Thixotropy is a hot topic in the field of rheology of dispersed systems. Many researchers have proposed different models and hypotheses to explain the thixotropy of clay. In this paper, the strength recovery model of Zhanjiang Formation clay in the process of thixotropy is studied. Firstly, through unconfined compressive strength test, the influence of soil sensitivity, moisture content, and density on the strength growth of remolded soil was studied. The results show great influence of sensitivity, moisture content, and density on the thixotropic strength of the Zhanjiang Formation clay: the higher the sensitivity and the density, the stronger the thixotropy of soil; the higher the moisture content, the weaker the thixotropy of soil. Based on the test results, a strength recovery model of Zhanjiang Formation clay in the process of thixotropy was established. The model was verified by the validation test data and the data obtained from the existing literature. The results suggest that the model prediction is in good agreement with the verification test data and data from existing literature, which proves the confidence of the model in predicting the degree of strength recovery in the process of thixotropy of Zhanjiang Formation clay. The model provides basis for stability calculation of surrounding soil after construction disturbance of underground structures in this stratum.

Thixotropy is a hot topic in the field of rheology of dispersed systems. Studying the quantitative index and evaluation method for thixotropy of clay is of great significance to evaluate the safety of foundation under long-term load. To explore the index system and classification methods for the thixotropy of clay, unconfined compressive strength tests were carried out on three groups of undisturbed soil and remolded soil that were cured at different times after remodeling of the Zhanjiang Formation in China to obtain the unconfined compressive strength values of the samples and establish the relationship between unconfined compressive strength and curing time of the remodeled soil. The concept of thixotropic sensitivity is introduced to reflect the relationship between thixotropy and structure. According to the relationship between thixotropy sensitivity and curing time and its logarithmic value, two indexes of structural recovery coefficient K and structural recovery index Ke were established to evaluate the thixotropy of structural clay in the Zhanjiang Formation. Following the structural classification method of soil, the boundary values of structural recovery coefficients KI and KII are calculated to classify the thixotropy of soil. When the value of K is less than that of KI, the thixotropy of soil is weak. When the value of K is greater than that of K but less than that of KII, the thixotropy of soil is moderate. When the value of K is greater than that of KII, the thixotropy of soil is strong. The method is used to discuss the thixotropy of soil in the literature, and the rationality of the method is verified. Results show that this method can be used to preliminary classify the thixotropy of soil.

Due to the different material composition and deposition conditions, the undisturbed clay presents different degree of structure. Because of the existence of structure, the undisturbed clay has structural yield stress. When the stress level exceeds the structural yield stress, the stress-strain relation of undisturbed clay has typical softening characteristics. To explore the constitutive relation of undisturbed soil, triaxial consolidation, and drainage tests were carried out on undisturbed and remolded soils of structural clay in Zhanjiang Formation in China, and the stress-strain relations under different confining pressures were obtained. By analyzing the structural failure process of undisturbed clay, Weibull distribution was introduced to describe the strength distribution of each point in undisturbed clay, and the structural failure coefficient of undisturbed clay was established during the loading process. Based on the elastic theory and structural failure coefficient, a constitutive model considering the structural failure of clay was proposed, and the method to determine the model parameters was given. The model was used to simulate the experimental data in this paper and the reference, and the validity of the model was verified. The results show that the model can well simulate the softening effect of structural clay during loading.

The clay in the Zhanjiang Formation has thixotropic properties, which has greatly influenced the foundation engineering in the Zhanjiang area. The evolution law of macroscopic strength and clay microstructure during thixotropy can be used to explain the practical engineering problems caused by thixotropy. For undisturbed and reconstituted soil curing for a different period, unconfined compressive strength test, scanning electron microscopy, and mercury injection porosimetry test were carried out to obtain the unconfined compressive strength and pore structure evolution law in the thixotropic process. The results indicate that the Zhanjiang Formation structural clay is very sensitive to disturbance and its unconfined compressive strength decreases from 180.29 to 11.73 kPa after the natural structure is completely destructed. After 300 d of curing, the unconfined compressive strength of clay increased from 11.73 to 53.43 kPa because of thixotropy, which increased by 3.55 times. The stacking flaky flocculation structure of the undisturbed soil is destructed by reconstituting, turning to flaky flocculation structure, and the large pores are homogenized, the small pores develop into medium pores, and there is a decrease in soil strength. In the process of thixotropy, the soil particles gradually coagulate and form an aggregates flocculation structure, and the strength of clay increases with the increase in the degree of cementation. Based on the results, the thixotropic pattern of clay was established and its thixotropic mechanism was explained.

The clays of the Zhanjiang Formation in the coastal area of Beibu Gulf of China are thixotropic, and the existing constitutive relationship models relevant for clay are incapable of accurately simulating their stress–strain relationships. It is vital to study the changes of mechanical properties of Zhanjiang Formation clay that occur during thixotropy, and to establish a constitutive model considering thixotropy. The varying measures of its shear strength, cohesion, internal friction angle, and initial tangential modulus during thixotropy were investigated by means of triaxial consolidation and drainage tests. Furthermore, the quantitative relationships between the clay’s cohesion, internal friction angle, and initial tangential modulus of the clay and time were examined. This relationship was introduced into the Duncan–Chang model, and a Duncan–Chang model considering the thixotropy of clay was developed. The established model was used to make predictions to assume the validation of the experimental data, and numerical simulations were then carried out. All of the results from the model’s prediction, numerical simulation and experimental measurements were compared against each other in order to verify the reasonableness of the model we had utilized. The results positively demonstrated that: (1) the shear strength, cohesion, angle of internal friction, and initial tangent modulus of the clay gradually increases with longer curing times, and eventually it will stabilize; and (2) compared with the Duncan–Chang model not considering thixotropy, the established thixotropic model is better able to reflect the influence of clay thixotropy on the clay stress–strain relationship, as its mean relative error is smaller. The results of this study provide references for calculating strength and deformation of the clay thixotropy. Further, it also provides references for bearing load calculations of pile foundations in thixotropic clay strata when subjected to long-term loading conditions.