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Marine Clay
J. Chu1; Myint Win Bo2; M. F. Chang3; and V. Choa4
Abstract: The consolidation and permeability characteristics of the Singapore marine clay were investigated by laboratory and in situ
tests. The coefficient of consolidation and the coefficient of permeability of the soil in both the vertical and horizontal directions, c v and
c h and k v and k h , respectively, were determined by oedometer, constant rate of strain, Rowe cell, piezocone 共CPTU兲, flat dilatometer,
self-boring pressuremeter 共SBPT兲, and BAT permeameter tests. The c h value of the clay was also back calculated from field monitoring
data. Comparisons of the results obtained by different methods indicate that the c h value determined by CPTU is generally in good
agreement with that by Rowe cell tests, and the c h value determined by SBPT is often the highest among all the measurements. The back
calculated c h value is lower than that measured by other tests, which could be possibly due to the smear effect incurred during the
installation of vertical drains.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1090-0241共2002兲128:9共724兲
CE Database keywords: Permeability; Singapore; Marine clays; Consolidation.
Introduction men is small. On the other hand, in situ tests can cover a much
larger soil mass. However, the data interpretation is not always
The existing Changi Airport of Singapore was constructed on straightforward as the stress and boundary conditions imposed in
about 700 ha of reclaimed land in the early 1980s. In order to an in situ test are not always well defined. A prudent approach
allow for future expansion of the airport, an additional 1,500 ha of may be to conduct both laboratory and in situ tests and to obtain
land is currently being reclaimed at Changi East next to the ex- design parameters based on the synthesis of results from both
isting Changi Airport. This offshore land reclamation has been types of measurement.
carried out by first placing sand fill on the seabed marine clay and In this paper, the permeability and consolidation properties of
then consolidating the clay using vertical drains and surcharge the Singapore marine clay as measured by laboratory and in situ
loading. As vertical drains are used to accelerate the consolidation tests are presented. The laboratory tests included oedometer,
process, the permeability and consolidation properties of the soil constant-rate of strain 共CRS兲, and Rowe cell tests on good quality
in both vertical and horizontal directions become important de- undisturbed samples. The in situ tests included the BAT per-
sign parameters. meameter, piezocone 共CPTU兲, flat dilatometer 共DMT兲, and the
Although various laboratory and in situ testing methods have self-boring pressuremeter 共SBPT兲 tests. In addition, the consoli-
been used to determine the coefficient of consolidation, there are dation parameters were also back calculated from the field moni-
uncertainties in each method. In laboratory tests, the stress and toring data. Comparisons of the results from different types of
pore water pressure changes can be monitored under well-defined tests and from back calculations are made. The selection of these
boundary conditions. However, the test results are affected by parameters for the design of vertical drains for reclamation
sample disturbance. Furthermore, the measurements may not be projects is also discussed.
representative of in situ properties as the dimension of the speci-
1
Associate Professor, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Geological Conditions and Basic Soil Properties
Nanyang Technological Univ., Blk N1, 1A-29 Nanyang Ave., Sin-
gapore 639798.
