An insight into the unloading/reloading loops on the compression curve of natural stiff clays

• The hysteretic loops are related to the mechanical and physico-chemical competition;
• When unloading to a stress lower than swelling pressure physico-chemical swelling occurs;
• Upon reloading collapse occurs when swelling pressure is exceeded;
• Swelling pressure is correlated to void ratio before unloading or reloading;
• The behavior identified is related to changes in contact patterns of clay particles.

Oedometer tests were carried out with loading/unloading/reloading on natural stiff clays, Ypresian clays (YPClay), taken from several depths. Common unloading/reloading loops were identified. Further examination of the unloading or reloading curves shows that each path can be satisfactorily considered as bi-linear with a small and a larger slope separated by a threshold vertical stress. This threshold stress can be considered as the swelling pressure corresponding to the void ratio just before the unloading or reloading. Indeed, upon unloading, when the applied stress is higher than the threshold stress or swelling pressure, the mechanical effect is dominant and only small mechanical rebound is observed, corresponding to a small microstructure change; by contrast, when the applied stress is lower than the swelling pressure, physico-chemical effect becomes prevailing and soil swelling occurs with a larger microstructure change. Upon reloading, when the applied stress is lower than the swelling pressure, the microstructure is not significantly affected thanks to the contribution of the physico-chemical repulsive force, leading to a small volume change; on the contrary, beyond the swelling pressure, the mechanical effect becomes dominant giving rise to larger volume changes corresponding to the microstructure collapse. Like unsaturated expansive soils, it is found that there is a good relationship between the swelling pressure (threshold stress) and the void ratio just before the unloading or reloading. This is confirmed by the results from the data reported in the literature about other stiff clays such as Boom and London clays. It can be then deduced that the unloading/reloading loop is rather due to the competition between the mechanical and physico-chemical effects on the microstructure changes than the viscosity effect as commonly admitted.