The Influence of Observed Clay Content on Shear Strength and Compressibility of Residual Sandy Soils

2013

English

The occurrence and distribution of soils in nature is such that, the various type of soil can be found together. Most of the engineering design methods and parameters of structures on soil have been developed for ideal soils such as pure sands or pure clays; the reality is that these ideal soils are rarely found in nature. In a sand-clay mixture, it is quite difficult to establish the characteristics of the soil since it possesses both the properties of sand and clay. Typical soils encountered in the Voltaian geological formation of Ghana is sand, however, particle size distribution of the Voltaian soils show that the sand occurs with other soil types especially clay. The influence of the clay portion of the soil on the strength and compressibility of the sandy soil has been investigated using field samples of sand and clay mixtures. It was established that, the soils cohesion increase with increasing clay content, the friction angle decreased with increasing clay content at the same moisture content. The compression index increases with the clay content and decreases with the initial void ratio. The plasticity index also increases with clay content.

Akayuli, C. F. A.; Ofosu, B.; Nyako, S. O.; Opuni, K. O.