Insight into Role of Clay-Fluid Molecular Interactions on Permeability and Consolidation Behavior of Na-Montmorillonite Swelling Clay

• Published in: Journal of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering Vol. 138; no. 2; pp. 138 - 146
• Main Authors: Amarasinghe, Priyanthi M, Katti, Kalpana S, Katti, Dinesh R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA American Society of Civil Engineers 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Buildings. Public works; Clay (material); Consolidation; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Geoenvironmental engineering; Geotechnics; Molecular interactions; Permeability; Soil investigations. Testing; Swelling; TECHNICAL PAPERS; Compression; Swelling (material); Consolidation; Cohesive soils; Fourier-transformed infrared spectrometry; Solvent; Swelling clay; Scanning electron microscopy; Clay; Solvents; Swelling; Montmorillonite; Interaction; Permeability; Microstructures; Experimental study; Cohesive soil; Clays; Clay liners; Microscopy; Soil test; Expansive soils; Atterberg limits; Interactions; Microstructure; Expansive soil
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000567
• ISSN: 1090-0241

Swelling clays, also known as expansive clays, are encountered extensively all over the world. These clays are problematic for geotechnical engineering applications because of distress caused to structures and infrastructure as a result of swelling and swelling pressure. These clays are also often used in geoenvironmental engineering applications because of their effective barrier properties as liner materials, e.g., in landfills, ponds, and cutoff trenches. In this study, we report the effect of dielectric constant of fluid on the permeability and consolidation characteristics of Na-montmorillonite swelling clay to investigate the role of clay-fluid molecular interactions on the macroscale properties of the clay. A new “porous rigid wall, flexible wall” permeability device specifically designed for swelling clays that allows for accurate measurement of permeability, swelling pressure and consolidation characteristics, and evaluation of microstructure of swelling clays with fluids with different polarities is used in this study. Results show that clay-fluid molecular interactions have a tremendous effect on the permeability and consolidation characteristics of swelling clay and its microstructure.