Osmotic suction of highly plastic clays

This paper presents a study on osmotic suction of compacted highly plastic clays. Two different types of bentonite (i.e. Calcigel and a bentonite from India called herein as Indian bentonite) were used. Squeezing technique was utilized to obtain soil pore-water of the specimen. Using relationship between electric conductivity and osmotic pressure of salt solution, osmotic suction of soil pore-water was obtained. Additional tests (i.e. total and matric suction using filter paper method and swelling pressure using constant volume swelling pressure test) were performed. The results show that osmotic pressure of soil pore-water obtained decreases by increasing squeezing pressure. Based on experimental result, osmotic suction of the specimen is osmotic pressure of the first drop of extracted soil pore-water. An empirical method was suggested to determine the squeezing pressure in squeezing technique. In addition, roles of osmotic suction in thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of highly plastic clays were presented and discussed in the paper.     

Hydromechanical behaviour of a compacted swelling soil over a wide suction range

A study of the hydromechanical behaviour of a compacted swelling material in the range of suctions comprised between 0 and 40 MPa was performed. This study has required the development of two kinds of suction controlled oedometer devices based on two different suction control techniques. In the range of suctions higher than 8.5 MPa, the saturated salt solutions method was used and a new oedometer using this suction control technique was developed. For suctions lower than 8.5 MPa an osmotic oedometer was used. Despite the differences between the applied suction components (matric and total), the correlation between the two methods was verified for the tested material. The second part of the paper presents a set of oedometer tests conducted under various suctions. The effect of the applied suction on the hydromechanical parameters was studied. First, two swelling phases were highlighted: a low swelling phase above a suction of 4 MPa and a high swelling one below this value. These phases were considered as being related to the microstructure of compacted swelling clays. Secondly, it was shown that the slopes of the elastic part and of the plastic part of the consolidation curves were not influenced significantly by the applied suctions. In opposition, the preconsolidation pressure is affected by the decrease of the applied suctions even in the low swelling phase. Such a behaviour could be explained by the effects of wetting on the microstructure.     

不同压实度和基质吸力的粉煤灰三轴试验研究

粉煤灰的非饱和抗剪强度是准确分析非饱和状态灰坝的稳定性所必需的,但目前对其研究积累较少。通过控制不同压实度、不同基质吸力、不同净围压对粉煤灰进行一系列非饱和土三轴试验,探讨压实度和基质吸力对粉煤灰应力?应变关系曲线和强度参数的影响。研究结果表明,基质吸力较低时粉煤灰的应力?应变曲线没有峰值,呈硬化型;基质吸力逐渐增大时应力?应变曲线有明显的峰值,呈软化型;压实度越大,非饱和粉煤灰试样的应力?应变曲线的软化特征越明显,总黏聚力和内摩擦角均越大;非饱和粉煤灰的总黏聚力随着基质吸力的增大而逐渐增大,增大速率逐渐变缓,最后趋于稳定;不同基质吸力粉煤灰试样的内摩擦角变化不大,并且都近似等于饱和试样的内摩擦角;随着基质吸力的增大,吸力内摩擦角对粉煤灰试样的抗剪强度的贡献越来越小。研究得出的非饱和粉煤灰的抗剪强度特性对灰坝的设计和稳定性分析具有理论意义和工程实用价值。     

The consolidation characteristics of an unsaturated compacted soil

The compacted soils are extensively employed as mineral liners or a sealing system, constructed under municipal solid waste and other containment hazardous materials to prevent or minimize the leakage of pollutant liquids and gases into ground water and sublayers. This article presents a detailed experimental study on settlement characteristics, which are required for the construction of a sealing system. For the experimental study where a compacted unsaturated soil taken from Adana in Turkey has been used, a special equipped consolidation cell has been designed and constructed. The matric suction adopted as independent stress-state variables has been controlled by using the axis translation technique. The consolidation tests have been performed under constant matric suction. Furthermore, the pressure plate tests for various net vertical stresses have been conducted. The test results have indicated that the settlement characteristics of a compacted soil as mineral liners and covers are highly affected by matric suction. The water retention capacity of mineral liners, an important factor for hydraulic conductivity, also changes with the vertical load. The compressibility decreases as the matric suction increases. It has been observed that there exists an exponential relationship between the compressive indexes (C _t, D _t) and matric suction.     

