Cyclic shear characteristics of marine cement soil under stress path with bidirectional shear stress

Abstract

Under seismic loading, marine soil experiences horizontal shearing in two directions with different shear directions and amplitudes. It is therefore of considerable practical relevance to study the deformation behavior of marine cement soil under bidirectional shear loading. In this study, a series of cyclic simple shear tests were carried out to investigate the undrained deformation behavior of marine cement soil. The cyclic strain, stiffness softening, and cyclic strength were found to be significantly related to the phase difference and cement content. Cyclic shear strain accumulation increases as the number of cycles increases, and the emergence of inflection on the shear strain curve can be considered a suitable failure criterion for cement soil. The turning strain decreases as the cement content increases, and the phase difference decreases. With a decrease in cement content and an increase in phase difference, the rate of cyclic degradation and development of shear strain significantly increased. It was observed that the cyclic strength of cement soil increases with the cement content and decreases as the phase difference decreases.