Correlation Study on Grain Size Characteristics and Geotechnical Properties of Surface Sediments in Qingdao Offshore Area

The comprehension of sediment grain size parameters and the corresponding sedimentary environment holds paramount importance in elucidating the engineering geological attributes of the subaqueous seabed. This study delineated the sedimentary environment zoning in the northern sea area of Qingdao through cluster analysis of grain size parameters derived from 123 surface sediment samples. The study analyzed the correlation between sediment geotechnical indices and grain size parameters across diverse sedimentary environments. A correlation equation was established for samples exhibiting a strong correlation. The study found four distinct sedimentary environments in the study area: coastal, transitional, shallow sea, and residual. Within the same sedimentary environment, the average grain size and sorting coefficient exhibit significant correlations with geotechnical indices such as water content, density, shear strength, plastic limit, liquid limit, and plastic index. However, notable disparities in the correlation between grain size parameters and geotechnical indices emerge across different sedimentary environments.