Ageing effect on compressibility, permeability and shear strength of clayey soils exposed to salt solutions

The present study investigated the ageing effect on compressibility, permeability and shear strength behavior of kaolin and bentonite samples in the presence of NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. The compressibility, permeability and shear strength parameters were determined on the 60, 190, and 250 days cured samples. The results have shown that, the kaolin sample becomes more compressible in the presence Ca2+ ions with ageing. Generally, the normalized compression index values of bentonite samples increased at the end of 60 days and 250 days curing time periods. The normalized permeability value of kaolin decreased by ageing in the presence of Na+ ions almost twofold. The permeability values of bentonite increased both in NaCl and CaCl2 solutions during ageing. In the presence of Na+ ions kaolin had higher max. shear stress value than Ca2+ ions. When the max. shear stress values of 0, 60 and 190 days samples were compared, it was seen that NaCl solution had no significant effect on the shear strength of kaolin sample. However, the shear strength of kaolin increased in the CaCl2 solution during ageing. In the presence of Ca2+ ions the max. shear stress value of bentonite was higher. The results of this study have shown that ageing has significant effects on the compressibility, permeability and shear strength of kaolinitic and bentonitic clayey soils.