Specific surface area effect on compressibility behaviour of clayey soils Available to Purchase

In this study, the effect of specific surface area on compressibility and permeability characteristics of remoulded and intact clayey soils was investigated. Fifteen remoulded and 15 intact soils with a wide range of physicochemical properties were tested. The results indicate that specific surface area has a significant effect on compressibility and permeability behaviour of clayey soils. In addition to other soil index properties, specific surface area can be used for estimating these engineering properties. Significantly high correlation coefficient (r = 0·97) between compression index (C_c) and the specific surface area is observed for remoulded clayey soils with only methylene blue-spot specific surface area. There is no significant correlation between the BET-N₂ specific surface area and C_c. The effect of the remoulded water content on proposed specific surface area and C_c relationship is also investigated. The results show that as specific surface area of soils increases, c_v decreases, indicating the importance of the diffuse double layer on the consolidation process. The results also reveal that permeability is controlled by the specific surface area of soils. In addition, the data obtained in this study indicate that there is a linear correlation between C_c/n₀ and C_c, which indicates the significance of initial void ratio on the compressibility characteristics of soils.