ ε3: % on block samples from 5.2 m depth are shown in Fig. 12. In
(b) all of these tests stiffness degradation began at early stages
(from around 0.001% strain). Fig. 13 gives examples of how
150 the equivalent bulk moduli varied with volume strain during
Geq,sec ⫽ ∆(σ1 ⫺ σ3)/2∆(ε1 ⫺ ε3): MPa
A3(2) 80
Geq,tan: MPa
K⬘tan /p⬘
200
q Y2
40
157° p⬘
100
23°
Common
undrained
shearing
0 0
0·0001 0·001 0·01 0·1 1 0·0001 0·001 0·01
εvol: %
εs: %
Fig. 13. Degradation curves for tangent bulk moduli
Fig. 14. Tangent stiffness degradation curves for probes with
approach path within the Y2 region and creep allowed
respectively. (The initial stress point was chosen to avoid
being close to either the compression or extension failure
envelopes while avoiding a load cell compliance ‘flat spot’ 120
found on the isotropic axis that affected the applied strain
rates unduly.) Drained shear probes, although preferable,
were not practical in this study, because of their durations.
Just two samples were tested repeatedly to reduce the
potential effects of the natural variability, but this introduced
the potential for unwanted pre-shearing effects associated
80
with the approach paths. To reduce the latter problem, the
shorter approach paths were investigated first, followed by
Geq,tan: MPa
the longer paths. The samples tested were from 11.3 and
11.5 m below the top of the London Clay in Unit B2(b), and Common
bender element check tests on one of the samples confirmed undrained
that the values of Ghv and Ghh remained unchanged between shearing
probing tests; as the two samples gave essentially the same 40 75°
q
results in equivalent tests, the results from only one speci- Y2
men are discussed in this paper. 105°
105°
Three sets of probing tests are discussed. The first in- 75°
volved two tests in which the ‘short’ approach paths were p⬘
applied, followed by an undrained extension common path.
As discussed earlier, such paths should have remained within 0
the current kinematic Y2 yield surface. A creep period of 0·0001 0·001 0·01
εs: %
about 7 days was then allowed, during which creep rates
reduced to negligible values (,0.0001%/h) before applying Fig. 15. Tangent stiffness degradation curves for probes with
the common undrained extension at a rate of 5 kPa/h. With approach path within the Y2 region and creep not allowed
ideal isotropic elastic materials the angles (Ł as defined by
Atkinson et al., 1990) developed between the approach paths
and probing paths would be either zero or 180o . However, Finally, the first set of probing tests was repeated but with
the anisotropic London Clay samples developed different ˜q ¼ 100 kPa, so that the effective stress path would engage
undrained effective stress path orientations, with Ł ¼ 23o and relocate the Y2 surface. A pause period of 10 days was
and 157o . The tangent stiffness relationships developed in required before creep rates declined to unresolvably low
the two tests are plotted in Fig. 14. In this case the approach values (,0.0001%/h) and undrained extension probing tests
paths had no influence on the results, confirming the absence were performed. The data presented in Fig. 16 show that
of stress history effects noted by Clayton & Heymann unlike the first series, where the paths remained within the
(2001) in tests on London Clay that involved comparably initial Yz surface, the stiffness decay relationships were
short approach paths and long creep periods. The second strongly affected by the recent stress history, despite the
series of probes, on the same sample, reproduced the first up extended creep/ageing period.
