Engineering Geology 53 (1999) 351358

Swellingshrinkage properties and soil improvement of compacted expansive soil, Ning-Liang Highway, China
Yanjun Du a,*, Shenglin Li b, Shigenori Hayashi c
a Faculty of Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga 840, Japan b Earth Sciences Department, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, Peoples Republic of China c Institute of Lowland Technology, Saga University, Saga 840, Japan Received 5 February 1997; accepted 9 December 1998

Abstract In this paper, the swellingshrinkage properties of the compacted expansive soil in the Huaiyin Section of the NingLian Highway are introduced, and swellingshrinkage mechanisms are discussed based on changes in soil water content, dry density, material composition and fabric. The improvement of the compacted expansive soil by lime is also discussed briey. It is concluded that careful attention should be paid to this type of compacted expansive soil. 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Expansive soil; Fabric; Soil improvement; Swellingshrinkage behavior

1. Introduction Under natural undisturbed conditions, some clayey soils show a certain level of swellingshrinkage, but their swelling grades are low. When disturbed, compacted and then used for embankments and roadbeds, their natural structures are destroyed and cementing bonds broken, the water content decreases, the dry density becomes high and the swellingshrinkage indexes increase. In this way they may become high swelling grade expansive soils. Research has shown that most cracks in embankments and roadbeds are due to
* Corresponding author. Present address: Institute of Lowland Technology, Saga University, Honjo 1, Saga 840-8502, Japan. Fax: +81-952-28-8189; E-mail address: dyanjun@hotmail.com ( Y. Du)

ignorance of this problem. Thus, in engineering works such as the Ning-Lian Highway (Fig. 1), sucient attention should be paid to this type of expansive soil.

2. Swellingshrinkage properties In this paper, the investigated expansive soils are alluvial sedimented materials. All are overconsolidated. From Table 1, it can be seen that under natural undisturbed conditions, swellingshrinkage indexes of these soils are low except for the yellow silty soil. Swellingshrinkage indexes in the paper are: swelling pressure, swelling percentage under 50 kPa and total swelling percentage. Swelling

0013-7952/99/$ see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0 0 1 3 -7 9 5 2 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 08 6 - 6

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Fig. 1. A sketch of highway construction in Jiangsu Province.

pressure is measured using an oedometer, under 100% saturation of the soil specimen. The swelling percentage under 50 kPa (d ) is also measured ep50 using an oedometer with 50 kPa vertical pressure load on soil specimens under 100% saturation. The total swelling percentage (d ) is calculated as: ps d =d +l (ww ), in which l is the soil shrinkps ep50 s s s age coecient, w is the shrinkage limit, and w is s the natural water content. The swelling indexes become high for remolded and compacted specimens ( Table 1). For example, the swelling pressure of a type of soil named grey soil increases by 27 times, varying from 22 kPa to 587 kPa, while that of so-called black soil increases by 38 times, ranging from 10.1 kPa to 385 kPa. The swelling pressure of greyish-yellow soil increase by about seven times, changing from 40 kPa to 276 kPa. Only the

yellow silty soil remains non-expansive, even after remolding and compaction. Another indication is that the swelling percentage under 50 kPa of undisturbed soil is below zero, and increases above zero (except for the yellow silty soil ) after being compacted. The increasing rate is of the same order as that of the swelling pressure. The total swelling percentage (d ) is a complex index which well ps describes the swellingshrinkage properties of soil. d of the undisturbed soils becomes relatively ps higher after being compacted, d of the grey soil ps being the largest. It increases nearly three times, from 4.3% to 11.8%, and that of yellow silty soil is the lowest. According to Li et al. (1992), soils with d greater than 0.7% should be considered ps as expansive. So these compacted soils are expansive soils, excluding the yellow silty one.

