Marine Clay Characteristic

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Characterization of Singapore, Bangkok, and

Ariake clays
Hiroyuki Tanaka, Jacques Locat, Satoru Shibuya, Tan Thiam Soon,
and Dinesh R. Shiwakoti
Abstract: A soil investigation was carried out at two sites in Singapore and Bangkok, Southeast Asia, and the results
were compared with those from a site in Ariake, Japan. Soil samples at all the sites were retrieved using the Japanese
sampling method to nullify the effect of sampling on sample quality. From the laboratory tests, consolidation characteristics and undrained shear strength were measured. In addition to the mechanical tests, X-ray diffraction and scanning
electron microscope tests were carried out to identify clay minerals and to study their microstructure. Great differences
in physical and mechanical properties of these clays were observed, which may be attributed to the difference in their
clay mineral components and variation in the sedimentation environment.
Key words: site investigation, marine clay, undrained shear strength, anisotropy, consolidation, clay mineral.
Rsum : Les tudes de sols ont t ralises deux sites en Asie du sud-est : Singapour et Bangkok. Les rsultats
des essais obtenus de ces tudes ont t compars ceux obtenus au site de Ariake, Japon. Dans cette tude, tous les
chantillons analyss ont t recueillis laide de techniques dchantillonnage japonaises afin dviter leffet de la mthode dchantillonnage sur la qualit des rsultats. Les proprits caractristiques de consolidation et de rsistance au
cisaillement ont ainsi pu tre dtermins par des essais en laboratoire. En plus des essais mcaniques, des analyses par
diffraction-X et des observations en microscopie balayage ont permis didentifier les minraux argileux prsents de
mme que les caractristiques microstructurales. Des diffrences importantes ont t observes dans les proprits physique et mcanique lesquelles peuvent tre attribues leur diffrence tant au niveau de la minralogie des argiles que
des environnements sdimentaires.
Mots cls : tude de site, argiles marines, rsistance au cisaillement non-draine, anisotropie, consolidation, minralogie
des argiles. Tanaka et al. 400
Introduction
Unlike manufactured products, there is hardly any international standard on testing and quality control for soils. This
has made difficult the realistic comparison of geotechnical
properties of soils evaluated in different regions.
Geotechnical engineers have long realized the importance of
sample quality in evaluating the geotechnical parameters
from laboratory tests. Tanaka et al. (1996) have shown that
the unconfined compressive strength (qu) for a sample of
Received August 9, 1999. Accepted October 13, 2000.
Published on the NRC Research Press Web site on
April 20, 2001.
H. Tanaka1 and D.R. Shiwakoti. Geotechnical Engineering
Division, Port and Harbour Research Institute, Nagase 3-1-1,
Yokosuka, Japan.
J. Locat. Department of Geology and Geological
Engineering, Laval University, Sainte-Foy, QC G1K 7P4,
Canada.
S. Shibuya2. Division of Geotechnical and Transportation
Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok,
Thailand.
T.T. Soon. Department of Civil Engineering, National
University of Singapore, Singapore.
1
2
Corresponding author (e-mail: tanakah@cc.phri.go.jp).

Present address: Department of Civil Engineering, Hokkaido
University, Sapporo, Japan.
Can. Geotech. J. 38: 378400 (2001)
I:\cgj\Cgj38\Cgj02\T00-106.vp
Tuesday, April 17, 2001 1:18:27 PM
Ariake clay collected using a Shelby tube is as low as 60%

of that of a sample collected using a suitable high-quality
sampling method. In addition, from a site investigation in
Singapore using the Shelby tube and the Japanese sampling
method, Chong et al. (1998) indicated that compressibility is
quite different depending on the sample quality. In most
countries or regions, however, soil sampling is done using a
simple method which may induce significant disturbance in
the soil sample. For example, in Southeast Asian countries a
borehole is made by wash boring, and the Shelby tube is extensively used to collect soft clay samples.
It has been recognized that the mechanical properties of
soil are strongly influenced by the composition of clay minerals and existing environmental conditions both during and
after sedimentation. Many attempts have been made to determine the various mechanical properties of these soils in
terms of plasticity index (Ip), and some of these attempts are
used in practical design procedures. A typical example is the
ratio of undrained shear strength (su) to consolidation pressure (p) proposed by Skempton: su /p = 0.11 + 0.0037Ip.
These correlations were established based on data obtained
mainly in northern Europe and North America, where the
sediments were intensively influenced by glaciers in the Ice
Age. Tanaka (1994) indicated that some of these well-known
correlations cannot be applied to Japanese marine clays. For
example, internal friction angles () of Japanese soils are
considerably higher despite their high I p . Recently, due
to the development of physicochemical analyses, some
DOI: 10.1139/cgj-38-2-378
2001 NRC Canada

Tanaka et al.
researchers have tried to explain the mechanical behavior of

soil in terms of chemical or microstructural properties, for
example, Ohtsubo et al. (1995), Locat et al. (1996), and
Tanaka and Locat (1999).
For this study, site investigations in Singapore and Bangkok were carried out in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Chong
et al. (1998) and Shibuya and Tamrakar (1999) have published parts of these studies. In these investigations, soil
samples were collected by the Japanese sampling method
and some soil samples were transported to Japan and Canada. Laboratory tests for mechanical and physical properties
were carried out at the Port and Harbour Research Institute
(PHRI), Yokosuka, Japan, and the physicochemical tests including microstructure analyses were done at the Department
of Geology and Geological Engineering of Laval University,
Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. This paper describes properties
from these studies and compares these characteristics with
those of Ariake clay, a typical Japanese clay deposited at
Ariake in Kyushu Island, Japan. Ariake is a test site for
studying soft clay by the PHRI (Tanaka et al. 1996).
Testing methods
Sampling method
Sample quality is important for obtaining reliable mechanical properties of soils. Unlike laboratory tests, however,
there is no international standard or reference procedure
concerning the sampling method. For example, in Japan the
fixed piston sampler with a thin-wall tube is used for retrieving soft clay whose N value is less than 4. The specifications
of the sampler and sampling method such as making a borehole should strictly follow the standards of the Japanese
Geotechnical Society (JGS). On the other hand, the Shelby
tube without a piston is commonly used for soft soil sampling in Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore and
Thailand, whose clays are the subject of this investigation.
Tanaka and Tanaka (1999) compared the sample quality using six different samplers at Ariake and indicated that the
sample quality was nearly equal for the Sherbrooke, Laval,
and Japanese standard samplers. The unconfined compressive strength (qu) of the sample collected using the Shelby
tube was, on average, only 60% of that for samples collected
using the high-quality samplers. In this investigation, all samples
were retrieved using the Japanese standard sampling method.
In the Japanese sampling method, a borehole is made by a
rotary drilling machine. The sampler is a fixed piston sampler whose inside diameter and tube thickness are 75 and
2 mm, respectively. The tube is made of stainless steel and
the sampler is 100 cm in length. For more detailed information on this sampler and the sampling method, refer to JGS
(1998).
At the Singapore and Bangkok sites, Japanese samplers
were brought from Japan, but a boring machine and operators for sampling were employed locally. All sampling work
was done under the supervision of the first author. Soil samples were sealed with wax at both ends of sampling tubes
and transported to the PHRI by air cargo. Previous studies
have confirmed that no change in sample quality occurs during transportation of the sample under the above conditions
(Lunne et al. 1997; Tanaka and Tanaka 1999). Soil samples
were extruded from the sampling tubes at the PHRI labora-
379
tory, cut into suitable pieces, wrapped in thin plastic film,

coated with wax, and then stored in a temperature-controlled
room until testing. Some of these samples were sent to Laval
University.
Field tests
Vane shear test (VST)
The same vane shear apparatus was used at the Singapore
and Bangkok sites. The vane blade was 5 cm in diameter
and 10 cm in height. For the Ariake site, another type of
vane was used whose blade was 4 cm in diameter and 8 cm
in height. The rotation speed for both vanes was maintained
at 0.1/min.
Piezocone test (CPT)
Piezocones used in this study follow the reference standard defined by the International Society of Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE 1988): the diameter
of the cone is 35.7 mm (the projected area of the cone is
10 cm2) and the angle of the cone is 60. The pore-water
pressure was measured at the shoulder of the cone during
penetration. The speed of the cone penetration was about
1 cm/s. The tip resistance (qt) is calculated taking into account the effective area ratio of the cone.
Dilatometer test (DMT)
The dilatometer used in the investigation was developed
by Marchetti (1980). Two pressures were measured, namely
the pressure at the membrane lift off of 0.1 mm (p0) and the
pressure when the membrane expands by 1.1 mm (p1). These
measurements were taken 15 s after installing the blade at
the testing depth, as recommended by Marchetti. From the
DMT, Marchetti proposed three indices for characterizing
soil as follows: (i) material index (ID)
[1]
ID =
p1 p0
p1 u0
(ii) horizontal stress index (KD)

