The Role of Electrochemistry and Mineralogy in the Geotechnical Behavior of Salinized Soils
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11137/1982-3908_2021_44_42738Keywords:
Saline environment, Physicochemical properties, Clay mineralsAbstract
The Atterberg limits are essential information and the first step in soil classification for geotechnical purposes. Established laboratory
procedures use distilled water in the plasticity and liquid limits determination. However, saline solutions frequently interact with soils
in the construction environment through fluid percolation processes. This work aims to understand the variation of the geotechnical
behavior of two standard materials with different mineralogical compositions (kaolinitic and smectitic) when affected by NaCl ionic
solutions in different concentrations. The purpose is to simulate different soils in environments with the presence of saline solutions.
This paper reports an experimental program in which a kaolinite-rich and a smectite-rich material received NaCl solutions in three
different concentrations (0.6 %, 3.5 %, and 15.0 %) and had their Atterberg limits determined under these conditions. Additionally,
non-contaminated samples of both materials have had their limits measured using distilled water. Physical characterization tests
included hygroscopic moisture, grain size distribution, grain density, plastic limit (PL), and liquid limit (LL). These data allowed the
determination of the Skempton activity index (AI), plasticity index (PI), consistency index (CI), classification of soils in the Unified
Soil Classification System (USCS), and in the Highway Research Board (HRB) with the group index (GI). Mineralogy was determined
by X-ray diffraction and physical chemistry by measuring pH in H2O and KCl, determining the ΔpH, the point of zero-charge (PZC),
and the surface electrical potential (Ψo). The results show that the pH values rise with increasing salinity, while ΔpH, PZC, Ψo, LL,
AI, PI, GI decrease with increasing salinity. The PL decreases with the increase in salinity for smectite and increases for kaolinite. The
USCS and HRB demonstrate that the materials start to behave as fewer plastic materials with increased salinity. It is concluded that the
variations in the physicochemical parameters of the environment control and modify the geotechnical behavior of the fine-grained soils.
References
Alexakis, D., Gotsis, D. & Giakoumakis, S. 2015, 'Evaluation of soil salinization in a Mediterranean site (Agoulinitsa district—West Greece)'. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 1373–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1279-0
American Society for Testing and Materials 2017, Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils, ASTM-D4318. 2017, American Society for Testing and Materials, Pennsylvania.
Arasan, S. & Yetimoǧlu, T. 2008, 'Effect of inorganic salt solutions on the consistency limits of two clays'. Turkish Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 107–15. https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/engineering/issues/muh-08-32-2/muh-32-2-5-0712-11.pdf
Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas 2016a, Solo -. determinação do limite de liquidez, ABNT-NBR 6459. 2016, Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, Rio de Janeiro
Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas 2016b, Solo — determinação do limite de plasticidade, ABNT-NBR 7181. 2016, Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, Rio de Janeiro.
Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas 2016c, Amostras de solo - preparação para ensaios de compactação e ensaios de caracterização, ABNT - NBR 6457. 2016, Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, Rio de Janeiro.
Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas 2016d, Solo - análise granulométrica, ABNT - NBR 7181. 2016, Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, Rio de Janeiro.
Bekkouche, S.R., Boukhatem, G., Mendjel, D. & Benayoun, F. 2018, 'Use of salt compounds for the stabilizatıon of expansive soils'. Indian Journal of Engineering, vol. 15, pp. 250-6. https://www.discoveryjournals.org/engineering/current_issue/2018/A25.pdf
Bell, L.C. & Gillman, G.P. 1978, ‘Surface charge characteristics and soil solution composition of highly weathered soils’ in C. S. Andrew & E. J. Kamprath (eds), Mineral nutrition of legumes in tropical and subtropical soils, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne, VIC, pp. 37-57
Crevelin, L.G. & Bicalho, K.V. 2019, 'Comparison of the Casagrande and fall cone methods for liquid limit determinations in different clay soils', Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, vol. 43, e0180105. https://doi.org/10.1590/18069657rbcs20180105
Elsawy, M.B.D. & Lakhouit, A. 2020, 'A review on the impact of salinity on foundation soil of coastal infrastructures and its implications to north of Red Sea coastal constructions'. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 13, no. 13, 555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05601-6
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária 1997, Manual de métodos de análise de solo, Rio de Janeiro
Fassbender, H.W. 1980, Química de suelos con enfasis en suelos de America Latina, Instituto Interamericano de Ciências Agrícolas, São José, Costa Rica.
