Application of the nanoindentation technique for the characterization of varved clay

Nanoindentation is a test carried out in a small scale, during which a rigid indenter (of known hardness and geometry) is pressed into the tested material. The results of the test are the load and unload curves, from which the harerial characterized by high heterogeneity (like soil – composed of grains and particles of different size and mineral composition), the use of multiple nanoindentation on a predefined grid (Grid Indentation Technique) is reasonable. It allows for the determination of the morphology of the material in a selected scale of observation. In the study, nanoindetation tests were performed on samples of varved clay - soil composed of two alternately arranged layers - occurring near the city of Bełchatów in central Poland. Due to the layered structure of the material, the tests were carried out for both layers separately. The outcomes show that there are significant differences in the values of their mechanical properties. Application of the deconvolution technique also allowed for the estimation of the number of components of both layers and their mechanical properties.

Identification of Anisotropic Criteria for Stratified Soil Based on Triaxial Tests Results

The paper presents the identification methodology of anisotropic criteria based on triaxial test results. The considered material is varved clay – a sedimentary soil occurring in central Poland which is characterized by the so-called “layered microstructure”. The strength examination outcomes were identified by standard triaxial tests. The results include the estimated peak strength obtained for a wide range of orientations and confining pressures. Two models were chosen as potentially adequate for the description of the tested material, namely Pariseau and its conjunction with the Jaeger weakness plane. Material constants were obtained by fitting the model to the experimental results. The identification procedure is based on the least squares method. The optimal values of parameters are searched for between specified bounds by sequentially decreasing the distance between points and reducing the length of the searched range. For both considered models the optimal parameters have been obtained. The comparison of theoretical and experimental results as well as the assessment of the suitability of selected criteria for the specified range of confining pressures are presented.

Structure investigations of layered soil – varved clay

In the paper the results of laboratory investigations of structure of layered soil are presented. They focus on varved clay that is a soil composed of two alternately arranged varves with different texture and mechanical properties. An effect of such structure is an anisotropy of the material. Due to varying conditions during its formation process the soil exhibits some irregularities in composition and structure. Due to that modelling of mechanical behavior, like strength, may not provide satisfactory results. Main purpose of the examinations is an investigation of internal structure of layered soil – varved clay – in relation to its strength anisotropy and evaluation of the suitability of the use of two different techniques to assess the soil structure. Investigated material have been taken from area near city of Bełchatów in central Poland. The examinations included investigation of particle size distribution of soil and its components, identification of lamination with use of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and computed microtomography technique (μCT). First, the texture of each varve and varved clay as a composite have been estimated. Next, the investigation of surface perpendicular to the lamination have been carried out with SEM. Pictures of varves with different magnifications are presented. Also the varves arrangement and details of layers contact area are shown. Finally, investigation of internal structure of the soil have been performed by using microtomograph. The outcome is a series of radiographic images and reconstructed 3D model of tested soil. Presented results show complexity of the structure of varved clay that affect the mechanical behavior. Determination of the structure with use of presented techniques may be helpful in examination of strength properties and proper modeling of such soil.

Middle Wisconsin glacial advance into the Appalachian Plateau, Sixmile Creek, Tompkins Co., NY

Areal mapping of the middle Wisconsin varved clay site along Sixmile Creek near Ithaca, New York, has revealed a much more widespread and varied array of sediments than previously thought. Lacustrine clays, some varved, are interbedded with sands and gravels interpreted as sub-aqueous fan deposits, and both are overlain by a deformation till. Nine radiocarbon dates indicate a 34–37 14C ka BP age for the lacustrine sediment, with the deformation till less than a few thousand years younger. Beneath this sequence is a deposit dated at ± 42 14C ka BP. Both strata represent a tundra climate with a mean July temperature of about 10°C. The Sixmile Creek deformation till must correlate with the 35 14C ka BP till along the Genesee River, 125 km to the NW, and defines a Cherrytree stade glacial advance into the Appalachian Plateau, much further south than what has generally been accepted. Such an advance would require drainage from a proglacial lake in the western Ontario basin to flow westward instead of northeastward. The Sixmile strata suggest a colder than accepted middle Wisconsin stage. Recent data indicate that this stage is one of progressive cooling, with large climatic fluctuations.