INFLUENCE OF PHYSICO-MECHANICAL PARAMETERS OF STRUC￣TURAL CLAY IN ZHANJIANG GROUP ON ITS THIXOTROPY

Widely distributed in the coastal areas of the Beibu Gulf,the structural clay of the Zhanjiang Group poses significant challenges to engineering practice due to its high thixotropy. To reveal the way that the factors of water content,void ratio and sensitivity can affect thixotropy,we conducted a series of tests examining how these physico-mechanical properties of the clay along with its thixotropy changed over time after disturbing the clay samples and putting them to stand. Test results show that: (1)higher water content leads to greater thixotropic strength growth by the end of the standing period,with the thixotropic strength growth rate being high in the early stage of standing and low in the late stage; (2)void ratio presents insignificant correlation with thixotropic strength growth during the early standing stage while,during the late stage,a higher void ratio is associated with considerably smaller growth in thixotropic strength as well as a lower growth rate; and (3)higher sensitivity leads to greater thixotropic strength.