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Characterisation and Engineering Properties of Natural Soils – Tan et al. (eds.)

© 2003 Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, ISBN 90 5809 537 1

A characterisation study of Singapore Lower Marine Clay

T.S. Tan, K.K. Phoon, F.H. Lee
National University of Singapore, Singapore

H. Tanaka
Port and Airport Research Institute, Japan

J. Locat
Université Laval, Québec, Canada

P.T. Chong
SembCorp Engineers and Constructors

ABSTRACT: A detailed investigation of Singapore Lower Marine Clay was carried out at the Singapore
Arts Centre (SAC) Site and Pulau Tekong (PT) Site. Laboratory and in-situ tests were conducted with
careful attention to sampling and testing quality. Several notable features emerged from this study.
It was found in a recent dating exercise that the age of Singapore Lower Marine Clay (28,000 years or
more) and Intermediate Clay (around 24,600 years) at Pulau Tekong is much older than previously
thought. A series of X-ray diffraction tests showed that the principal mineral is kaolinite, though the clay
from the PT Site also showed an appreciable presence of smectite. This is consistent with PT clay exhibit-
ing a higher liquid limit than SAC clay. Commercial quality samples subjected to oedometer tests indi-
cated OCR in the range between 1.0 and 1.2, while higher quality samples subjected to the more refined
CRS tests revealed OCR between 1.4 and 1.5. The effect of sampling was found to be most pronounced
immediately after the preconsolidation pressure (pc) in e-log p curves derived using CRS tests. The
measured OCR of PT clay was atypically large (greater than 2.5 at most depths) possibly because of
erosion in that locale. For SAC clay, isotropic or anisotropic reconsolidation was equally effective in
compensating for sampling disturbance. The reason is that SAC clay is nearly isotropic in strength. The
undrained shear strength ratio (su/pc) for vane shear test (VST) and direct shear test (DST) seemed to be
insensitive to PI. The ratio is equal to about 0.21 for clays at both sites, which is low for VST. The shear
modulus at small strain (Gmax) was also evaluated and it was shown that the recompression method was
effective in reducing the difference between samples of differing quality. However, the shear modulus
obtained was consistently lower than that from seismic cone tests, even when reconsolidated to the in-situ
state. For SAC clay, the Gmax value was shown to be proportional to pc0.9.

1 INTRODUCTION

The majority of the available soil data in Singapore are from site investigation reports that were pre-
pared for foundation or other substructure designs in major construction projects. Only relatively basic
engineering parameters such as compressibility and undrained shear strength were determined because
they are of immediate relevance to the application at hand (Tan 1983, Dames & Moore 1983). The qual-
ity of the data is generally difficult to assess in the absence of benchmarks that are typically established
from high quality extensive testing programmes focused on particular soil types. More specifically,
questions concerning the degree of sampling and/or testing disturbance and how much of the purported
soil behaviours derived from such commercial data are related to actual in-situ behaviours or explain-
able from systematic disturbance are seldom discussed. In addition, little is known about the stress-strain
behaviour of various soils beyond the ubiquitous undrained shear strength (if applicable) and possibly
some measure of modulus. These issues are expected to assume greater importance in the near future
because almost all soil-structure interaction problems in a densely built-up urban area such as Singapore
require deformation analyses using finite element programs. These sophisticated numerical analyses

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N Pulau Tekong (PT) Site

SUNGEI KRANJ

SUNGEI SELETAR
AMA KENG F

NEE SOON FAULT SUNGEI

SERANGOON CHANGI POINT
TANJONG GEDONG F MURAI
SCHIST
MURAI F

PASIH LABA FAULT

BUKIT TIMAH
NANYANG FAULT

SUNGEI
JURONG SUNGEI
TAN TOCK SENG INLIER
KALLANG
Singapore River
KALLANG BUKIT TIMAH GRANITE
FORMATION
PEPYS ROAD F
OLD ALLUVIUM GOMBAK NORITE
TANJONG BELAYAR
JURONG SAJAHAT FORMATION
FORMATION
Singapore Arts F FAULT
THRUST FAULT
Centre (SAC) Site FOLDS--ANTICLINEI SYNCLINE
OVERTURNI PLUNGING

Figure 1. Locations of Singapore Arts Centre (SAC) Site and Pulau Tekong (PT) Site.

clearly must be accompanied by comparable sophistication in the geotechnical inputs for the results to
be meaningful.
This paper presents the initial effort undertaken at the National University of Singapore to charac-
terise one of the more commonly encountered soil formations in Singapore, a marine clay formation
locally referred to as the Kallang formation. Only the lower member of this formation, called Lower
Marine Clay, will be discussed. Most of the data reported in this paper pertains to Lower Marine Clay
found at the Singapore Arts Centre, which is sited over a reclaimed section at the estuary of Singapore
River. Recently, a second site located in the vicinity of Pulau Tekong (a small island to the east of
Singapore) is studied as part of an ongoing mega reclamation project to enlarge the island. The distance
between the two sites is about 20 km as shown in Figure 1. Besides the distance apart, the second site is
located offshore and should provide an interesting contrast to the primary site. The basic purpose of this
two series of studies is to achieve a better and hopefully more basic understanding of the in-situ behav-
iour of Lower Marine Clay. Existing state of the knowledge will be reviewed where appropriate. In view
of the paucity of high quality data on Singapore Marine Clay, the findings in this paper are necessarily
tentative.

2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF GEOLOGY OF SINGAPORE

The most frequently cited sources on the geology of Singapore are Pitts (1983) and Pitts (1992). The
ensuing brief description is a summary of the existing state of knowledge, though the Building and
Construction Authority is currently attempting to update the geological map of Singapore. The soil on
Singapore Island is conventionally classified into six major formations known locally as the Kallang
formation, Old Alluvium, Jurong Formation, Bukit Timah Granite, Gombak Norite and Sahajat Form-
ation as shown in Figure 1 (PWD 1976). The Old Alluvium, which is beginning to receive more atten-
tion lately, occurs mainly in the eastern part of Singapore Island where it exists virtually uninterrupted
either at the surface or underneath younger deposits. This deposit is believed to be a result of a relict
braided river system and thus has all the usual heterogeneous characteristics of such a formation. The
Jurong Formation comprises sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic age and covers most of the western part
of Singapore. The Bukit Timah Granite covers over one third of the surface of central Singapore, in par-
ticular, in the central water catchment area. The Sahajat Formation is a relatively minor formation and
has not received any attention at all. More details are given by Leong et al. (2002).

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25
Non-deposition

Depth below Modern Sea Level (m)

Deposition of Lower member Deposition of Upper member
0

Maximum thickness of
marine clays in Singapore
25
Kenney (1964)

50

75

Minimum sea level ≈ -130 m at 20,000 yrs. B.P.

100
20000 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0
Time (years before present)

Figure 2. Present understanding of the age of the Kallang Formation [modified from Figure 4.1 in Pitts (1992)].

