Volume change behavior of clays in different pore fluids is very important in their use as compacted clay liners for landfills. The present study brings out the variations in the consoli-dation behavior of bentonite compacted at Proctor's optimum conditions in different electrolyte solutions Qualitatively the behavior can be explained using diffuse double layer theory. Existing meth-ods to calculate theoretically e log p curves based on this theory have been referred to the theoretical curves that agree closely with experimental curves. Clay properties, which are critical in the theo-retical prediction of the curves, have been identified. However, the effect of potassium ions, which link bentonite clay particles, cannot be assessed by diffuse double layer theory.
展开▼
