Reassessing variations in the small-strain stiffness of London Clay
File(s)Small_strain_stiffness_of_London_Clay_Accepted.pdf (4.37 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Le, Truong
Standing, Jamie
Potts, David
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
High-quality rotary core samples of natural London Clay were taken during installation of subsurface instrumentation to monitor the ground response at Hyde Park, London, to the construction of Crossrail tunnels. An extensive programme of advanced triaxial tests was performed on specimens from London Clay divisions A3 to C. Detailed analysis of their response to undrained shearing in compression from their estimated in situ stress state provides new insights into the magnitude of and changes in stiffness at small- and medium-strain levels. A consistent trend in the variation of small-strain stiffness with depth and lithological division is established for the Hyde Park research site. Differences between the stiffness magnitudes from this investigation and those reported earlier by others are shown to be a result of the conditions before and during undrained shearing, particularly the ratio of shearing axial strain rate to the preceding creep strain rate. This provides an explanation for significant discrepancies in small-strain stiffness values reported in recent years, which have led to uncertainties regarding which values to adopt, particularly for numerical analysis applications. Understanding the relevance of the axial shearing to creep rate ratio allows for improved triaxial testing techniques and the subsequent interpretation of the test data.
Date Acceptance
2023-04-06
Citation
Géotechnique, pp.1-15
ISSN
0016-8505
Publisher
Thomas Telford Ltd.
Start Page
1
End Page
15
Journal / Book Title
Géotechnique
Copyright Statement
© 2023 Thomas Telford Ltd
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.21.00292
Grant Number
EP/G063486/1
Subjects
0905 Civil Engineering
0907 Environmental Engineering
0914 Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy
Geological & Geomatics Engineering
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2023-05-30