Undrained shear behaviors of reconstituted Wenzhou clay under different consolidation stress paths

To investigate the effects of the initial conditions and stress states on the intrinsic undrained strength behaviors of reconstituted clay, a series of consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests are performed on reconstituted Wenzhou clay under different consolidation conditions. The undrained shear stress-strain relationship and undrained strength are investigated. The void index I_v and the undrained strength ratios R^*_su=S_u/ p’ with different mean effective stresses p’ are used to compare the undrained strength S_u under different consolidation conditions with the Chandler intrinsic strength line IS_uL. The results indicate that the undrained shear stress-strain curves change with the consolidation stress paths under the same mean effective stresses p’. The undrained shear strengths and undrained strength ratios R^*_su=S_u/ p’ are also greatly affected by the consolidation stress paths. When S_u/ p’=0.33, the relationship between the void index I_v and the undrained strength S_u is identical to the Chandler intrinsic strength line IS_uL.