Mechanical behaviour of expansive soils after several drying and wetting cycles

This paper presents results from an experimental study performed on natural and compacted expansive soils in different loose and dense states using principally osmotic oedometers. The loose soils showed significant shrinkage, while the dense soils produced a swelling accumulation during the suction cycles. These cycles induced an equilibrium stage, which indicates an elastic behaviour of the samples under suction cycles. At the end of suction cycles, a loading/unloading test was performed on all samples at different constant suctions to define LC (loading collapse) yield curve as well as the newly defined SC (saturation curve) yield curve. Generally, the suction cycles for the looser soils approached the LC and SC yield curves while they became the same at the equilibrium state. For the denser soils producing the swelling strain accumulation, the unique LC and SC curves were activated together. Additionally, we found that at the equilibrium stage, both initially loose and dense samples presented the same mechanical parameters. In other words, the LC or SC yield curves superimposed for different initial states of the samples at the equilibrium stage. Moreover, these compression curves provided sufficient data to propose a simplified model for the mechanical behaviour of the swelling soils at the equilibrium stage.     

Influence of suction cycles on the soil fabric of compacted swelling soil

The soil fabric plays an important role in complex hydromechanical behaviour of the expansive soils. This article addresses the influence of the wetting and drying paths on the soil fabric of compacted bentonite and silt mixtures at two different initial dry densities corresponding to loose and dense states. To obtain the hydric response of the soil, two suction imposition techniques were used: osmotic technique for the suction range less than 8.5 MPa and the vapour equilibrium or the salt solution technique for the suction range between 8.5 and 287.9 MPa. Additionally, the soil fabric analysis was performed using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and nitrogen gas adsorption (BET) techniques. The dense samples produced cumulative swelling strains during the suction cycles, while shrinkage was observed for the loose samples. The suction cycles induced an equilibrium state indicative of the elastic behaviour of the samples. The soil fabric analysis showed that regardless of the soil's initial state (loose or dense), the samples obtained the same soil fabric at the equilibrium state. The experimental results illustrated also the existence of an elastic void ratio (e_0el) where the compacted soils at this state present an elastic hydric behaviour during the successive suction cycles.     

Cyclic Swell–Shrink Behaviour of a Compacted Expansive Soil

Laboratory cyclic swell–shrink tests were carried out on compacted expansive soil specimens to study in detail the effect of changes in shrinkage pattern on the swell–shrink behaviour of compacted expansive soils. Compacted soil specimens were allowed to swell and either shrank fully or partially shrank to several predetermined heights in each cycle. The tests were carried out at a surcharge pressure of 50 kPa. The test results revealed that shrinkage of compacted saturated soil specimens to predetermined height in each shrinkage cycle provides similar conditions as that of the controlled suction tests with an increasing number of swell–shrink cycles. The water content of soil specimens and hence soil suction was found to remain nearly constant for each pattern of shrinkage. For soil specimens equilibrated to a given swell–shrink pattern, suction at the end of shrinkage cycles was changed from a higher suction to a lower suction, and also from a lower to a higher suction. The experimental results showed that there may be an immediate equilibrium state attained by the soil in terms of swell–shrink potential if suction at the shrinkage cycles was less than the past suction; otherwise, the equilibrium state was accompanied by fatigue of swelling. The volumetric deformation of the soil specimen subjected greater shrinkage was found to be much larger than the corresponding vertical deformation. The compressibility index of microstructure, κ_m, was determined for several shrinkage patterns. It is shown that κ_m is heavily influenced by suction at the end of shrinkage cycles.     

饱和盐渍土分数阶蠕变模型及试验研究

采用等温条件下饱和盐渍土的固结蠕变试验研究了其蠕变特性。在元件模型的基础上,通过引入Abel阻尼器和渗透吸力后,建立了饱和盐渍土的分数阶蠕变模型,从表观现象学方面展开了含盐量与饱和盐渍土蠕变特性的相关性讨论。结合试验结果和分数阶模型,拟合分析了渗透吸力同次固结系数与压缩指数的比值 和初始剪切模量以及初始剪切应变的相互作用关系。在蠕变试验的基础上,通过不同应力水平、含盐量的试验结果对分数阶模型进行了拟合分析,并结合给出的黏度系数公式对模型的有效性进行了验证。分析结果表明：次固结系数与压缩指数的比值 随着渗透吸力的增大而增大且呈指数关系,初始剪切模量随着渗透吸力的增大而减小,初始剪切应变与渗透吸力呈现出线性关系。相比与整数阶元件模型,所提出的分数阶蠕变模型更适合于饱和盐渍土蠕变行为的预测。结合试验和模型分析结果,发现含盐量的增大促进了盐渍土的蠕变行为。     