[2]
KD =
p1 u0
vo
and (iii) dilatometer modulus (ED)

[3]
ED = 34.7(p1 p0)
where vo is the effective overburden pressure, and u0 is the

hydrostatic pore pressure at the tested depth.
Seismic cone test (SCT)
The in situ shear modulus at small strain was measured by
the SCT. The principle of the SCT is the same as that developed by Campanella et al. (1986): the shear wave is generated at the ground surface by hitting a wooden block. The
shear wave is received by two accelerometers, one at the end
of the cone and one 1 m above the cone. The velocity of the
shear wave was calculated using the travel time from the
upper to the lower accelerometer (Tanaka et al. 1994). The
shear modulus (G) can be calculated from the following
equation and the G obtained from the SCT will be denoted
as Gsc to distinguish it from other shear moduli:
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380
Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001
Table 1. Characterization of Ariake, Singapore, and Bangkok clays.

Ariake
Geological age
Main clay mineral
s (g/cm3)
Clay fraction (%)
wn (%)
wL (%)
Ip
IL
OCR
cv (cm2/day)
r ()
p ()
su / y (qu /2)
su / y (vane)
su / y (CK0UC)
su / y (CK0UE)
su / y (DS)
Gsc / y
Singapore
Bangkok
312 m
1216 m
1428 m
512 m
1214 m
Holocene
Smectite
2.602.63
50
120150
105130
60100
1.21.5
1.21.7
100
65
4657
0.31
0.32
0.41
0.41
0.38
100
Holocene
Smectite
2.602.63
50
90100
6595
4050
1.11.7
1.5
100
47
45
0.30
0.28
0.41
0.26
0.35
140
Pleistocene
Kaolinite
2.762.78
65
5060
6580
4060
0.60.8
1.11.4
30
25
22
0.21*
0.19
0.23
0.23
0.27
140
Holocene
Smectite
2.722.75
50
5580
4585
3070
0.61.1
1.3
10
37
37
0.21
0.33
0.33
0.26
0.29
100
Holocene
Smectite
2.722.75
50
60
8085
60
0.6
1.61.7
10
37
37
0.21
0.23
0.22
0.26
75
Note: r and p, internal friction angle at residual state and at peak deviator stress, respectively.
*From UU test.
[4]
Gsc = tvs2
where t is the unit weight of the soil, and vs is the velocity

of the shear wave.
Laboratory tests for physical and chemical properties
Physical tests
Grain-size distribution, Atterberg limits, and density of
solid particles (s) were measured following the test standards defined by the JGS (JSF T 131-1990, JSF T 141-1990,
and JSF T 111-1990, respectively). The testing method defined by the JGS for measuring liquid limit (wL) is
Casagrandes test, which uses a cup. The JGS defines the
margin grain size between clay and silt as 5 m; however, in
this paper the margin grain size has been taken as 2 m, following the soil classification system used in most other
countries.
X-ray diffraction and microstructure observations
X-ray diffraction analyses were performed with either a
Philips or a Seimens diffractometer. Some samples were analyzed as a dried powder mount but most of the analyses
were carried out on oriented mounts in various states: natural, glycolated, and heated to 550C. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations were carried out with a JEOL
55 with magnification up to 20 000 times and on samples
previously freeze-dried in nitrogen.
Laboratory tests for mechanical properties
Constant rate of strain (CRS) oedometer test
The specimen for the CRS oedometer test was 60 mm in
diameter and 20 mm in initial height. A back pressure of
200 kPa was applied. The pore-water pressure was measured

at the bottom of the specimen, and drainage for the porewater pressure was allowed from the upper part of the specimen. Consolidation was done at a strain rate of 0.02%/min
(3.3 106/s). This rate is low enough to accurately measure
the pore-water pressure at the bottom for calculation of the
coefficients of consolidation or permeability.
Unconfined compression (UC) test
The UC test was carried out following the testing standard
of the JGS. The diameter and height of the specimen were
35 and 80 mm, respectively. Compression was done at an
axial strain rate of 1%/min.
Recompression triaxial (CK0UC and CK0UE) test
The size of the specimen used in this test is the same as
that for the UC test. The specimen was consolidated to the
in situ effective stresses in the K0 condition, allowing lateral
drainage. The K0 condition was maintained by controlling
lateral and axial pressures to ensure a proper balance between a change of volume and an axial deformation. A back
pressure of 200 kPa was applied. After the consolidation was
completed, the specimen was compressed (CK0UC) or extended (CK0UE) under undrained conditions at an axial
strain rate of 0.1%/min.
Constant-volume direct shear (DS) test
The DS test was done using the apparatus developed by
Mikasa (1960). The size of the specimen is the same as that
for the CRS oedometer test, that is, 60 mm in diameter and
20 mm in initial height. The in situ vertical effective pressure was applied for 30 min, which is long enough to
complete the primary consolidation. At the end of the
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Tanaka et al.
381
Fig. 1. Geotechnical properties at the Ariake site.
consolidation, movement of the shear box in the vertical

direction was fixed so that the constant volume can be kept
during shearing. There is a load cell on the vertical rod to
measure change of vertical stress during shearing. The
change in the vertical stress corresponds to the excess porewater pressure in the triaxial test under the undrained condition. The speed of the shearing was 0.25 mm/min.
Soil profile at tested sites

Ariake
The Ariake site is located at Hizen-Kashima, Saga Prefecture, on Kyushu Island, Japan. This site has long been used
by the PHRI as a test field for studying soft clay. Mechanical
and chemical properties of this site have been extensively

studied by several researchers (Hanzawa et al. 1990;
Ohtsubo et al. 1995; Tanaka et al. 1996). Characteristic
geotechnical properties of this site are indicated in Fig. 1
and summarized in Table 1. Grain-size composition shows
only a small decrease with a clay fraction from about 55%
near the surface to 45% near the bottom. Index properties
suddenly change at a depth of 12 m. The liquid limit (wL) is
greater than 100% at depths less than 12 m but less than
100% at depths greater than 12 m, although the grain-size
composition does not change.
Compared with cohesive soils at other sites in Japan, the
most distinguished feature of this soil is that natural water
content (wn) exceeds wL, resulting in a liquidity index (IL) of
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382
more than unity for most depths. For cohesive soils in

