Investigation of the effect of temperature on the shear strength of Kaolinite clay

Investigation of the effect of temperature on soil strength is one of the issues which has been considered by many researchers in recent decades. In this study to investigate the effect of temperature on the undrained shear strength (Cu) of clay soils, a cell with the capability of both changing and keeping fixed the temperature of sample, was designed and constructed. After determining the index properties of samples for Kaolinite clay soil, undrained shear strength (Cu) test was carried out on saturated clay soil at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 ° C. Repeatability of the results was confirmed by repeating tests on samples with the same properties a given temperature. The results showed that by increasing the temperature, the Cu values decreased so that, as the temperature raised from 10 ° C to 70 ° C, the values Cu were reduced from 26.6 to 10.94 kPa. Accordingly, in the studied temperature range, an empirical relationship between temperature and Cu (with R2= 0.96) was proposed. The general shape of the stress–strain curves of the samples in different temperature was the same and in strain level of 20% was linear. Increasing the temperature caused to decline in the range of elastic deformation and enhancement in the range of plastic deformation of the samples; in addition, by increasing the temperature, the angle of the failure plane was decreased. The measurement of axial expansion stress (AES) indicated enhancement of the stress by increasing the temperature.