Mechanical behavior of compacted composite clays

Authors:
  • MJM K Jafari
    M K Jafari
  • ASA Shafiee
    A Shafiee
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Abstract
Composite clay is a mixture of clay, as the main body, and aggregates, which are floating within the clayey matrix. The undrained behavior of composite clay in its natural or compacted state, e.g., core material of embankment dams, has great importance for geotechnical engineers. An extensive test program was conducted on kaolin–gravel and kaolin–sand mixtures to investigate various effects of aggregates on the mechanical behavior of the mixtures during strain-controlled monotonic and cyclic loadings. Monotonic test results reveal that increasing the aggregate content leads to a gradual increase in shear strength. Meanwhile, when the aggregate content is raised, the pore pressure increases for both monotonic and cyclic loading. It is also found that the presence of aggregates within a cohesive matrix leads to formation of a heterogeneous matrix in the clayey part of composite clays. This heterogeneity in turn causes pore pressure to be increased with an increase in the aggregate content during both monotonic and cyclic loading. In addition, test results show that aggregate size does not influence mechanical behavior appreciably. The results of this experimental research program are presented and discussed in this paper.Key words: composite clay, aggregate, shear strength, pore pressure, heterogeneous matrix, embankment dam.

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