The Kallang Formation, which covers much of the coastal plain and immediate offshore zone in
Singapore, is a recent deposit and consists of soil of marine, alluvial, littoral, and estuarine origins. It is
estimated that this formation covers one quarter of the Singapore Island (Pitts 1992). Marine clay is the
main constituent of the Kallang Formation. The marine clay formation varies in thickness; it is usually
between 10 m to 15 m near the estuaries, but in some instances, it can be thicker than 40 m. What is also
interesting is the presence of this formation up the deeply incised river valleys, which penetrates to the
centre of the Singapore Island, and in some cases, this clay is above the present sea level.
The marine clay is deposited in two layers, typically referred to as the Upper and Lower Marine Clay,
separated by a stiffer intermediate layer, widely considered to be the desiccated crust of the lower marine
clay. This stratification is typical in areas where the deposit is thick. According to Pitts (1992), the Lower
Marine Clay was deposited some time between 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene
epoch. Between 10,000 to 12,000 years, the sea level dropped as a result of the Small Ice Age (Figure 2)
and it was hypothesized that the top part of this clay was exposed and became desiccated and weathered.
The Upper Marine Clay is a Holocene Deposit that arrived after the last Ice Age and is usually thought
to be younger than 10,000 years. The earlier paper by Tan (1983) reckoned that the Lower Marine Clay was
deposited during the Riss-Wurm interglacial period some 120,000 years ago when sea level stood 2
to 10 m above present level. The drop in sea level was attributed to the Wurm glaciation. The develop-
ment of river terraces, which forms the basis for the classic fourfold scheme of Quaternary glaciation
by Penck and Bruckner (Gunz-Mindel-Riss-Wurm), is now replaced by more accurate oxygen isotope
studies of ocean sediments (Dawson 1992).
A recent dating exercise, using C14, was carried out on samples retrieved from the Pulau Tekong Site
to attempt to cast light on the geologic origin of these marine clays. The CPT profile and the dates for
three samples are shown in Figure 3. The samples were taken from three fairly distinct layers that cor-
respond nominally to “Upper Marine Clay”, “Intermediate Layer” and “Lower Marine Clay”. The samples
in the last two layers were dated to be about 23,000 and 28,000 years, respectively. An attempt to corre-
late these dates with sea levels interpreted from Quaternary reef terraces in New Guinea (Bloom et al.
1974) and from oxygen isotopes studies of benthonic and planktonic foraminifera (Shackleton 1987) is
shown in Figure 4. The sea level happened to be more than 100 m below the present level around 20,000
years ago, which might explain the date for the sample in the Intermediate Layer. As noted previously,
this Intermediate Layer is widely perceived to result from desiccation and weathering arising from some
fall in the sea level. If this dating were indeed correct, then the lower marine clay would be deposited
much earlier in the last Ice-Age, rather than the Small Ice Age of 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, as posited
by Pitts (1992). The main problem with this interpretation is that some 28,000 years ago, the sea level
was estimated to be more than 50 m below the present sea level and it is difficult to account for the pres-
ence of Lower Marine Clay at depths as shallow as 10 to 15 m below the present sea level. In fact, the
Lower Marine Clay sample in Figure 3 was taken from a depth between 18.0 and 18.8 m. It is possible

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Cone Resistance qt (MPa)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
0

829660 yr
6

8
Depth (m)

10

12
24600200 yr
14

16

18
27920230 yr

20

22

Figure 3. Dating of marine samples at Pulau Tekong Site

50
Upper Clay Lower Clay Sea level estimated from coral reef
terraces at Huon Peninsula, New
Guinea
Metres below present sea level

50

100
18
Sea level estimated from O studies of
benthonic and planktonic foraminifera
150

Desiccation & weathering

200
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Thousand years B. P.

Figure 4. Correlation of marine clay sample dates at Pulau Tekong with estimated fluctuations in Late Quaternary
sea levels [modified from Shackleton (1987)].

for Cenozoic orogeny to account for the rise of roughly 30 m over 20,000 years. The implied average rate
of rise of 1.5 m per 1000 year is comparable to uplift rates of 1 to 3 m per 1000 year deduced from emerged
late Quaternary reefs in Papua New Guinea (Bloom et al. 1974). Nevertheless, very little is known
about orogenic movements in this locale (specifically the part of Sunda Shelf called Singapore Platform
on which the island of Singapore is located) during the late Pleistocene to Holocene epochs as seen from

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recent literature (Pitts 1992, Hall 1997, Bishop 2001). A relatively recent orogenic event resulted in the
Barisan mountains in Southern Sumatra, but it occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene epoch roughly two million
years ago (Bishop 2001). The rate of erosion (typically centimeters per 1000 year) will admittedly com-
plicate this further.

3 TEST PROGRAMME

3.1 Site description and test program

At the Singapore Arts Centre (SAC) Site, Lower Marine Clay samples were taken from a depth of about
18 m below ground surface, between PH-2 and PH-3 where the thickness of the stratum is about 10 m
as shown in Figure 5a. Since the water table is located at a depth of 2.5 m, this clay is most likely fully

PH-4 PH-3 PH-2 PH-1

0
Fill
Organic Clay
Upper Marine Clay
10 Alluvial Sand
Intermediate Clay

20 Lower Marine Clay

Depth (m)

30 10 < SPT N < 30

30 < SPT N < 100
Old Alluvium I
40 SPT N < 100
Old Alluvium II

50 Old Alluvium III

60
BH-SCP-10
BH-SCP-9

CPT C-184 CPT C-183 CPT C-182

0
Surface Soft Marine Clay

5
Upper Marine Clay
10 ? Sand
lay
eC
15 diat
rme
Inte
20
Lower Marine Clay
Depth (m)

25

30

35
Weathered Granite
40

45

50

Figure 5. Interpreted soil profile: (a) Singapore Arts Centre (SAC) Site, (b) Pulau Tekong (PT) Site.

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saturated. Cone penetration (CPT) and field vane (FV) tests were conducted to measure the undrained
shear strength. Dilatometer (DMT) and seismic cone (SCPT) tests were also conducted to obtain the
in-situ shear modulus. In addition, undisturbed samples were also extracted using a Japanese thin-walled
piston sampling tube (Tanaka 2000) with an internal diameter of 75 mm and a local tube that follows
closely the Shelby tube (ASTM 1994) with an internal diameter of 73 mm. The latter sampler is commonly
used for commercial purposes in Singapore.
The Pulau Tekong (PT) Site is located east of mainland Singapore, covering approximately 5 nautical
miles in the longitudinal direction and 6.5 nautical miles in the latitudinal direction. Marine boreholes,
piezocone soundings, field vane shear tests, and standard penetration tests were conducted around Pulau
Tekong in the initial phase of a mega reclamation project. However, all the data were collected by com-
mercial companies. This paper only presents results from a separate series of tests conducted by PARI
(Port and Airport Research Institute, Japan) in collaboration with NUS. The marine clay at the research
test site reaches depth exceeding 60 m chart datum (mCD). The maximum thickness of the lower marine
clay is about 30 m. Together with the Upper Marine Clay and the Intermediate Layer, the total thickness
of the Kallang Formation exceeds 45 m in this locale. The interpreted profile is shown in Figure 5b. The
average water depth is about 15 m. Cone penetration tests and undisturbed sampling were carried out.
The undisturbed samples were tested using UU, UC and DST (Constant Volume Direct Shear Test).
Dames & Moore (1983) conducted the most comprehensive commercial geotechnical study of
Singapore soils to date for the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit System. For engineering design, no attempt
was made to distinguish between Upper and Lower Marine Clays (both members designated as Soil
Type M) because “it is considered that geographic correlation would be of more value.” Field vane tests
and undisturbed sampling using either piston sampler or a thin wall tube were carried out. The 62 mm
diameter “undisturbed” (quotes from original report) samples were subjected to typical laboratory tests
such as laboratory vane test, unconsolidated (and some consolidated) undrained compression test, and
oedometer test. The new data presented in this paper will be used to review this existing state of knowledge
where appropriate.

