Influence of the Organic Matter Content on the soil water retention characteristics of a reconstituted kaolinitic clay

Abstract

An experimental study using kaolinitic clay was performed in order to understand the unsaturated behavior of soils with high organic matter content (OMC). Reconstituted samples of kaolinitic clay were prepared with different OMC. Soil Water Retention Curves (SWRC) were obtained after drying and wetting processes and volume changes were also measured. Matrix suction was measured by the filter paper technique. Results show that for a constant value of suction, the higher the OMC the higher the water content. The Higher the OMC, the lower the Air Entry Value and the slope of the SWRC. OMC showed to have a different influence in the Volume Change behaviour (VC) in the drying and wetting process. Experimental results suggest possible engineering applications for the evaluation of volume change due to suction changes on kaolinitic soils with relatively high OMC.

Improvement of the Mechanical Properties of Mortars Manufactured with Partial Substitution of Portland Cement by Kaolinitic Clays

“…The cause of this increase could be found in the fact that during the calcination process, crystalline silica could be converted into amorphous silica, which is more likely to react in solution with Ca(OH) 2 [48]; this contribution of silica could reinforce the original contents of reactive silica (Table 6) and enhance the pozzolanic character of the samples [49]. It could also be argued that after calcination substances of organic origin and other non-reactive residues have been removed [50]. A comparatively different fact occurs when the samples have undergone a calcination process (CKC-01 and CKC-02) (Figure 5b), where it is evident that the samples have acquired significant pozzolanic properties, mainly the CKC-02 sample.…”