See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/257564329

Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay and Inducing Factors

Article  in  Geotechnical and Geological Engineering · October 2012

DOI: 10.1007/s10706-012-9535-0

CITATIONS READS

37 3,731

3 authors:

Thu Minh Le Behzad Fatahi

AECOM Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia University of Technology Sydney
15 PUBLICATIONS   216 CITATIONS    190 PUBLICATIONS   1,518 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Hadi Khabbaz
University of Technology Sydney
181 PUBLICATIONS   1,585 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Liquefaction and Post-liquefaction Resistance of Lightly Cemented Sands View project

Geotechnical mitigation strategies for structures impacted by earthquake induced fault ruptures View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Behzad Fatahi on 17 January 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Geotech Geol Eng
DOI 10.1007/s10706-012-9535-0

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW

Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay and Inducing Factors

Thu Minh Le • Behzad Fatahi • Hadi Khabbaz

Received: 11 October 2011 / Accepted: 21 June 2012

Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Abstract As a result of the scarcity of land for recommend an enhanced explanation for the creep
construction, a number of projects to construct man- compression mechanisms of clays.
made islands or to expand lands over soft grounds
keeps increasing. Creep behaviour of soft ground has Keywords Creep  Soft soils  Structural
been considered as a challenging issue for engineers viscosity  Adsorbed water  Clay mineralogy
and researchers for many years. A number of studies
have focused on the method to predict the creep
deformation of the ground under a construction site.
However, there is no unified theory to clearly explain 1 Introduction
the mechanism of soil creep deformation of soils.
Results of the critical review in this paper indicate that As the social and economical development of the
the causes of soil creep can be categorised into five world keep advancing along with the increase in
main groups, namely (a) the breakdown of the inter- population, the availability of appropriate sites with
particle bonds, (b) sliding between the soil particles, proper soil for construction becomes increasingly
(c) water flow from micro-pores to macro-pores (d) the meager. Soft soils are more predominant around
deformation due to the structural viscosity and (e) the coastal areas or river sides, where the demand for
deformation due to the jumping of bonds. This paper construction is usually higher. Various projects in
presents these mechanisms in details with an effort to Australia have been constructed on unsuitable ground
such as the Ballina Bypass, Port of Brisbane Expan-
sion, and Port Botany Expansion. The Ballina Bypass
project has been undertaken to upgrade a 12 km four
T. M. Le  H. Khabbaz
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, lane road between Newcastle and the Queensland
Centre for Built Infrastructure Research, border. Most of the road is on coastal soil including
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), soft clays of various thickness. Two trial embank-
Sydney, NSW, Australia ments were constructed in 1998 to investigate the soil
B. Fatahi (&) behaviour in that area, and it is reported that soft soils
Faculty of Engineering and IT, School of Civil exhibit large creep deformation (Huang et al. 2006).
and Environmental Engineering, Centre for Built In the Port of Brisbane Expansion project, the land
Infrastructure Research, University of Technology (UTS), expansion of 235 ha of a sub-tidal area is a reclaimed
City Campus Broadway, PO Box 123, Sydney,
NSW 2007, Australia site underlaid by 9 m of soft dredge materials over-
e-mail: [email protected] lying 30 m deep soft to firm seabed clays (Ameratunga

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

et al. 2010). Due to the deep soft soil deposit (30 m), creep mechanism is the foundation to develop consti-
long term settlement and the secondary consolidation tutive models for soft soil behaviour, particularly for
component are critical factors to be dealt with. Ground long term settlement.
improvement techniques such as surcharge with wick Time dependent behaviour of soils has been a
drains and vacuum preloading were adopted in this contentious topic for many researchers for several
project to reduce the post construction settlement as decades. Since Terzaghi’s classical theory of one-
the clay deposit becomes overconsolidated after dimensional consolidation has provided reasonable
improvement. As discussed by Ameratunga et al. estimation of the settlement induced by the hydrody-
(2010), the amount of over-consolidation to be namic effects, the true settlement is believed to
targeted in the design was a difficult question for the continue in a long period after the end of pore water
designer because of uncertainties in the secondary pressure dissipation period. The term ‘‘creep’’ or
consolidation behaviour. ‘‘secondary compression’’ has been adopted to
Port Botany Expansion is an important infrastruc- describe the settlement, or so-called volume change,
ture development in New South Wales, Australia. This under a constant effective stress (Bjerrum 1967). In
project to extend the existing port at Botany Bay general, the real behaviour of soils depends on various
reclaimed an area of 63 ha for developing a new factors such as the soil composition, the clay miner-
container terminal. The major structure of the project alogy, the moisture content, and the stress–strain
is a 1,850 m long quay wall for the berth, which relationship (Feda 1992). However, interactions of
comprises more than 200 precast counterfort units of various factors influencing the behaviour of soils,
20 m height with the weight of 640 tonnes per unit. especially the consolidation process remain unclear. It
The geological study of this area shows that the site is important to understand profoundly the mechanism
rests on about 15 m layer of dense sand over a deep of the soil deformation because further numerical
layer of marine clays (Mcllquham 2010). modellings are constructed based on the assumptions
In Melbourne, creep settlement is the challenging associated with the nature of the soil deformation.
issue for several projects carried out on the areas Different mechanisms can lead to different solutions
resting over Coode Island Silt. The soil is classified as for predicting the soil behaviour. The conventional or
soft silty clay with high compressibility and low simplified methods may not be appropriate to answer
permeability (Ervin 1992). The soil produces exces- the complicated questions regarding soil behaviour
sive settlement, even though the applied pressure was such as the relationship between stress–strain–strain
in overconsolidation range. Therefore, settlement rate, and the effect of temperature, even though they
predictions for Coode Island Silt were unreliable and can provide reasonable estimation of soil settlement in
still present a challenge for geotechnical design and some simple conditions. In this study, after a brief
construction (Bouazza et al. 2004). review of clay mineralogy, various mechanisms
These projects are just a small number of existing proposed by geotechnical investigators to describe
developments carried out on inappropriate ground for soil creep phenomenon are explained in details. Then
construction in Australia. These emphasise the impor- discussion of the proposed mechanisms in regard to
tance of advanced study on soft soil engineering, soil macroscopic and microscopic properties is
particularly soil deformation. Soft soils consist of clay presented.
and silt with remarkable amount of pore water, and
they may undergo extraordinary settlements under the
effect of the surcharge loads. Therefore, knowledge of 2 Clay Mineralogy
how to identify soft soil and its engineering properties
and characteristics is critical. This will assist geotech- The presence of clay particles in soils is one of the main
nical engineers to identify if ground improvement is reasons for soil creep deformation. Therefore, it is
viable, and which methods would be most appropriate essential to review basic knowledge of clay mineralogy,
for the site. The prediction of consolidation and creep which has significant impact on the engineering prop-
compression are vital in soft soils and the long term erties of clay soils. The clay particles have different
deformation must be emphasised in engineering shapes such as bards, plates and sheets and are
design and practice. It should be noted that the soil composed of complex silicates of aluminium,

