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Fourth IGS-Ferroco Terzaghi Oration: 2014

Soil Clay Mineralogy and Physico-Chemical Mechanisms Governing the Fine-Grained Soil Behaviour

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Abstract

Engineering behavior of fine-grained soils depends upon the clay mineralogical composition of the soils and the pore medium chemistry as well. A greater part of the soil–pore liquid interaction is both physical and physico-chemical in nature. This can be attributed to the charge deficiency on the surfaces and edges of the clay platelets and the associated electrical attractive and repulsive forces. Clay minerals that are present in the fine-grained soils can be broadly grouped into kaolinitic and montmorillonitic types. This paper discusses in detail the physical and engineering behavior of fine-grained soils as influenced by the dominant clay minerals composing them and by the pore medium chemistry. It has been brought that the liquid limit, sediment volume, undrained shear strength and compressibility behavior of kaolinitic and montmorillonitic clayey soils are quite opposite to changes in the pore medium chemistry. The drained strength and secondary compression coefficient of both kaolinitic and montmorillonitic fine-grained soils are primarily controlled by the modified effective stress (i.e., net contact stress at the particle level), which takes into consideration both attractive and repulsive forces in addition to the conventional effective stress. The hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils is significantly influenced by the nature of the fluid, especially so in montmorillonitic soils.

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Acknowledgments

The author started his academic career more than five decades ago under the guidance of Prof. N.S. Govinda Rao, the then chairman of the department of civil engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who could be considered as the father of Civil Engineering Research in India. The author is highly grateful to Prof. N.S. Govinda Rao for the motivation and whole hearted timely support. The research atmosphere and the freedom of carrying out independent research the author enjoyed at IISc cannot be described in simple words. The author is thankful to all his former Ph.D., M.Sc (Engg.), and M.E Students whose significant contributions to the field of geotechnical engineering have made this lecture possible. The author is thankful to all his professional colleagues in India and abroad for their contribution towards this work he received during his research association with them. The author wishes to place on record his appreciations to Prof. K. Prakash, Head of the department of Civil Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore, for his continuous help during the preparation of this paper, in offering critical comments wherever needed and in reviewing the final version of the manuscript. His very useful comments have helped a great deal in bringing out the paper in the present form. The contribution of Mr. H.V. Naveen Kumar in formatting the paper is highly appreciated.

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    A. Sridharan

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Sridharan, A. Fourth IGS-Ferroco Terzaghi Oration: 2014. Indian Geotech J 44, 371–399 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-014-0136-0

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