3.2 Laboratory tests

For the SAC samples, triaxial tests were conducted at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and
the Port and Airport Research Institute, Japan (PARI). Soil samples with 76 mm height and 38 mm diam-
eter were used in NUS, whereas at PARI, samples with 80 mm height and 35 mm diameter were used. Only
the central portion of the extruded sample was tested to minimize disturbance.
Unconfined compression test (UCT), isotropically consolidated (CIU) and Ko-consolidated (CKoU)
undrained triaxial tests were conducted. For isotropic consolidation, step loading with load ratio equal
to unity was applied until the all around effective stress p of the sample is equal to its estimated in-situ
mean effective stress. For Ko-consolidation, an axial stress rate of 0.1 kPa/min was applied until the esti-
mated in-situ vertical effective stress is reached, while a condition of zero radial strain was maintained
using volume change feedback loop. This value was determined through a combination of triaxial stress
path tests and a custom-made oedometer that has the ability to measure lateral total stress. During the
shearing stage, a shear strain rate of 1%/min was used in UCTs which is the standard defined by Japanese
Geotechnical Society. The strain rate for CIU and CKoU was 0.1%/min based on the method suggested
by Head (1986).
To measure Gmax, a pair of bender elements were implanted into the opposing ends of each sample and
wired in a transmitter-receiver configuration as recommended by Dyvik & Madshus (1985). Each element
was mounted in such a way that 3 mm of its length protruded through the filter disc, into the soil sample.
For the PT clay, the majority of the data were obtained from an investigation carried out jointly with
the Port and Airport Research Institute, Japan at one location near to CPT 182. For these samples, all the
tests were conducted in PARI’s research laboratory to provide high quality benchmarks. Some additional
data from commercial laboratories that were contracted to carry out part of the site investigation pro-
gramme for the reclamation project were also included for comparison.

4 TEST RESULTS

4.1 Basic physical properties

The clay fraction of the Lower Marine Clay is usually quite high – more than 50%. A number of X-ray dif-
fractions were carried out on both SAC and PT clays. Figures 6 and 7 show a typical set of results for SAC

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Figure 6. X-ray diffraction/Glycolated of SAC clay.

Figure 7. X-ray diffraction/Glycolated of PT clay.

clay and PT clay, respectively. The principal mineral is kaolinite. Some amount of illite and smectites are
also present. The data do suggest that the smectites at PT Site is more prominent than that at the SAC Site.
This observation is consistent with the higher liquid limit for PT clay reported in the following section.
Tan (1983) reported an earlier X-ray diffraction test on a single marine clay sample (of unknown
origin). The test results are: kaolinite  69%, quartz  18%, and montmorillonite  13%. Note that
montmorillonite is the most common mineral in the smectite group. The author found the absence of illite
to be puzzling. Chong et al. (1998) argued that the friction angles of Singapore marine clay are closer
to those of illite than kaolinite. However, the new test data shown in Figures 6 and 7 and Tan’s previous

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data agree that the principal mineral is kaolinite. Hence, it is probably incorrect to explain the relatively
low friction angles by alluding to a illite-rich mineralogy as suggested by Chong et al. (1998).
Figure 8a shows the microfabric of a Lower Marine Clay sample taken from the SAC Site and
Figure 8b that from the PT Site, from about the same depth. An intact stack of kaolin plates can be
clearly seen in the figure from the SAC Site. The presence of this intact structure is indicative that this
deposit was transported over relatively short distances. The deposit probably arose from weathering of

Figure 8a. Microfabric of Lower Marine Clay at SAC Site viewed using scanning electron microscope (sample
depth  15.7 m).

Figure 8b. Microfabric of Lower Marine Clay at PT Site viewed using scanning electron microscope (sample
depth  19.5 m).

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granite formation from nearby hills. In general, Lower Marine Clay exhibits a compact structure with
little inter-aggregate pore space. In contrast, Upper Marine Clay has a well flocculated structure (fig-
ures not shown). Microfossils are present but not found at the level of abundance one would expect from
marine deposits. Pyrite crystals can be seen in samples with high organic content. This is not quite sur-
prising because these crystals are frequently associated with bacterial activity. No clear evidence of
cementation could be observed. Barden et al. (1971) did an earlier study on microstructure of marine
clays (probably Lower Member) from Bangkok, Singapore, and Hongkong. The compact structure, pres-
ence of pyrite crystals and diatoms were noted in the paper.
The index properties for both clays are shown in Figures 9 and 10. Pitts (1992) noted that the fine con-
tent is rather high for Lower Marine Clay. The percentage of clay size particles is greater than 60% at most
depths for SAC clay. This percentage is slightly smaller for PT clay. In both cases, the percentage of clay
size particles does not reduce significantly with depth, which has been highlighted by Pitts (1992) to be
somewhat unusual.
The liquid limit of PT clay is between 80% and 100%. This is higher than the liquid limit of the SAC
clay, which is in the range of 60% to 80%. For reference, Tan (1983) reported a range of limits 75  7%
(mean  one standard deviation) based on 228 data points in Lower Marine Clay (mostly from mainland
Singapore). The more prominent smectite peak for PT clay in Figure 7 may explain this difference. Addi-
tional support is given by the following correlation between liquid limit (wL in percent) and specific
surface area (AS in m2/g) (Farrar & Coleman 1967):

wL  19  0.56As (20%) (1)

The specific surface area for SAC and PT clays were found to be about 100 and 130 m2/g, respectively.
Assuming that the above correlation developed for British clays is appropriate, the observed difference
in liquid limit between SAC and PT clays is comparable to that computed from Equation 1 (75% versus
90%). For SAC clay, the specific gravity of the clay is close to 2.78, which is higher than specific grav-
ity of 2.65 to 2.7 for typical Japanese marine clays.
Figure 11 shows that the activity of SAC is only marginally smaller than the activity of PT clay,
although SAC clay has a higher fine content. For reference, the activity of kaolinite, illite and smectite
are 0.5, 0.5 to 1.0 and 1.0 to 7.0, respectively (Mitchell 1993). Hence, these results are quite consistent
with the mineralogy discussed above. Tan (1983) previously reported activities in the range between

Water Content (%) Composition (%) Activity

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
10 10 10

wn
wp
wL
15 15 15

Silt Clay
Depth (m)

20 20 20

25 25 25

30 30 30

Figure 9. Index properties for SAC clay.

