LAUSR

The shear modulus and hysteretic damping of three sensitive clays from the sediments of Champlain Sea were investigated using a combined triaxial simple shear apparatus. The tests were conducted on undisturbed samples and were carried out on a wide range of shear strains from about 0.001% to 1%. The values of the small-strain shear modulus of the tested clays were further confirmed through a series of piezoelectric ring actuator tests. Although the shear modulus and damping ratio of the sensitive eastern Canadian clays follow some classic literature models, the results show that the examined clays exhibited more linear behaviour. Such behaviour may be attributed to their highly structured nature compared to other clays. The compilation of available data on the shear modulus and damping ratio of several sensitive eastern Canadian clays confirmed this trend and showed that some literature models might not be representative.