Apparent overconsolidation and osmotic pressure in a marine sediment

This paper concerns the study of the over-consolidation state of a marine s ediment extracted from the continental slope in the Gulf of Guinea. Special attention was devoted to the physicochemical phenomena. The study was carr ied out 1) at a microscopic level using the theory of the diffuse double la yer [6, 8, 12] and 2) at a macroscopic level using an elastoplastic model c onsidering the suction as a stress state variable [1]. These models have pr ovided a physical explanation as well as an adequate description of the phe nomenon of over-consolidation. (C) 2000 Academie des sciences / Editions sc ientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.