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Effect of Shear on Suction in Saturated Clays¹

ABSTRACT

A slurry of clay and water that has remained undisturbed for several days undergoes a rapid lowering of suction when sheared. After shear has ceased the suction increases spontaneously towards the original value at an exponential rate. These effects have been observed in various clay types and in bentonite with various cation treatments.

Deformation generally has a strong influence on the suction, whose changes with shear depend upon the preconsolidation or prestress history of the soil. Shearing a clay through an angle of only 2° or 3° may affect its suction markedly.

The effect is similar to, and is associated with, the phenomenon of thixotropy. The present measurements furnish support for the theory that shear causes rupture or displacement of the structural bonds of clay-water systems and, perhaps more significantly, that the structures tend to reform spontaneously.

¹ Contribution from the Department of Soils and Plant Nutrition, University of California, Berkeley. This investigation was supported in part by Western Regional Research Projects W-30 and W-66 (Hatch Act Funds).

² Professor of Soil Physics and Research Assistant, respectively. The junior author is now Research Soil Scientist, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.

Received for publication September 16, 1965. Accepted for publication August 30, 1966.