The applicability of the q_u method, which is widely used in Japan to evaluate the undrained shear strength, is examined to marine clays recovered from various sites in the world. All samples studied in this paper were collected hy the Japanese standard piston sampler. The residual effective stress, the rate effect and anisotropy were measured for each soil to examine as to whether or not these factors keep a balance and the q_u test provides a suitable strength for design. It is found from this study that the q_u method gives a reliable design value, except for Drammen clay, whose residual effective stress is considerably lost.
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