Prediction of Compressibility Data for Highly Plastic Clays Using Diffuse Double-Layer Theory

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AbstractMontmorillonite-rich clays are important in many engineering applications. The compressibility of such plastic clays at high consolidation pressures is important for predicting routine settlement and for applications in nuclear-waste repositories. Laboratory measurement of compressibility data at high consolidation pressures is not only time consuming but very expensive also. Theoretical predictions can help to determine the compressibility of plastic clays at high consolidation pressures. A linear relationship between e/eNvs. 1/√P (eN is the normalization void ratio at normalization pressure N and P is the consolidation pressure) was derived using diffuse double-layer theory. The compressibility data of several plastic clays in published studies were found to support the derived relationship. A generalized theoretical equation was proposed to predict the compressibility data over a wide range of consolidation pressures using an experimentally measured void ratio at low consolidation pressure. The compressibility data for different plastic clays were predicted accurately up to maximum consolidation pressures that ranged from 0.7 to 30 MPa using an experimentally measured void ratio near the pre-consolidation pressure. The preconsolidation pressures for different clays considered here ranged from 25 to 133 kPa. The proposed predictive model is supported by experimental data, is simple, and does not require knowledge of clay-surface and pore-fluid parameters.