coastal areas of Japan, IL usually is within the range 0.70.8
(Ogawa and Matsumoto 1978).
The yield consolidation pressure (y), which was measured by the CRS oedometer test at a strain rate of
0.02%/min (3.3 106/s), indicates that the clay is slightly
overconsolidated for the first 16 m of depth. This slight
overconsolidation is attributed not to the change in geological setting such as erosion, but to aging effects such as secondary consolidation and chemical bonding. When the depth
exceeds 16 m, the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) becomes
larger. The depth of the clay layer considered in the present
investigation is restricted to between 4 and 16 m.
The undrained shear strength measured by the field vane
test increases with depth. Commonly the field vane strength
obtained is modified by Bjerrums correction factor () to
get the design value of undrained shear strength (Bjerrum
1973). However, the vane strengths shown in Fig. 1 for
Ariake and in Figs. 3 and 4 for Singapore and Bangkok, respectively, are raw values not corrected by Bjerrums correction factor. The uncorrected vane shear strength at Ariake
agrees fairy well with the undrained shear strength obtained
from the piezocone test (CPT). In calculating the undrained
shear strength from the CPT, a cone factor (Nkt) of 10 has
been assumed in the relationship su = (qt vo)/Nkt, where
vo is the total vertical pressure.
Since the material index (ID) from the DMT (see eq. [1])
is around 0.2, the soil may be classified as clay according to
Marchettis (1980) soil classification chart. Marchetti suggested that the boundary value of ID for clay and silt is 0.6.
The value of KD in most parts of the layer is less than 2 except for in the upper and the lower layers. The Gsc value
measured by the seismic cone also increases with an increase in depth. Tanaka et al. (1994) have suggested that relations between Gsc and ED from the DMT or net point
resistance (qt vo) from the CPT for normally or slightly
overconsolidated clay are as follows:
[5]
Gsc = 7.5ED
[6]
Gsc = 50(qt vo)
It seems that Gsc derived from ED values somewhat underestimates the measured Gsc value from the SCT, but this difference is very small. The value of Gsc calculated from eq. [6]
from CPT overestimates the measured Gsc, the difference being constant with depth.
Singapore clay
There are two marine clay layers at the Singapore site: upper and lower layers. The upper clay was deposited during
the Holocene era, but the lower one was deposited more that
10 000 years ago (Hanzawa and Adachi 1983; Pitts 1984).
The test site was located on land reclaimed around 1975.
The soil profile obtained from the CPT is shown in Fig. 2.
The original seabed is at a depth of 1.5 m. Below this is natural sandy layer which extends to a depth of 5 m. The upper
marine clay layer is very thin at the site, its thickness being
only 2 m. Below the upper marine clay is another sandy
layer about 1 m thick which divides the marine clay layers
into the upper and the lower clay layers. The lower clay
layer starts at 8.3 m depth. The upper part of this lower clay
Fig. 2. Soil profile from the CPT at the Singapore site.
layer is intensively affected by desiccation caused by lowering of the sea level during the Ice Age. The color of the
lower marine clay is bluish gray but the desiccated part of
the clay has turned to brown or yellow due to oxidization.
From the soil profile obtained by the CPT, the desiccated
layer can be identified by its relatively high qt and high friction ratio ( fs /qt, where fs is the friction). To avoid scatter
due to the desiccation effect, the investigated layer in this
paper will be restricted to between 14 and 28 m.
The properties of Singapore clay are shown in Fig. 3 and
summarized in Table 1. The grain-size composition and the
index properties are nearly constant throughout the investigated depth. The clay content (< 2 m) is about 65%, and wL
and the plastic limit (wP) are about 75% and 25%, respectively, although both values increase slightly until a depth of
20 m. The variation in natural water content follows these
index properties. The I L value is about 0.6 at all depths.
The yield consolidation pressure is slightly greater than
the in situ effective burden pressure ( vo) except at depths
shallower than 18 m. The high OCR at shallower depths
may be attributed to the desiccation mentioned previously.
This site was located in reclaimed land, and whether the
consolidation due to this reclamation work is completed or
not is a very important question in evaluating soil parameters measured by field and laboratory tests. Since the measured y is larger than vo, it can be assumed that the
primary consolidation is over. That is, the value of vo can
be calculated assuming the hydrostatic pore-water pressure
distribution.
In addition to the vane shear strength, the undrained shear
strength estimated by the CPT has also been compared in
Fig. 3, assuming Nkt = 10. The vane strength increases with
an increase in depth, with values ranging from 30 kPa at the
upper depth to 60 kPa at the lower depth. However, the
strength from the CPT is nearly constant at all depths. This
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Tanaka et al.
383
Fig. 3. Geotechnical properties at the Singapore site (lower clay).
difference in strength will be discussed in more detail later

in the paper in terms of the cone factor Nkt.
The material index (ID) for the objective layer lies between 0.25 and 0.3, classifying the soil as clay according to
the chart of Marchetti (1980). However, ID values for Singapore clay are slightly greater than those for Ariake clay. The
horizontal stress index (KD) decreases with depth, and the
order of these values is slightly higher than that of Ariake
clay. The shear modulus measured by the seismic cone is
about 3540 MPa. Figure 3 also shows a special relationship
between the dilatometer modulus (ED) and the tip resistance

(qt) from the CPT as in Ariake clay.
Bangkok clay
The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) may be the
first organization to systematically characterize Bangkok
clay. The extensive soil investigation of Bangkok clay was
done by the NGI for construction of the BangkokSiracha
Highway embankment (Eide and Holmberg 1972). Sliding
took place at the test embankment, even with the application
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384
Fig. 4. Geotechnical properties at the Bangkok site (Sutthisan).
of calculated factor safety of 1.5 on the field vane strength.

This experience might have strongly inspired Bjerrum
(1973) in introducing the correction factor for the vane
strength based on the Ip value of a soil.
The present investigated site is located in Sutthisan, an urban area of Bangkok. At this site, the field vane shear and
piezocone tests were performed by the Asian Institute of
Technology (AIT). Other field tests including sampling were
done either by the PHRI or under the supervision of the
PHRI. To avoid the influence of excavation or fill due to
construction of buildings or desiccation, sampling and

soundings were started from a depth of 5 m. The properties
obtained by the investigation are shown in Fig. 4, and some
of the properties are summarized in Table 1. Like the samples at Ariake and Singapore, the grain-size composition of
the samples from this site consist of very fine particles: the
portion of clay particles exceeds 50% at most depths, and
the content of sand is very small. Index properties are distributed in a relatively complicated way and vary with depth.
The order of IL changes at 10 m depth. For the upper parts
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Tanaka et al.
385
Fig. 5. Comparison of density of solid particles s at the Ariake, Singapore, and Bangkok sites.
of this depth, IL is near unity, and below this depth IL reduces to values as small as 0.6.
The yield consolidation pressure (y) is slightly larger
than the in situ effective vertical pressure ( vo). However, at
depths larger than 12 m, y values are significantly greater
than vo. This may be attributed to the over-pumping up of
water from the sand layer underlying this clay layer (Yudhbir
and Honjo 1991). Indeed, Bangkok has suffered from subsidence over considerable areas due to this pumping.
Field vane shear (FVS) tests were performed at three
points. The undrained shear strength measured by the FVS
test is plotted in Fig. 4, together with that measured by the
CPT assuming Nkt = 10. Strengths measured by the FVS test
are approximately constant at about 30 kPa until a depth of
9 m. The strength estimated by the CPT seems to be relatively small compared with that from the FVS test. This
trend of strength underestimation from the CPT will be discussed in more detail later in the paper together with
strengths at Ariake and Singapore in terms of the cone factor
Nkt.
The DMT was also conducted at this site. The test results
from this site are shown in Fig. 4. The values of ID are
nearly constant until 11 m depth, ranging from 0.2 to 0.3.
The ID value increases below a depth of 11 m, although the
grain composition does not change. However, the index
properties and OCR obtained by the CRS oedometer test
change at this depth. Thus, it is implied that the ID value is
not a unique function of soil grain size alone and may also
be influenced by other soil properties, such as Ip or OCR.
The KD value falls in the range of 3.03.5 at most depths,
which is the largest value of all sites investigated in this
study.
The shear modulus measured by the seismic cone (Gsc)
fluctuates slightly with changes in depth, the average value
being approximately 15 MPa. The Gsc values are in good
agreement with the modulus obtained by the DMT or CPT
using eqs. [5] and [6]. In the case of CPT, the results agree
well at all depths. However, the shear modulus estimated by
7.5ED from the DMT overestimates the measured value at
depths greater than 11 m. It is interesting to note that this
depth coincides with that of changes in ID.
Comparison of physical properties