123
Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 1 a Basic units of clay minerals, b Kaolinite, c Illite, and d Montmorillonite (after Das 2008)

magnesium, and ion. According to Das (2008), the two in Fig. 2. The layer of floating cations and anions on
basic units of clay minerals are silica tetrahedron and clay particle surface is termed as double layer
alumina octahedron, forming respectively silica and (Mitchell 1976). Double layer affects the range of
alumina sheets, as schematically represented in Fig. 1a. interaction forces including repulsive and attractive
Different structures of the stacked combinations of the forces between clay particles, and is affected mainly
basic sheet structures with different types of bonding by the concentration and valence of cations (Craig
between the sheets result in different types of clay 2004). Adsorbed water is the innermost part of the
minerals. The three main clay minerals are kaolinite, double layer which is strongly held on the clay particle
illite and montmorillonite as illustrated in Fig. 1b–d. surface. In addition, absorbed water molecules are
According to Das (2008), clay particles have a net believed to be able to move freely parallel to the clay
negative charge on the surface, and they present both particle surface, but their movement is restricted on
negative and positive charges on the edge. As a result the perpendicular direction to the surface.
of balancing the negative charge, the positive charged Interparticle forces between the clay particles are
ions or cations in the pore water are attracted to the also important for elucidation of clay mineralogy. The
surface of the particles. These ions are defined as the net force among particles is determined based on the
exchangeable ions such as Al3?, Ca2?, Mg2?, NH4?, difference between two opposite forces (repulsive and
K? and Na?. Due to the attractive and repulsive forces attractive forces) with respect to the distance of
between ions and clay surface charge, the ion particles. According to Mitchell (1956), the interpar-
concentration of cations is inversely proportional to ticle forces between clay particles affect the arrange-
the distance from the surface of the particles, while the ment of clay particles, particle orientation or the
ion concentration of anions increases with the dis- relative position between adjacent particles, all of
tance. A water molecule is known as a dipole with which are defined as the fabric of clay. The fabric of
positive and negative charges at its two ends, and clay has significant impact on the engineering prop-
water molecules can be electrically attracted to the erties of that clay (Mitchell 1956; Mesri and Olson
clay particles in three ways (1) the positive ends of 1971; Rao and Matthew 1995). Table 1 summarises
dipoles are attracted to the negative charged surface of the characteristics of two distinct clay fabric arrange-
clay particles, (2) the negative charged ends of dipoles ments which are flocculation and dispersion. More-
are attracted to cations around the clay surfaces, and over, for a given mass at any compression pressure,
these cations are attracted to the surfaces of clay clay in dispersed state has a smaller volume than clay
particles, and (3) hydrogen bonding is formed between in flocculated state, because the parallel arrangement
the oxygen atoms in water molecules and oxygen of particles in dispersed state is more oriented than the
atoms on clay surfaces by sharing the hydrogen atoms random arrangement in flocculated state. At the same
of water molecules. The illustration of attraction preconsolidation pressure, under the effect of a same
patterns of water molecules on clay particles is shown increment of stress, there is more relative movement

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 2 a Water molecule

and b attraction of water
molecules on the surface of
clay particle (modified after
Ranjan and Rao 2007)

Table 1 Flocculation and dispersion of clays (after Mitchell 1956)

Flocculation Dispersion

Net force between clay particles is attraction Net force between clay particles is repulsion
Flocculation caused by the attraction between the positive charged edge of Dispersion caused by the repulsion between the
a particle to the negative charged surface of its adjacent particle negative charged surfaces of adjacent particles
The system of clay particles in random arrangement The system of clay particles in parallel arrangement

between clay particles in flocculated state than in 3 Mechanisms of Creep Deformation

dispersed state. The movement of clay particles tends
to change the particle arrangement from random to After Terzaghi’s outstanding theory of one dimensional
parallel orientation. consolidation of soils in 1923 that explains the rate of
Based on the experiments on the fabrics of 14 excess pore water pressure dissipation, it has been
undisturbed and remoulded clays, Mitchell (1956) observed from laboratory results and field observations
investigated the effects of the clay fabric on secondary that settlement continues even after complete dissipa-
compression or creep. Undisturbed clay has more tion of pore water pressures. In order to distinguish the
random particle arrangement than remoulded clay. two components of the compression, the term ‘primary
Therefore, the orientation change happens more in consolidation’ is used to describe the time dependent
undisturbed clay than in remoulded clay, while process due to the change in volume induced by the
remoulded clay has more packed state, leading to less expulsion of water from the voids, and transferring
relative movement (shifting) between clay particles. loads from the pore water to the soil particles. On the
As a result, the secondary compression ratio of other hand, creep or so-called secondary compression is
undisturbed clay is higher than that of remoulded generally defined as the deformation under a constant
clay. In brief, clay mineralogy including mineral effective stress (Taylor and Merchant 1940; Bjerrum
composition, clay water system and electrostatic 1967). It is necessary to exclude creep phenomenon
forces within clay system altogether results in the from the deformation under constant load because the
distinctive properties of clay in comparison to other effective stresses can be variable under a constant load.
soils, and these effects of clay mineralogy on creep Research on the long-term settlement of soils has
behaviour of clay are significant. become important and been developed for many

