Relationship Between Entrance Pore Distribution and Stress Level of Marine Clay in Zhuhai

Abstract:

In this study,the mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests were performed on the natural marine clay to investigate the relationship between the change in entrance pore size distribution and the applied stress level.Quantitative analysis was made on clay mineral content of Zhuhai clay through Xray diffraction tests(XRD).In addition,the measured data was compared to the experimental data obtained Regina clay,Canada.The results show that the entrance pore size distribution of marine clay in Zhuhai demonstrate a continuous unimodal distribution.And the entrance pore size distribution varies little when the stress level is smaller than the gross yielding stress,but changes significantly when the applied stress is in the vicinity of the gross yielding stress.In the latter case,the large pores(r>2 000 nm)and the medium pores(2 000 nm>r>200 nm)become smaller while the micropores(200 nm>r>20 nm)vary little.When the applied stress is larger than the gross yielding stress,micropores space volume decreases rapidly,and the pore size gradually becomes uniform with the increase in applied stress level.Finally,the differences in pore size distribution between Zhuhai clay and Regina clay can be attributed to different clay content and mineral.