Y. Du et al. / Engineering Geology 53 (1999) 351358 Table 1 Comparison of swellingshrinkage indexes between compacted and undisturbed soils Index Swelling pressure (kPa) Soil type grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil Undisturbed soil 22 10.1 40 6 0.7 1.9 1.2 3.7 4.3 7.3 2.9 0.7 moderate high low non Compacted soil 587 385 276 7.5 11.8 7.3 5.5 0.5 11.8 7.5 6.2 0.4 high high high non

353

U/C 27 38 7 1

d (%) ep50

d (%) ps

3.0 1.0 2.0 1.0

Swellingshrinkage classication

d =swelling percentage under 50 kPa; d =total swelling percentage; U=undisturbed soil; C=compacted soil. ep50 ps

3. Mechanisms 3.1. Change in dry density and water content From Table 2, it can be seen that dry densities of undisturbed soils are larger while water contents are lower compared with compacted soils. The change in dry density and water content is a direct reason for the dierent swellingshrinkage properties between compacted soils and undisturbed soils. The swelling of soil is due to a moisture lm forming around the particles as a result of reaction between the clay particles and water. As the thickness of moisture lm increases, the volume of the

soil increases also. This phenomenon varies depending on the conditions of dry density and water content. For example, for a specimen with low water content, the formation of a moisture lm is easy and it reaches maximum thickness in a short time. However, when the dry density is high, there are more clay particles per volume of soil (this is of benet to the swelling), and thus the reactions between particles and water are more important. The dry densities of compacted soils in Table 2 are higher and their water contents are lower. On the contrary, undisturbed soils show no such performance. Thus it is clear that the degree of water saturation plays an important role in soil swelling.

Table 2 Comparison of dry density and water content between compacted and undisturbed soils Soil type Dry density (g/cm3) Undisturbed soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil 1.33 1.30 1.54 1.55 Compacted soil 1.74 1.60 1.71 1.63 Water content (%) Undisturbed soil 34.2 43.9 27.4 25.8 Compacted soil 19.5 24.5 20.0 14.2

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3.2. Material composition It is not the case that all soils become articially expansive after remolding and compaction. Only those which have hydrophilic clay mineral and clay particle contents close to those of expansive soils may change to articially expansive after compaction. All the soils shown in Table 3 have high illite contents, but illitesmectite mixed-layer mineral percentages are high only in grey soil and greyish-yellow soil. Meanwhile, both smectite and illite are hydrophilic clay minerals, so the swelling abilities of compacted grey soil and greyish-yellow soil are high. Besides, the clay particle content also has an important inuence on compacted soil properties. Though yellow silty soil is composed mainly of illite, it contains only 2.8% of clay particles. Therefore, its properties vary little after compaction. Tahir (1992) also indicated that clay particle content has an inuence not only on the change in dry density but also on the features of the soil fabric. 3.3. Change in fabric Undisturbed soil is the result of its geological and stress/strain history. After long and compliTable 3 Material composition of soils Soil type Clay mineral composition (%) I grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil 56 58 39 62 ISm 19 trace 35 trace

cated natural events, undisturbed soil mass develops a certain structural strength, and strong connections form among soil particles. This can partly suppress the swelling. On the contrary, in laboratory compacted soil which has been ground, remolded and compacted, its original structure is destroyed, the natural structural strength is lowered, and thus factors suppressing swelling are removed, making swelling easier. Table 4, which well describes the fabric dierences between compacted soils and undisturbed soils, can explain the phenomenon quite clearly. To get the scanning electronic microscope (SEM ) photographs, all the specimens were prepared by the freeze-dry method using a freezevacuum sublimation desiccator. In this way, specimens can meet the microscopic test requirements. Details of the device are discussed by Li et al. (1992). From Table 4 and Figs. 27, it can be seen, except for yellow silty soil, that the fabrics of undisturbed soils have changed after compaction. The fabrics of compacted soils are mainly of turbulent or turbulent-orientation aspects (Osipov, 1979), their pores distribute homogeneously and form rows of channels (Fig. 2). When soil is immersed in water, water can penetrate easily along these channels, which makes aggregated

Clay particle content (%) Ch 9 19 20 20 51.9 56.1 50.3 2.8

I=illite; ISm=illite and smectite mixed-layer mineral; Ch=chlorite. Table 4 Comparison of fabrics between compacted and undisturbed soils Soil type grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil Undisturbed soil turbulent fabric aggregate fabric matrix fabric (Osipov, 1979) aggregate-skeletal fabric Compacted soil turbulent-orientation fabric turbulent-orientation fabric turbulent fabric aggregate-skeletal fabric

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Fig. 2. SEM photograph of grey undisturbed soil.

Fig. 5. SEM photograph of black compacted soil.

