Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T15:49:19.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The engineering geology of clay minerals: swelling, shrinking and mudrock breakdown

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

R. K. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering (Engineering Geology), University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
T. J. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering (Engineering Geology), University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE

Abstract

Swelling, shrinking and physical breakdown processes are reviewed with reference to well-known mudrock and overconsolidated clay formations in the UK and USA. Swelling results from two processes: the equilibration of depressed porewater pressures following stress relief, and the physico-chemical (osmotic) response of component clay minerals. Expansion in Na-smectite, and to a lesser extent Ca-smectite, clays is governed by double-layer swelling, whereas in kaolinites it is purely a mechanical unloading phenomenon; illites show an intermediate response. Intraparticle swelling in mudrocks older than the Silurian in the UK, or Upper Mississippian in the USA, can be expected to be reduced because of the removal of expandable layers by burial diagenesis. Shrinkage, like mudrock breakdown, is restricted to the partly saturated zone. Suction pressure-moisture content curves of indurated mudrocks are shown to be different from mudrocks and clays with high proportions of expandable clay minerals. Classification of expansion potential based on activity ratio poses problems with indurated types, but with some modification of method reasonable predictions can be made. Controls on physical disintegration are identified as: (i) incidence of sedimentary structures and discontinuities, (ii) slaking (air breakage), (iii) expandable clay mineral content, especially smectite, and (iv) clay mineral fabric orientation. Exceptionally high exchangeable sodium percentages have been measured in Coal Measures rocks susceptible to breakdown.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersland, O.B. & Anderson, D.M. (1978) Geotechnical Engineering for Cold Regions. McGraw-Hill Book Co., London.Google Scholar
Aylmore, L.A.C. & Quirk, J.P. (1959) Swelling of clay-water systems. Nature 183, 17521753.Google Scholar
Badger, C.W., Cummings, A.D. & Whitmore, R.L. (1956) The disintegration of shales in water. J. Inst. Fuel 29, 417423.Google Scholar
Beckett, P.J., Cummings, A.D. & Whitmore, R.L. (1958) Interfacial properties of coal measure shales in water. Proc. Conf. Science in Use of Coal, Sheffield University, 14-19.Google Scholar
Berkovitch, I., Manackerman, M. & Potter, N.M. (1959) The shale breakdown problem in coal washing. Part 1—assessing the breakdown of shales in water. J. Inst. Fuel 32, 579589.Google Scholar
Bjerrum, L. (1967) Progressive failure in slopes of overconsolidated clay and clay shales. Proc. J. Soil Mech. Fdns. Div., Amer. Soc. Civil Engrs. 93, 149.Google Scholar
Blackmore, A.V. & Miller, R.D. (1961) Tactoid size and osmotic swelling in calcium montmorillonite. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 25, 169173.Google Scholar
Bolt, G.H. (1956) Physico-chemical analysis of the compressibility of pure clays. Géotechnique 4, 8693.Google Scholar
British Standard 1377 (1975) Methods of Test for Soils for Civil Engineering Purposes. British Standards Institution, London.Google Scholar
Building Research Establishment (1980) Low-rise buildings on shrinkable clay soils: Part 1. BRE Digest 240, HMSO, London.Google Scholar
Carroll, D. & Starkey, H.C. (1958) Effect of sea-water on clay minerals. Clays Clay Miner. 7, 80101.Google Scholar
Chapman, H.D. (1965) Cation exchange capacity. Pp. 7711572 in: Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2 (Black, C. A., editor). American Society of Agronomy.Google Scholar
Chamaerlain, E.A.C. & Glover, H.G. (1976) Water quality systems in coal measure formations in Great Britain. Proc. Syrup. Environmental Problems Resulting from Coal Mining Activities, Katowice, Poland, 1822.Google Scholar
Chenevert, M.E. (1970) Adsorptive pore pressures of argillaceous rocks, in Rock Mechanics Theory and Practice. Proc. 11th Syrup. A.I.M.E., 599-627.Google Scholar
Childs, E.C. (1969) An Introduction to the Physical Basis of Soil Water Phenomena. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., London.Google Scholar
