Creep - Creep Rupture of Unsaturated Clay (Thesis) UBC - 1970 - A1 S54

CREEP RUPTURE OF
SATURATED UNDISTURBED CLAYS
by
DAVID EDWARD SNEAD

B . A . S c , U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1962
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL(FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
i n t h e Department
of
C i v i l Engineering
We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o t h e
required standard:
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

September, 1970
In p r e s e n t i n g this thesis in p a r t i a l fulfilment of the requirements for
an a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t the University, of British Columbia, I agree that
the L i b r a r y shall make it freely available for reference and study.
I further agree that permission for extensive copying o f this thesis
for scholarly p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my D e p a r t m e n t or
by h i s representatives. It is understood that copying or publication
of this thesis for financial gain shall not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my
written permission.
Department of Civil Engineering
The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia
V a n c o u v e r 8, Canada
Date October 14, 1970

ABSTRACT
The stress/strain relationship f o r most engineering
materials i s known t o be time dependent. This i s most evident
during a creep test i n which continual deformations are ob-
served under constant stress conditions. In the laboratory,
a specimen of cohesive soil subjected to a constant shear
stress may fail after having deformed alt r e l a t i v e l y slow
rates for a considerable time. This type of failure, termed
creep rupture, i s a l s o known to occur i n the field.
Results of drained and undrained triaxial creep
rupture tests are presented in this thesis. These tests
were performed on a sensitive marine clay from western Canada
which was consolidated to various stress histories. Pore
pressure measurements were taken during undrained tests using
an electrical transducer. In a d d i t i o n to the creep rupture
tests, incremental load and constant strain rate triaxial
tests were performed for comparative purposes.
The strain rate during a creep rupture test was
observed to initially decrease as the specimen s t r a i n e d ,
reach a transient minimum strain rate, and then increase
until rupture. Failure was found t o be inevitable whenever

the s t r a i n rate s t a r t e d to increase a f t e r having reached a
minimum v a l u e . Pore p r e s s u r e s measured d u r i n g the undrained
t e s t s d i d not r e f l e c t the onset of creep r u p t u r e a t the
t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e , and therefore, the onset of
creep r u p t u r e cannot be e x p l a i n e d i n terms of e f f e c t i v e
stresses.
A r e l a t i o n s h i p was found t o e x i s t between the
deviator stress, s t r a i n and current s t r a i n rate during un-
d r a i n e d t r i a x i a l t e s t s having the same c o n s o l i d a t i o n history.
T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p p e r m i t t e d the p r e d i c t i o n of the r e s u l t s of
constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s based on the r e s u l t s of creep
rupture t e s t s . This resulted i n an understanding of the
i n t e r r e l a t i o n between the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e of
a creep r u p t u r e t e s t and the maximum d e v i a t o r stress of a
constant s t r a i n r a t e test.
Once the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e had been
reached, the r e s u l t s of creep r u p t u r e t e s t s showed t h a t the
s t r a i n r a t e was inversely proportional to the time remaining
before rupture. T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s independent of stress
level, consolidation h i s t o r y and drainage c o n d i t i o n s . As a
result, i t i s suggested t h a t measurement of deformations i n
the f i e l d can be used to p r e d i c t the time u n t i l a sudden

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f a i l u r e would be anticipated.
The upper y i e l d strength, d e f i n e d as the maximum
compressive s t r e s s which w i l l not cause a creep rupture
f a i l u r e , was evaluated from both creep r u p t u r e and constant
s t r a i n rate tests. I t was found t h a t the compressive
strength increased as a l i n e a r f u n c t i o n of the cube r o o t
of the s t r a i n r a t e .
V
TABLE OP CONTENTS
Page
1 - INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Purpose and Scope 3
2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 5
2.1 F i e l d O b s e r v a t i o n s o f Creep 5
2.2 S t u d i e s o f Time-dependent Behaviour of
M e t a l s and P l a s t i c s 7
2.3 Creep and Creep Rupture 14
2.4 Use o f the Rate Process Theory t o P r e d i c t
Creep Behaviour 22
2.5 E f f e c t o f Time on S t r e n g t h T e s t s 27
2.6 Summary 33
3 - LABORATORY TESTING 34
3.1 Description of Clay 34
3.2 Development o f T e s t i n g Program 37
4 - RESULTS OF CREEP RUPTURE TESTS 48
4.1 Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s on

Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Samples 48
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4.2 Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s on Overcon-

s o l i d a t e d Samples ( O v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n Ratio
= 2) 68
4.3 Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s on Overcon-

s o l i d a t e d Samples ( O v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n R a t i o
=6) 73
4.4 Drained Creep Rupture T e s t s on Overcon-

= 25) 76
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4.5 Undrained Creep Rupture Tests, on Overcon-

= 25) 82
4.6 Summary , 87
5 - CREEP RUPTURE CRITERIA 88
5.1 Line o f Minimum S t r a i n Rates 88
5.2 T o t a l Rupture L i f e C r i t e r i o n 100
5.3 P r e d i c t i o n o f Creep Rupture F a i l u r e s i n

the Laboratory 104
5.4 P r e d i c t i o n o f Creep Rupture F a i l u r e s i n

the F i e l d 108
6 - STRESS/STRAIN/STRAIN RATE THEORY 111
6.1 Introduction 111
6.2 D e v i a t o r S t r e s s / S t r a i n / S t r a i n Rate
Relationship 112
vii
Page
6.3 E v a l u a t i o n of the Upper Y i e l d Strength 123
7 - CONCLUSIONS 133
BIBLIOGRAPHY 136
APPENDIX A - Test Equipment and Testing^ Procedures 141

i
APPENDIX B - T y p i c a l R e s u l t s from Creep! Rupture

Tests 156
LIST OF TABLES
P h y s i c a l P r o p e r t i e s o f Haney C l a y
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y
Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y 1 ( 7 7 = 2 )
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y ( 7 7 = 6 )
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y ( 7 7 = 2 5 )
Drained Creep Rupture T e s t s
Upper Y i e l d S t r e n g t h f o r Haney C l a y
IX
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 T y p i c a l Creep Rupture Curve 9
2 P r e d i c t e d and A c t u a l T e n s i l e Creep
of P l e x i g l a s 12
3 R e l a t i o n s h i p between Creep Rupture

L i f e and Secondary S t r a i n Rate 18
4 R e l a t i o n s h i p between d S / d l o g t and 0"

Obtained from Creep T e s t s 25
5 I n f l u e n c e o f Rate o f S t r e s s A p p l i c a -
t i o n on Upper Y i e l d S t r e n g t h Obtained
from Incremental Loading T e s t s 25
6 T y p i c a l Pore P r e s s u r e B u i l d - u p a f t e r
36 Hours o f C o n s o l i d a t i o n 50
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7 Undrained Creep T e s t
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d 53
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8 • Pore P r e s s u r e / S t r a i n Curve
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d 54
9 Pore P r e s s u r e / S t r a i n Curve (17=6) 56
10 Log S t r a i n Rate v e r s u s Log E l a p s e d

Time (Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d ) 58
11 S t r a i n / T i m e Curve
0-5,000 Minutes 60
12 S t r a i n / T i m e Curve
0-50,000 Minutes 60
\
X
Figure Page
13 Log S t r a i n Rate versus Log Time f o r

Saturated I l l i t e 62
14 Development o f fj, / <T' d u r i n g a

1
3
Creep T e s t 66
15 Maximum Oj'/CTj' Obtained from Creep

Tests 66
16 E f f e c t o f D e v i a t o r S t r e s s on Pore
Pressure 67
Overconsolidation Ratio = 2 70
18 Log S t r a i n Rate versus Log E l a p s e d

Time (17 =2) 71
Overconsolidation Ratio = 6 74

Time ( 7 7 = 6 ) 77
21 Drained Creep T e s t
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n R a t i o = 25 79
22 Log Shear S t r a i n Rate versus Log

E l a p s e d Time (TJ=25) 81
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n R a t i o = 25 84

Time (-^=25) 85
25 Strain/Time R e s u l t s
Undrained Creep o f Haney C l a y 89
XX
Figure Page
26 S t r a i n Rate/Time R e s u l t s
Undrained Creep T e s t s
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y 91
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y (17=2) 94
29 S t r a i n Rate/Time R e s u l t s i
Undrained and D r a i n e d Creep T e s t s
30 Line of T r a n s i e n t Minimum S t r a i n Rates

Haney C l a y 99
31 T o t a l Rupture L i f e o f L a b o r a t o r y
Creep T e s t s 102
32 Time t o R u p t u r e / S t r a i n Rate Curve 106
33 Time t o R u p t u r e / S t r a i n Rate
Relationship 106
34 S t r a i n R a t e / S t r a i n Curves
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y 114
37 P r e d i c t e d and A c t u a l S t r e s s / S t r a i n
Curves f o r Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d
Haney C l a y 118
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xii
Figure Page
Curves f o r O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney
C l a y (-n = 2) 119
Curves f o r O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney
C l a y (77=6) 120
40 D e t e r m i n a t i o n of Upper Y i e l d
S t r e n g t h u s i n g Proposed Method 125
41 S t r e s s versus Secondary Creep Rate 128
42 S t r e s s versus Cube Root of Secondary
Creep Rate 128
43 R e s u l t s of Undrained Creep of I l l i t e 130
44 Incremental Loading T e s t s on Haney

Clay 132
45 Schematic Layout of S t r e s s - c o n t r o l l e d
Apparatus 143
46 Schematic Layout of Constant S t r a i n
Rate Apparatus 145
47 Volume Change and Pore P r e s s u r e

Measuring U n i t 147
48 Sample b e i n g I n s t a l l e d i n Stress-
c o n t r o l l e d Apparatus 150
49 Creep Test i n Progress 150
50 Sample b e i n g I n s t a l l e d i n Constant
S t r a i n Rate Apparatus 154
51 Constant S t r a i n Rate T e s t i n
Progress 154
52 C a l c u l a t i o n of S t r a i n Rates 160
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I
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
T h i s t h e s i s i s a c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the r e s e a r c h p r o -
gram a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia on the s t r e n g t h
and deformation c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f c o h e s i v e s o i l s . The
N a t i o n a l Research C o u n c i l o f Canada has supported t h i s p r o -
gram and the f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e r e c e i v e d has been g r e a t l y
appreciated.
The w r i t e r wishes t o express h i s thanks t o Dr.
W. D. Liam F i n n f o r h i s guidance and c o n s t r u c t i v e criticism
and t o Dr. R. G. Campanella and Dr. P. M. Byrne f o r t h e i r
h e l p f u l comments.
The t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e s u p p l i e d by t h e s t a f f o f
the C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g Department Workshop i s g r a t e f u l l y
acknowledged.
S i n c e r e thanks are extended t o Mrs. Jean O r t f o r the
t y p i n g , t o Miss Sue B e l l f o r t h e d r a f t i n g and, o f course, t o
my w i f e , Jane, f o r h e r continuous encouragement.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 - Introduction
At p r e s e n t , 1970, L i m i t Design i s used f o r most
s o i l mechanics problems which i n v o l v e the s t r e n g t h and sta-
b i l i t y of s o i l masses. T h i s method compares the t o t a l avail-
able shear s t r e n g t h w i t h the average s t r e n g t h r e q u i r e d to
maintain e q u i l i b r i u m , thereby p r o v i d i n g a f a c t o r of s a f e t y
against f a i l u r e . The t o t a l a v a i l a b l e shear s t r e n g t h i s based
upon the s o i l ' s s t r e n g t h p a r a m e t e r s — f r i c t i o n and cohesion—

i
the s l o p e and i n t e r c e p t , r e s p e c t i v e l y , of the Mohr-Coulomb
s t r e n g t h envelope. Although p r o v i d i n g a means f o r design
a g a i n s t t o t a l c o l l a p s e , L i m i t Design does not estimate the

i
magnitude of a n t i c i p a t e d d e f o r m a t i o n s .
In S o i l Mechanics and Foundation E n g i n e e r i n g , de-
s i g n i s o f t e n governed by deformation c r i t e r i a , r a t h e r than
by u l t i m a t e s t r e n g t h and, t h e r e f o r e , i t i s n e c e s s a r y to p r e -
d i c t deformations i n a d d i t i o n t o u l t i m a t e s t r e n g t h . Until
the r e c e n t development of the f i n i t e element method o f analy-
sis, i t has been necessary, f o r most p r a c t i c a l cases, to
estimate deformations based upon experience and semiempirical
equations, s i n c e more exact computational methods were not
available.
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The f i n i t e element r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the continuum
has allowed e v a l u a t i o n of deformations based upon a m u l t i -
linear e l a s t i c representation of the s t r e s s / s t r a i n r e l a t i o n
for the s o i l (Finn 1967, Clough and Woodward 1967). For
some s o i l s , t h i s s t r e s s / s t r a i n r e l a t i o n i s time dependent,
an a d d i t i o n a l v a r i a b l e which, p r e s e n t l y , has not been i n c o r -
porated d i r e c t l y i n t o the f i n i t e element method of a n a l y s i s .
However, w i t h f u r t h e r development o f f i n i t e element t e c h n i -
ques, i t should be p o s s i b l e t o i n c l u d e t h i s v a r i a b l e and
p r e d i c t deformations based upon s t r e s s / s t r a i n / t i m e r e l a t i o n -
ships. These analyses will r e q u i r e a more comprehensive
understanding of the e f f e c t of time on s t r e s s / s t r a i n r e l a -
t i o n s than p r e s e n t l y e x i s t s and, therefore, further research
i s r e q u i r e d i n t h i s f i e l d of study.
The influence o f time on s t r e s s / s t r a i n r e l a t i o n s
can b e s t be demonstrated w i t h a creep t e s t . In t h i s t e s t ,
the sample continues to s t r a i n , although the s t r e s s remains
constant. T h i s s i t u a t i o n has been observed under f i e l d con-
d i t i o n s by many, i n c l u d i n g H a e f e l i (1953a), G o l d s t e i n and
Ter-Stepanian (19 57), S a i t o and Uezawa (1961), and Suklje
(1961). They r e p o r t c o n t i n u a l movements t a k i n g p l a c e in

n a t u r a l slopes i n which the t o t a l s t r e s s e s are remaining
nearly constant. In c e r t a i n cases, i t has been reported
t h a t , a f t e r many years o f t h i s c o n t i n u a l movement, deforma-
t i o n rates increased r a p i d l y , leading to a catastrophic
failure ( S u k l j e 1961) .
A l o s s o f s t r e n g t h w i t h time has a l s o been ob-
served i n l a b o r a t o r y s t u d i e s by many, i n c l u d i n g Bishop

I
(1966), Casagrande and W i l s o n (1951) and S a i t o and Uezawa
(1961). Therefore, a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the e f f e c t o f
time on s t r e n g t h parameters should be h e l p f u l f o r b o t h the
prevention and the p r e d i c t i o n o f long-term creep failures.
1.2 - Purpose and Scope

i
T h i s t h e s i s , based upon l a b o r a t o r y r e s u l t s , i s an
attempt t o f u r t h e r c l a r i f y t h e e f f e c t o f time on t h e s t r e n g t h
properties of undisturbed saturated clays. The l a b o r a t o r y
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , c a r r i e d out on a l o c a l l y - a v a i l a b l e s e n s i t i v e
c l a y , i n v o l v e d constant s t r e s s t r i a x i a l t e s t s , w i t h pore
pressure measurements, a t s t r e s s l e v e l s h i g h enough t o cause
creep r u p t u r e . Constant s t r a i n r a t e and i n c r e m e n t a l stress
t r i a x i a l t e s t s were i n c l u d e d i n the i n v e s t i g a t i o n f o r
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comparative purposes. This thesis investigates the phenome-
n o l o g i c a l b e h a v i o u r of s a t u r a t e d clays i n terms of b o t h
t o t a l and e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s , and a major p o r t i o n of the
t h e s i s i s devoted t o i n v e s t i g a t i n g the o c c u r r e n c e and p r e -
d i c t i o n of creep rupture.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
T h i s l i t e r a t u r e review p r e s e n t s p e r t i n e n t i n -
formation i n s o i l mechanics l i t e r a t u r e on the e f f e c t of
time on both s t r e s s / s t r a i n r e l a t i o n s h i p s and s t r e n g t h .
I t a l s o i n c l u d e s a b r i e f mention o f r h e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s
c a r r i e d out on metals and p l a s t i c s and ,is presented i n

I
the f o l l o w i n g s u b s e c t i o n s :
2.1 F i e l d Observations o f Creep
2.2 S t u d i e s of Time-dependent Behaviour

of Metals and P l a s t i c s
2.3 Creep and Creep Rupture
2.4 Use o f the Rate process Theory to

P r e d i c t Creep Behaviour
2.5 E f f e c t of Time on S t r e n g t h T e s t s
2.1 - F i e l d Observations of Creep
Haefeli (1953a) d e s c r i b e d many p r a c t i c a l examples
of s i t u a t i o n s where creep has been of importance in soils,
snow and i c e . In p a r t i c u l a r , H a e f e l i (1953b) d e s c r i b e d the
e f f e c t of a c r e e p i n g s l o p e on an abutment o f a r a i l w a y
b r i d g e c r o s s i n g the Landquart R i v e r i n S w i t z e r l a n d . To stop
t r a n s l a t i o n of t h i s abutment, a l a r g e h o r i z o n t a l beam was '
p l a c e d across the r i v e r between abutments. T h i s beam was
instrumented and the p r e s s u r e s e x e r t e d on the abutment due
t o creep were measured. H a e f e l i r e p o r t e d t h a t between 1944
and 1950 the p r e s s u r e tended to i n c r e a s e , although some sea-
s o n a l f l u c t u a t i o n s were noted.
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l
Long-term f a i l u r e s i n London c l a y s l o p e s were i n -
v e s t i g a t e d by Henkel (1957). A t N o r t h o l t , one of the sites
i n v e s t i g a t e d , Henkel r e p o r t e d t h a t s u b s t a n t i a l movements and
a s e r i e s of t e n s i o n c r a c k s a l o n g the top o f the s l o p e were
observed a t l e a s t s i x months b e f o r e f a i l u r e occurred.
Suklje (1961) r e p o r t e d a long-term creep l a n d -
s l i d e which o c c u r r e d along the Gradot Ridge i n Macedonia i n
19 56. Tension c r a c k s up t o 90 f e e t deep were observed 30
years b e f o r e the f a i l u r e . A year b e f o r e the f a i l u r e , the
lower s i d e o f a c r a c k was noted to have subsided 20 centi-
meters. F u r t h e r subsidence was observed a few weeks b e f o r e
failure.
I t i s c l e a r from these examples t h a t f a i l u r e s do
not always take p l a c e without p r e v i o u s warning. Therefore,

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a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the mechanism and time-dependent
behaviour of long-term f a i l u r e s may r e s u l t i n methods f o r
p r e d i c t i n g impending failure.
2.2 - S t u d i e s o f Time-dependent Behaviour

of M e t a l s and P l a s t i c s
The s t r e s s / s t r a i n response of most e n g i n e e r i n g
m a t e r i a l s i s a f f e c t e d by v a r i a t i o n s i n jtemperature and dura-
t i o n of t e s t . E n g i n e e r s have, t h e r e f o r e , c a r r i e d out con-
s i d e r a b l e r e s e a r c h i n an attempt t o e x p l a i n and p r e d i c t this
behaviour. Two b a s i c approaches have e v o l v e d f o r these i n -
vestigations. The f i r s t , u s u a l l y r e f e r r e d t o as the
m a c r o a n a l y t i c a l or phenomenological approach, d e s c r i b e s the
a c t u a l phenomena i n terms o f measurable p h y s i c a l parameters,
such as s t r e s s , s t r a i n , time and temperature. The second,
r e f e r r e d t o as the m i c r o m e c h a n i s t i c approach, d e s c r i b e s the
phenomena i n terms o f the b e h a v i o u r o f the atomic or molecu-
l a r s t r u c t u r e o f the m a t e r i a l . Research c a r r i e d out
a c c o r d i n g to t h i s approach i n c l u d e s the a p p l i c a t i o n o f the
rate process theory to p l a s t i c s , rubber and a s p h a l t (Ree and
E y r i n g 1958, H e r r i n and Jones 1963). R e s u l t s o f these
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s have r e s u l t e d i n q u a l i t a t i v e , but not

- 8
q u a n t i t a t i v e , p r e d i c t i o n s o f t h e response t o a p p l i e d shear
stress. T h e r e f o r e , although i n c r e a s i n g emphasis i s b e i n g
p l a c e d upon t h i s approach a t p r e s e n t , i t s t i l l appears t o
r e q u i r e c o n s i d e r a b l e development b e f o r e b e i n g u s e f u l f o r
q u a n t i t a t i v e p r e d i c t i o n o f macroscopic behaviour.
On t h e o t h e r hand, a q u a n t i t a t i v e p r e d i c t i o n can
u s u a l l y be made u s i n g a phenomenological approach. The d i s -
advantage o f t h i s approach i s t h a t the p r e d i c t i o n can
n o r m a l l y be a p p l i e d o n l y t o a l i m i t e d number o f s i t u a t i o n s ,
s i m i l a r t o t h a t from which t h e r e l a t i o n was o b t a i n e d , as t h e
b a s i s f o r t h e p r e d i c t i o n may not be fundamental t o t h e mate-
r i a l ' s behaviour. In t h i s t h e s i s , t h e a n a l y s i s o f time-
dependent behaviour i s mainly r e s t r i c t e d t o a phenomenologi-
c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n and, t h e r e f o r e , t h i s l i t e r a t u r e review i s
likewise restricted.
A t y p i c a l s t r a i n / t i m e curve f o r a creep t e s t i s
shown i n F i g u r e 1. The shape o f t h i s curve i s s i m i l a r f o r
many e n g i n e e r i n g m a t e r i a l s , such as metals, c o n c r e t e and
plastics. T h i s curve has been s u b d i v i d e d by many r e s e a r c h e r s
i n t o f o u r s e p a r a t e s t a g e s ; these f o u r stages a r e :
- 9
FIGURE I - TYPICAL CREEP RUPTURE CURVE

- 10
Stage 1 Instantaneous deformation (£ )

Q
Stage 2 Primary creep ( £ 0 t o £. )
Stage 3 Secondary creep ( 8, t o £ ) 2
Stage 4 T e r t i a r y creep (£ 2 to£ r )
The instantaneous deformation i s o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o
as the i n i t i a l e l a s t i c deformation, but i n f a c t u s u a l l y com-

i
prxses b o t h e l a s t i c and p l a s t i c d e f o r m a t i o n s . Primary creep
i s d e f i n e d as the stage d u r i n g which the s t r a i n r a t e i s con-
t i n u a l l y d e c r e a s i n g , w h i l e secondary creep i s d e f i n e d as the
stage d u r i n g which the s t r a i n r a t e i s n e a r l y c o n s t a n t .
T e r t i a r y creep i s the f i n a l stage r e s u l t i n g i n creep rup-
t u r e , and, t h e r e f o r e , the s t r a i n r a t e i n c r e a s e s d u r i n g t h i s
stage. Most e n g i n e e r i n g m a t e r i a l s e x h i b i t both Stages 1 and
2, but secondary and t e r t i a r y creep may or may not be evi-
dent, depending upon the m a t e r i a l and the a p p l i e d s t r e s s e s .

