Evaluation and Prediction of the Swelling Characteristics of Nigerian Black Clays

The swelling characteristics of black clays from two major areas of occurrence in Borno State, Nigeria, were investigated in the laboratory. Clay samples derived from lagoonal clay deposits showed high swelling tendencies while those samples derived from Olivine basalts showed medium to high swelling tendencies. Although interparticle swelling was the dominant swelling mechanism, soil samples with higher clay contents exhibited higher swelling tendencies. The developed predictive models show that the free swell percentage as well as the swelling pressure can be predicted from measured values of electrical conductivity, specific gravity, clay content and plasticity index. On the other hand, swell percent can be predicted from measured values of electrical conductivity and specific gravity only.