Prediction for swelling deformation of fractal-textured bentonite and its sand mixtures in salt solution.

Swelling deformation tests of Kunigel bentonite and its sand mixtures were performed in distilled water and NaCl solution. The salinity of NaCl solution has a significant impact on the swelling properties of bentonite, but not on its surface structure. The surface structure was characterized using the fractal dimension Ds. Based on the fractal dimension, a unique curve of the em-pe relationship (em is the void ratio of montmorillonite and pe is the effective stress) at full saturation was introduced to express the swelling deformation of bentonite- sand mixtures. In mixtures with a large bentonite content, the swelling deformation always followed the em-pe relationship. In mixtures with a small bentonite content, when the effective stress reached a threshold, the void ratio of montmorillonite em deviated from the unique em-pe curve due to the appearance of a sand skeleton. The threshold of vertical pressure for mixtures in different solutions and the maximum swelling strains were estimated using the em-pe relationship. The good agreement between estimates and experimental data suggest that the em-pe relationship might be an alternative method for predicting the swelling deformation of bentonite-sand mixtures in salt solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]