Density of soil particles (s )
The values of s versus depth at all three sites are compared in Fig. 5. At each site, the values of s are nearly constant with depth but differ considerably from site to site. The
s value of Singapore clay is the largest among these clays,
and its value ranges between 2.76 and 2.78 except at a depth
of 28 m. The s values of Bangkok clay also exceed 2.7, and
its values lie between 2.72 and 2.75 except at depths of 5.6
and 16.7 m. The s value of Ariake clay is noticeably
smaller, its average value being less than 2.65. The histograms of s for the Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay areas are
shown in Fig. 6 (Tanaka and Sakakibara 1991), which indicates that Ariake clay is not a special case among Japanese
marine clays, although the value of s at the Ariake site is
relatively small compared with those from Tokyo Bay and
Osaka Bay. Tanaka and Locat (1999) have shown that Japanese marine clays contain a large proportion of diatoms.
Shiwakoti et al. (1998) conducted a series of tests on a mixture of diatomite and kaolinite which indicated that the inclusion of diatoms reduces the value s of a soil.
Grain-size composition and plasticity indices
Figure 7 shows typical grain-size distribution curves for
the clays from Bangkok, Singapore, and Ariake. The composition of grain particles is nearly the same at each site. However, as already shown in the previous sections, index
properties are considerably different at each site. The activity of each of these clays is examined in Fig. 8, where clay
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386
Fig. 6. Histograms of s for marine clays at Tokyo Bay and
Osaka Bay areas.

Fig. 8. Comparison of the activities of the three clays investigated in this paper with those of three clays investigated by
other researchers.
Fig. 7. Comparison of grain-size distribution at the three sites

for samples taken from the depths specified.
content (grain size < 2 m) is plotted on the horizontal axis

and the Ip value on the vertical axis. The relations for some
other clays investigated by the authors (Tanaka and Tanaka
1997, 1999) are also shown in Fig. 8. The activity of Singapore clay is relatively small and is slightly larger than that of
the Drammen clay, which is a famous lean clay. The reason
for the relatively small activity of the Drammen clay is the
presence of a large proportion of so-called rock flour. The
rock flours have clay-sized grain particles, however, most of
these particles do not contain clay minerals. The rock flour
of the Drammen clay was produced by the abrasive action of
glacial ice during the Ice Age. On the other hand, it is certain that the Singapore clay investigated in this paper has not
experienced glaciation. Therefore, it is surprising that the activity of the Singapore clay is close to that of the Drammen
clay despite the difference in nature of the deposits. The
Bangkok clay is more active than the Singapore clay and has
an activity of about unity. Although there is a wide scatter in
activity of the Ariake clay, in general its activity is the highest among those from all three sites. Careful observation of
the soil profile of the Ariake clay in Fig. 1 reveals that the
reduction of Ip values takes place at deeper depths, despite
almost constant grain-size composition.
The plasticity chart for the clays from the three sites investigated is shown in Fig. 9, where wL and Ip are plotted on
the horizontal and the vertical axes, respectively. The data
for the Ariake clay fall along the A line. It is well known
that not only the Ariake clay but also most Japanese marine
clays have a close correlation with the A line. Contrary to
the Japanese clays, the relationships for both the Bangkok
and Singapore clays are located considerably above the A
line, although their data are parallel to the A line. This
means that, compared with the Ariake clay, Ip for these clays
is larger by about 10 at a given wL.
Mineralogy and microstructure analysis

Ariake clay
Clay mineralogy of the Ariake site has been investigated
in detail by various researchers (e.g., Egashira and Ohtsubo
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Tanaka et al.
387
Fig. 9. Plasticity chart.
1982; Ohtsubo et al. 1995). Previous studies have recognized the dominance of smectite (low swelling type) in the
clay and the presence of other clay minerals such as
kaolinite, illite, and vermiculite.
In addition, the present study using X-ray diffraction on
all depths investigated (3, 8, 14, and 16 m) indicates also the
presence of detectable amounts of chlorite in the Ariake
clay, as implied by the noncollapsible peaks of 14 (a reflection angle 2 = 6.3 in Fig. 10) even when heated to
550C. The glycolated spectra reveal a strong portion of
smectite, which can be distinguished by its much more intense peaks compared with those for kaolinite or illite. It is
interesting to compare the X-ray spectra at 8 and 14 m
depths. Although the pattern and intensity of each peak are
very similar at both depths, the index properties change remarkably at the 12 m depth.
Microstructural studies of the Ariake clay (3 and 16 m)
reveal the presence of a well-developed flocculated structure
combined with abundant fossil remains, mostly derived from
diatoms (Figs. 11a, 11b). Aggregates are made of agglomerated fine particles (mostly smectite) while the coarse component is composed of quartz grains or fossil debris. The
resulting pore space families are intra-aggregate, interaggregate, and skeletal (Tanaka and Locat 1999; Shiwakoti
et al. 1999). Since most fossil remains have been found broken, very little intra-skeletal pore family is visible here.
Singapore clay
The lower layer of Singapore clay contains a large proportion of kaolinite, as shown by very strong reflection of the
kaolinite peaks (Fig. 12). The other main minerals present in
the Singapore clay are illite and a small proportion of
smectite or mixed-layer minerals. The relative increase in
the intensity of the illite peak (10 , 2 = 8.8 in Fig. 12)
could also indicate the presence of vermiculite in the mixture.
The overall structure is flocculated, with aggregates
formed mostly by lumps of fine clay minerals such as
kaolinite and illite (Fig. 13c). The layer contains a small
Fig. 10. X-ray diffraction charts for Ariake clay (from 14 m) in

various states: natural (N), glycolated (G), and heated to 550C
(H). C, chlorite; I, illite; K, kaolinite; S, smectite; V, vermiculite.
quantity of organic matter and is composed of large quantities of kaolinite minerals with a typical kaolinite group as
shown in Figs. 13a and 13b. The clay contains only a limited amount of fossiliferous remains, which consist mostly
of foraminifera (Fig. 13c) and occasional diatom debris. In
addition, pellets can be frequently observed (Fig. 13d).
Bangkok clay
The mineralogy of the clay fraction of the Bangkok clay
is shown in Fig. 14. The types of minerals in order of decreasing abundance are smectite, illite, kaolinite, chlorite,
and some mixed-layer minerals. The overall soil also contains primary minerals such as quartz. If we consider the
variation of specific surface area with depth, the lower portion of the profile from a depth of about 10 m contains almost twice as much smectite as the layer above, with the
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Fig. 11. Scanning electron micrographs of Ariake clay at (a) 3 m depth, and (b) 16 m depth. Scale bars = 10 m.
Fig. 12. X-ray diffraction charts for Singapore clay (from 20 m)

in various states: natural (N), glycolated (G), and heated to
550C (H). C, chlorite; I, illite; K, kaolinite; S, smectite; V, vermiculite.
as diatoms or foraminifera are rare. Near the surface, some

diatom fossils were found partly dissolved with apparent
reprecipitation on surrounding aggregates, which might have
contributed to the structural bonding of the soil.
Consolidation characteristics
maximum proportion of smectite recorded at depths of 9.5

