SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS Vol. 49, No.

3, 315–327, June 2009

Japanese Geotechnical Society

DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS:

A MICROSTRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION

R. CARDOSOi) and E. E. ALONSOii)

ABSTRACT
Embankments made with marl and other soft clayey rocks result in an agglomerated structure of ˆnite size particles.
These particles evolve however, resulting in major changes of the overall behaviour of the aggregate. The development
of settlements and the loss of strength in time are the main concerns in practice. The mechanisms leading to the break-
age and eventually the destructuration of one single rock particle are investigated using the concepts of unsaturated soil
mechanics since wetting and drying cycles, controlled by atmospheric changes, result in strong suction changes and are
one of the main reasons for rock degradation. Numerical simulations of the behaviour of individual rock fragments
when wetted until full saturation were performed. Several contributing factors, namely suction change rate, initial suc-
tion and conˆnement were investigated. The knowledge learned with the simulation of the degradation of single rock
fragments was extended to simulate the behaviour of particle arrangements under some representative stress and suc-
tion paths. Some results of suction controlled tests used for the calibration of the models are presented. The calculated
behaviour of single particles and aggregates under wetting is discussed and qualitatively compared with experimental
observations of the individual rock fragments and the compacted material. The results obtained provide a new insight
into the nature of degradation induced by wetting and drying. They provide also a mechanical explanation, at the level
of rock fragments, for the overall behaviour of aggregates.

Key words: evolutive behaviour, hard soil, marl, rockˆll, soft rock, suction (IGC: D3/D9/E2/F5/G13)

This paper examines the physical phenomena controll-

INTRODUCTION ing the evolutive behaviour of hard-soils/ soft rocks
Marls are considered as hard-soil/soft rocks and ex- when compacted and used for embankment construction.
hibit a typical evolutive behaviour since their mechanical It was considered appropriate to introduce concepts asso-
and hydraulic properties change markedly due to alter- ciated with the mechanics of unsaturated soils because
nate wetting-drying cycles and to other weathering proc- wetting and drying cycles controlled by atmospheric
esses. Crack opening and/or loss of bonding are associ- changes, lead to strong changes in suction, which is one
ated with these processes, having negative impact on the of the main reasons for rock degradation (particle break-
strength and compressibility of the material. age due to crack opening and other degradation
Embankments made with marl and other soft clayey phenomena).
rocks are common and they result in an agglomerated Embankments built with marls suŠer from the evolu-
structure of ˆnite size particles, or fragments (just as in a tive nature of these materials which is not avoided by
rockˆll). However, the properties of these particles common compaction practices. In spite of the reduction
evolve in time and the end result is a signiˆcant major of the evolutive potential of the material with compac-
change in the overall behaviour of the aggregate. Very tion, the size of rock fragments allows the development
few studies are known to exist concerning the behaviour of settlements and the loss of strength in time. These are
of aggregates of evolutive materials although there is an main concerns in practice and the prediction of these
increasing number of studies on the evolution of the phenomena is not an easy task.
mechanical behaviour of materials such as hard cemented
soils and shales and other soft sedimentary rocks (mud-
stones, claystones, calcarenites and weak limestones) BACKGROUND
(Leroueil and Vaughan, 1990; Gens and Nova, 1993; The material used in the study presented below is the
Vaughan, 1997; Rouania and Muir Wood, 1998; Vaunat marl from Abadia (Upper Jurassic in age). Mineralogic
and Gens, 2003; Pinyol et al., 2007, among others). analysis identiˆed the presence of chlorite and gypsum,
i)
Department of Civil Engineering and Arquitecture, Instituto Superior T áecnico, Lisbon, Portugal.
ii)
Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, Universitat Polit àecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain (eduardo.alonso＠
upc.edu).
The manuscript for this paper was received for review on January 4, 2008; approved on July 18, 2008.
Written discussions on this paper should be submitted before January 1, 2010 to the Japanese Geotechnical Society, 4-38-2, Sengoku, Bunkyo-
ku, Tokyo 112-0011, Japan. Upon request the closing date may be extended one month.

