Abstract
Abstract The paper reviews research investigations conducted on Tunis soft clay that is classified as problematic soil. Results obtained from an experimental study carried out on undisturbed Tunis soft clay specimens are presented and interpreted. On the basis of experimental results, the paper discusses which constitutive law can describe at best the observed behavior of Tunis soft clay. The elastoplastic behavior modeled by the hardening soil model is then justified upon the validation of numerical results of oedometer and triaxial tests carried out on undisturbed soft clay specimens. Stage construction of embankment built of Tunis soft clay was analyzed by the FE code Plaxis 2D. This case study well illustrated the need for practicing ground improvement techniques to neutralize the inherent long-term settlement induced in soft clay.
Highlights
The soil profile of Tunis City mainly consists of a layer located between 3 and 20 m depth constituted by grayish sandy clay, which is at the origin of the contamination observed on several constructions built on this ground
This paper focuses on the study of behavior of Tunis soft clay (TSC) as observed from experimental investigation conducted in laboratory
Using Plaxis software the simulation of observed behavior of those specimens subjected to oedometer and triaxial tests showed that the hardening soil model (HSM) predictions are in good agreement with measured data rather than predicted results obtained by the modified cam clay (MCC) model [6]
Summary
The soil profile of Tunis City mainly consists of a layer located between 3 and 20 m depth constituted by grayish sandy clay, which is at the origin of the contamination observed on several constructions built on this ground. This soil commonly called the Tunis soft clay (TSC) is very problematic because of the difficulty to extract undisturbed specimens for performing laboratory tests. Relevant contribution on numerical modeling of TSC was proposed by Tounekti et al [10].
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