Preconsolidation pressure of Champlain clays. Part II. Laboratory determination

Abstract

A series of conventional and special consolidation tests was carried out on clay samples from 11 sites in the Champlain sea basin. The results show that, for a given clay at a given depth, there is a unique preconsolidation pressure – strain rate relationship independent of the tests carried out and that the relationships obtained in different Champlain clays can be normalized.Correlations between the preconsolidation pressure values obtained from the different special consolidation tests and the conventional test are established, and a method of estimating in-situ preconsolidation pressure is suggested. Keywords: preconsolidation pressure, laboratory, testing techniques, strain rate.