Characteristics of soft marine clay under cyclic loading: a review

Soft clay forms a big proportion of the seabed ground. In a marine environment, waves, wind, and earthquakes, often known as cyclic loads, are a main contributor to the loading of the seabed. The safety of offshore structures relies on the response of soft marine clay to these cyclic loadings. Its very fine-grained composition, and hence low permeability, is the defining factor for soft marine clay showing a very different response to cyclic loading than sand. The responses of soft marine clay subjected to cyclic loading range from degradation in soil strength and stiffness to principal stress rotation, excess pore pressure generation, and deformation accumulation. These dynamic characteristics of soft marine clay are strongly influenced by several factors, including loading level (amplitude, frequency, and number of cycles), loading history, and path. The purpose of the present paper is to present an overview of the research results on the characteristics of soft marine clay under cyclic loading in the past decades. Some remarks on future research for improving the understanding of dynamic characteristics of soft marine clay are also provided based on the results of up-to-date research.