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Water content (%) Composition (%) Activity

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
0 0 0
wn
wp
5 wL 5 5
Silt

10 10 Clay 10
Sand
Depth (m)

15 15 15

20 20 20

25 25 25

30 30 30

Figure 10. Index properties for PT clay.

120
Singapore (SAC) Activity =2.0

100 Singapore (PT)

Drammen
Activity =1.0
80 Ariake
Plasticity Index

Bothkennar

60 Louiseville

40
Activity =0.5
20

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Clay Content (< 2micron)(%)

Figure 11. Activity chart of Lower Marine Clay from SAC Site versus other clays.

0.75 and 1.25 for Singapore marine clays. The activities of SAC and PT clays are small compared to
Japanese Ariake clay and only slightly larger than the activity of Norwegian Drammen clay. The latter
is a well-known lean clay because of its low plasticity. Figure 12 shows that the liquidity indices of SAC
and PT clay are approximately 0.65 and 0.45, respectively. These values fall within the range of
0.57  0.18 reported by Tan (1983) based on 277 data points in Lower Marine Clay. This is indicative
of a relatively insensitive clay, which is consistent with the compact microfabric shown in Figure 8. PT
clay is expected to be more overconsolidated than SAC clay because its liquidity indices are distinc-
tively smaller. This observation is confirmed by oedometer data presented in the following section.

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SAC Clay
5
PT Clay

10
Depth (m)

15

20

25

30
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Liquidity Index

Figure 12. Liquidity index with depth for SAC and PT clays.

2.0
BH1(Jap)-CRS
1.8
BH1(Jap)-OED
BH3 (Local)-CRS
1.6
BH3(Local)-OED
Void Ratio

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6
10 100 1000 10000
Effective stress (kPa)

Figure 13. Compressibility behaviour of samples retrieved using two different samplers and subjected to CRS and
oedometer tests (sampling depth between 21.5 m and 22.5 m).

4.2 Compressibility
The SAC samples were retrieved using two different samplers, namely the Japanese fixed piston thin-
walled sampler and a local tube sampler with dimensions similar to the Shelby tube. Constant Rate of
Strain (CRS) tests were conducted at PARI and conventional oedometer tests were conducted at NUS.
For the constant rate of strain test, the strain rate used was 0.02%/min.
Figure 13 demonstrates the differences in compressibility behaviour of samples retrieved between a
depth of 21.5 m and 22.5 m, using two different samplers and two different test procedures. Only qual-
itative comparisons are possible because the samples are taken from slightly different depths and loca-
tions. Results for samples retrieved using the Japanese sampler (BH1) show the presence of high

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compressibility immediately after the preconsolidation pressure (pc) before joining the normally
consolidated line. This is conventionally interpreted as indicative of presence of some microstructure.
However, for samples obtained using local tube (BH3), the region around pc is less distinct, and no
microstructure effect could be discerned. Even for the higher quality sample from BH1, the presence of
high compressibility immediately after pc can be masked when the less refined oedometer test is used.
With the exception of Todo et al. (1993), no mention of this effect was found in a search of literature on
Singapore marine clays. It is possible that this effect has gone unnoticed because previous authors

Table 1. Difference in CC1 and CC2 for different samplers and test methods.

a) BH1 (Japanese Sampler) using CRS (PARI) (b) BH1 (Japanese Sampler) using oedometer (NUS)

Sample No. CC1 CC2 CC1/CC2 Sample No. CC1 CC2 CC1/CC2

BH1-UDP22 0.56 0.44 1.27 BH1-UDP46 0.90 0.66 1.36

BH1-UDP32 0.96 0.57 1.68 BH1-UDP64 1.23 0.90 1.37
BH1-UDP45 1.30 0.53 2.45 BH1-UDP84 0.86 0.73 1.17
BH1-UDP52 1.42 0.57 2.49
BH1-UDP62 1.80 0.67 2.68
BH1-UDP72 1.07 0.58 1.84
BH1-UDP82 1.14 0.57 2.00
BH1-UDP92 1.42 0.55 2.58

(c) BH3 (Local Sampler) using CRS (PARI) (d) BH3 (Local Sampler) using oedometer (NUS)

Sample No. CC1 CC2 CC1/CC2 Sample No. CC1 CC2 CC1/CC2

BH3-UD22 0.40 0.40 1.00 BH3-UD25 0.70 0.56 1.250

BH3-UD32 0.62 0.52 1.19 BH3-UD35 0.70 0.67 1.040
BH3-UD44 0.66 0.58 1.13 BH3-UD45 0.66 0.66 1.000
BH3-UD52 1.01 0.57 1.77 BH3-UD55 0.70 0.65 1.077
BH3-UD64 0.81 0.57 1.42 BH3-UD65 0.92 0.71 1.296
BH3-UD73 0.97 0.68 1.42 BH3-UD75 1.01 0.81 1.247
BH3-UD83 0.74 0.60 1.23 BH3-UD85 0.88 0.78 1.128
BH3-UD92 0.94 0.58 1.62 BH3-UD95 0.74 0.62 1.194
BH3-UD102 0.74 0.61 1.21 BH3-UD105 0.69 0.69 1.000

14

16 BH1-CRS
BH1-OED
18
BH3-CRS
20 BH3-OED
Depth (m)

22

24

26

28

30
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8
CC1/CC2

Figure 14. Variation of CC1/CC2 with depth for different samples subjected to oedometer and CRS tests.

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performed standard oedometer tests based on commercial quality soil samples. Most recognised that some
amount of disturbance has occurred and usually resort to conventional graphical methods to estimate
the “undisturbed” curve.
The nearly bilinear behaviour in the compression curve after pc (see CRS data from BH1 in Figure 13)
can be described using two compressibility indices. The parameter CC1 is the compression index imme-
diately after pc and CC2 is the usual value along the normally consolidated line well after pc. Results
from the complete series of one-dimensional compression tests are summarized in Table 1 and
Figure 14. Comparing Table 1a and 1b, it can be seen that for samples retrieved using a local sampling
tube (dimensions similar to Shelby tube), CC1 and CC2 are usually comparable whereas for samples
obtained using the Japanese sampler, CC1 can be significantly larger than CC2. The effect of sample
quality on compressibility is most obvious in CRS tests. For a given sampling method, CRS tests also
tend to produce higher ratios of CC1/CC2 (Figure 14). Overall, it shows that Singapore Lower Marine
Clay, like most natural clays, does show some microstructuration when sampling disturbance is mini-
mized and the more refined CRS test is used. The current database for CRS tests on Singapore marine
clay is quite limited and the generality of these observations cannot be fully established at present.
Some results from CRS test for PT clay retrieved using the Japanese sampler are available. To com-
pare with the SAC clay results in Table 1a, the value of CC1 is plotted against the in-situ void ratio in
Figure 15, and the value of CC2 is plotted against in-situ void ratio in Figure 16. It can be seen that both
set of compressibility behaviours for SAC and PT clays are fairly consistent although their OCRs are
quite different as discussed below.
The correlation between compression index (CC) and in-situ void ratio (e0) varies significantly from
site to site if one were to refer to Djoenaidi (1985)’s compilations. Nevertheless, the following equation
has been proposed by Dames & Moore (1983) for design purposes in Singapore:

