Clay Content Effects on Triaxial Swelling Characteristics of Clay-Bearing Samples

Abstract

There are some factors which have an important influence on the swelling characteristics of clay-bearing structures such as type of clay mineral, clay content, stress path, confinement, and scale effect. This paper includes a study of some of these factors of a reconstituted clay-bearing rock samples using a computer-controlled triaxial swelling test apparatus. According to the test results, almost the same swelling potential and stress are observed for the samples having the same density, diameter/height ratio, smectite content, and a confining pressure. On the other hand, the smectite content and confining pressure have a significant influence on the swelling behavior.