Zener and Holloman (1946) proposed t h a t a unique
r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between s t r e s s , s t r a i n , strain rate and
temperature f o r metals s u b j e c t e d t o t e n s i l e l o a d i n g , which
was independent o f the s t r a i n r a t e and temperature history
of the metal; thus, the t e n s i l e s t r e s s c o u l d be expressed
as:
s=f (£, e, T) (i)
where: S = current tensile stress
8 = current strain
8 = current strain rate
T = current temperature
Lubahn and F e l g a r (1961) s t a t e d t h a t , upon i n -

!
j
v e s t i g a t i o n of a v a i l a b l e r e s e a r c h on metals, overwhelming
evidence i s found t o show t h a t the temperature of p r i o r
s t r a i n i n g does a f f e c t c u r r e n t b e h a v i o u r . Lubahn and Felgar
do suggest, however, t h a t a r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between s t r e s s ,
s t r a i n and s t r a i n r a t e f o r metals a t c o n s t a n t temperature,
which i s independent of the s t r a i n r a t e h i s t o r y .
Pao and Marin (1952) used t h i s concept t o p r e d i c t
the t e n s i l e creep behaviour of P l e x i g l a s based upon the r e -
s u l t s of a s e r i e s of c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s . Figure 2
shows the p r e d i c t e d and a c t u a l t e n s i l e creep behaviour ob-
t a i n e d by Pao and M a r i n . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note that
two of the t e s t s shown i n F i g u r e 2 were a t s t r e s s l e v e l s
l a r g e enough t o r e s u l t i n creep r u p t u r e . (This i s not
r e a d i l y apparent, s i n c e the e l a p s e d time i s p l o t t e d on a

- 12
0.7
TEMPERATURE 77°F ~"

0 RELATIVE HUMIDITY 50 %
0.1 I 10 100
TIME (MINUTES)
(AFTER PAO a MARIN, 1952)
LEGEND
PREDICTED FROM RESULTS OF CONSTANT

STRAIN RATE TESTS
• • • TENSILE CREEP DATA
FIGURE 2 - PREDICTED AND ACTUAL

TENSILE CREEP OF PLEXIGLAS
- 13
logarithmic scale.) Pao and Marin obtained predicted
creep curves by g r a p h i c a l , and numerical methods., r a t h e r
than by e v a l u a t i n g a mathematical r e l a t i o n s h i p between
s t r e s s , s t r a i n and s t r a i n r a t e . The authors s t a t e t h a t the
exact form of an equation r e l a t i n g s t r e s s , s t r a i n and s t r a i n
r a t e i s r e l a t i v e l y unimportant compared w i t h the b a s i c idea
t h a t such a g e n e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s .
I
T h i s s h o r t s e c t i o n on time-dependent s t u d i e s on
metals and p l a s t i c s has been i n c l u d e d to show t h a t s i m i l a r
r e s u l t s are o b t a i n e d f o r most e n g i n e e r i n g m a t e r i a l s , be they
metal, p l a s t i c , rubber or, as w i l l be shown, s a t u r a t e d c l a y .
The mechanism o f creep must be c o n s i d e r e d as a v e r y complex
phenomenon r e l a t e d t o i n t e r m o l e c u l a r f o r c e s and the "making
and b r e a k i n g " o f bonds. When c o n s i d e r i n g molecular behaviour
s a t u r a t e d c l a y i s b a s i c a l l y the same as other m a t e r i a l s , a l -
though having the c o m p l i c a t i n g aspect of being a two-phase
material. I t i s t h e r e f o r e p o s s i b l e t h a t the r e s u l t s of r e -
search on metals and p l a s t i c s may, i n f a c t , provide guide-
l i n e s f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f the time-dependent behaviour o f
saturated clay.
- 14
2.3- Creep and Creep Rupture
Casagrande and W i l s o n (1951) i n v e s t i g a t e d the
e f f e c t o f creep l o a d i n g s on the shear s t r e n g t h of nine c l a y s .
Most of the t e s t s r e p o r t e d were unconfined compression t e s t s
i n which the l o a d was b u i l t up q u i c k l y and maintained con-
s t a n t u n t i l the specimen f a i l e d . The a p p l i c a t i o n of load
was achieved by applying f o u r to e i g h t increments of l o a d at
approximately one-minute i n t e r v a l s . For Mexico C i t y c l a y ,
the time to f a i l u r e was found to i n c r e a s e w i t h decreased
l o a d , w h i l e the l o g a r i t h m of the time to f a i l u r e was found
t o be l i n e a r l y r e l a t e d to the a p p l i e d s t r e s s . casagrande
and Wilson d e f i n e d f a i l u r e as o c c u r r i n g when the deformation
r a t e s t a r t e d to i n c r e a s e , s i n c e they o f t e n observed a fail-
ure plane d e v e l o p i n g s h o r t l y a f t e r the i n f l e c t i o n point in
the s t r a i n / t i m e curve.
G o l d s t e i n and Ter-Stepanian (1957) confirmed a
decrease i n s t r e n g t h w i t h i n c r e a s e d d u r a t i o n of loading.
They d e f i n e d the "long-term" s t r e n g t h as t h a t s t r e s s r e -
q u i r e d t o cause a f a i l u r e a f t e r a "long" p e r i o d of time.
Based upon a proposed model f o r s o i l comprising viscous and
b r i t t l e bonds, G o l d s t e i n suggested t h a t creep rupture

o c c u r r e d at a s p e c i f i c v a l u e of s t r a i n , independent of time
of l o a d i n g and stress l e v e l . Subsequently, r e s u l t s by
Sherif (1965) i n d i c a t e d t h a t creep r u p t u r e s t r a i n i s not
independent of s t r e s s l e v e l f o r a l l s o i l s .
Investigations by V i a l o v and Skibitsky (19 57) on
creep i n f r o z e n s o i l s showed deformations i n i t i a l l y occur-
r i n g at a d e c r e a s i n g r a t e , f o l l o w e d by a stage of creep at a
i
c o n s t a n t deformation r a t e and f i n a l l y r e s u l t i n g i n the ter-
t i a r y f a i l u r e stage. These o b s e r v a t i o n s were based upon the
r e s u l t s of t e s t s which i n v o l v e d shear along rods, initially
frozen in s o i l . V i a l o v and S k i b i t s k y suggested the exis-
tence of an u l t i m a t e continuous s t r e n g t h or upper y i e l d
s t r e n g t h based upon the r e s u l t of a t e s t which d i d not fail
w h i l e under l o a d f o r over f o u r y e a r s . D i r e c t shear t e s t s
performed on a dense t e r t i a r y c l a y a l s o i n d i c a t e d the exis-
tence of an upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h . V i a l o v and Skibitsky also
noted t h a t the h o r i z o n t a l deformation d u r i n g a d i r e c t shear
t e s t c o u l d be s a t i s f a c t o r i l y described by the equation:
y - a + b log t lo (2)
where: y = h o r i z o n t a l deformation
t = e l a p s e d time
a,b = constants
- 16
T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s not t r u e f o r a l l s o i l s , as
the r e s u l t s of Campanella (1965) i n d i c a t e a d e f i n i t e c u r v a -
t u r e t o the s t r a i n / l o g a r i t h m time curve f o r t r i a x i a l com-
p r e s s i o n of remoulded 11lite.
Coates, Burn and McRostie (1963) p r e s e n t e d creep
r u p t u r e data f o r a v e r y s e n s i t i v e c l a y from E a s t e r n Canada,
which i n d i c a t e d t h a t an i n c r e a s e i n a p p l i e d shear s t r e s s r e -
i
j
s u i t e d i n decreased time t o f a i l u r e . The authors q u e s t i o n e d
whether the time to f a i l u r e should be d e f i n e d as the t o t a l
time t o r u p t u r e , or the time u n t i l the s t r a i n r a t e started
to i n c r e a s e . Most r e s e a r c h e r s use the f i r s t d e f i n i t i o n , a l -
though, as a l r e a d y mentioned, Casagrande and W i l s o n (1951)
used the l a t t e r . Coates, Burn and McRostie suggested that
c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s may p r o v i d e e q u i v a l e n t informa-
t i o n t o the c o n s t a n t s t r e s s t e s t , but d i d not suggest any
method f o r c o r r e l a t i o n of the r e s u l t s . As d i s c u s s e d , Pao
and Marin (1952) s u c c e s s f u l l y r e l a t e d r e s u l t s from these two
types of t e s t s on P l e x i g l a s . T h e r e f o r e , i t appears logical
to attempt such a c o r r e l a t i o n i n t h i s study, the r e s u l t s of
which are d i s c u s s e d i n Chapter 6.

- 17
A r e l a t i v e l y complete summary o f undrained creep
and s t r e n g t h behaviour f o r cohesive s o i l s i s t o be found i n
M i t c h e l l , Seed and Paduana (1965). In t h i s r e p o r t , the r e -
s u l t s o f many i n v e s t i g a t i o n s have been s u b d i v i d e d i n t o two
g r o u p s — t h o s e i n which a s t r e n g t h l o s s was noted and those
i n which e i t h e r no change or a s t r e n g t h g a i n was observed.
S t r e n g t h g a i n was observed o n l y f o r compacted samples w i t h

i
a h i g h percentage o f b e n t o n i t e , known t o be h i g h l y t h i x o -
tropic. Strength l o s s was observed f o r most s a t u r a t e d c l a y s
independent o f whether d i s t u r b e d , undisturbed, consolidated
or compacted.
Based upon the r e s u l t s o f a s e r i e s o f unconfined
creep t e s t s , S a i t o and Uezawa (1961) proposed a l i n e a r r e -
l a t i o n s h i p between t h e l o g a r i t h m o f t h e secondary s t r a i n
r a t e and the l o g a r i t h m o f the t o t a l e l a p s e d time t o rupture
(creep r u p t u r e life), as shown i n F i g u r e 3. Data used f o r
o b t a i n i n g t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i n c l u d e d the r e s u l t s o f creep
t e s t s on f o u r n a t u r a l Japanese s o i l s and the r e s u l t s o f
Murayama and S h i b a t a (1956) , Casagrande and Wilson (1951)
and G o l d s t e i n and Ter-Stepanian (1957). Shown i n F i g u r e 3

- 18
100,000
10-3 10-2 10-' 100 10' 102
STRAIN RATE ( X I O " / MIN.)

4
(AFTER SAITO 8 UEZAWA, I 9 6 0
FIGURE 3 - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CREEP RUPTURE

LIFE AND SECONDARY STRAIN RATE
- 19
i s the e r r o r band which e n c l o s e s 95 per cent of a l l the
tests (95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s ) . The equation of the
l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p shown i n F i g u r e 3 i s of the form:
log t r = C - m log £ s (3)
where: t r = t o t a l e l a p s e d time u n t i l creep

r u p t u r e (creep r u p t u r e l i f e )
6S = secondary s t r a i n rate
i
• i
m,C = constants
When t r i s expressed i n minutes and £ s i s ex-
p r e s s e d i n 10~4 per minute, the equation, as e v a l u a t e d by
S a i t o and Uezawa, becomes:
log t r = 2.33 - .916 log £„ (4)
A c c o r d i n g to S a i t o and Uezawa, t h i s equation i s
v a l i d f o r d i f f e r e n t types of c l a y , c o n s o l i d a t i o n history
and drainage conditions.
I f the constant m i s assumed to be equal t o one,
then Equation 4 can be w r i t t e n as:
t r £ s = constant (5)
- 20
T h i s g i v e s a very simple r e l a t i o n s h i p which s t a t e s
t h a t the creep r u p t u r e l i f e i s i n v e r s e l y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o the
secondary strain rate.
A s i m i l a r c o r r e l a t i o n of creep r u p t u r e l i f e with
s t r a i n r a t e was presented by Monkman and Grant (1956) f o r
v a r i o u s metals. The d i f f e r e n c e between the S a i t o and Uezawa

i
and the Monkman and Grant r e l a t i o n s h i p s c e n t r e s around the
d e f i n i t i o n of the governing s t r a i n r a t e . Whereas S a i t o and
Uezawa used the secondary or c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e , Monkman
and Grant suggested t h a t a constant s t r a i n r a t e does not e x i s t
and used the minimum s t r a i n r a t e which occurred between primary
and t e r t i a r y creep. Therefore, Monkman and Grant proposed a
l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between the l o g a r i t h m of the t r a n s i e n t m i n i -
mum s t r a i n r a t e and the l o g a r i t h m of creep r u p t u r e l i f e . For
creep r u p t u r e t e s t s , the value o f the governing s t r a i n r a t e
obtained, assuming the e x i s t e n c e of a constant s t r a i n r a t e
or a t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e , i s n e a r l y the same and,
t h e r e f o r e , the r e s u l t s of Monkman and Grant are comparable
w i t h those of S a i t o and Uezawa. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note
t h a t the Monkman and Grant 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e limits

- 21
for any one metal are i.55 l o g a r i t h m cycles, as compared w i t h
the S a i t o and Uezawa l i m i t s of —.59 logarithm cycles for a l l
soils. T h i s i s , perhaps, s u r p r i s i n g since metals are u s u a l l y
c o n s i d e r e d t o be more homogeneous than most n a t u r a l s o i l s .
However, as most s o i l s are more p l a s t i c than metals, non-
homogeneous areas w i t h i n a sample w i l l cause lower stress
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n a s o i l than i n a m e t a l . It i s possible
i
I
t h a t these f a c t o r s tend t o b a l a n c e one janother, g i v i n g the
same order o f magnitude of e r r o r band f o r b o t h metals and
s o i l s f o r the creep r u p t u r e c r i t e r i o n presented.
Having o b t a i n e d a l a b o r a t o r y h y p o t h e s i s f o r p r e -
d i c t i n g creep r u p t u r e , S a i t o and Uezawa proceeded t o apply
i t to f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s . Saito (1965) p r e s e n t e d a d d i t i o n a l
case h i s t o r i e s to c o n f i r m the a p p l i c a t i o n o f the h y p o t h e s i s
to f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s . These i n c l u d e d the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of
both n a t u r a l s l o p e s and f u l l - s c a l e experiments i n which
f a i l u r e was induced by s p r i n k l i n g water on the s l o p e . The
method used t o p r e d i c t the time o f f a i l u r e , as proposed by
S a i t o , r e q u i r e s the c o n t i n u a l measurement of d i s p l a c e m e n t
a c r o s s a t e n s i o n c r a c k a t the t o p o f the s l o p e . By dividing
the r a t e of displacement by the t o t a l l e n g t h of the s l o p e , a

- 22
s t r a i n rate i s obtained. Using t h i s s t r a i n rate, Equation 4
is solved for t r (the creep r u p t u r e l i f e ) , which i s then
claimed t o r e p r e s e n t the remaining time u n t i l f a i l u r e of the
slope. Although t h i s method appears t o be s a t i s f a c t o r y on
the b a s i s of the r e p o r t e d f i e l d s t u d i e s , i t can be criti-
c i z e d on s e v e r a l grounds, the most severe b e i n g t h a t the
laboratory t r was d e f i n e d as the creep r u p t u r e l i f e (time
from i n i t i a l l o a d i n g t o rupture) and t h i s has been used t o
p r e d i c t the remaining time u n t i l r u p t u r e a f t e r the measure-
ment of the f i e l d s t r a i n rate.
2.4 - Use of the Rate Process Theory

to P r e d i c t Creep Behaviour
i The r a t e process t h e o r y (Glasstone, L a i d l e r and
E y r i n g 1941) p o s t u l a t e s t h a t a s t a t i s t i c a l r a t e of bond
r u p t u r e occurs which i s dependent upon the thermal and
a c t i v a t i o n energy o f the bonds. As long as no shear f o r c e
is a p p l i e d t o a bond, the p r o b a b i l i t y of r u p t u r e i s equal
in a l l directions. However, a p p l i c a t i o n of a shear stress
to a cohesive s o i l a p p l i e s a net d i r e c t i o n a l component t o
the bond r u p t u r e s and t h e r e f o r e a deformation i s observed.

- 23
The r a t e process theory has been a p p l i e d t o the
creep deformation o f c l a y s by Murayama and S h i b a t a (1961,
1964), M i t c h e l l (1964), C h r i s t e n s e n and Wu (1964),
Campanella (1965) and M i t c h e l l , Campanella and Singh (1968) .
Murayama and S h i b a t a (1961) used the r a t e p r o c e s s t h e o r y t o
mathematically d e s c r i b e the n o n l i n e a r v i s c o s i t y o f the dash-

i
pot i n t h e i r r h e o l o g i c a l model. The e q u a t i o n f o r t h e i r
I
i
model, which was considered t o be a p p l i c a b l e f o r s t r e s s
l e v e l s below the upper y i e l d strength, follows:

cr g-cr 0 q-q 0
where: £ = strain
0" = d e v i a t o r s t r e s s
(7 = lower y i e l d s t r e n g t h o f s o i l ( f o r
0
s t r e s s below the lower y i e l d

s t r e n g t h t h e r e i s no time-dependent
deformation)
E,,E = e l a s t i c constants f o r s p r i n g e l e -
2
ments i n r h e o l o g i c a l model
A, B = c o n s t a n t s
2
t = time
T h i s equation p r e d i c t s a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between
d£
and CT . Murayama and S h i b a t a (1961) proposed t h a t
d log t
- 24
d £
the f i r s t i n f l e c t i o n p o i n t of the , — -CJ curve occurs at
c
d log t
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h as shown i n F i g u r e 4. Murayama and
Shibata (1964) suggested another method f o r the evaluation
of the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h of c l a y s . Instead o f r e q u i r i n g
a s e r i e s of creep t e s t s , t h i s method uses the r e s u l t s of
o n l y one t e s t t o p r e d i c t the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h . The test
used f o r t h i s purpose i s a s t r e s s - c o n t r , o l l e d compression

i
i
t e s t i n which the compressive s t r e s s i s a p p l i e d i n equal
increments at uniform time i n t e r v a l s . R e s u l t s of such t e s t s
by Murayama and S h i b a t a show a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between the
l o g a r i t h m of d e v i a t o r s t r e s s and the l o g a r i t h m of strain.
The s t r e s s at which the f i r s t i n f l e c t i o n p o i n t occurs i s
proposed to be equal t o the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h as shown i n

i
F i g u r e 5. No j u s t i f i c a t i o n , based upon the r a t e process
theory or r h e o l o g i c a l model, was presented by Murayama and
S h i b a t a ; but, the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h o b t a i n e d by this
method was c o i n c i d e n t w i t h t h a t o b t a i n e d u s i n g the results
of a s e r i e s o f creep t e s t s on the same c l a y .
Christensen and Wu (1964) used the same approach
as Murayama and S h i b a t a and a p p l i e d the r a t e process theory
to d e s c r i b e the n o n l i n e a r v i s c o s i t y of the dashpot i n t h e i r

- 25
1
r r ,= 0.01 f
J.Y. - 1
I
=0 7
1
1
1
t
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

(0~.-0" )3 Kg/cm 2
(AFTER MURAYAMA 8 SHIBATA, I960
FIGURE 4 - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN de/dlogt AND (T

OBTAINED FROM CREEP TESTS
FIGURE 5 - INFLUENCE OF RATE OF STRESS

APPLICATION ON UPPER YIELD STRENGTH
OBTAINED FROM INCREMENTAL LOADING TESTS
T h e o l o g i c a l model. C h r i s t e n s e n and Wu assumed t h a t each
i n d i v i d u a l c o n t a c t has a lower y i e l d s t r e n g t h (the s t r e s s
below which flow does not occur) which i s not equal f o r
each c o n t a c t . T h e r e f o r e , s i n c e v e r y weak c o n t a c t s can
e x i s t , C h r i s t e n s e n and Wu s t a t e t h a t the macrobehaviour of
the s o i l may not e x h i b i t a lower y i e l d s t r e n g t h , which i s
c o n t r a r y t o the h y p o t h e s i s o f Murayama jand S h i b a t a (1961) .
Mitchell (1964), Campanella (1965), M i t c h e l l and
Campanella (1963), M i t c h e l l , Campanella and Singh (1968)
have used the r a t e p r o c e s s theory t o develop an equation
which p r e d i c t s the instantaneous s t r a i n r a t e d u r i n g a creep
test. T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s a f u n c t i o n o f the s t r e s s ,
temperature, s o i l s t r u c t u r e and energy o f a c t i v a t i o n o f the
bonds a t the s o i l c o n t a c t s . T e s t s d e v i s e d by Campanella
(1965) permit the e v a l u a t i o n o f parameters i n t h i s equation
by a p p l y i n g r a p i d changes i n temperature and s t r e s s level
d u r i n g a creep t e s t . The main purpose o f t h e i r work has
been t o prove the v a l i d i t y o f t h e r a t e p r o c e s s t h e o r y as
a p p l i e d t o t h e shear behaviour of s o i l s , r a t h e r than u s i n g
it to d e s c r i b e the n o n l i n e a r behaviour o f a r h e o l o g i c a l model.
A t present, i n s u f f i c i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e t o make
p r a c t i c a l use o f t h e i r equation.
- 27
Based upon a l a r g e amount of experimental data,
Singh and M i t c h e l l (1968) have proposed the f o l l o w i n g
phenomenological e q u a t i o n f o r creep of c o h e s i v e s o i l s :
6 = A (t ) m
exp ( a CT ) 0 (7)
where: £ = strain rate

oc,A,m = c o n s t a n t s |
t = e l a p s e d time j
<7 = a p p l i e d d e v i a t o r s t r e s s
0
i
This equation i s v a l i d only f o r s u b f a i l u r e condi-
t i o n s and p r e d i c t s a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between log £ and log t
f o r undrained creep t e s t s . Therefore, c o n t i n u a l l y -
d e c r e a s i n g s t r a i n r a t e s are p r e d i c t e d by t h i s e q u a t i o n and
a c o n s t a n t or secondary stage of creep would not be antici-

i
pated.
2.5 - E f f e c t of Time on
Strength Tests
Before p r e s e n t i n g the e f f e c t o f time on the shear
s t r e n g t h of c l a y s , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o b r i e f l y d i s c u s s the
s t r e n g t h parameters which are used f o r e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s and
t o t a l stress analyses. The shear s t r e n g t h of s o i l s i s con-
s i d e r e d t o p r i m a r i l y r e s u l t from f r i c t i o n a l f o r c e s at the
- 28
c o n t a c t s between s o i l p a r t i c l e s . Thus, t h e shear s t r e n g t h
of s o i l s i s n o r m a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t o be a f u n c t i o n o f t h e
e f f e c t i v e normal s t r e s s e s , r a t h e r than t h e t o t a l normal
stresses. C o n v e n t i o n a l s o i l mechanics d e f i n e s t h e shear
strength parameters—cohesion (c') and f r i c t i o n (<£')—as the
i n t e r c e p t and s l o p e , r e s p e c t i v e l y , o f t h e e f f e c t i v e stress
Mohr-Coulomb f a i l u r e envelope: Two f a i l u r e c r i t e r i a are
commonly used i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t r i a x i a l t e s t i n g ; these
b e i n g the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s (C )MAX.

d and the maximum
principal effective stress ratio (^i' /CT ^ ) x.

MA failure criteria.
For d r a i n e d t e s t s , these c r i t e r i a a r e c o i n c i d e n t , b u t f o r
undrained t e s t s these c r i t e r i a o f t e n r e s u l t i n d i f f e r e n t
v a l u e s f o r t h e shear s t r e n g t h parameters, c' and <£' , depend-
i n g upon t h e type o f s o i l , c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y and dura-
t i o n of the t e s t .
The use o f t h e p r i n c i p l e o f e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s i n -
v o l v e s two s t e p s ; namely, t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e shear
strength parameters— c> and — a n d the p r e d i c t i o n o f t h e
pore p r e s s u r e s . To a v o i d having t o p r e d i c t pore p r e s s u r e s ,
shear s t r e n g t h i s sometimes expressed i n terms o f t o t a l
stresses. The most common a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h i s approach i s

- 29
the = 0 analysis. T h i s a n a l y s i s i s based upon t h e r e s u l t s
of u n c o n s o l i d a t e d undrained. t r i a x i a l t e s t s on u n d i s t u r b e d
saturated c l a y s . Since the e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s a t the s t a r t
o f the t e s t a r e independent o f t h e c o n f i n i n g p r e s s u r e f o r
most c l a y s , t h e maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s i s not dependent
upon t h e i n i t i a l c o n f i n i n g p r e s s u r e . The undrained shear
s t r e n g t h i s , t h e r e f o r e , equal t o one-half o f t h e maximum
d e v i a t o r s t r e s s , although t h e s t r e n g t h joften quoted i s the
compressive s t r e n g t h o r maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s . The r e -
search reviewed i n S e c t i o n 2.3 i s based on compressive
s t r e n g t h and, i n f a c t , a l l a v a i l a b l e r e s e a r c h on creep rup-
t u r e o f c l a y s i s based upon t o t a l s t r e s s measurements.
Time e f f e c t s on compressive s t r e n g t h were r e p o r t e d
by T a y l o r (1948). Taylor presented r e s u l t s f o r t h e compres-
s i v e s t r e n g t h o f remoulded Boston b l u e c l a y , which showed an
increase i n strength with an i n c r e a s e i n t h e speed o f a x i a l
compression. Taylor a t t r i b u t e d the d i f f e r e n c e i n strength
to a v i s c o u s o r p l a s t i c r e s i s t a n c e which v a r i e d w i t h the
speed a t which the shear s t r a i n o c c u r r e d . Casagrande and
Wilson (1951) r e p o r t e d i n c r e a s e d compressive s t r e n g t h with
i n c r e a s e d r a t e s o f l o a d i n g on Mexico C i t y c l a y . As t h e r a t e
- 30
of l o a d i n g was i n c r e a s e d , t h e r u p t u r e s t r a i n was noted t o
decrease. These t e s t s were performed by adding predetermined
increments o f s t r e s s a t s e t i n t e r v a l s o f t i m e . On t h e other
hand, Casagrande and W i l s o n a l s o r e p o r t e d t h a t , f o r a com-
pacted c l a y e y sand, the compressive s t r e n g t h i n c r e a s e d with
decreased r a t e s o f l o a d i n g , accompanied w i t h an i n c r e a s e i n
rupture strain. However, t h i s s o i l was o n l y partially

j
s a t u r a t e d and, t h e r e f o r e , t h i s i n c r e a s e i n s t r e n g t h with
time may be due t o c o n s o l i d a t i o n e f f e c t s .
P e r l o f f and. O s t e r b e r g (1963) i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e
e f f e c t o f v a r i o u s s t r a i n r a t e s on remoulded i l l i t e . Un-
d r a i n e d t r i a x i a l t e s t s were performed f o r v a r i o u s consoli-
d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s , r a n g i n g between normally' c o n s o l i d a t e d and
an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o o f 20. F o r remoulded illite,
P e r l o f f and O s t e r b e r g r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e g r e a t e r the overcon-
s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o t h e g r e a t e r the e f f e c t o f s t r a i n r a t e on
the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s . The e f f e c t o f s t r a i n r a t e on
the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s was t h e same as p r e v i o u s l y r e -
p o r t e d by o t h e r s . For normally consolidated i l l i t e , the
v a r i a t i o n i n t h e maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s was s m a l l f o r t h e
range o f s t r a i n r a t e s t e s t e d . T h i s may i n d i c a t e t h e
- 31
importance o f s t r u c t u r e on the e f f e c t o f s t r a i n r a t e on the
maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s , s i n c e f o r normally consolidated
remoulded i l l i t e , which would have a d i s p e r s e d s t r u c t u r e , the
effect of strain rate i s small. Whereas f o r t h e overcon-
solidated i l l i t e , the e f f e c t of s t r a i n r a t e i s l a r g e r ,
p o s s i b l y due t o t h e s t r u c t u r a l bonds c r e a t e d by o v e r c o n s o l i -
dation.
Bjerrum, Simons and T o r b l a a (1958) r e p o r t e d de-
creased compressive s t r e n g t h w i t h i n c r e a s i n g time t o f a i l u r e
for a s o f t marine c l a y . The t e s t i n g program c o n s i s t e d o f a
s e r i e s o f normally c o n s o l i d a t e d undrained t r i a x i a l t e s t s a t
widely different strain rates. I t was found t h a t <p , t h e

l
e f f e c t i v e angle o f f r i c t i o n , a l s o decreased w i t h increasing
time t o f a i l u r e , w i t h f a i l u r e d e f i n e d a t t h e maximum d e v i a -
tor stress. The v a l i d i t y o f t h i s r e s u l t i s somewhat ques-
t i o n a b l e , s i n c e Bjerrum, e t a l , admitted t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f
leakage o f water through t h e membrane i n t o t h e sample.
Results o f normally consolidated drained t e s t s a t
v a r i o u s s t r a i n r a t e s r e s u l t e d i n no change i n shear strength
w i t h v a r i a t i o n s i n time t o f a i l u r e . I t was suggested t h a t
any decrease i n s t r e n g t h due t o i n c r e a s e d time t o f a i l u r e

