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Collapse of Calcareous Silty Clay: Implication of Calcite Content and Wetting Fluid Type

Lookup NU author(s): Alfred Opukumo, Professor Stephanie Glendinning, Dr Colin DavieORCiD

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Abstract

© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Collapse occurs in soils as a result of inter-particle bond breakage caused by wetting and/or stressing. Inter-particle bond is usually provided by either suction, clay, calcium carbonate or other salts but upon wetting and/or loading they undergo repacking due to bond softening/weakening. Despite the large body of research in this subject, there is still poor understanding of the process of softening/weakening and the collapse mechanism of certain bond elements, particularly CaCO3, considering its low solubility in water. Because CaCO3 is common in natural soils, reaching 1–30% contents in most commonly known natural collapsible soil, understanding its influence on the collapse phenomenon is crucial for geotechnical characterization of soils. In this study, the impact of calcite bond content and wetting fluid type on the collapse potential (CP) and rate of collapse of calcareous silty-clay soils are investigated. CP was estimated by the percentage decrease in height of an oedometer specimen due to wetting. Distilled water and a 5% acid solution (AS) were used as wetting fluids. Wetting was mainly done at 300 kPa overburden stress. Results reveal that the magnitude and rate of collapse are controlled mainly by the calcite content, and pH of wetting fluid. Both magnitude and rate of collapse decrease with increasing CaCO3 content. Increasing clay content resulted in higher CP for non-calcareous samples but resulted in lower CP for calcareous samples. Wetting with acid solution demonstrated higher CP and tends to prolong time to reach complete collapse resulting also in long-term collapse.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Opukumo AW, Glendinning S, Davie CT

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering

Year: 2023

Volume: 42

Pages: 165-184

Online publication date: 29/07/2023

Acceptance date: 09/07/2023

ISSN (print): 0960-3182

ISSN (electronic): 1573-1529

Publisher: Springer Nature

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-023-02563-w

DOI: 10.1007/s10706-023-02563-w

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