Triaxial and Plane Strain Behavior of Natural Clay

Specimens of a saturated, undisturbed marine clay were K0 consolidated and subsequently sheared under triaxial and plane strain conditions using a variety of stress paths and drainage conditions. It was found that both the undrained strength and the angle of shearing resistance were slightly larger in plane strain than under the corresponding triaxial conditions. Methods to estimate strains in undrained plane strain shear from the results of triaxial tests under identical stress paths have been developed. An extended form of Rendulic's hypothesis was used successfully to predict volumetric strains under plane strain conditions using undrained triaxial results.