to the end of the approach path. However, only a 3 h pause Additional insights were gained by plotting the Y1 and Y2
period was allowed before commencing probing by un- surfaces deduced from the pairs of probing tests and com-
drained compression. The creep rates before testing were paring these with the normalised surfaces proven for the clay
about 0.001%/h, and the compression was carried out at under in situ stresses (given in Figs 9 and 10). As shown in
5 kPa/h. As shown in Fig. 15, a clear stress history effect Figs 17 and 18, in cases when the test paths did not engage
was found, with interactions between creep and renewed and move the Y2 surface, creep could erase the effects of
shearing; the larger stress path rotation gave a quite different the approach path on the outgoing stress paths, so that the
stiffness degradation characteristic. Y1 and Y2 yield points for probes within Y2 that allowed
THE STIFFNESS OF NATURAL LONDON CLAY 45
120 0·04
∆q/p⬘0
L150°
20°
L30°
L160°
0
q ⫺0·04 ⫺0·02 0 0·02 0·04
L150°
40 ∆p⬘/p⬘0
L30°
150° p⬘ 157° 23°
Y2
⫺0·02
Common
30°
undrained Approach paths
shearing
Within Y2, no creep allowed
0
0·0001 0·001 0·01 Above Y2, creep allowed ⫺0·04
εs: %
Within Y2, creep allowed
Fig. 16. Tangent stiffness degradation curves for probes with
approach path above the Y2 region and creep allowed Fig. 18. Normalised Y2 points for samples subjected to different
stress path approaches
∆q/p⬘0
0·008
150°nc
high-resolution transducers combined with dynamic bender
L160° 20° element and resonant column techniques.
105°nc 160°
0·004
Significant anisotropy was revealed over a wide range of
L60°
strain, with that applying at very small strains being quanti-
75°nc 30°nc fied within the framework of cross-anisotropic elasticity. The
Y1
stiffness parameters obtained by independent techniques gen-
0
erally exhibited good agreement, with the greatest deviation
⫺0·008 ⫺0·004 0 0·004 0·008 being seen in the Poisson’s ratios, which fell far from the
L30° ∆p⬘/p⬘0 values usually assumed in conventional foundation analysis.
L150° A range of explanations exists for the modest discrepancies
157° ⫺0·004
seen between different test types, including potential effects
of strain rates (or cyclic frequencies) and test boundary
23°
conditions. However, the results point to clear trends be-
Approach paths tween the various cross-anisotropic parameters and their
Within Y2, creep allowed variations with depth, in situ effective stresses and stratigra-
Within Y2, no creep allowed phical unit.
Above Y2, creep allowed
For any given depth, behaviour was approximately cross-
anisotropic linear elastic within a relatively small Y1 yield
Fig. 17. Normalised Y1 points for samples subjected to different
surface that surrounded the current effective stress point.
stress path approaches Stiffness decayed with strain once this limit was reached,
and data have been shown from a wide variety of test types
that typify the anisotropic and steeply non-linear trends
creep agree well with the previous envelopes. When creep exhibited by tests continued to failure.
was not allowed for probes within Y2 the Y2 points are Probing tests established the sizes of the Y1 surfaces over
unaffected, but Y1 is dependent on the previous stress a range of depths, showing that these scaled in proportion to
history. When the Y2 surface had been engaged and relo- the mean effective stress level, as did those of the second Y2
cated, with larger plastic strains developing, stress history kinematic surface that surrounded Y1. The significance of Y2
effects were again evident despite extended creep periods. In was that, when engaged, the soil response gave a new
this case the creep has re-centred Y1 so that the Y1 points pattern of strain increment directions. As shown in this
agree with the previous envelopes, but the strains developed paper, Y2 in many cases appeared to correspond to faster
during the approach stress path affected the Y2 points. These elastic-plastic stiffness decay with strain, and it was also
findings add a further potential significance to the Y2 surface found that there was a greater dependence of behaviour on
as a threshold above which hardening plastic strains occur. recent stress history for stress path approaches that exceeded
However, the effects of creep and ageing during pause Y2.
periods that extend beyond those practical in the laboratory Finally, experiments have been reported that explore the
remain open to speculation. interaction between recent stress history, creep/ageing per-
iods and probing paths. It has been shown that relatively
short creep periods can erase the effects of recent stress
CONCLUSIONS perturbations that remained within the original Y2 surface,
The stiffness of natural London Clay has been explored while changes that engage and displace the latter impose
through advanced static triaxial and HCA testing involving a more enduring ‘memory’ of the recent stress history.
46 GASPARRE, NISHIMURA, MINH, COOP AND JARDINE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS geotechnical cycle. Q. J. Engng Geol. Hydrogeol. 33, No. 1,
The authors thank: the EPSRC and London Underground 7–39.
for their financial support; BAA for the rotary-cored samples Clayton, C. R. I. & Heymann, G. (2001). Stiffness of geomaterials
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