315

This is an Open Access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

316 CARDOSO AND ALONSO
Fig. 1. MIP results for Abadia marl
besides quartz, calcium carbonate and mica. Some of its
most relevant properties are a porosity of 37z for in situ
water content of 17z (saturation degree of 77z), liquid
limit (wL) of 49z, plastic index of 25z and volumetric
weight of 27.4 kN/m3. Results from mercury intrusion
porosimetry, MIP, presented in Fig. 1, revealed a fairly
uniform pore size with a mean diameter of 148 nm.
Experimental evidence of the degradation phenomena
of marls from Abadia shows particle breakage and de-
structuration (stiŠness reduction when saturated fol-
lowed by irreversible shape change after drying) of parti-
cles. This degradation process increases the drier the frag-
ments and the larger their size. The evolution of the grain
size distribution of a sample of rock fragments having in-
itially a range of sizes varying between 9 mm and 4.75
mm when subjected to 8 wetting-drying cycles is present-
ed in Fig. 2. According to this ˆgure, the Hardin index,
Rd (Hardin, 1985) (ratio between the diŠerence of the
areas above the grain size distribution curves after and
before wetting and the area above the original grading,
before wetting) increased to 16z due to the ˆrst wetting.
Almost half of the particles (49z) reduce in size after the
second cycle, an indication of a fast degradation process.
Wetting particles on the boundary creates a suction
gradient since the particles are initially unsaturated. This
suction gradient induces water transfer and reduces in
time until it reaches a zero value when full saturation is
reached. As long as there are suction gradients, diŠeren-
tial swelling deformations will be developed inside the
rock fragment. The geometry and conˆnement of the
fragment restrain swelling displacements and leads to ten-
sile and shear stresses which eventually result in cracking
and destructuration. This degradation mechanism will be
controlled by suction gradients. In fact, it was observed
that the driest the fragments subjected to wetting the
more signiˆcant the degradation observed.
Mechanisms leading to the degradation of marl were
investigated by means of a numerical simulation of the
behaviour of individual rock fragments under suction cy-
cles for varying conˆnement conditions. A coupled
hydro-mechanical computer code for unsaturated materi-
als (CODE-BRIGHT, Olivella et al., 1996; UPC-DLT,
2002) was used.
Several contributing factors: scale eŠects, conˆnement,
Fig. 2. Size evolution along 8 wetting-drying cycles of a set of particles
with uniform size (9 mmÆDÀ4.75 mm)
initial suction and rate of suction change, have been in-
vestigated. The investigation on the evolutive behaviour
of individual rock fragments, presented in this paper, was
part of the eŠort to understand the behaviour of ag-
gregates of marl particles (compacted material) observed
in experimental tests.
BEHAVIOUR OF THE MARL MATRIX AND
PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION
Tests on marl samples were performed to characterize
the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the marl matrix. The
main purpose of the tests was to calibrate the numerical
model for single marl fragments previously mentioned.
The Barcelona Basic Model, BBM (Alonso et al., 1990)
for unsaturated materials was adopted as mechanical
constitutive model. It was also found that the marl ex-
hibited some swelling potential, a characteristic which
could be simulated with this simple constitutive model.
BBM also allows reproducing the marls strength and stiŠ-
ness dependence on water content, as observed in ex-
perimental tests. BBM cannot simulate the degradation
of soft rocks but this mechanism can be identiˆed indi-
rectly by the development of shear and tensile stresses and
of plastic deformations calculated during wetting, which
is the purpose of this work. The set of material
parameters for BBM are described in Table 1, which also
presents the parameters used for model calibration ob-
tained from experimental tests.
Rock matrix behaviour was investigated in swelling
tests of rock samples (marl discs with 0.7 cm thickness
and 3 cm diameter with the same initial water content of
14z before suction imposition by vapour equilibrium)
conˆned under Oedometric conditions and subjected to
diŠerent vertical stresses and diŠerent suction changes.
The applied suction paths are presented in Fig. 3 in a
vertical stress-suction space. Measured swelling strains
(Fig. 3) indicate that the driest rock samples show higher
volumetric deformations (volume increment) due to wet-
ting for all the vertical stress applied. As expected, the
applied vertical stress reduces swelling strains. The
recorded swelling strains of the driest specimens initially
equilibrated with high suctions (a suction s＝135.9 MPa
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS
Table 1. Parameters necessary for BBM calibration
Value
Parameter Description
Abadia marl
StiŠness parameter for changes
l(0) in net mean stress for virgin 0.027
states of the soil in saturated
conditions
StiŠness parameter for changes
l(s) in net mean stress for virgin deˆned by Eq. (2)
states of the soil
r Parameter deˆning maximum 0.65
soil stiŠness
Parameter controlling the rate －1
b of stiŠness increase with suction 0.05 MPa
k Elastic stiŠness parameter for 0.007
changes in net mean stress
ks Elastic stiŠness parameter for 0.020
changes in suction
p *0 Pre-consolidation stress for 1.00 MPa
saturated conditions
pc Reference stress 0.23 MPa
M Slope of the critical state lines 1.0
k Parameter describing the 0.007
increase in cohesion with suction
Tensile strength for saturated
c0 conditions 0.4 MPa
n Poisson coe‹cient, used in the 0.25
calculation of shear modulus, G
Fig. 3. Results of swelling tests on laterally conˆned rock samples
(same initial vertical stress, diŠerent initial suction on wetting)
corresponds at 209 C to a relative humidity RH of 37z, if
s＝11.0 MPa, RH＝92z and if s＝4.8 MPa, RH＝97z)
are quite signiˆcant. These RH values are common in
many ˆeld environments (in Lisbon, for example,
average RH varies between 48z and 85z).
The hydraulic constitutive equations considered the
balance of water in the liquid and gas phases, adopting