123
Geotech Geol Eng

decades. However, there has been no unified approval to bonds, bonds by sorbed cations, attraction forces
explain the mechanism of creep deformation resulting between particles with different charge, and cemen-
in different schools of thought and consequently various tation bonds, occur (Yong et al. 2010).
methods to predict soil settlement. This section attempts However, the bonds between particles may be broken
to make a comprehensive explanation for the mecha- or destroyed by the increase in the effective stress. The
nism of creep for clayey soils based on various existing breakdown of bonds between soil particles may cause
relevant studies such as Taylor and Merchant (1940), further rearrangement of soil particles, consequently
Murayama and Shibata (1961), Mitchell et al. (1968), further settlement or compression called creep. The
Barden (1969), Navarro and Alonso (2001), Mitchell breakdown of interparticle bonds is considered as a
and Soga (2005) and others. Although some of the mechanism of creep deformation proposed by Taylor
explained mechanisms can be used to describe the creep and Merchant (1940), Terzaghi (1941), and accepted by
behaviour of silt and granular soils, this study focuses on Gibson and Lo (1961), Mesri (1973, 2003), Mesri and
the creep behaviour of soft clays and the primary Godlewski (1977), and Crooks et al. (1984).
factors. There are various causes of the breakdown of the
interparticle bonds. It can be induced by the relative
3.1 Creep Due to the Breakdown of Interparticle movements of particles with respect to each other due
Bonds to the shear displacement or the change in particle
spacings induced by the change in the net interparticle
Soil is considered as a complex structure because of forces (Mesri 1973). Bolt (1956) considered the
its heterogeneous compositions when compared to deformation of a natural soil induced by the combi-
other materials such as metal or glass. In the nations of both mechanical and chemical factors
macroscopic point of view, an element of clayey considering the soil composition including both coarse
soils, as shown in Fig. 3, contains clay particles, grained and fine grained particles with different
coarse grain particles and water. Water in the compressibility.
macroscopic view is defined as free water which
flows due to the hydraulic gradient. According to 3.2 Creep Due to Jumping of Molecule Bonds
Taylor and Merchant (1940) and Terzaghi (1941), the
compression processes including both primary and Murayama and Shibata (1961), Christensen and Wu
secondary (or creep) settlement are explained based (1964), Mitchell (1964), and Kwok and Bolton (2010)
on the transfer of stress and the rearrangement of soil explained the creep mechanism based on the theory of
particles. Under the effect of the applied stress, free rate process. The creep deformation is caused by the
water flows out of the soil element, resulting in the movement of the atoms and molecules to a new
rearrangement of the soil structure. It may lead to an equilibrium position under the effect of constant
increase in the solid-to-solid contacts in the soil. The stress. Because the movement of atoms and molecules
flow of free water may take a period of time to be (called flow unit) relative to each other is resisted by
over, and is controlled by the soil permeability; virtual energy barriers, a sufficient activated energy is
therefore, the primary consolidation is a time depen- required to conquer the barriers. Creep in clay is the
dent process. The primary consolidation increases the displacement of oxygen atoms, which is seen as the
contact between soil particles, and also decreases the flow units, within the contact surface between clay
voids between particles. Since the spacing between mineral particles (Kuhn and Mitchell, 1993). In fact,
the particles reduces, soil particles transform to more the flow units do not remain static, but dynamically
packed state. The contacts between particles gradually vibrate with a certain frequency. Considering that
increase, causing the increase in the effective stress creep is defined as a rate process, Mitchell et al. (1968)
with time as a result of the total stress transferring suggested that the activation energy, Eact, not only
from pore water to the contacts between particles. At depends on the deviatoric stress but also depends on
the contacts between particles, particularly between elapsed time of creep.
clay particles, different types of bonding, and inter- The concept of activation energy is explained in
particle forces such as the primary valence bonds detail by Low (1962) as he examined the influence of
between particles, van der Waals forces, hydrogen the absorbed water on the exchangeable ion

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

or mineral-to-mineral, or mineral to mineral through

the interlayer adsorbed layer, which is temperature
dependent. Equations 1 and 2 can be considered as a
general stress strain relationship, because they show
the dependence of strain rate on deviator stress and
temperature.
t m
1
e_ ¼ A expðaDÞ ð1Þ
t
k
a¼ ð2Þ
4SkT
where A is the strain rate at unit time t1 and D = 0; D is
the deviator stress (r1-r3), t1 is a reference time, t is
time, m is the negative slope of the relationship
between logarithm of strain rate and logarithm of time,
Fig. 3 An element of soil in macroscopic view S is the number of flow units, k is a constant equal to
1.38 9 10-16(erg/°K), k is the distance between
movement. In Fig. 4, there is the schematic illustration equilibrium positions of flow units, and T is the
for the concept of activate energy which includes a absolute temperature (°K). These parameters, A, a and
close packed arrangement of an ion (gray filled circle) m can be obtained by two creep tests. The value of m
surrounded by water molecules (white filled circles). If can be firstly determined by the plot of logarithmic of
the ion moves from one position to another (such as strain rate versus logarithmic of time. A and a are
from a to b), it must break the bonds with all adjacent respectively the intercept at unit time and the slope of
molecules with the charge on the clay surface and push the plot of logarithmic of strain rate as a function of
back the molecules in front of it to replace to that stress for different time values.
space. The whole process of ion movement from a to b From the results of several triaxial creep tests with
requires a sum of different energies for different different temperature conditions and shear stress
bonds, which is named the activation energy, Ea. levels, Mitchell et al. (1968) concluded that soil creep
According to Mitchell et al. (1968), the deformation is a thermally activated process, as the logarithm of
of soils is evaluated based on the activation energy and creep strain rate divided by the absolute temperature


the number of inter-particle bonds per unit area using T, log Te_ , is inversely proportional to the reciprocal of
Eqs. 1 and 2. The inter-particle bonding is referred to the absolute temperature T (1/T). In general, the
solid-to-solid bonds (such as between soil particles), increase in the temperature may induce the increase in

Fig. 4 Schematic representation of an ion surrounded by water molecules, and the enegy barrier which it must surmount in moving
between equilibrium positions (after Low 1962)