and 16 m. The existence of a large proportion of smectite
could explain the reason for the higher plasticity index at
lower depths. Another interesting observation is the occurrence of new peaks upon heating at angles of 14 and 17
(as indicated by a and b in Fig. 14). This has also been observed mostly in the lower part of the profile and could be
the result of a significant amount of mixed-layer minerals.
At this time, we have not been able to link these peaks to a
particular mineral suite.
The microstructure of the Bangkok clay is characterized
by the frequent presence of pellets filled with pyrite
(Fig. 15b). The pore space consists primarily of the interaggregate pore family (Fig. 15a). The aggregates themselves
are quite compact and consist of an assemblage of clay-size
particles providing a flocculated structure. Microfossils such
Sampling quality
As mentioned in the section on Testing methods, sample
quality is a very important consideration in evaluating the
behavior of a soil from laboratory tests. Figure 16 shows a
typical example indicating the importance of sample quality.
Results have been compared for soil samples taken by the
Japanese samplers and the Shelby tube. A preboring method
was used in the case of the Japanese samplers, which is the
standard practice in Japan. In the Shelby tube sampling,
however, a wash-boring method was employed, which is the
method of sampling usually followed in Southeast Asia.
The void ratio (e) log p curves in Fig. 16 were measured
by the CRS oedometer tests at a strain rate of 0.02%/min. A
clear bending point corresponding to yield consolidation
pressure (y) can be observed on the e log p curve for the
specimen collected by the Japanese sampling method. When
the consolidation pressure (p) in the specimen is less than
y, the change in e is very small. But when p is greater than
y, suddenly a large volume change occurs. The compression index (Cc), which is the slope of the e log p curve, is
not constant even at the normally consolidated stage; the
largest Cc is attained immediately after y and gradually decreases with increasing consolidation pressure.
In Fig. 16 the e log p curve for the sample at the same
depth but collected by the Shelby tube is compared. The
shape of the e log p curve for the specimen collected by
this method is markedly different from that of the Japanese
method; a considerable shift in the void ratio can be ob . The yield consolidation pressure ( y) is not
served at vo
clearly identified, and Cc becomes practically constant in the
normally consolidated stage. The change in the e log p relationship becomes more pronounced if Cc is plotted against
p, as shown in the lower plot of Fig. 16.
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389
Fig. 13. Scanning electron micrographs of Singapore clay at (a, b) 16 m depth, and (c, d) 20 m depth. Scale bars = 10 m.
Similar differences in the consolidation characteristics

were also observed for the Bangkok clay. Discussion of the
sampling disturbance is beyond the scope of the present paper. Interested readers may refer elsewhere for details of the
various sampling methods and their influences on laboratory
test results (Chong et al. 1998; Tanaka and Tanaka 1999). In
this paper, only the test results of soil samples obtained from
the Japanese sampling method will be examined.
Void ratio (e) log p curves and compression index
Typical e log p curves for the Ariake clay, Singapore
clay, and Bangkok clay are shown in Figs. 17, 18, and 19,
respectively. The Cc indices at each of the three sites are not
constant, even at the normally consolidated stage; instead,
they are considerably nonlinear. To make the comparison of
these test results easy, change in Cc has been plotted against
p in normalized form in Fig. 20. In Fig. 20, Cc at a particular
pressure is normalized by Cc1, where Cc1 is Cc at a pressure
large enough to become constant. Consolidation pressure p

is also normalized by y, as p/ y. If these treatments are
done on both axes of Cc and p, the compressibility characteristics of all three clays can be compared easily. The maximum value of the compressibility ratio of Cc /Cc1 varies
between 1.5 and 4.0 for all three clays. It is very interesting
to find that Cc is nearly constant when the consolidation
pressure becomes about twice as large as y.
The Cc value has been correlated with index properties by
various researchers in numerous ways since Terzaghi proposed the well-known relationship Cc = 0.009(wL 10). In
Fig. 21, Cc1 and Cc2 are plotted against wL, where Cc2 is the
maximum of Cc, that is, Cc at the pressure just after the y
value. There is a strong correlation between wL and Cc1. It is
well recognized that Cc for a remolded specimen or at a
large consolidation pressure for an intact specimen can be
related to wL for most soils. It has been confirmed again
from the present study that Bangkok and Singapore clays
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Fig. 14. X-ray diffraction charts for Bangkok clay (from 12 m)
in various states: natural (N), glycolated (G), and heated to
550C (H). C, chlorite; I, illite; K, kaolinite; S, smectite; V,
vermiculite. New peaks upon heating are indicated at a and b
(see text).
and Ariake clay follow this relationship. However, Fig. 21

shows that there is no relationship between Cc2 and wL. The
index Cc2 may be a value strongly related to soil structure,
which is a function of parent materials, sedimentation
environment, and post-depositional factors such as secondary consolidation or chemical bonding. Therefore, Cc2 and
wL may vary with depth even for the same clay deposit.
It should also be noted that in most previous attempts to
correlate Cc and wL from conventional oedometer consolidation tests, Cc values have been taken at some middle point
between Cc2 and Cc1. This is because from the e log p
curves of conventional oedometer tests, the measurement of
variation in Cc cannot be made continuously, as the specimen is subjected to a constant consolidation pressure at each
consolidation stage, and this consolidation pressure is double at each sub-sequence. In addition, it should be kept in
mind that if the sample is heavily disturbed, the measured Cc

is the same as Cc1. In other words, Cc is significantly affected by the sample quality.
Coefficient of consolidation
The distributions of the coefficient of consolidation (cv)
with depth at the three sites are given in Fig. 22. Figure 17
shows that the cv values for Ariake clay are not constant,
even at the normally consolidated stage, unlike either Bangkok clay or Singapore clay (see Figs. 18, 19). Thus, cv for
Ariake clay is taken at a consolidation pressure of 1 MPa.
The cv values for other clays are taken at the normally consolidated stage because the cv values are constant at this
stage. For all three sites, the values of cv are nearly constant
with depth. However, the values at each site are considerably
different from one other. The cv value for Bangkok clay is
the lowest of those for all three sites, its value being about
10 cm2/day, except at a depth of 7.5 m, where the soil contains a lot of sand, so the cv value is much larger than those
at other depths. On the other hand, the cv value for Ariake
clay is about 100 cm2/day, which is the largest value of those
for all the clays in the present study. The cv value for Singapore clay is about 30 cm2/day. The cv value at a normally
consolidated state is not sensitive to sample quality. The cv
values for samples collected by the Japanese sampling
method and the wash boring method using the Shelby tube
yield nearly the same result, as seen in Fig. 22.
A typical relationship between void ratio (e) and permeability (k) for Bangkok clay is given in Fig. 23. When the
stress level reaches the normally consolidated stage, k decreases with a decrease in e, the relationship being linear
when k is plotted on a logarithmic scale. If this line in the
normally consolidated stage is extended to meet the horizontal line drawn from the initial void ratio eo, the k value at the
intercept point may be considered as the in situ permeability
(ko), as described by Tavenas et al. (1983). The ko values
thus obtained are plotted against eo in Fig. 24. It is very interesting to find a clear correlation between eo and ko. The
trend of a decrease in ko with a decrease in eo is similar for
all three clays. It may be noted, however, that a data point
Fig. 15. Scanning electron micrographs of Bangkok clay at (a) 12 m depth, and (b) 13 m depth. Scale bars = 10 m.
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Tanaka et al.
Fig. 16. Oedometer test results on Singapore clay to illustrate
differences in sampling quality.
for Bangkok clay at the 7.5 m depth does not follow the
trend, which may be attributed to the presence of a sand
layer at that depth. Figure 24 shows that the relatively
smaller ko for Bangkok clay and Singapore clay is related to
their smaller void ratio. This is the reason why the cv values
for Singapore clay and Bangkok clay are relatively small
compared with that for Ariake clay.
Strength and deformation characteristics

