Shear modulus and damping ratio of a clay during undrained cyclic loading

Research on the cyclic behaviour of clays has mostly concentrated on exploring the undrained cyclic shear strength. The results have led to the establishment of important links between cyclic shear strength and several physical parameters such as stress amplitude, number of load cycles, strain levels, and rate of loading (Wood, 1982). In most of the studies, the undrained cyclic load was continuously applied in either a load-controlled or displacement-controlled manner, called herein the CC test (Fig. 1(a)).

To measure the deformation parameters (i.e. shear modulus and damping ratio) using the cyclic loading test, a staged cyclic...