The overconsolidation ratio (OCR) is a critical factor in determining the mechanical behaviour of overconsolidated clays. On the basis of the three requirements for the peak strength line, a continuous and smooth peak strength line is constructed from the perspective of the peak stress ratio, and then a new yield function for overconsolidated clays is developed. The developed yield function in the stress space is characterized by an elliptical curve. The evolution of the developed yield function in the stress space is captured by a new hardening parameter, which is constructed by integrating the proposed peak strength surface with the subloading surface concept. By combining the developed yield function with the non-orthogonal plastic flow rule, a non-orthogonal elastoplastic constitutive model of overconsolidated clays is established to consider the influence of the OCR on strength and deformation. The proposed model requires seven material parameters, all of which have a clear physical meaning and can be easily determined via conventional laboratory tests. Three typical stress paths are employed to demonstrate the essential features of the proposed model. The effectiveness of the proposed model is confirmed by comparing the experimental data with corresponding model predictions.

This study presents an enhanced analytical approach for one-dimensional consolidation settlement by introducing a revised AJOP (arc joint via optimum parameters) equation assuming creep and strain rate effects can be neglected for both normally and overconsolidated clays. This modified equation integrates both curved and linear segments within a unified framework, enhancing accuracy across varying stress levels for normally consolidated clay. Additionally, the revised AJOP function, coupled with newly proposed equations for symmetrical and asymmetrical hysteresis, improves the modeling of overconsolidated clay. The findings from a comparative investigation using benchmark datasets and conventional methods, including the linear function (LF) and the curved function (CF), reveal that the revised AJOP method was found to reduce settlement prediction errors by up to 85% compared to LF method (particularly at shallow layers) and by 10-15% compared to the CF method (particularly at deep layers). The revised AJOP equation effectively resolves this error with a wide range of depths. Furthermore, results highlight the crucial impact of clay layering techniques on consolidation settlement predictions. Non-layered models yield lower settlement estimates compared to multilayer approaches, emphasizing the significance of the proper e-log sigma ' v relationship and layering techniques in enhancing prediction reliability.

The integrity of an intact sample significantly depends on maintaining the water content of the extracted soil until laboratory testing. Particularly, when exposed to water, overconsolidated clays tend to absorb and volumetrically swell. Traditional methods, such as using wet porous disks, allow specimens to rapidly absorb available water upon contact, potentially altering the intact soil structure and thus its mechanical behavior. This means that unnecessary swelling of the clay specimens should be avoided during specimen preparation for soil element testing. This paper investigates the influence of cell pressure confinement during the introduction of water to drainage lines and initially dry filter stones on subsequent shear behavior through a series of controlled laboratory experiments that were conducted using reconstituted Ons & oslash;y clay specimens following ASTM D4767-11, Standard Test Method for Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test for Cohesive Soils guidelines. Various confining stresses were applied during initial flushing of the drainage lines: the swelling pressure inhibiting specimen expansion (120 kPa for OCR2 and 355 kPa for OCR4 specimens) and 5 kPa of mean effective stress allowing the specimen swelling. After consolidation, undrained shear compression tests were conducted, and the mechanical behavior was recorded, including stiffness, strength, and excess pore water pressure. Results revealed significant differences in mechanical behavior among specimens, suggesting that allowing free swelling of intact specimens could have detrimental effects on soil properties. This study underscores the importance of controlling swelling of overconsolidated specimens due to absorption and highlights the potential impact on soil shear behavior.

The overconsolidation ratio considerably affects the physical and mechanical properties of soil as well as the interaction between structures and soil. Scale and consolidation time limitations render the preparation of overconsolidated soil for small-scale model tests difficult. Therefore, studying structure-soil interactions, especially the vertical bearing capacity of pile foundations in overconsolidated soil becomes challenging. Given the importance of reliable overconsolidated soil in physical model tests for studying soil-structure interactions, this study, based on the fundamental of the overconsolidation ratio, established a reliable method for preparing overconsolidated soil by altering centrifuge acceleration. Piezocone penetration tests were conducted to validate the accuracy of this method. Furthermore, vertical bearing capacity of pile foundations was evaluated in various overconsolidated soils. The vertical ultimate bearing capacity of pile foundations, cone penetration resistance, pore water pressure, and sleeve friction resistance were obtained in soils with various overconsolidation ratios. Based on the results of both tests, a formula was developed to calculate the vertical ultimate bearing capacity of pile foundations, taking into account the overconsolidation ratio of soil. This proposed method for evaluating vertical bearing capacity of pile foundations in overconsolidated soil can also be applied to study interactions between other marine structures and soil. The results of the study can provide technical support for designing the foundations of offshore oil and gas facilities, wind power, and other structures.