2
Executive Geotechnical Engineer, SPECS Consultants Pte. Ltd., The Singapore marine clay at Changi is a quaternary deposit that
#08-00 PSA Building, Alexandra Rd., Singapore 119963. lies within valleys cut in the Old Alluvium. It is locally known as
3
Associate Professor, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, the Kallang formation. A typical soil profile at Changi East and
Nanyang Technological Univ., Blk N1, 1A-29 Nanyang Ave., Sin- the basic soil properties are shown in Fig. 1. The soil profile can
gapore 639798. be divided into three layers, the upper marine clay 共from 0 to 10
4
Professor and Dean of Admission, Office of Dean of Admission, m in Fig. 1兲, the intermediate 共from 10 to 15 m兲, and the lower
Nanyang Technological Univ., Admin. Building #05-10, marine clay layers 共from 15 to 30 m兲. The thickness of each layer
Singapore 639798. varies with location. The upper marine layer is generally overcon-
Note. Discussion open until February 1, 2003. Separate discussions solidated. An overconsolidation ratio 共OCR兲 value as high as 8 is
must be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by
sometimes found at the top of the upper marine clay layer prob-
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing
Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and pos- ably due to desiccation, aging, and other effects. The upper ma-
sible publication on February 14, 2000; approved on January 21, 2002. rine clay is usually very soft to medium stiff with its undrained
This paper is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental shear strength values ranging from 10 to 30 kPa. Marine or or-
Engineering, Vol. 128, No. 9, September 1, 2002. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090- ganic materials are often found in the upper marine clay. Some-
0241/2002/9-724 –732/$8.00⫹$.50 per page. times, a peaty clay layer may also be found at or near the bottom
of the upper marine clay layer. The intermediate layer is a dense were also conducted using a CRS cell with dimension equal to the
sandy silt or silty clay layer. Its formation is believed to have oedometer ring. Rowe cells 共Head 1986兲 with diameters of both
occurred during the lowering of sea level, which was subse- 75 and 150 mm were used to determine the coefficient of consoli-
quently followed by a sea level rising and further deposition of dation in the horizontal direction c h . With the 150 mm diameter
the upper marine clay layer. The lower marine clay is lightly Rowe cell, lateral drainage to either the side or the center drain
overconsolidated with an undrained shear strength varying from could be accommodated. A direct measurement of the horizontal
30 to 50 kPa. It is not homogeneous, but occasionally interbeded permeability was made using a constant head method described
with sandy clay, peaty clay, and sand layers. Below the lower by Head 共1986兲.
marine clay layer is a stiff clayey sand locally known as Old
Alluvium.
Measurement of c v
The c v versus depth profiles as measured by oedometer tests on
Laboratory Measurements samples taken from five locations, FT1, FT2, FT3, FT4, and 1C,
are presented in Fig. 2. These locations were 30–90 m apart along
the proposed runway. As c v is dependent on the vertical stress and
Sampling Methods
the OCR, only the c v values in the virgin consolidation range are
Large diameter thin wall samples used for this study were taken presented and used subsequently in this paper. For Location 1C,
from an offshore pontoon. For the upper marine clay up to 7 m the data obtained from two boreholes, which were only a few
below the sea bed, 180 mm diameter samples were retrieved in meters apart, are presented in Fig. 2, and a good agreement is
order to minimize sample disturbance and enable Rowe cell tests evident. The variation in the data from samples at different loca-
to be conducted on 150 mm diameter specimens. Below 7 m, 100 tions reflects the natural variability of the soil properties and the
mm diameter thin wall stationary piston samples were recovered. differences in the soil profiles at the reclamation site. Generally, it
All the samples were carefully sealed on site immediately after can be seen from Fig. 2 that the c v values are in the range of
sampling. The fresh samples were carefully wire trimmed into 0.5–1.7 m2/year for the upper and 0.5–2.3 m2/year for the lower
specimens for testing in the site laboratory. marine clay.
The c v values were also derived from the CRS tests using a
procedure detailed in Lee et al. 共1993兲. The c v values were cal-
Types of Consolidation Tests
culated using the pore water pressures measured at both the
Oedometer tests 共ASTM 1996兲 were used to determine the coef- drained and undrained faces of the CRS cell. The strain rate used
ficient of consolidation of soil in the vertical direction c v . in the CRS test affects significantly the c v measurement. The c v
Oedometer rings of 19 mm height and 63.5 mm diameter were versus log ⬘v curves obtained from two CRS tests conducted on
used. To accelerate the testing process, CRS tests 共ASTM 1989兲 the same sample but with different strain rates are shown in Fig.
In the DMTC method 共Schmertmann 1988兲, the c h of soil is During a SBPT holding test, the dissipation of pore-water pres-
estimated using Eq. 共2兲. As R 2 ⫽600 mm2 for standard Marchatti sure was measured by a pore-water pressure cell. The c h values
diatometer, Eq. 共2兲 can also be written as can be calculated using Eq. 共2兲, taking R as the radius of the
SBPT probe. For SBPT tests, T 50 depends on the pore-water pres-
T 50
c h ⫽600 (6) sure generated at the wall of the probe and its value can be esti-
t 50 mated based on the relationship given by Clarke et al. 共1979兲.