- 32
was compensated f o r by an i n c r e a s e i n strength due t o an
a d d i t i o n a l volume decrease from secondary compression.
Crawford (1959) i n v e s t i g a t e d the influence of
s t r a i n r a t e on t h e e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s i n a sensitive clay
from E a s t e r n Canada. The maximum d e v i a t o r stress of s t r a i n
r a t e c o n t r o l l e d undrained t r i a x i a l t e s t s was found t o de-
crease l i n e a r l y w i t h t h e l o g a r i t h m o f t h e time t o f a i l u r e .
The e f f e c t i v e angle o f f r i c t i o n , <p' , a t maximum deviator
stress, increased w i t h time t o f a i l u r e . This i s the exact
o p p o s i t e o f t h e r e s u l t s o f Bjerrum, e t a l .
The r e s u l t s o f Bjerrum, e t a l , and Crawford indi-
cate t h a t t h e e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s s t r e n g t h parameters o b t a i n e d
from undrained t r i a x i a l t e s t s a r e a f f e c t e d by t h e t e s t i n g
i
rate i f f a i l u r e i s defined as o c c u r r i n g a t t h e maximum de-
viator stress. Unfortunately, the t r i a x i a l t e s t s i n both
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were d i s c o n t i n u e d b e f o r e t h e maximum p r i n c i -
p a l e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o was reached and, t h e r e f o r e , t h e
e f f e c t o f time on t h e shear s t r e n g t h parameters measured a t
the maximum p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o i s unknown.
As mentioned p r e v i o u s l y , r e s e a r c h on creep rup-
t u r e o f c l a y s has been i n v e s t i g a t e d i n terms o f t o t a l

- 33
stresses. Therefore, i n an attempt t o extend the b a s i c
understanding o f undrained creep, pore p r e s s u r e s were mea-
sured throughout a l l t e s t s i n t h e r e s e a r c h t o be d e s c r i b e d .
2.6 - Summary
Creep f a i l u r e s have been observed i n the f i e l d .
A b e t t e r understanding o f t h e mechanism and time-dependent
behaviour o f s o i l deformation might enable p r e d i c t i o n o f
these failures.
S i m i l a r s t r e s s / s t r a i n / t i m e behaviour has been ob-
served f o r many e n g i n e e r i n g m a t e r i a l s . Therefore, i t may be
p o s s i b l e t o s u c c e s s f u l l y apply t h e o r i e s proposed f o r metals
and p l a s t i c s t o t h e creep o f s a t u r a t e d c l a y s .
There i s c o n s i d e r a b l e agreement w i t h i n t h e l i t e r a -
t u r e t h a t a decreased compressive strength i s associated
w i t h i n c r e a s e d time t o f a i l u r e f o r b o t h c o n s t a n t s t r e s s and
constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s on s a t u r a t e d c o h e s i v e soils.
A t p r e s e n t , no t h e o r y e x i s t s which permits t h e
p r e d i c t i o n o f a creep t e s t from t h e r e s u l t s o f constant
s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s f o r shear o f s a t u r a t e d c l a y s .
Undrained creep r u p t u r e o f c l a y has o n l y been i n -
v e s t i g a t e d i n terms o f t o t a l s t r e s s e s .
- 34
CHAPTER 3
LABORATORY TESTING
3.1 - D e s c r i p t i o n of C l a y
The c l a y used i n t h i s study was o b t a i n e d from an
open p i t which belonged t o the Haney B r i c k and T i l e Co. L t d . ,
Haney, B.C. T h i s p i t i s l o c a t e d about 20 m i l e s e a s t of
Vancouver on the n o r t h bank of the F r a s e r R i v e r . Block
samples were o b t a i n e d i n August, 1965, by d i g g i n g a p i t
around an u n d i s t u r b e d mass of c l a y about t h r e e f e e t square.
Then, by c a r e f u l l y c u t t i n g the c l a y w i t h piano wire, blocks
of c l a y , approximately one c u b i c f o o t i n s i z e , were removed.
These b l o c k s were waxed i n the f i e l d and t r a n s p o r t e d t o the
U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia S o i l s L a b o r a t o r y where a d d i -
t i o n a l coatings o f wax were a p p l i e d . The b l o c k s were s t o r e d
i n a moist room u n t i l r e q u i r e d . Although the t e s t i n g program
extended over a two-year p e r i o d , no n o t i c e a b l e change i n
water content was obs'erved and, t h e r e f o r e , the method of s t o r -
age i s assumed t o have been adequate.
T h i s c l a y , which w i l l be r e f e r r e d t o as Haney c l a y ,
has been used f o r r e s e a r c h by others a t U.B.C. (Byrne 1966,
H i r s t 1966, Gupta 1967, Lou 1967). Haney c l a y , a c c o r d i n g t o

- 35
Armstrong (1957), i s a g l a c i o - m a r i n e d e p o s i t l a i d down i n
f r o n t of and beneath the i c e of the Sumas V a l l e y g l a c i a t i o n
which o c c u r r e d about 11,000 years ago. Due t o rebound of the
area w i t h the r e t r e a t of the i c e , the area i s now above sea
l e v e l and, as a r e s u l t of l e a c h i n g over the ensuing years,
Haney c l a y now has a sensitive structure. Armstrong d e f i n e s
it as a p l a s t i c marine s i l t y c l a y , w i t h c l a y 46 per cent,
silt 42.5 per cent and f i n e sand 11.5 per c e n t . The clay ob-
t a i n e d from the open p i t , b e i n g s l i g h t l y l e s s sandy, had clay
46 per cent, s i l t 51 per cent and f i n e sand 3 per cent, based
on the M.I.T. g r a i n s i z e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . Table I gives typi-
cal p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of Haney c l a y .
Standard one-dimensional c o n s o l i d a t i o n t e s t s were
run t o o b t a i n the p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n p r e s s u r e . A v a l u e of
approximately 38 p s i f o r the p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n p r e s s u r e was
obtained, which was i n agreement w i t h the r e s u l t s of Byrne
(1966) and H i r s t (1966). In the a n a l y s i s of the shape of
s t r e s s paths f o r d r a i n e d t e s t s , i n i t i a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d t o 40
psi (Byrne 1966), a c o n s i d e r a b l e e f f e c t a p p a r e n t l y due to
p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n c o u l d s t i l l be observed. S i n c e i t was de-
s i r e d t o e l i m i n a t e the e f f e c t of p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n , an
- 36
TABLE I
P h y s i c a l P r o p e r t i e s of
Haney C l a y
Specific gravity 2.80
Liquid l i m i t 50 per cent
Plastic limit 27 per cent
P l a s t i c i t y index 23 per cent
N a t u r a l water content 41.5 p e r cent

±1 per cent
Per cent f i n e r than two
microns 46 per cent
Activity 0.5
Undisturbed unconfined
compressive s t r e n g t h 1,650 p s f
Remoulded unconfined
compressive s t r e n g t h 330 p s f
Sensitivity* 5
*Sensitivity = Undisturbed u n c o n f i n e d compressive s t r e n g t h

Remoulded unconfined compressive
s t r e n g t h a t 20 p e r cent a x i a l s t r a i n
i s o t r o p i c c o n s o l i d a t i o n t e s t was performed i n t r i a x i a l equip-
ment t o i n v e s t i g a t e whether the type o f c o n s o l i d a t i o n
a f f e c t e d the apparent p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n pressure. The i s o -
t r o p i c c o n s o l i d a t i o n t e s t e s t i m a t e d the p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n
p r e s s u r e a t 50 p s i , about 30 per cent h i g h e r than t h a t obtained
from one-dimensional c o n s o l i d a t i o n . To ensure e l i m i n a t i o n o f
the e f f e c t o f p r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n i n the t e s t i n g program, i t was I
decided t o i s o t r o p i c a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e a l l samples t o an e f f e c - ,
t i v e s t r e s s o f 75 p s i .
3.2 - Development o f T e s t i n g Program
The development o f a t e s t i n g program t o i n v e s t i g a t e
creep r u p t u r e r e q u i r e s an understanding o f the e f f e c t s o f
c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y and drainage c o n d i t i o n s on the compres-
sive strength of clay.
I t i s w e l l known t h a t , when n o r m a l l y consolidated
c l a y s are sheared w i t h f u l l drainage, there i s a decrease i n
volume; while, i n the undrained c o n d i t i o n , the tendency f o r
volume decrease i s r e f l e c t e d by a pore water p r e s s u r e i n -
crease. Thus, f o r a n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y , a lower
compressive s t r e n g t h i s o b t a i n e d from t h e undrained t e s t ,
assuming the same t o t a l s t r e s s path t o f a i l u r e .

- 38
Throughout the remainder of t h i s s e c t i o n , whenever
the r e l a t i v e magnitudes o f compressive s t r e n g t h obtained from
d r a i n e d and undrained t r i a x i a l t e s t s are compared, i t must be
understood t h a t these comparisons apply only t o d r a i n e d and
undrained t e s t s which have been s u b j e c t e d t o the same t o t a l
s t r e s s path and the same i n i t i a l consolidation history.
Heavily overconsolidated c l a y s , upon s h e a r i n g i n
the d r a i n e d c o n d i t i o n , absorb water and an i n c r e a s e i n volume
results. I f sheared i n an undrained c o n d i t i o n , the pore
water pressure decreases and the e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s i n c r e a s e . .
Therefore, f o r a heavily overconsolidated c l a y , a lower com-
pressive strength i s obtained from the d r a i n e d t e s t . For
most c l a y s , w i t h an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o o f between four
and s i x , there i s l i t t l e tendency f o r volume change d u r i n g
shear and, t h e r e f o r e , d r a i n e d and undrained compressive
s t r e n g t h s a r e n e a r l y the same (Roscoe, S c h o f i e l d and Wroth
1958).
Therefore, depending upon the c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y
of a c l a y , a lower compressive s t r e n g t h may be measured from
e i t h e r a d r a i n e d or undrained test. As a r e s u l t , should
creep s t u d i e s be performed f o r both d r a i n e d and undrained
conditions? C e r t a i n l y , f o r the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of long-term

- 39
behaviour, the assumption t h a t a s o i l i s completely d r a i n e d
does not seem unreasonable, b u t can undrained creep occur
under f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s ? I t i s suggested t h a t the slow move-
ment of some e x t e n s i v e h i l l s i d e s i s the r e s u l t of s h e a r i n g of
t h i c k l a y e r s of c l a y which have such low p e r m e a b i l i t i e s and
long drainage paths t h a t drainage i s e f f e c t i v e l y zero, even
over a c o n s i d e r a b l e l e n g t h of time. T h i s c o n d i t i o n would be
e q u i v a l e n t t o the undrained creep o f c l a y and, t h e r e f o r e , un- ,
d r a i n e d creep i s c o n s i d e r e d t o have p r a c t i c a l significance.
I f drainage i s allowed d u r i n g creep of a n o r m a l l y
c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y , the r e s u l t i n g i n c r e a s e i n compressive
s t r e n g t h due to the decrease i n volume w i l l reduce the p o s s i -
b i l i t y of a f a i l u r e due t o l o s s of s t r e n g t h w i t h time.
T h e r e f o r e , the undrained c o n d i t i o n i s the c o n t r o l l i n g drain-
age c o n d i t i o n under which a creep r u p t u r e f a i l u r e w i l l occur.
A n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y s u b j e c t e d to a creep l o a d i n g
w i l l not f a i l i n a d r a i n e d or p a r t i a l l y - d r a i n e d condition,
s i n c e i t would have a l r e a d y f a i l e d i n an undrained condition
at an e a r l i e r stage of the t e s t . Again, i t must be remembered
t h a t t h i s a p p l i e s o n l y i f the t o t a l s t r e s s paths are the same.

- 40
For l i g h t l y overconsolidated clay (overconsolida-
t i o n r a t i o s of between four and s i x ) , the s m a l l d i f f e r e n c e i n
compressive s t r e n g t h between d r a i n e d and undrained conditions
allows i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f creep r u p t u r e i n e i t h e r the d r a i n e d
or undrained s t a t e ^
Although a h e a v i l y o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d clay subjected
to a creep l o a d i n g may f a i l due t o a decrease i n undrained
s t r e n g t h w i t h time, a d d i t i o n a l s o f t e n i n g w i t h drainage (which
may r e q u i r e c o n s i d e r a b l e time) w i l l c e r t a i n l y reduce the
s t r e n g t h t o a minimum. Therefore, t o f u l l y i n v e s t i g a t e the
e f f e c t of time on the compressive s t r e n g t h o f a h e a v i l y over-
c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y , drainage must be p e r m i t t e d . This should
not be i n t e r p r e t e d , however, as s u g g e s t i n g t h a t a creep
f a i l u r e would take p l a c e i n a completely drained condition,
but r a t h e r t h a t the s o f t e n i n g w i t h time from a d d i t i o n a l water
c o n t r i b u t e s t o the i n i t i a t i o n o f the f a i l u r e . As f a i l u r e i s
approached, deformation r a t e s i n c r e a s e and, a t f a i l u r e , nega-
t i v e pore p r e s s u r e s w i l l not be d i s s i p a t e d .
A change o f temperature d u r i n g an undrained tri-
a x i a l t e s t on s a t u r a t e d c l a y i s known t o a f f e c t the pore
pressure. T h i s change i n pore water p r e s s u r e , i n turn.

- 41
d i r e c t l y a f f e c t s the e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s and thus the s t r e n g t h
of a sample. T h e r e f o r e , t o e l i m i n a t e random temperature
e f f e c t s , c o n t r o l s h o u l d be maintained over the temperature
while t e s t i n g . Normally, t h i s e n t a i l s r e d u c i n g temperature
f l u c t u a t i o n s t o a p r a c t i c a l minimum, but i n c e r t a i n cases
c o n t r o l l e d changes i n temperature have been used i n t e s t i n g
programs. Campanella (1965) used a temperature change d u r i n g
creep t e s t s t o e v a l u a t e parameters i n the r a t e p r o c e s s equa-
tion. Under f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s , temperature changes a t depth
are n o r m a l l y s m a l l and s e a s o n a l i n f l u c t u a t i o n and, there-
f o r e , a l l t e s t s i n t h i s program were performed at c o n s t a n t
temperature. To do t h i s , an e n c l o s u r e was b u i l t around a l l
the n e c e s s a r y t e s t i n g equipment and a s m a l l a i r c o n d i t i o n e r
was used t o m a i n t a i n the temperature a t 20 degrees C, ^0.5
degrees C.
The t e s t i n g program f o r t h i s t h e s i s was planned t o
i n c l u d e undrained t e s t s w i t h the f o l l o w i n g consolidation
h i s t o r i e s — n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d and o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d w i t h
o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o s o f two and s i x . To i n v e s t i g a t e the
behaviour o f h e a v i l y o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y , d r a i n e d and un-
d r a i n e d t e s t s w i t h an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o o f 25 were
- 42
performed. A l l samples were i n i t i a l l y normally consolidated
to an e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s of 75 p s i and rebounded to the d e s i r e d
final effective stress. The o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o , 77 , as
used i n t h i s t h e s i s , i s the r a t i o of the normally consoli-
dated e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s (75 p s i ) to the o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d or
"rebounded" e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s .
During a l l creep t e s t s , s m a l l a d d i t i o n a l loads were
c o n t i n u o u s l y p l a c e d on the sample t o maintain the d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s a t a constant v a l u e . Large samples were used i n order
to get reasonable c o n s i s t e n c y between t e s t s on n a t u r a l u n d i s -
turbed Haney c l a y . Thus, i n s t e a d of u s i n g the more conven-
t i o n a l 1.4-inch by 2.8-inch t r i a x i a l sample, 2.5-inch by 5.0-
i n c h samples were trimmed from the b l o c k samples. As soon
as the sample s i z e i s i n c r e a s e d , c o n s o l i d a t i o n times are con-
siderably increased also. To reduce c o n s o l i d a t i o n times by
convenient means, double drainage and slit continuous filter
paper (Whatman No. 54) s i d e d r a i n s were used. T h i s procedure
reduced the t h e o r e t i c a l time f o r 100 per cent c o n s o l i d a t i o n
to about 45 minutes.
Pore water p r e s s u r e s were measured a t the base
stone of the sample d u r i n g a l l undrained tests using an

- 43
e l e c t r i c a l p r e s s u r e t r a n s d u c e r (manufactured by Data Sensors
Inc.). When measuring pore water p r e s s u r e s , care must be
taken t o ensure t h a t the p r e s s u r e i n d i c a t e d by the measuring
system i s the pore p r e s s u r e w i t h i n the sample. Two errors
which e x i s t i n the measurement o f pore water p r e s s u r e s i n the
t r i a x i a l t e s t are:
(1) - The t i m e - l a g i n response o f the measuring apparatus due
to i t s compliance; and
(2) - The nonuniform pore water p r e s s u r e w i t h i n the sample
due t o nonuniform s t r e s s conditions.
The response time o f the measuring apparatus i s a
f u n c t i o n o f the compliance o f the measuring system, the p e r -
m e a b i l i t y o f the sample and the area over which the pore
water p r e s s u r e i s measured. Based on a r e l a t i o n s h i p f o r
piezometers (Penman 1960), the time r e q u i r e d to measure 95
per cent o f an i n s t a n t a n e o u s p r e s s u r e change w i t h i n the
sample would be under 30 seconds f o r the measuring system
used i n t h i s t e s t i n g program. C o n s i d e r a t i o n was g i v e n t o the
use of hyperdermic needle pore p r e s s u r e probes to measure the

- 44
p r e s s u r e s a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s w i t h i n the sample. T h i s i d e a was
d i s c a r d e d when i t was r e a l i z e d t h a t i t would take about 20
minutes t o r e g i s t e r 95 per c e n t o f a p r e s s u r e change. This
d i f f e r e n c e i n response times i s due o n l y t o the d i f f e r e n c e i n
area over which the p r e s s u r e i s b e i n g measured; the l a r g e r
the area, the q u i c k e r the water can be withdrawn from the
sample t o accommodate the compliance o f the measuring system
without g r e a t l y a f f e c t i n g the pore p r e s s u r e i n the sample.
Even though a measuring system i s v e r y " s t i f f , " the response
time o f the apparatus s h o u l d be i n v e s t i g a t e d when t e s t i n g
s o i l s w i t h low p e r m e a b i l i t i e s .
Nonuniformity o f s t r e s s w i t h i n the t r i a x i a l speci-
men due t o end r e s t r a i n t s r e s u l t s i n nonuniform pore water
p r e s s u r e s throughout the sample ( B l i g h t 1963) . Testing at a
slow r a t e w i l l ensure time f o r m i g r a t i o n o f pore water t o
balance the nonuniform p r e s s u r e s . This r e s u l t s i n small
changes t o v o i d r a t i o w i t h i n the sample, although the average
v o i d r a t i o f o r the sample does n o t change. According to
Blight, f o r Haney c l a y w i t h a c o e f f i c i e n t o f c o n s o l i d a t i o n ,
c ,
y equal t o 7 x 1 0 ~ 4
cm /sec, the t e s t d u r a t i o n f o r 95 p e r
2
cent e q u a l i z a t i o n o f pore p r e s s u r e s h o u l d be about one hour

- 45
for 2.5-inch by 5.0-inch samples w i t h s i d e d r a i n s . Theoreti-
cally, t h i s would be the l e n g t h o f time b e f o r e any measured
pore p r e s s u r e c o u l d be expected t o be 95 per cent accurate
and, t h e r e f o r e , would g i v e an i n d i c a t i o n o f the l e n g t h o f
time a f t e r creep l o a d i n g b e f o r e pore p r e s s u r e measurements
can be t r u s t e d .
The n o n u n i f o r m i t y o f s t r e s s e s can be reduced by the
use o f f r i c t i o n l e s s end p l a t e n s (Rowe and Barden 1964); but,
f r i c t i o n l e s s end p l a t e n s reduce the area over which base pore
p r e s s u r e measurements can be made. T h e r e f o r e , although non-
uniform pore p r e s s u r e s a r e reduced, t h e response time o f the
pore p r e s s u r e measuring system i s i n c r e a s e d . This situation
can be improved i f a method i s d e v i s e d t o connect the s i d e
d r a i n s t o the pore p r e s s u r e measuring apparatus without
a f f e c t i n g the f r i c t i o n l e s s end p l a t e n s . I t should be r e a -
l i z e d t h a t , f o r c l a y w i t h low p e r m e a b i l i t y , i t i s not always
p o s s i b l e t o s a t i s f y both c r i t e r i a f o r q u i c k response o f pore
p r e s s u r e measurements.
In order t o estimate the compressive s t r e s s which,
when a p p l i e d t o c o n s o l i d a t e d samples, would e v e n t u a l l y cause
a creep r u p t u r e f a i l u r e , i t was necessary t o perform a

- 46
standard s t r e n g t h t e s t . T h e r e f o r e , f o r each c o n s o l i d a t i o n
h i s t o r y a standard s t r e n g t h t e s t was performed u s i n g the same
t e s t i n g apparatus as used i n the creep s t u d i e s . For the pur-
pose of t h i s t h e s i s , the standard s t r e n g t h t e s t was d e f i n e d
as an i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t i n which the r a t e of load
application (i.e., one k i l o g r a m every three minutes) was
maintained u n t i l f a i l u r e occurred. In these t e s t s , the r a t e
of l o a d i n g was chosen such t h a t f a i l u r e would take p l a c e
a f t e r approximately s i x hours of l o a d i n g .
During the i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t , readings were
taken at the end of each l o a d i n g s t e p . These l o a d i n g steps
were i n t e n s i o n a l l y kept s m a l l , never exceeding about 4 per
cent o f the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s . However, near failure,
these increments were f u r t h e r reduced and the frequency of
l o a d i n g s i n c r e a s e d t o m a i n t a i n a constant r a t e o f l o a d i n g
throughout the complete t e s t . S t r a i n r a t e s d u r i n g the t e s t
were c a l c u l a t e d by the same method used f o r the creep tests
(see Appendix B ) . I t should be noted t h a t these strain
r a t e s may be s l i g h t l y i n e r r o r s i n c e t h i s method r e q u i r e s
three s t r a i n and time readings, and d u r i n g the i n c r e m e n t a l
loadings t e s t s , the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s was not constant f o r
these three r e a d i n g s . However, as a l r e a d y mentioned, the

- 47
v a r i a t i o n i n deviator s t r e s s between adjacent readings was
small.
In the l a t t e r stage of the t e s t i n g program, con-
stant s t r a i n r a t e t r i a x i a l t e s t s were performed on samples
w i t h the same c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s as those o f the creep
series. The r e s u l t s from these t e s t s were used t o c o r r e l a t e
data between constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s and creep t e s t s . To
ensure t h a t c o r r e l a t i o n was p o s s i b l e , both s e r i e s of t e s t s
were performed on samples obtained from the same group of
b l o c k samples. Due t o a shortage o f c l a y , i t was necessary
t o r e s o r t t o performing some constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s on
1.4-inch by 2.8-inch samples. This l e d to c e r t a i n difficul-
t i e s i n c o r r e l a t i n g data due t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n s i d e d r a i n and
membrane e f f e c t s .
Details of t e s t equipment and t e s t procedures are
presented i n Appendix A and an e x p l a n a t i o n of the parameters
calculated from the t e s t s , together with a few t y p i c a l com-
puter outputs of reduced data, i s presented i n Appendix B.

- 48
i CHAPTER 4
RESULTS OF CREEP RUPTURE TESTS
4.1 - Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s
on Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Samples
All samples i n t h i s s e r i e s were allowed to con-
s o l i d a t e f o r 36 hours, a t which time the average water con-
t e n t was 32.2 p e r cent w i t h a s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n of the
average equal t o -0.2 per c e n t . At the end o f the t e s t s ,
water c o n t e n t s were found t o be, on an average, 0.4 per cent
above t h a t determined by the sample s i d e trimmings at the
s t a r t o f the t e s t and volume change measurements d u r i n g the

[
t e s t . • For the 2.5-inch by 5.0-inch samples, t h i s amounted
to about 2.1 grams o f excess water. I t was b e l i e v e d that
t h i s excess water came from the f i l t e r paper s i d e d r a i n s . To
check t h i s , a filter paper s i d e d r a i n was weighed dripping
wet, as when i n s t a l l e d on the sample, and again a f t e r b e i n g
removed from a sample a t the end o f the t e s t . The filter
paper was n o t i c e a b l y d r i e r upon removal, due t o s m a l l pore
water t e n s i o n s drawing water from the s i d e d r a i n s . In f a c t ,
the d i f f e r e n c e i n weight was approximately 2.5 grams, which
more than accounted f o r the excess o f water a l r e a d y mentioned.

