LAUSR

AbstractPore solution salinity has important bearing on engineering behavior of marine sediments as they influence electrochemical stress (A–R) and differential osmotic stress (∆π) of the salt-enriched clays. The electrochemical stress (A–R) is contributed by van der Waals (A) attraction and diffuse ion layer repulsion (R) , while the differential osmotic stress (∆π) is governed by the differences in dissolved salt concentrations in solutions separated by osmotic membrane. The paper examines the relative influence of differential osmotic stress (Δπ) and electrochemical stress (A–R) on the consolidation behavior of slurry consolidated kaolinite specimens, which are known to be encountered in recent alluvial marine sediments. Methods are described to evaluate the magnitudes of these physico-chemical components and their incorporation in true effective stress. Results of the study demonstrate that differential osmotic stress finitely contributes to true effective stress. The contribution from differential osmotic stress enables kaolinite specimens to sustain larger void ratio during consolidation.