On the influence of the sample preparation method on the undrained monotonic and cyclic response of Malaysian kaolin

This article experimentally evaluates the influence of the sample preparation method on the undrained monotonic and cyclic response of a saturated Malaysian kaolin. Two different sample preparation methods were adopted: slurry consolidation and moist compaction. The results of undrained monotonic triaxial tests showed the same critical state friction angle regardless of the sample preparation method and overconsolidation ratio. Under undrained cyclic loading, the well-known reduction in the number of cycles required to reach failure conditions with increasing cyclic stress ratios was evident regardless of the sample preparation method. However, important qualitative differences were observed depending on the sample preparation method, such as the degree of inherent anisotropy manifested in terms of the inclination of the effective stress paths, and the asymmetric vertical strain accumulation in the stress–strain space. The reasons for the observed differences in behavior are analyzed and discussed in the manuscript.