Studies on Hydraulic Conductivity of Fly Ash-Stabilised Expansive Clay Liners

Earthen barriers or clay liners are a major concern in geo-environmental engineering. They are designed to preclude or reduce leachate migration. Hence, a low hydraulic conductivity (k) is an important parameter in the design of clay liners. Materials such as bentonite and lateritic clays, which have a low hydraulic conductivity at high dry densities, are used in the construction of clay liners. Compacted expansive clays which are high in montmorillonite content also have a very low hydraulic conductivity. When expansive clays are blended with fly ash, an industrial waste, the hydraulic conductivity further reduces as the ash-clay blends result in increased dry densities at increased fly ash contents. Hence, fly ash-stabilised expansive clay can also be proposed as an innovative clay liner material. It is, therefore, required to study various physical and engineering properties of this new clay liner material. Liquid limit (LL) and free swell index (FSI) are important index properties to be studied in the case of this clay liner material. The hydraulic conductivity of this new clay liner material depends on the fly ash content in the blend. Further, parameters such as solute concentration and kinematic viscosity also influence hydraulic conductivity of clay liners. This paper presents experimental results obtained on hydraulic conductivity (k) of fly ash-stabilised expansive clay liner at varying fly ash content and solute concentration. The tests were performed with deionised water (DIW), CaCl₂, NaCl and KCl as permeating fluids. Fly ash content in the blend was varied as 0, 10, 20 and 30 % by weight of the expansive clay, and the solute concentration was varied as 5 mM (milli molar), 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500. It was found that hydraulic conductivity (k) decreased with increasing fly ash content, solute concentration and kinematic viscosity. Further, hydraulic conductivity (k) was correlated with LL and FSI of the clay liner material for different fly ash contents and solute concentrations. Useful correlations were obtained.     

Efficacy of Cement-stabilized Fly Ash Cushion in Arresting Heave of Expansive Soils

Expansive clays swell and shrink seasonally when subjected to changes in the moisture regime causing substantial distress to the structures built in them. Techniques like sand cushion and cohesive non-swelling soil (CNS) layer have been tried to arrest heave and consequent damages to structures. Sand cushion has been proved to be counter-productive. Studies have indicated that even though CNS layer was effective initially, it became less effective after the first cycle of swelling and shrinkage. Research carried out by the authors, using cement-stabilized fly ash as a cushioning material, has shown that it was quite effective in arresting heave. Fly ash cushion, stabilized with 10% cement with thickness equal to that of the expansive soil bed reduces heave by about 75% in the first instance. With subsequent swell-shrink cycles, the performance further improves, unlike in the case of a black cotton soil provided with a CNS cushion. At the end of fourth cycle of swelling, the reduction in the amount of heave is as high as 99.1%.     

Improvement of an Extremely Highly Plastic Expansive Clay with Hydrated Lime and Fly Ash

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - In this study, extremely highly plastic soil samples were collected from clay deposits in the Akyurt district of Ankara (Turkey), near Esenbo?a...     

Shear Strength Behavior of Two Landfill Clay Liners

Direct shear tests were conducted to obtain both the shear strength of compacted clay liners (CCLs) specimens and the interface shear strength between compacted clay liner and base soil. These experiments were conducted under the conditions of five different water contents. The experimental results show that shear strength of both CCLs and CCLs/base interface decreases with the increase in the water content of CCLs and base soil. In addition, the considerate concentration of NaCl in leachate has no deteriorating effect on the shear strength of liners. Triaxial shear tests were also conducted on clay liner specimens to obtain total and effective shear strength under a fast compression. The shear strength c‘=100 kPa for sand-bentonite, respectively. These results indicate that the compacted clay-bentonite shows normal consolidation, but that the compacted sand-bentonite exhibits over-consolidation.     