CC  0.54(e0  0.15) (2)

This equation acts as a lower bound for the CC1 data in Figure 15, but is an upper bound for the CC2 data
in Figure 16. Hence, it could be potentially unconservative for compressibility calculations when CC1
is operative, but is acceptable when the compression is well beyond pc. A similar correlation was
proposed by Tan (1983) based on 233 oedometer tests (both Upper and Lower Marine Clays):

CC  0.344(e0  0.51) (3)

For higher void ratio, this equation produces a reasonable estimate for CC2. Leroueil et al. (1983)
demonstrated the effect of sensitivity on compression index of marine deposits using this plot. The
interpreted sensitivity of Singapore marine clays is greater than 16 based on CC1 but less than 8 based

2.0
PT-Upper
CC1 (immediately after p'c)

PT-Intermediate
1.6 PT-Lower
SAC

1.2 Dames & Moore (1983)

Tan (1983)

0.8

0.4

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
In-situ void ratio (e0)

Figure 15. CC1 versus in-situ void ratio for clays from the two test sites.

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1.6
PT-Upper
PT-Intermediate
PT-Lower
1.2
SAC
Dames & Moore (1983)
Tan (1983)
CC2

0.8

0.4

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
In-situ void ratio (e0)

Figure 16. CC2 versus in-situ void ratio for clays from the two test sites.

3.5
128

3.0
64 -

4
-6
Compression index, CC

2.5
St =

32

2
-3
16

2.0
6
-1
8
1.5
8
4-
1.0
1-4
CC1
CC2
0.5

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Natural void ratio, e0

Figure 17. Sensitivity-compression index relationship by Leroueil et al. (1983) [modified from Chung et al. (2002)].

on CC2 as shown in Figure 17. The dashed lines denote regression lines for the CC1 and CC2 data
(neglecting PT-Intermediate) in Figures 15 and 16, respectively. Dames & Moore (1983) and Tan (1983)
reported sensitivities between 2.5 and 7.5 and between 1.5 and 6.0 based on field and laboratory vanes,
respectively. These observations are consistent with the sensitivity inferred from CC2 data. The sensitiv-
ity and microstructure effect manifested in CRS test of high quality samples were not discernible from
examination of the microfabric in Section 4.1. This issue probably needs more detailed analyses.

4.3 Preconsolidation pressure and OCR

For SAC clay, the OCR obtained using the two different samplers are shown in Figure 18, where BH1
was retrieved using the Japanese sampler while BH3 was retrieved using a local sampler. Typically, tests on

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14 14

16 16

18 BH1-CRS 18

BH1-OED
20 20
BH3-CRS
Depth (m)

BH3-OED
22 22
σ 'vo
24 24

26 26

28 28

30 30
100 200 300 400 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4
Effective Pressure (kPa) Overconsolidation ratio (OCR)

Figure 18. Preconsolidation pressure and OCR for SAC Site.

samples retrieved using a local sampler give a much lower value of OCR as compared to tests conducted
on samples retrieved using the Japanese sampler. The results also indicate an appreciable difference
between the values from a standard odeometer test and a CRS test when the quality of samples is not
as good, as typified by the values from BH3 in Figure 18. However, when the quality of sample is good,
the difference is considerably less significant, as shown by the results from BH1. This aspect is in some
way different from the observation made earlier on the ratio CC1/CC2, where the test type influences the
results even when the sample quality is considered to be good (Figure 14).
Overall, at this particular site, the clay is slightly over-consolidated, with OCR averaging 1.2 from
oedometer test and 1.5 from CRS test. OCR values higher than 1.5 for depths less than 18 m belong to
the Intermediate Layer. Tan (1983) reported OCR values between 1.0 and 1.5 for Singapore marine clays.
Surprisingly, Dames & Moore (1983) did not provide any numerical guidelines for OCR, despite its
considerable influence on compressibility and strength. A graphical plot provided in the report seems to
indicate an average OCR less than 1.5 and a maximum OCR of 2.0. When compared against this back-
drop, the OCR at the PT Site is unusually high. Figure 19 shows the results carried out by two inde-
pendent commercial laboratories while Figure 20 shows the results from CRS tests carried out at PARI.
Both figures include OCR values for the Holocene Upper Marine Clay, which can exceed 8 at the top.
More interestingly, the OCR remains relatively high even up to a depth of 40 m below the seabed. Figure 20
also shows that the OCR increases very slightly with depth while Figure 19 indicates a nearly constant
OCR of about 2.5 in Lower Marine Clay.
Preliminary investigation of the microfabric seems to suggest that the clay is not cemented. The
current assessment is that the relatively high OCR is mechanically induced by erosion in this locale. As
shown in Figure 20, an addition of 80 kPa to the effective vertical overburden would have brought the
OCR to a level that is more consistent with values observed elsewhere such as at the SAC Site. This is
equivalent to an erosion of about 13 m of soil. In Section 2, it was argued that the Lower Marine Clay could
have been uplifted in the Pleistocene epoch to account for its presence at shallow depths in present
times. If this were to be correct, there is sufficient time (order of 30,000 years as shown in Figure 3) for
this erosion to take place, assuming typical rates of centimeters per 1000 year.

4.4 Undrained shear strength

A principal consideration in comparing shear strength is the quality of a sample. Though well docu-
mented in many investigations (Tanaka 2000), this issue is still relatively not well understood in

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Overconsolidation ratio (OCR) Overconsolidation ratio (OCR)

0 3 6 9 12 0 5 10
0 0

5
5

10

10
15
Depth (m)

Depth (m)
20 15
Measured
OCR
25
20 Effect of
erosion
30
Oedometer (Co. A)
25
35 Oedometer (Co. B)
CRS (Co. B)
40 30

Figure 19. OCR data from two independent commer- Figure 20. Measured OCR from PARI and hypothetical
cial testing facilities for PT Site. addition of 80 kPa overburden to recreate OCR values
before erosion.

