On the characterization of properties of an unripe marine clay soil: I. Shrinkage processes of an unripe marine clay soil in relation to physical ripening

Shrinkage processes, such as volumetric shrinkage behavior, and the geometry of the volume shrinkage were studied with respect to the physical ripening naturally occurring in a marine clay soil. Three-dimensional volume shrinkage was characterized using the shrinkage characteristic curve determined on soil clods at different ripening stages. One-dimensional behavior geometry of shrinkage was also determined for undisturbed core samples of 7-cm height and 7-cm diameter at different ripening stages and loads applied. Both the vertical and horizontal components of shrinkage were measured at different moisture ratios varying from saturation to oven dry. It has been found that both volumetric shrinkage and geometry of shrinkage are transient characteristics of physical ripening. Significant physical changes were observed from both saturation and air entry points of the shrinkage curve. Geometry of such a soil is a continuous function of moisture ratio, ranging from unidimensional to isotropic shrinkage, depending on the ripening stage and load.