非饱和压实土率敏性及蠕变时效特征试验研究

为研究部分饱和状态下高填方回填土工后长期变形,对非饱和压实土在可控基质吸力下分别开展率敏性和蠕变试验,并分析两者间时效对应关系。率敏性试验采取不同加载速率的三轴剪切,分析基质吸力（0、100、200、300 kPa）、加载速率（0.40、0.02 mm/min）以及超固结比（1、4和8）对土体强度和变形特征的影响,并确定三轴剪切蠕变的三级加载应力水平为抗剪强度的0.45、0.65、0.85倍;在4种可控基质吸力（0、100、200、300 kPa）下参考陈氏加载法,按三应力水平分级加载开展非饱和压实土三轴剪切蠕变试验。试验结果表明：随着基质吸力的增加,其率敏性参数ρ 减小,其率敏性降低;随着基质吸力逐渐增大,其蠕变初始最大速率、稳定蠕变速率以及蠕变变形量均显著减小;蠕变试验确定的应变速率−应变关系线与率敏性试验获得的应变速率−应变数据点基本吻合,证明两者间存在一定时效对应关系,且随着基质吸力的增大,这种时效对应关系更显著。     

非饱和粉质粘土固结压缩特性及体变试验研究

为进一步研究与基质吸力相关联的非饱和土固结压缩特性,扩展非饱和土固结理论在工程实际中的适用性,通过分析非饱和粉质粘土水土特征曲线变化规律,对非饱和土固结变形机理进行研究。试验结果表明：非饱和土的最终沉降量仅与土骨架的压缩模量有关。对于不同饱和度的非饱和土而言,固结速度随初始饱和度的增加而减小,饱和土固结过程所需要的时间比非饱和土固结过程所需要的时间短。由于孔隙流体的压缩性导致高饱和土体的瞬时沉降比低饱和土体的瞬时沉降小,但高饱和土体的后期固结沉降受饱和度和吸力的影响,比低饱和土体要大得多。      

Crystalline and Osmotic Swelling of an Expansive Clay Inundated with Sodium Chloride Solutions

Compacted expansive clays swell due to crystalline swelling and osmotic/double layer swelling mechanisms. Crystalline swelling is driven by adsorption of water molecules at clay particle surfaces that occurs at inter-layer separations of 10–22 Å. Diffuse double layer swelling occurs at inter-layer separations >22 Å. The tendency of compacted clay to develop osmotic or double layer swelling reduces with increase in solute concentration in bulk solution. This study examines the consequence of increase in solute concentration in bulk solution on the relative magnitudes of the two swelling modes. The objective is achieved by inundating compacted expansive clay specimens with distilled water and sodium chloride solutions in free-swell oedometer tests and comparing the experimental swell with predictions from Van’t Hoff equation. The results of the study indicate that swell potential of compacted expansive clay specimens wetted with relatively saline (0.4, 1 and 4 M sodium chloride) solutions are satisfied by crystalline swelling alone. Comparatively, compacted clay specimens inundated with less saline solutions (0.005–0.1 M sodium chloride) require both crystalline and osmotic swelling to satiate the swell potential.     

化学溶液作用下基于压实膨润土孔隙结构演化的土水特征模型研究

在高放废弃物深地质处置库复杂的地下水环境影响下,缓冲/回填材料微观孔隙结构的改变通常会大大影响其水力性质.为探究这种影响,众多学者从不同理论出发,建立了相应的土水特征模型.然而,针对这些模型的对比研究较少,且缺少将模型应用于考虑化学影响的情况.在压实膨润土微观结构分析的基础上,基于分形理论和双孔理论,分别构建了压实膨润...     

