Investigation of the hydraulic efficiency of sand-natural expansive clay mixtures

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the hydraulic performance of a sand-natural expansive clay mixture in comparison with sand-bentonite mixture. Natural expansive clay used in this study was obtained from Al-Qatif region, Saudi Arabia. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was evaluated for different mixtures of sand-Al Qatif clay with clay contents ranging from 10% to 60% clay. Similarly, the saturated hydraulic conductivity of sand-bentonite mixtures with different bentonite contents (0%, 5%, 10% and 20%) was also evaluated. All hydraulic conductivity tests were performed under different confining pressures. Test results revealed that sand-Al-Qatif clay mixtures can perform adequately as a hydraulic barrier; however, with Al-Qatif clay contents greater than that used for sand-bentonite mixtures. This is attributed to difference between clay mineralogy between Al-Qatif clay and bentonite. In addition a quantitative approach is proposed to assess the hydraulic conductivity of sand-Al-Qatif clay mixtures in comparison to that for sand-bentonite mixtures. Finally, soil fabric of mixtures was examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique to observe differences in fabric between sand-Al-Qatif clay and sand-bentonite mixtures.