Overconsolidated (OC) clays are commonly encountered in geotechnical engineering and are subjected to threedimensional (3D) stress conditions. This study proposes a unified plastic potential function for triaxial and 3D general stress conditions, by incorporating the overconsolidation parameter and intermediate principal stress parameter. This function can effectively capture the coupling influence of the overconsolidation degree and intermediate principal stress on the dilatancy characteristics of OC clay. Additionally, it possesses a simple form and clear physical significance, making it easily applicable in constitutive models. Then, a simple bounding surface model in triaxial stress conditions is established by adopting the dilatancy relation and the model is extended to general 3D stress conditions by the transformed method based on spatially mobilized plane (SMP) strength criterion. Finally, the performance of the proposed model is validated through various triaxial shearing tests under a wide range of overconsolidation ration (OCR) and the simulation results of the proposed model are compared with those of the SANICLAY model. The comparative analysis indicates that the proposed model effectively describes the complex characteristics of OC clays by simple theory and it demonstrates significant advantages in deformation and pore water pressure simulation due to the advanced dilatancy relation.

The piezocone (CPTu) dissipation test is used to characterize how the applied load from the penetrating cone is distributed between the soil and pore fluid during both penetrometer advancement and when penetration is paused. The coefficient of consolidation is often estimated from CPTu dissipation tests by interpreting the rate of excess porewater pressure ( triangle u ) decay to static conditions during a pause in cone penetration. Most CPTu dissipation test interpretation methods are based on Terzaghi consolidation theory for triangle u dissipation at the cone shoulder ( u 2 position) or cone face ( u 1 position) and assume that radial triangle u dissipation dominates the response. However, several recent studies show that vertical triangle u migration does contribute to the response. This study uses a large deformation direct axisymmetric cone penetration model to characterize the soil-water mechanical response during CPTu dissipation tests, and in particular, the role of vertical triangle u dissipation on the response at the u 1 and u 2 positions. Large deformations around the penetrating cone are accommodated with an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian approach. Soil behavior is modeled with the MIT-S1 constitutive model calibrated for Boston blue clay (BBC) soil behavior. triangle u dissipation following undrained cone penetration is simulated with coupled consolidation for BBC with over-consolidation ratios (OCR) of 1, 2, and 4 and a range of hydraulic conductivity anisotropy. The simulated u 1 and u 2 dissipation responses are presented to study how they are affected by OCR and hydraulic conductivity anisotropy. A correction factor is recommended to account for hydraulic conductivity anisotropy when interpreting the horizontal coefficient of consolidation from CPTu dissipation tests.

Current overstress typed elastic viscoplastic models fall short in describing some time-dependent mechanical behaviors of anisotropically overconsolidated clays comprehensively. This paper presents a rigorous fractional order anisotropic elastic viscoplastic two-surface model for such clays, based on the principles of fractional consistency viscoplasticity and bounding or subloading surface theory. First, a three-dimensional formulation of isotach viscosity is proposed and integrated into two rate-dependent surfaces, i.e., the loading surface and yield surface. Then, by incorporating the stress-fractional operator of the rate-dependent loading surface into isotropic, progressive, and rotational hardening rules, the incremental form of stress-strain-time model with a fractional order viscoplastic flow rule is developed by meeting the consistency condition on the loading surface. Accordingly, the proposed model cannot only maintain the predictive capabilities of a classic bounding surface model but also describe the general features of the time-dependent behavior under various stress conditions. Validation and versatility of the proposed fractional order elastic viscoplastic model are successfully evaluated against constant strain-rate and stress relaxation tests on anisotropically overconsolidated resedimented Boston Blue clay.