Compression and consolidation characteristics of structured natural clay

The compression and consolidation behavior of some structured natural clays are discussed. It is shown that for some structured natural clays, the relation between void ratio (e) and mean effective stress (p') is more linear in a ln(e + e(c)) - ln(p') plot (where e(c) is a soil parameter) than in an e - ln(p') plot. It is proposed that for structured natural clay with a sensitivity value greater than 4, a linear ln(e + e(c)) - ln(p') relation can be used in settlement and consolidation calculation. The effect of introducing a linear ln(e + e(c)) - ln(p') relation on the calculated load-settlement curve and consolidation behavior of structured clays is discussed. The linear ln(e + e(c)) - ln(p') relation was incorporated into the modified Cam-clay model by modifying the hardening law of the model. It is shown that using the linear ln(e + e(c)) - ln(p') relation simulated the consolidation behavior of the structured natural clays better than using the linear e - ln(p') relation.