- 49
T h i s confirmed the source of the 0.4 per cent excess water
and, t h e r e f o r e , leakage o f water through the membranes or
around the 0 - r i n g s e a l s was negligible.
A f t e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n was completed, samples were
l e f t undrained f o r e i g h t hours. During t h i s time, a pore
p r e s s u r e b u i l d - u p was observed which had an average v a l u e of
-2.6 p s i d u r i n g the 8-hour p e r i o d . F i g u r e 6 shows the t y p i -
c a l shape o f the pore p r e s s u r e b u i l d - u p d u r i n g the 8-hour
period. At f i r s t , i t might be thought t h a t t h i s pore p r e s -
sure i n c r e a s e was due t o leakage, but, i f so, the pore p r e s s u r e
i n c r e a s e would l i k e l y be approximately l i n e a r w i t h time. As
d i s c u s s e d , water contents b e f o r e and a f t e r t e s t s checked
quite s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . To e x p l a i n t h i s pore p r e s s u r e i n c r e a s e ,
c o n s i d e r the sample j u s t b e f o r e the drainage was closed o f f .
A c c o r d i n g to c l a s s i c a l T e r z a g h i c o n s o l i d a t i o n theory, primary
c o n s o l i d a t i o n had been completed f o r at l e a s t 34 hours, but
secondary compression was still continuing. Thus, the pore
p r e s s u r e r i s e i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be a r e f l e c t i o n of the t e n -
dency f o r c o n t i n u e d secondary compression a f t e r the drainage
l i n e s were c l o s e d . T h i s was i n v e s t i g a t e d by a t e s t which was
c o n s o l i d a t e d f o r 24 hours i n s t e a d of 36 hours. S i n c e the

FIGURE 6 - TYPICAL PORE PRESSURE BUILD-UP
AFTER 36 HOURS OF CONSOLIDATION
- 51
secondary compression remaining to take p l a c e a f t e r 24-hour
c o n s o l i d a t i o n i s g r e a t e r than t h a t remaining a f t e r 36-hour
c o n s o l i d a t i o n , i t would be expected t h a t a l a r g e r pore p r e s -
sure r i s e d u r i n g an 8-hour p e r i o d would o c c u r . This was
confirmed by the t e s t c o n s o l i d a t e d f o r 24 hours, which had a
pore p r e s s u r e r i s e of 8.1 p s i i n s t e a d of the 2.6 p s i mentioned
e a r l i e r f o r 36-hour c o n s o l i d a t i o n . These r e s u l t s are s i m i l a r
t o those observed by Lou (1967) and d i s c u s s e d by Byrne (1966).
Once the magnitude of the pore p r e s s u r e r i s e t o be
expected had been determined by a few t e s t s , t h i s became an
extremely v a l u a b l e way of d e t e r m i n i n g whether t h e r e was any
leakage. I f the pore p r e s s u r e r o s e s i x or seven p s i d u r i n g
the 8-hour p e r i o d , leakage i n t o the sample was indicated and
was l a t e r confirmed by a water content check at the end of
the t e s t . Some t e s t s run i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t a l program had t o
be d e l e t e d due to leakage. The t e s t s to which t h i s applied
were some of the t e s t s i n which the membranes were b e i n g
used f o r a second time.
An i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t gave a maximum d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s of 52.0 p s i a t an a x i a l s t r a i n of about 4.3 per c e n t .
U s i n g t h i s v a l u e as a r e f e r e n c e compressive strength, creep

- 52
r u p t u r e t e s t s were run at d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s of 51.3, 48.3,
46.3, 44.9, 43.7, 43.4 and 42.8 psi. F i g u r e 7 shows
the t y p i c a l s t r a i n / t i m e and pore p r e s s u r e / t i m e curves f o r a
creep r u p t u r e t e s t on n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney c l a y . The
data are from T e s t C-6, which was loaded w i t h a d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s of 43.7 psi. I t s h o u l d be noted t h a t i t would not be
difficult t o d i v i d e t h i s s t r a i n / t i m e curve i n t o the standard
s e c t i o n s ; namely, primary creep, secondary creep and tertiary
creep.
The pore water p r e s s u r e r o s e c o n t i n u a l l y d u r i n g the
t e s t and t h e r e was no change i n c u r v a t u r e or n o t i c e a b l e d i s -
c o n t i n u i t y i n the pore water p r e s s u r e curve d u r i n g the p e r i o d
of secondary creep. Yet, the s t r a i n r a t e was decreasing i n
the e a r l y stages o f the t e s t and i n c r e a s i n g at the end. It
would appear d i f f i c u l t , then, t o p r e d i c t t h a t the sample was
going t o r u p t u r e at a l a t e r stage i n the t e s t based upon the
pore p r e s s u r e measurements.
As a l r e a d y mentioned i n S e c t i o n 3.2, the theoreti-
cal e q u a l i z a t i o n time f o r nonuniform pore p r e s s u r e s was of
the order of one hour. F i g u r e 8 shows the pore p r e s s u r e /
s t r a i n curve f o r T e s t C-6 and a d o t t e d l i n e which shows a

- 53
20
15
<
cr
h- 10
co
_i
<
X
<
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
ELAPSED TIME (MINUTES)
80
(
60
o.
LLI
tr 40
CO
cn
UJ
cr HANEY CLAY
Q_
0 3 c
:
7 5 psi
TEST N o . C-(
o
a. 20
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
FIGURE 7 - UNDRAINED CREEP TEST

NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED
- 54
0 I 2 3 4 5 6
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 8 - PORE PRESSURE / STRAIN CURVE

NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED
- 55
suggested c o r r e c t pore p r e s s u r e response for strains less
than 1.5 per c e n t . The d o t t e d l i n e p r e d i c t s an i n c r e a s i n g
pore p r e s s u r e whose r a t e of i n c r e a s e c o n t i n u a l l y decreases
with s t r a i n . T h i s suggests t h a t the pore p r e s s u r e transducer
i s r e g i s t e r i n g the c o r r e c t pore p r e s s u r e a f t e r about 1.5 per
cent a x i a l s t r a i n . T h i s i s e q u i v a l e n t to an e l a s p e d time i n
the t e s t of about 16 minutes. T h i s approach, when used f o r
a l l normally c o n s o l i d a t e d samples, gave v a l u e s o f about 10 to
30 minutes t o reach pore p r e s s u r e e q u a l i z a t i o n , which i s l e s s
than the t h e o r e t i c a l e q u a l i z a t i o n time. However, f o r over-
c o n s o l i d a t e d samples, a smooth curve through the i n i t i a l pore
p r e s s u r e i s not p o s s i b l e and, t h e r e f o r e , t h i s method cannot
be used to estimate e q u a l i z a t i o n times. For example, i n
F i g u r e 9 the pore p r e s s u r e / s t r a i n curve i s p l o t t e d f o r T e s t
C-16 which was an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d sample. Upon l o a d i n g , the
pore p r e s s u r e rose and a f t e r the f i r s t r e a d i n g the pore p r e s -
sure was observed to drop. I t i s impossible to hypothesize
the t r u e pore p r e s s u r e behaviour between zero and two per
cent s t r a i n and, t h e r e f o r e , an estimate of the time u n t i l pore
pressure e q u a l i z a t i o n i s o b t a i n e d i s not p o s s i b l e . Thus, the
pore p r e s s u r e / s t r a i n curve can o n l y be suggested as a probable

- 56
9S
2 3 4 5 6
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 9 - PORE PRESSURE / STRAIN CURVE (TI= 6 )

- 57
check on the e q u a l i z a t i o n times f o r nonuniform pore p r e s s u r e s
in the normally c o n s o l i d a t e d t e s t s e r i e s . As a r e s u l t , pore
p r e s s u r e s measured a f t e r the f i r s t hour of creep are assumed
to be c o r r e c t and, i n f a c t , those measured a f t e r the f i r s t 20
minutes of creep are l i k e l y c l o s e t o the c o r r e c t v a l u e s .
Pore p r e s s u r e s measured d u r i n g the l a s t few minutes
of a creep r u p t u r e t e s t are a l s o q u e s t i o n a b l e , s i n c e at h i g h
s t r a i n r a t e s pore p r e s s u r e e q u a l i z a t i o n cannot take p l a c e .
Thus, f a i l u r e c r i t e r i a based, on e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s parameters
at r u p t u r e are d i f f i c u l t to c o n f i r m . In a d d i t i o n , as rupture
approaches, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to keep the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s con-
s t a n t due t o the changing c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area. Furthermore,
the f a i l u r e s t r a i n i s d i f f i c u l t to estimate (see F i g u r e 7 ) .
The o n l y parameter which can be measured w i t h reasonable
accuracy at r u p t u r e i s the e l a p s e d time o f creep l o a d i n g .
Thus, i t i s necessary to look f o r a f a i l u r e c r i t e r i o n which
i s not dependent on parameters measured d u r i n g the final
p a r t of the t e s t . I t was t h e r e f o r e decided to look more
c l o s e l y a t the v a r i a t i o n of s t r a i n r a t e s d u r i n g the test.
F i g u r e 10 i s a p l o t of c a l c u l a t e d s t r a i n r a t e s
a g a i n s t e l a p s e d time on a l o g - l o g p l o t f o r T e s t G-6. There

- 58
10'
10"
•:
c c
*&
cr
z
<
cr
<
x
< NORMALLY C ONSOl-IDATED
TEST N . C - 6
0
10" 5
10 1
10 1
10 2
10' IO 4
FIGURE 10 - LOG STRAIN RATE VERSUS

LOG ELAPSED TIME (NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED)
, - 59
is a well-defined v a r i a t i o n of s t r a i n r a t e d u r i n g the com-
p l e t e t e s t , the v a r i a t i o n b e i n g a continuous f u n c t i o n and
having' a d e f i n i t e t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e w i t h no
p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r v a l of time over which i t could be said
the s t r a i n r a t e was constant. I t should be remembered
that t h i s i s the same t e s t shown i n F i g u r e 7. I t had been
suggested t h a t the s t r a i n / t i m e curve i n F i g u r e 7 could be
d i v i d e d i n t o primary, secondary and t e r t i a r y creep. How-
ever, on the s t r a i n r a t e p l o t (Figure 10), i t appears that
there was no secondary creep i n Test C - 6 . Therefore, it
i s suggested t h a t secondary creep does not e x i s t f o r Haney
c l a y and i s only r e c o g n i z e d on the s t r a i n / t i m e curve be-
cause of the s c a l e of the s t r a i n o r d i n a t e . Once the strain
r a t e becomes f a i r l y s m a l l (i.e., approaching a h o r i z o n t a l
l i n e on a s t r a i n / t i m e c u r v e ) , a change of slope by a f a c t o r
of two becomes d i f f i c u l t to d i s t i n g u i s h . . As a r e s u l t , i f
secondary s t r a i n r a t e s were evaluated f o r Haney c l a y from
s t r a i n / t i m e curves, the secondary s t r a i n r a t e obtained
could be a f u n c t i o n of the d u r a t i o n of the t e s t . For example,
Figures 11 and 12 present the s t r a i n / t i m e curves f o r Test
C-5 which d i d not reach a t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e .

- 60
FIGURE I I - S T R A I N / TIME CURVE

0 - 5 , 0 0 0 MINUTES
FIGURE 1 2 - S T R A I N / T I M E CURVE
0-50,000 MINUTES
- 61
Figure 11 shows the r e s u l t s p l o t t e d f o r the f i r s t 5,000
minutes and, i f the t e s t were t o be stopped a t t h i s point,
the "secondary s t r a i n r a t e " o b t a i n e d would be .00017 per
cent per minute. However, on F i g u r e 12 the complete t e s t i s
plotted (total duration greater than 40,000 minutes) and the
"secondary s t r a i n r a t e " o b t a i n e d i s .00002 per cent per
minute. Of course, both o f these "secondary s t r a i n r a t e s "
are meaningless.
Campanella (1965) showed t h a t , f o r s t r e s s e s below
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h o f c o n s o l i d a t e d illite, the s t r a i n
r a t e was c o n t i n u a l l y d e c r e a s i n g f o r the d u r a t i o n o f the
test. i t i s observed t h a t Campanella's r e s u l t s o f s t r a i n
rate versus elapsed time are n e a r l y p a r a l l e l s t r a i g h t l i n e s
on a l o g - l o g p l o t . f o r v a r i o u s subfailure stress levels
(Figure 13), as p r e d i c t e d by the phenomenological equation o f
Singh and M i t c h e l l (1968). Once the s t r a i n r a t e i s observed
to i n c r e a s e , a l l t e s t r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t the s t r a i n rate
w i l l continue t o i n c r e a s e and e v e n t u a l l y the sample i s bound
to fail.
Therefore, the e x i s t e n c e of a t r a n s i e n t minimum
s t r a i n r a t e can be used as an i n d i c a t i o n of a time dependent
impending f a i l u r e . This i s s i m i l a r t o the f a i l u r e criterion

- 62
.00005
.00002
.00001
2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000
( A F T E R CAMPANELLA, 1965)

LOG TIME FOR SATURATED ILLITE
suggested by Casagrande and Wilson (1951) and Coates, Burn
and McRostie (1963). However, they d i d not use a s t r a i n
r a t e p l o t t o o b t a i n the p o i n t o f i n f l e c t i o n i n the s t r a i n /
time curves. To a v o i d confusion throughout the remainder
of t h i s t h e s i s , whenever f a i l u r e of creep t e s t s i s d i s -
cussed, i t w i l l be c l e a r l y s t a t e d whether f a i l u r e i s being
defined at the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e or a t r u p t u r e .
Table I I l i s t s the values of measured parameters
at the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e . At t h i s p o i n t i n a
t e s t , s i n c e the s t r a i n r a t e i s low, the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s and
pore water pressure can be measured more a c c u r a t e l y than a t
rupture. The r e s u l t s i n Table I I i n d i c a t e t h a t the value
of the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e decreased w i t h decreased
deviator s t r e s s , w h i l e the elapsed time t o the t r a n s i e n t
minimum s t r a i n r a t e i n c r e a s e d . The p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t i v e
stress ratio, the s t r a i n and Skempton "A" are a l l shown t o
i n c r e a s e a t the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e f o r d e c r e a s -
ing deviator s t r e s s . Included i n Table II are the r e s u l t s
of the incremental l o a d i n g t e s t f o r the purpose of compari-
son. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o compare the maximum d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s and s t r a i n r a t e f o r the incremental loading test
w i t h the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s and t r a n s i e n t minimum strain

TABLE I I
Normally C o n s o l i d a t e d Haney C l a y
Transient
Deviator Minimum S t r a i n At T r a n s i e n t Minimum S t r a i n Rate Time t o T r a n s i e n t
Stress Rate (Per cent Strain Minimum S t r a i n Rate
(psi) per Minute) oY/ov (Per cent) Skempton "A" (Minutes)
51.3 .165 2.45 2.4 .72 6

48.3 .040 2.61 2.7 .85 29
46.3 .0150 2.53 2.9 .92 80
44.9 .0037 2.75 4.2 1.05 510
43.7 .00190 2.82 5.2 1.15 1, 200
43.4 .00038 2.88 5.4 1.17 5,600
42.8* .000018 2.95 5.0 1.19 40,800
*Did not reach a t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e - r -

parameters evaluated j u s t before stopping t e s t .
Incremental Loading T e s t *
Maximum
Deviator S t r a i n Rate Total
Stress (per cent Strain E l a p s e d Time
(psi) per Minute) (Per cent) Skempton "A" (Minutes)
52.0 .40 2.80 4.3 1.12 327
* F a i l u r e based on maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s .
r a t e s obtained from the creep t e s t s . The maximum d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s obtained i n the i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t i s almost the
same as the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s which caused f a i l u r e very q u i c k l y
i n a creep t e s t , and the magnitude o f the s t r a i n r a t e s are
also similar.
F i g u r e 14 shows the development of 0 ] ' / (J ' 3 with
s t r a i n f o r Test C-6. T h i s development i s e n t i r e l y due t o
the i n c r e a s i n g pore water p r e s s u r e as the sample s t r a i n e d .
The t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e occured a t 5.2 per cent
s t r a i n and the s t r a i n r a t e c o n t i n u a l l y i n c r e a s e d from this
stage i n the t e s t u n t i l r u p t u r e . F i g u r e 15 compares the
maximum recorded OV/CTj f o r each d e v i a t o r s t r e s s at which
a creep t e s t was performed. Although pore water p r e s s u r e s
are known t o be q u e s t i o n a b l e near r u p t u r e i n creep tests,
it i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t the maximum p r i n c i p a l effec-
t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o a t or near creep rupture.was approximately
3 .20.
As mentioned p r e v i o u s l y , i f e f f e c t i v e stress
s t r e n g t h parameters a r e used f o r d e s i g n , i t i s necessary t o
estimate the a n t i c i p a t e d pore p r e s s u r e s . F i g u r e 16 shows
the pore p r e s s u r e / s t r a i n curves f o r three creep t e s t s w i t h
w i d e l y d i f f e r e n t times t o reach f i v e per cent s t r a i n . The

- 66
—r—
NORIAALLY :ONSOL DATED
2.50
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
DEVIATOR STRESS ( P S I )
FIGURE 15-MAXIMUM (7,7(7^ OBTAINED FROM CREEP TESTS

- 67
70
DID NOT REAC H ATRANSIENT

MINIMUM STRA IN RATE •
60
(/'/
CO
0.
UJ
CC
z>
f
CO
CO
UJ
•
tr
a, NORMALLY CON SOLIDATED
CREEP TESTS
tr
UJ
o
a.
DEAVIATOR TIME
STRESS TO
PSI 5 % STRAIN
X 51.3 17 MINUTES
e 46.3 3 HOURS
A 42.8 2 9 DAYS
2 3
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 16 - EFFECT OF DEVIATOR STRESS

ON PORE PRESSURE
- 68
longest duration test developed the largest pore pressure
at five per cent strain, y e t had not reached a transient
minimum strain rate after 29 d a y s when the test was stopped.
The other two t e s t s , although generating slightly smaller
pore pressures at five per cent strain, resulted i n creep
rupture failures. Based upon these results, i t c a n be seen
that prediction o f pore pressures and r e s u l t i n g creep
failure i s a complex problem.
4.2 - Undrained C r e e p R u p t u r e T e s t s on
O v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d Samples (Over-
c o n s o l i d a t i o n R a t i o = 2)
All samples i n this series were normally consoli-
dated f o r 24 h o u r s and t h e n rebounded t o an e f f e c t i v e stress
of 3 7 . 5 p s i f o r 36 h o u r s . The average water content before
shearing was 33.5 p e r c e n t with a standard d e v i a t i o n of the
average equal t o ^0.2 p e r c e n t . The average pore pressure
rise during t h e 8-hour undrained stage before shearing was
only -0.3 p s i , a l t h o u g h some tests actually registered a
small decrease i n pore pressure during this period. Iti s
reasonable t o expect that the pore pressure change during
the undrained stage would be less f o r the overconsolidated
samples, as compared with the normally consolidated samples,

- 69
since the t o t a l consolidation time was longer and the e f f e c -
tive stress had been reduced from 75 p s i . This resulted i n
less tendency f o r secondary compression.
The incremental loading t e s t which was performed
yielded a maximum deviator stress o f 46.5 p s i a t an axial
strain of about 4.8 per cent. Using this value as a refer-
ence compressive strength, creep rupture tests were run at
deviator stresses o f 41.9, 39.9 and 38.9 p s i .
Figure 17 s h o w s the strain/time and pore pressure/
time curves f o r Test C-15. Due to overconsolidation, the
pore pressure d i d not increase a s much as f o r normally con-
solidated samples; however, t h e shape of the strain/time
curve i s similar t o those already presented. Figure 18
shows the s i m i l a r i t y of s t r a i n rate/time behaviour to that
obtained f o r normally consolidated samples.
Table I I I presents the values of parameters at
the transient minimum strain rate f o r two creep rupture
tests, as w e l l as t h e ^ r e s u l t s of the incremental loading
test. The b e h a v i o u r of this test series i s similar t o the
test series on n o r m a l l y consolidated Haney clay and will
not be commented on further at this point.

o
5
500 1000 1500 2000 2500
FIGURE 1 7 - UNDRAINED CREEP TEST

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO = 2
- 7 1

LOG ELAPSED TIME (n=2)
TABLE I I I
Overconsolidated Haney C l a y ( 1 7 = 2 )
Undrained Creep Rupture Tescs
Transient
(psi) per Minute) oiVo-3 1
(Per cent) Skempton "A" (Minutes)
41.9 .018 2.79 2.9 .37 61

39.9 .0019 2.87 3.8 .42 790
38.9* .000083 3.11 5.8 50 12,950
*Did not reach a t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e —

parameters evaluated j u s t before stopping test.
Incremental Loading Test*
Maximum
Stress (Per cent Strain E l a p s e d Time
(P s i
? per Minute) <V/CT 3 (Per cent) Skempton "A" (Minutes)
46.5 .29 3.12 4.4 .28 290
* F a i l u r e based on maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s . 1
4.3 - Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s on
All samples i n t h i s s e r i e s were n o r m a l l y consoli-
dated f o r 24 hours and then rebounded t o an effective
s t r e s s of 12.5 p s i f o r 36 h o u r s . The average water content
b e f o r e s h e a r i n g was 34.5 per cent w i t h a standard d e v i a t i o n
o f the average equal t o -0.2 per c e n t . During the 8-hour
undrained stage b e f o r e s h e a r i n g , the pore p r e s s u r e dropped
by an average of 0.4 p s i .
An i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t y i e l d e d a maximum de-
v i a t o r s t r e s s of 33.6 p s i at an a x i a l s t r a i n o f about 6.0
per c e n t . Using t h i s v a l u e as a r e f e r e n c e compressive

i
s t r e n g t h , creep t e s t s were run at d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s of 31.4,
30.2, 29.1 and 28.7 p s i .
F i g u r e 19 shows the s t r a i n / t i m e and pore p r e s s u r e /
time curves f o r T e s t C-20. Note again the s i m i l a r i t y i n
shape of the s t r a i n / t i m e curve w i t h the p r e v i o u s t e s t s . The
pore p r e s s u r e d u r i n g t h i s t e s t does not change a p p r e c i a b l y
and thus both t o t a l and e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s are n e a r l y con-
stant. Table IV p r e s e n t s the r e s u l t s of t h i s t e s t s e r i e s i n
the same form as b e f o r e . These r e s u l t s are s i m i l a r t o those

15
500 1000 1500 2000 2500

ELAPSED T I M E (MINUTES)
HANEY CLAY
a ' = 12.5 p s i
3c
TEST No. C - 2C>
500 1000 1500 2000 2500

E L A P S E D TIME (MINUTES)
FIGURE 1 9 - UNDRAINED CREEP TEST

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATI0=6
TABLE IV
Overconsolidated Haney C l a y (17=6)

Transient
per Minute) (Per cent) Skempton "A' (Minutes)
31.4 .018 3.42 4.8 .00 85

30.2 .0026 3.42 6.9 -.01 834
29.1 .0011 3.45 8.6 .04 3,060
28.7* ,000008 3.38 3.8 ,03 11,800

parameters evaluated j u s t before stopping test
Incremental Loading Test*
Maximum
(P )s i
per Minute) <V/ai (Per cent) Skempton "A 1
(Minutes)
33.6 .56 3.45 6.0 -.02 217
• F a i l u r e based on maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s .
- 76
already presented. The most s i g n i f i c a n t parameter measured
d u r i n g t h i s t e s t s e r i e s was the pore water p r e s s u r e . Since
the pore p r e s s u r e remained n e a r l y constant d u r i n g the creep
t e s t s , both the t o t a l and e f f e c t i v e p r i n c i p a l s t r e s s ratios
were unchanged. However, the s t r a i n / t i m e response was simi-
l a r t o the r e s u l t s of t e s t s on samples w i t h d i f f e r e n t con-
s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s which had v a r i a t i o n s i n pore pressure
d u r i n g creep t e s t s . F i g u r e 20 shows the s t r a i n r a t e / t i m e
curve f o r Test C-20, which i s a g a i n very s i m i l a r t o the r e -
s u l t s presented from other tests.
4.4 - Drained Creep Rupture T e s t s on

A l l samples i n t h i s s e r i e s were normally consoli-
dated f o r 24 hours and then rebounded t o an e f f e c t i v e stress
of 3.0 p s i f o r 44 hours. The average water content b e f o r e
s h e a r i n g was 36.8 per cent w i t h a standard d e v i a t i o n of the
average e q u a l to -0.25 per c e n t .
For comparative purposes, a l l s t r a i n s quoted for
d r a i n e d t e s t s are shear s t r a i n s "jy ) . Therefore, the
v o l u m e t r i c component i s e l i m i n a t e d from s t r a i n r a t e calcula-
tions .
77
FIGURE 2 0 - LOG STRAIN RATE VERSUS

LOG ELAPSED TIME ( r i = 6 )
- 78
A drained incremental loading test yielded a maxi-
mum deviator s t r e s s o f 15.9 p s i a t a shear strain o f 4.5 per
cent. Using this value as a r e f e r e n c e compressive strength,
drained creep rupture t e s t s were run at deviator stresses of
15.1, 14.5, 13.9 a n d 13.1 p s i .
Figure 21 shows the shear strain/time and water
content/time curves f o r Test C-22. The s h a p e of the strain/
time curve i s similar t o those already reported and, as
anticipated, the sample was observed to swell during shear.
Table V presents a summary of the r e s u l t s obtained from this
test series. The c o m p r e s s i v e strength f o r these drained
tests i n noted t o decrease for increasing times to failure.
Initially, i t was thought that the decrease in
strength during a drained test for heavily overconsolidated
samples could be explained as the r e s u l t of an increase in
void ratio during shear and, t h e r e f o r e , by the resulting
reduction i n number or strength of interparticle bonds.
However, a comparison o f the shape of the s t r a i n rate/time
curve f o r Test C-22, shown i n Figure 22, indicates that the
strain rate response i s similar t o that previously repor.ted
for undrained creep tests. To investigate this further,
two u n d r a i n e d creep t e s t s were performed with the same