Darcy's law in the calculation of the conductive ‰ux. The
intrinsic permeability was calculated by Kozeny's model.
Concerning the hydraulic parameters, the intrinsic
permeability coe‹cient of the marl was determined in
permeability tests on saturated species and it was found
317
Backˆll
Table 3
Table 3
Table 3
Fig. 4. Water retention curve
0.007
0.0002
to be 8×10－21 m2 which corresponds to a very low Darcy
coe‹cient (ksat＝8×10－14 m/s).
Table 3
The water retention curve, WRC, of the marl was also
determined (drying followed by wetting, in Fig. 4) and
Table 3 used for model calibration. A marl disc similar to those
1.0
tested in swelling tests was used. The Van Genuchten,
1980, expression,
0.007
l
« Ø » $
－l
P g－ P l 1－ l
0.004 MPa Se＝ 1＋ (1)
P
0.25
where Se is the degree of saturation at the current liquid
pressure, Pl, and Pg is the gas pressure (assumed to be
equal to the atmospheric pressure, 0.1 MPa). P and l are
material parameters. Values of P＝0.3 MPa and l＝0.20,
for the drying branch, and P＝0.9 MPa and l＝0.20 for
the wetting branch were obtained.
Simple para‹n tests for determining the density of
marl samples equilibrated at diŠerent water contents were
performed. Then, a relationship between void ratio and
water content could be found (Fig. 5). The WRC allows
to relate suction and water contents and, ˆnally, to plot a
relationship between void ratio and suction. The elastic
stiŠness parameter for changes in suction, ks, can be der-
ived from this relationship in a (ln s, v) space (ks＝0.020).
Oedometer loading tests on marl samples under con-
stant suction (s＝100 MPa and s＝0 MPa) were also per-
formed. During the test, suction was imposed by labora-
tory controlled environment (temperature 209C±29C
and relative humidity 40z±5z), after the sample was
being dried (the suction in the marl was found with the
WRC considering the dry water content). The results of
these tests (Fig. 6), plotted in a (e, log sv) space were used
to ˆnd additional parameters of BBM namely (i) the stiŠ-
ness parameter for changes in net mean stress for virgin
states of the soil under saturated conditions, l(0); (ii) the
parameters r and b necessary for the deˆnition of soil
stiŠness for unsaturated conditions, l(s) (Eq. (2) below);
and (iii) the elastic stiŠness parameter for changes in net
mean stress, k (it was assumed to be the average between
the values found for the saturated and the unsaturated
test). The values found are presented in Table 1 (column
318 CARDOSO AND ALONSO
Fig. 5. Void ratio dependence on water content and its relation with
the saturation degree
Fig. 6. Oedometer tests in marl samples under diŠerent suctions
Abadia marl). Horizontal stresses during Oedometer
loading were assumed to be half of the vertical stresses
applied.
l(s)＝l(0)[(1－r)e－bs＋r]
Brazilian splitting tests in marl discs with 3 cm thickness
and 5 cm diameter (ASTM-D 3697–95a) and unconˆned
compression tests in marl cylinders with 12 cm high and 5
cm diameter (ASTM-D 2938–95) were performed in sam-
ples under diŠerent suctions imposed by vapour equilibri-
um (Fig. 7). Tensile strength and stiŠness increase with
suction, as expected. The results from the Brazilian tests
were used for the deˆnition of the parameter describing
the increase in cohesion with suction, k (k＝0.007). The
available data also indicates that an eŠective cohesion is
maintained for zero suction and its value provides a cohe-
sion parameter c0 (c0＝0.4 MPa) for saturated conditions.
The saturated unconˆned compression tests on marl sam-
ples provided the values for the Young modulus (E＝350
MPa – secant value for vertical deformation of 0.5z,
corresponding to ˆrst unloading), and the Poisson
coe‹cient (n＝0.25 – value obtained form the relation be-
tween the horizontal and vertical deformation of 0.5z)
used in the calculation.
Fig. 7. Tests performed in marl samples under diŠerent suctions
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SINGLE
PARTICLES' BEHAVIOUR
The mechanisms leading to the breakage and eventual-
(2)
ly the destructuration of the rock were investigated by nu-
merical simulations of the behaviour of individual rock
fragments under a wetting path.
Since fracture phenomena are not incorporated in the
numerical model adopted, crack development will be
identiˆed by the patterns of tensile stresses, plastic devia-
toric deformation, dePs, and plastic volumetric deforma-
tion, dePv, developed in the rock fragment. The constitu-
tive model is deˆned in terms of net mean stress, deˆned
as follows
p?＝p－max spatm; plt (3)
where p is total mean stress, patm is the atmospheric pres-
sure and pl is the liquid pressure. Wetting was assumed to
start in a uniform manner at the particle boundary: in all
the exterior perimeter suction was reduced from the ini-
tial value to saturated conditions (s＝0) in a given time in-
terval until full saturation was reached. Except for par-
ticular cases, an initial suction of 10 MPa was assumed.
Calculations were performed for a circular geometry (9
mm diameter) under plane strain conditions. The ˆnite-
element mesh used (quadrilateral elements with 4 Gauss
points) is presented in Fig. 8. The size of the mesh (rela-
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS
Fig. 8. Finite element discretization of one particle (9 mm diameter)
and conˆnement cases considered in the study
tive area of the major element/particle area equal to
0.003) was deˆned based on previous tests that have
shown the adequacy of the reˆnement.
Particles with the granular structure are conˆned by
the neighbouring rock fragments justifying the study of
the conˆnement in‰uence on the degradation. Figure 8
also presents three simpliˆed cases of increasing conˆne-
ment (Cases 1, 2 and 3) that will be analysed. Conˆne-
ment was simulated by restraining the displacements in
the borders indicated in Fig. 8. The ˆgure also indicates
the position of representative points within the particle.
The evolution of suction and its eŠects will be calculated
at these locations.
The analysis also included the study of the eŠects of in-
itial suction and fragment dimensions on the cracking
mechanism since ˆeld observations show some diŠerences
in degradation intensity for diŠerent sizes of particles.
The mechanical boundary conditions considered for
