Structure of sediments of kaolinite

In an assembly of clay particles placed in a fluid, each particle is typically subjected to: (1) double-layer repulsive forces; (2) van der Waals attractive forces; and (3) contact mechanical forces. The study presented here concerns an approximate, quantitative analysis of clay suspensions, with considerations to the first two - the physico-chemical forces. Using recent theories to calculate the physico-chemical forces between two clay particles in an approximate model of an assembly, the equilibrium void ratio of a clay suspension is computed. The mechanical forces are ignored in the analysis. The results serve to verify the validity of physico-chemical theories employed and help interpret experimental data more fundamentally in terms of the system variables.