The peak strength of saturated clay is influenced
most by overconsolidation ratio, drainage conditions,
effective confining pressures, original
structure, disturbance (which causes a change in
effective stress and a loss of cementation), and
creep or deformation rate effects. Overconsolidated
clays usually have higher peak strength at
a given effective stress than normally consolidated
clays, as shown in Fig. 11.3. The differences
in strength result from both the different
stress histories and the different water contents
at peak. For comparisons at the same water content
but different effective stress, as for points
A and A, the Hvorslev strength parameters ce
and e are obtained (Hvorslev, 1937, 1960).