Geotechnical characterization of index and deformation properties of Stockholm clays

Abstract

This paper describes the geotechnical characteristics of index and deformation properties of Stockholm clays. These clays exhibit large variations both geographically and with depth. The clays range from highly organic clays with high plasticity to silty clays with low plasticity. First, the geological conditions of the clays are outlined to qualitatively explain the typical soil stratigraphy encountered in the Stockholm area. Second, two large generic databases are presented, containing 3,500 and 1,600 data points, respectively. The data originates from routine testing and constant rate of strain oedometer tests conducted in commercial projects. The data is analyzed and compared with results from high quality block sampling. It is seen that a common feature of the clays are low undrained shear strengths, and consequently low yield stresses and oedometer moduli. Further, several deformation properties such as preconsolidation pressure and several oedometer moduli is shown to depend on the soils natural water content and its plasticity. Differences in sample quality is shown to highly affect some properties, highlighting the importance of quality sampling and handling of samples. Criteria for sample quality for this type of clay is proposed based on the oedometer moduli before and after the preconsolidation pressure. The paper can hopefully work as a useful reference to engineers working on similar soils worldwide.