非饱和填土侧限压缩变形特性试验研究及应用初探

为研究吸力及压实度对非饱和压实填土压缩变形特性的影响,并建立脱湿（吸力增长）状态下的填方土体工后沉降变形修正计算应用模型,开展了控制吸力和压实度的一维非饱和土侧限压缩试验。结果表明：压缩曲线平缓段随压实度和吸力的提高而增长,表明土样的结构屈服强度同步得到提高;在比容v变化差值序列上,饱和土压缩土样最大、常规压缩土样次之、脱湿土样最小,并且吸力越大,比容v变化差值越小。经历脱湿（吸力增长）后的压实土压缩性降低,定义和建立了吸力压缩系数 及其经验模型,用以表征和度量吸力和压实度对压缩特性的影响规律及程度,发现 随竖向应力增加呈现指数型衰减。对模型参数与压实土相关参量间的关联性进行了分析探讨,同一压实度土样不同吸力所对应的参数 均值随压实水平提高而线性减小,参数λ总体上随吸力的增加而增大,但随压实度的提高吸力对于土体抗压性增强的贡献水平降低且参数 试验数值点靠拢线性趋近线,土样的压缩性随压实度和吸力大小变化而动态调整。基于分层总和法的基本原理初步构造建立了高填方非饱和填土压缩变形修正计算模型（MS）,其应用途径应建立在进一步对非饱和压实填土受荷状态下脱湿土-水特征关系的研究基础之上。     

NaCl溶液饱和膨胀土的压缩特性及其微观机制

孔隙溶液浓度及组份改变会影响膨胀土颗粒间作用力,改变微观孔隙结构,从而影响土体的物理力学特性。为此,以宁明膨胀土为研究对象,采用不同浓度NaCl溶液制备泥浆预固结重塑样开展一维压缩试验和压汞试验,研究化学作用对重塑天然膨胀土的压缩性和微观孔隙结构的影响规律。结果表明：随着渗透吸力增加,颗粒间水化能力降低,物理化学力使土颗粒由分散状态转变为集聚体状态,形成了集聚体内孔和集聚体间孔,土体表现出双峰孔隙分布特征。预固结样（压力为20 kPa）的初始孔隙比随渗透吸力增加而减小,进而导致固结屈服应力增加;但是渗透吸力对压缩性影响不大,压缩指数和回弹指数基本不变。此外,利用固结系数计算了土体的渗透系数,随着竖向压力增加渗透系数降低;当竖向压力小于200 kPa时,随着渗透吸力增加,渗透系数先增加后减小,但是竖向压力超过200 kPa后,渗透系数变化不大。分析发现,渗透吸力增加导致大孔隙增加,渗透系数增加,但同时密实度增加会导致渗透系数降低,低竖向压力下渗透性受密实度和微观孔隙结构变化耦合作用控制。     

Methodology for determination of osmotic suction of soils

Soil suction constitutes of the matric suction and the osmotic suction. Several studies have been conducted and reported by researchers that reveal the importance of the matric suction on unsaturated soil properties. However, not many efforts have been made to develop methodologies that can be employed for measuring osmotic suction of the soil and to understand its influence on unsaturated soil properties. With this in view, efforts were made to utilize the results of the pressure membrane extractor (PME) and the dewpoint potentiameter (WP4), which measure matric and total suction of the soil, respectively. Details of the methodology developed to achieve this are presented in this technical note.     

压实膨润土在盐溶液中的膨胀变形特性

采用蒸馏水以及浓度不同的NaCl溶液作为浸泡溶液,对商用膨润土进行了膨胀变形试验。结果表明在相同的荷载作用下,膨胀变形随浸泡溶液浓度的增加而减小。这是因为浸泡溶液的浓度越大,溶液的渗透吸力也越大,渗透吸力的增加将引起施加在黏土颗粒上有效应力的增加,使得在外部施加荷载相同时膨润土的膨胀变形随溶液浓度的增加而减小。当压实膨润土在盐溶液中膨胀时,其有效应力pe可分为两部分,即施加荷载部分p和渗透吸力部分p。对于浸泡于蒸馏水和NaCl溶液中的膨润土试样,其膨胀后的蒙脱石孔隙比em与有效应力pe之间的关系可采用同一关系曲线表示,此时施加于黏土颗粒上的有效应力的渗透吸力部分p=(p/)0.66。     

Effects of Post-compaction Residual Lateral Stress and Electrolyte Concentration on Swelling Pressures of a Compacted Bentonite

The effects of post-compaction residual lateral stress and salt concentration in the hydrating fluid on swelling pressures of compacted MX80 bentonite is brought out in this paper. In order to release the residual lateral stresses, following the static compaction process during preparation of specimens, compacted bentonite specimens were extruded from the specimen rings and then inserted back prior to testing them for swelling pressures in isochoric condition. The swelling pressure tests were carried out at several dry densities of the bentonite with distilled water and solutions of NaCl (0.1 and 1.0 M) as the hydrating fluids. With water, the test results showed that specimens that underwent extrusion and insertion processes exhibited about 10–15 % greater swelling pressures as compared to the specimens those that were compacted and tested. The influence of saline solutions was found to reduce the swelling pressure of the bentonite, but their impact was less significant at high compaction dry densities.     