15
DRAINED CREEP
10
Z
<
CC
w
or
<
LU
X _(J = | 4 . 5 psi
CO
100 200 300 400 500
FIGURE 21 - DRAINED CREEP TEST

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO = 2 5
TABLE V
Drained Creep Rupture T e s t s
Trans ient At T r a n s i e n t
Deviator Minimum S t r a i n Minimum S t r a i n Rate Time t o T r a n s i e n t
Stress Rate (per cent / v
Shear S t r a i n Minimum S t r a i n Rate
(P s i
) per Minute) (Per cent) (Per cent) (Minutes)
15.1 .011 38 4.4 95

14.5 .0039 .50 3.5 205
13.9 .0036 66 4.0 272
13.1* .000012 ,66 3.3 17,300

parameters evaluated j u s t before s t o p p i n g t e s t
Drained Incremental Loading T e s t *
Maximum
Stress (Per cent /
A V
Shear S t r a i n E l a p s e d Time
(psi) per Minute) (Per cent) (Per cent) (Minutes)
15.9 .12 .43 4.5 680
* F a i l u r e based on maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s
03
o
- 81
FIGURE 22 - LOG SHEAR STRAIN RATE VERSUS

LOG ELAPSED TIME (n =25)
- 82
consolidation h i s t o r y as f o r t h i s t e s t s e r i e s . The
r e s u l t s of these undrained t e s t s are p r e s e n t e d i n the
next section.
4.5 - Undrained Creep Rupture T e s t s on

A l l samples i n t h i s s e r i e s were n o r m a l l y consoli-
dated f o r 24 hours and then rebounded t o an e f f e c t i v e stress
of 3.0 p s i f o r 36 hours. The t h r e e undrained t e s t s run i n
t h i s s e r i e s were trimmed from a b l o c k of Haney c l a y which was
o b t a i n e d from a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t l o c a t i o n than a l l the other
tests reported i n t h i s t h e s i s . As a r e s u l t , the average
water content b e f o r e s h e a r i n g was 1.7 per cent h i g h e r than
f o r the samples used i n the d r a i n e d t e s t s e r i e s w i t h the same
consolidation history. During the 8-hour undrained stage
b e f o r e s h e a r i n g , the pore p r e s s u r e dropped by an average of
0.6 p s i .
An incremental loading t e s t y i e l d e d a maximum de-
v i a t o r s t r e s s of 17.6 p s i at an a x i a l s t r a i n o f about 7.2
per c e n t . Using t h i s v a l u e as a r e f e r e n c e compressive
s t r e n g t h , creep t e s t s were run a t d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s of 16.9
and 16.0 p s i .
- 83
F i g u r e 23 shows the s t r a i n / t i m e and pore p r e s s u r e /
time curves f o r T e s t C-35. Note that d u r i n g t h i s t e s t , the
pore p r e s s u r e i s c o n t i n u a l l y d e c r e a s i n g and, therefore, the
p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o i s a l s o d e c r e a s i n g through-
out the t e s t . F i g u r e 24 shows the s t r a i n r a t e / t i m e curve
which i s a g a i n s i m i l a r t o the r e s u l t s a l r e a d y presented f o r
other t e s t s e r i e s . Table VI p r e s e n t s a summary of the t e s t s
performed i n this series.
Based upon the r e s u l t s of these d r a i n e d and undrained
tests, i t i s obvious t h a t the a d d i t i o n a l s w e l l i n g d u r i n g the
d r a i n e d t e s t only decreases the compressive strength, i n addi-
t i o n t o the e f f e c t of time d u r i n g the undrained test.
Since the water contents a f t e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n f o r the
d r a i n e d and undrained t e s t s e r i e s v a r i e d by 1.7 per cent, i t
i s not p o s s i b l e t o r e a l i s t i c a l l y compare the compressive
s t r e n g t h s obtained from the two test series. I t would be
expected that the undrained compressive s t r e n g t h would be
larger. However, the h i g h e r water content a t the s t a r t of
the undrained t e s t s would l i k e l y reduce the compressive
s t r e n g t h and, therefore, the f a c t t h a t the measured undrained
compressive s t r e n g t h s are o n l y s l i g h t l y l a r g e r than the
d r a i n e d compressive s t r e n g t h s i s understandable.
20
in
; K
-M—
* -**
HANEY CLAY
CT c= 3.0 psi
3
TEST No. C - 3 5
0
0 50 100 150 200
ELAPSED T I M E (MINUTES)
FIGURE 23 - UNDRAINED CREEP TEST

OVERCONSOLIDATION RATIO = 2 5
FIGURE 2 4 - LOG STRAIN RATE VERSUS
LOG ELAPSED TIME (t) = 2 5 )
TABLE VI
Overconsolidated Haney C l a y (17=25)

Transient
Deviator Minimum S t r a i n At T r a n s i e n t Minimum Strain Rate Time t o T r a n s i e n t
(,P )
s i per Minute) 7CT' (Per cent) Skempton "A" (Minutes)
16.9 ,15 4.26 6.6 - .11 16

16.0 ,046 3.95 6.9 -.13 55
Incremental Loading T e s t *
Maximum
(psi) per Minute) (Per cent) Skempton "A' (Minutes)
17.6 .15 3.96 7.2 -.11 596
• F a i l u r e based on maximum d e v i a t o r stress.
1
oo
- 87
4.6 - Summary
The r e s u l t s of creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y a t s t r e s s
l e v e l s l a r g e enough t o e v e n t u a l l y cause creep r u p t u r e show
t h a t , f o r v a r i o u s c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s and drainage con-
ditions, the s t r a i n r a t e d u r i n g the i n i t i a l stage of the
t e s t c o n t i n u a l l y decreases u n t i l r e a c h i n g a t r a n s i e n t m i n i -
mum value and then i n c r e a s e s u n t i l r u p t u r e . As a r e s u l t ,
i t has been proposed that the onset of creep r u p t u r e be
d e f i n e d as o c c u r r i n g at the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n rate.
A l s o , as a r e s u l t of the e x i s t e n c e of a t r a n s i e n t minimum
s t r a i n r a t e , i t i s noted that Haney c l a y does not e x h i b i t
"secondary creep."
The s t r a i n r a t e / t i m e behaviour f o r a l l creep
r u p t u r e t e s t s was noted t o be s i m i l a r , whether drainage was
allowed, or whether pore p r e s s u r e s , and thus e f f e c t i v e
s t r e s s e s , were observed t o be i n c r e a s i n g , d e c r e a s i n g or not
changing d u r i n g the t e s t .
For normally c o n s o l i d a t e d Haney c l a y , creep r u p -
t u r e was noted t o occur a t approximately the same p r i n c i p a l
e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o , w h i l e the onset o f creep r u p t u r e a t
the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e could not be p r e d i c t e d on
the b a s i s o f e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s parameters.
- 88
CHAPTER 5
CREEP RUPTURE CRITERIA
5.1 - Line of Minimum Strain Rates
In Chapter 4, results were presented showing
the response of Haney clay with various consolidation
histories to creep loadings. Except for the strain
rate curves, a l l test results were plotted against the
elapsed time on a linear scale. This was done to enable
the reader to appreciate the changes taking place during
a test based on a natural time scale. Unfortunately,
elapsed times for creep tests vary over a wide range and
thus the most convenient plot for presentation of* a l l
data i s on a base of logarithm of elapsed time. Figure
25 shows the s t r a i n / l o g a r i t h m time curves for a l l tests
on normally consolidated samples. It is impossible to
predict from the s t r a i n / l o g a r i t h m time curve whether or
not a sample i s going to rupture, since upward curva-
ture does not necessarily indicate increasing strain
rates. The t r a n s i e n t minimum strain rates are marked
on the curves with a short vertical line and i t is
obvious that no indication of the t r a n s i e n t minimum strain
rate c o n d i t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e from this logarithm plot.

- 89
FIGURE 2 5 - STRAIN / TIME RESULTS

UNDRAINED CREEP OF HANEY CLAY
- 90
Figure 2 6 shows the log-log plot of strain rate against
elapsed time. I t i s evident that t h e lower the deviator
stress the longer the t o t a l rupture life. Based on these
experimental results, i t i s seen that a l l transient mini-
mum strain rates nearly l i eon a straight line i n this
log-log plot. The e q u a t i o n of this line f o r normally con-
solidated specimens i s :
log t = - . 1 4 2 -
i o 1.15 l o g J m ± .116 (8)
where: t = elapsed time until the transient

minimum strain rate ( i n minutes)
£ =
m t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n rate
(in per cent per minute)
The 95 p e r c e n t confidence limits o f -0.116 a r e
equal t o twice the standard error of estimate (Arkin and
Colton 1966) and the c o e f f i c i e n t of correlation for this
,, . , standard error of estimate. .

equation (defined as 1 - ) is
standard d e v i a t i o n
0.942.
All strain rate/time curves start below the line
of transient minimum strain rates and, i f they proceed to
it, failure will e v e n t u a l l y take place. Otherwise, the
sample will not f a i l i n creep rupture. Unfortunately, this

- 91
FIGURE 2 6 - STRAIN RATE / TIME RESULTS

UNDRAINED CREEP TESTS
NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY
- 92
c r i t e r i o n does not permit e v a l u a t i o n of the magnitude of
s t r a i n s which occur and these c o u l d be e x c e s s i v e l y l a r g e .
In F i g u r e 26, Test C-5, with a d e v i a t o r s t r e s s -of 42.8 p s i ,
appears t o be proceeding along a l i n e p a r a l l e l t o the l i n e
of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s i n the l a t t e r stages of
the t e s t . I t i s u n l i k e l y , then, t o ever reach the l i n e of
t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s and, t h e r e f o r e , i t i s r e a s o n -
able t o assume t h a t t h i s sample w i l l not f a i l i n creep a t
this stress l e v e l . T h i s would i n d i c a t e the e x i s t e n c e of
an upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h f o r c l a y s and i t s e x i s t e n c e is in
agreement w i t h the hypotheses of Murayama and S h i b a t a (1961)
and V i a l o v and S k i b i t s k y (1957), which s t a t e t h a t an upper
yield s t r e n g t h e x i s t s f o r s o i l s , below which creep rupture
f a i l u r e w i l l not occur. T h i s upper y i e l d compressive
s t r e n g t h o f 42.8 p s i i s 17.7 per cent below the r e f e r e n c e
compressive s t r e n g t h of 52.0 p s i obtained from the i n c r e -
mental l o a d i n g test.
For s t r e s s e s below the upper y i e l d strength, defor-
mation r a t e s w i l l e v e n t u a l l y become n e g l i g i b l e a f t e r l a r g e
elapsed times. T h i s i s based on the assumption t h a t a l l t e s t
c o n d i t i o n s remain the same; namely, t o t a l s t r e s s e s , tempera-
t u r e and drainage c o n d i t i o n s . Under f i e l d conditions, small

changes i n temperature or s t r e s s e s i n the s o i l w i l l cause
v a r i a t i o n s i n the s t r a i n r a t e and, t h e r e f o r e , a s l o p e known
to be c r e e p i n g very slowly, when loaded with a d d i t i o n a l
weight from heavy r a i n f a l l or snowmelt, w i l l c e r t a i n l y
speed up and may a c t u a l l y f a i l .
Figure 27 shows the l o g - l o g p l o t of s t r a i n r a t e
versus elapsed time f o r a l l creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y w i t h
an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o o f two. Placed on t h i s curve i s
the l i n e o f t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s obtained from
the t e s t s on n o r m a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d clay (Equation 8). It
is noted t h a t the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n rates
fits these data, i n a d d i t i o n t o that o f the normally con-
s o l i d a t e d t e s t s ; y e t the c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y , water con-
t e n t and creep loadings are d i f f e r e n t . T e s t C-27 w i t h a
deviator s t r e s s o f 38.9 p s i does not appear t o approach
the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s and, t h e r e f o r e ,
it i s predicted that i t would never f a i l . This deviator
s t r e s s i s 16.3 per cent below the r e f e r e n c e strength of
46.5 p s i obtained from the i n c r e m e n t a l loading t e s t .
Figure 28 shows the l o g - l o g p l o t o f s t r a i n rate
a g a i n s t elapsed time f o r a l l creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y w i t h
an overconsolidation r a t i o of s i x . The l i n e of t r a n s i e n t
- 94

OVERCONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY (rj=2)
- 95
5
10" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
I I
10° 10' 10 2 10' 10 4

OVERCONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY(TI = 6 )
- 96
minimum s t r a i n r a t e s from normally consolidated tests i s
p l a c e d on t h i s p l o t and, as f o r t e s t s w i t h an o v e r c o n s o l i -
d a t i o n r a t i o of two, the l i n e f i t s the t e s t r e s u l t s with
reasonable agreement. The t e s t , with a d e v i a t o r s t r e s s of
28.7 p s i , i s p r e d i c t e d t o never f a i l and i s a t a s t r e s s
l e v e l 14.6 per cent below the r e f e r e n c e s t r e n g t h o f 33.6
p s i obtained from the i n c r e m e n t a l loading test.
F i g u r e 29 shows the same r e l a t i o n s h i p f o r the
d r a i n e d and undrained creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y w i t h an
o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o of 25. Although there i s a g r e a t e r
s c a t t e r o f data from the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum strain
r a t e s obtained from the normally c o n s o l i d a t e d t e s t s , the
relationship s t i l l appears t o adequately represent the time
a t which the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e occurs f o r these
heavily overconsolidated samples. Some o f the s c a t t e r o f
r e s u l t s about the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s
may be caused by i n a c c u r a t e e v a l u a t i o n of s t r a i n r a t e s ,
s i n c e they are c a l c u l a t e d on the b a s i s of uniform strain
throughout the complete l e n g t h o f the sample. This
assumption i s reasonable f o r normally c o n s o l i d a t e d and
l i g h t l y overconsolidated c l a y s , but subject t o e r r o r i n
h e a v i l y overconsolidated soils (Roscoe, S c h o f i e l d and

- 97

UNDRAINED AND DRAINED CREEP TESTS
OVERCONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY(ri = 2 5 )
- 98
Wroth 1958). For the d r a i n e d t e s t s , a decrease of 17.6 per
cent i s noted between the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s which does not
cause f a i l u r e (13.1 p s i ) and the r e f e r e n c e strength of 15.9
psi.
The agreement between the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t m i n i -
mum s t r a i n r a t e s from normally c o n s o l i d a t e d t e s t s and those
t e s t s w i t h d i f f e r e n t c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s i n d i c a t e s that
the same b a s i c process governs the creep behaviour for a l l
tests. It i s , therefore, not s u r p r i s i n g t h a t the per cent
reduction i n s t r e n g t h between the r e f e r e n c e strength and
the upper y i e l d strength i s n e a r l y the same (14.6 to 17.7
per cent) f o r a l l c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s .
I t i s proposed t h a t f o r Haney c l a y a l i n e of
t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s e x i s t s which i s independent
of c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y , s t r e s s l e v e l and drainage con-
ditions, assuming t h a t the t o t a l s t r e s s e s remain constant.
Figure 30 shows the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s obtained
by a l e a s t square f i t of a l l the test results. The equation
of t h i s l i n e i s :
log t
l o = .037 - 1.08 log £
| 0 m ± .322 (9)
- 99
10" 5
10° 10 1
IO 2
103 10*
TIME OF TRANSIENT MINIMUM STRAIN RATES
FIGURE 3 0 - LINE OF TRANSIENT MINIMUM STRAIN RATES

HANEY CLAY
- 100
The slope of t h i s l i n e i s n e a r l y the same as i n
Equation 8 (the l i n e o f t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s ob-
tained from only normally c o n s o l i d a t e d t e s t s ) , b u t the
o r d i n a t e when 6 ro = 1.0 i s s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r . The 95 per cent
confidence l i m i t s of Equation 9 are l a r g e r than f o r Equation
8, and the c o e f f i c i e n t o f c o r r e l a t i o n f o r Equation 9is
0.819. Therefore, the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n
r a t e s , which b e s t f i t s a l l t e s t data, does not c o r r e l a t e
as w e l l as the l i n e o f t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s ob-
t a i n e d f o r the normally consolidated t e s t s e r i e s only.
However, the accuracy of the f i t i s s t i l l considered ade-
quate, such t h a t the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s
(Equation 9) can be s a i d t o be independent o f c o n s o l i d a t i o n
h i s t o r y , s t r e s s l e v e l and drainage conditions.
5.2 - T o t a l Rupture L i f e Criterion
S a i t o and Uezawa (1961) proposed t h a t a l i n e a r
r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s between the l o g a r i t h m of the "secondary
s t r a i n r a t e " and the l o g a r i t h m of the t o t a l r u p t u r e life,
independent o f the type o f s o i l . As a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d i n
Chapter 4, a "secondary s t r a i n r a t e " does not e x i s t f o r
Haney c l a y . However, f o r t e s t s which e v e n t u a l l y r u p t u r e ,

- 101
the "secondary s t r a i n r a t e " e v a l u a t e d from a strain/time
curve i s nearly equal t o the numerical value of the t r a n s i e n t
minimum s t r a i n r a t e . Therefore, t o compare the r e s u l t s of
creep r u p t u r e t e s t s on Haney c l a y w i t h the t h e o r y proposed
by S a i t o and Uezawa, i t i s o n l y necessary t o p l o t the
t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e a g a i n s t the t o t a l r u p t u r e life.
F i g u r e 31 shows the r u p t u r e c r i t e r i o n of S a i t o and
Uezawa, together w i t h t h e i r 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s of
-0.59. The e q u a t i o n f o r the r e l a t i o n s h i p i s :
log t = .498-916 log §. ± .59

|0 r 10 (10)
where: i = t o t a l rupture l i f e
r ( i n minutes)
o
{ £, = "secondary s t r a i n r a t e " ( i n per
cent per minute)
Data shown f a l l i n g i n s i d e these c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s
include a l l creep r u p t u r e t e s t s on Haney c l a y , one undrained
creep r u p t u r e t e s t on remoulded i l l i t e a t 110 degrees F
(Campanella 1965) and the r e s u l t s of S h e r i f (1965) f o r un-
d r a i n e d t e s t s on an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d S e a t t l e clay.
The e q u a t i o n of the b e s t s t r a i g h t l i n e obtained
from the t e s t r e s u l t s f o r Haney c l a y i s :
loQ,t, = .75l-.92 log !„. ±.272

0 10 (11)
- 102
TOTAL RUPTURE LIFE (MINUTES)
FIGURE 31 - TOTAL RUPTURE LIFE OF

LABORATORY CREEP TESTS
- 103
The s l o p e of t h i s l i n e i s the same as t h a t o b t a i n e d
by S a i t o and Uezawa, but the o r d i n a t e when Z=

m 1.0 is slightly
greater. The 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s f o r Haney c l a y
are s m a l l e r than those o b t a i n e d by S a i t o and Uezawa. There-
f o r e , i t i s suggested t h a t each s o i l may have i t s own relation-
s h i p between the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e and total rup-
t u r e l i f e which i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t of other s o i l s . However,
t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p may not n e c e s s a r i l y be unique for a l l soils
as suggested by S a i t o and Uezawa.
Small v a r i a t i o n s i n samples, which are inevitable,
cause a c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e i n r u p t u r e t i m e s . Therefore,
i
the 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s f o r the r u p t u r e criterion
o b t a i n e d from l a b o r a t o r y s t u d i e s are f a i r l y l a r g e . For
example, the S a i t o and Uezawa e q u a t i o n (Equation 10) predicts
t h a t the 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s of a p r e d i c t e d f a i l u r e
i n 10 days range between 2-1/2 t o 39 days. Although t h i s i s
a l a r g e range i n n a t u r a l time, i t at l e a s t allows evaluation
of whether f a i l u r e may take p l a c e i n minutes, a few hours or
many y e a r s . L i k e w i s e , the 95 per cent c o n f i d e n c e l i m i t s of
E q u a t i o n 11 f o r a p r e d i c t e d f a i l u r e i n 10 days range between
5-1/2 and 19 days. Only w i t h f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h on additional

- 104
s o i l s ' w i l l i t be p o s s i b l e to determine whether each indivi-
d u a l s o i l should be c o n s i d e r e d t o have i t s own r u p t u r e equa-
t i o n or whether the s c a t t e r caused by sample v a r i a t i o n
c r e a t e s such a wide e r r o r band t h a t the i n c l u s i o n of a l l
s o i l s i n t o a s i n g l e r u p t u r e equation, as proposed by S a i t o
and Uezawa, i s a c c e p t a b l e .
5.3 - P r e d i c t i o n of Creep Rupture

F a i l u r e s i n the L a b o r a t o r y
In order t o p r e d i c t the time of a creep rupture
failure, i t i s necessary t o determine some r e l a t i o n s h i p be-
tween the s t r a i n r a t e measured d u r i n g a t e s t and the time
remaining u n t i l creep r u p t u r e o c c u r r e d . T h e r e f o r e , i t was
d e c i d e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e the l a b o r a t o r y s t r a i n r a t e s as a f u n c -
t i o n of the time t o r u p t u r e . At t h i s p o i n t , i t i s necessary
to emphasize the d i f f e r e n c e between the time to r u p t u r e and
the t o t a l r u p t u r e l i f e . The t o t a l r u p t u r e l i f e i s the
e l a p s e d time from i n i t i a l loading u n t i l rupture, while the
time t o r u p t u r e i s the remaining time t o r u p t u r e from any
stage of a t e s t . T h e r e f o r e , any r u p t u r e c r i t e r i a based upon
the time to r u p t u r e would not r e q u i r e the knowledge of the
i n i t i a l time of l o a d i n g .
- 105
F i g u r e 32 shows a p l o t o f the l o g a r i t h m of time t o
r u p t u r e a g a i n s t the l o g a r i t h m o f the s t r a i n r a t e f o r Test
C-6. Note t h a t with i n c r e a s i n g elapsed time, the t e s t pro-
gresses from r i g h t t o l e f t on t h i s p l o t . There are two o c c a -
s i o n s when the s t r a i n r a t e has a value o f 0.10 per cent per
m i n u t e — o n c e d u r i n g the d e c r e a s i n g s t r a i n r a t e stage, 2,570
minutes b e f o r e r u p t u r e , and once d u r i n g the i n c r e a s i n g s t r a i n
r a t e stage, 150 minutes b e f o r e r u p t u r e . Therefore, for this
test, i f the s t r a i n r a t e i s known t o be 0.01 per cent per
minute, rupture i s a minimum of 150 minutes away.
F i g u r e 33 shows r e s u l t s from a l l creep rupture
t e s t s on Haney c l a y when the s t r a i n r a t e i s i n c r e a s i n g .
Therefore, each p o i n t shown on F i g u r e 33 i s a r e a d i n g taken
a f t e r the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e . I t can be seen
that f o r Haney c l a y there i s a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between the
l o g a r i t h m of the s t r a i n r a t e and the l o g a r i t h m of the time
to rupture, which i s independent o f s t r e s s l e v e l , consoli-
d a t i o n h i s t o r y and drainage conditions. Therefore, knowing
the e x i s t i n g a c c e l e r a t i n g s t r a i n r a t e i n a t e s t , a minimum
time t o r u p t u r e can be p r e d i c t e d . I f the s t r a i n r a t e i s
decreasing, then no i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g time t o r u p t u r e
i s obtained and, i n f a c t , the sample may not f a i l . As

- 106
|
NORMAL.LY SONSOLIDA1 ED
TEST Mo. C - 6
L 1
^- S TART Or TEST
L-RUPTUR E N
<
x
<
10° IO 1
IO 2
10 3
IO 4
10 s
TIME TO RUPTURE ( MINUTES)
FIGURE 3 2 - TIME TO RUPTURE /STRAIN RATE CURVE
10° IO 1
IO 8
IO 3
IO 4
IO 6
TIME TO RUPTURE (MINUTES)
FIGURE 33- TIME TO RUPTURE /STRAIN RATE

RELATIONSHIP
- 107
pointed out i n Chapter 4, u n t i l a t r a n s i e n t minimum strain
r a t e has been reached i t i s impossible t o p r e d i c t whether a
f a i l u r e w i l l take place.
The e q u a t i o n of the r e l a t i o n s h i p f o r Haney c l a y
between time t o r u p t u r e and a c c e l e r a t i n g s t r a i n r a t e i s :
log, ttr « . 2 3 - l o g
0 l o 8 (12)
which can be reduced t o :
ttr (13) ,
E
where: t t r = time t o r u p t u r e from time t

( i n minutes)
£ = a c c e l e r a t i n g s t r a i n rate at
time t ( i n per cent per minute)
If t h i s s t r a i n rate/time to rupture r e l a t i o n s h i p
f o r Haney c l a y i s a p p l i c a b l e t o other s o i l s , then E q u a t i o n
1 3 can be used t o p r e d i c t s l o p e failures. This must be
confirmed by e x t e n s i v e t e s t i n g conducted on v a r i o u s soils
throughout the w o r l d . Of course, the a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h i s
r e l a t i o n s h i p would r e q u i r e t h a t the s o i l have a t r a n s i e n t
minimum s t r a i n r a t e when subjected t o a creep loading
above the upper y i e l d strength.

