Abstract
The effects of external stress (σv) and compaction characteristics in terms of the compaction dry density (ρd) and compaction moisture content (w0) on the swelling characteristics of an expansive clay are evaluated in this study. An oedometer that is modified to prevent the consolidation of the specimens under the σv before wetting was used to determine the development of the swelling pressure (ps) and the swelling strain (εs) with moisture content (w). Experimental results demonstrate that (i) the swelling pressure at the saturated condition monotonically increases with the increasing ρd while first increases then decreases with the increasing w0; (ii) the ps-w and εs-w relationships are bilinear. The w values at their turning points (denoted as the swelling limit for the swelling pressure, wSp and swelling limit for the swelling strain, wSv, respectively) indicate the full saturation of the micropores within specimens; (iii) the wSp values are lower than the wSv values. The wSp decreases slightly with the increasing ρd. The wSv is not sensitive to the ρd and w0 but generally decreases with the increasing σv, which indicates that the external load restrains the swelling of the micropores; (iv) at the saturated condition, the εs-logσv relationships are linear and their slope is not sensitive to the ρd; (v) the slope of the εs-w relationships during the primary swelling stage decreases as the σv increases. Experimental studies presented in this paper would be useful for better understanding and predicting the swelling characteristics of expansive soils.
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Abbreviations
- G s :
-
Specific gravity
- I p :
-
Plasticity index
- m :
-
Parameter for the εs-t relationship model
- n :
-
Parameter for the ps-w relationship model
- p s :
-
Swelling pressure
- p s0 :
-
Swelling pressure at the saturated condition
- S r :
-
Degree of saturation
- t :
-
Time
- t 0 :
-
Parameter for the εs-t relationship model
- w :
-
Moisture content
- w 0 :
-
Compaction moisture content
- w l :
-
Liquid limit
- w n :
-
In-situ moisture content
- w opt :
-
Optimum moisture content
- w p :
-
Plastic limit
- w s :
-
Shrinkage limit
- w Sp :
-
Swelling limit for swelling pressure
- w Sp :
-
Swelling limit for swelling pressure
- w Sv :
-
Swelling limit for swelling strain
- w Sv :
-
Swelling limit for swelling strain
- δ :
-
Slope of the εs-w relationships
- δ s :
-
Free swell ratio
- ε s :
-
Swelling strain
- ε s0 :
-
Swelling strain t free swelling
- ρ d :
-
Dry density
- ρ dmax :
-
Maximum dry density
- ρ dn :
-
In-situ dry density
- σ v :
-
Vertical stress
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Acknowledgements
Studies presented in this paper were sponsored by the Key Science and Technology Research Projects of HenanProvince (Grant Nos 222102320376, 232102321002) and the Research Fund for High Level Talents of LuoyangInstitute of Science and Technology (Grant NO.21010625).
Funding
The Funding has been received from the Key Science and Technology Research Projects of HenanProvince with Grant nos. 222102320376, 232102321002; Research Fund for High Level Talents of LuoyangInstitute of Science and Technology with grant no. 21010625.
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WY: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, validation, original draft, funding acquisition; LC: methodology, project administration, review and editing; SY: methodology, review & editing, formal analysis.
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Wei, Y., Liu, C. & Shu, Y. Effects of compaction conditions and external stress on the one-dimensional swelling behaviors of expansive clay. Environ Earth Sci 82, 194 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-10883-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-10883-6