Behavioural features of fissured clays: experimental evidence and modelling

Fissured clays are widespread all over the world and they are often catalysts of several and unexpected in-situ problems. In the last decade, a research started at the Technical University of Bari aiming to interpret the influence of fissuring on the clay behaviour. According to the approach adopted, a Fissuring IDentity (F-ID) has been associated to each clay being studied, as extracted from a general fissuring characterisation chart. Hence, the analysis of the fissured clay behaviour has benefited from systematically coupling the micro- to meso- features (i.e., F-ID charts) and processes, and the observations of the macro-response. The comprehensive experimental programme carried out on several Italian fissured clays has allowed to recognise that they can be still modelled as single geotechnical class which follows an extended sensitivity framework of behaviour. Moreover, for clays of specific F-IDs, most recent developments of the research have put in evidence discrepant behavioural facets induced by scale effects.