General tendency of strengths measured by various
tests
Figures 2527 show undrained shear strength (su) profiles
measured by laboratory and field tests. The strengths from
these tests are summarized in Table 1 in normalized form
(normalized by y) for ease of comparison. The y value
was measured by the CRS oedometer test and using the
Casagrande interpretation method. At all three sites investigated, there exists a certain order of variation in strength
391
Fig. 17. Consolidation characteristics of Ariake clay.
measured in the laboratory depending on the test type. With

few exceptions, the largest su was obtained from the CK0UC
triaxial test. The second largest strength was recorded from
the constant-volume direct shear (DS) test, where the specimen was consolidated to the in situ vertical stress before
shearing it at a constant-volume condition. The CK0UE
triaxial test yielded nearly the same or slightly smaller undrained shear strength as that of the DS test. The su values
from the UC test or the UU triaxial test are considerably
smaller than those from the above three tests.
Contrary to the strengths measured from the laboratory
tests, the position of the field vane shear strength is different
from site to site, and there is no definite trend. For example,
at Ariake the vane shear strength has the same order as that
of the UC test (qu /2). This fact can be applied to most of the
Japanese marine clays, provided that the soil sample is collected properly to ensure high quality (Tanaka 1994). At
Bangkok, however, the field vane test definitely yields larger
strength than the UC test, the order being nearly the same as
su from the CK0UC triaxial test. On the other hand, the field
vane shear strength for Singapore clay is even smaller than
that of the UC test.
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Fig. 18. Consolidation characteristics of Singapore clay.

Fig. 19. Consolidation characteristics of Bangkok clay.
These strength characteristics will be discussed in more

detail in the following sections.
Cone factor
The difference between the strengths measured by the
CPT (assuming Nkt = 10) and those from other methods varies from site to site. This fact may imply that the Nkt factor
is not constant, but is different for different clays. A question as to which test provides the suitable strength for stability analysis is still a very difficult issue among geotechnical
engineers, since many factors such as anisotropy, rate effect,
and failure pattern may govern the design strength. However,
the strength from the FVS test has been taken as the basic
strength for obtaining the Nkt factor in most previous studies.
Considering the su value from the FVS test as the basic
strength, the resulting Nkt factors for the three investigated
sites are plotted in Fig. 28 along with the results from other
well-documented sites (data for Drammen from T. Lunne,
personal communication, 1995; for Bothkennar from Nash et
al. 1992; and for Louiseville from La Rochelle et al. 1988).
Some researchers have shown that the Nkt factor is related to
Ip in such a way that Nkt decreases with an increase in Ip (for
example, Jamiolkowski et al. 1988). However, Fig. 28 shows
no clear correlation between Nkt and Ip.
The range of values of the Nkt factor for various Japanese

marine clays, including Ariake clay, is between 7 and 15,
with an average of around 10 (Tanaka 1996). However, Nkt
for Drammen clay is very large compared with those for
Bothkennar clay and Ariake clay.
The Nkt factor for Singapore clay exceeds 20 at some
depths. These points were measured at depths of 17 and
21 m. The measured vane shear strength at 21 m is very
small compared with the strengths measured by other laboratory tests, as shown in Fig. 26. The measured vane shear
strength at this depth might have been too small due to some
unknown reasons. However, the vane strengths measured at
other depths above 17 m have the same order of strength as
that from the UU test. Also, the vane shear strengths observed at two other depths have nearly the same value.
Therefore, it is likely that the large Nkt factor at these depths
was not caused by an error in the measurement but due to
other reasons such as desiccation. For all other depths, the
Nkt factors for Singapore clay fall around the upper bound of
those for Japanese clays and are similar to that for
Louiseville clay, which is one of the Champlain Sea clays in
Quebec, Canada.
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Tanaka et al.
On the other hand, the Nkt factors for Bangkok clay are
relatively small and are mostly scattered around the lower
boundary of the Japanese clays. These observations indicate
that Nkt is not easily related to Ip but is a complicated parameter influenced by many factors, such as soil type and
depositional environment.
393
Fig. 20. The relationship between normalized compression index
and consolidation pressure for the three clays.
Strength anisotropy
Figures 2527 show that the undrained shear strength
measured by the CK0UE triaxial test (sue) is, in general,
smaller than that measured by the CK0UC triaxial test (suc).
Unlike the compression test, the extension test hardly gives a
peak strength. As such, there is more than one definition in
determining the extension strength, for example, the strength
at the same strain level as the peak compression strength, or
the strength at 15% of strain. The second definition is used
extensively in practical design, whenever a clear peak in
strength is not observed. Since the peak strength was not observed in all the extension tests in the present investigation,
the strength from the extension test has been defined as the
strength at an axial strain of 15%. Also, the strength anisotropy has been defined as the ratio of the extension strength
to the compression strength (sue /suc).
Figure 29 shows the plot of strength anisotropy ratio
(sue /suc) for the three clays investigated in the present study.
Also included in the figure are the data for other Japanese
marine clays previously investigated by Tanaka and Tanaka
(1997). It can be seen that for the Japanese clays, including
Ariake clay, the ratio sue /suc clearly increases with an increase in Ip. This tendency is in fairly good agreement with
Bjerrums observation, which was based on the correction
factor to the vane shear strength (Bjerrum 1973).
The sue /suc ratio for Bangkok clay and Singapore clay,
however, is very large despite the relatively low Ip values for
these clays. This is particularly true for the sue /suc ratio for
Singapore clay, which exceeds unity at a depth of 28 m, implying that the extension strength is greater than the compression strength. Tanaka and Tanaka (1997) reported that
the sue /suc ratio for Bothkennar clay, whose Ip is about 40, is
as low as 0.45. Thus, it can be concluded that compared to
the European or Japanese marine clays, the Southeast Asian
clays behave more isotropically despite their moderate Ip
values.
Stress path and effective parameters
Figure 30 shows typical stressstrain relations measured
by compression triaxial tests. Since the sample depths are
different at each site, the deviator stresses are normalized by
the corresponding vo to make the curves comparable. The
highest deviator strength ratio is observed for Bangkok clay
and the lowest for Singapore clay. The strength ratio
[( 1 3 )/2]/ vo for Bangkok clay is more than 0.5, and
that for Singapore clay is less than 0.3.
The stress paths of these clays are also indicated in the
right part of Fig. 30. The internal friction angle () at a residual stress condition for Singapore clay is considerably
smaller than that for Ariake clay. The values are summarized in Table 1 and are defined both at the maximum deviator stress state ( p) and at the residual stress state ( r ). The
value even at the maximum deviator stress for Ariake clay
is more than 45, and the value for Singapore clay is as
low as 25. It is well known that the value for Japanese

