Influence of Clay Content on the Shear Strength and Physico-Mechanical Properties of Sand-Clay Mixtures – A Laboratory Study

Abstract

Stability analysis of any dump slope containing clayish and sandy material requires a detailed characterization of the material's indices and its physico-mechnical properties but, due to random proportion of clay and sand, and their heterogeneous distribution in the dump material, it becomes an arduous and cumbersome task for geotechnical engineers. A laboratory scale study has been carried out to understand the behaviour of composite mixtures containing a cohesive material (kaolin clay) and a non-cohesive material (sand) with proportion varying at an interval of 5% each by weight at specific moisture content. Laboratory tests for different indices and geotechnical properties like Atterberg's limits, shear strength parameters (cohesion and friction angle), compaction properties (maximum dry density and optimum moisture content) and swelling potential were carried out to categorize the mixed material based on percentage of clay/sand contents.The findings of the study have been presented in this paper.