ENERGY DISSIPATION IN SOFT CLAY

Energy dissipation characteristics of soft kaolin clay are measured by analyzing hysteresis loops produced by subjecting clay specimen to harmonically applied, relatively homogeneous, torsional shear strain, and measuring resulting stress response; phase angles between stress and strain are measured, and energy losses determined by using these phase angles in combination with linear viscoelastic theory are found to be slightly more than energy losses measured from hysteresis loops, where no assumption regarding material behavior is required; results of two sets of measurements are compared and conclusion drawn about energy dissipation in clay.