Radial deformation and failure of stabilised soft clay under uniaxial compression
Zhong-Sen Li, Yinning Zhang, Mateusz Janiszewski, Leena Korkiala-Tanttu
Abstract
This study examined the performances of four newly developed binders in stabilising soft Finnish clay by considering both the mechanical behaviour and environmental effect (i.e., carbon footprint). Thirty-six compacted clay-binder mixtures were investigated via uniaxial compression tests , during which photogrammetric scans were performed at axial strains of 0, 1, 3, and 7.5%. The testing protocol enabled the characterisation of full-field radial deformations and fracture developments. Experimental results demonstrated that varying the amounts and types of industrial by-products used in the production of binders has substantial potential to reduce carbon footprints. In terms of radial deformations, their distributions were highly non-uniform at different heights and loading stages. Radial displacements increased continuously at axial strains smaller than 3% (corresponding to peak strength point), whereas such a continuity disappeared afterwards, and global failures appeared. Based on three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions, the observed failures were categorised into three modes: inclined shearing (IS), axial splitting (AS) and hybrid shearing-splitting (HSS). For the studied specimens, shearing was the most common mechanism leading to failure.