Abstract
Soil thixotropy plays an important role in many engineering practices, which recently has been drawn an increasing attention by many researchers. In this paper, an experimental investigation on the thixotropy of deepwater marine clays in the South China Sea was carried out. The thixotropy-induced changes of undrained shear strength were measured by fall cone method, and the microscale evolution of soil structure, particularly the change of various types of water, was observed and quantified via employing scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. The test results show that the thixotropy strength ratios of all deep-sea clays increase quickly at the early stage (before about 10 days), then followed by a gradually lower increasing rate with prolonged time. The microstructural evolution of clay during thixotropic hardening is characterized by the transformation from a dispersed structure with parallel-arranged particles to a well flocculated one. The different types of water and their changes of mass fraction with thixotropic time could be well classified and quantitatively measured by thermogravimetric analysis, in which both the weakly and strongly bound water contents decrease, with the corresponding increase in the free water fraction. The thixotropic mechanism was then revealed from the perspective of the microstructural evolution and the adjustment of the thickness of bound water. The recovery of strength is majorly attributed to the forming and strengthening of inter-particle bonds or contacts and the adjustment of bound water layer. This research could help to provide a deeper insight into the inner reason of soil thixotropy.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Code availability
Not applicable.
References
Andersen KH, Jostad HP (2002) Shear strength along outside wall of suction anchors in clay after installation. In: The 12th international Offshore and polar engineering conference. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
Alam MK, Shahriar AR, Islam MS, Islam N, Abedin MZ (2020) Experimental investigation on the strength and deformation aspects of thixotropic aging in reconstituted clays. Geotech Geol Eng 39(3):2471–2486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01639-1
ASTM D2487-17 (2017) Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (Unified Soil Classification System). American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken
Bharat TV, Sridharan A (2015) Prediction of compressibility data for highly plastic clays using diffuse double-layer theory. Clays Clay Miner 63(1):30–42. https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.2015.0630103
Boswell PGH (1948) A preliminary examination of the thixotropy of some sedimentary rocks. Q J Geol Soc 104:499–526. https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1948.104.01-04.23
Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Lecointre JA, Palmer AS (1999) Dynamic interactions between lahars and stream flow: a case study from Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull 111(1):28–38
Díaz-Rodríguez JA, Santamarina JC (1999) Thixotropy: the case of Mexico City soils. In: XI Panamerican conferences on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, pp 441–448
Favilli F, Egli M, Cherubini P, Sartori G, Haeberli W, Delbos E (2008) Comparison of different methods of obtaining a resilient organic matter fraction in alpine soils. Geoderma 145(3–4):355–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2008.04.002
Freundlich H (1935) Thixotropy, vol 1. Hermann & cie
Gao QF, Jrad M, Hattab M, Fleureau JM, Ameur LI (2020) Pore morphology, porosity, and pore size distribution in kaolinitic remolded clays under triaxial loading. Int J Geomech 20(6):04020057. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001682
Gardner CMK, Robinson D, Blyth K, Cooper JD (2001) Soil water content measurement. Marcell Dekker, Inc., New York (270 Madison Ave)
Jacobsson A, Pusch R (1972) Thixotropic action in remoulded quick clay. Bull Int Assoc Eng Geol 5(1):105–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02634659
Jeong SW, Locat J, Leroueil S (2012) The effects of salinity and shear history on the rheological characteristics of illite-rich and Na-montmorillonite-rich clays. Clays Clay Miner 60(2):108–120. https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.2012.0600202
Jeong SW, Locat J, Torrance JK, Leroueil S (2015) Thixotropic and anti-thixotropic behaviors of fine-grained soils in various flocculated systems. Eng Geol 196:119–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.07.014
Kul’chitskii GB (1975) Thixotropy of soils of the middle Ob region and its consideration when constructing pile foundations. Soil Mech Found Eng 12(3):168–170
Li S, Wang C, Zhang X, Zou L, Dai Z (2019) Classification and characterization of bound water in marine mucky silty clay. J Soils Sediments 19(5):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02242-5
Li Y, Wang T, Su L (2015) Determination of bound water content of loess soils by isothermal adsorption and thermogravimetric analysis. Soil Sci 180:90–96. https://doi.org/10.1097/SS.0000000000000121
Lunne T, Andersen KH (2007) Soft clay shear strength parameters for deepwater geotechnical design. In: Offshore site investigation and geotechnics, confronting new challenges and sharing knowledge. Society of Underwater Technology
Mitchell JK (1960) Fundamental aspects of thixotropy in soils. J Soil Mech Found Division 86(3):19–52. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0000271
Mitchell JK, Soga K (2005) Fundamentals of soil behaviors. Wiley, New York
NS-EN ISO 17892-4 (2016) Geotechnical investigation and testing-Laboratory testing of soil: Part 4: Determination of particle size distribution
NS-EN ISO 17892-6 (2017) Geotechnical investigation and testing-Laboratory testing of soil: Part 6: fall cone
NS-EN ISO 17892-12 (2018) Geotechnical investigation and testing-Laboratory testing of soil: Part 12: determination of liquid and plastic limits