Study on Swell Pressure Stress of Bentonite in Geosynthetic Clay Liners

1 Introduction Bentonite is a valuable industrial material, which is composed mainly of montmorillonite. Due to many particular characteristics such as strong water sorbility, dilatability, stickiness, high ion-exchangeable capacity, Bentonite has been used widely in many fields of application, including petroleum, metallurgy and chemical industry, textile industry, medical application, construction, mining, agriculture, environment (Koch, 2002; Wang and Wu, 2002; Wagner and Schnatmeyer, 20…     

溶液和温度作用下膨润土防水毯的渗透性能

以颗粒状和粉末状膨润土防水毯(GCLs)为对象,运用GDS (global digital systems)全自动渗透仪开展渗透试验,研究CaCl_2溶液作用下GCLs渗透性能的温度效应,初步探讨其机理。试验表明:当水化液为0.05mol/L的CaCl_2溶液时,两种GCLs渗透系数随温度升高呈现增大趋势;当水化液为去离子水时,颗粒状GCL渗透系数随温度升高而减小,粉末状GCL渗透系数随温度升高而增大。去离子水情况下,膨润土吸附结合水量随温度升高而减小;CaCl_2溶液作用下,吸附结合水量较去离子水情况大幅降低。当CaCl_2溶液浓度一定时,膨润土膨胀指数随温度升高而略有增大;当温度一定时,膨润土膨胀指数随CaCl_2溶液浓度升高而显著减小。以去离子水进行试验时:颗粒状和粉末状GCLs渗透系数随温度的变化主要影响因素为凝胶态蒙脱石数量,其次为流体黏滞系数和吸附结合水量;颗粒状GCLs膨润土孔隙结构越不均匀,凝胶态蒙脱石数量的影响就越显著,导致渗透系数随温度升高而减小、固有渗透率随温度升高显著降低。以CaCl_2溶液进行试验时,两种GCLs渗透系数随温度变化的主要受流体黏滞系数和吸附结合水量的影响,而受凝胶态蒙脱石数量的影响较小。孔隙溶液性质、温度和膨润土类型均对GCLs的防渗性能具有重要影响。     

Reduction of Expansive Index,Swelling and Compression Behavior of Kaolinite and Bentonite Clay with Sand and Class C Fly Ash

Swelling behavior of expansive soil has always created problems in the field of geotechnical engineering. Generally, the method used to assess the swelling potential of expansive soil from its plasticity index, shrinkage limit and colloidal content. Alternative way to evaluate swelling behavior is from its expansive index (EI) and swelling pressure value. The present study investigates the reduction of EI and swelling pressure for kaolinite and bentonite clay when mixed with various percentages of Ottawa sand and Class C fly ash. The percentages of Ottawa sand and Class C fly ash used were 0–50 % by weight. The results show that there is a significant reduction in the swelling properties of expansive soil with the addition of Ottawa sand and Class C fly ash. The reduction in EI ranged approximately from 10 to 50 and 4 to 49 % for kaolinite and bentonite clay, respectively. Also the maximum swelling pressure of kaolinite and bentonite clay decreased approximately 93 and 64 %, respectively with the addition of various percentages of Ottawa sand and Class C fly ash. Standard index properties test viz., liquid limit, plastic limit and linear shrinkage test were conducted to see the characteristics of expansive soil when mixed with less expansive sand and fly ash. Also, for these expansive soils one dimensional consolidation test have been conducted with sand and fly ash mixtures and the results were compared with pure kaolinite and bentonite clay.     

掺粉煤灰-石灰对膨胀土胀缩性的影响试验研究

本文探讨利用粉煤灰、石灰-粉煤灰作为添加剂改良合肥膨胀土的可行性与改良效果。试验研究了粉煤灰、石灰-粉煤灰掺合物对膨胀土的胀缩性的影响以及养护作用对改良膨胀土胀缩性的影响。研究结果表明,随着掺灰率的增加,膨胀土的自由膨胀率、膨胀量、膨胀力与线缩率呈减小趋势,这说明掺粉煤灰可有效降低膨胀土的胀缩性。经过一定龄期养护后的击实样的膨胀试验结果表明,随着养护龄期的加长,膨胀土的膨胀量与膨胀力都有一定降低。     

横穿贝加尔湖铁路路基的冻胀性研究

The paper features the results of field measurements and numerical research of embankment behaviour in permafrost soils of Transbaikalia railway section following implementation of preventive works to eliminate action of heaving forces on the main area of embankment subgrade.     

