{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T09:06:23Z","timestamp":1788944783958,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cPioneer\u201d and \u201cLeading Goose\u201d R&D Program of Zhejiang","award":["2024C03126"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024C03126"]}]},{"name":"Talent Research and Development Project of Xinjiang Agricultural University","award":["6660946\/2522GCCRC"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["6660946\/2522GCCRC"]}]},{"award":["6660946\/2522GCCRC"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["6660946\/2522GCCRC"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04qjh2h11","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Looking at the demand for precise matching between the mechanical properties of similar materials and natural soft clay in soft ground visual model tests, this paper proposes a preparation method for graded transparent soil based on optical testing principles and geotechnical similarity theory. Using n-dodecane and 15# white oil as pore fluids, combined with nano-fumed silica and optimally graded fused quartz sand, a graded transparent soil material system with accurately matched refractive indices was constructed. The synergistic effect of nano-fumed silica and graded quartz sand enables dual optimization of material transparency and mechanical performance. The feasibility of simulating soft ground was verified through load-plate tests, jacked pile penetration model tests, and consolidated-drained (CD) triaxial tests. The consolidation compression and direct shear test results show that the material has a compression coefficient of 1.43 MPa\u22121, a compression modulus of 1.72 MPa, a total internal friction angle \u03c6 ranging from 16.53\u00b0 to 23.21\u00b0, and a total cohesion c ranging from 5.42 to 11.34 kPa. Further CD triaxial test results verified that the developed transparent soil exhibits effective shear strength parameters (c\u2032 = 9.65 kPa, \u03c6\u2032 = 16.01\u00b0), which are highly consistent with the effective strength indices of natural Shaoxing silty clay (c\u2032 = 12.94 kPa, \u03c6\u2032 = 13.52\u00b0), with a relative error of ultimate deviator stress less than 5% under various confining pressures. Moreover, different strength levels can be obtained by adjusting the pre-consolidation pressure. During shear loading, the material presents stable volumetric contraction without dilatancy, conforming to the typical contractive mechanical characteristics of normally consolidated soft clay. PIV velocity-field analysis of the indoor plate load test under constant-settlement-rate conditions revealed that the transparent soil displays a typical Prandtl failure mode, consistent with the failure characteristics of natural soft clay. The model test of jacked-pile penetration further confirmed that this material can effectively simulate the stress-deformation behavior of soft ground under the test conditions adopted in this study. The developed material offers a viable alternative simulant and relevant test reference for laboratory visual model investigations into soft ground deformation, pile\u2013soil interaction and failure evolution in geotechnical model tests.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19173747","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T10:10:33Z","timestamp":1788430233000},"page":"3747","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Development of Graded Transparent Soft Clay and Its Application in Visualization Tests of Soft Soil Foundations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0050-8870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mingyuan","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 311100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5398-4889","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianxin","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China"},{"name":"Technical Research Center of Xinjiang Hydro-Geotechnical and Structural Engineering, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2557-7158","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hesheng","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3645-0550","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jinhua","family":"Ding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China"},{"name":"Technical Research Center of Xinjiang Hydro-Geotechnical and Structural Engineering, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, R., Wang, L., Zhang, W., Ciantia, M.O., Martinez, A., Zhang, N., and Yin, J. 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