these cases correspond to Case 1 in Fig. 8. This case was
chosen because swelling displacements are not much
aŠected by the restrained borders and this allows a better
understanding of the cracking mechanisms. A small
isotropic conˆnement stress (20 kPa) was adopted in all
cases analysed in order to avoid numerical problems due
to the development of tensile stresses.
Rate of Suction Change
One signiˆcant ˆnding of this study is that the intensity
of stresses developed in the particle depends on the rate of
suction change. A global measure of this rate may be ob-
tained by relating the change in suction (initial value mi-
nus the value applied in the boundary) with the time in-
terval required to modify the boundary suction. DiŠerent
wetting rates are obtained by changing this time interval.
Permeability was kept constant and the calculation per-
formed with CODE BRIGHT considers the wetting ve-
locity by imposing a given gradient of liquid pressure (the
liquid pressure is reduced in a given time interval).
For Case 1, an initial suction of 10 MPa was assumed.
319
Fig. 9. EŠect of wetting rate in degradation: (a) maximum principal
stress, sI and (b) deviatoric plastic deformations
Then three diŠerent overall wetting rates were imposed:
15 minutes, 30 minutes and 60 minutes for wetting times.
Figure 9 presents the results of the analysis in terms of
calculated maximum principal stress and deviatoric plas-
tic deformations at the selected points inside the frag-
ment. It can be observed that the highest tensile stresses
calculated in the centre (point C) and in the outer border
(Point A) correspond to the maximum wetting rate (15
min. of wetting time). Figure 9 indicates that boundary
principal tensile stresses experience a small peak soon af-
ter the border is fully saturated. Afterwards an increase in
tensile stress is computed and a steady tensile state is at-
tained. A similar response in terms of stress development
is calculated for point C. In this case, however, there is a
marked stress reversal. The tensile strength developed
during wetting change soon into a compressive stress
state. In all cases signiˆcant deviatoric plastic deforma-
tions are calculated. This is an indication of the attain-
ment of limiting conditions, as discussed later. DiŠer-
ences in plastic deviatoric strains between the centre and
the border increase when the wetting rate increases. The
centre point maintains a constant long term deviatoric
plastic strain, irrespective of wetting rate. Suction
changes in this point are mainly controlled by the
permeability of the material and size of the fragment.
Since it is a small fragment there is a progressive and rela-
tively uniform reduction of suction across the diameter.
In the analysis performed in the remaining paper a 30
320 CARDOSO AND ALONSO
Fig. 10. Identiˆcation of the cracking mechanism: (a) maximum prin-
cipal stress, sI and (b) deviatoric shear stresses
minutes wetting time was adopted. This interval is judged
to be realistic on the basis of experimental evidence.
Cracking Mechanism
The analysis of tensile stresses and plastic deviatoric
deformations, developed during wetting, helps to identify
degradation. The analysis of shear stress development is
also useful for this purpose. Figure 10 presents the stress-
es sI and the deviatoric shear stresses calculated during
wetting on a fragment diagonal (conˆnement Case 1). In-
side the fragment (points B, C and D) tensile stresses de-
velop initially followed by compression. The ˆgure in-
cludes now additional information: the transition from
the unsaturated state to the saturated one. The change in
the sign of the principal stress occurs in the proximity of
this transition. However, in the outer points (A and E)
only tensile stress is observed but only when saturation is
achieved. Deviatoric shear stresses are higher in the outer
boundary than in the interior of the particle showing a
peak at full saturation.
Maximum tensile stresses were found at the centre
point C and plastic shear stresses develop mainly in this
point after full saturation. The stress path in space ( p?, q)
Fig. 11. Stress paths in plane (p, q) for increasing diameters (centre
point C)
is presented in Fig. 11 for the centre point C (fragment
with diameter D). The lines for decreasing suction
crossed during wetting are presented in Fig. 11 with the
correspondent value inside a rectangle. Also in this
ˆgure, the circles indicate the suction in the in‰exion
point of the stress paths.
As observed in Fig. 11, dilatant behaviour is observed
(stress path in the left side of the critical state line, CSL)
and shear stress reaches a peak when suction s＝200 kPa,
in the proximity of full saturation. Critical state condi-
tions are then reached as the point migrates towards full
saturation. The centre point, initially unloaded, becomes
progressively conˆned (it reaches a mean stress of 250
kPa when fully saturated).
Swelling progresses from the boundary towards the
centre. Tensile stresses develop internally while the frag-
ment outer annulus increases volume and detaches from
the core of the particle. This mechanism leads to cracking
interpreted as peripheral detachment along the entire
perimeter and occurs before fully saturation (time
Ã0.5 h). When the water reaches the inner core it starts
swelling, pushing out the outer layers. This mechanism
corresponds to radial cracking. Plastic shear deforma-
tions (Fig. 9, for 30 minutes wetting time) show a concen-
trated shear damage of the particle. Therefore, patterns
of cracking are controlled by the evolving distribution of
suction inside the rock fragment.
Cracking will occur if the tensile stress developed is
higher than the tensile strength. This strength reaches the
minimum value when the fragment is saturated (observed
in the Brazilian tests on rock samples under diŠerent suc-
tions) and this is the situation when the calculated tensile
stress reaches maximum values (Fig. 10(a)). This indi-
cates that rupture will occur near saturation. Figure 12
presents the expected cracking pattern of the fragment
and its comparison with a typical pattern found in real
cases. They qualitatively agree since cracking starts from
the exterior to the interior in both; however the stratiˆca-
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS 321