- 108
In Chapter 2, r e f e r e n c e was made t o a method of
f o r e c a s t i n g slope f a i l u r e s by Saito (1965). T h i s method,
although b e i n g s u b j e c t t o c r i t i c i s m , has successfully pre-
d i c t e d slope failures. Data from these slope f a i l u r e s have
been p l o t t e d on F i g u r e 33 and i t can be seen t h a t the time
to rupture c r i t e r i o n f o r Haney c l a y would have adequately
predicted impending f a i l u r e . Saito s 1

p r e d i c t i o n of the
time of f a i l u r e was based on c a l c u l a t i o n s from Equation 10,
the use of which t h i s author b e l i e v e s t o be fundamentally
incorrect. The p r e d i c t i o n of the time t o r u p t u r e must be
based upon parameters which are independent of the initial
time of l o a d i n g . However, i t should be noted t h a t Equation
10 i s numerically s i m i l a r t o E q u a t i o n 12 and, therefore,
t h i s s i m i l a r i t y may explain Saito's success.
5.4 - P r e d i c t i o n of Creep Rupture

F a i l u r e s i n the F i e l d
In S e c t i o n 5.3, a r e l a t i o n s h i p between the time t o
r u p t u r e and the a c c e l e r a t i n g s t r a i n r a t e has been presented
which permits the p r e d i c t i o n of the time of creep r u p t u r e
for laboratory creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y . Limited field
r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e that t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p would p r e d i c t fail-
ures observed and reported by Saito (1965). This

- 109
r e l a t i o n s h i p should, t h e r e f o r e , be i n v e s t i g a t e d , both i n
the l a b o r a t o r y and the f i e l d , t o determine i f this simple
r e l a t i o n s h i p i s independent of s o i l type, c o n s o l i d a t i o n
h i s t o r y , drainage c o n d i t i o n s and s t r e s s l e v e l . The f o l l o w -
ing d i s c u s s i o n w i l l assume t h a t such an all-encompassing
relationship exists. The f o l l o w i n g procedure could then
be used t o p r e d i c t the time when a s l o p e f a i l u r e might
occur.
By m o n i t o r i n g the deformations o f a slope and con-
v e r t i n g these r e s u l t s i n t o s t r a i n r a t e s , i t would be p o s s i b l e
to c o n t i n u a l l y p r e d i c t a minimum l e n g t h o f time u n t i l a r u p -
t u r e might be expected. I f the s t r a i n r a t e s i n c r e a s e d due t o
heavy r a i n f a l l , f o r example, the p r e d i c t e d time t o r u p t u r e
would decrease and, i f t h i s time t o r u p t u r e dropped below a
c r i t i c a l value, say 24 hours, then the a f f e c t e d area could
be c l o s e d o f f t o p r o t e c t the p u b l i c . I f the s t r a i n r a t e s
l a t e r decreased, without a f a i l u r e o c c u r r i n g , then the p r e -
d i c t e d time t o r u p t u r e would a g a i n i n c r e a s e and the a f f e c t e d
area could once a g a i n be opened t o the p u b l i c .
Subject t o f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h t o c o n f i r m the
h y p o t h e s i s presented i n this section, a general p r a c t i c a l
approach t o the p r e d i c t i o n of s l o p e f a i l u r e s has been

proposed. As a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d , d e t e c t a b l e movements are
known t o take p l a c e long b e f o r e some f a i l u r e s occur and,
i f monitored, these movements can be used t o p r e d i c t the
time o f the f a i l u r e .
- I l l
CHAPTER 6
STRESS/STRAIN/STRAIN RATE THEORY
6.1 - Introduction
In Chapter 5, the e x i s t e n c e of an upper y i e l d
s t r e n g t h f o r Haney c l a y was shown. T h i s upper y i e l d strength
was evaluated by performing a s e r i e s of creep r u p t u r e tests,
each t e s t a t a decreased deviator stress, u n t i l a f a i l u r e
d i d not take p l a c e . I t was assumed t h a t f a i l u r e would not
occur i f the l o g a r i t h m of s t r a i n r a t e / l o g a r i t h m of time
curve d i d not appear t o approach the l i n e of t r a n s i e n t
minimum s t r a i n r a t e s . Since performance of a s e r i e s of
creep t e s t s i s a very t e d i o u s and time-consuming procedure,
it i s of i n t e r e s t t o determine whether e q u i v a l e n t i n f o r m a t i o n
can be obtained by some e a s i e r means. For example, c o u l d
constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s be used to evaluate the upper
yield strength? These t e s t s are e a s i e r to perform, since
the time a t which readings should be taken can be predeter-
mined and c o r r e c t i o n s to a x i a l loads are not r e q u i r e d to
m a i n t a i n constant s t r e s s c o n d i t i o n s . I f c o r r e l a t i o n of the
r e s u l t s obtained from creep t e s t s and constant s t r a i n r a t e
t e s t s i s t o be attempted, a h y p o t h e s i s must be presented to
p r e d i c t the i n t e r r e l a t i o n between these tests.

- 112
6.2 - Deviator S t r e s s / S t r a i n /
S t r a i n Rate R e l a t i o n s h i p
In an attempt t o reduce the l a r g e number of v a r i -
a b l e s which a f f e c t the s t r e s s / s t r a i n behaviour of s o i l s , and
thereby permit a p o s s i b l e c o r r e l a t i o n of r e s u l t s from differ-
ent types of t r i a x i a l t e s t s , the f o l l o w i n g l i m i t a t i o n s w i l l
apply to a l l discussions i n t h i s s e c t i o n :
(1) - Samples must not be h e a v i l y o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d . This
w i l l ensure t h a t s t r a i n measurements are r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
of the a c t u a l s t r a i n s throughout the sample (Roscoe,
S c h o f i e l d and Wroth 1958).
(2) - A l l t e s t s must be undrained. This w i l l eliminate
e f f e c t s due t o volume change f o r which no theory i s
proposed i n t h i s t h e s i s .
(3) - The d u r a t i o n of the t e s t must be s u f f i c i e n t t o ensure
pore water pressure e q u a l i z a t i o n throughout the
sample.
(4) - A l l t e s t s must be performed i n such a manner t h a t the
a x i a l compressive s t r a i n i s c o n t i n u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g
and, t h e r e f o r e , the e f f e c t of s t r a i n r e v e r s a l s w i l l
not be discussed.
- 113
(5) - The i n i t i a l c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y must be the same
for a l l samples.
(6) - As p r e v i o u s l y s t a t e d , a l l t e s t s must be performed
at constant temperature.
These r e s t r i c t i o n s , therefore, exclude from dis-
c u s s i o n a l l t e s t s on h e a v i l y o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d c l a y , but
i n c l u d e the r e s u l t s of a l l normally c o n s o l i d a t e d and over-
consolidated (17 =2 and T? =6) undrained creep rupture, incre-
mental l o a d i n g and constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s .
W i t h i n the l i m i t a t i o n s a l r e a d y presented, i t i s
proposed that the d e v i a t o r stress, during t r i a x i a l t e s t s on
samples w i t h the same i n i t i a l c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y , can be
expressed as a f u n c t i o n of the c u r r e n t s t r a i n and c u r r e n t
strain rate.
To i n v e s t i g a t e the v a l i d i t y of t h i s hypothesis,
the r e s u l t s of creep rupture, i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g and con-
s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s on Haney c l a y are shown i n F i g u r e s
34, 35 and 36. P l o t t e d on these f i g u r e s are the s t r a i n
r a t e / s t r a i n paths f o r the normally c o n s o l i d a t e d , overcon-
solidated ( 1 7 =2) and o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d ( 7 7 =6) triaxial
tests, respectively. On the paths o f the constant strain

- 114
•2 .4 .6 I 2 4 6 10 20
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 3 4 - STRAIN RATE / STRAIN CURVES

NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY
- 115
2 .4 .6 I 2 4 6 10
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 35 - STRAIN RATE / STRAIN CURVES

OVERCONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY (n = 2)
- 116
FIGURE 3 6 - STRAIN RATE / STRAIN CURVES

OVERCONSOLIDATED HANEY CLAY (r| = 6)
- 117
r a t e and i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t e s t s , the values of d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s m o b i l i z e d at t h a t s t r a i n and s t r a i n r a t e are shown,
while f o r the creep t e s t s the constant d e v i a t o r s t r e s s i s
shown on the creep curve. For the h y p o t h e s i s t o be v a l i d ,
the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s at any s t r a i n and s t r a i n r a t e must be
unique and independent of the type of t e s t . Investigation
of these r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e s r e a s o n a b l y good agreement between
the three types o f t e s t s . T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p has, a t present,
o n l y been observed t o apply t o Haney c l a y . I t i s hoped
that s i m i l a r r e s e a r c h w i l l be undertaken by others to d e t e r -
mine whether t h i s a p p l i e s t o most u n d i s t u r b e d clays.
No attempt has been made i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n to
e v a l u a t e a mathematical r e l a t i o n s h i p between s t r e s s , strain
and s t r a i n r a t e , b u t r a t h e r a d i s c u s s i o n of the i n t e r r e l a t i o n
of these parameters i s presented t o enable e v a l u a t i o n of the
behaviour of one type of t e s t based upon the r e s u l t s of
another type. For example, F i g u r e s 37, 38 and 39 show the
a c t u a l s t r e s s / s t r a i n curves obtained f o r i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g
and constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s on Haney c l a y . P l o t t e d on
these f i g u r e s are p o i n t s p r e d i c t e d from the creep rupture
t e s t s f o r both the i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g and c o n s t a n t strain
rate tests. I t should be noted t h a t , f o r a constant strain

- 118
INCREMENTAL LOADING TEST
PREDICTED RESULTS
CONSTANT STRAIN RATE TEST

(.008%/MIN.)
co
Q.
CO
CO
UJ
rr
r-
CO
RESULTS PREDICTED FROM CREEP TESTS
cr
o FOR THE =
r- 1. INCREMENTAL LOADING TEST - X
<
2. CONSTANT STRAIN RATE TEST -Q~
>
Q
4 6 10
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 3 7 - PREDICTED AND ACTUAL STRESS / STRAIN

CURVES FOR NORMALLY CONSOLIDATED
HANEY CLAY
FIGURE 3 8 - PREDICTED AND ACTUAL STRESS/STRAIN
CURVES FOR OVERCONSOLIDATED
HANEY CLAY (n = 2 )
- 120
FIGURE 3 9 - PREDICTED AND ACTUAL STRESS /

STRAIN CURVES FOR OVERCONSOLIDATED
HANEY CLAY (TI = 6 )
- 121
rate test, the s t r e s s / s t r a i n curve can be p r e d i c t e d d i r e c t l y
from a s e r i e s of creep t e s t s , s i n c e the s t r a i n rate/strain
path i s known; whereas, f o r i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g tests,
n e i t h e r the s t r e s s , s t r a i n nor s t r a i n r a t e remains constant
and, therefore, prediction of the s t r e s s / s t r a i n curve can
only be attemtped once the s t r a i n r a t e / s t r a i n path i s known.
Consider now, the r e s u l t s of a constant strain
rate t e s t performed a t a s t r a i n r a t e e q u a l t o the t r a n s i e n t
minimum s t r a i n r a t e o f a creep r u p t u r e t e s t . As a r e s u l t
of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between d e v i a t o r s t r e s s , s t r a i n and
s t r a i n rate, the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s of the constant
s t r a i n rate t e s t should be e q u a l t o the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s .
applied i n the creep t e s t (see F i g u r e s 34, 35 and 36) and
should occur a t the same s t r a i n as the t r a n s i e n t minimum
s t r a i n rate of the creep r u p t u r e t e s t . This i s a most im-
portant prediction, s i n c e i t e x p l a i n s the i n t e r r e l a t i o n
between the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e s obtained from
creep t e s t s and the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s obtained from
constant s t r a i n r a t e tests.
The s t r e s s / s t r a i n / s t r a i n rate relationship also
allows p r e d i c t i o n of creep behaviour on the b a s i s of the
shape of s t r e s s / s t r a i n curves from c o n s t a n t s t r a i n rate

- 122
tests. For i n s t a n c e , i f the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s continues t o
increase or l e v e l s o f f without d e c r e a s i n g with i n c r e a s i n g
strain, then a creep t e s t would not reach a t r a n s i e n t mini-
mum s t r a i n r a t e , s i n c e t h i s would be incompatible with the
r e s u l t s of the constant s t r a i n rate t e s t . Therefore, f o r
s o i l s which conform t o t h i s s t r e s s / s t r a i n / s t r a i n r a t e r e -
l a t i o n s h i p and c o n t i n u a l l y s t r a i n harden d u r i n g constant
s t r a i n rate tests, i t i s predicted t h a t a creep rupture
f a i l u r e w i l l not occur. However, any s o i l f o r which a
maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s i s reached, followed by a decrease
i n the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s with f u r t h e r s t r a i n would be expected
to f a i l i n a creep t e s t i f s u b j e c t e d t o the maximum d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s of the constant strain rate test.
As reported i n Chapter 4, the maximum d e v i a t o r
s t r e s s of incremental l o a d i n g t e s t s was about 15 per cent
above the upper y i e l d strength o f Haney c l a y . The maximum
deviator s t r e s s o f the incremental loading t e s t i s mobilized
at about the same s t r a i n as the minimum s t r a i n r a t e i n creep
t e s t s and, t h e r e f o r e , the d i f f e r e n c e i n s t r e n g t h can be r e -
l a t e d t o the d i f f e r e n c e i n s t r a i n r a t e s a t f a i l u r e . At
failure, the s t r a i n r a t e f o r the incremental loading test
i s very l a r g e , w h i l e the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e f o r

- 123
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h i s t h e o r e t i c a l l y zero. The d i f -
ference i n s t r a i n r a t e a t f a i l u r e a l s o e x p l a i n s the reason
why the maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s from the i n c r e m e n t a l load-
i n g t e s t i s l a r g e r than that obtained from the constant
s t r a i n rate tests reported i n this thesis.
6.3 - E v a l u a t i o n of the Upper

Y i e l d Strength
In Chapter 5, the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h was d e t e r -
mined by performing a s e r i e s of creep rupture tests at
decreasing s t r e s s l e v e l s u n t i l a f a i l u r e d i d not occur.

i
T h i s procedure may r e q u i r e many t e s t s b e f o r e the upper
y i e l d j s t r e n g t h i s determined and, t h e r e f o r e , a method i s
proposed which enables the p r e d i c t i o n of the upper y i e l d
s t r e n g t h based upon a minimum o f two creep rupture or two
constant s t r a i n rate tests. The proposed r e l a t i o n used t o
determine the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h i s as f o l l o w s :
C7 = U.Y. + K 6 ''n
0 (14)
where: <T = maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s

D
(constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t )
or d e v i a t o r s t r e s s (creep t e s t )
U.Y. = upper y i e l d strength

- 124
' K ,n = constants
£ = s t r a i n r a t e (constant s t r a i n
r a t e t e s t ) or t r a n s i e n t minimum
s t r a i n r a t e (creep t e s t )
For Haney c l a y , i t has been found t h a t taking
n = 3 gives a r e a s o n a b l y good s t r a i g h t l i n e r e l a t i o n between
0" and
0 the cube r o o t of £ . Figure 40 shows the r e s u l t s of
both creep r u p t u r e and s t r a i n r a t e c o n t r o l l e d t e s t s used to
p r e d i c t the upper y i e l d strength of Haney c l a y f o r four con-
solidation histories. Twelve of the constant s t r a i n r a t e
t e s t s shown i n F i g u r e 40 were run on 1.4-inch by 2.8-inch
samples. The maximum d e v i a t o r s t r e s s i n these t e s t s has been
reduced by 1.2 p s i , the suggested c o r r e c t i o n to a l l o w for the
d i f f e r e n c e i n s i d e d r a i n and membrane e f f e c t s between 1.4-
i n c h by 2.8-inch samples and 2.5-inch by 5.0-inch samples
(Bishop and Henkel 1962, Duncan and Seed 1965). Table VII
lists the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h s obtained from the creep
t e s t s and the constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s . I t can be seen
that both the creep r u p t u r e and constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s
p r e d i c t e s s e n t i a l l y the same upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h for similar
drainage and consolidation h i s t o r i e s .
Sherif (1965) suggested t h a t a flow r u l e e x i s t e d
f o r c l a y s , which p r e d i c t e d t h a t the d e v i a t o r stress in a

- 1 2 5
60
0 .2 .4 .6 .8
CUBE ROOT OF TRANSIENT MINIMUM STRAIN RATE (%/MIN.)
60
1 1 1
— UPPER YIELD STRENGTH _D
I .. J CONSOUOtfE
to 50
v
0.
CO 43-1 (
2
CO
39 0 ,
or 40
6
o 30
28.2
X - 2.5"X 5 0 " SA VtPLES
<
0 - I . 4 " X 2 . 8 " SA MPLES
> 20
o 13.5 Ti • 2 5 (DRAIN E 0 )
X , i
i f
1
S
< 10
FROM CJONSTAN T STRA N RATE TESTS
0 .2 .4 .6 .8
CUBE ROOT OF STRAIN RATE (%/MIN.)
FIGURE 4 0 - DETERMINATION OF UPPER YIELD

STRENGTH USING PROPOSED METHOD
- 126
TABLE V I I
Upper Y i e l d S t r e n g t h
f o r Haney C l a y
Upper Y i e l d S t r e n g t h
Obtained Obtained from
from Creep Constant S t r a i n
Consolidation Rupture T e s t s Rate T e s t s
History Condition (P ) s i
(P )
s i
Normally
consolidated Undrained 42.5 43.4
V= 2 Undrained 38.5 38.8
T) = 6 Undrained 28.6 28.7
i?= 25 Drained 13.5 13.1

- 127
creep t e s t was equal t o the upper y i e l d strength plus a con-
stant times the secondary creep r a t e . This i s equivalent to
E q u a t i o n 14 with n = 1 and p r e d i c t s a s t r a i g h t l i n e r e l a t i o n
between d e v i a t o r s t r e s s and s t r a i n r a t e . Sherif postulated
t h a t t h i s r e l a t i o n holds f o r s t r e s s l e v e l s s l i g h t l y above
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h , but i s i n v a l i d a t h i g h e r stress
levels. Figure 41 shows S h e r i f ' s r e s u l t s f o r a S e a t t l e clay.
The three creep t e s t s a t the lower s t r e s s l e v e l s are shown t o
lie on a s t r a i g h t l i n e . The p r o j e c t i o n of t h i s l i n e t o zero
s t r a i n rate gives the upper y i e l d strength. The creep t e s t
at the h i g h e s t s t r e s s l e v e l i s shown t o be c o n s i d e r a b l y o f f
the straight line. In F i g u r e 42, a l l four t e s t p o i n t s are
shown t o approximately d e f i n e a s t r a i g h t l i n e when p l o t t e d
against the cube r o o t o f the s t r a i n r a t e . T h e r e f o r e , the
upper y i e l d strength f o r S e a t t l e c l a y can be p r e d i c t e d equally
w e l l by Equation 14 w i t h n = 3. Future r e s e a r c h on other
s o i l s w i l l , hopefully, p r o v i d e proof o f the a p p l i c a b i l i t y of
Equation 14 with n = 3 f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f upper y i e l d
strengths.
Murayama and S h i b a t a (1961) proposed t h a t a l i n e a r
r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between —•—— and 0* up t o the upper y i e l d

d log t c J
strength. The s t r a i n / t i m e equation f o r t h e i r r h e o l o g i c a l

- 128
190
/ •x— — I
180 J
/ .• '
/ ^ —
'70
CO
w 160
CO
CO
LU 150
140
tr
o
< 130
> \ /
LU
° 120
no
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
SECONDARY CREEP R A T E (INCHES / MIN. X I 0 " )
s
(AFTER SHERIF, 1965)
FIGURE 41 - STRESS VERSUS SECONDARY CREEP RATE
CO
CO
CO
LU
tr
i-
co
tr
o
I—
<
>
LU
Q
0 .02 .04 .06 .08 .10 .12

CUBE ROOT OF SECONDARY CREEP RATE (INCHES/MIN.)
(AFTER SHERIF, 1965)
FIGURE 4 2 - STRESS VERSUS CUBE ROOT OF SECONDARY

CREEP RATE
- 129
model i s presented again f o r convenience:
e =£ + + -V^ (6)
Murayama and Shibata (1964) d i f f e r e n t i a t e d
Equation 6 by time i n s t e a d of the l o g a r i t h m of time and
thereby p r e d i c t e d a l i n e a r r e l a t i o n between d £ / d t and 0" f o r
constant elapsed times and f o r s t r e s s e s below the upper y i e l d
strength. T h i s method, proposed by Murayama and Shibata, for
o b t a i n i n g the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h cannot be checked f o r
Haney c l a y , s i n c e n e a r l y a l l creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y were
run at s t r e s s l e v e l s above the upper y i e l d strength. How-
ever, r e s u l t s of Campanella (1965) f o r the undrained creep
of i l l i t e are at s t r e s s l e v e l s below the upper y i e l d strength
and, as a r e s u l t , t h i s d a t a can be used t o check the Murayama
and S h i b a t a theory. F i g u r e 43 shows the s t r a i n r a t e a t con-
s t a n t elapsed times a g a i n s t the s t r e s s l e v e l . The strain
r a t e / s t r e s s r e s u l t s are not l i n e a r , but curved, and no sharp
d i s c o n t i n u i t y i n the curve e x i s t s t o permit e v a l u a t i o n of
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h . However, the maximum s t r e s s level
i s above the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h , s i n c e a creep rupture
f a i l u r e occurred f o r the t e s t w i t h 0~ = 1.630 kg/cm ^.
Murayama and S h i b a t a (1964) a l s o proposed t h a t the
upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h c o u l d be obtained from an incremental

FIGURE 4 3 - RESULTS OF UNDRAINED CREEP
OF ILLITE
stress test. F i g u r e 44 shows the r e s u l t s of four incremental
t e s t s on Haney c l a y which i n d i c a t e that no sharp d i s c o n t i n -
u i t y e x i s t s i n the l o g 0"/log £ curve t o permit e v a l u a t i o n of
the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h as proposed by Murayama and S h i b a t a .
I t must, t h e r e f o r e , be assumed t h a t the Murayama and Shibata
methods f o r d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h are not
a p p l i c a b l e f o r Haney c l a y or remoulded illite.

- 132
.2 .6 I 10
STRAIN (%)
FIGURE 4 4 - INCREMENTAL LOADING TESTS

ON HANEY CLAY
\
- 133
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSIONS
The following i s a l i s t of c o n c l u s i o n s and hypo-
theses d e r i v e d from the a n a l y s i s of data from creep, constant
s t r a i n r a t e and i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g t r i a x i a l tests:
(1) - A secondary or constant creep s t r a i n r a t e does not
exist f o r Haney c l a y s u b j e c t e d t o s t r e s s e s above the
upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h . The creep s t r a i n r a t e d u r i n g
creep r u p t u r e t e s t s i n i t i a l l y decreased w i t h elapsed
time, reached a t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e and
then i n c r e a s e d u n t i l r u p t u r e . Once a t r a n s i e n t m i n i -
mum s t r a i n r a t e had been reached, the sample inevitably
ruptured. T h e r e f o r e , the onset o f f a i l u r e can be con-
s i d e r e d t o occur a t the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e .
(2) - The pore water p r e s s u r e i n normally c o n s o l i d a t e d
samples of Haney c l a y c o n t i n u a l l y i n c r e a s e d d u r i n g a l l
creep t e s t s . Thus, the e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s e s were de-
c r e a s i n g and the e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s r a t i o increasing
throughout the complete t e s t . For a creep t e s t w i t h
an o v e r c o n s o l i d a t i o n r a t i o of s i x , the pore pressure

- 134
barely changed d u r i n g a creep r u p t u r e t e s t . Since
the shape of the strain/time curve i s s i m i l a r f o r both
normally c o n s o l i d a t e d and o v e r c o n s o l i d a t e d undrained
t e s t s , the onset of creep r u p t u r e cannot be explained
i n terms of e f f e c t i v e stresses.
(3) - Based upon the r e s u l t s of creep t e s t s on Haney c l a y , a
r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s between the t r a n s i e n t minimum
s t r a i n r a t e and the elapsed time of l o a d i n g , which i s
independent of c o n s o l i d a t i o n history, stress level and
drainage c o n d i t i o n s . C o n f i r m a t i o n of t h i s f a c t i s not
available for other s o i l s and should be investigated.
(4) - R e s u l t s of creep r u p t u r e t e s t s on Haney c l a y confirmed
a r e l a t i o n s h i p between the t o t a l creep r u p t u r e l i f e and
the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e . This is similar to
the h y p o t h e s i s of S a i t o and Uezawa.
(5) - For Haney c l a y , a r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s between the
deviator s t r e s s , s t r a i n and s t r a i n rate for tests in
which the strain is continually increasing, the tem-
p e r a t u r e remains constant, adequate time i s a v a i l a b l e
f o r pore p r e s s u r e e q u a l i z a t i o n w i t h i n the sample, and
the consolidation h i s t o r y i s the same. This

- 135
r e l a t i o n s h i p enables c o r r e l a t i o n o f s t r e s s / s t r a i n
data between creep r u p t u r e and constant s t r a i n rate
tests. At p r e s e n t , t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s r e s t r i c t e d
to undrained c o n d i t i o n s and t o s o i l t h a t i s not
heavily overconsolidated. It i s anticipated that
t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i l l hold t r u e f o r other saturated
cohesive soils.
Results of creep rupture t e s t s on Haney c l a y show t h a t
the s t r a i n rate i s inversely proportional t o the time
to r u p t u r e d u r i n g the f i n a l stage o f a t e s t i n which
the s t r a i n r a t e i s i n c r e a s i n g . This r e l a t i o n s h i p i s
independent of s t r e s s l e v e l , c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r y and
drainage c o n d i t i o n s . This r e l a t i o n s h i p c o u l d be a p p l i e d
to f i e l d measurements t o p r e d i c t the minimum time u n t i l
an a n t i c i p a t e d failure.
A method i s proposed by which the upper y i e l d strength
of a cohesive s o i l can be e v a l u a t e d by e i t h e r a s e r i e s
of creep r u p t u r e or constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s . The
upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h , evaluated by t h i s method, r e s u l t e d
i n the same upper y i e l d s t r e n g t h b e i n g p r e d i c t e d by
creep r u p t u r e and c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s f o r each
of four c o n s o l i d a t i o n h i s t o r i e s .
- 136
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turbed S e n s i t i v e C l a y , " M.A.Sc. T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y
of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Lou, J . K., 1967, "The E f f e c t of Secondary Compression on