Croney, D., Coleman, J.D. & Black, W.P.M. (1958) The movement and distribution of water in soil in relation to highway design and performance. Highway Research Board Special Paper 40, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Croney, D., Coleman, J.D. & Bridge, P.M. (1952) The suction of moisture held in soils and other porous material. Road Research Technical Paper 24, HMSO, London.Google Scholar
Delage, P. & Lefebvre, G. (1984) Study of the structure of a sensitive Champlain clay and of its evolution dotng consolidation. Can. Geotech. J. 21, 2135.Google Scholar
Driscoll, R. (1983) The influence of vegetation on the swelling and shrinking of clay soils in Britain. Géotechnique, 33, 93105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Driscoll, R. (1984) The effects of clay volume changes on low-rise buildings. Pp. 268302 in: Ground Movements and Their Effects on Structures (Attewell, P. B. and Taylor, R. K., editors). Surrey Univ. Press/Blackie Group, Glasgow.Google Scholar
Emerson, W.W. (1967) A classification of soil aggregates based on their coherence in water. Austral. J. Soil Res. 5, 4757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grim, R.E. (1968) Clay Mineralogy. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.Google Scholar
Harper, T.R., Appel, G., Pendleton, M.W., Szymanski, J.S. & Taylor, R.K. (1979) Swelling strain development in sedimentary rock in northern New York. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr. 16, 271292.Google Scholar
Hogentogler, C.A. (1937) Engineering Properties of Soils. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Holtz, W.G. (1983) The influence of vegetation on the swelling and shrinking of clays in the United States of America. Géotechnique 33, 159163.Google Scholar
Horton, A.E., Manackerman, M. & Raybould, W.E. (1964) The shale breakdown problem in coal washing, Part 2—some causes of shale breakdown and means for its control. J. Inst. Fuel 37, 5258.Google Scholar
Lambe, T.W. (1960) A mechanistic picture of shear strength in clay. Proc. Conf. Shear Strength Soils Colorado, 503532.Google Scholar
Lambe, T.W. & Whitman, R.V. (1969) Soil Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Lewis, W.A. & Croney, D. (1966) The properties of chalk in relation to road foundations and pavements. Proc. Syrup. on Chalk in Earthworks and Foundation, 2741. Institution of Civil Engineers, London.Google Scholar
Lutton, R.J. & Banks, D.C. (1970) Study of clay shale slopes along the Panama Canal. Report No. 1. East Culebra and West Culebra Slides and Model Slope. USAE Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg.Google Scholar
Macewan, D.M.C. (1948) Adsorption of montmorillonite and its relation to surface area adsorption. Nature 162, 935–36.Google Scholar
Macewan, D.M.C. (1954) Short range electrical forces between charged colloid particles. Nature 174, 3940.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madsen, E.T. (1979) Determination of the swelling pressure of claystones and marlstones using mineralogical data. Proc. 4th Cong. Int. Soc. Rock Mech. 1, 237243.Google Scholar
Mesri, G., Ullricn, C.R. & Choi, Y.K. (1978) The rate of swelling of over-consolidated clays subjected to unloading. Géotechnique 28, 281307.Google Scholar
Mitchell, J.E. (1960) The Application of Colliodal Theory to the Compressibility of Clays. Interparticle Forces in Clay-Water-Electrolyte Systems. CSIRO Melbourne.Google Scholar
Moum, J. & Rosenqvlst, I.Th. (1959) Sulphate attack on concrete in the Oslo region. J. Amer. Concrete Inst. Proc. 56, 257264.Google Scholar
Nichols, T.C. (1980) Rebound, its nature and effect on engineering works. Q. J. Eng. Geol. London. 13, 133152.Google Scholar
Norrish, K. & Quirk, J.P. (1954) Crystalline swelling of montmorillonite. Nature 173, 255257.Google Scholar
Olsen, R.E. & Mesri, G. (1970) Mechanisms controlling compressibility of clays. Int. Soil Mech. Fdns. Div. Am. Soc. Cir. Engrs. 96, 18631878.Google Scholar
Penman, A.D.M. (1978) Ground Water and Foundations. Pp. 204225 in: Foundation Engineering in Difficult Ground (Bell, F. G., editor). Newnes-Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Penner, E., Eden, W.J. & Gillott, J.E. (1973) Floor heave due to biochemical weathering of shale. Proc. 8th Int. Conf. Soil Mech. Found. Engng. Moscow, 2, 151158.Google Scholar
Pettijohn, F.J. (1975) Sedimentary Rocks. Harper & Bros., New York.Google Scholar
Ratsey, J. (1973) Shear Strength Characteristics of Certain Colliery Discards with Respect to Coal Rank. MSc. Thesis, University of Durham.Google Scholar