123
Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 5 Contact mechanism used for individual particles in numerical model: a Normal force mechanism, and b tangential force
mechanism (after Kuhn and Mitchell 1993)

the creep rate. However, Mesri (1973) suggested that particles. The increase in bonding forces causes the
the effect of temperature on the creep rate is insignif- increase in the frictional resistance of particles against
icant compared to the influence of other factors such as slipping relative to each other. Hence, the reduction in
the precompression and the sustained loading. In terms the volume during creep takes place slowly. Gupta
of the effects of shear stress on creep, Mitchell et al. (1964) explained that creep is caused by the relative
(1968) observed the linear relationship between the sliding movement of clay particles under an external
logarithm of creep strain rate and the deviatoric stress load. However, the relative movement between the
obtained from several undrained creep tests. In clay particles is delayed by the bonds of water
addition, based on shear creep tests, creep behaviour molecules existing in adsorbed water layer, and can
is shown to depend on the applied shear stress (Singh gradually cause the change in the orientation of soil
and Mitchell 1968; Yin and Graham 1999). As particles.
reported by Vermeer and Neher (2000), there are Kuhn and Mitchell (1993) proposed a new concept
three typical types of creep behaviour under a constant for creep compression which is due to a sliding
shear stress. For deviatoric stresses about 30 % of the movement between the particles. This concept is
shear strength, creep strain is small, and creep strain similar to the mechanism of the deformation of
rate decreases and approaches zero after a period of interparticle bonds as discussed in Sect. 3.1. All types
time. For higher deviatoric stresses up to 70 % of the of soils including wet and dry materials appear to have
shear strength, creep strain develops with a constant interparticle bonds between solid–solid contacts, at
strain rate. For deviatoric stresses greater than 70 % of which the resistance to shearing deformation exists
the shear strength, the creep strain rate is accelerated, when the soil is subject to an application of pressure.
and may cause soil failure. This proposed mechanism was expected to describe
soil creep generally under the effects of shear stress
3.3 Creep Due to Sliding Among Particles and temperature. As a result of the nature of viscous
friction, the sliding movement is caused by the
Grim (1962) explained creep as the reduction in tangential component of the contact forces between
volume mainly due to slipping between soil grains, soil particles, ft. The deformation is proposed by the
while primary consolidation is caused by squeezing relationship between the sliding velocity (s), _ the
out water with insignificant slippage between grains. sliding force and the friction ratio between the
When water content reduces during primary consol- tangential force and the normal force (ft/fn). The
idation, the bonding forces between the particles mechanism is derived by the principle of rate process
increase with the decrease in the spacing between theory of Mitchell et al. (1968) as discussed in Sect.

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

3.2, and is simulated by a discrete element numerical called microspores. The microstructure units are also
model of more than 1,000 circular disks. The mech- known by terms as flocs, clusters or peds. The
anisms of normal force and tangential force at the macrostructure of clay is formed by the aggregation
contact of two individual particles are shown in Fig. 5. of several microstructure units, and the pores between
The creep deformation is described by a system microstructure units are called macropores (Yong
including a linear string which is represented for the et al. 2010).
normal force in Fig. 5a and a combination of linear Meanwhile, Zeevaart (1986) described two struc-
string and a dashpot in series which is represented for tures differently. The primary structure consists of a
the tangential force illustrated by the dashpot in continuous skeleton formed by coarse grains and large
Fig. 5b. As the model displays similarity to the creep pores of gravitational water, while the secondary
behaviour of soils, it is suggested that the sliding structure is formed by clay clusters aggregated around
mechanism can be applied for all soils. As reported by the primary structures. Micropores are the pores
Kuhn and Mitchell (1993), the sliding velocity can be existing within clay clusters, and water inside microp-
calculated as follows: ores which is formed by double layer water has
    different viscosity from water in pores within the
0 2kT DF 1 k ft
s_ ¼ km ¼ k exp sinh ð3Þ primary structure. Figure 6 shows the illustration of
h RT 2kT n1 fn
two structures of Zeevaart (1986).
where k is the distance between neighbouring equi- Under the application of pressure, water inside
librium positions, suggested to have the order of the micropores of the clay clusters will be expelled
2.8 9 10-10m (2.8 Å), T is the absolute temperature, out of the clay clusters moving to the larger pore (or
k is Boltzmann’s constant of 1.38 9 10-16erg/K, h is macropores). The water flow may cause the defor-
Planck’s constant of 6.626 9 10-27erg/s, R is the mation inside the clay clusters such as the reduction
universal gas constant (8.31 J/(mol K)), n1 is the in spacing between clay minerals or the relative
number of bonds per unit of normal contact force, and movement between the particles inside the clusters.
DF is free energy of activation in range of 84–190 kJ/ Creep compression is explained as the reduction in
mol. DF represents the bonding strength, as DF is the micropore water and the relative reduction in pores
total energy required to break down all the energy in the microstructure. Navarro and Alonso (2001)
barriers to allow the displacement of the flow units to a explained the transfer of water from micropores to
new position without applied potentials. macropores induced by the difference of chemical
potentials of water between microstructural and
3.4 Creep Due to Water Flows in a Double Pore macrostrutural water which causes the mass transfer
System (The Double Porosity) in order to reach the equilibrium state. According to
the quantitative analysis of exchangeable cations in
Creep, on the other hand, is suggested to result from pore fluid, Akagi (1994) concluded that the mech-
the transfer of pore water from micropores to anism of the consolidation is based on the drainage
macropores. This mechanism is explained based on of pore fluids and the deformation of pores. The
the assumption of double levels of soil structure, primary consolidation is due to the drainage of pore
microstructure and macrostructure, which was origi- fluid in the macropores between the grains of clay
nally proposed by Dejong and Verruijt (1965) and particles (called ‘‘peds’’), and creep (or ‘‘secondary
pursued by many researchers including Berry and consolidation’’ adopted by Akagi 1994) is the result
Poskitt (1972), Zeevaart (1986), Navarro and Alonso of the delayed deformation of micropores within the
(2001), Mitchell and Soga (2005) and Wang and Xu clay particles induced by the viscous flow of pore
(2006). As described in Sect. 2, single particles consist fluid existing in the micropores. The definition of
of stacked layers of structural sheets of clay minerals. peds and pores is provided in Table 2. Moreover,
The microstructure unit of clay consists of several according to Akagi (1994), the compression of soft
single particles packed together by interparticle forces clay during the constant rate of strain loading is
and bonds. The arrangement of single particles in a explained as the deformation of macropores between
microstructure unit produces amount of pores which is macropeds.