Shear S t r e n g t h , " M.A.Sc. T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f
B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Lubahn, J . D., and R. P. F e l g a r , 1961, " P l a s t i c i t y and Creep

of M e t a l s , " John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York,
600 pp.
Mitchell, J . K., 1964, "Shearing R e s i s t a n c e of S o i l s as a

Rate P r o c e s s , " ASCE J o u r n a l of S o i l Mech., V o l 90,
No. SMI, Jan. 1964.
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on Saturated C l a y s , " Symposium on L a b o r a t o r y Shear
T e s t i n g of S o i l s , ASTM S p e c i a l T e c h n i c a l P u b l i c a -
t i o n No. 361.
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M i t c h e l l , J . K., R. G. Campanella and A. Singh, 1968, "Soil

Creep as a Rate Process," ASCE J o u r n a l of S o i l
Mech., V o l 94, No. SMI, Jan. 1968.
M i t c h e l l , J . K., H. B. Seed and J . Paduana, 1965, "The Creep

Deformation and S t r e n g t h C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of S o i l s
under the A c t i o n of S u s t a i n e d S t r e s s , " Report No.
TE 65-8, Dept of C i v i l Eng., Berkeley.
Monkman, F. C., and N. J . G r a n t , 1956, "An E m p i r i c a l R e l a -

t i o n s h i p between Rupture L i f e and Minimum Creep
Rate i n Creep-Rupture T e s t s , " P r o c ASTM, V o l 56,
pp 593-620.
Murayama, S., and T. S h i b a t a , 1956, "On the R h e o l o g i c a l

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of C l a y , " ( i n Japanese), Trans
Japan S o c i e t y of C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g , 40, pp 1-31.
Murayama, S., and T. S h i b a t a , 1961, " R h e o l o g i c a l P r o p e r t i e s

of C l a y s , " Proc 5th Int Conf S o i l Mech., V o l 1,
pp 269-273.
Murayama, S., and T. S h i b a t a , 1964, "Flow and S t r e s s Relaxa-

t i o n of C l a y s , " Proceedings Rheology and S o i l
Mechanics Symposium, Grenoble, 1964, pp 99-129.
Pao, Y. H., and J . Marin, 1952, " P r e d i c t i o n of Creep Curves

from S t r e s s S t r a i n Data," Proceedings ASTM, 1952,
V o l 52, pp 51-57.
Penman, A.D.M., 1960, "A Study o f t h e Response Time o f V a r i -

ous Types o f P i e z o m e t e r , " Proc Conf Pore P r e s s u r e
and S u c t i o n i n S o i l s , B u t t e r w o r t h s , London, pp 53-58.
P e r l o f f , W. H., J r . , and J . 0. O s t e r b e r g , 1963, "The E f f e c t

o f S t r a i n Rate on t h e U n d r a i n e d Shear S t r e n g t h o f
C o h e s i v e S o i l s , " P r o c Second Panamerican Conf on
S o i l M e c h a n i c s and F o u n d a t i o n Eng., V o l 2, pp 103-
128.
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T r a n s p o r t Phenomena," Rheology, V o l 2, C h a p t e r 3,
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Roscoe, K. H., A. N. S c h o f i e l d and C. P. Wroth, 1958, "On the

Y i e l d i n g of S o i l s , " Geotechnique, V o l 8, No. 1,
March 1958, pp 22-53.
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T r i a x i a l T e s t i n g , " ASCE J o u r n a l of S o i l Mech., V o l
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Creep," P r o c 5 t h I n t Conf S o i l Mech., V o l 1,
pp 315-318.
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Slope F a i l u r e , " P r o c 6 t h I n t Conf S o i l Mech., V o l 2,
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Feb. 1946, p 69.
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APPENDIX A
TEST EQUIPMENT AND TESTING PROCEDURES
A l - S t r e s s - g o r v t r o i l e d Apparatus
The frame used f o r i n c r e m e n t a l l o a d i n g and creep
t e s t s was d e s c r i b e d by Glynn (1960); however, a l l pore p r e s -
sure and volume change measuring apparatus used by Glynn was
removed and r e p l a c e d w i t h newer components and the frame was
mounted on rubber pads t o minimize t r a n s m i s s i o n o f b u i l d i n g
v i b r a t i o n s t o the sample. A l l t e s t s performed w i t h this
apparatus used 2.5-inch by 5.0-inch t r i a x i a l samples. An 0-
r i n g s e a l was i n s t a l l e d i n the machined b u s h i n g f o r the l o a d -
i n g ram t o reduce leakage d u r i n g long t e s t s . T h i s stopped
all leakage from t h e c e l l , b u t i n c r e a s e d the p i s t o n f r i c t i o n
slightly. Deviator s t r e s s e s were a p p l i e d by weights p l a c e d
on a hanger beneath the t a b l e of the frame. An a d d i t i o n a l
hanger was c o n s t r u c t e d which enabled the p l a c i n g or removal
of 250 pounds o f weights "instantaneously." In a c t u a l f a c t ,
l a r g e d e v i a t o r s t r e s s e s were n o t p l a c e d instantaneously,
but r a t h e r a p p l i e d c o n t i n u o u s l y over about a 10-second period
t o a v o i d impact effects.
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The chamber p r e s s u r e was a p p l i e d by r e g u l a t e d com-
pressed a i r a c t i n g on an a i r / w a t e r i n t e r f a c e . A Fairchild
S t r a t o s p r e s s u r e r e g u l a t o r (0-100 p s i ) was used t o r e g u l a t e
compressed a i r t o -0.1 p s i . F i g u r e 45 shows a schematic
l a y o u t o f the s t r e s s - c o n t r o l l e d equipment.
The pore water p r e s s u r e and the chamber p r e s s u r e
were measured w i t h an e l e c t r i c a l transducer manufactured by
Data Sensors Inc. which measured a b s o l u t e p r e s s u r e s over a
range o f 150 p s i . Being an a b s o l u t e p r e s s u r e gauge, i t was
necessary t o make s m a l l c o r r e c t i o n s due t o changes i n b a r o -

-4
metric pressure. I t s r a t e d compliance f o r 150 p s i was 4x10
cubic inches. Output from the t r a n s d u c e r was run through a
s w i t c h i n g and b a l a n c i n g u n i t and then i n t o a Budd s t r a i n
i n d i c a t o r , which gave a d i g i t a l readout. C a l i b r a t i o n of the
readout enabled a c c u r a t e p r e s s u r e measurements o f -0.1 p s i .
A l l pore water l i n e s e x t e r n a l t o the c e l l used dur-
i n g pore p r e s s u r e measurements were 1/8-inch copper t u b i n g ,
w h i l e the s a t u r a t i o n s p i r a l f o r the t o p drainage lead was
heavy-walled nylon. Drainage and c o n s o l i d a t i o n were performed
a g a i n s t a back p r e s s u r e o f 15 p s i , which was used t o ensure 100
per cent, s a t u r a t i o n . The back p r e s s u r e was maintained by a

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ATMOS. -X-i,X VACUUM

ATMOS. -X^. X VACUUM
LEGEND
® WHITEY BALL VALVE
X HOKE STEM VALVE
FIGURE 4 5 - SCHEMATIC LAYOUT OF

STRESS-CONTROLLED APPARATUS
- 144
mercury column. The volume change apparatus was similar to
t h a t d e s c r i b e d by Bishop and Henkel (1962) . Kerosene (dyed
r e d with Sudan I I I a n a l i n e dye) was used as the second fluid
i n the apparatus, which could measure a t o t a l volume change
of 100 c c . Drainage l i n e s were 1/4-inch o u t s i d e diameter
saran t u b i n g , as the compliance of these l i n e s was not im-
portant. The pore p r e s s u r e measuring system was connected
to a (Bishop and Henkel type) "Perspex" n u l l i n d i c a t o r , which
was used to check t h a t the system was d e - a i r e d and t o measure
compliance (Bishop and Henkel 1962, p 207).
A2 - Constant S t r a i n Rate Apparatus
A l l c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s were performed on a
Wykeham Farrance bench model t e s t i n g frame. Constant deforma-
t i o n r a t e s between 0.065 inches per minute and 0.000028 inches
per minute were p o s s i b l e with t h i s equipment. The t r i a x i a l cell,
i n which both 2.5-inch by 5.0-inch and 1.4-inch by 2.8-inch
specimens were t e s t e d , was built i n the UBC C i v i l Engineering
workshop. The bushing f o r the 1/4-inch diameter hardened
s t e e l ram was composed of two Thomson b a l l bushings used as a
guide w i t h an 0 - r i n g s e a l to stop leakage. F i g u r e 46 shows a

- 145
COMPRESSED
AIR
DYED
KEROSENE
TWO-WAY
VALVE
STRAIN SWITCHING AND

INDICATOR BALANCING UNIT
FIGURE 4 6 - SCHEMATIC LAYOUT OF

CONSTANT STRAIN RATE APPARATUS
- 146
s c h e m a t i c diagram o f t h e equipment l a y o u t . Pore w a t e r p r e s -
sure and chamber p r e s s u r e were measured w i t h a Data Sensors
t r a n s d u c e r , w h i c h was i n c o r p o r a t e d i n a volume change u n i t
s i m i l a r t o t h a t d e s c r i b e d b y Chan and Duncan (1967). Figure
47 shows a photograph o f t h e volume change u n i t . Connection
between t h i s u n i t and t h e t r i a x i a l c e l l was made u s i n g short
f l e x i b l e tubing. The bottom d r a i n a g e and chamber pressure
leads were.1/8-inch o u t s i d e diameter saran t u b i n g , w h i l e the
top drainage l e a d was a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e h e a v y - w a l l e d nylon
s a t u r a t i o n s p i r a l from w i t h i n t h e chamber.
Regulated a i r pressure a c t i n g on a r u b b e r B e l l o f r a m
was used t o p r o v i d e t h e chamber and back p r e s s u r e . The
B e l l o f r a m was used t o reduce t h e amount o f a i r d i s s o l v e d i n
the water under pressure.
A x i a l l o a d s were measured u s i n g a c i r c u l a r load
c e l l made o f b e r y l l i u m c o p p e r . I t had a t h i n c e n t r a l d i a -
phragm w i t h s t r a i n gauges a t t a c h e d t o i t . S i n c e t h e diaphragm
d e f l e c t i o n was s m a l l when l o a d e d , t h e s t r a i n r a t e d u r i n g a
c o n t r o l l e d s t r a i n r a t e t e s t was c o n s t a n t . T h i s i s i n con-
t r a s t t o t h e s t r a i n r a t e s w h i c h occur when t h e a x i a l l o a d i s
measured u s i n g a " s o f t " p r o v i n g r i n g . I n t h i s case, t h e

- 147
FIGURE 4 7 - VOLUME CHANGE AND

PORE PRESSURE MEASURING UNIT
a c t u a l s t r a i n r a t e may vary by a f a c t o r of t h r e e d u r i n g a
"constant" s t r a i n rate t e s t .
Both pore pressures and a x i a l loads were measured
u s i n g a s w i t c h i n g and b a l a n c i n g u n i t i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a
Budd s t r a i n i n d i c a t o r . A s m a l l l o a d i n g p i s t o n was installed
above the l o a d c e l l t o p r o v i d e a s e a t i n g l o a d of 0.5 p s i dur-
ing c o n s o l i d a t i o n of samples. T h i s was r e q u i r e d t o ensure
t h a t the top cap of the sample maintained alignment with the 1
l o a d i n g rod d u r i n g c o n s o l i d a t i o n .
A3 - T e s t i n g Procedures -
S t r e s s - c o n t r o l l e d Apparatus
F i r s t l y , the system was checked to ensure t h a t i t
was d e - a i r e d . Continuous f i l t e r paper s i d e d r a i n s were then
cut from Whatman's No. 54 f i l t e r paper w i t h slits every 1/4-
inch. The porous stones were b o i l e d b e f o r e every t e s t t o
ensure removal of entrapped a i r and, while c o o l i n g , the
filter paper was p l a c e d i n the water to s a t u r a t e .
Since Haney c l a y i s f a i r l y firm i n i t s natural
s t a t e , i t was decided to r o l l the membranes up over the
sample, thus e n t r a p p i n g a minimum of a i r . Two membranes,
w i t h a l a y e r of Dow Corning s i l i c o n e grease between them,

- 149
were used t o e n c l o s e the sample. The membranes used were
standard 2.5-inch by 9-inch t r i a x i a l membranes, 0.012-inch
thick. To p r e r o l l these membranes, they were p u l l e d over a
powdered 2.5-inch diameter m a n d r i l and r o l l e d around a 2.5-
i n c h i n s i d e diameter O - r i n g . The membranes were t r a n s f e r r e d
from the m a n d r i l t o the base p e d e s t a l , ready f o r r o l l i n g up
around the sample.
The c l a y sample was c a r e f u l l y trimmed using taut
piano v/ire and a " s o i l l a t h e . " Water content specimens were
taken from the s i d e s t o o b t a i n the average i n i t i a l water con-
tent. A f t e r measuring the dimensions of the trimmed specimen
and g e t t i n g the i n i t i a l wet weight, the sample was carefully
p l a c e d on the base p e d e s t a l between the s a t u r a t e d s t o n e s .
The f i l t e r paper s i d e d r a i n s were then c a r e f u l l y p l a c e d around
the sample, the i n n e r membrane r o l l e d up, the s i l i c o n e grease
a p p l i e d and the o u t s i d e membrane r o l l e d up. F i g u r e 48 shows
a sample b e i n g i n s t a l l e d i n the a p p a r a t u s . The ends of the
sample were s e a l e d w i t h two O-rings top and bottom, these
b e i n g dropped i n p o s i t i o n from i n d i v i d u a l expanders previously
p l a c e d on the s a t u r a t i o n s p i r a l . A f t e r the t r i a x i a l c e l l was
assembled, chamber water was admitted from a d e - a i r e d water

- 150
FIGURE 4 9 - CREEP TEST IN PROGRESS

r e s e r v o i r and, when the chamber was f i l l e d , the chamber pres-
sure l i n e was connected t o the p r e s s u r e tank. As the chamber
p r e s s u r e was b e i n g r a i s e d i n increments, a p p r o p r i a t e weights
were p l a c e d on the l o a d i n g pan t o compensate f o r u p l i f t on
the l o a d i n g ram. A f t e r each increment of chamber pressure,
the pore water p r e s s u r e i n the sample was measured. Incre-
mental v a l u e s of Skempton "B" were c a l c u l a t e d to check f o r
s a t u r a t i o n and leakage.
The sample was then allowed t o c o n s o l i d a t e to an
e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s of 75 p s i w i t h a s m a l l s e a t i n g l o a d of 0.5
p s i t o ensure t h a t the l o a d i n g p i s t o n remained i n contact
w i t h the sample. I f the sample was t o be t e s t e d normally
consolidated, i t was allowed t o d r a i n f o r 36 hours; however,
if i t was to be tested after overconsolidation, i t was allowed
t o d r a i n f o r 24 hours and then rebounded f o r 36 h o u r s . Since
c o n s o l i d a t i o n u s u a l l y s t a r t e d around noon, samples were
finished c o n s o l i d a t i n g around midnight, one or two days
l a t e r , which l e f t about e i g h t hours u n t i l the next morning,
at which time s h e a r i n g would a c t u a l l y be started. For un-
drained t e s t s , the sample was left f o r these e i g h t hours i n
an undrained c o n d i t i o n , which p r o v i d e d an e x c e p t i o n a l l y good

- 152
check on p o s s i b l e leakage. For the h e a v i l y overconsolidated
drained t e s t s , s w e l l i n g was allowed to continue f o r an addi-
t i o n a l e i g h t hours, although the volume change was
exceptionally small. Figure 49 shows a t e s t i n p r o g r e s s .
For creep t e s t s , the creep l o a d was applied i n one
increment and, as the sample s t r a i n e d , c o r r e c t i o n s were
a p p l i e d to keep the d e v i a t o r stress constant. T h i s was dif-
f i c u l t t o do at the b e g i n n i n g of the t e s t and near creep
rupture, due t o the h i g h s t r a i n r a t e s and r e s u l t i n g area
changes. However, d u r i n g most of the t e s t s the deviator
s t r e s s was h e l d constant t o within' •i'O.l p s i .
At the end of the t e s t , the sample was back drained
t o an e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s of 1.0 psi. T h i s ensured t h a t a l a r g e
n e g a t i v e pore p r e s s u r e d i d not e x i s t i n the sample and re-
duced the p o s s i b i l i t y of a b s o r p t i o n of f r e e water by the
sample w h i l e b e i n g removed from the apparatus. The water
content of the whole sample a f t e r the t e s t was determined and
compared w i t h the water content based upon i n i t i a l side trim-
mings of c l a y at the s t a r t of the t e s t , a l l o w i n g for the
ensuing volume changes. Most t e s t s were found t o have up to
-0.5 per cent a d d i t i o n a l water a f t e r the t e s t ; most of t h i s

a d d i t i o n a l water h a v i n g been s u p p l i e d by the f i l t e r paper
during i n s t a l l a t i o n . In g e n e r a l , f o r the undrained tests,
the pore p r e s s u r e change d u r i n g the e i g h t hours b e f o r e shear
was used t o i n d i c a t e whether s m a l l l e a k s i n the membrane or
around the O-rings existed.
A4 - T e s t i n g Procedures - Constant
S t r a i n Rate Apparatus
As .many t e s t i n g procedures as p o s s i b l e were main-
t a i n e d the same f o r constant s t r a i n r a t e and s t r e s s - c o n t r o l l e d
tests. Most c o n s t a n t s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s were performed on
1.4-inch by 2.8-inch samples, although some 2.5-inch by 5.0-
i n c h samples were a l s o used. F o r the s m a l l samples, two com-
mercial "Sheik" membranes w i t h s i l i c o n e grease i n between
were used t o g e t h e r w i t h f i l t e r paper side d r a i n s . S i n c e no
d e - a i r e d water s u p p l y was a v a i l a b l e near the t e s t i n g frame,
the t r i a x i a l c e l l , t o g e t h e r w i t h the i n s t a l l e d sample, had t o
be c a r r i e d from the water s u p p l y . To m a i n t a i n s a t u r a t i o n i n
the drainage leads from the c e l l during t h i s operation, small
i n d i v i d u a l r e s e r v o i r s were a t t a c h e d t o each drainage line.
F i g u r e 50 shows a sample b e i n g i n s t a l l e d i n the c e l l w i t h the
i n d i v i d u a l r e s e r v o i r s a t t a c h e d t o the c e l l ' s v e r t i c a l p o s t s .
- 154
FIGURE 51 - C O N S T A N T STRAIN RATE T E S T IN P R O G R E S S

- 155
A f t e r the t r i a x i a l c e l l was p o s i t i o n e d i n the t e s t i n g frame,
a s m a l l chamber p r e s s u r e was applied. The drainage leads
were then c a r e f u l l y d i s c o n n e c t e d from the i n d i v i d u a l r e s e r -
v o i r s and connected t o the volume change d e v i c e . The con-
n e c t i o n was made w i t h a "bead" of water p r e s e n t a t the end of
the leads t o ensure t h a t no a i r was trapped w h i l e making the
connection. No d i f f i c u l t y was encountered with t h i s procedure
d u r i n g the t e s t i n g program.
Before c o n s o l i d a t i o n , a s e a t i n g l o a d of 0.5 p s i was
a p p l i e d by the l o a d i n g p i s t o n . C o n s o l i d a t i o n pressures and
times were kept the same as f o r those of the stress-controlled
tests. ( F i g u r e 51 shows a t e s t i n p r o g r e s s .
- 156
APPENDIX B
TYPICAL RESULTS FROM CREEP

RUPTURE TESTS
All data o b t a i n e d from s t r e s s and s t r a i n r a t e
c o n t r o l l e d t r i a x i a l t e s t s were punched onto computer cards,
t o be processed by the UBC computer (IBM 7040). Not only d i d
t h i s save t e d i o u s c a l c u l a t i o n , but i t l e f t the data i n a
form which c o u l d e a s i l y be used i n any way d e s i r a b l e at a
later date.
The following l i s t e x p l a i n s the v a r i o u s columns of
the computer output:
(1) - E l a p s e d Time ( t )
The t o t a l time i n minutes s i n c e s h e a r i n g was initiated.
(2) - D e v i a t o r S t r e s s (0"o)
The t o t a l l o a d i n pounds a c t i n g on the sample d i v i d e d
by the c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area i n square inches c o r r e c t e d
f o r b o t h a x i a l s t r a i n and volume change, assuming the
sample deforms as a r i g h t c i r c u l a r c y l i n d e r . In o t h e r
words:
AoLo-AV
A =
Lo - A L
- 157
where: A average c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area
initial c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area
initial length
AV change i n volume
AL change i n l e n g t h
The first column of computer output under the heading,
"Deviator S t r e s s " g i v e s the s t r e s s a t the time of the
r e a d i n g , w h i l e the second column g i v e s the s t r e s s j u s t
a f t e r the r e a d i n g . The d i f f e r e n c e i n s t r e s s i s due to
s m a l l a d d i t i o n a l loads p l a c e d on the sample t o maintain
the d e v i a t o r s t r e s s "constant."
(3) - Per cent Strain
The shear s t r a i n i n per cent c a l c u l a t e d by:
X 100%
(4) - Pore Pressure (u)
The pore water p r e s s u r e i n p s i c a l c u l a t e d from the
transducer calibration; f o r d r a i n e d t e s t s t h i s column
i s used f o r water content.

- 158
(5) - Major P r i n c i p a l Effective

S t r e s s (OV)
The major p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s i n p s i d e f i n e d
by:
oV = C T 3 + f J D - U
(6) - Minor P r i n c i p a l Effective
Stress (0"')
3
The minor p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s i n p s i d e f i n e d
by:
CT = CT - U
1
3
(7) - P r i n c i p a l E f f e c t i v e S t r e s s R a t i o (0"/ /0~ )

3
(8) - Mean Normal Effective

S t r e s s (p)
The mean normal e f f e c t i v e s t r e s s i n p s i d e f i n e d by:
P = toy + 2CT ') 3
(9) - Roscoe q/p
The r a t i o q/p d e f i n e d by:
q/p = (a, - cr' ) /p = a /p1

3 D
T h i s r a t i o can be r e l a t e d t o the p r i n c i p a l effective
stress r a t i o .
- 159
(10) - Skempton "A"
Pore Pressure Parameter
Since a l l samples were 100 per cent s a t u r a t e d , Skempton
"A" was calculated by:

A U
Skempton "A 1
A CT D
where: A U = pore p r e s s u r e change from the s t a r t

of t e s t
A 0"
D = change i n d e v i a t o r s t r e s s from s t a r t
of t e s t
T h i s column i s b l a n k f o r d r a i n e d tests.
(11) - S t r a i n Rate (f)
The s t r a i n r a t e i n per cent per minute was calculated from
shear s t r a i n and e l a p s e d time data, as d i s c u s s e d i n
the following. R e f e r r i n g t o F i g u r e 52, c o n s i d e r t h r e e
observed p o i n t s on the s t r a i n / t i m e c u r v e . I t i s de-
s i r e d t o o b t a i n the s t r a i n r a t e a t time t 2 . Assuming
a linear variation of s t r a i n w i t h time, the s t r a i n
r a t e at time ** 2
is ^ ~ ^'
2
, and the s t r a i n rate
2
t8-t,
at time — - =— is — - — . Now assuming a linear
2 t - t
variation of s t r a i n r a t e from time * * 2
t o time
2
, then/
"2 t -*i
3 »e"t, t,-t, t 3 - t 2
FIGURE 5 2 - CALCULATION OF STRAIN RATES
- 161
Since the c a l c u l a t i o n of a s t r a i n r a t e by t h i s method
r e q u i r e s one s e t of readings b e f o r e and a f t e r the time
at which the s t r a i n r a t e i s b e i n g obtained, no value
of s t r a i n r a t e i s calculated f o r the f i r s t and last
readings of any test.
(12) - Time to Rupture (ttr )
The d u r a t i o n of time i n minutes remaining u n t i l the
sample a c t u a l l y ruptured.
ttr = t r -t
where: t r = rupture time
I f t h i s column i s blank, the sample d i d not r u p t u r e .