Fontes, M.P.F., Camargo, O.A. & Sposito, G. 2001, 'Eletroquímica das partículas coloidais e sua relação com a mineralogia de solos altamente intemperizados'. Scientia Agricola, vol. 58, no. 3, pp.627-46. https://www.scielo.br/pdf/sa/v58n3/a29v58n3.pdf
Jackson, M.L. 1969, Soil Chemical Analysis - Advanced Course, 2nd edn, University of Wisconsin/Madison libraries, Madison.
Keng, J.C.W. & Uehara, G. 1974, ‘Chemistry, mineralogy and taxonomy of Oxisols and Uttisols’, Soil and Crop Sciences Society Proceedings, pp. 119-26
Mansouri, H.; Jorkesh, Z.; Ajalloeian, R. & Sadeghpour, A.H. 2017, 'Investigating effects of water salinity on geotechnical properties of fine-grained soil and quartz in a sandstone case study: Ajichay project in northwest Iran', Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 76, no. 3, pp. 1117–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0920-4
Mishra, A.K., Ohtsubo, M., Li, L.Y., Higashi, T. & Park, J. 2009, 'Effect of salt of various concentrations on liquid limit, and hydraulic conductivity of different soil-bentonite mixtures'. Environmental Geology, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 1145–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1411-0
Niazi, F.S., Pinan-Llamas, A., Cholewa1, C. & Amstutz, C. 2020, 'Liquid limit determination of low to medium plasticity Indiana soils by hard base Casagrande percussion cup vs. BS fall-cone methods'. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 2141–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01668-y
Putra, P.P., Paramiswari, D.A., Ilham, A., & Ma’ruf, M.F. 2018, 'Expansive soil improvement of Glagahagung village, Purwoharjo sub-district, Banyuwangi district, which is chemically stabilized', 4th International Conference on Rehabilitation and Maintenance in Civil Engineering (ICRMCE 2018), MATEC Web of Conferences 195, 03009. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819503009
R Development Core Team 2020, R: a language and environment for statistical computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, viewed 18 July 2020, <https://www.R-project.org/>, Vienna, Austria
Rahil, F.H., Al-Soudany, K.Y.H., Abbas, N.S. & Hussein, L.Y. 2019, 'Geotechnical properties of clayey soils induced by the presence of sodium chloride'. 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Engineering Techniques (ICSET 2019), IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 518, no.2, 022064. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/518/2/022064
Raij, B.V. & Peech, M. 1972, 'Electrochemical properties of some Oxisols and Alfisols of the tropics'. Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 587-93. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1972.03615995003600040027x
Sen, P., Dixit, M. & Chitra, R. 2016, 'Effect of chemicals on index properties of soil'. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 352–9. http://pnrsolution.org/Datacenter/Vol4/Issue1/47.pdf
Shariatmadari, N., Salami, M. & Fard, M.K. 2011, 'Effect of inorganic salt solutions on some geotechnical properties of soil-bentonite mixtures as barriers', International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 103-10.
Skempton, A.W. 1953, ‘The colloidal activity of clays’, 3rd International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Proceedings, pp. 57-61. Zurich, Switzerland. https://www.issmge.org/uploads/publications/1/42/1953_01_0014.pdf
Sposito, G. 2008, The chemistry of soils, Oxford University Press, New York
Stadtbäummer, F.J. 1976, 'The influence of inorganic salts on some soil mechanical parameters of clays'. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 14, no.1, pp: 65–9
Tajnin, R., Abdullah, T. & Rokonuzzaman, M.D. 2014, 'Study on the salinity and pH and its effect on geotechnical properties of soil in South-West region of Bangladesh'. International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 138-47
Uehara, G. & Gillman, G.P. 1980, 'Charge characteristics of soils with variable and permanent charge minerals: I. Theory'. Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 250-5. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400020008x
Wuddivira, M.N., Robinson, D.A., Lebron, I., Brechet, L., Atwell, M., De Caires, S., Oatham, M., Jones, S.B., Abdu, H., Verma, A.K. & Tuller, M. 2012, 'Estimation of soil clay content from hygroscopic water content measurements'. Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 76, no 5, pp. 1529-35. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2012.0034
Xu, J., Li, Y., Wang, S., Wang, Q. & Ding, J. 2020, 'Shear strength and mesoscopic character of undisturbed loess with sodium sulfate after dry-wet cycling', Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 79, no. 3, pp.1523–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01646-4
Zhou, B. & Lu, N. 2021, 'Correlation between Atterberg limits and soil adsorptive water'. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 147, no. 2, pp. 04020162. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002463
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a license 