123
Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 6 Schematic concept

of clay structure (modified
after Zeevaart 1986)

Table 2 Types of peds and pores (after Matsuo and Kamon resistance against the relative movement between the
1977) clay particles. As mentioned in the previous section,
Type of ped Type of pore Recognition the absorbed water layer contains different cations and
anions, which makes the water layer exhibit electro-
Macroped Macropore By naked eye and spy chemical properties far different from the normal
([ 50 lm) ([10 lm) glass
water or free flowing water (Grim 1968, Sridharan
Mesoped Mesopore By optical microscope 2001, Reeves et al. 2006). According to Guven (1993),
(2–50 lm) (1–10 lm)
water system absorbed within microstructure of clay is
Microped Micropore By scanning electron
(0.1–2 lm) (0.01–1 lm) micropore formed by three types which are (1) the water adsorbed
Submicroped Submicropore By transmission electron on the internal surfaces of clay mineral, (2) the water
(\0.1 lm) (\100A) microscope layer held between clay minerals (double layer water),
and (3) the capillary water held in pores between the
clay particles. Figure 7 shows a schematic view of soil
3.5 Creep Due to the Structural Viscosity water system. Creep compression may be a result of
the deformation of clay clusters or microstructure
In general, viscosity is defined as the resistance of fluid units due to the flow of viscous water. Based on the
to flow or deform under the applied stress. Fredlund observation of Winkerkorn (1943), the water layer
and Rahardjo (1993) defined viscosity as the frictional which is held directly on the clay mineral surfaces can
drag of one plate of fluid sliding over another platelet. be considered as in a solid state, and the state of the
Taylor (1942) believed there was plastic structural water will be changed with respect to the distance from
resistance to compression within clay structure due to the clay mineral surface. Moreover, Grim (1968)
double layer surrounding the surface of clay particles, concluded that the viscosity of double layer water
which was termed as structural viscosity. Structural increases with the proximity to the clay surfaces, and
viscosity has significant impact on soil creep. This the viscosity of double layer water should be higher
theory is supported by Terzaghi (1941), Barden than that of free water.
(1969), Bjerrum (1967), Garlanger (1972), Christie Terzaghi (1941) also considered that the viscosity
and Tonks (1985), Graham and Yin (2001) among of adsorbed water causes the decrease in speed of the
others. According to several research on clay miner- rearrangement of soil structure. Bjerrum (1967)
alogy, the viscosity is imposed by the absorbed water divided the consolidation process of soils into instant
layer around particles, and may induce the plastic and delayed compression instead of primary and

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 7 A schematic view of

clay–water system

secondary compression, because he believed it is not and Girault (1961) had no explanation for the reduc-
possible to separate these two processes. An instant tion, but emphasised that the difference of the
compression occurs simultaneously with the increase preconsolidation pressure between the two curves
of the effective stress, and causes the reduction in void may be due to the change in interparticle forces
ratio until to reach the new equilibrium state to support resulting from the secondary compressions.
the overburden pressure. Besides, delayed compres- A number of researchers believed that the second-
sion is the volume change under constant effective ary compression of soils depends on the electrochem-
stress. According to Bjerrum (1967), delayed com- ical nature of clay minerals. Sridharan and Rao (1973,
pression causes the reduction in water content, result-
ing in the rearrangment of soil structure which is more
stable to resist against the further compression due to
the increase in the number of contacts between clay
particles. Moreover, the viscosity of pore water was
considered as the factor causing the delay in the pore
water pressure dissipation. Garlanger (1972), Yin and
Graham (1989) are the followers of this concept.
Leonards and Girault (1961) investigated the effect
of pore fluid on secondary compression (creep) by
comparing compression of the soil with pore fluid of
water and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). They found that
the electrochemical distribution near clay particles due
to the orientation of polar molecules within double
layer cannot be seen as the influencing factor in any
mechanism causing creep deformation. However, the
effect of the physico-chemical property of pore fluid
was observed to be significant on the rate of secondary
compression. Figure 8 shows the reduction in com-
pressibility of the soil with different pore fluids.
Although the result shows clearly that different void
ratios at the same effective stress for two different pore Fig. 8 Effect of pore fluid on compressibility in undisturbed
fluids in the range of normal consolidation, Leonards Mexico City Clay (after Leonards and Girault 1961)

123
Geotech Geol Eng

1979) concluded that electrical attraction and repul- mineral structure can be altered or destroyed. Graham
sion forces in the soil structure affect the strength of et al. (2001) carried out drained isotropic compression
clay particles, which controls creep compression, tests on reconstituted illite at 288C, 658C and 1008C,
while viscosity of pore fluid was suggested to affect and suggested that temperature changes may cause the
only the coefficient of secondary compression. They irreversible volume changes in soils. However, the
proposed a modified effective stress in order to response of volume changes induced by temperature
account for the contact stress existing in the clay variations is very much dependent on the soil type.
particle level. Equation 4 also includes the effect of
pore air pressure in estimating the modified effective
4 Discussion
stress.
0 0
rc ¼ r am ¼ r  uw  ua  R þ A ð4Þ The nature of creep compression is still a challenging
0
topic to study even though it has been investigated for
where, rc is the effective contact stress as a modified many decades. A general definition of creep deforma-
0
effective stress, r , is the mineral to mineral contact tion of soils is accepted to be the deformation or
stress, am is the ratio of mineral to mineral contact area settlement of soils under a constant effective stress.
to the interparticle area, which is the contact area Therefore, there are many proposed theories to
between clay particles, r is the externally applied elucidate the mechanisms of creep. In the previous
stress, uw is the effective pore water pressure, ua is the sections, five proposed mechanisms by different
effective pore air pressure, R is the ratio of total researchers are critically reviewed as summarised in
electrical interparticle repulsion force to total inter- Table 3. They are (a) the breakdown of interparticle
particle area, and A is the ratio of total electrical bonds in the soil structure, (b) sliding between
interparticle attraction force to total interparticle area. particles, (c) water flows in two systems (theory of
As a result of the experimental tests, Sridharan and double porosity), (d) deformation due to the structural
Rao (1979) supported the conclusion of Leonards and viscosity, and (e) deformation due to the jumping of
Girault (1961) that the viscosity of pore fluid has molecule bonds (theory of rate process). Various
insignificant effect on the secondary compression mechanisms exhibit some similarities. For instance,
while the dielectric of pore fluid has notable impacts the creep mechanisms explained by the double pore
on the variation of attractive forces and repulsive structures and the structural viscosity focus on the clay
forces, hence the effective stress and shear strength of mineralogy, and the influencing factors are adsorbed
the soil. According to Yin (2002), creep mainly results water system, the viscosity and the physico-chemical
from the combination of two processes including properties of the clay water system. The combination
(a) viscous flow of adsorbed water in double layers on of these two mechanisms can provide a more
clay particles and (b) viscous adjustment of clay comprehensive explanation of creep in microscopic
structure (plate structure) to reache a new equilibrium scale. The jumping of molecule bonds can be used to
to balance with the external effective stresses. There- explain the viscous flow of micropore water within the
fore, creep occurs as long as the effective stress exists microstructure of soils because double layer water and
in the soil, and creep is not related to free pore water adsorbed water layer contain complex electro-chem-
whose flow is controlled by the hydraulic gradient. ical properties controlled by different types of bonds
Feda (1992) explained that as temperature and forces such as primary valence bonds, van der
increases, the interparticle bonds between soil parti- Waals forces and hydrogen bonds.
cles weaken, causing the increase of deformations Therefore, in spite of the variety of reasons for
within the soil skeleton. Temperature variations can creep, the mechanism of creep compression can be a
also affect the viscosity of adsorbed water. According combination of various processes, and can be catego-
to Grim (1968), micropore water and adsorbed water rised into macroscopic and microscopic aspects. In the
can be completely removed by heating just above macroscopic view, creep deformation is a result of the
room temperature. Temperatures in excess of 1008C soil structural rearrangement or adjustment to reach a
can completely remove interlayer water in montmo- new equilibrium under an applied stress. The defor-
rillonite minerals. By heating over 4008C, the clay mation can be induced by the breakdown of the bonds

