Centrifuge modeling of a sensitive clay slope for simulation of strain softening

Sensitivity (St) is defined as a ratio of the strength in the undisturbed state to that in the remolded

1 INTRODUCTION

Cyclic softening and strain localization of soft, sensitive clayey soils have been major issues for coastal or offshore areas prone to submarine landslides or progressive clay slope failures induced by static or dynamic earthquake loading. We hypothesize that the instability of natural slopes is strongly dependent on mechanisms of softening. Two important mechanisms of softening are (1) remolding of sensitive unstable soil fabric, and (2) increase of void ratio due to dilatancy and seepage (Fig. 1-2).