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Consolidation properties and structural alteration of Old Alluvium

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Abstract

We present experimental observations and a conceptual model for understanding the compression and swelling characteristics of Old Alluvium (OA) from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prior studies have classified OA as a transported, in situ weathered tropical soil whose intact macrostructure comprises a cemented, pseudo-silt with a mixture of quartz grains and aggregated clay particles. The aggregates include mixtures of kaolinite and smectite coated by Fe-oxides. The Fe-oxides also act as cementing agents between the particles. This study describes results from a series of high-pressure (up to 63 MPa) incremental consolidation tests. Breakdown of the clay aggregates and cemented structure is observed through changes in the compression properties, significant swelling during unloading, and an extraordinary reduction (i.e., by three orders of magnitude) in the coefficient of consolidation. These experimental observations are explained by a combination of mechanical processes, comminution and breakdown of cementing bonds, and physicochemical changes linking pore fluid in the intra- and inter-aggregate pore space. These processes alter the fundamental particle size distribution and macro-porosity of the soil and activate the swelling potential of the smectites concealed by the Fe-oxides coating in the intact material. The experimental observations provide the basis for the formulation of a constitutive model to describe macroscopic compression and swelling behavior of Old Alluvium and offer a framework to understand the response of piedmont transported residual soils found elsewhere.

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Acknowledgements

Research on the Old Alluvium was initially supported by a grant from GMAEC, Tren Urbano in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The authors are also grateful for support from the National Science Foundation through Grant No. CMS-008539. The lead author (MAN) also acknowledges the George and Marie Vergottis Fellowship for supporting her graduate studies at MIT. The authors thank 3 anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Funding

Funding was provided by GMAEC, Tren Urbano grant, San Juan, Puerto Rico, National Science Foundation Grant No. CMS-008539, and George and Marie Vergottis Fellowship (lead author).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Maria A. Nikolinakou

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Andrew J. Whittle

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    John T. Germaine

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Guoping Zhang

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  1. Maria A. Nikolinakou
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  2. Andrew J. Whittle
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Contributions

MN contributed to conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing—original draft, and visualization. AW was involved in conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing, and supervision. JG contributed to methodology, investigation, and supervision. GZ was involved in conceptualization, methodology, and investigation.

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Correspondence to Maria A. Nikolinakou.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

See Fig. 10 and Table 4.

Fig. 10.
figure 10

1D compression data of several resedimented clays [9], Singapore Old Alluvium [13], and San Juan Old Alluvium (this study; Fig. 4), a in loge–log\(\sigma_{{\text{v}}}^{\prime }\) space with slope of the Limiting Compression Curve, ρc; and b in e–log\(\sigma_{{\text{v}}}^{\prime }\) space with compressibility Cc. ρc = 0.434 Cc/e. Summary of ρc and Cc values as well as soil information in Table 4

Full size image
Table 4 ρc and Cc values for 2 compression levels (1–10 and 10–100 MPa), as well as liquid (wL) and plastic (Ip) limits, clay fraction (CF), and mineralogy for several resedimented clays [9], Singapore Old Alluvium [13], and San Juan Old Alluvium (this study; Fig. 4). Detailed mineralogy for Old Alluvium in Table 1
Full size table

Appendix 2

See Fig. 11.

Fig. 11
figure 11

Range of measured compression index, Cc, and measured swelling index Cs, from tests on Old Alluvium specimens. SJ1, SJ2, 101, 102 (red symbols) from this study (Figs. 3 and 4 and Tables 2 and 3). Oed 7,11,13 (Upper Clay, blue) and 8 (Middle Zone, brown) from Zhang [62]

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Appendix 3

See Table 5.

Table 5 Nomenclature
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Nikolinakou, M.A., Whittle, A.J., Germaine, J.T. et al. Consolidation properties and structural alteration of Old Alluvium. Acta Geotech. 17, 1569–1584 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-021-01330-6

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