Determining the virgin compression lines of reconstituted clays at different initial water contents

Abstract : Forty-eight consolidometer tests were performed on various natural clays and a kaolinite clay reconstituted in the laboratory at different initial water contents using a modified consolidometer apparatus. These data together with those published previously allow a multi-regression analysis for the development of an approach for determining the intrinsic compression parameters that depend on initial water content and liquid limit. The approach proposed by Burland can be thereby extended to provide an expression describing the compression response of a wide range of clays. Based on the intrinsic concept, a simple way of determining the virgin compression lines of reconstituted clays is also proposed using the density of soil particles, initial water content, and liquid limit.