Singapore. As the microstructure of clay is different from site to site, it is important to have an assess-
ment of the variation due to sample quality for this particular local formation. On this aspect, only Lower
Marine Clay at the SAC Site was evaluated. Figure 21 shows the variation of undrained shear strengths
(su) determined from UCTs with depth for samples retrieved using two different samplers. For samples
retrieved using the Japanese thin-walled piston sampling tube, su is generally higher than those deter-
mined from samples retrieved using a local sampling tube. The average difference is roughly 30%. This
is consistent with the findings of Hight (1985), Clayton et al. (1992) and Tanaka et al. (1996), who have
shown that the peak strength of the sample decreases as the degree of sampling disturbance increases.
The range of undrained shear strength ratios (su/ vo  ) between 0.22 and 0.40 reported by Dames &
Moore (1983) based on UU tests are also shown in Figure 21. Tan (1983) reported a similar range
between 0.15 and 0.42 based on UU and UCT tests. It has been fairly well established that normalizing
the undrained shear strength with the preconsolidation pressure is more appropriate for low OCR clays
with low to moderate plasticity index (Jamiolkowski et al. 1985). Nevertheless, based on this set of data,
it can be seen that using an undrained shear strength ratio of 0.40 is a gross over estimation, whereas the
lower bound value of 0.22 seems more appropriate.
Many authors have shown that using recompression methods, such as consolidated isotropically
undrained compression (CIU) and consolidated anisotropically undrained compression (CKoU) tests,
the effect of sample quality on strength could be properly compensated. The study conducted by Clayton
et al. (1992) on Bothkennar clay indicated that the in-situ undrained shear strength can be approxi-
mately recovered, to within about 10%, by reconsolidation to in-situ stress levels, even for induced
strain path cycle of 2%. For SAC clay, the recompression technique was used and the results are shown in
Figure 22. It can be seen that there is only a small difference of about 5% between su values from CIU and
CKoU tests. More importantly, the difference in su values determined for samples retrieved using the two
samplers is significantly smaller after the recompression. Clearly, for this specific clay, recompression
using either isotropic or Ko-recompression is able to compensate a significant portion of the effect of
sampling, a point considered somewhat unusual. For UCT, it can be seen that sampling disturbance can
create “spatial variation” that are not real. Spatial variability has important engineering significance
that is well recognized by practitioners but this aspect is unfortunately not well studied at present. One
possible reason to explain the similar effects induced by CIU or CKoU recompression techniques is that
SAC clay is more isotropic than most other natural clays. From Figure 23, it can be seen that the stress

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14 14

UCT (Japan)
16 16
UCT (Local)
CIU (Japan)
18 18
CIU (Local)

0.40σ'vo CKoU (Japan)

20 20
CKoU (Local)

Depth (m)
Depth (m)

0.22σ'vo
22 22

24 24

26 26

28 UCT (Japan) 28
0.30
'vo
UCT (Local)
30 30
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Undrained shear strength (kN/m2) Undrained shear strength (kN/m2)

Figure 21. Effect of sampling method on Figure 22. Comparison of undrained shear strength using
undrained shear strength for SAC clay. different recompression methods.

1 1

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2
q/p'c
q/p'c

0 0

0.2 0.2

0.4 0.4

0.6 0.6

0.8 0.8

1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(a) CIU test p'/p'c (b) CKoU test p'/p'c

Figure 23. Triaxial stress paths.

paths from CIU tests and CKoU tests are quite isotropic. This rather unusual degree of isotropy produces
similar peak strengths from CIU and CKoU tests.

4.4.1 Comparison with in-situ tests

Figure 24 compares the CIU and CKoU results with those obtained from the various in-situ tests. To
estimate the undrained shear strength su from DMT, Marchetti’s (1981) expression was used:

su  0.22 vo
 (0.5 KD)1.25 (4)

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14

CIU (Japan)
16 CIU (Local)
CKoU (Japan)
18 CKoU (Local)
Field Vane
20 CPT
Depth (m)

DMT
22

24

26

28

30
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Undrained Shear Strength (kN/m2)

Figure 24. Undrained shear strengths determined using laboratory tests (CIU and CKoU) and in-situ tests (DMT
and CPT).

where KD is the lateral stress index obtained from DMT. Using the value of KD recommended by Tanaka
& Tanaka (1996), the interpreted su values are in close agreement with CIU and CKoU results for depths
between 18 m and 28 m below ground surface. Above this, in the stiff intermediate clay layer, the results
are scattered. This is not surprising because the intermediate clay is a heterogeneous desiccated crust
subjected to varying degree of weathering.
Undrained shear strength was also estimated from CPT using the following well known relation:

qt 
su  vo
(5)
N kt

where Nkt is the cone factor, qt is the corrected total tip resistance and vo is total overburden pressure.
By using Nkt  12, a good match can be obtained with CIU and CKoU results at this specific location
as shown in Figure 24. This value lies within the range of 10 to 20 for normally consolidated clays in
Europe and North America (Lunne & Kleven 1981) and 10 to 15 for Japanese clays (Tanaka & Tanaka
1996). Figure 24 also shows that su values interpreted from CPT using the recommended cone factor is
consistent with those from laboratory testing using recompression technique. However, as only one sin-
gle DMT and one single CPT have been conducted, the values back-calculated herein must be used with
caution. Such empirical coefficients can only be established with confidence from a larger database.
At the PT Site, only a limited study has been carried out at present. For one particular series analysed
here, the samples were retrieved using a piston Japanese sampler, and both UC tests and constant vol-
ume direct shear tests were carried out. Field vane tests were also carried out. The data from these three
tests are plotted together with similar data from the SAC Site for comparison in Figure 25. It is clear that
the strength of the clay at the PT Site is considerably higher than that at the SAC Site for all test types.
But what is interesting is that the high OCR at the PT Site can account for the increase in shear strength
very well at this site as demonstrated by the predictions using 0.21 pc at both sites.

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14
UCT (Japan-SAC)

16 UCT (Local-SAC)

Field Vane (SAC)

18 UCT (PT)

DST (PT)
20
Field Vane (PT)
Depth (m)

22

24

26
0.21 p'c (PT)

28 0.21 p'c (SAC)

30
0 40 80 120 160
Undrained Shear Strength (kN/m2)

Figure 25. Undrained shear strengths from Pulau Tekong and SAC Sites versus prediction based on pc.

