Abstract
The durability of clay-bearing rocks has been a concern to the construction industry. Extensive research have been conducted to determine the durability of clay-bearing rocks in the laboratory. However, the influence of rainfall on the slaking of clay-bearing rocks in the tropical weather has not yet been studied quantitatively. This study was carried out at Miri, a city in Sarawak State of Malaysia. The average rainfall per year is between 3300 mm and 4600 mm while the humidity is ranging from 80 to 90%. The objective of this study is to assess how rainfall affects the slaking behavior of clay-bearing rocks mainly shale in this area. This research evaluated the suitability of natural slake test method to be used in the tropical climate. A new experiment setting and procedure of natural slake test are recommended. A total of 78 samples have been tested under 26 sets of rainfall events in a 24-h period. The results show that the slaking of shale in the study area is very susceptible to rainfall. When the rock samples are exposed to rainfall intensity of less than 2 mm/h, the slaking of samples were minimal. The slaking of samples become severe when rainfall intensity is higher than 2 mm/h.
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Acknowledgements
The authors want to thank Prof. Nagarajan, R. who gave geological advice to the selection of the site for the sampling, and Ms. Carrie Ho who shared the data of weathering station. The authors would also like to express their sincere appreciation to the Curtin staff and laboratory technicians: Ms. Ruth Tie Uong Tang, Ms. Henrietta Ramus Anak Henry Makim, Mr. Martin Anak Noel, Ms. Yuanna Anak Jubin, and Ms. Marilyn Andrew Anyi for their assistance and coordination of resources. Last but not least, the authors would like to thank Prof. Tzou-Shin Ueng of National Taiwan University who reviewed this manuscript meticulously and gave invaluable and constructive comments.
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This research is supported under the budget for final year projects by Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University Malaysia.
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TYL: methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing- original draft preparation, and project administration. VHL: conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, writing—reviewing and editing, supervision, and project administration. VKW: investigation, formal analysis, resources. KSW: writing- reviewing and editing, supervision.
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Lai, T.Y., Loo, V.H., Wong, V.K. et al. Modification of the Natural Slake Test and Assessment of Slaking Behavior of a Shale from Malaysia Under Rainfall. Geotech Geol Eng 40, 3169–3190 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-022-02085-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-022-02085-x