Undrained shear strength of Lisbon Miocene clay: a reappraisal based on triaxial and pressuremeter test results

Abstract

Undrained shear strength plays a fundamental role on the behaviour of clays. In overconsolidated clays, this parameter is largely influenced by test conditions, namely consolidation stress. “Prazeres Clay” is a Miocene overconsolidated formation, that can be found in a significant part of Lisbon area. Over the last decades a number of very relevant constructions have generated a large database for physical and mechanical properties of Miocene clays. Included in a broader study at the Faculty of Engineering of Porto University about Miocene clay’s physical and mechanical properties, existing data was gathered, treated and critically analysed, in order to establish a useful framework for geotechnical designers. This paper presents the results obtained for undrained shear strength, obtained from triaxial tests and Ménard Pressuremeter tests. It addresses the main difficulties associated with test’s interpretation and presents a discussion on how theoretical values relate to experimental ones. The paper proposes a range of variation for Prazeres Clay’ undrained shear strength based on a significant amount of test results, that is considered to be useful for geotechnical design.Article HighlightsUndrained Shear strength is a relevant parameter for clays, and is usually derived from triaxial testsFor overconsolidated clays, this parameter is highly dependent on preconsolidation stress, and on its relation to in situ stress.Based on a significant set of data, the paper presents a simple methodology for estimating this parameter