Effect of anisotropic consolidation stress paths on the undrained shear behavior of reconstituted Wenzhou clay

Naturally deposited clays are generally K-0 consolidated. In some cases such as embankment construction and foundation pit excavation, the loading or unloading will lead to the re-consolidation of clays, which can be simulated by a simplified consolidation stress path with a certain ratio of vertical to horizontal consolidation stresses. In this study, a series of triaxial shear tests was conducted on a reconstituted Wenzhou clay, to investigate the effects of consolidation stress paths on the stress-strain, pore water pressure-strain, and effective stress path behaviors of overconsolidated samples. Based on the test results, the shear strength and pore water pressure coefficient at failure are found to grow and reduce linearly with the increase of the ratio of vertical to horizontal consolidation stresses, respectively. More strain softening and shear dilation are observed for the anisotropically consolidated samples compared to isotropically consolidated ones. The slope of failure line is approximately 1.25 for all specimens tested in this study.