where c h is in mm2/min and t 50⫽time 共in min兲 corresponding to Similar to the CPTU and the DMT, the c h values determined
50% dissipation from the C reading versus t curve. T 50 is affected from SBPT tests correspond to the unloading/reloading range and
by factors such as the E u /s u ratio 共E u and s u ⫽undrained Young’s a correction based on Eq. 共3兲 is required in order to obtain the c h
modulus and shear strength, respectively兲 and the pore water value for the NC range.
pressure parameter at failure A f . The value of T 50 can be esti- The c h versus depth profiles obtained from SBPT tests at four
mated according to Gupta 共1983兲. different locations are shown in Fig. 9共a兲. These values have been
Similar to CPTU tests, the c h values determined from either converted to those corresponding to the NC state. It can be seen
DMTA or DMTC correspond to the unloading/reloading range. from Fig. 9共a兲 that the c h values obtained from the four test lo-
Corrections have to be made to obtain the in situ c h value. One cations range from 2.5 to 20 m2/year. These values are calculated
relationship suggested by Schmertmann 共1988兲 is based on the pore-water pressure change measured by the pore
pressure cell. Like the DMT, the c h values may also be obtained
c h 共 in situ兲 ⫽c h 共 DMT兲 /K (7) indirectly using the total stress change measured by the total pres-
where K⫽OCR dependent parameter. The value of K ranges from sure cell. A comparison of the two measurements is made in Fig.
1 to 7 for OCR ranging from heavily OC to NC states. However, 9共b兲. The differences between the two measurements appear to be
when converting the c h (DMT) value into the c h value at the NC insignificant, in general.
state, c h (NC), a conversion similar to Eq. 共3兲 provides more con-
sistent results and is adopted in this study.
The c h versus depth profiles as derived from DMTA dissipa- BAT Permeability Test
tion tests at four different locations are presented in Fig. 8共a兲. The The BAT permemeter developed by Torstensson 共1977兲 was used
c h presented have been converted to the values at the NC state. It to determine directly the in situ k h values. The BAT filter was 30
can be seen from Fig. 8共a兲 that the c h values obtained for the four mm in diameter and 40 mm in thickness. The tests were carried
locations are mainly within the range of 1–5 m2/year. The c h out as an ‘‘inflow’’ test. As water flowed into the probe, the air
values obtained from DMTC dissipation tests are also plotted in pressure in the chamber changed. The value of k h is determined
Fig. 8共b兲 together with the those from DMTA tests for compari- from
son. Generally it is observed that the c h values obtained from C
readings are higher, although a good agreement is seen for Loca-
tion 1C. k h⫽
P 0V 0 1
冋⫺
1
⫺
1
Ft P 0 U 0 P 0 U 0 U 20
this study. The probe was 83 mm in diameter and 1.4 m long. where P 0 ⫽initial system pressure; V 0 ⫽initial gas volume; F
⫽shape factor; U 0 ⫽static pore-water pressure; and P t back calculated. At Location FT2, the c h values back calculated
⫽pressure at time t. All the pressures are absolute. from settlement measured at different elevations are in the range
The k h values measured by BAT permeameter and obtained of 0.7–1.2 m2/year 共Bo et al. 1997兲. In the back calculation, the
from other in situ tests at FT2 are compared in Fig. 10. The ultimate settlement was estimated based on Asoka’s method
comparison shows that the k h values measured by BAT per- 共Asoka 1978兲 using the settlement data of up to 15 months, which
meameter are lower than the other measurements. The same ob- corresponded roughly to 90% of degree of consolidation.
servation was made at the other locations within the reclamation
site, as reported by Bo et al. 共1998a兲.
Comparisons of Different Measurements
Back Calculation based on Field Monitoring Data A comparison of the c h values measured by various methods at
Location FT2 is presented in Fig. 11. In Fig. 11, all the in situ
The settlement and pore-water pressure response during consoli- tests and the Rowe cell test measure the c h values, whereas the
dation under the surcharge were monitored at several selected conventional oedometer test measures c v . It should be pointed
locations. These monitoring data enable the field c h values to be
Fig. 10. Comparison of k h profiles measured by different methods at Fig. 11. Comparison of c h profiles measured by back calculation and
location FT2 other methods at location FT2
Fig. 13. Comparison of c h profiles measured by different methods at locations FT1, FT3, and FT4