Molecular Dynamic Study of the Swelling Behavior of Na-Montmorillonite

Abstract

Research Article| May 01, 2013 Molecular Dynamic Study of the Swelling Behavior of Na-Montmorillonite PRIYANTHI M. AMARASINGHE; PRIYANTHI M. AMARASINGHE 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, MD 1Corresponding author email: pamaras1@jhu.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. ANANDARAJAH A. ANANDARAJAH Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, MD Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2013) 19 (2): 173–183. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.19.2.173 Article history first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation PRIYANTHI M. AMARASINGHE, A. ANANDARAJAH; Molecular Dynamic Study of the Swelling Behavior of Na-Montmorillonite. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2013;; 19 (2): 173–183. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.19.2.173 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract Swelling of clays due to water saturation causes structural damage in civil engineering structures. At the microstructural level, swelling is caused by interlayer and interparticle (double-layer) forces. The present article is focused on the interlayer force with the specific objective of developing a force-displacement relation. On the basis of the variation of the pressure tensor with distance, the interlayer repulsive force is evaluated. The interlayer force-displacement relation is thus established. It is found that (a) the interlayer force for small particle separations can be hundreds of times the double-layer force at the corresponding separations, and (b) the interlayer force decays very quickly with increasing particle separation. The results indicate that the fundamental mechanism controlling swelling changes as the specimen's density changes, implying that mitigation strategies should depend on the density of the soil. The interlayer force-displacement relation is needed in assembly analyses such as the discrete element analysis. An ongoing study indicates that the interlayer force does not contribute to the overall swelling pressure when the void ratio is larger than a certain value. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.