clays is very high despite their high Ip values (for example,
Lambe and Whitman 1978). The large value for Japanese
marine clays can be explained by the component of clay
minerals or the existence of angular materials including
microfossils. Tanaka and Locat (1999) reported that
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394
Fig. 21. The relationship between compression index and liquid limit.
Japanese marine clays contain a lot of microfossils, especially diatoms, and their existence in Japanese clays is likely
to contribute to high values. Indeed, Shiwakoti et al.
(1999) showed a considerable increase in the value in soil
containing diatoms by mixing diatomite with pure kaolin
and Singapore clays.
It is interesting to note the difference in nature of the
stress path among soil groups. The shapes of the stress paths
for the Ariake and Singapore clays are very similar, although
the deviator stress for Singapore clay is much smaller due to
its small . However, the shape of the stress path for the
Bangkok clay is markedly different from those of the Bangkok and Singapore clays. The stress path for the Bangkok
clay goes almost straight up and reaches the failure envelope. After attaining the peak strength, the deviator stress
suddenly decreases with a decrease in effective stress. This
behavior is consistent with microstructural observations
made using the SEM, as described earlier.
One may argue that these differences in the pattern of the
stress path among clays are induced by variation in the sample quality. Indeed, various researchers (Hight et al. 1992;
Lunne et al. 1997; Tanaka and Tanaka 1999) have indicated
that if the sample quality is not good, the sharp bending
point at the peak strength in the stress path disappears and
the shape of the stress path becomes similar to that of the
Ariake or Singapore clays as shown in Fig. 30. However, in
this study, all soil samples were retrieved using the Japanese
sampler. Although Fig. 30 shows only a test result at a certain depth for each clay type, the same trend has been obtained at other depths as well. As already mentioned, the
shape of the e log p curve for the sample collected using
the Japanese sampler is completely different from that collected using the Shelby tube. This indicates the superiority
of the Japanese sampler in terms of sample quality. Tanaka
et al. (1996) showed that the sample quality obtained using
the Japanese sampler has the same order as the Laval or the
Sherbrooke samplers, the latter two being renowned worldwide for their superiority in obtaining high-quality samples.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the difference in the
stress path indicated in Fig. 30 is caused by the inherent
properties of soil, and not by the variation in sample quality.
These differences in the pattern of the stress path may be
caused by the variation in arrangement of soil particles or
the presence of fragments of microfossils.
Shear modulus
As indicated in the section titled Soil profile at tested
sites, shear modulus measured by the seismic cone (Gsc) can
be correlated with either CPT or DMT values, and its relationship is the same for normally or slightly overconsolidated
Japanese clays (Tanaka et al. 1994). These relations are
shown in Figs. 31 and 32. It may be considered that the CPT
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395
Fig. 22. Profiles of the coefficient of consolidation for the three sites.
Fig. 23. A typical example of the relationship between void ratio

and permeability (measured at the Bangkok site). eo, in situ void
ratio; ko, in situ permeability.
Fig. 24. The relationship between the in situ void ratio and permeability for the three clays.
esting to know that Gsc for Singapore clay is the same order
or even larger than that of the Ariake or Bangkok clays,
which have considerably larger strength than Singapore clay.
This suggests that Gsc is not governed by the value or the
undrained shear strength.
or DMT behavior is governed by deformation characteristics
at relatively large strain. In contrast, Gsc from the seismic
cone is the shear modulus at very small strain. The existence
of a relationship between Gsc and either CPT or DMT implies that the G and strain () relationship is nearly the same
for most of the soft cohesive soils.
The Gsc values for the three clays normalized by y are
listed in the last row of Table 1. The value of Gsc is governed by many factors such as the OCR, void ratio, lateral
effective stress, and vertical stress. However, it is very inter-
The undrained shear strength as a design

value
Until now, several methods of obtaining undrained shear
strength for design, sometimes called the mobilized strength
(sumob), have been proposed by various researchers. Among
them, the one method which uses Bjerrums correction factor () is well known, where the anisotropy and the rate effect on strength are taken into account in the vane shear
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Fig. 25. The undrained shear strength of Ariake clay measured

by various tests.
Fig. 27. The undrained shear strength of Bangkok clay measured

by various tests.
Fig. 26. The undrained shear strength of Singapore clay measured by various tests.
Fig. 28. The cone factors Nkt based on the field vane test. Data
for Drammen, Bothkennar, and Louiseville are from T. Lunne
(personal communication, 1995), Nash et al. (1992), and La Rochelle et al. (1988), respectively.
strength by correlating it with Ip. Mesri (1975) also proposed, based on the Bjerrum correction factor and ageing
effect on py, the ratio of mobilized strength to consolidation
pressure (sumob /pc) as 0.22, regardless of Ip.
On the other hand, the qu /2 value from the unconfined
compression test has traditionally been used in Japan, without correcting for factors such as Ip. The qu /2 value is well
balanced between factors which underestimate the true
strength, such as soil disturbance caused by sampling, and
factors which overestimate the true strength, such as the anisotropy or the rate effects (Tsuchida and Mizukami 1991;
Tsuchida and Tanaka 1995; Tanaka and Tanaka 1997).
The sumob values for all three test sites as proposed by various researchers are given in Table 2 in the form normalized
by y. From the triaxial test, sumob is the average strength of

the compression (CK0UC) and extension (CK0UE)
recompression triaxial tests, considering the strength anisotropy. In addition, the strength is further reduced to account
for the rate effect. According to Hanzawa and Tanaka
(1992), the rate effect of the Japanese clays is about 7% per
the logarithmic scale of strain rate regardless of Ip. Assuming that this rate effect can be applied to both the Singapore and Bangkok clays and the strain rate at failure in the
field is 103%/min, the correction factor for the rate effect is
0.86, as the strain rate in the triaxial test is 0.1%/min, as described previously. Hanzawa (1992) proposed the sumob
value using the constant-volume direct shear (DS) test,
where the measured value is multiplied by 0.85 to take into
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Tanaka et al.
Fig. 29. The anisotropy ratio sue/suc for clays at three sites and
for various Japanese marine clays.
397
[9]
su
vo
= 0.22(0.5KD)1.25
It is important to remember that the strength estimated by

eq. [9] is the mobilized strength because 0.22 of (su / vo)nc
is a design value taking into account the anisotropy and rate
effect, according to Mesri (1975). In addition, for reviewing
these strength ratios in Table 2, it is useful to know the relationship between (su / vo)nc and su / y. Using eq. [7], su/ y
can be expressed by the following equation:
[10]
account the strain rate effect. The sumob values are also obtained from the DMT following the proposal of Marchetti
(1980). In his proposal, sumob is expressed by the following
equation:
[7]
s
= u OCRm
vo vo nc
su
where (su / vo)nc is the strength ratio at the normally consolidated stage. Marchetti adopted 0.22 as (su / vo)nc based on
the proposal of Mesri (1975) and m = 0.8 from previous experimental data.
The OCR is estimated from the DMT using the following
equation:
[8]
OCR = (0.5KD)1.56
Thus to determine su from the DMT, eq. [7] becomes
s
su
= u OCRm1
y vo
nc
If OCR is 1.5 and m is assumed to be 0.8, then su / y becomes 0.92(su / vo)nc.

The vane shear strength corrected by Bjerrums factor is
about 0.22 for Ariake clay, which is apparently the same as
the strength ratio at the normally consolidated stage proposed by Mesri (1975). However, this strength value is considerably smaller for Singapore clay and much larger for
Bangkok clay. Tanaka (1994) has shown by reviewing several case records that the vane strength corrected by
Bjerrums factor considerably underestimates sumob for Japanese clays. Similarly, the value 0.22 proposed by Mesri for
(su / vo)nc is too small in light of the fact that the incremental strength ratio is adopted as 0.3 or 0.33 at step loading
construction in Japan. Indeed, for Ariake clay, the order of
strength ratios from the average recompression triaxial test
and the corrected direct shear test, as well as qu /2, is about
0.30.33, although the average recompression strength for
upper Ariake clay seems too large. For both Singapore and
Bangkok clays, these strength ratios are of nearly the same
order except for the average recompression strength ratio of
the upper Bangkok clay. However, these strength ratios are
considerably smaller than that of Ariake clay.
There seems to be no consistency in the strength estimated by the DMT. For example, su / y for the upper and
the lower Ariake clays estimated by the DMT is 0.15 and
0.13, respectively. These ratios are too small, based on the
Fig. 30. The stress and strain relationship and stress path measured by the recompression triaxial test (compression test).
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Fig. 31. Correlation of Gsc from seismic cone with qt vo from

