Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigation on the macro- and microdeformation characteristics of silty clay under different shield construction stress paths

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Geotechnical investigation and design show that when evaluating the settlement of ground with soft soil ground, the use of a single stress path results in a larger error than in the case of a multistress path. To understand the influence of a multistress path on the deformation properties and microstructure characteristics of soil, a two-stage stress path (corresponding to three stress states: the in situ state, unloading-loading state, and grouting pressure state) of soil was examined by analytical solution. Then, a series of triaxial tests was conducted to analyze macroscopic deformation properties considering four influencing factors, i.e., the relative distance between the soil and tunnel, stress paths, type of silty clay, and drainage conditions. The results show that axial strain of silty clay caused by the two-stage stress path increases by 31.6% with the relative distance decreasing from 1.67R (R means tunnel radius) to 1.25R on tunnel side, while the volume strain increases by 80% with the relative distance decreasing from 1.21R to 1.06R on tunnel bottom. In addition, the deformation caused by the two-stage stress path (or reconstituted soil or undrained condition) is larger than that caused by the one-stage stress path (or undisturbed soil or drained condition). Finally, through scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry, the pore size, distribution, shape, and arrangement of silty clay on the bottom and sides of the tunnel were investigated. The research shows that under the two-stage stress path, the number of large pores decrease and that of small pores increase. The probability entropy of pore orientation ranges from 0.834 to 0.971 when silty clay is subjected to a two-stage stress path. This illustrates that the pore order of the soil on tunnel side is better than that on the tunnel bottom.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barzegari G, Uromeihy A, Zhao J (2013) A newly developed soil abrasion testing method for tunnelling using shield machines. Q J Eng Geol Hydrogeol 46(1):63–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai Y, Hao B, Gu C, Wang J, Pan L (2018) Effect of anisotropic consolidation stress paths on the undrained shear behavior of reconstituted Wenzhou clay. Eng Geol 242:23–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chehade FH, Shahrour I (2008) Numerical analysis of the interaction between twin-tunnels: influence of the relative position and construction procedure. Tunn Undergr Space Technol 23(2):210–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fattahi H, Babanouri N (2018) Res-based model in evaluation of surface settlement caused by EPB shield tunneling. Indian Geotech J 48(4):746–752

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedakar HI, Cetin B, Rutherford CJ (2021) Deformation characteristics of medium-dense sand-clay mixtures under a principal stress rotation. Transp Geotech 30:100616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2021.100616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng S, Lu S (2016) Failure of a retaining structure in a metro station excavation in Nanchang city, China. J Perform Constr Fac 30(4):1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Filbà M, Salvany JM, Jubany J, Carrasco L (2016) Tunnel boring machine collision with an ancient boulder beach during the excavation of the Barcelona city subway l10 line: a case of adverse geology and resulting engineering solutions. Eng Geol 200:31–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuente MDL, Sulem J, Taherzadeh R, Subrin D (2020) Tunneling in squeezing ground: effect of the excavation method. Rock Mech Rock Eng 53(2):601–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao QF, Jard M, Hattab M, Fleureau JM, Ll Ameur (2020) Pore morphology, porosity, and pore size distribution in kaolinitic remolded clays under triaxial loading. Int J Geomech 20(6):04020057

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao QF, Zeng L, Shi ZN, Zhang R (2021) Evolution of unsaturated shear strength and microstructure of a compacted silty clay on wetting paths. Int J Geomech. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamidi S, Marandi SM (2018) Effect of clay mineral types on the strength and microstructure properties of soft clay soils stabilized by epoxy resin. Geomech Eng 15(2):729–738

    Google Scholar 

  • Iyer KKR, Shetty R, Joseph J, Singh DN (2019) Influence of microstructure on drying-and wetting-characteristics of fine-grained soils. Geomech Geoengin Int J 14(4):271–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeng FS, Weng MC, Huang TH, Lin ML (2002) Deformational characteristics of weak sandstone and impact to tunnel deformation. Tunn Underg Space Technol 17(3):263–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang MJ, Sima J, Cui YJ, Hu HJ, Zhou CB, Lei HY (2017) Experimental investigation of the deformation characteristics of natural loess under the stress paths in shield tunnel excavation. Int J Geomech 17(9):04017079

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch G (1898) Die Theorie der Elastizitat und die Bedurfnisse der Festigkeitslehre. Z Ver Dtsch Inge 42:797–807

