Geotechnical variation of London Clay across central London

Abstract

The paper presents classification and stress path test results from various sites across central London, and focuses on interpreting the observed behaviour within the context of the geology and geological history of the Formation. The large majority of the tests have been undertaken by commercial laboratories in the course of design projects. A good correlation is found between the classification tests and the stratification of the London Clay described by King in 1981. Based on the secant stiffness at a shear strain of 0·01%, the stiffness of the clay in triaxial stress path tests can reasonably be normalised in the way suggested by Viggiani & Atkinson or Simpson. However, variation with plasticity is not evident from these test results.