Osmotic Swelling and Osmotic Consolidation Behaviour of Compacted Expansive Clay

Compacted clay soils are used as barriers in geoenvironmental engineering applications and are likely to be exposed to salinization and desalinization cycles during life of the facility. Changes in pore fluid composition from salinization and desalinization cycles induce osmotic suction gradients between soil–water and reservoir (example, landfill/brine pond) solution. Dissipation of osmotic suction gradients may induce osmotic swelling and consolidation strains. This paper examines the osmotic swelling and consolidation behaviour of compacted clays exposed to salinization and desalinization cycles at consolidation pressure of 200 kPa in oedometer assemblies. During salinization cycle, sodium ions of reservoir fluid replaced the divalent exchangeable cations. The osmotic swelling strain developed during first desalinization cycle was 29-fold higher than matric suction induced swelling strain of the compacted specimen. Further, the diffusion controlled osmotic swelling strain was 100-fold slower than matric suction-driven swelling process. After establishment of ion-exchange equilibrium, saturated saline specimens develop reversible osmotic swelling strains on exposure to desalinization cycles. Likewise the saturated desalinated specimen develops reversible osmotic consolidation strains on exposure to cycles of salinization. Variations in compaction dry density has a bearing on the osmotic swelling and consolidation strains, while, compaction water content had no bearing on the osmotic volumetric strains.     

Gypsum Induced Strength Behaviour of Fly Ash-Lime Stabilized Expansive Soil

Physical and engineering properties of soil are improved with various binders and binder combinations. Fly ash and lime are commonly used to improve the properties of expansive soils. An attempt has been made, in this paper, to examine the role of gypsum on the physical and strength behaviour of fly ash-lime stabilized soil. The change in strength behaviour is studied at different curing periods up to 90 days, and the mechanism is elucidated through pH, mineralogical, microstructural and chemical composition study. The strength of soil-fly ash mixture has improved marginally with the addition of lime up to 4 % lime and with curing period for 28 day. Significant increase in strength has been observed with 6 % lime and enhanced significantly after curing for 90 days. The variations in the strength of soil with curing period is due to cation exchange and flocculation initially, and binding of particles with cementitious compounds formed after curing. With addition of 1 % gypsum to soil-fly ash-lime, the strength gain is accelerated as seen at 14 day curing. The accelerated strength early is due to formation of compacted structure with growth of ettringite needles within voids. However, strength at curing for 28 day has been declined due to annoyance of clay matrix with the increase in size of ettringite needle; and again increased after curing for 90 days. The rearrangement of clay matrix and suppression of sulphate effects with formation of cementitious compounds are observed and found to be the main responsible factors for strength recovered.     

Heave Prediction in a Natural Unsaturated Expansive Soil Deposit Under a Lightly Loaded Structure

The soil heave over time associated with a leak in a hot-water line beneath a floor slab of a lightly loaded structure constructed on a natural unsaturated expansive soil in Regina of Saskatchewan, Canada is modelled in this paper using the Modulus of Elasticity Based Method (MEBM). The case history arises from the studies that were initiated by the Prairie Regional Station of the Division of Building Research, National Research Council in 1960s as a part of a comprehensive field study program to investigate the problems associated with construction in/on an expansive soil in the Regina area. There is a good comparison between the results from the MEBM and the published data of measurements and estimations of soil heave over time. The encouraging results of this study suggest that the MEBM is a simple and promising approach for use in conventional engineering practice by geotechnical engineers for estimation of the heave over time of expansive soils.     

Mechanism of the Mudstone Tunnel Failures Induced by Expansive Clay Minerals

Expansive clay minerals can be a serious threat to underground rock structure because of their swelling behavior when absorbing water. Roof and wall collapse as well as large deformation were observed in Xiaotun Coal Mine, Guizhou Province, China. This paper studies the characteristics of expansive clays in order to understand the mechanism of the mudstone tunnel failures in the mine. The physical and mechanical properties of the tunnel surrounding rock samples, including mudstone, silty mudstone, argillaceous siltstone and fine sandstone were determined. X-ray diffraction analysis was conducted to determine the mineralogical composition while the scanning electron microscope was used to examine the internal structure of the different samples. The results indicate that the illite–smectite and the montmorillonite are the main minerals composing the rock samples. A series of micro-cracks and pores occur in the samples which suggest a good hydraulic conductivity. The results indicate that the mudstone has poorer mechanical properties in comparison to the fine sandstone. Also, the Flac3D numerical simulations were conducted and it was shown that the large deformations were consistent with the field observation due to weak mechanical properties of the surrounding rock under seepage action especially with the increase of water head and porosity. It is concluded that internal structure and mechanical strength of the mudstone is weakened by the illite–smectite and the montmorillonite mineral content as well as the combined action of underground water causing physical disintegration.     

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.     

Consolidation and Drainage Characteristics of Expansive Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash and Dolochar

Expansive soils undergo alternate swelling and shrinkage due to cyclic wetting and drying when left to nature. This property of Expansive soil affects its strength and stiffness characteristics thereby causing damage and distress to structures built on them. Industrial wastes can be added scientifically to these soils in modifying and reducing their swelling and shrinkage behaviour and increasing their strength and stiffness. In this technical article, an attempt has been made to study the compressibility and drainage characteristics of these soils using economic and ecofriendly industrial wastes such as Fly Ash and Dolochar as stabilizers. This paper also focuses on many other improved engineering properties of base soil like liquid limit, plasticity index, differential free swell, compaction and consolidation characteristics of Expansive (BC) soil stabilized with Fly Ash and Dolochar in different proportions. The virgin Expansive soil has been collected from eastern part of India (Odisha) and different percentages of Fly Ash (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 %) and Dolochar (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 %) were added to it, to predict the influence of these additives on compaction and consolidation characteristics of Expansive soil. Addition of both Fly Ash and Dolochar were found to decrease the index properties such as liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, swelling index and enhancing the consolidation as well as drainage characteristics of Expansive soil. However, the maximum dry density of soil was found to decrease with addition of Fly Ash and increase with addition of Dolochar.     

基于集对分析的膨胀土胀缩性Vague集评价模型

膨胀土胀缩性等级评价是膨胀土地区工程治理中的首要问题。本文探讨了基于集对分析的膨胀土胀缩性等级评价模型,以克服膨胀土胀缩性评价指标的不确定性和复杂性。模型以Vague集描述膨胀土胀缩性等级的确定性和不确定性,并应用集对分析构造Vague集的隶属函数。通过实例应用及与其他方法评价结果的对比分析,表明该模型应用于膨胀土胀缩性等级评价是有效可行的,且具有判断结果准确、易于操作等优点。     

Effect of Fly Ash and Rice Husk Ash on Index and Engineering Properties of Expansive Clays

Many innovative ameliorating techniques including chemical stabilization have been in practice for improving the behaviour of problematic, highly expansive clays. This paper presents a comparative study on the effect of fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA) on index and engineering properties of an expansive clay. Liquid limit (LL), plastic limit, plasticity index (PI) and free swell index (FSI), and coefficient of permeability (k), unconfined compressive strength and swelling pressure were determined at varying quantities of FA and RHA. Coefficient of permeability, swelling pressure and unconfined compressive strength of the FA-clay and the RHA-clay blends were determined at their respective OMC and MDD obtained from Proctor compaction tests. LL, PI and FSI decreased significantly with increasing FA and RHA contents. Coefficient of permeability, however, increased with additive content. Further, swelling pressure of the blends decreased with increasing additive content.     

Sorption of Cesium on Clay Colloids: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

Sorption of radionuclides onto stable colloids can significantly enhance their transport in groundwater. Batch adsorption studies were performed to evaluate the influence of various experimental parameters like initial pH, contact time, temperature and concentration of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions on the sorption of Cs on clay. The sorption process is dependent on pH of the solution with distribution coefficient (K _d) found to increase with increase in pH. The kinetic experiments were carried out at different temperatures, and the results have shown that the sorption process fits well into a pseudo-second-order mechanism with apparent activation energy of 45.7?kJ/mol. The rate constant was found to decrease with increase in temperature. The thermodynamic parameters such as ?G ⁰, ?H ⁰ and ?S ⁰ were calculated. The negative value of ?H ⁰ indicates that the reaction is exothermic. The negative values obtained for ?G ⁰ indicated that the sorption of cesium on clay was spontaneous at all studied concentrations. The distribution coefficient was found to decrease with increasing concentration of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions. The cesium sorption data were fitted to Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherms. The values of Langmuir separation factor (R _L) indicate a favorable Cs adsorption. The values of mean free energy of sorption (E) at various temperatures ranged from 10.5 to 11.1?kJ/mol, which indicates that the sorption process follows chemisorption.     

H24稳定剂对膨胀土的力学性质及其有效稳定期的影响

研究了天然膨胀土经Ｈ２４稳定剂－一种以含Ｎ有机阳离子化合物为主要成份的溶液－处理后其土力学性质的改变及有效稳定期的影响，研究结果表明，经Ｈ２４处理后，可使土的膨胀性和压缩性降低而内聚力、内摩擦角和渗透性增大。流动水对土壤中的Ｈ２４有脱附作用，但对其长期稳定膨胀土的能力不产生太大的影响。