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambe TW (1967) Stress path method. J Soil Mech Found Div 93(118):1195–1217

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei HY, Feng SX, Jiang Y (2018) Geotechnical characteristics and consolidation properties of Tianjin marine clay. Geomech Eng 16(2):125–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei HY, Lv HB, Wang X, Ren Q, Li B (2016) Changes in soil micro-structure for natural soft clay under accelerated creep condition. Mar Georesour Geotechnol 34(4):365–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei HY, Liu M, Jiang Y, Sun X (2020) Deformation of Tianjin soft clay and corresponding micromechanism under cyclic loading. Can Geotech J 57(12):1893–1902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XP, Zhao YP (2007) Discussion on the still lateral pressure coefficient and testing method. J Railw Eng Soc 08:20–22 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu C, Shi B, Zhou J, Tang CS (2011) Quantification and characterization of microporosity by image processing, geometric measurement and statistical methods: application on SEM images of clay materials. Appl Clay Sci 54(1):97–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China (2019) Specification of soil test (GB/T50123-2019) China Communications Press, Beijing

  • Pineda JA, Suwal LP, Kelly RB, Bates L, Sloan SW (2016) Characterisation of ballina clay. Géotechnique 66(7):556–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahmoradi J, Rad HS, Roghanchi P (2020) Face stability analysis for the earth pressure balance method in nonhomogeneous inclined soil layers: case study. International J Geomech 20(10):05020005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh A, Mitchell JK (1968) General stress-strain-time function for soils. ASCE Soil Mech Found Div J 94(1):21–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CS, Shi B, Wang BJ (2008) Factors affecting analysis of soil microstructure using SEM. Chin J Geotech Eng 30(4):560–565 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tannous HO, Furlan R, Major M (2020) Souq waqif neighborhood as a transit-oriented development (TOD). J Urban Plan Dev 146(4):05020023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian WM, Silva AJ, Veyera GE, Sadd MH (1994) Drained creep of undisturbed cohesive marine sediments. Can Geotech J 31(6):841–855. https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tor LG, Jubert P, Nathalie B, Carraro JAH, Andy F (2019) Effects of sampling disturbance in geotechnical design. Can Geotech J 56(2):275–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Feng D, Guo L, Fu HT, Cai YQ, Wu TY, Shi L (2019) Anisotropic and noncoaxial behavior of k0-consolidated soft clays under stress paths with principal stress rotation. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 145(9):04019036. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu RQ, Xu LY, Deng YW, Zhu YH (2015) Experimental study on soft clay contact area based on SEM and IPP. J Zhejiang Univ (Eng Sci) 49(8):1417–1425 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XW, Kong LW, Guo AG, Tuo YF (2012) Evolution of microscopic pore of structured clay in compression process based on SEM and MIP test. Chin J Rock Mech Eng 31(02):406–412 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XW, Kong LW, Li J (2014) An investigation of alterations in Zhanjiang clay properties due to atmospheric oxidation. Geotechnique 64(12):1003–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang ZL, Cui ZD (2017) Analysis of microscopic pore structures of the silty clay before and after freezing–thawing under the subway vibration loading. Environ Earth Sci 76(15):1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6879-z

  • Zhao D, Gao QF, Hattab M, Hicher PY, Yin ZY (2020) Microstructural evolution of remolded clay related to creep. Transp Geotech 24:100367

  • Zhou CY, Cui GJ, Liang WY, Liu Z, Zhang LH (2021) A coupled macroscopic and mesoscopic creep model of soft marine soil using a directional probability entropy approach. J Mar Sci Eng 9(2):224

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This project was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0805402), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078334), and the Laboratory Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Simulation and Seismic Resilience of China Earthquake Administration (Grant No. EESSR21-02).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Huayang Lei, Zeyu Cheng, Shuangxi Feng & Haichen Zhong

  2. Key Laboratory of Coast Civil Structure Safety (Tianjin University), Ministry of Education, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Huayang Lei

  3. Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Simulation and Seismic Resilience of China Earthquake Administration, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Huayang Lei & Shuangxi Feng

  4. The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

    Jinfeng Lou

Authors
  1. Huayang Lei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zeyu Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shuangxi Feng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jinfeng Lou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Haichen Zhong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuangxi Feng.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lei, H., Cheng, Z., Feng, S. et al. Investigation on the macro- and microdeformation characteristics of silty clay under different shield construction stress paths. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 9105–9125 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02475-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02475-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation