Civil and Environmental Engineering 4426A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Clay Minerals, Dilatometer
15 Dec 2015
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Assessed assignment #1: shear strength anisotropy in clay soils. Isotropic materials exhibit physical and mechanical properties that remain virtually identical in all directions. Anisotropic materials, however, have properties that vary depending on the direction of application. As this relates to soil, the shear strength of some clays is anisotropic, meaning that its value is non-uniform if the soil is loaded in a particular direction. Soils can be said to have either induced anisotropy, where the distribution of shear strength is due exclusively to strain associated with applied stresses, or inherent anisotropy, where the physical characteristics are entirely independent of applied strains. Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by gradual chemical weathering of rocks. A common type of clay formation is glacial deposition; glacial lakes containing clay samples are typically found to be over consolidated from the mass transport of ice and glacial till.
