Abstract
Generally, a natural clay is weakened in its strength as a result of a change of its structure by remolding. This character is called the sensitiveness of a clay, and it is designated by the sensitivity which is a ratio of an unconfined compressive strength of an undisturbed clay to one of the same clay in the state of fully remolded.
For many kinds of clay, sensitivities have been measured, but the quantitative relations between an amount of remolding given to clay and its weakening have not yet been investigated.
In order to make clear these relations, the authors have devised a remolding apparatus which gives a simple shearing deformation to a clay specimen under the constant volume, and with this apparatus they have experimented with a blue clay.
Results obtained are as follows:
(1) The more the clay is deformed, the more its strength decreases.
(2) When the clay is remolded repeatedly under a certain amplitude of the angle of shearing deformation, there is a linear relation between the degree of its weakening nquθ/1quθ and the number of repetition n, if both are represented in the logarithmic scale, till a considerably great value of n.
Then, with these results, the trafficability of a track type tractor on a clayey ground has been investigated.
