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Cement stabilization is a widely applied technique in improving the workability and geotechnical properties of soft clay. This paper investigated the influence of cement stabilization on the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) and the deformation behavior of unsaturated cement–stabilized soft clay. The combined effect of cementation and partial saturation on the hydromechanical behavior of cement-stabilized soils was discussed. The SWCC of stabilized soil was measured in the full suction range under drying and wetting paths using the pressure plate method, the filter paper method, and the vapor equilibrium technique. The deformation behaviors of cement-stabilized soft soil were investigated by conducting suction-controlled oedometer tests. Furthermore, scanning electron microscope micrographs and mercury intrusion porosimetry tests were performed to investigate the effects of cement content on the evolution of soil pore structures. The test results showed that the water retention capacity of the stabilized soft clay increased with increasing cement content. The SWCC showed a significant hysteretic behavior in the boundary effect zone and transition zone, whereas the hysteretic effect was unapparent in the residual zone. The increased cement content had a more significant hysteretic effect on the SWCC. The deformation resistance capacity increased as the cement content and matric suction increased. However, the effect of matric suction on deformation resistance capacity decreased as the cement content increased. With the increase in cement content, the macropores were converted to small interaggregate pores, the pore spaces were distributed more uniformly, and the particle surface became rougher, resulting in higher water retention capacity and significant hysteresis of the SWCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a constitutive model for simulating the stress–strain behavior of overconsolidated structured soils. The model extends the scope of a previous 10-parameter constitutive model proposed by the authors for structured soils. It uses a variable normal compression index dependent on the degree of structure to simulate structure degradation during loading. The model also introduces the concept of subloading plasticity to prevent the peak shear strength of structured soils from being overestimated in the overconsolidated state. The performance of the proposed model in describing the mechanical behavior of structured soils with different initial overconsolidation ratios is assessed. The proposed model is verified using the experimental data available in the literature for both naturally and artificially structured soils under compression and shearing conditions. The results indicate that the proposed model simulates the mechanical response of structured soils reasonably well in both normally consolidated and overconsolidated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]