Behavior of Destructured Natural Clays

Natural clays possess a structure as a result of the deposition environment, consolidation, aging, thixotropy, and cementation. To gain understanding on the relation between this structure and the behavior of natural clays, samples of three undisturbed clays have been tested in both the intact and the destructured states. The destructuration resulted in all cases in a modification of the shape of the limit state surface of the clay, in a reduction of its strength in the overconsolidated state, and in strong reductions of shear and bulk moduli.