Reece, R.A. (1980) Insurance: the cost of mistakes. Proc. Sem. Trees in Relation to Construction, 2836. British Standards Institution, London.Google Scholar
Richards, B.J. (1967) Moisture flow and equilibria in unsaturated soils for shallow foundations. Pp. 434 in: Permeability and Capillarity of Soils. American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Shamburger, J.H., Patrick, D.M. & Lutton, R.J. (1975) Design and construction of compacted shale embankments, Vol 1: survey of problem areas and current practices, Report No. FHWA-RD-75-61 Prepared for Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C. NTIS Springfield, Virginia.Google Scholar
Shaw, H.F. (1981) Mineralogy and petrology of the argillaceous sedimentary rocks of the UK. Q. J. Eng. Geol. London 14, 277290.Google Scholar
Shaw, D.B. & Weaver, C.E. (1965) The mineralogical composition of shales. J. Sedim. Petrol. 35, 213222.Google Scholar
Sherard, J.L., Decker, R.S. & Ryker, N.L. (1972) Piping in earth dams of dispersing clay. Proc. Speciality Conf. Performance of Earth and Earth Supported Structures, 1, 589626. ASCE, New York.Google Scholar
Skempton, A.W. (1953) Soil mechanics in relation to geology. Proc. Yorks. Geol. Soc. 29, 3362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skempton, A.W. & Petley, D.J. (1967) The strength along structural discontinuities. Proc. Geotech. Conf. Oslo, 2, 2946.Google Scholar
Smith, T.J. (1978) Consolidation and other geotechnical properties of shales with respect to age and composition. PhD Thesis, University of Durham.Google Scholar
Spears, D.A. (1969) A laminated marine shale of Carboniferous age from Yorkshire, England. J. Sedim. Petrol. 39, 106112.Google Scholar
Spears, D.A. (1973) Relationship between exchangeable cations and palaeosalinity. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 38, 567576.Google Scholar
Spears, D.A. (1980) Towards a classification of shales. J. Geol. Soc. London 137, 125129.Google Scholar
Sridharan, A. (1968) Some studies on the strength of partly saturated clays. PhD thesis, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.Google Scholar
Sridharan, A. & Jayadeva, M.S.. (1982) Double layer theory and compressibility of ctays. Géotechnique 32, 133144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sridharan, A. & Venkatappa Rao, G. (1973) Mechanisms controlling volume change of saturated clays and the role of the effective stress concept. Géotechnique 23, 359382.Google Scholar
Taylor, R.K. (1984) Composition and Engineering Properties of British Colliery Discards. National Coal Board, London.Google Scholar
Taylor, R.K. & Cripps, J.C. (1984) Mineralogical controls on volume change. Pp. 268302 in: Ground Movements and Their Effects on Structures (Attewell, P. B. and Taylor, R. K., editors). Surrey Univ. Press/Blackie Group, Glasgow.Google Scholar
Taylor, R.K. & Spears, D.A. (1970) The breakdown of British coal measure rocks. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 7, 481501.Google Scholar
Terzaghi, K. (1931) The influence of elasticity and permeability on the swelling of two-phase systems. Pp. 6588 in: Colloid Chemistry, 3, Chemical Catalog Co., New York.Google Scholar
Terzaghi, K. & Peck, R.B. (1948) Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. John Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Van Eeckhout, L. (1976) The mechanisms of strength reduction due to moisture in coal mine shales. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 13, 6167.Google Scholar
Vaughan, P.R. & Walbancke, H.J. (1973) Pore pressure changes and delayed failure of cutting slopes in overconsolidated clay. Géotechnique, 23, 531539.Google Scholar
Verwey, E.J.W. & Overbeck, J.Th.G. (1948) Theory of Stability of Lyophobic Colloids. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Weaver, C.E. (1967) Potassium, illite and the ocean. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 31, 21812196.Google Scholar
White, W.A. (1961) Colloid phenomena in sedimentation of argillaceous rocks. J. Sedim. Petrol. 31,560570.Google Scholar
Williams, A.A.B. & Donaldson, G.W. (1980) Building on expansive soils in Southern Africa 1973-1980. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. Expansive Soils, 834844. ASCE, Denver.Google Scholar
Yaalon, D.H. (1962) Mineral composition of average shale. Clay Miner. Bull. 5, 31–6.Google Scholar
Yong, R.N. & Warkentin, B.P. (1975) Soil Properties and Behaviour. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam.Google Scholar