Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Engineering Science

Program

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Supervisor

Dr. Hesham El Naggar

Abstract

The behaviour of a sensitive clay from Ottawa is investigated though strain- and stress-controlled cyclic simple shear, and resonant column tests. Strain-controlled tests were performed at frequencies 0.1 to 10Hz, and amplitudes 0.1% to 5%. Over this range of strain amplitudes there are large drops in stiffness. Strain amplitude has a greater effect on the generation of pore-pressures than frequency. Stress-controlled tests performed at a yield stress ratio of 1 had higher strength at low N but degraded more readily than a test at YSR =2. A novel method of remoulding clay and measuring the remoulding energy is also presented. Specimens of remoulded and intact clay are used in fall cone, and oedometer tests in order to quantify sensitivity, and the breakdown of structure. Results suggest that the sensitivity framework (Cotecchia and Chandler 2000) and the relationship between PI and γt (Hsu and Vucetic 2006) are applicable to this clay.

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