Fig. 3. SEM photograph of grey compacted soil.

Fig. 6. SEM photograph of greyish-yellow undisturbed soil.

Fig. 4. SEM photograph of black undisturbed soil.

Fig. 7. SEM photograph of greyish-yellow compacted soil.

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Table 5 Variation of swellingshrinkage indexes and unconned compression strength of compacted soils before and after lime treatment Swelling indexes Swelling pressure (kPa) Soil type grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil grey soil black soil greyish-yellow soil yellow silty soil Pre-treatment 587 385 276 7.5 11.8 7.3 5.5 0.5 11.8 7.5 6.2 0.4 collapse collapse collapse collapse high high high non Post-treatment 30 134 37 10 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 1.25 0.4 0.2 893 423 1191 101 non low non non

d (%) ep50

d (%) ps

Unconned compression strength (kPa) (after seven days soaking in water)

Swellingshrinkage classication

d =swelling percentage under 50 kPa; d =total swelling percentage. ep50 ps

Fig. 8. Comparison of total swelling percentage between pre- and post-time treatment of compacted expansive soils (44 grey soil; 64 black soil; 132 greyish-yellow soil; 80 yellow silty soil ).

particles react with water suciently. As for the fabrics of undisturbed soils, most of the pores are micro ones and they do not distribute homogeneously. So water penetrates into the soil with

diculty. The comparison of the fabrics between compacted soils and undisturbed soils well explains this point due to osmotic swelling. Furthermore, the presence of illite can inuence the behavior,

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Fig. 9. Comparison of swelling pressure between pre- and post-treatment of compacted expansive soils (44 grey soil; 64 black soil; 132 greyish-yellow soil; 80 yellow silty soil ).

by water intake into the interlayer space between particles. The fabric of yellow silty soil does not vary obviously prior to and after compaction, the size of structural elements does not change much either, the dry density and structure connection forces of undisturbed soil are close to those of compacted soil. Therefore, the swellingshrinkage properties do not dier much. We were not able to evaluate the role of organic matter in the soil fabric during this project.

4. Soil improvement To reduce the swelling, 8 wt.% lime was added to the compacted expansive soil specimens and homogeneously mixed. 24 h under laboratory conditions were allowed to pass for sucient reaction between the lime and the expansive soil specimen. The water content of the mixture was allowed to reach an optimum and, to carry out the swelling test, the dry density of the specimen was also permitted to reach a maximum. For the unconned compression strength test after seven days soaking in water, each specimen was formed into a 45 cm2 cylinder. From Table 5 and Figs. 8 and 9, it is clear that the improvement in the grey soil is the best, with its swelling pressure dropping to 33 kPa, its total swelling percentage dropping to 0.4%, and the unconned compression strength increasing from 0 to 893 kPa. The improvement in the black soil

is relatively poorer, with its swelling pressure dropping to 134 kPa, and its total swelling percentage dropping to 1.25%. This soil therefore still belongs to the category of expansive soil. The reason for this may be that the organic matter content of the black soil is 1.5%, which is as much as seven times that of the grey soil. Among the soils, the improvement result of the yellow silty soil is the poorest. With sucient reaction between the compacted expansive soil and the lime, a change in the exchange cation causes the aggregation of the clay particles, the appearance of cemented ne needle lime among the clay particles, and a change in soil fabric is also observed (Li et al., 1992). The fabric becomes more dense compared with the untreated compacted expansive soil. This is also shown by SEM photographs. The physical and mechanical properties of the compacted expansive soil are therefore improved.

5. Conclusion The breakdown of the cementing bonds and the change in the fabric are the main factors aecting the change in swelling ability and pressure of the compacted expansive soil. Careful attention should be paid to such soils in engineering works. Improvement by lime ameliorates swelling damage.

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Y. Du et al. / Engineering Geology 53 (1999) 351358 Osipov, V.I., 1979. Nature of Strength and Deformation Properties of Clayey Soils and Rocks. Moscow University Publishing House, pp. 58102 (in Russian). Tahir, A.A., 1992. Collapse mechanisms of low cohesion compacted soils. Bull. Assoc. Eng. Geol. 4, 345353.

References
Li, S. et al., 1992. Study on the Engineering Geology of Expansive Soils in China. Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House, pp. 129140.