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C9T
ELAPSED DEVIATOR PERCENT PORE SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCDE SKEMPTDN STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EPF EFF STRESS NORMAL Q/P A KATE Tj
'WIN) (PSI) (PSI) IPS!) I PSI ) RATIO STRESS (PERCENT/MIN) RUPTlME
2611.0 43.3 43.8 14.55 70.6 67.8 19.4 3.23 33.9 1.28 1.25 0.23499433 8.0
2613.0 43.5 43.5 15.08 70.5 63.0 19.5 3.22 34.0 1.28 1.24 0.29724867 6.0
2614.0 43.3 43.3 15.39 70.5 62.9 19.5 3.22 34.0 1.27 1.25 3.33181250 5.3
2615.0 43.2 43.4 15.74 70.4 62.7 19.6 3.20 34.0 1.27 1.25 0.33780594 4.0
2617.0 42.9 42.9 16.67 70.3 62.6 19.7 3.17 34.0 1.26 1.26 "'" ~0. 5979T3W :~270~
Z618.0 42.5 42.5 17.34 70.2 62.4 19.8 3.14 34.0 1.25 1.26 0.78805470 1.0
2619.0 42.1 42.1 18.25 70.0 62.1 20.0 3.10 34.1 1.23 1.27 0.00000003 0.0
CREEP RUPTURE FAILURE

OVER CONSOLIDATED UNDRAIMED CREEP TEST NO. C- 15 (OVE« CONSOLIUATION HAT 10 2)
ELAPSED DEVIATOR PERCENT PORE SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCOE SKEMP10M STRAIN T 1 ME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL Q/P A RATE T3
IMIN) (PSI) IPS!) (PSI) (PSI) RATIO STRESS (PERCENT/MI^) RUPTURE
0.0 0.6 40.0 0.00 14.7 38.4 37.8 1.02 38.0 0.02 0.00 U.00000003 2045.0
0.5 39.6 39.6 0.95 29.4 62.8 23.1 2.71 36. 3 1.09 0.38 1.02384866 2044.5
1.0 39.6 39.6 1.02 28.2 63.9 24.3 2.63 37.5 1.05 0.34 0. i3294956 :2044.0
2.0 39.6 40.0 1.11 27.2 64.9 25.3 2.56 38.5 1.03 0. 32 0.07709704 2D43.0
4.0 40.0 40.0 1.23 26.7 65.8 25.8 2.55 39. 1 1.02 JK30_ _0_'A5J)0274T 204U0_
8.0 39.9 40.0 1.36 26.2 66 26.3 2.52 39.6 1.01 0.29 0.02808869 2037.0
15.0 39.9 40.0 1.50 26.1 66, 26.4 2.51 39.7 1 .01 0.29 0.01729822 2030.0
30. 39.9 40.0 1.68 2C-.-3 66 26.2 2.53 39.5 1.01 0.30 0.01060700 2015.0
58. 39.9 40.0 1.89 26.8 65 25.7 2.55 39.0 1.02 0.31 0.00680086 1987.0
93. 39.9 40.0 2.09 27.4 65 25.1 2.59 38.4 1 .04 0.32 0.00512002 1952.0
144. 39.9 40.0 2.31 64 24.6 2.62 37.9 1.05 0.34 0.00363962 1901.0
202.0 39.9 40.0 2.51 28.5 63.9 24.0 2.66 37.3 1.07 0.35 0.00319201 1843.0
292.0 39.9 40.0 2.76 29.2 23.3 2.71 3fr.6 1.09 0.37 0.00265933 1753.0
407.0 39.9 40.0 3.04 29.8 6?.6 22.7 2.75 36.0 1.11 0.38 0.00236078 1633.0
624.0 39.8 40.0 3.51 30.6 61.7 21.9 2.82 35.2 1.13 0.41 0.00205899 1421.0
790.0 39.9 40.0 3.84 31.2 61.2 21.3 2.87 34.6 1.15 0.42 0.00194667 1255.0
1200.0 39.7 40.0 4.61 32.3 59.9 20.2 2.96 33.5 1.19 0.45 0.00212673 845.0
1492.0 39.7 40.0 5.28 33. 1 19.4 T2T6~ -074T" 0.002"8T5T3~ "~5T3TCr
1706.0 39.7 40.0 5.98 33.7 5 8.5 18.8 3.11 32.0 1.24 0.49 0.00426227 339.0
1852.0 39.7 40.0 6.70 34.2 58.0 18.3 3.16 31.6 1.26 0.50 0.00705417 193.0
1974.0 39.5 40.0 7.78 34.8 57.2 17.7 3.23 30.9 1.28 0.52 0.01592123 71.0
1986.0 39.9 40.0 7.98 34.8 57.7 17.7 3.25 31.1 1.29 0.51 0.01836962 59.0
2000.0 39.9 40.0 8.27 34.8 57.6 17.7 3.25 31.0 J.29 0.51 0.02362803 45_.0_
2012.0 39.9 40.0 8.58 34.9 57.4 17.6 3.27 30.9 1.29 ,51 0.03T5 3631" 33 . 0
2023.0 39.8 40.0 8.98 35.0 57.4 17.5 3.27 30.8 1.29 ,52 0.04698402 22.0
2027.0 39.9 40.0 9. 19 35.0 57.4 17.5 3.28 30.8 1.30 ,52 0.05604669 18.0
2032.0 39.9 40.0 9. 50 35.1 57.3 17.4 3.29 30. 7 1.30 ,52 0.07774808 13.0
2036.0 39.8 40.0 9.86 35.2 5 7.2 17.3 3.30 30.6 1.30 0.52 0.11099525 9.0
2039.0 39.9 40.0 10.24 35.1 57.2 17.4 3.29 30.7 U30 0.52 0^16586690 _6.0
57.1 17.4 3.27 30.7 i.29 0.52 "6.40397511 ' 2.5
2042.5 39.7 40.0 10.98 35.1
57.3 17.8 3.22 31.0 1.28 0.51 1.61595386 D.5
2044.5 39.5 39.8 12.01 34.7
57.7 18.3 3.15 31.4 1.25 0.50 0 .00000000 0.0
2045.0 39.3 39.3 12.95 34.2

OVER CONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED CEEP TEST NO. C- 20 (OVER CUNSOLIDATIOM RAT I 3
6)
y
ELAPSED DEVIATOR PERCENT PORE SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN RDSCOE SKEMPTON STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL 0/P A RATE TO
(MIN) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) RATIO STRESS (PERCENT/MIN) RUPTURE
0.0 0.6 30.3 0.00 15.2 12.9 12.3 1.05 12.5 0.05 0.00 0.00000000 1925.5
0.5 29.7 30.2 2.02 19.3 37.9 8.2 4.61 18. 1 1.64 0.14 2.21132226 1925.0
1.0 30. 1 30.3 2.21 18.6 39.0 8.9 4.38 18.9 1.59 0.11 0.31746032 1924.5
2.0 30.2 30.3 2.41 17.6 40.1 9.9 4.05 20.0 1.51 0.08 0.17780502 1923.5
.4.0 __3_0_-2_ 2.68 .liL.ja.__ _4J_Q...
41.6
-J_L_7.. 3.81 _1___45_ -Q._G_L.
0.03
j_a.a9.p804_.-_ ..J_22.l_.5_
7.0 30.2 30.3 2.90 16.2 11.3 3.67 21.4 1 .41 1918.5
42.0 21.8 1.39 0.02 0.06428036 1914.5
11.0 30.2 30.3 3.10 15.8 11.7 3.58
42.3 22. 1 1.37 0.01 0.04394032 1908.5
17.0 30.2 30.3 3.31 15.5 12.0 3.51
42.5 1 .35 0.00 0.03102099 1900.5
25.0 30.2 30.3 3.52 15.2 12.3 3.46 22.4
42.7 1.34 -0.01 0.02274224 1890.5
35.0 30.2 30.3 3.71 15.1 12.4 3.43 22.5
42.8 -0.01 0.01588126 1875.5
50.0 30.2 30.3 3.92 15.0 12.5 __f_2 _?__.• 6 J__?__ 0.01289701 1849.5
76.0 30.2 30.3 4.19 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.39 22.7 1.33 -0.01 0.00929909 1322.5
103.0 30.2 30. 3 4.41 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.39 22.7 1.33 -0.01 0.00741801 1768.5
157.0 30.2 30.3 4.74 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.38 22.8 1.33 -0.01 0.00538536 1695.5
230.0 30.2 30.3 5.06 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.37 22.8 1.33 -0.02 0.00418313 1627.5
298.0 30.2 30.3 5.33 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.39 22. 7 1 .33 -0.01 0.00369388 1557.5
368.0 30.2 30.3 5.57 14.9 42.9 12.6 3.39 22. 7 -Ot_3_L 0.00333577 " 1492"! 5
433.0 30.2 30.3 5.78 14.9 47.9 12.6 3.40 22.7 1.33 0.00308917
12.6 3.40 22.6 1.33 -0.01 0.00272161 1341.5
584.0 30.2 30.3 6.21 14.9 42.7
12.5 3.41 22.6 1.34 -0.01 0.00265025 1207.5
718.0 30.2 30.3 6.56 15.0 42.7
12.5 3.42 22.5 1.34 -0.01 0.00259480 1091.5
834.0 30.2 30.3 6.87 15.0 42.7
12.3 3.43 22.3 1.34 -0.01 0.00340346 525.5
1400.0 29.9 30.3 8.16 15.2 42.2 _ -463L.5_-
1462.0 _.3J___J__- _10__3_ _X5.^2_ ___.6_ . J Z . 3.. __3__45_ -..22.JL 1.35 -0.00 _Q_.Q 0174457.-
-_8_JL_L 403.5
1522.0 30.2 30.3 8.62 15.2 42.5 12.3 3.45 22.4 1.35 __0_._3.Q_ 0.00428221
1.35 351.5
1574.0 30.2 30.3 8.85 15.2 42.6 12.3 3.45 22.4 -0.66 0.00480084
1.35 295.5
1630.0 30.2 30.3 9 . 14 15.2 42.5 12.3 3.45 22.4 -0.00 0.00579695
1.34 257.5
1668.0 30.2 30.3 9.38 15.1 4 2.7 12.4 3.43 22.5 -0.00 0.00671164
1.35 227.5
1698.0 30.2 30.3 9.59 15.1 42.6 12.4 3.44 22.4 -0.01 0.00739151
JU35_ __. 197_,.5._
1728.0 30.2 30.3 9.82 _15a_. _4 ?j_6 12.. 4 3_._44_ 22.5 -0.00 0.00832227
1.34 169.5
1756.0 30.2 30.3 10.07 15.1 42.6 12.4 3.43 22.5 __0.00 0.00979047"
1.34 149.5
1776.0 30.2 30.3 10.28 15.1 42.7 12.4 3.43 22.5 -0.01 0.01091307
1.34 131.5
1794.0 30.2 30.3 10.48 15.1 4?.7 12.4 3.43 22.5 -0.01 0.01197797
1 .34 111.5
1814.0 30.2 30.3 10.74 15.0 42.7 12.5 3.42 22.5 -0.01 0.01414719
1.34 95.5
1830.0 30.2 30.3 10.98 15.0 4?.7 12.5 3.42 22.5 -0.01 0.01669051
83.5
1642.0 3C.2 30.3 11. 19 15.0 12.5 __.*2__ 22.5 J •!> -0.01 0.01852987
7 3 .5
1852.0 30.2 30.3 11. 39 15.0 4'.7 12.5 3.42 22.6 1.34 -Q.01 0.67050282
62.5
1863.0 30.2 30.3 11.63 15.0 42.7 12.5 3.41 22.6 1.34 -0.01 0.02360412
53.5
30.2 30.3 15. 42.8 12.5 3.41 22.6 1.34 -0.01 0.02690920
1872.0 11.85 44.5
30.2 30.3 14. 12.6 3.40 22. 1.33 -0.01 0.03199623
1881.0 12.11 42.8 37.5
30.2 30.3 14. 12.6 3.40 22. 1 .33 -0.01 0.03819838
1888.0 12.35 42.8 32.5
__L8.9i._XL _3_>.-2_ ___3_0_.3__ _1.2...5__. 14. .42.8.. 12.6 3.40 - .22. L.33 -0.01 _Q. 04394032. 27.5
30.2 30.3 14. 42.9 12.6 3.39 22. 1.33 7.0 .01 _ 0.05012832 23.5
1898.0 12. 79
30.2 30.3 14.8 42.9 12.7 3.39 22. 1.33 -0.01 0.057939^2 18.5
1902.0 13.00
30.2 30.3 14.8 47.9 12.7 3.38 22. 1 .33 -0.01 C.07357443
1907.0 13. 33
-0.01
ELAPSED DEVIATUR PERCENT PORE SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCOE SKEMPTON STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL Q/P A RATE TO '.
(MIN) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) .( PSI ) RAT 10 STRESS .... .<PERCENT/M1 N) _ . ..8.«J£-I.yAi
1912.0 30.2 30.3 13.74 14.8 4'.9 12.7 3.37 22.8 1.32 -0.02 0.09707746 13.5
1917.0 30.1 30.3 14.30 14.7 4?.9 12.8 3.35 22.8 1.32 -0.02 0.13815654 8.5
1922.0 30.0 30.3 15.12 14.6 42.9 12.9 3.32 22.9 1.31 -0.02 0.48840179 3.5
1925.0 29.6 29.6 17. 17 13_.7 43. 3_ 13.8 3.15 23.6 1.25 -0.05 4.37184272 0.5
1925.5 28.7 28.7 19.66 11.8 44.4 15.7 2.83 25.3 1.13 -0.12 0.00006600" 0/5"
I
OVER CONSOLIDATED UNDRAINED CREEP TEST NO. C- 35 (OVER CONSOLIDATION RA1IO 25 )
ELAPSED DEVIATOR PERCENT PORE STG I SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCOE SKEMPTON STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL Q/P A RATE TO
(MIN) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) RATIO STRESS ( PERCENT /M I ,N ) RUPTURE
0.0 0.6 16.0 0.00 14.5 4. 1 3.5 1.16 3. 7 0.15 0.00 0.00000000 141.5
0.5 15.6 15.6 2.79 16.1 17.4 1 .9 9.37 7.0 2.21 0. 11 3.0440023? 141.0
1.0 15.5 16.0 3.04 16.1 17.4 1.9 9.03 7. 1 2.18 0.10 0.44203333 140.5
2.0 16.0 16.0 3.37 15.8 IB.2 2.2 8.16 7.5 2.11 0.08 0.28564733 139.5
4.0 15.9 16.0 3.79 15.2 IP.8 2.8 6.60 8.2 1.95 0.04 0.17580871 13 7.5
6.0 16.0 16.0 4.07 14.7 19.2 3.3 5.88 8.6 1.86 O'.Ol "0.12407072 1 35.5
8.0 16.0 16.0 4.29 14.4 19.6 3.6 5.45 8. 9 1.79 -0.01 0.10273926 133.5
11.0 16.0 16.0 4.56 14.0 19.9 4.0 5.03 9.3 1.72 -0.03 0.08371844 130.5
14.0 16.0 16.0 4.79 13.8 2C.2 4.2 4.79 9. 5 1.68 -0.05 0.07233273 127.5
17.0 16.0 16.0 5.00 13.6 20.4 4.4 4.63 9.7 1 .64 -0.06 0.06764450 124.5
20.0 16.0 16.0 5.20 13.4 20.5 .4.6 4.49 9.9 1.61 0 .06195J_65_ 121.5
23. 16.0 16.0 5.37 13.3 20.7 4.7 4.42 10.0 1.60 -0.08" 0.05556513 118.5
27. 16.0 16.0 5.58 13.2 20.8 4.8 4.31 10. 1 1.57 -0.09 0.05224030 114.5
31, 16.0 16.0 5. 79 13.1 20.9 4.9 4.23 10.3 1.55 -0.09 0.04947761 -110.5
35. 16.0 16.0 5.98 12.9 21.0 5.1 4.15 10.4 1.54 -0.10 0.04768633 106.5
40.0 16.0 16.0 6.21 12.8 21.2 5.2 4.07 10.5 1.52 -0.11 0.04681534 101.5
45.0 16.0 16.0 6.45 12.7 21.3 5.3 4.02 10.-6 1 .50 -0.12 0.04581072 96.5
50.0 16.0 16.0 6.67 12.6 21.3 5.4 3.97 10.7 T.49 -"OTTT" ~T5T04"56"0~98'r "7I7T
55.0 16.0 16.0 6.90 1-2.6 21.4 5.4 3.95 10. 7 1.49 -0.13 0.04621258 86.5
60.0 16.0 7.13 12.5 21.5 5.5 3.91 10. 8 1.48 -0.13 0.04641350 81.5
16.0
65.0 3.87 10.9 1.47 -0.13 0.04641350 76.5
16.0 16.0 7.37 12.4 21.5 5.6
70.0 3.84 10.9 1 .46 -0.14 0.04721720 71.5
16.0 L6.0 7.60 12.4 21.6 5.6
0.04942736 _66-5
75.0 16.0 16.0 7.84 12.4 21.6 5.6 3.83 JI_ 1.46 -0.14
0.05096778 51.5
80.0 16.0 16.0 8.09 12.3 21.7 5.7 3.79 11.0 1.45 -0.14
0.05274262 57.5
84.0 16.0 16.0 8.30 12.3 2 1.7 5.7 3.78 11. 1 1.44 -0.15
0.05324492 53.5
88.0 16.0 16.0 8.52 12.2 21.7 5.8 3.77 11. 1 1.44 - 0 . 15
0.05450071 49.5
92.0 16.0 16.0 8.72 12.2 21.8 5.8 3.75 11.1 1.43 - 0 . 15
0.05927266 45.5
96.0 16.0 16.0 8.95 12.2 21.8 5.8 3.73 11.2 1.43 -0.15
0.C6283667 41.5.
1C0.0 16.0 16.0 9.20 12.1 21.8 5.9 3.72 U.2 1.43 -0.15
.06530036 38.5
103.0 16.0 16.0 9. 39 12.1 21.9 5.9 3.71 11.2 1.42 -0.16
106.0 16.0 16.0 9.59 12.1 21.9 5.9 3.70 11.2 1.42 - 0 . 16 0.06898399 35.5
109.0 16.0 16.0 9.80 12.1 21.9 5.9 3.70 11.2 1.42 -0.16 0.07766762 32.5
112.0 16.0 16.0 10.03 12.0 21.9 6.0 3.68 11.3 1.42 - 0 . 16 0.07668608 29.5
115.0 16.0 16.0 10. 26 12.0 21.9 6.0 3.67 11.3 1.41 0.16 0.08639743 26.5
12.0 21.9 3.67 _- _ 1.41 0.16 0.09242517 23.5
118.0 16.0 16.0 10.54
6
JL°_
"6.0 "3T65"
3
11. 4" 1.41" 0.T7" C.09610&73 20.T"

121.0 16.0 16.0 10.82" 12 "22.15
11.02 1? 22.0 6.0 3.65 11.4 1.41 0.1 7 0.10548570 18.5
123.0 16.0 16.0
11 2?.0 6.1 3.64 11.4 1.40 0.17 0.11804301 15.5
125.0 16.0 16.0 11, 24
11 22.1 6.1 3.62 11.4 1.40 0.1 7 0.13110310 14.5
127.0 16.0 16.0 11, 49 0.14667472
11 22.1 6.1 3.61 11.4 1 .40 0.17 12.5
129.0 16.0 16.0 11. 76 O . i 732971.4 10.5
2?_1 3_.60 1.39 0.17
131.0 16.0 16.0 17.08 11
77.1
A.L 3.58
Ll_5
1 . 39 0". 18 6.20845887 8.5
133.0 16.0 16.0 12.46 11.8 6.2 11.5"
11.3 22.2 3.56 11.5 1.38 0. 18 C.25P69000 6.5
135.0 15.9 16.0 17.91 6.2
11.7 22.2 6.3 3.53 11.6 1.37 0.18 0.35412899 4.5
137.0 15.9 16.0 1 3. 49
ELAPSED DEVIATOR PERCENT PORE SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCOE- SKEMPTON STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN PRESSURE EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL O/P A RATE TO
1MIN) IPS!) _ (PSI) ( PSI ) (PSI ) RATIO STRESS (PERCENT/MIN) J_!_L!__JL„
139.0 15.9 16.0 14.33 11.6 22.2 6.4 3.50 11.6 1.36 -0.19 .0.62537670 2.5
141.0 15.7 15.7 15.99 11.5 27.2 6.5 3.41 11.7 1.34 -0.20 0.00000000 0.5

HOC
OVER- CONSOLIDATED DRAINED CREEP TEST NO. C- 22 (OVER CONSOLIDATION RATIO = 25)
ELAPSED DEVIATOR SHEAR WATER SIG 1 SIG 3 PRINCIPAL MEAN ROSCOE STRAIN TIME
TIME STRESS STRAIN CONTENT EFF EFF STRESS NORMAL Q/P RATE TO
IMIN) (PSI) (PSI) (PSI) RATIO STRESS (PERCENT/MIN) RUPTURE
0.0 0.6 14.6 0.00 36.4 3.6 3.0 1.19 3.2 0.18 0.00000000 493.0
0.5 14.3 14.6 1.87 36.4 17.3 3.0 5.78 7.8 1.84 2.02020198 492.5
1.0 14.6 14.6 2.02 36.4 17.6 3.0 5.85 7.9 1.85 0.23141508 492.0
2.0 14.6 14.6 2.13 36.3 17.6 3.0 5.86 7.9 1.86 0.09481671 491.0
A.O 14.6 14.6 2.25 36.3 17.6 3.0 5.86 7.9 1.86 0.04983166 _489.0_
8.0 14. 14.6 2.37 36.3 17.6 3.0 5.86 7.9 1 .86 0.02587109 485.0
16.0 14, 14.6 2.51 36.4 17.6 3.0 5.86 7.9 1.86 0.01483981 477.0
38.0 14, 14.6 2.70 36.4 17.6 3.0 5.86 7.9 1.85 0.00794586 455.0
69.0 14. 14.6 2.91 36.5 17.6 3.0 5.85 7.9 1.85 0.00595027 424.0
135.0 14. 14.6 3.21 36.6 17.5 3.0 5.84 7. 8 1 .85 0.00420942 358,0
205.0 14. 14.6 3.48 36.7 17.5 3.0 5.83 7.8 1.85 0.00392151 288.0
273.0 14 14.6 3.75 36.8 "TTTT 3.0 5.85" 7T8" 0.004T2-Tf9~ 220.0 "
347.0 14 14.6 4.08 36.9 17.5 3.0 5.84 7.8 I .85 0.00518646 146.0
407.0 14 14.6 4.43 37.0 17.5 3.0 5.84 7.8 1.85. 0.00932299 86.0
465.0 14 14.6 5.17 37.2 1-7.5 3.0 5.82 7.8 1.85 0.04260687 28.0
471.0 14 14.6 5.44 37.2 17.5 3.0 5.85 7.8 1.85 0.05989649 22.0
475.0 14.5 14.6 5.72 37.2 17.5 3.0 5.85 7.8 1.85 0.08410245 13.0
479.0 14.5 14.6 6. 12 37.3 17.5 3.0 5.84 7.8 1.85 0.12408945 14.0"
481.0 14.5 14.6 6.39 37.3 17.5 3.0 5.8 5 7.8 1.85 0.16095811 12.0
483.0 14.5 14.6 6.76 37.3 17.5 3.0 5.84 7.8 1.85 0.20926693 10.0
485.0 14.5 14.6 7.23 37.3 17.5 3.0 5.84 7.8 1.85 0.27257431 8.0
487.0 14.5 14.6 7.85 37.4 17.5 3.0 5.83 7.8 1.85 0.35221933 6.C
489.0. 14.5 14.6 8.64 37.4 17.5 3.0 5.82 7.8 1.85 0.49363349 4.0
491.0 14.4 14.5 9.83 37.4 17.4 3.0 5.80 7.8 1.85 '1.40054964 2.0-
492.5 14.0 14.0 12.83 37.5 17.0 3.0 5.68 7.7 1.83 7.49729664 0.5
493.0 13.3 13.3 17.50 37.5 16.3 3.0 5.43 7.4 1.79 0.00000000 ,0.0

Creep - Creep Rupture of Unsaturated Clay (Thesis) UBC - 1970 - A1 S54

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Creep - Creep Rupture of Unsaturated Clay (Thesis) UBC - 1970 - A1 S54

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CREEP RUPTURE OF

SATURATED UNDISTURBED CLAYS

DAVID EDWARD SNEAD

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL(FULFILMENT OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

an a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t the University, of British Columbia, I agree that

the L i b r a r y shall make it freely available for reference and study.

I further agree that permission for extensive copying o f this thesis

for scholarly p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my D e p a r t m e n t or

by h i s representatives. It is understood that copying or publication

of this thesis for financial gain shall not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my

Department of Civil Engineering

Date October 14, 1970

The stress/strain relationship f o r most engineering

materials i s known t o be time dependent. This i s most evident

during a creep test i n which continual deformations are ob-

served under constant stress conditions. In the laboratory,

a specimen of cohesive soil subjected to a constant shear

stress may fail after having deformed alt r e l a t i v e l y slow

rates for a considerable time. This type of failure, termed

creep rupture, i s a l s o known to occur i n the field.

Results of drained and undrained triaxial creep

rupture tests are presented in this thesis. These tests

were performed on a sensitive marine clay from western Canada

which was consolidated to various stress histories. Pore

pressure measurements were taken during undrained tests using

an electrical transducer. In a d d i t i o n to the creep rupture

tests, incremental load and constant strain rate triaxial

tests were performed for comparative purposes.

The strain rate during a creep rupture test was

observed to initially decrease as the specimen s t r a i n e d ,

reach a transient minimum strain rate, and then increase

until rupture. Failure was found t o be inevitable whenever

minimum v a l u e . Pore p r e s s u r e s measured d u r i n g the undrained

t e s t s d i d not r e f l e c t the onset of creep r u p t u r e a t the

t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e , and therefore, the onset of

creep r u p t u r e cannot be e x p l a i n e d i n terms of e f f e c t i v e

A r e l a t i o n s h i p was found t o e x i s t between the

deviator stress, s t r a i n and current s t r a i n rate during un-

d r a i n e d t r i a x i a l t e s t s having the same c o n s o l i d a t i o n history.

constant s t r a i n r a t e t e s t s based on the r e s u l t s of creep

rupture t e s t s . This resulted i n an understanding of the

i n t e r r e l a t i o n between the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e of

a creep r u p t u r e t e s t and the maximum d e v i a t o r stress of a

Once the t r a n s i e n t minimum s t r a i n r a t e had been

reached, the r e s u l t s of creep r u p t u r e t e s t s showed t h a t the

s t r a i n r a t e was inversely proportional to the time remaining

before rupture. T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s independent of stress

level, consolidation h i s t o r y and drainage c o n d i t i o n s . As a

result, i t i s suggested t h a t measurement of deformations i n

the f i e l d can be used to p r e d i c t the time u n t i l a sudden

The upper y i e l d strength, d e f i n e d as the maximum

compressive s t r e s s which w i l l not cause a creep rupture

f a i l u r e , was evaluated from both creep r u p t u r e and constant

s t r a i n rate tests. I t was found t h a t the compressive

strength increased as a l i n e a r f u n c t i o n of the cube r o o t

1.2 Purpose and Scope 3

2.2 S t u d i e s o f Time-dependent Behaviour of