Paper Title
Swell Measurements of Natural and Remoulded Clays From a Semiarid Region
Abstract
Engineers in the geotechnical practice tend to simulate the natural conditions and introduce scenarios when
studying the behavior of subsurface soil supporting structures. For expansive soils the conditions may be different and the
subsoil behavior is linked to the time, fabric, mineralogy and the swelling potential. This study is aimed at proper evaluation
of risk associated with swell over a given time. For this purposed swelling clays from four different regions from Saudi Arabia
were tested for the swell at their natural conditions and at a remoulded state. The level of swell variation at different surcharge
load was investigated. Changes and differences resulting from the fabric nature, density and time were examined. The
maximum clay void ratio for each type of clay is reported for possible and practical loading conditions. Recommendations for
correcting swell values obtained using undisturbed soil samples are presented.
Index Terms - Swell, clay, mineralogy, geotechnical practice.