Thermal Consolidation of Saturated Silty Clay Considering Different Temperature Paths: Experimental Study and Constitutive Modeling

Based on the self-developed axisymmetric test apparatus for hollow cylinder specimens, an experimental study on the thermal consolidation behavior of saturated silty clay with different overconsolidation ratios under different confining pressures and temperature paths was carried out. The evolution of pore-water pressure caused by undrained heating/cooling and thermal volumetric strain caused by drained consolidation was analyzed, which is related to confining pressure, temperature path, and overconsolidation ratio. In addition, the experimental results were simulated based on a modified thermodynamic constitutive model proposed by the author. The model captures the important aspects of thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling characteristics of saturated soil. By comparing the model with the experimental results, its ability to describe the thermal consolidation behavior of saturated silty clay under different temperature paths was verified.