Shock Properties of One Unsaturated Clay and Its Equation of State Up to 30 GPa

The complicated composition of unsaturated clay, e.g., solid mineral particles, water, and air, makes it difficult to get its precise equation of state (EOS) over a wide pressure range. In this paper, the high-pressure EOS of unsaturated clay was discussed at the mesoscale. With the original clay extracted from the southern suburbs of Luoyang city, China, three unsaturated clays with moisture contents of 0%, 8%, and 15%, respectively, were remolded. Their Hugoniot parameters in the pressure range of 0–30 GPa were measured using a one-stage or two-stage light gas gun. With the measured Hugoniot parameters, a high-pressure EOS of the unsaturated clay up to 30 GPa was developed and it is in good agreement with the experimental data.