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

Table 3 Main creep mechanisms

Mechanism Main factors/focus Introduced or supported by

Breakdown of interparticle Relative movement of particles, soil Taylor and Merchant (1940), Terzaghi (1941), and
bonds structure rearrangement accepted by Gibson and Lo (1961), Mesri (1973, 2003),
Mesri and Godlewski (1977), and Crooks et al. (1984)
Jumping of molecule bonds Activate energy, temperature and Murayama and Shibata (1961), Christensen and Wu
deviatoric stress (1964) and Mitchell (1964), Kwok and Bolton (2010)
Sliding particles Activate energy, contact forces Grim (1962), Gupta (1964), Kuhn and Mitchell (1993)
Water flows with two Two levels of soil structures, water De Jong and Verruijt (1965), Berry and Poskitt (1972),
drainage structure (Macro– flows in two pore structures and Zeevaart (1986), Navarro and Alonso (2001), Mitchell
micro structures) deformation of pores and Soga (2005) and Wang and Xu (2006)
Structural viscosity Different viscosity of absorbed water Terzaghi (1941), Barden (1969), Bjerrum (1967),
system, clay mineral–water Garlanger (1972), Christie and Tonks (1985), Graham
interaction and Yin (2001)

between the soil particles and/or the relative move- et al. 1985). Yin (1999) also believed that there exists a
ment of particles. In the microscopic level, creep finite creep limit strain which is stress dependent.
deformation is explained as the deformation of Thus, there is a finite final strain, meaning that the
microstructure (clay minerals and absorbed water compression of the soils under a particular applied
layer) due to the drainage of pore fluid in micropores, pressure must cease after a finite period that can be
or due to the structural viscosity of pore fluids. In the counted in years or decades. The deformation may
microscopic level, the interparticle forces between cease when there is no void and fluid inside the clay
clay particles and the electro-chemical properties of particles, or under the final effective stress that the
double layer water are the important factors influenc- ultimate equilibrium inside the soil structure is
ing the deformation. The authors believe that the reached. The equilibrium state under low level applied
combination of these two structure levels (i.e. macro- stresses may be reached, while pore water is available
scopic and microscopic) can be adopted to explain the in the soil. The higher the applied pressures, the lesser
nature of soil creep, particularly for clay soils. water content at the equilibrium state. Under higher
However, in practice or the field scale, the composi- stresses, the equilibrium state may be attained, while
tion of the natural soil is complex and inherently more double layer water is squeezed out of the soil.
heterogeneous. Therefore, it may be unreliable to The innermost adsorbed water layer, held strongly to
explain the behaviour of soils established by the the clay mineral surfaces, cannot be removed under
numerical expressions, which are developed based on the normal ambient temperature and loading condi-
the micro-elements with assumption of homogenous tions, and this layer of water may be treated as solid
materials. phase (Grim 1962; Navarro and Alonso 2001). It can
Moreover, the authors believe that the volume of be noted that the assumptive upper bound creep strain
solid in a soil element can have a minimum value if limit corresponding to the zero void ratio (zero water
there is no void existing within that soil element. content) has been considered by a few researchers (e.g.
According to Mitchell (1956), for a particular soil, Yin et al. 2002) for simplicity. Figure 9 illustrates a
void ratio can reach to a minimum value regardless of schematic clay water system in two stages (a) free
the pressure or initial orientation. However, because of water flows through the voids between soil particles
the irregular shapes of soil particles, the relatively during the compression process, and (b) a system after
minute gaps still exist between particles, so that the free water squeezed out completely. As mentioned the
minimum void ratio cannot be zero. That also means creep process may cease after some times; thus, the
the soil structure cannot deform infinitely. Based on final soil element when creep ceases, could be similar
observation of compression of soils, the relationship to the schematic view shown in Fig. 9b. Therefore, it is
between the compressions with logarithmic of time assumed that when creep deformation reaches its limit,
was seen to vary not linearly (Bjerrum 1967; Leroueil the soil system would involve (1) no void allowing

