Modeling the Undrained Shear Strength with Soil Index Properties for Niger Delta Soft Clays

The aim of this study was to model the Undrained Shear Strength (USS) of soil found in the coastal region of the Niger Delta in Nigeria with some soil properties. The undrained shear strength (USS) is a key parameter needed for most geotechnical/structural designs. Accurate determination of the USS of soft clays can be challenging to obtain in the laboratory due to the difficulty in remoulding the clay to its in-situ conditions before testing and more accurate test such as Cone Penetration test (CPT) can be quite expensive. This study was carried out at Escravos site which is located in Delta state, Nigeria. Three Boreholes were drilled and soil samples were collected at 0.75 m intervals up to a depth of 45 m. Laboratory tests were used to obtain the moisture content, bulk unit weight, liquid and plastic limit, while CPT was used in obtaining the undrained shear strength. Classification of the soil samples was done by adopting the Unified Soil Classification System and various models relating the USS with the soil properties were developed. The result showed that most of the soils at Escravos site were predominately inorganic clay of high plasticity which are problematic due to the expansion and shrinking nature of this type of soil. The model developed showed that the soil properties that gave the best fit with the USS were the moisture content and effective stress of the soil. The coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean square error (RMSE) obtained for this model were 0.805 and 6.37 KN/m2, respectively.

Preparation and Characteristic of Self-regulation Water-transmitting Coating Fiber

Common clay, Kaolin and Bentonite were used as additives to prepare water-transmitting coating fiber, respectively, and the water-transmitting characteristic of coating fiber was studied. Different water-transmitting coating fibers were prepared by coating fiber using coating material with different mass proportions of additives to adhesive. And the coating materials were made from three kinds of inorganic clays as additives respectively and polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） as adhesive. Furthermore, the surface morphology and water-transmitting capacity of coating fiber were studied by SEM, Perkin Elmer Diamond SII thermal multi-analyzer and instrument for quick measurement moisture M30. The experimental results indicate that water-transmitting coating fibers made from three kinds of clays all have water-transmitting capacity. The surface of water-transmitting coating fiber prepared by common clay T is continuous and compact, and the water-transmitting effect is better than coating fibers made from other clays.