Abstract: The thixotropy of structural soils is a description of the strength recovery after soil disturbance. To accurately distinguish the degrees of the strength recovery of soil, a comprehensive thixotropy evaluation method is proposed. In this paper, the thixotropy of a structural clay in Zhanjiang Formation is studied. Considering the factors affecting the thixotropy of the structural clay in Zhanjiang Formation, the unconfined compressive strength test was performed, and the thixotropy evaluation index system of the structural clay in Zhanjiang Formation was established based on the water content, the void ratio and the sensitivity. The grey correlation analysis method was used to analyze the correlation degree between the thixotropy of the structural clay in Zhanjiang Formation and each evaluation index, and to judge the influence of each factor level on the thixotropy. The results show that the high moisture content and the void ratio inhibit the correlation with the thixotropy, while the high sensitivity promotes the correlation with the thixotropy.

Key words: Structural Clay of Zhanjiang Formation, Thixotropy, Grey Association Analysis, Relevance