Cyclic behavior of soft offshore clays at small to large strains

Two soft offshore clays, recovered from the Adriatic shelf and the Tyrrhenian shelf margin (Italy), were subjected to cyclic simple shear tests. The influence of the cyclic shear strain amplitude as well as of vertical stress, void ratio and stress history on stiffness and damping properties of the soils, in a wide strain range (i.e. from 10-4 % to more than 1%), is examined and discussed. The role of soil structure on the cyclic behavior is also explored.