123
Geotech Geol Eng

Fig. 9 Schematic clay–water system in a free water flows through the pore system from the beginning of the whole compression
process, b after free water flowed out of the pores

water flow (2) no free water within the soil, and (3) voids or pores within soil skeleton. Thus, the soil
solid particles rearranged and formed a close packed becomes more compressed, and improved. Therefore,
system. when the preload exceeds the design load, the
Creep settlement in soft soils remains a notable and secondary compression is greatly reduced and conse-
challenging issue for geotechnical engineers. In order quently the post construction settlement can be
to improve the ground for future development, various minimised (Wong 2006).
ground improvement techniques such as preloading
with vertical drains, vacuum assisted preloading, and
deep soil mixing have been applied to consolidate the 5 Summary
ground, improve the soil bearing capacity and thus,
reduce the risk associated with the long term behav- The time dependent behaviour of fine grained soils
iour of the soft deposit. The combination of vacuum remains a challenging topic for many reseachers and
and wick drains applied in the Port Brisbane Expanion engineers even though there have been significant
project (Ameratunga et al. 2010), vacuum and sur- amount of studies carried out to investigate this matter.
charge preloading in combination with prefabricated By and large, creep deformation is considered as the
vertical drains at Ballina Bypass project (Indraratna destruction or adjustment of soil structure under the
2010), deep soil mixing method considered for Coode effect of a constant effective stress. Moreover, clay
Island Silt (Bouazza et al. 2004) are some examples. mineralogy plays a significant role as clayey soils have
Reduction in the creep settlement after the ground unique electrochemical properties. Based on the
improvement can be still explained using the above existing literature, the mechanisms of creep deforma-
mentioned mechanisms. For instance, preloading tion are explained by different theories such as (1) the
method in conjunction with vertical drains, which is breakdown of interparticle bonds, (2) the jumping of
one of the most popular techniques applied effectively bonds of molecule structures, (3) the sliding between
to improve soft soils, aims to accelerate the consol- particles, (4) water drainage from micropores to
idation process by excessive applied stress and macropores, and (5) the structural viscosity. All of
horizontal and vertical drainages. Water flow through these mechanisms have incorporated the role of clay
voids inside the soil speeds up by horizontal and mineralogy more or less. Therefore, the explanation of
vertical drainage paths. In addition, the applied the mechanism of creep settlement based on the clay
pressure induced by preloading can cause water flow mineralogy as well as the deformation of both macro
by hydraulic gradient, and later cause the reduction in and microstructures of soils can be relevant to employ

123
 Geotech Geol Eng

for settlement prediction. In the macroscopic view, Craig P (2004) Craig’s soil mechanics, 7th edn. Taylor &
creep deformation is a result of the soil structural Francis, New York
Crooks JHA, Becker DE, Jerreries MG, McKenzie K (1984)
rearrangement or adjustment to reach a new equilib- Yield behaviour and consolidation. I: pore water response.
rium under an applied stress. In the microscopic level, In: Yong RN, Townsend FC (eds) Proceedings, Sympo-
creep deformation is explained as the deformation of sium on sedimentation consolidation models: prediction
microstructure (clay minerals and absorbed water and validation. SanFrancisco, ASCE, pp 356–381
Das BM (2008) Advanced soil mechanics, 3rd edn. Taylor &
layer) due to the drainage of pore fluid in micropores, Francis, New York
or due to the structural viscosity of pore fluids. It is De Jong GJ, Verruijt A (1965) Primary and secondary consol-
also suggested that the creep deformation could cease idation of a spherical clay sample. In: Proceeding of the 6th
after a period of time when the whole soil system international conference soil mechanic and foundation
engineering, Montreal, pp 254–258
contains no free flowing water. At this time, the Ervin M (1992) Engineering properties of Quatemary age sed-
innermost absorbed water layer which is held strongly iments of the Yarra delta. In: Peck WA, Neilson JL, Olds
to the clay mineral surfaces is treated as solid phase. RJ, Seddon KD (eds) Engineering geology of Melbourne.
This paper has provided a comprehensive summary AA Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 245–259
Feda J (1992) Creep of soils and related phenomena, Elsevier
about the mechanisms of soil creep. If the nature of Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsatu-
creep can be understood better, a more reliable rated soils. Wiley, New York
analysis of soft soil behaviour can be presented. Garlanger JE (1972) The consolidation of soils exhibiting creep
Although further research is required to investigate the under constant effective stress. Geotechnique 22(1):71–78
Gibson RE, Lo KY (1961) A theory of consolidation exhibiting
relative importance of each creep mechanism contrib- secondary compression. In: Norwegian Geotechnical
uting to the overall deformation of the soil, this study Institute
gives a good insight to researchers and engineers Graham J, Yin JH (2001) On the time-dependent stress-strain
trying to develop analytical or numerical models behaviour of soft soils. Paper presented at the Soft Soil
Engineering
accounting for soil creep. Graham J, Tanaka N, Crilly T, Alfaro M (2001) Modified cam-
clay modelling of temperature effects in clays. Can Geo-
tech J 38:608–621
Grim RE (1962) Applied clay mineralogy, International series in
the earth and planetary sciences. McGrawHill, New York
References Grim RE (1968) Clay mineralogy. International series in the
earth and planetary sciences, 2nd edn. Mcgraw Hill, New
Akagi H (1994) A physico-chemical approach to the consoli- York
dation mechanism of soft clays. Soils Found 34(4):43–50 Gupta B (1964) Creep of saturated soil at different temperatures.
Ameratunga J, De Bok C, Boyle P, Berthier D (2010) Ground PhD Thesis, The University of British Columbia, Canada
improvement in Port of Brisbane (PoB) clay. ISSMGE Bull Guven N (1993) Molecular aspects of clay-water interactions.
4(2):28–54 In: Guven N, Pallastro RM (eds) Clay water interface and
Barden L (1969) Time dependent deformation of normally its rheological properties,CMS workshop lectures. Clay
consolidated clays and peats. J Soil Mech Found Div Minerals Society, pp 2–79
95:1–31 Huang W, Fityus S, Bishop D, Smith D, Sheng D (2006) Finite
Berry PL, Poskitt TJ (1972) The consolidation of peat. Geo- element parametric study of the consolidation behaviour of
technique 22(1):27–52 a trial embankment on soft clay. Int J Geomech 6(5):
Bjerrum L (1967) Engineering geology of Norwegian normally- 328–341
consolidated marine clays as related to settlements of Indraratna B (2010) Recent advances in the application of ver-
buildings. Geotechnique 17:81–118 tical drains and vacuum loading in soft soil stabilisation.
Bolt GH (1956) Physico-chemical analysis of the compress- 2009 EH David Memorial Lecture, Australian Geome-
ibility of pure clays. Geotechnique 6(2):86–93 chanics Society, 45(2):1–43
Bouazza A, Kwan PS, Chapman G (2004) Strength properties of Kuhn MR, Mitchell JK (1993) New perspectives on soil creep.
cement treated Coode Island Silt by the soil mixing method. J Geotech Eng 119(3):507–524
In: Proceedings of GeoTrans, geotechnical engineering for Kwok CY, Bolton MD (2010) DEM simulations of thermally
transportation projects (GSP 126), pp 1421–1428 activated creep in soils. Geotechnique 60(6):425–433
Christensen RW, Wu TH (1964) Analysis of clay deformation as Leonards GA, Girault PA (1961) Study of one dimensional
a rate process. J Soil Mech Found 90:125–157 consolidation tests. In: Proceeding of 5th international
Christie IF, Tonks DM (1985) Developments in the time line conference soil mechanics, Paris, pp 213–218
theory of consolidation. In: The 11th international con- Leroueil S, Kabbaj M, Tavenas F, Bouchard R (1985) Stress-
ference on soil mechanics and foundation Engineering, San strain-strain rate relation for the compressibility of sensi-
Francisco, pp 423–426 tive natural clays. Geotechnique 35(2):159–180

