Thixotropy is a research hotspot in the rheology of dispersion systems. Clay thixotropy is an extraordinary phenomenon of clay

which shows that the strength of clay decreases after being disturbed

and the strength recovers gradually after standing. To discuss the influences of clay content

water content

void ratio

and sensitivity on the thixotropy of clay

we designed orthogonal test on Zhanjiang Formation structural clay with strong

medium

and weak sensitivities to implement unconfined compressive strength tests with different curing ages. The experimental results show that: in terms of the thixotropic strength of clay

there are power function relationships between clay content

moisture content

void ratio

and thixotropic strength of clay

and it decreases as the values of these three parameters increase. There is a logarithmic relationship between sensitivity and the thixotropic strength of clay

and it increases with the increase of sensitivity. For the above four parameters

R is greater than 0.95

which has a good correlation. In terms of the thixotropic strength ratio of clay

it increases with increasing the clay content

water content

and sensitivity

and decreases as the void ratio increases. In addition

for samples with the same sensitivity

the void ratio has the greatest impact on thixotropy

followed by water content

and finally clay particle content. Finally

we used the least squares method to perform multiple regression fitting and developed a multiple regression prediction model for the relationship between the factors and the intensity of thixotropy.