The ratio su/pc appears to remain constant with depth, although the plasticity index (PI) is a function
of depth as shown in Figures 9 and 10. Early work by Skempton (1957) suggested that the undrained
shear strength ratio of normally consolidated clays (su/ vo) is a linear function of PI for vane shear test
(Figure 26). Bjerrum (1973) subsequently generalised Skempton’s linear relationship for overconsoli-
dated clays by replacing the effective overburden stress in the denominator of the undrained shear
strength ratio with the effective preconsolidation pressure pc. Referring to Figure 26, it can be seen that
Bjerrum’s relationship agrees with Skempton’s linear equation for PIs less than 40%, but su/pc tapers
off rapidly to a nearly constant value thereafter. This insensitivity of su/pc to the plasticity index, after
40%, is also observed for Singapore Lower Marine Clay, as well as Ariake and Bangkok clays. However,
the undrained shear strength ratio for Singapore Lower Marine Clay is significantly smaller than the
asymptotic value of su/pc ⬇ 0.3 in Bjerrum’s nonlinear relationship.
It is worthwhile to examine the unusually low undrained shear strength ratio of Singapore marine
clay in greater detail. Jamiolkowski et al. (1985) and Mesri (1989) noted that the undrained shear
strength ratio (su/pc) for low OCR clays with low to moderate PI are 0.23  0.04 and 0.22, respectively.
In both cases, su corresponds to the direct simple shear test (DST) condition. Hence, su(DST) ⬇ 0.21 pc
for PT clay in Figure 25 is not inconsistent with literature. The unusual feature of Singapore marine clay
is that su from vane shear test is almost the same as that from direct simple shear test! This is readily
seen from the fact that the same undrained shear strength ratio of 0.21 fits both vane shear test in SAC
clay and direct simple shear test in PT clay. It is well known that the average mobilised undrained shear
strength in the field for stability problems such as embankments on soft clay and foundation bearing
capacity is smaller than the su from vane shear test (Bjerrum 1972, Ladd et al. 1977). Mesri (1989) further
noted that this average mobilised strength is approximately equal to the average of Ko-consolidated
undrained compression (CKoUC), Ko-consolidated undrained extension (CKoUE), and direct simple
shear test. Kulhawy & Mayne (1990) demonstrated that the direct simple shear test is approximately the
average of CKoUC and CKoUE. Combining the observations of Mesri (1989) and Kulhawy & Mayne
(1990), one would expect the su from direct simple shear test to be smaller than that from vane shear test.
The reduction should be approximately the same as that given by Bjerrum’s correction factor, which is
about 0.8 for PI in the vicinity of 50% (Figure 27). A direct comparison between field vane and DST for

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0.6
Singapore (SAC)
Singapore (PT)
0.5
Drammen Skempton (1957)

Ariake
su (field vane)/p'c
0.4
Bangkok
Louiseville
0.3 Bjerrum (1973)

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Plasticity Index (PI)

Figure 26. Undrained shear strength ratio (su/pc) versus plasticity index for different clays.

1.4
 su(VST)
Vane shear test (VST) correction factor, 

su(field)
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9
Bjerrum (1972)
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Plasticity index, PI (%)

Figure 27. Updated Bjerrum (1972)’s field vane shear test correction factor by Ladd et al. (1977).

Singapore PT clay in Figure 25 clearly shows that this is not the case. In fact, su from DST is slightly
larger than that from vane shear test! Some data points in Figure 27 also exhibit a correction greater than
unity. The original rationale for correction was strain rate and soil anisotropy. However, it has been
demonstrated in Figures 22 and 23 that Singapore marine clay does not manifest strong anisotropy.
This may be one reason why the vane shear results are close to that from DST. On a practical note, the
indiscriminate application of Bjerrum’s correction factor for Singapore marine clay will probably result
in a very conservative design.

4.5 Maximum shear modulus

For shear modulus, only results pertaining to SAC clay would be discussed in some detail below. As shear
modulus was seldom measured in Singapore, it is important to establish an independent source of direct

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measurement of the in-situ shear modulus. For this purpose, the seismic cone test (SCPT) was conducted.
In this test, the shear modulus at a particular depth is estimated from the different arrival times at various
points down a hole. The down-hole shear wave velocity at various depths can thus be calculated for esti-
mation of shear modulus. This test, like the field vane shear test, is very useful in that it is a direct mea-
surement and does not require the introduction of some correlation factor for interpretation. Hence, it
should provide a good benchmark for comparison. The CPT and DMT were also conducted at the SAC
Site to obtain an indirect measure of shear modulus. For CPT, Tanaka & Tanaka (1996) suggested that:

Gmax  (qt  vo) (6)

where Gmax  maximum shear modulus and  is an empirical constant. Combining Equations 5 and 6
leads to the following relation:

Gmax  Nkt su (7)

Based on Gmax measured using resonance column test results, Chew et al. (1997) reported a Gmax/su
ratio of about 700 for Singapore marine clay. Combining this ratio with Nkt  12 adopted earlier, the
value of  is 58. This value of  was adopted in the analyses of the CPT results here. For Japanese soft
clays, Tanaka & Tanaka (1996) reported that a good correlation can be obtained using   50. Thus, the
value of 58 appears to be quite reasonable.
For DMT, the equation adopted in this study followed that proposed by Tanaka & Tanaka (1996):

Gmax  7.5 ED (8)

where ED is the dilatometer modulus.

Figure 28 shows the variation in Gmax with depth, measured by the three types of in-situ tests. It can
be seen that all three tests show results reasonably consistent with each other. However the use of the
empirical factors in Equations 7 and 8 to other sites should be regarded with caution because they are
based on very limited test data. Overall, Gmax increases with depth.

14

SCPT
16
CPT
DMT
18

20
Depth (m)

22

24

26

28

30
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Gmax (MPa)

Figure 28. Variation of Gmax with depth for in-situ tests conducted at SAC Site.

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14

16
SCPT
UCT-HET (Japan)
18
UCT-HET (Local)
CKoU-BE (Japan)
20
CKoU-BE (Local)
Depth (m)

22

24

26

28

30
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Gmax (MPa)

Figure 29. Comparison of Gmax determined from laboratory tests with in-situ seismic cone test.

Besides Gmax, it is also important to appreciate the reduction in shear modulus with strain. To study
this aspect, laboratory tests on undisturbed samples are necessary. Accurate measurement of strain was
achieved by employing a Hall’s effect strain transducer (HET) (Clayton et al. 1989) to measure the
deformation at the middle one-third of the sample in addition to the usual LVDT. Through appropriate
amplification of the analogue signal and using a 16-bit analogue-digital converter, a quantization error
of less than 0.8
m was achieved. To complement this measurement, bender elements were also used in
some of the tests. In these tests, the element is allowed to protrude 3 mm into the sample. The bender
elements measure the average shear wave velocity propagating between the source and receiver ele-
ment. To assess the effect of sampling disturbance, both undrained compression tests and anisotropi-
cally consolidated recompression tests were carried out.
The maximum shear moduli estimated from the local Hall’s effect transducer in UCTs conducted on
soil samples retrieved using both samplers are shown in Figure 29 together with data from the seismic
cone tests. In general, the laboratory measurements are much lower than the field measurements at the
same depth. It is also clear that samples retrieved using a local sampling tube provides lower results than
those from the Japanese sampler. To evaluate the effectiveness of the recompression method, bender ele-
ments were used in CKoU tests to determine the Gmax for both types of samples. The results are also
shown in Figure 29. It can be seen that the results from such tests are much closer to each other and also
to the values from seismic cone tests. Hence, recompression seems to be able to compensate for some
loss of Gmax arising from sampling disturbance, although it appears to be more effective when applied
to su (Figure 22). In addition, Gmax values have recovered to a large degree by reconsolidation, though
they remain consistently about 10–15% lower than those from the in-situ seismic cone tests.
It is worthy to examine the effect of reconsolidation on Gmax in greater detail. The study involves
subjecting samples to isotropic consolidation to different mean effective stress before shearing them in
undrained compression. The parameter Gmax was measured using bender elements and the results are
shown in Figure 30 against the mean effective stress p normalised by the estimated in-situ mean stress
p0. When little or no reconsolidation stress is applied, it can be seen that Gmax is significantly lower than
that estimated from seismic cone test. For those samples retrieved using the local tube, the reduction is
even more significant. It is also clear that the difference between the Japanese and local sampling meth-
ods reduces as the reconsolidation stress increases. However, it is significant that Gmax for samples
retrieved using the local and Japanese tube samples are lower than the seismic cone value by about 30%