Fig. 12. Expected cracking pattern and the observed one in real cases

tion found in real cases introduces signiˆcant strength

anisotropy and this has a large major in‰uence on crack-
ing development, which is not radial as found in the cal-
culation, but follows the strata surfaces.

Initial Suction
The eŠect of the initial suction in the particle prior to
wetting was analysed with the purpose of investigating
the in‰uence of initial suction on the marl degradation.
Three initial suctions were considered: 20 MPa, 10 MPa
and 5 MPa. Calculated maximum principal stresses and
plastic shear deformations are given in Fig. 13 for points
A and C in Case 1. Similar results were obtained for the
other points. The higher the initial suction the higher the
tensile and compression principal stresses developed.
Peak tensile stresses are found at full saturation in all
cases. Final deviatoric plastic strains increase with the ini-
tial suction, a result which indicates that particle damage
will increase, the drier the initial state. This is explained
by the higher suction gradients generated inside the driest
fragment. At the end of the saturation period the driest
rock fragments maintain a higher inner compression
stress.

Scale EŠects
The degradation of fragments with diŠerent sizes was
also analysed assuming D＝9 mm as reference dimension.
A systematic study was performed and stress and defor-
mation states were calculated in locations corresponding
to the points identiˆed in Fig. 8 for fragments with in-
creasing diameters: D/2＝4.5 mm, D＝9 mm, 2D＝18
mm, 4D＝36 mm and 10D＝90 mm. For comparison
purposes in all cases the initial suction applied was 10
MPa and full wetting of the outer border was completed
in 30 minutes.
Suction gradients increase markedly as the size of the
fragment increases. Full saturation requires obviously in-
creasing time as the size of the fragment increases. Figure
11 previously presented shows the calculated stress paths,
in a ( p, q) plane for all cases analyzed (point C). Suctions
calculated during wetting are also identiˆed. For all
cases, dilatant behaviour is observed and critical state
conditions are very close after full saturation. Similar
maximum shear stresses are calculated for all diameters.
Fig. 13. EŠect of the initial suction in fragments degradation: (a) max-
imum principal stresses and (b) plastic deviatoric deformations
However, the stress path for point C changes markedly
when the particle dimension changes. Negative net mean
stresses (tensile stresses) are found for the largest frag-
ments when wetting starts. In smaller particles the mean
stress remains positive (compression). This result explains
the increased degradation susceptibility of larger parti-
cles.
In all points peak deviatoric stresses are found in the vi-
cinity of saturation, when the full swelling potential of
the marl has been developed.
Conˆnement EŠect
The conˆnement cases analyzed were previously
322
presented in Fig. 8. For all of them, the initial suction
was 10 MPa. Kinematical constraints increase from Case
1 (essentially non existent) to Case 3 (symmetric con-
Fig. 14. Evolution along wetting time calculated in centre point A of
(a) net mean stress and (b) plastic volumetric deformations
Fig. 15. Suction controlled tests in oedometric cells of marl aggregates
CARDOSO AND ALONSO
straint in both directions in plane (x, y)). Increasing res-
train reduces the amplitude of the maximum displace-
ments and the symmetry of the geometry controls their
direction.
The evolution of volumetric plastic deformations and
net mean stress during wetting, for the centre point (Fig.
14) helps to illustrate the constraint eŠect introduced in
each case. Positive net mean stresses were obtained for all
cases (Fig. 14(a)) indicating compression in the centre of
the fragment. Highest values were found for the strongest
conˆnement analyzed (Case 3). For Case 3 the volumetric
plastic deformations observed (Fig. 14(b)) are positive in-
dicating volume decrease in centre point C (contractive
behaviour) while for the other conˆnement cases the
values found are negative (The centre expands).
Swelling displacements of the periphery develop as
soon as wetting starts (tº0.50 h). However the boundary
constraints result in compressive stresses applied in the
conˆned borders. When water reaches the inner core
(tÆ0.50 h) two situations can occur: (i) if the displace-
ments are not restrained at least in one direction of plane
(x, y), porosity and volume increases and compression
decreases, explaining the transient decrease in net mean
stress observed in Fig. 14(a) for Cases 1 and 2; (ii) if the
displacements are constrained in both directions of the
plane (x, y) they will act in the fragment as compressive
stresses increasing the compression in the centre and
decreasing the porosity and volume.
SUCTION CONTROLLED TESTS ON MARL
COMPACTED AGGREGATES
Suction controlled tests on compacted aggregates of
marl (e＝1.078±0.005, w＝15z±2z) were performed
in Oedometric cells. A rather uniform particle size (9
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS 323