123
Geotech Geol Eng

Low PF (1962) Influence of adsorbed water on exchangable ion Sridharan A, Rao GV (1979) Shear strength behaviour of satu-
movement. Paper presented at the proceedings of the 9th rated clays and the role of effective stress concept. Geo-
national conference on clays and clay minerals, New York technique 29(2):177–193
Matsuo S, Kamon M (1977) Macroscopic study on deformation Taylor DW (1942) Research on consolidation of clays.
and strength on clays. In: Proceedings of the 9th interna- Department of Civil and Sanitation Engineering, Massa-
tional conference on soil mechanics and foundation engi- chusetts Insitute of Technology, Report 82
neering, Tokyo, Japan, pp 201–204 Taylor DW, Merchant WA (1940) A theory of clay consolida-
Mcllquham J (2010) Geotechnical design of transition structures tion accounting for secondary compression. J Math Phys
for the Port Botany Expansion. ISSMGE Bull 4(2):55–62 19:167–185
Mesri G (1973) Coefficient of secondary compression. J Soil Terzaghi K (1941) Undisturbed clay samples and undisturbed
Mech Found Div, ASCE 99(1):123–137 clays. J Boston Soc Civil Eng 29(3):211–231
Mesri G (2003) Primary compression and secondary compres- Vermeer PA, Neher HP (2000) A soft soil model that accounts
sion In: Soil behaviour and soft ground construction, vol for creep. In: Beyond 2000 in Computational Geotechnics-
119. Geotechnical special publication, ASCE, Reston, 10 years of PLAXIS International, Balkema, Rotterdam,
pp 122–166 1999
Mesri G, Godlewski PM (1977) Time and stress compressibility Wang YH, Xu D (2006) Dual porosity and secondary consoli-
interrelationship. J Geotech Eng 103(5):417–430 dation. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 133(7):793–801
Mesri G, Olson RE (1971) Mechanisms controlling the perme- Winkerkorn HW (1943) The condition of water in porous sys-
ability of clays. Clays Clay Miner 19:151–158 tems. Soil Sci 55(2):109–115
Mitchell JK (1956) The fabric of natural clays and its relation to Wong PK (2006) Preload design, Part 1: review of soil com-
engineering properties. Highw Res Board Proc 35:693–713 pressibility behaviour in relation to the design of preloads,
Mitchell JK (1964) Shearing resistance of soils as a rate process. Australian Geomechanics Society Sydney chapter 2006
J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 90(SM1):29–61 symposium, pp 27–32
Mitchell JK (1976) Fundamentals of soil behaviour. Wiley, New Yin JH (1999) Non-linear creep of soils in oedometer tests.
York Geotechnique 49(5):699–707
Mitchell JK, Soga K (2005) Fundamentals of soil behaviour, 3rd Yin JH (2002) Calculation of settlements of foundation soils
edn. Wiley, New York considering creep. In: Proceedings of the Nakase Memorial
Mitchell JK, Campanella RG, Singh A (1968) Soil creep as a symposium on soft ground engineering in coastal areas,
rate process. ASCE J SMFD 94(1):1–26 Yokosuka, Japan, pp 205–211
Murayama S, Shibata T (1961) Rheological properties of clays. Yin JH, Graham J (1989) Viscous-elastic-plastic modelling of
In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference soil one dimensional time-dependent behaviour of clays. Can
mechanics, Paris 1:269–273 Geotech J 26:199–209
Navarro V, Alonso EE (2001) Secondary compression of clay as Yin JH, Graham J (1999) Elastic viscoplastic modelling of the
a local dehydration process. Geotechnique 51(10):859–869 time-dependent stress-strain behaviour of soils. Can Geo-
Ranjan G, Rao ASR (2007) Basic and applied soil mechanics. tech J 36(4):736–745
New Age International Publishers, New Delhi Yin JH, Zhu JG, Graham J (2002) A new elastic viscoplastic
Rao SN, Matthew PK (1995) Effects of exchangeable cations on model for time-dependent behaviour of normally and
hydraulic conductivity of a marine clay. Clays Clays Miner overconsolidated clays: theory and verification. Can Geo-
43(4):433–437 tech J 39(1):157–173
Reeves G, Sims I, Cripps J (2006) Clay materials used in con- Yong RN, Pusch R, Nakano M (2010) Containment of high level
struction, The Geological Society radioactive and hazardous solid wastes with clay barriers.
Singh A, Mitchell JK (1968) General stress-strain-time function Taylor & Francis, New York
for soils. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 94(SM3):709–734 Zeevaart L (1986) Consolidation in the intergranular viscosity
Sridharan A (2001) Engineering behaviour of clays: influence of of highly compressible soils. In: ASTM (ed) Consolidation
mineralogy. In: Chemo-mechanical coupling in clays: from of soils: testing and evaluation, vol 892. ASTM Special
nano-scale to engineering applications, Swets & Zeitlinger, Technical Publication, Philadelphia, pp 257–281
Maratea
Sridharan A, Rao GV (1973) Mechanisms controlling volume
change of saturated clays and the role of effective stress
concept. Geotechnique 23(3):359–382

123

View publication stats