Determination of pre-consolidation pressure using quick direct shear tests

The preconsolidation pressure of soil is a very important index to decide the history of soil stress. In this paper, based on the relationship between undrained shear strength and over consolidation ratio (OCR) proposed by Wroth C. P. under one-dimensional consolidation condition, the critical state pore water pressure coefficient(Λ₀) is calculated by the quick shear strength, and then OCR and pre-consolidation pressure can be obtained. The test results of the saturated remolded clay acquired in Nanjing show that the calculated OCR is approximately equal to the design, indicating the proposed method can be used as an way to determine the pre-consolidation pressure.