不同水化状态下的压实膨胀土应力-应变-强度特征

为探讨水化状态对饱和压实膨胀土应力-应变-强度特征的影响,以压实度为95%的荆门弱膨胀土为研究对象,开展了2种典型水化状态下的固结与三轴试验,其中第1种水化状态采用常规饱和方法,第2种水化状态为试样自由膨胀至稳定状态。结果表明：（1）受变形约束条件与渗径的影响,不同水化状态下体膨胀率有较大差别;（2）第2种水化状态下的饱和压实膨胀土具有更大的硬化指数λ与膨胀指数κ、较小的弹性剪切模量,其有效内摩擦角为第1种水化状态下的77.2%,体现出膨胀土饱和强度的变动性;（3）2种水化状态下的固结曲线均呈现出明显的屈服现象,其屈服应力分别为123.2 kPa与94.5 kPa;（4）第1种水化状态下,低围压下试样应变软化与剪胀,高围压下应变强化与剪缩;第2种水化状态下试验围压范围内均发生剪缩和轻微的应变软化;（5）2种水化状态下试样在固结与剪切过程中均表现出超固结性,这种超固结性并非完全由先期固结压力所致,而是试样受荷过程中膨胀受到约束造成的;（6）不同水化饱和状态下初始孔隙比不同,膨胀势也不同,膨胀势与外部约束条件、排水条件、应力状态相互作用,造成其应力-应变-强度特征的差异性。     

Insights into the water retention behaviour of GMZ bentonite pellet mixture

Bentonite pellets are recognized as good buffer/backfill materials for sealing technological voids in high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository. Compared to that of a traditional compacted bentonite block, one of the most important particularities of this material is the initially discrete pellets and the inevitable heterogeneous porosity formed, leading to a distinctive water retention behaviour. In this paper, water retention and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests were conducted on pellet mixture (constant volume), single pellet (free swelling) and compacted block (constant volume) of GMZ bentonite, water retention properties and pore structure evolutions of the specimens were comparatively investigated. Results show that the water retention properties of the three specimens are almost similar to each other in the high suction range (>?10 MPa), while the water retention capacity of pellet mixture is lower than those of the compacted block and single pellet in the low suction range (<?10 MPa). Based on the capillary water retention theory (the Young–Laplace equation), a new concept ‘saturated void ratio’ that was positively related to water content and dependent on pore size distribution of the specimen was defined. Then, according to the product of saturated void ratio and water density in saturated void, differences of water retention properties for the three specimens at low suctions were explained. Meanwhile, MIP tests indicate that as suction decreases, the micro- and macrovoid ratios of pellet mixture and compacted block decrease as the mesovoid ratio increases, while all the void ratios of single pellets increase. This could be explained that upon wetting, water is successively adsorbed into the inter-layer, inter-particle and inter-pellet voids, leading to the subdivision of particles and swelling of aggregates and pellets. Under constant volume condition, aggregates and pellets tend to swell and fill into the inter-aggregates or inter-pellets voids. While under free swelling condition, the particles and aggregates in a single pellet tend to swell outward rather than squeezing into the inter-aggregate voids, leading to the expansion of the pores and even formation of cracks. Results including the effects of initial conditions (initial dry density and fabric) and constraint conditions (constant volume or free swelling) on the water retention capacity and pore structure evolution reached in this work are of great importance in designing of engineering barrier systems for the HLW repository.

     

Swelling pressure–suction relationship of heavily compacted bentonite–sand mixtures

This paper presents results of an experimental work to determine a relationship between swelling pressure and suction of heavily compacted bentonite–sand mixtures. For comparison, tests were also carried out on heavily compacted bentonite specimens. A series of swelling pressure tests were performed using multi-step constant-volume method where suction of the specimens tested was reduced in a stepwise manner toward a zero value. The suction reduction was induced using vapor equilibrium and axis-translation techniques. It is shown that compacted specimens did not exhibit any collapse upon suction decrease and exhibited maximum swelling pressures at zero-equilibrium suction. The development of swelling pressure with decreasing suction of the specimens showed threshold suctions below which a further reduction in suction yields an increase in the swelling pressure of the same magnitude. The magnitude of threshold suction was found to be a function of bentonite content in compacted specimens.