Table 2. Some results of oedometric tests of marl aggregates

Suction after Compressibility Shrinkage Collapse due to

initial drying due to drying full wetting
(MPa) index, Cc (z)(1) (z)(2)

230 0.095 3.9 20.4

38 0.379 3.4 15.7

12 0.394 1.3 13.9

3 0.536 — 9.7

(1) initial suction s＝3 MPa, vertical stress＝50 kPa

(2) after saturation (ˆnal suction＝0 MPa), vertical stress＝600 kPa

mmÆDÀ4.75 mm) was selected to speed up the suction

imposition by vapour equilibrium. The protocol followed
by these tests (Fig. 15) included drying under a small ver-
tical load (sv＝50 kPa) for suction applied by standard
salt solutions (OIML R 121, 1996), loading and ˆnally
saturation at sv＝600 kPa. According to the WRC of the
rock matrix (Fig. 4), the initial suction was approximate-
ly 3 MPa. The tests results are presented in Fig. 15 and
Table 2. Figure 15 also includes the compressive behav-
iour for saturated conditions, as well as the compression
curve for a remoulded specimen.
As presented in Table 2, the Oedometer virgin com-
pressibility, Cc, of the compacted samples decreases with
suction. Shrinkage deformations increase as the applied
suction increases and collapse deformations when fully
saturated (ˆnal suction s＝0 MPa), increase with the ini-
tial suction. The state of collapsed samples ends in the
saturated compression curve. This behaviour is typical of Fig. 16. Compressibility in time measured for diŠerent vertical stress-
unsaturated low plasticity soils exhibiting an open struc- es and suctions: (a) compacted samples and (b) comparison with
ture (a signiˆcant proportion of macropores). rockˆll (from Oldecop and Alonso, 2002)
On the other hand, experimental results are also similar
to those reported in the literature for rockˆll compres-
sibility dependence on suction/relative humidity of the mation about the importance of time-dependent behav-
air of the voids between the fragments of rock (Oldecop iour in the compressibility of the dry fragments of marl.
and Alonso, 2001, 2003). Mechanisms of rockˆll collapse Figure 16(b) shows the comparison of lt/s found for the
are, however, diŠerent from those explaining the collapse tests on the compacted samples and those found in simi-
of ˆne grained soils. Collapse is interpreted as an acceler- lar suction controlled Oedometer tests performed in a
ation of time dependent deformations which are associ- compacted gravel of shale (Oldecop and Alonso, 2002).
ated with particle breakage, a phenomenon controlled by The similarity of the plots for the two materials in the
Relative Humidity and by the level of applied stress. suction range above 12 MPa suggests that the delayed
Records of time dependent deformations for very dry (s deformation mechanism of the dry aggregates of marl is
＝230 MPa) sample of aggregates, under diŠerent conˆn- the particle breakage. However, when suction decreases
ing stresses, are given in Fig. 16. Time-dependent records (s＝0 MPa), a sudden drop of delayed deformations of
may be characterized by index lt the marl is observed. This behaviour was not observed in
de the case of the shale rockˆll. The interpretation is that
lt＝ (4) marl particles below a given suction are soft enough to in-
d(ln t)
vade the open voids when the aggregate is stressed. Then,
proposed by Oldecop and Alonso (2007), where de is the the material becomes closer to a clayey soil and, in addi-
strain increment and t the time measured at each loading tion, the proportion of large macropores decreases. Un-
step. The values obtained for some of tests performed on der these circumstances the creep compressibility
compacted marls are presented in Fig. 16(a). lt increases coe‹cient decreases.
with conˆning stress and decreases with applied suction, This change in behaviour of wet aggregates of marl is
a result also found on rockˆlls made of hard rock parti- also noticed if the compressibility of saturated compacted
cles. marls is compared with the compressibility of a remould-
The relationship lt/s found for each Oedometer test ed sample prepared with a water content w＝1.35 wL (Fig.
performed under a given suction provides useful infor- 15). The two materials exhibit a similar compressibility
324 CARDOSO AND ALONSO
Fig. 17. Comparison between oedometer tests performed in uniform
grading size samples with and without the voids being ˆlled with a
ˆne fraction
(Cc＝0.141). This result indicates that wetting leads to
strong destructuration.
Aggregates of marl fragments behave therefore in a
