Historically, engineers frequently viewed the London Clay Formation (LC) as uniform, homogeneous and rather uninteresting. Chris King's seminal work provided a much deeper insight into the characteristics of the LC and how it can be split into divisions, based on the depositional history of the formation and the microfauna present. LC water content profiles were compiled from continuous cores as part of an investigation into variations in tunnelling-induced settlements across St James's Park, allowing distinct zones to be identified. These were found to coincide exactly with the divisions identified by Chris King almost twenty years earlier. Water content profiles can be developed as part of a ground investigation and used to help establish the boundaries between King's divisions. Based on two further water content profiles from Hyde Park and St John's Wood a new methodology for locating the boundaries of the divisions, involving a trend-line for sub-Division A3, is proposed and tested, relevant to conditions in central London. In developing the method, significant differences in the elevation of the divisions between the three sites is observed, suggesting geological processes such as folding or faulting have influenced the LC along the ∼5-km length of the section.

Once the boundaries of the LC divisions are known, geotechnical engineers have a greatly improved overall understanding of the ground conditions and how the ground will respond to engineering works such as tunnelling and deep excavations. Broad engineering implications of the divisions are described and discussed, citing case histories where possible.

从历史上看，工程师经常将伦敦黏土地层（LC）视为均匀，均质且无趣。克里斯·金（Chris King）的开创性工作基于地层的沉积历史和现存的微型动物，对LC的特性以及如何将其分为多个部分提供了更深入的了解。LC水含量概况是从连续岩心中收集的，这是对穿越圣詹姆斯公园的隧道诱发的居民点变化进行调查的一部分，从而可以确定不同的区域。这些发现与二十年前克里斯·金（Chris King）确定的部门完全吻合。含水量剖面可以作为地面调查的一部分开发，并用于帮助建立金氏各部门之间的界限。根据海德公园和圣约翰伍德的另外两个含水量曲线，提出并测试了一种确定分区边界的新方法，该方法涉及A3分区的趋势线，并且与伦敦市中心的情况有关。在开发该方法时，观察到三个站点之间的分隔高度明显不同，这表明诸如折叠或断层之类的地质过程已经影响了沿该段约5公里长的LC。

一旦了解了LC部门的界限，岩土工程师就可以大大提高对地面状况以及地面如何响应诸如隧道和深基坑等工程工作的总体了解。描述并讨论了部门的广泛工程意义，并在可能的情况下引用了案例历史。