the CPT for Japanese clays (after Tanaka and Tanaka 1998).
Fig. 32. Correlation of Gsc from seismic cone with ED from the
DMT for Japanese clays (after Tanaka and Tanaka 1998).
Table 2. Comparison of proposed mobilized undrained shear strengths for Ariake, Singapore, and Bangkok clays.
Ariake
Ip
Bjerrums correction factor
su / y (vane)
Avg. (CK0UE and CK0UC) 0.86
DS 0.85 (after Hanzawa 1992)
(qu /2)/ y
KD from DMT
su / y from DMT
OCR from DMT
Bangkok
Upper
Lower
Singapore
Upper
Lower
70
0.72
0.23
0.35
0.32
0.31
1.8
0.15
0.84
50
0.82
0.22
0.29
0.30
0.30
1.8
0.13
0.84
50
0.82
0.16
0.19
0.23
0.21*
2.8
0.24
1.69
50
0.82
0.27
0.32
0.25
0.21
3.4
0.33
2.29
0.19
0.22
0.21
3.4
0.27
2.29
*From UU test.
experience in this region. As already indicated, the OCR is a

key parameter in estimating sumob by this method. The calculated OCRs from the DMT are given in Table 2. For Ariake
clay the OCR is less than 1.0, which implies a state of
underconsolidation. On the other hand, for Bangkok clay,
the OCR value calculated by the DMT is considerably larger
than those measured by CRS oedometer tests.
It is very difficult to point out which method is suitable
for providing the design strength, because the applicability
of the method should be verified by drawing on many experiences in the region concerned. Running the risk of drawing
conclusions with few data from this investigation, the following method may be able to evaluate sumob for each of the
regions.
(1) For Ariake clay, the average of compression and extension strengths from the recompression triaxial test and
strength from the constant-volume direct shear test are suitable considering the strain rate effect. It seems that qu /2,
which is traditionally used in Japan, is also applicable, provided that sample quality is good. Both the vane strength
corrected by Bjerrums factor and the strength estimated by
the DMT considerably underestimated the undrained shear
strength of Ariake clay.
(2) Singapore clay has the same tendency as Ariake clay,
although the DMT apparently provides a good value of su.
(3) For Bangkok clay, the value of qu /2 is very small
compared with the average values obtained from triaxial or
direct shear tests. The values 0.33 and 0.27 estimated from
2001 NRC Canada

Tanaka et al.
the DMT for the upper and the lower Bangkok clay seem to
be too large. Thus, the method using the DMT cannot be
used to obtain sumob for Bangkok clay. The applicability of
Bjerrums correction factor to Bangkok clay is not clear in
this investigation because there is too much scatter in the
strength data measured by the FVS test.
Conclusions
The properties of two Southeast Asian clays, Singapore
clay and Bangkok clay, are compared with those of Ariake
clay, which is a typical Japanese marine clay. The sampling
was done using the same sampling method and samplers at
all sites, thus all the samples can be considered to have the
same level of sample quality. Various tests were performed
in the laboratory and in the field. Microstructure analysis using the SEM and X-ray diffraction tests were conducted to
explain the differences in behavior of each clay in terms of
clay mineral or soil structure. The clay mineral component is
remarkably different among these clays. The use of clay
mineralogy and SEM observations, although qualitative, provides some insight to the complex role of soil formation and
evolution (e.g., weathering) in their resulting mechanical
properties.
The main conclusions from the present study are as follows:
(1) The main clay mineral is smectite in Bangkok clay
and Ariake clay and kaolinite in Singapore clay.
(2) Activity, which is defined as the ratio of plasticity to
clay content, is considerably different among these three
sites: 1.02.0 for Ariake clay, 0.50.8 for Singapore clay,
and 0.91.4 for Bangkok clay. These differences can be attributed to the difference in composition of clay minerals
and microfossils.
(3) The yield stress (y) obtained by constant rate of strain
oedometer tests is slightly greater than the in situ effective
burden pressure ( vo) at all the sites. The ratio of y to vo
(i.e., OCR) is about 1.11.7 for the objective layers considered in this investigation.
(4) The shape of the e log p curve shows nonlinearity,
even at the normal consolidation stage. However, when the
consolidation pressure exceeds two times the value of y, the
nonlinearity disappears.
(5) The compression index (Cc) at a consolidation pressure large enough to make Cc constant can be correlated
with liquid limit wL. The relationship can be expressed by
Cc = 0.009(wL 10), as proposed by Terzaghi.
(6) There is a good correlation between the initial void ratio (eo) and the in situ permeability (ko) for the three types of
clay investigated. Since the eo value for Bangkok clay is the
smallest of all the three clays, the coefficient of consolidation (cv) is as low as 10 cm2/day. This value is considerably
small compared with cv of 100 cm2/day for Ariake clay.
(7) Strength anisotropy was defined as the undrained shear
strength ratio of the extension and compression strengths
from the recompression triaxial test (sue /suc). For Japanese
marine clays including Ariake clay, the ratio sue /suc increases with an increase in Ip. For the Singapore and Bangkok clays, the ratio sue /suc is relatively high despite the
moderate value of Ip.
399
(8) The internal friction angle ( ) for Singapore clay is

considerably smaller than those for the Bangkok and Ariake
clays. The normalized undrained strength by the in situ effective stress (su / vo) is highest for Bangkok clay. This
large value for the ratio su / vo is not due to a high value
but is caused by the difference in structures, as observed by
SEM pictures.
(9) The shear modulus measured by the seismic cone (Gsc)
can be correlated with the net resistance (qt vo) from the
CPT and the dilatometer modulus (ED). The correlations
are the same as those established for other clays: Gsc =
50(qt vo) or 7.5ED.
(10) The undrained shear strengths for design were evaluated using several methods. The vane strength corrected using Bjerrums correction factor is considerably smaller than
those evaluated by other methods. It is also revealed that
there is no consistency in the strength estimated by
dilatometer following the proposal of Marchetti (1980).
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Composite Default screen

Characterization of Singapore, Bangkok, and

Corresponding author (e-mail: tanakah@cc.phri.go.jp).

Can. Geotech. J. 38: 378400 (2001)

Ariake clay collected using a Shelby tube is as low as 60%

2001 NRC Canada

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researchers have tried to explain the mechanical behavior of

tory, cut into suitable pieces, wrapped in thin plastic film,

(ii) horizontal stress index (KD)

and (iii) dilatometer modulus (ED)

where vo is the effective overburden pressure, and u0 is the

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

Table 1. Characterization of Ariake, Singapore, and Bangkok clays.

where t is the unit weight of the soil, and vs is the velocity

200 kPa was applied. The pore-water pressure was measured

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Fig. 1. Geotechnical properties at the Ariake site.

consolidation, movement of the shear box in the vertical

Soil profile at tested sites

and chemical properties of this site have been extensively

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

more than unity for most depths. For cohesive soils in

Gsc = 50(qt vo)

Fig. 2. Soil profile from the CPT at the Singapore site.

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Fig. 3. Geotechnical properties at the Singapore site (lower clay).

difference in strength will be discussed in more detail later

between the dilatometer modulus (ED) and the tip resistance

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

Fig. 4. Geotechnical properties at the Bangkok site (Sutthisan).

of calculated factor safety of 1.5 on the field vane strength.

construction of buildings or desiccation, sampling and

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Comparison of physical properties

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

Fig. 7. Comparison of grain-size distribution at the three sites

content (grain size < 2 m) is plotted on the horizontal axis

Mineralogy and microstructure analysis

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Fig. 9. Plasticity chart.

Fig. 10. X-ray diffraction charts for Ariake clay (from 14 m) in

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

Fig. 12. X-ray diffraction charts for Singapore clay (from 20 m)

as diatoms or foraminifera are rare. Near the surface, some

maximum proportion of smectite recorded at depths of 9.5

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Similar differences in the consolidation characteristics

large enough to become constant. Consolidation pressure p

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and Ariake clay follow this relationship. However, Fig. 21

Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 38, 2001

mind that if the sample is heavily disturbed, the measured Cc

2001 NRC Canada

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Strength and deformation characteristics

measured in the laboratory depending on the test type. With

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