dual manner. For high suctions marl particles remain
hard and particle breakage explains collapse behaviour
and delayed deformations. When suction decreases
strong destructuration is observed and the initial ag-
gregate becomes closer to a clayey soil.
Another contributing factor for the high collapse ob-
served in the tested samples even for wetting under small
stress may be the fact that the samples were prepared with
uniform grading size and with high void ratio. The large
interparticle voids that can be easily occupied by the
softened fragments when they swell due to full satura-
tion. If the large voids are occupied by (ˆne) soil, collapse
should not occur, but swelling, due to the intrinsic swell-
ing behaviour of the marls matrix. This idea could be
demonstrated by means of a demonstration test: the be-
haviour of a uniform sample of marl aggregates was com-
pared with the behaviour of sample prepared in a similar
manner but with the voids between the fragments ˆlled
with a ˆne fraction of the same soil. The expected result is
shown in Fig. 17. Similar results obtained with samples
of kaolinite compacted were discussed by Thom et al.
(2007).
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF A MARL
AGGREGATE
The degradation mechanism described in the previous
sections partially explains the transition from rockˆll be-
haviour (dry samples) to a clayey soil (fully saturated
samples). Besides cracking phenomena, the global
porosity changes due to wetting in a fully degraded
material must also be taken into account to understand
this transition.
The behaviour of aggregates of fragments was investi-
gated against stress and suction paths which included full
saturation for a given stress level. A numerical model of a
Fig. 18. Numerical model of a set of marl fragments
set of fragments was performed with the purpose of
analyzing the eŠect of the degradation of the fragments
when wetted. A specimen geometry (Fig. 18(a)) was de-
ˆned by means of circular fragments having diameters of
9 mm, 7 mm and 5 mm (9 mmÆDÀ4.75 mm). They
were arranged to obtain an initial void ratio of 1.082 (cal-
culated assuming that the fragments were cylinders with
unit length), similar to the one adopted for the Oedome-
ter tests previously presented. The number of fragments
used was the minimum necessary for this purpose. The re-
lation between the void ratios in the simulation (plane
analysis) and in the tests (three dimensional) cannot be
considered realistic. However the purpose of analysis was
to simulate the degradation of the fragments when wetted
and not the Oedometer tests performed. This degradation
(swelling of individual fragments and invasion of the
macropores creating a reconstituted material) is diŠerent
from the degradation mechanism (essentially breakage)
found in the study of a single fragment. In the study of
the set of particles, degradation is identiˆed in the numer-
ical results because a similar ˆnal porosity was calculated
for the fragments and for the ˆlling material.
CODE_BRIGHT was also used in this case. The nu-
merical model, shown in Fig. 18(b), includes the frag-
ments and a backˆll material. The initial porosities
adopted for the fragments (27z) and for the backˆll (35
z) were diŠerent and correspond respectively to void ra-
tios of 0.37 and 0.54. Material parameters are given in
Table 1. Oedometric conditions were simulated and load-
ing was performed assuming drained conditions.
The virgin saturated compressibility of the backˆll
(which represents de-structured fragments) was similar to
the experimental value derived from the Oedometer test
on the saturated aggregate (Fig. 15). The intrinsic
permeability adopted for the backˆll was three orders of
magnitude higher than the value for the rock fragments.
Therefore, water will essentially ‰ow around the frag-
ments during wetting.
As observed in experimental tests, the volume of in-
dividual marl fragments will increase when wetting oc-
curs (their constitutive parameters were previously
presented in Table 1), leading to swelling deformations
of the set of particles. The backˆll material collapses
when fully saturated and compensates the swelling contri-
bution of the individual fragments in order to simulate
the global collapse observed in the laboratory tests on
compacted samples. Several sensitivity tests of the back-
ˆll properties were performed which included the deˆni-
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS 325