Osipov VI, Nikolaeva SK, Sokolov VN (1984) Microstructural changes associated with thixotropic phenomena in clay soils. Géotechnique 34(3):293–303. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1984.34.3.293
Park D, Kutter BL, DeJong JT (2014) Effects of thixotropy and cement content on the sensitivity of soft remolded clay. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 141(2):04014095. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001221
Peng J, Luo SM, Wang DF, Cao Y, DeGroot DJ, Zhang GP (2021) Multiple thixotropisms of liquid limit-consistency clays unraveled by multiscale experimentation. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 148:04021165. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002705
Peng J, Luo SM, Wang DF, Ren Y, Fan LL, DeGroot DJ, Zhang GP (2021) Quantitative evaluation of thixotropy-governed microfabric evolution in soft clays. Appl Clay Sci 210:106157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2021.106157
Perret D, Locat J, Martignoni P (1996) Thixotropic behavior during shear of a fine-grained mud from Eastern Canada. Eng Geol 43(1):31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-7952(96)00031-2
Peterfi T (1927) Arch. Entwicklungsmech Organ 112:660–695
Ren Y, Yang Q, Wang Y, Zhao W (2020) Experimental study on the undrained shear strength of deep-sea soft soil using improved T-bar penetrometer. Mar Georesour Geotechnol 38(10):1199–1208. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2019.1657532
Ren Y, Yang S, Andersen KH, Yang Q, Wang Y (2021) Thixotropy of soft clay: a review. Eng Geol 19:106097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2021.106097
Rinaldi VA, Clariá JJ Jr (2016) Time dependent stress–strain behavior of bentonite slurries; effect of thixotropy. Powder Technol 291:311–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2015.12.036
Schnetzer F, Thissen P, Giraudo N, Emmerich K (2016) Unraveling the coupled processes of (De-) hydration and structural changes in Na-saturated montmorillonite. J Phys Chem C 120(28):15282–15287. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b04986
Seng S, Tanaka H (2012) Properties of very soft clays: a study of thixotropic hardening and behavior under low consolidation pressure. Soils Found 52(2):335–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2012.02.010
Shahriar AR, Abedin MZ, Jadid R (2018) Thixotropic aging and its effect on 1-D compression behavior of soft reconstituted clays. Appl Clay Sci 153:217–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2017.12.029
Shahriar AR, Jadid R (2018) An experimental investigation on the effect of thixotropic aging on primary and secondary compression of reconstituted dredged clays. Appl Clay Sci 162:524–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.05.023
Skempton AW, Northey RD (1952) The sensitivity of clays. Géotechnique 3(1):30–53. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1952.3.1.30
Solonenko VP (1977) Landslides and collapses in seismic zones and their prediction. Bull Int Assoc Eng Geol 15(1):4–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02592633
Sridharan A, Jayadeva MS (1982) Double layer theory and compressibility of clays. Géotechnique 32:133–144. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1982.32.2.133
Tripathy S, Sridharan A, Schanz T (2004) Swelling pressures of compacted bentonites from diffuse double layer theory. Can Geotech J 41:437–450. https://doi.org/10.1139/t03-096
Wang H, Qian H, Gao Y, Li Y (2020) Classification and physical characteristics of bound water in loess and its main clay minerals. Eng Geol 265:105394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105394
Yap J, Leong YK, Liu J (2011) Structural recovery behavior of barite-loaded bentonite drilling muds. J Petrol Sci Eng 78(2):552–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2011.06.010
Yang S, Andersen KH (2016) Thixotropy of marine clays. Geotech Test J 39(2):331–339. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20150020
Yang S, Ren Y, Andersen KH (2021) Effects of thixotropy and reconsolidation on the undrained shear characteristics of remoulded marine clays. Ocean Eng 239:109888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.109888
Ye C, Guo Z, Cai C, Wang J, Deng J (2016) Effect of water content, bulk density, and aggregate size on mechanical characteristics of Aquults soil blocks and aggregates from subtropical China. J Soils Sediments 17:210–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1480-8
Yenes M, Monterrubio S, Nespereira J, Casas D (2020) Apparent overconsolidation and its implications for submarine landslides. Eng Geol 264:105375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105375
Zhang G, Yin H, Degroot DJ (2013) Thixotropism of micron-sized saltwater clay flocs. Géotechnique Lett 3(4):162–165. https://doi.org/10.1680/geolett.13.00049
Zhang R, Xiao Y, Wu M, Zheng J, Milkos BC (2021) Measurement and engineering application of adsorbed water content in fine-grained soils. J Central South Univ 28:1555–1569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-021-4715-9
Zhang XW, Kong LW, Yang AW, Sayem HM (2017) Thixotropic mechanism of clay: a microstructural investigation. Soils Found 57(1):23–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2017.01.002
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52209124, 51890912), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M700672) and Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SKLGME021020).
Funding
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52209124, 51890912), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M700672) and Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SKLGME021020).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ren, Y., Zhang, S., Wang, Y. et al. Experimental study on the thixotropic mechanism of deep-sea clay from the perspective of microstructure and bound water. Acta Geotech. 19, 685–698 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-023-01967-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-023-01967-5