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1.4

1.2

1.0
Shear modulus ratio

0.8

0.6

GCIU (Local)/GCIU (Japan)

0.4
GCIU (Japan)/GSCPT

0.2 GCIU (Local)/GSCPT

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
p'/p'o

Figure 30. Reconsolidation to different mean effective stress using CIU test.

and 20%, respectively, even when the samples are re-consolidated to the estimated in-situ stress state.
The difference between Gmax for Japanese and local samplers also reduces with increasing reconsolida-
tion pressure, but a difference of more than 10% still persists after reaching the estimated initial stress
state. These results for Gmax show that reconsolidation can recover, to a large extent, the difference in dis-
turbances between the two types of samplers, but not totally. More importantly, the results indicate that the
Gmax cannot be fully recovered in the laboratory even when the samples are reconsolidated, when compared
to the Gmax measured in-situ using seismic cone tests.
The above results show that the effect of sampling disturbance on Gmax is substantially and not fully
recoverable by reconsolidation. Reconsolidation is also less effective in compensating for loss of Gmax
due to sampling disturbance than that achieved for shear strength. As reconsolidation can only recover
effective stress, the above results suggest that in the case of the SAC clay, Gmax depends to a large extent
on the effective stress levels and, to a lesser extent, on the bonding of the soil. The idea that Gmax of marine
clay is strongly dependent on the effective stress level and less dependent on the stress (or strain)
history, is consistent with the results and findings of some previous researchers. For normally consoli-
dated soils, it has been recognised that Gmax is a function of void ratio and effective stress, for example,
Hardin & Black (1968) suggested that:
Gmax F(e) p0.5 (9)
where F(e) is a function of the void ratio e. In the case of a normally consolidated clay, e is related to p
and thus Gmax can also be related to p alone. For example, Dasari (1996) showed that, for normally con-
solidated kaolin:
Gmax p0.69 (10)

Comparing Equations 9 and 10 shows that the higher exponent of p in Equation 10 probably accounts for
the effect of the reduction in void ratio with increasing p. For over-consolidated clays, Dasari (1996) fur-
ther suggested that the effects of the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) can be accounted by the relationship:
Gmax OCRn p0.69 (11)

Dasari (1996) adopted a value of approximately 0.2 for n.

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106

Measured Gmax(Bender element)

105

104

103
103 104 105 106
Gmax 425(p')0.9

Figure 31. Relation for Gmax.

Ignoring the effect of OCR, a relation similar to Equation 10 can also be derived for the Singapore’s
Lower Marine Clay as shown by the results in Figure 31, except that the exponent for the effective stress
is 0.9. Though the results look visually reasonable, it must be pointed out that the plot is log-log and thus
masks some of the scatter. Nevertheless, the plot suggests that for the case of the Singapore Lower
Marine Clay, Gmax is strongly dependent on p and to a lesser extent on OCR. This is consistent with the
results presented that reconsolidation can help to recover the maximum shear modulus substantially but
not completely.

5 CONCLUSIONS

A detailed systematic investigation into Singapore Lower Marine Clay was carried out at two sites, namely
the Singapore Arts Centre (now called The Esplanade) and Pulau Tekong. Laboratory and in-situ tests
were conducted with careful attention to sampling and testing quality. The results have revealed a num-
ber of interesting features of Singapore Lower Marine Clay that are not previously known.
A recent dating carried out for the purpose of the present investigation suggests that the age of
Singapore Lower Marine Clay and Intermediate Clay at Pulau Tekong is much older than previously
thought. The dating suggests that the Intermediate clay is around 24,600 years and the Lower Marine
Clay is at least 28,000 years, much older than the 10,000 to 12,000 years postulated previously.
The Lower Marine Clays at both sites have very high fine content, and more interestingly, do not
exhibit any reduction with depth. X-ray diffraction tests show that the principal mineral is kaolinite,
though the clay from the PT Site also shows an appreciable presence of smectite. The index properties
of the two clays are consistent with this, with the PT clay having a liquid limit between 80% and 100%
which is higher than that of the SAC clay, which has a liquid limit between 60% and 80%. Overall, the
activities of both clays are between 0.5 and 1.0.
The compressibility of the SAC clay was investigated using CRS and conventional oedometer tests.
The effect of sample quality on compressibility was studied as well. Generally, commercial quality sam-
ples subjected to oedometer test indicate OCR in the range between 1.0 and 1.2, while higher quality
samples subjected to the more refined CRS test reveal that OCR is around 1.4 to 1.5. The effect of
sampling is also pronounced on the measured compressibility curve, immediately after pc. The test
type carried out also affects this aspect quite significantly. For the clay from the PT Site, the OCR is

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atypically large, greater than 2.5 at most depths. There is some basis to believe that this OCR was
mechanically induced by erosion in this locale.
For undrained shear strength, UCT is shown to be sensitive to sampling quality. The shear strength
profile also shows more variability. However, with isotropic or anisotropic reconsolidation, the differ-
ence in shear strengths arising from samples of differing quality and the variability with depth reduced
very significantly. In particular, the results show little difference between CIU and CKoU tests. This
nearly isotropic strength for SAC clay can also be seen from triaxial stress paths. The undrained shear
strength ratio (su/pc) for vane shear test (VST) and direct shear test (DST) seems to be insensitive to PI
and equal to about 0.21 for clays at both sites, despite their significant difference in OCR. As the PI for
both clays are greater than 40%, the former observation pertaining to VST is quite consistent with that
made by Bjerrum (1973). The latter observation for DST is consistent with that reported by Mesri
(1989), but very low for VST in comparison with Bjerrum (1973).
For shear modulus at small strain (Gmax), the recompression method is quite effective in compensat-
ing for sampling disturbance. However, the shear modulus obtained is consistently lower than that from
seismic cone tests, even when reconsolidated to the in-situ state. For SAC clay, the Gmax value is pro-
portional pc0.9, indicating that this clay is highly dependent on effective stress; thus providing a reason
why recompression seems to work reasonably, but not fully.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the engineers of Housing and Development Board of Singapore for allowing us an
opportunity to conduct site investigation at the Pulau Tekong site. We are also to the contractor, TOA-Jan
De Nul Joint Venture, for rendering various assistances during the site investigation. For the works at the
Singapore Arts Centre (now called The Esplanade), the cooperation of engineers from the then Public
Works Department of Singapore is gratefully acknowledged.

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