Table 4. Results of the numerical model of the aggregates

Compressibility Deformation Final void

Backˆll Path followed ratio
index, Cc due to wetting (saturated)

I ABC (s＝0 MPa) 0.083 1.65z (swelling) 1.081

ADC (s＝10 MPa) 0.079 0.69z (swelling) 1.081

II ABC (s＝0 MPa) 0.088 1.04z (swelling) 1.072

ADC (s＝10 MPa) 0.078 －0.16z (collapse) 1.072

III ABC (s＝0 MPa) 0.088 1.06z (swelling) 1.072

ADC (s＝10 MPa) 0.057 －0.58z (collapse) 1.069

Fig. 19. Loading paths and LC curves considered for the backˆll

Table 3. Parameters of the LC curves for the backˆll

Backˆll r b po* pc l (10 MPa)

I 0.50 0.05 700 100 0.084

II 0.30 0.05 500 50 0.075

III 0.20 0.05 500 50 0.071

tion of an adequate LC yield curve before loading. Three

diŠerent LC curves (I, II and III) analyzed are plotted in
Fig. 19 (parameters are given in Table 3). They result in
diŠerent intensities of the backˆll collapse. The LC yield
curve for the marl fragments was derived from experi-
ments on rock samples.
Figure 19 also presents the loading paths explored in
the computer model: (i) path ABC – full saturation under
vertical stress, followed by loading; and (ii) path ADC –
loading under a constant initial suction, followed by full
wetting at high vertical stress. Figure 19 also presents the
LC yield curves adopted for the materials before loading.
The displacement of LC curves for the constant suction
path AD is also plotted in the ˆgure. Some results ob-
tained are presented in Table 4 and Fig. 20. In all cases,
the driest sample shows the lowest overall compressibility
(lower compressibility index, Cc), which agrees, in a
qualitative manner, with the experimental results previ-
ously presented in Table 2. As expected, the calculated
Fig. 20. Results of the study 1 for paths ABC and ADC (presented in
Fig. 18) (a) Backˆll I and (b) Backˆll III
value for the compressibility of the mixture (Table 4) lies
between the compressibility values adopted for the
materials composing it. Swelling was always calculated
for wetting under low vertical stress (path AB). Under
higher stresses (path DC) the mixture may swell or col-
lapse when wetted, a result which depends on the deˆni-
tion of the LC yield curve of the backˆll (Backˆll I vs.
Backˆll II or III). Contrary to the predictions of a pure
BBM model, the mixture III experiences diŠerent reduc-
tion in porosity when comparing path ADC (ˆrst loading
and then wetting), with path ABC (diŠerent ˆnal void ra-
tios in Fig. 20(b) and Table 4).
Figures 21(a) and (b) show the time evolution of the
global displacements calculated for all cases solved. Dur-
326 CARDOSO AND ALONSO
Fig. 21. Evolution in time of the displacements (a) for load path ABC
and (b) for load path ADC
ing wetting two distinct phases are observed: the ˆrst one
corresponds mainly to the backˆll deformation due to
wetting (either swelling or collapse) and the second one
corresponds to the swelling of the fragments. The lower
permeability of the fragments compared with the backˆll
permeability justiˆes the time lag necessary to develop the
rock particle swelling deformations. This behaviour cor-
responds in fact to a ``double porosity'' material, as de-
scribed by Gens and Alonso (1992) and Lloret et al.
(2003), among others.
The calculated time evolution of the global displace-
ments presented in Figs. 21(a) and (b) is interesting since
it shows alternate signs (positive: swelling; negative: col-
lapse): (i) for wetting under low vertical stress (ABC) a
transition between swelling, some stabilization (Backˆll
I) or small collapse (Backˆlls II and III) and swelling is
found; (ii) for wetting under high vertical stress (ADC) a
transition between collapse and swelling is found. In this
last case, the ˆnal displacement is lower than the maxi-
mum observed in the test. This behaviour has been ob-
served during wetting of compacted aggregates of very
expansive materials (Alonso et al., 1995, for example).
However, such behaviour was not observed in the
Oedometer tests performed on compacted samples of
Abadia marls, which might be explained by the absence
of a ˆll of collapsible material (the voids between the
fragments were empty in the tests shown in Fig. 15 and
Table 2). In the case of Abadia marls, besides particle
destructuration shown by evident loss of stiŠness when
the particle is fully saturated and the original shape is lost
after drying, there is also a particle breakage phenomena
(similar to rockˆll behaviour) which reinforces the col-
Fig. 22. Porosity evolution in the marl fragments and the backˆll for
stress path ABC (Backˆll III)
lapse trends of the mixture. Particle breakage is obvious-
ly not simulated in the model described before.
The porosity of two representative points in the mix-
ture, one inside a rock fragment and one within the clay
``matrix'', is plotted in Fig. 22 for Backˆll III. The initial
porosities are widely diŠerent (27z for the fragments
and 35z for the backˆll). However, wetting and loading
tend to produce a rather homogeneous mixture (practi-
cally a uniform porosity near 31z was found), a behav-
iour observed in practice. Similar results were found for
the other backˆlls analyzed.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Numerical simulations of individual fragments of rock
porous marl were performed. They show the develop-
ment of deˆnite patterns of tensile stress, shear stress and
plastic deformation during wetting. These patterns al-
lowed the identiˆcation of degradation mechanisms of
fragments of marl. Suction changes inside the fragment,
developed during wetting, play a signiˆcant role. The
resulting diŠerential swelling deformations, lead to ten-
sile stress/shear development and consequently to crack-
ing.
Several cases were analyzed in an eŠort to understand
the mechanisms behind the degradation observed in tests.
The following conclusions were reached: (i) high rates of
suction change increase the suction diŠerential inside the
 DEGRADATION OF COMPACTED MARLS
fragment; therefore fast wetting induces more damage;
(ii) the dryer samples exhibit more damage due to larger
values of suction gradients developed inside the idealized
rock fragment; (iii) for the same rate of suction changes,
larger fragments develop higher tensile stresses during the
wetting process and therefore experience increased
damage; in other words, the wetting mechanism explains
a size eŠect in the sense that larger particles are more like-
ly to experience degradation during wetting; (iv) restric-
tions to swelling displacements induced by diŠerent con-
ˆnement arrangements may result in widely diŠerent be-
haviours of the individual fragments (however, for an ad-
vanced state of degradation uniform conˆning conditions
will likely develop inside the aggregate).
A comparison between the delayed deformations of
samples of marl aggregates and specimens of compacted
rockˆll of an indurated rock was useful to understand the
nature of deformation mechanisms of the marl ag-
gregates. When suction is high marl particles become
hard and delayed deformations and collapse phenomena
are explained by particle breakage mechanisms. When
large particles soften and swell at low suctions, macro-
pores are invaded by degrading marl fragments and the
material becomes closer to a clayey soil.
Numerical simulation of Oedometric tests on particle
arrangements, where diŠerent properties were adopted
for the fragments and for the backˆll material, were also
performed. The mixture behaves as a ``double porosity''
material since strains develop in two time scales. An in-
teresting result of the modelling exercise was the observed
trend towards a homogeneous distribution of porosity in-
side the mixture, a result which agrees with experimental
observations at ˆeld scale.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Professor Emanuel
Maranha das Neves for his useful comments in the prepa-
ration of this paper and to Dr Enrique Romero and Dr
Sebastia Olivella for their useful help during the develop-
ment of the laboratory and numerical work reported
here.
The ˆnancial support given by the Portuguese Founda-
tion for Science and Technology, FCT (Ref. POC-
TI/ECM/59320/2004 and SFRH/BD/25846/2005) is
gratefully acknowledged.
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