Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Study on the swelling behaviour of blended clay–sand soils

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Geotechnical and Geological Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soils containing expansive clays undergo swelling that can be both detrimental and beneficial in various applications. In the Arabian Gulf coastal region, natural heterogeneous soils containing clay and sand (tills, shales, and clayey sands) support most of the civil infrastructure systems. Likewise, mixes of clay and sand are used for local earthwork construction such as roads and landfills. A clear understanding of the swelling behaviour of such soils is pivotal at the outset of all construction projects. The main objective of this paper was to understand the evolution of swelling with increasing clay content in local soils. A theoretical framework for clay–sand soils was developed using phase relationships. Laboratory investigations comprised of mineralogical composition and geotechnical index properties of the clay and sand and consistency limits, swelling potential, and morphology of clay–sand mixes. Results indicated that soil consistency of mixes of a local expansive clay and an engineered sand depends on the weighted average of the constituents. Mixes with 10% clay through 40% clay capture the transition from a sand-like behaviour to a clay-like behaviour. Influenced by the initial conditions and soil matrix, the swelling potential of the investigated mixes correlated well with soil plasticity (SP(%) = 0.16 (I p)1.188). The parameters sand void ratio and clay–water ratio were found to better explain the behaviour of blended clay–sand soils.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abduljauwad SN (1994) Swelling behaviour of calcareous clays from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Quart J Eng Geol 27(4):333–351

    Google Scholar 

  • Abduljauwad SN, Al-Sulaimani GJ, Basunbul IA, Al-Buraim I (1998) Laboratory and field studies of response of structures to heave of expansive clay. Geotechnique 48(1):103–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aiban SA, Al-Abdul Wahhab HI, Al-Amoudi OSB, Ahmed HR (1998) Performance of a stabilized marl base: a case study. Construct. Build. Mater. 12(6–7): 329–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Shayea NA (2000) Inherent heterogeneity of sediments in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – a case study. Eng Geol 56(3–4):305–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azam S (2003) Influence of mineralogy on swelling and consolidation of soils in eastern Saudi Arabia. Can Geotech J 40(5):964–975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azam S (2006) Large-scale odometer for assessing swelling and consolidation behaviour of Al-Qatif clay. In: Al-Rawas AA, Goosen MFA (eds) Expansive soils: recent advances in characterization and treatment. Balkema Publishers-Taylor and Francis, The Netherlands, pp 85–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell FG (1993) Engineering geology. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassagrande A (1948) Classification and identification of soils. Trans ASCE 113:901–930

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen FH (1988) Foundation on expansive soils. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Dakshanamanty V, Raman V (1973) A simple method of identifying an expansive soil. Soils Found Jpn Soc Soil Mech Found Eng 13(1):97–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel DE, Wu YK (1993) Compacted clay liners and covers for arid sites. J Geotech Eng 119(2):223–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon D, Chandler N, Graham J, Gray MN (2002) Two large-scale sealing tests conducted at Atomic Energy of Canada’s underground research laboratory: the buffer-container experiment and the isothermal test. Can Geotech J 39(3):503–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Holtz WG, Gibbs HJ (1956) Engineering properties of expansive clays. Trans ASCE 121:641–677

    Google Scholar 

  • Holtz WG, Kovacs WD (1981) An introduction to geotechnical engineering. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Komine H, Ogata N (2003) New equations for swelling characteristics of bentonite-based buffer materials. Can Geotech J 40(2):460–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JK, Soga K (2005) Fundamentals of soil behavior, 3rd edn. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., NY, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Pusch R (1999) Microstructural evolution of buffers. Eng Geol 54(1–2):33–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seed HB, Woodward RJ Jr, Lundgren R (1962) Prediction of swelling potential for compacted clays. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 88(SM3):53–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Seed HB, Woodward RJ Jr, Lundgren R (1964) Clay mineralogical aspects of the Atterberg limits. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 90(SM4):107–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons H, Reuter E (1984) Physical and chemical behaviour of clay-based barriers under percolation with test liquids. Eng Geol 21(3–4):301–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Sivapullaiah PV, Sridharan A, Stalin VK (1996) Swelling behaviour of soil-bentonite mixtures. Can Geotech J 33(5):808–814

    Google Scholar 

  • Skempton AW (1953) The colloidal activity of clay. In: Proceedings of the third international conference on soil mechanics and foundation engineering, London, vol 1, pp 57–61

  • Smart P, Tovey NK (1982) Electron microstructure of soils and sediments: techniques. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Merwe DH (1964) The prediction of heave from the plasticity index and percentage clay fraction of soils. Civil Eng S Afr 6(6):103–107

    Google Scholar 

  • van Olphen H (1991) An introduction to clay colloidal chemistry, 2nd edn. Krieger Publishing, Florida

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickland BE, Wilson GW (2005) Research of co-disposal of tailings and waste rock. Geotech News 23(3):35–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Windal T (2002) Design of tunnels in swelling soils: determination of swelling soil properties. Fluid Dyn Fluid-Struct Interact High Explos Detonat 446(1):81–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood DM (1992) Soil behaviour and critical state soil mechanics. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Yong RN (1999) Soil suction and soil-water potentials in swelling clays in engineered clay barriers. Eng Geol 54(1–2):3–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the support of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for providing laboratory space and computing facilities. Thanks to Dr. J.D. Scott, Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta, for his invaluable suggestions during the write up of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, 6350 Stores Road, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Shahid Azam

Authors
  1. Shahid Azam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shahid Azam.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Azam, S. Study on the swelling behaviour of blended clay–sand soils. Geotech Geol Eng 25, 369–381 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-006-9116-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-006-9116-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation