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Swelling Pressure of Clays

Article  in  Geotechnical Testing Journal · March 1986

DOI: 10.1520/GTJ10608J

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A. Sridharan Sivapullaiah Puvvadi

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G Co 1'(;01 N I LAL

AS/lri Srid/wran. I A. Sreepada RaG,2 and PUl'l'adi V. Sil'apul!aia!z I

Swelling Pressure of Clays

REFERENCE: SridharJll. II.. lbo. II. 5 .. and Sil"apullaiah. 1'. V .. lnlnxluclion

"S".lIinl; Pressure of Clap," C<'Ul<'cll/I/cu/ 1'<'51/1/1: JU/lrl/a/. GTJODJ.
Vol. 9. No. I. Manch IY&>. .pp. 24-33. The term,' s\\'elling potential. is used by nUI~\' rcscarchers in Illany
ways, but in general. it m;Jy be taken to include both the percellt
AIJSTRACT: Experiments by three melhods to detcmlinc the swelling swell, and the swelling pressure of soils. The free swell test may be

( pressurc of clays showed thaI the cony'entional consolidation test gil"es an

upper bound I"alue. the mcthod of equilibrium yoid ratios for yarious
consolidation pressures gil"cs Ihe least yaluc. and tests by the constant
considered
There is gener;Jl
as a measure
agrel'ment
of volume
on the definition
change in clay on s;ltur:ltion.
of swelling pressure ;JS
I"olume mcthod gil"c intcmlcdiatc yalues, Howel"er there is no definite re· the pressure required to hold the soil at constal1I \'olume, when water
Iationship between the three methods. The paper also shows that time ef· is added. But the method for arril'ing at this "alue h;JS not been stan-
. fects inl"ol\'ed in conducting thc teSlS and the effect of stress p;lth are dardized or accepted univcrsally. Brackley 1'1 lists three differcnt
bulh significant. Time ycrsus swelling. and to a grcatcr cxlcnt. time I"cr-
methods for the determination of s'welling prcssure (Fig. I), nallle!l',
sus p,rcssure rel;llions can bc rcpre>Cntcd by a rectangular hypcrbola.
which can be u>cd to predictthc ultimate swelling and the swelling pres- the conventional l.-onsolidalion procedurc. the method of equilib·
sure. respectil"e1y. rium void ratios at different consolidation pressures. and the con-
T csts with yal")'ing initial conditions of molding moisture content and stant volume method. Each ·of these appc3r; equally sensible and
density haye exhibitcd a uniquc relationship belwecn swelling pressure satisfies the above definitiun. but gi\'es a \'3lue CDnsiderablv differ-
and tl,c inili;" dry dcnsily for black colton soil. This result is in line wilh
ent from those by theother two l11ethods. Huwcy'er, there: is no in\'es-
the osnHllic pressure theo!)', The molding wat,'r content has marginal ef·
fect on the swelling pressure. tigation reported in the litcr;Jture which ClllI\p;lreS lhe 111rt~.:
methods. _•••_
KEYWORDS: c1a)'s. eompa,·tiun. swelling. swell pressure. time effects A number of faclOrs affccts the swelling pressure of clays 12-51.
In-situ or placementll1oi~ture COlll.:nt, in·situ dCllsity. ll\elh'Jd. alld
amount of compaction arc somc phy~ical factors COllln\lllllv rCl'og-
nized as affecting thc swelling pressure., In addilillll. the: soil typc is
!'iomcIlclaturc itself a major fal'wr b~'C:1USC the physicu-ch"mie:al behJ\'illf, alld thc

'--
I "
e' Half the dist;JIlce betwccn p;Jr;Jllel clay particles
interparticle
by the soil type.
and intr:l'particlc forc,'S and rC3ctiulls ;Jre cOlltrolled

CJl01/'(('fkfl''"
" T S Void ratio
'fJi{' >
Swelling of clays is prilmrily attributed to the .:lectric3J duubk
Initial I"oid ratio
layer. The exchangeabk cations in the ciJY'''~lcr system ;Jre Ilul ;111
Specific gr;lI'ity of soil ~,)lid~
'held in 'llayer right at thc cia)' surfaccs but are present ;!( SOI11Cdis·
Bolt7:m;lI1il const;tnt
tance from the surface. The electric;J~ force between llegati\'ely
MolJr conccntr;J{ ion of ions in pore flu id charged c13Y surfa.:-c and pusitiY'dy charged i')f\s attract') the ,';Llillll'
Pressu rc on sample to the surfJce. but their thermal cnng\' m;d.;es them dilfusc aWJ\
Swclling pressurc from the surface. TIle baLlnce of electrical attrat,tiun ;l'lld Ihc-rm:ti
Loads
diffusion k;Jds to a diffuse Iaycr llf cations" ilh the cU\\C,enILlli,H\
Specific su rbec of t he soil highest at the surface and gradu:dl\' decrc;lsing with thc ,i:slctn(C
Time from the ~urface. The intcr;Jctilln nf diffus<: ion lay<:rs of ;idpe<':lll
Temperature in Kcll'in particles gi\'es;ln explanation for Ih,' p(,(J~)cnics of swcllillg, The thc·
V;lIence of calion
ordica! distributiun of iOlls at :J. nl'gatil'ely chargcd surb'T \\':IS
Pl'rl'ent chance in 1'011lnle
worked out by Gouy and Chapm;in.
Dielectric constant of thc pore fluid A numb<.:rof research in\'cstigaturs. Bolt 121, Sridhar;lll ;lIld h,';[·
Initial dry unit weight dCV;J [6]. .•.an Olphen 171\0 name a few. h,l\,<' <lilel1\pted tll stud\' th<,
Unit weight of WJtCf ~wclling pressure [h3t is t;lken as the diffcrclll'e in o,n\OliL' pr,'\surl'
midway between parallel c1:JY platelets r('l;u:\e III tit:!l ill the equi-
librium SOIUliol1. In its simplified form tltl' O\l1\\,:ic;s"ell(ll~ 1'1''''
11'",k"",r 31ld scientifi,' orfiCl.'r, rc,pcl,ti,'e1y, Dep:lrtlllellt of Civil
sure could be st;Jtcu as 181
L,,~:i'Kl'rillg. llllii:!1l In,tilulC of Seil'lll'e, ll,lI1g;"ore;.va 012, Illelia.
:! J>nlfl..·\.Jor of ('j"i1 ellgineering, Coll~bc of Ellgint..·l.'ring. An~nt;tpur SlS
t~~. [:ldiJ; furrncrly. l)t,:r;lr1l11l'tl[
n::..c:..tft.,:!l \(:IlII:.1r. l..1f Civil Eflginl'l'fing,
I::Ji.,,\ lmlil\-llc "f Scielll·e. lJan~,li",\: :'t"J 012, lllJi,1. p = 21/ kT (c\lshll - J) (I)

01.:9,6115/8C/OOO3·0024S02,50
 /
SRIDHARAN ET AL ON SWELLING PRESSURE 25

SO. / Difft'rcnt Methods or Determining the S\\'clJing Prcs.<;Ul'C

___ fr ••• ",.11 and lOAd
--0- S .•..ell undQf load I. From Ihe COl/l,t'lllio/ltll CIJlIsoliJotilJII Tesl
40
~ No s .•...ql(
Curve I of Fig. I illustr.:ltcs a <> \'ersus logp plot for a consolidation
lest (]> = pressure,on specimen. <> = perccnt change in \'olu me). Thc
specimen with an initial thickness and dry unit weight )J,(th~t is. a
known initial \'oid ratio I'i) \\'~~ allowl'd. undcr a seating pressun: of
0.0625 kg/em~'to swell on ar'd.ilion of waler. to an equilibriulll posi-
tion. Subsequently. loads \l'ere added in eOll\'enient increments. and

•• the specimen was consolidated nt each load. The b \'ersus log I' curve
efLlSSCSthe horizontal line through the point of initial condition. al
Point 1. that is. after complele s\l'cllillg at nominal load. '1I1d on
~'omplete consolidation at the pressurc 1'1 ct1ITesponding to I\)illl 1.
the specimen has the original \'OIUll~:. ThusPI rcprcscnts thc 5\1'cll-
ing pressu re.

II. Methoc! of EquilihriulI/ \I"id Rali"s/()r Di((t'rl'lll

ComoliJmioll Loac!s

Three or more specimens of the soil \l'ere placed in thc (l<:dtllllc,ers

\l'ith identical initial Cllndilil\ll~.:1t the se.lting pressure. Thc Il'ads on
df)' spceimens were then inl'rea~ed and c~lkd 1'1' 1'2' and I'.,. The
eljllilibriulll under these loads \l'aS reached. Water was then added
to the cells. and the specimens were allowed to swell or comprcss un-
FIG. I-M.'lhuds ,,(In;!J fur s,,'!'lIilli! !,r!'sslIr,'.
cler the loads. and 011 saturJtion. to equilibrium \'oid rntios. repre·
sented by A. B. C. and so forth (Fig. I. Curvc 2). These cquilibrium
positions. that is. Points :\. 13. C. and so forth. lie on ;1 straight linc.
whieh intersects the horizontal line through thc starting poinl (or the
zero I'Olume change line or (', line) at Point 2. for examplc, COIT~-
sponding to pressure 1'2' 1'2 represcnts the land undt:r which th~
sample would not undergo \'olume change on s:!turatilln. Thus II, is
/I = 2.35 - 4.F5 loglo KJ (2) the swclling pressure.

K (3) III, CUIISWllt VU/UIIl" ;\!t'lhod

Afler positioning thc spccimell in the consolidomctcr. \\':IIL'r W;IS

addcd. Specimen swelling \l'as controlled by the additioll of funhl'l'

(I C)". S I !(C) ••h.I,) - II (4)
h;l:!ds. The aim was l\l arrivc at .:1 IO;ld at in which there was Ilcither
swelling nor compression, maint':lining tht.: spt:cimell al tht: origin.:l1
II is thc mid'pl':lI1c potcntial. wh:ch is a function of snil propenics volume.
(spccific surlace and cation exchange capacity), water electrolytc Practical conduct of the cxperiment required a lot of disLTctiolllO '
propenics (cation' conccntration :n the bulk watcr. dickctric con- be USl'.Q.. Ideally. the constant volume rlne through the initial Pllinl,
stant. v.:dcnce of rhe cation), and the distance bct\l'et:n the pbtclt:ts is Ihe b versus the log/' curn: for Ilw sIJt:eimen. HO\l'CI't:r thc actliJI
(\I'hid1 ClIuld bc obtained cither f,om wid ratin nr df)' dcmit: •.). The load path (Curve 3. Fig, I) \\'as such that thcrc was .:11\\';\1'5SO/llC
dc:t;likd lllathcmatical dc:ri\'ati~):; ':Ind c,lkul':llioll of thc swelling swelling. Since tht: cllllsolidation and rebound curves "cre cnlir,'ly
prcssure \'ersus the void ralio an: describcd by Sridharan alld Jap· differcnt for s(lils. thc aim \l'as alwa\'s to add a load a;ld nOI II) re-
dc\'a \61. Whcn suil :Ind water dcctrolytc proper! ies arc held con·' move a load to gel to the original rcadillg of the di.:!! ;:;lg,C. Th;ll is,
q':1I11. s\l'elling pressun: is dep<:r:jcnt on only thc dry dcnsilY, Fur- care was taken It> add small inCfC/llenlS of lo:!d SUd1 th;ll thl' iliili.:i1
ther, thc time dfccts al~ comc :ntll thc picture \l'hile determining reading \l'as mainrnincd. without "olllprt:ssing thc spe,i/ll"11 b,','(111<\
Ihc swt:lling pressure in thc lab<"~.:Jlory. Thus. it can bc sccn that the initial rc~ding. HowCl'er. small vari;![iollS could nol b,' ;lyoid,:<.l
nlany factors influence the s\\'elli:lg behavior. and so far then: is no by this method. Al ncar cquilibrium, a small incre Il\c II I of I"ad
uniformity of rcsearc'h C\lIl\:lus:,'ns as to the dfc-c'{' of indi\'idu.:l!, made the specimen cO/llprt:~s and cross th~' initial COlHlitioll lin<:,
factllrs. Thc intersection point (3). corrl'sponcling (0 prl'ssurc I',. H'prc·
This paper prescnts rt:sults of c~pcril1lents rhat COlllpart: rhe thrcc sented the swelling pressure.
ITI\:t!wos of obt':lining swt:1I prcss:.!rcs. and thc relati\'e influcnce of
f;I,'tllrs affeci ing tho: swclling I'r<,ssure of soib. The study includes SIIIIIt' CUIIlIllI'IIIS 1111,\l"lhClds I. 11, lIlId III
:iIl1,' dft:l'ts. dft:l't of strl'S~ p~lh. lests all'llIlstalll. alld \'af)'ing ini·
ti;t1 dl'lIsitics and Illoisturc COI\:cnIS alld l'omp.:rcti"e enngy ern- Mcihod I
;lltt:/llpts to find thc s\l'dling prcssure of a 51)" by the
l'onH'ntionalconsolidati'lIl leSl. Thus. Ihis lllcthod fill' '''''llil1': pr,'s-
plll)'l'd ill thc ~pel'illlen prl'llaral:,.ln. Sonw u~dlll nlndll~ions h:l\'c
['l',11 lira\\' n fl'(lllI this study. surc is lilt.: obyious cllOiL'c \\'ht:rt: the soil tcsling is also illtt:l~dL'd to in·
 '-.--

26 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

clude consolidatinn seltlt:mclIts under Llrious IOJds, Tht: mt:thod ' also determine the swdling pressur..: for c:\ses \\'hercin cen;lill swell·
ellvisages compkte swelling initially at a nominal load or ~..:ating ing is permitted. that is. the pressures :It differcllt void ratios or at
p[(:s~ure ;!nd complete ..:onsolidation und..:r difkrellt loads, The test different 0 can be determined. To dcterminc' the pressures ;It difrcr·
proyilks an upp..:r bound \'alue for the swelling pressure of the soil. ent O. the void ratio axis should be changed ll) the ,) axis (0 = percent
1\'1o.:thod II has the merit th;lt it follows the prob;lbl..: str..:ss p:\lh volume change). If Metlwd III is used to determine the pn:ssure :ll
that a soil may llnd..:rgo in the field. \I'herc months elapsc after con- different void ratio or O. diffl:rent specimens have to be tcsted at the
struction, before the clay is expos..:d to water. and much more time corresponding void ratios or O.

bdore equilibrium swelling occurs unda wetted condilipils. Also'.

this method gi\'es the least \'alue al11l1ng thc tlHee methods discllssed.
or the lower bound \'alue. Thc difficulty in this method. if it is to be Comparison llc:l,,:cen l\-lclhods I, II. III
. applic:d to a field specimen. is w get at least three undisturbed speci-
mcns at identical initial conditions. Table J presents results of tests by different methods for some elf
the soils listed in Table I. There appears to be no ddinite re!atil)n·
It h:\s been mentioned prel'iously that considerablt: discretil1n is
• ship between the values from the three methods, Howeyer. Method I
called for in the·conduet of the swcll pn:ssure test by ~lethod Ill. In
gi\'es the highcst value and Method II. the least. The results frolll
addition. time effects also influelH:e the results .. However. in spite of
Method III arc in between.
sOllie difficulty in loading the specimen to keep it :It eonst:\11t vol-
ume, Method III has its merit, in th:1l a single specimen. undis-
turbed or remolded. is only neccssary. and the test is rdati\'dy rapid.
Time ECCeets in Swelling
'Vith some experience. and the resulting discretion. it is f:tirly easy

(, _ c' arrive at satisfactory results. Porter and Nelson [8] have reponed tJjecl oj RUle oj wuding
({ ~sults obtained from a strain cOlltroll~d testing of expansive soils
(similar to the Method Illl. which has the facility of obtaining data The swelling pressure detCrJllined by Method III could be difkr·
that are nomlally obtainable from S4:veral consolidation swell tests. Cll{ if the rate of loading is \'ari..:d. Figures Sa and b show curn:s for
six specimens (one cur\'e is common for both figures>. all at the S;!IllC
initial conditions, But. after ,he start of wening, the specimens wen:
ExpcrimenUiI Work
loaded at the foll~willg time rates of loading: (0.1 kg/cm2)/'/4 min,
Table 1 lists the black cotton soils uscd for swelling pressure tests (0.1 kg/cm2/lh min. (0.1 kg/cm2)/1 min. (0.1 kg/cm2)/2 min. (0.2
and their characteristics. T:lblc: 2 gives details of the initial condi· . kg/cm2)/min. and (O.J kg/em2)/min. Originally these tests were
tions of specimens in tests. In these tl?sts to get extreme values of intcnded to see jf one could arrive at the swelling pressure \'alue. but
swelling pressllres. oven dried soils with practically 0%. as water con- the real problem was where to stop the lo:!ding, so that the cquilib·
tent were also used apart from specimens with varying initial niois· rium position at the final load \\'as at or near the initi;d void rati"
lure cOlltent. Experiments were conducted on thesc soils for deter- line. And in only one of thcse six te\ts, it so luppelll'd th;!1 afler eLJui·
mining the swcl1ing pressur..: by Methods I. 11. and Ill. In!atcr lests. librium under the last load. thl' mid rJlio was within al'ceptal'lc
the initial moisture COntent and dry densities were also \'aried for limits of the initial void ratio line (that is. in the experiment. the l!::1i
some experinlt:nts. gage reading is ne;lr the initi:\1 or starting reading). Ho\\'ever'the
curies illustrate the significant influcnce of load in'l'clllcnt :Ind r:lte
Rcsults and Discussion of loading on the swclling pn:ssurc, The slo\\'cr r:\res of loading or ;1

smaller load incremenl or both lead to higher values of swclling pn:s·

Figun:s 2. J, and.j illustrate ~lcthods I. II. and Ill. respe..:li\·ely. SU re and \'ice versa.

: the determination of swelling pressurc. Figure.j :\150 compares This leads lU a significant requircmcnt for thc conduct of the con·
t hc effect of initial density on the swelling pressure where three of the stant volume method (Method Ill) for the determination of swelling
U' j)eeimcns refer to one soil (BC1). The higher initial cumpa~tion pressure. Initially when the rate of swcllill'g is rapid. the load incn:·
gin:s risc to higher swelling pressur..:, Using Figures 2 anll J. one can ments.m:!v have to be added fast. an'd thl'n \'ice \·ers...' :n l:ltC!' Slal:'·s.
~ -

Pit
Mincral [)J.~
F3~o.1
-1-1
1.1'
n.};
Fr~.h
8cnnihalla'
!3cnnihaila
32.'1
4~.tl
~1.1l
4~.H
32.5
S.O
Principal57
&S
·
l'.Sill
35.0
0U6S
5-;()
17.0
Montmorillonite
Pi!Pb,tidl)'
71
1.:-
0,-1
fJt't
-1
tl.
~2.0
Limit.
.10,.112.-1
.,,~.{)
(,27,2
....
(",\ 17.02'ft)
9-1...tIiUI1.
Hubii"
Lo,'al
90
Fr:,h:ti\)fl.
Gr:l\·c1.
Ind('x.
.1·1.0
bl.S ~.<J
IU.U
12.U
C!;!~
ex. <It)
Type
I:->.U'IS
.'> 10;'>i\)Il.
&J~;,
IX)
CIol)' ion
~.•
I~Oo.~<!",
1,l'\J Sand
Liquid
n Iknnihalla i, J villagc in KJrn;\lakJ SlJt~, S.)ulh India.
 .'''.,
- - ...• -- .- ...• , .:, ~..--, . ":"- ~

I
SRIDHARAN ET AL ON SWELLING PRESSURE 27

TAULE 2-D •.,,,i!s V/ '('5' Spt'Cillll'/lJ 4 Fi~5. /10 /2.

Initial conditions
al Scaling LO:ld

Figure
p;'
p~~
PI
B PI'l
P2S
PI.
P2
PJD
P22
P2~
1'3J.
p'"~,/
P2lJ
P.3S
PJu
PJ
P~I
1'2x
P2C
PJ~
1'2.1
1'-'1
0 cBCll ~
EI)
,\
1'~-1'12
P13-PIS
PI<)-I'I1'\
C
.-\
A B a.IN.'
1-
0.9llS
a.!i'l3
O.!i<)J
0.1193
a.IN3
0.99:-
0.1>":;0
O.h~2
0.IN3
0.9%
O.hSlJ
0.742
0.8<)3
Content,
Inilial
D Hatio
0.893
Table
0.115D
O.<NS
0.572
O./ilJJ
0.703
1.002
3J
1.0-1S
31i
HInitial
0.t!,)3
14
24
Specillll'n
l\pe
Specimen BCI
BC2
0a0 Void
BC7
BCl
Bell
Bel
BC-1
Be2
I3CI
Bel
BC3
BCS
!3Cl
orI
BC2
Walcr
0". Soil of

5
(a.b)

h
(a.b.l·)

7
(a.b)
II
'-I

NOTC Type~ of Specimcn>: A-dr)" wil sample prepared by .~tatic· compaction; B-undi~;urbed fIeld 'pceir.len;
C-disturbed field spccimcn. o\"cn dried and slali"ally compacted in thc df!' to the original in-situ df!' ,ien,il}":
D-wel disturbed field spcl'ink'll preparl'd by SIalic' compaction: and E-wet soil spn-illlcn prepan:d by dynamic
l'llInpal't ion.

':
~
1.'
C
S" s'
, , Sla< • eal to.' ,oil S C 1
I
I
05

2r ~
~I
~I
:: :1 c,
Al L~U: 2______ w~ .•. 0 lor a:1 samp!n

~1_ ,on:: 6q('lnlh~ Ila 'Sed

BC 2

-~
C 5 '-
I

J;'l I
I

?I~ Cl.;t'Vt ) ,
I

I
c c
C 1 10 lC
~
C I
u...~'
10
_->-1 J
rr.s5-ur. (k~ lem'!) (i<~ fem')
 • J~' ":'-;~":' •• : •• _~-:- •• ~ •••• ._ .•• _ •• _.

~ ~"
0

~
>

0·68
0·64
084
28

0·80
0·76

a 72
on

088

0·60
=~-
GEOTECHNICAL

------
ncs
nC-l
BC7 "
Curv.
I3Co
TESTING

Sampl. -
JOURNAL

P 13 Soil (Table
S.mpl •
P 19
P 20
P 21
P 22
Hubli

a.M,halia
Hubli
1)
Soil
a C 1

BC
a C i 0·642
\ 0·76)
0·833
0·656
.!1
!leI --
TABLE

H:'.1U
h'.
13.0
J.-l
3.1
1.0 o;~
.1.0
I.q
I.-l
2.2
1.6
111
11.1<)
J-CUlII/,urali"1! w.d"I's 0/ s,,·,·/lill{:

0.7-l1
di((""'111 flu'lhuds uf It'SIS.

1.002 Initial
0.7
0100.0..'<-1
20.0 0.572
0.893 (); /".Conditiuns
kg/em'. by I>kliwo
(.'''·SSIIrt' P, by

Curv. 4, Sampl. P 22

study for swelling pressure. time I'ersus swelling wcre recorded for
two field wils (four samples) used for Method II. In each case. the
disturbed soil \\'35 ol'cn-dried :llld comp:ll'ted inw the consolidol11'
eter at the original in situ dry density. Figu n: 6 sho,,:s the time vcrsus

U't' ~'"... ~
!;,,,,.
l--~~~~----Curv. J, Sampl. P. 21 .
-
S\I.·clling behavior.
relationships.
and Figs. 7 and 8 thc time versus time/swelling

If the assumption of a rectangu 13r hyperbola for the ( I'crsus 0

0.1 \0 10
relation (Figs. 6 throug·h 8) is correct. then the { versus (10 rcl:ltion·

Pros.uro (kg/em')
ship is a straight line. il can also be shown. that the reciprocal of ihe
slope of the straight line ponion (of 1 versus (/0 curo't:j gi,·cs the
FIG. 4-S"'I'/lillfi prt'SSIIrt' It'SIS by M •.r/lOd II}. ultimate swelling. A critical examin:ltion of Figs. 7 and 8 and Table-l
leads to the conclusion that the ( versus 0 relationship canllOl be
represented by rectangular hypcrbola throughout the time range.

Time Versus Swelling butthe rectangular hyperb,ola assumption is a good approximation.

Kondner (101 and Sridharan and Rao (11.121 sugg~sted that non- Time Versus Pressure
linear stress·strain curves of soils could be represented by a rec-
tangubr hyperbolic equation. Dakshinamunhy [81 used a hyper- An anempt W:lS made to verify if the rectangular hyperbola con-
bolic equation to pn:dict swelling. Sridharan and Sn:ep;lda Rao IIJ] cept could be extended (0 time I·ersus pn:ssurc in a const:lntvolulllC
han: used a rectangular hypcrbol:l to represent the time ver>us com- tcSt (Method Ill), Accordingly. time (from the installt of ,,·cuing)
pression rel:ltionship in the cOl1Solid:ltion of clays. In the preselll was recorded whcne,·er a load was added to keep constant volullle.

0·98

~;; 1·00 ~:;.,

100
~94 LOAd = 0) kg/em'/l moo
"
>.. 0920·1
0·961-
:>0032
.., I CurVg 2, SamplQ 1'24
0·90
0 0·90
~
IH6
0·86
0·88
094 0·98

~ Qi ~II
0 sampl.s

Curv. 4, Sampl. I' 26 Curv. 6, Sampl. P 28

Load.O·l kg/em'/ i m,n Load. 0·) kg/cm'/l min
0·86
1·0 4·0 0·1 ~O 4·0
Pr.ssur. (kg lem') Pr ••• ur. (kg/em')

(a)

fiG. S-S .••

·dlillg I'r.'ssun· I('JI cur", by differ"111 hUt'S v( I"adil/g.
 rI
/

I
SRIDHARAN ET.AL ON SWELLING. ~RESSURE 29
ISO

Curve t
load. Q.25kg/cm'
Sample P 29 ]
E
"
'"
E

aa
•...

o
- 1000

a
aoa

..
C
a
.~
.~

'"
c Curv. 3 [SamPIO 31 lem'
Lo. d • 3·5P k~ .'

3 Cur vO Load.
4 [sa P J2k~/cm'
mplo 2·25 .
lfl

( r
o
o 100 200 400
Tim. (mln)

.~.!:'f.c0'"'"c.•.•
.•coE
."-
<>
<>
.E::
"- -
)-
~ 0

100 200 )00 400

Time (mini

FIG. 7- Till/I' \·('r5/1S tilll('/S"TlliIlR Jl)r ClJn"I'S I "lid ~ or" Fi~. o.

"I',\UL1: 4- UI,i"ul/c' $k1'/1 rU/Ut·j. uhsl'f\'c'" tlild nUI//,uI •. d. Figur~ q shows Ih •• time \'er~us pressure relatiumhip. In other words.
il shows th~ rat~ ~)( load n:quin:d to kccp the \'olull1~ constant ag:linSl
swelling. Figure IO shows the transformed curves of I \'ersus I/pres-
h,:urL' SpCl·jm~n
1'.lI Ol>~~rwd
115
P~<JllS~7
I~X()
1510
COf1lpul~d
l)O
151
SOO
.lOO
o ,~h " -I . - .
sure. The curves of Fig. 10 are reasonably ~ood and justify the as-
sUll1ptlon made. The reclprucal of thefr?1ig lllfne poniuns gl\'es th\."
swelling pressure_ j[ can be seen (rom Table S that the computed
and the expcrim<:ntal \'alues for swelling pressure show a good agret:-
Olen!. This leads to (he possibility o( ob(aining the swelling pressure
by Method [1[, wi.h carefully r~C'ord\."dtime versus pressun: dat:l for
 30 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

S.Ol I certain initial duration of time and without th~ need for continuing
the experiment until the equilibrium conditions.

Combination or Methods

P32 COII/billution of Methods I und /I

v . '-~-'a0a80c~"..-.
~ '".•..•
~.: C;E
S
•... E3·e I
2·0 ., A combination of 1\'1l:thods I and II was used for two specimens of
ij; soil BCI. Figure II illustrates the same. At I. 75- and 2.25.kg/cm~·
surcharge loads. the dry specimens were first allowed to reach equi-
librium. On addition of water with surcharge loads. one method had
swelling and other compressed. Up to this stage. Method II was fol-
lowed. Then after Method I. both of the specimens were unloaded (0'
seating pressures of 0.075 kg/cm2, and allowed to swell to equilib-
rium. Finally, the samples wen.: loaded by the conl'entional consoli-
dation tcst procedure. up to 8 kg/cm2• Considering these two speci-
mens where Methods I and II have been combined. the pressure
corresponding to the initial void ratio (0.893) is I. 7S kg/cm~ from
either specimen, which is much less than 3.0 kg/cm~ obtained by
Method I (Curve 1. Fig. 2) and more than 1.6 kg/cm2 obtained by
Method II using ten specimens (Curve 1. Fig. 3).

Combinution of f>ft'thods I und /II

In a similar way, Methods I and III were also combined for a few
specimens. that is, the swelling pressure was obtained by the can·
stant volume procedure (Method III). the specimens were unload~d
to seating pressures of 0.075 kg/cm2• and after equilibrium swell-
ing. the conventional consolidation loading (Method [) was done
(Fig. 12).
a lOa 20C 300 Combining Method III with Method I has given swell pressure
Tim. (m,nI values of 2.5 and 4.5 kg/em2, as opposed to J.9 and 13.0 kg/cm2 for
Method I gi"en by Table 3 for these soils.
Thus it can be seen Ihat the swelling pressure is strongly depcn·

1.5

• Cur~. I, S.mpl. P 3J

;;- 1·0
E
'-v'"
~

···
::>
Cur.. 2, Somplo P 3~

0..
as

o
a 100 200
Tim. (min I

FIG. 9- Tim" wnuS !'''':,JU,,' ,'un'" j'Jr CUf/SllJ/l1",h"I/" /<,s(,.

 /
SRIDHARAN ET AL ON SWEL.t.IJ\jG PRESSURE 31

300

""
.:&

...•.•.
~ 200

.~
.
E

•...

~
•.
~
a.
.•.•.
•.
.£ 100

((

100 200 300 400 500

FIG. 10- Tillie \'('r~IlS lIilJr/f'reSJurt· fur ,·un'.·~ uf Fifi. 9.

TABLE 5- Vulu<,~o;'S ••.••1/Pr.'SJllre P. ubJ<,n..,.dUIIJ CUIllf'IlIl·J. ., >

•... I2 loglcm1) ~O
Pr"lufe •. 0·'
O· 6
07
Swell ?rc~ure P" kg/cm2
'.,
'·0
0-4
~ 1,6
0905
figures Sp<:cinxn Computed Experiment

9 P33 1.49 1.60

10 P.>-t 0.68 0.&4

(; , 'ColUOl/dation

2b
2a Cons.olidation
S •••..•II,ng ]
undO(

under
dry

I06king
condition

J R.bc-und on unload ,ng

, Rccernpr.ssion curve
5 Re:t-cund curvCl
'.1
'0 .,06.2 >;; 0·1
point
lSlarllng
•...
O· 7
Sampl. P 6
o1·0
0·65
O·S

10

FIG. l~-C(Jl1/hil/tI(il!lJ (~( .\f(·lhf/d.~ I (lltd J/1.

dent upollth.: stress path follow.:d. and r.:sults obtaincd can be q:ry
much different for cifkrcnt stn:ss paths.

Swelling Pressure Tests with Varying Initial Conditions

'·0 10 of Moisture llIId Demit)'
Pr ••• ur. Ikg/,m1)
Specimens of black cotton soil nel wcre taken at four different
FIe;. ll-C.,mbiIlQtiull ul M_thods I UllJ II. moisture COntcnlS and COlllpJ ••'lcd to difkrclll densitics by •.arying
 /

32 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

[lic compactive effort. Dynamic compaction was used to dcnsify the loaded to different pressures around estimat.t.:9 swelling pressurc. al-
muist soil into thc consolidomcter rill!; 7S mm (3 in.) diaI1ll:ler. and lowing the specimens to imbibe: water. and swell ur compress to
2S 111/11(I in.) he:ight. The ring had top and bottom detachablt: col· reach equilibrium positions. which lic in a stra.ight line on the 'Y l-cr'
lars l;;lch of height 6 mm (\I. in.). The compa.ction was done in three sus log I' or(' versus logp plots. Reading the corrcsponding pressure
Ia.yas into the threc piece ring, each layer being gi\'en the required to the initial \'olum.: re::su-Its in the least \'alue of swelling pn:ssure.
cOll1pactive energy. The compactil'e ene~' was imparted. by ram- Continuous loading is done in Method III allowing water to be im-
ming the soil by means of a plunger SO mm (2 in.) diameter. 800 gin bibed by the specimen and kee:ping lhe \'olume change:: nearly I.ero.
"'cight fa.lling through 12,47 em. The compactcd specimen was of This method gives the results in belween Methods 1 andl!. Method
2S 111/11(I in.) thickness. and the compa.cti\'e t'ne:rgy equaled the III is quick. and only on.: specimen is sufficient. HOII'el·cr. this
l'roctur's energy per blow per unit volume. method is scnsiti\'e to load incn:mellt and rate of loading. Method 1
,\11 s'wcll pressure tcsts were conducted by Mt'lhod Ill. Before po- is time consuming. but one specimen is sufficient. Method II reo
silioning il) .the consolidometer cell. the compacted soil in the ring quires atl.:astthree specimens but is less time consuming. The effect.
\\;lS weighed for density. of "tress path in d.:termining th.: swelling pressure is significant.
Figure 13 shows results of 32 tests com:sponding to 4 initial mold- Swelling pressu~ of black cotton soil is primarily depend.:nt on
ing moisture contents. For different compactil'': dforts uscd. ob· the initial dry unit weight or void ratio. The effect of initial moistun:
t;lined by varying thc number of blows per 1.1)\:1. Ihc initial dry unit content is ~Iati\'ely less. This is consistent with osmotic pressure
wcight TJ, was computed. Ea<:ll point in the figu~ refers (Q one test. theory (double layer theory). --,
The swelling pressure is known to vary with the: compacti\'c cl1ergy Time versus sw.:lIing and time I'ersus pressure (for constal1l 1'01-
~.J initiall110isture content. Thesc two fa.ctors are reflected in the ume) relationships could be reasonably represcnted by a rectangular
hyperbola. This finding enabks one to more easily estimate the
r:Hnpa.cted dr)' unit wcight of the soil. In Fig. 13. the swelling pres·
. '. Jre fI, plottt;d a.ga.inst 'YJ, shows an a.lmost unique relationship. amount of swelling or the swelling pressure .
Allowing for a slight scatter. all the points can b.: a.1't:ragcd into a sin·
gle cur •.e; in other words. f', is not influenced by the: molding water
References
content significantly and p, depends primarily on TJ, only.
It may be recalled here th:1l ;lS per the double layer theory 12.6. 71. (II Brael;ky. J. J. A. "Swell l'n:s.sun: and Fn.-.: Swell in a Cumpaeted
the osmOlic repulsion is liireo.:l1y de::pendent on the: d:s"tance between Clay." Prr.1C(',·JinKof II/(· Third 11I/t'rlluliiJllul COl/j.-rt>lIc('01/ Expul/si,·(·
Cluys. Vol. 1. ISr:lcllnstilutc of Technolu~-". Haifa. 1973. pp. 169-176.
th.: parallel platelets (or void ratios or )J)' and thc molding water
121 Bolt. G. H .. "Physico Chemical Analysis of the CompressibililY of
content docs not havc an)' influence. Molding moisture content in·
Clays," G,·olec/lIliqUl·. Vol. 6. 1'0. 2. 1956. pp. 86-93.
f1uenccs the fabric that may ha\'e some influence 011 I's' But the lJl Holtz. \II. G .. and Gibbs. H. J.. "Engineering Propcnies of Expansi\'e
re:sults of Fig. 13 demonstrate that this effect is not significant. Clays," Trullsuctiol/s of tilt' Americull SIK·i.-IY oj Ci,·il ElIgillei·rs. Vol.
121.1950. pp. 6-11-677.
1·1/ KOl11omik. A. and Da\'id. D .. "l'n:dielion of 5wellin~ Pressure (If
COllclu~ions Clays." JiJllrllul .~,.Ill,' Suil '\t.-chullics ulld Fuulldatiul/s Dil'l·sillli. Pm·
Ct"'dillF:s vfrllt> AIIlt'rh'ull Suci"ly orCil'l} l::II}.!il/t"<'rs.Vol. 9::'. No. 51>1I.
It has been shown that three methods can be used to de-termine 1969. pp. 2oq-:!2S.
the swelling pressures of soils. and they ~sult in significantly differ- 15\ Ye\'nin. A. and Za.sla\',ky. "Some Faclors Afkeling Cumpaeled CiJ,'
5wellinl(." CUI/udiull Ct"ul.-chl/icul JUllrllul. Vol. 7. 1'0. I: 1970. Pl'.
ent I"a.lues. Method 1. which permits complete swelling of the speci-
79-89. " .
men upon sa.luration ,ll scaling pressun: ;lnd then subsequent load· 161 Sridharan. A. and J"y,,<lel·a. ~i. S .. "Dnubk La\'er ThL'"r" and C\fll'
ing it bringing back to its original \'olume. yields the maximum I'alue pressibility of Clays." C;,·ott",·hlli'llll·. Yol. J:!. :\0. 2. 1%2. pp. 13J-
swelling prcssurc. In 1->1cthod II. three or more specimens arc 144.

"
-"
.
"(
c) 20
•..•00
Q.
00 "E
Vl v ,.0
3·0
5·0

,t
t-4 0 l:!.o fur If
5ymbol Conhnl
- I·'
4·0
o o
a 1
1S a
18 2

'·1 \3 '.4 '·6

FIG. 13- VUriuliiJl/ of s .•••.

,·/lillg pr.·ssurr •.•-illt "td,'
 ,.,·..~.,'I,lo;",-·""~"_",,,A"",,,--···, ..~_.. _.••_.....•.....
'•... .
. '

I
SRIDHARAN ET AL ON SW!:L1,J(:lG PRESSURE 33

171 van Olphen. H,. "An Introduction to Clay Colloidal Chemist'),.- (Ill Sridharan. A. and lGlo. S. N .• "Hyperbolic Representation of Strength.
Wilcy Intcl>Cience. New York. 1%3. Pore Pressures and Volume Changes with Axial Strain in Triaxial
1.1'1 Oakshina Murthy. V.• "A New Method to Prcdi<:~ Swelling Using a Hy- Tests." ProcudingJ of Ihl? Symposium on Slrenglh and DC'formucion
perbolic Equation:' Cl?ocl?c/lIlicul Engilleerinif. Vol. 9. 1978. pp. Be/zuviour of Soils. Bangalore. India. 1972. PI'. 33-42.
29-38. (121 Sridharan. A. and Rao. S. N .• "New Approach to Multistage Triaxial
['II POrler. A. A. and Nclwn. J,'O .• "Str.lin ControClcd Tes1ing of Expan- Test," Technical Note. Jourtlul of che Soil Mec/zullics ulld FO/HlduciollJ
sive Soils." Fourch lnct'macionul Confer?lIce On Exl'unsil't' Soils. Vol. Division. ProC(>l'dings of the American Soder)' of G,-il Ellgillt't'fs. Vol.
I. Oem-cr. CO. 1980. pp. 34-44. - 98. No. SMII. 1972. PI'. 1279-1286.
IIVj Kondncr. R. L.. "Hyperbolic Stress Strain P..c:spunsc of Cohesiyc 1131 Sridharan. A. and Sreepada Rao. A .. "Rcc1angular Hyperbu!:l Fining
Soils." Joumal of Ihl' Soil Mechanics and Foun.JacionJ Dil-ision. Pro- Method for One Dimensional Consolidation." Ct'oc,'cllllical T,-scillg
ct't'dings of l/z" Americun Sodt'ly ofCi,-if Engint!"'rS. Vol. 89. No. SI\! I. J011nlUI. Vol. 4. No.4. Dec. 1981. PI'. 161-1t>8.
1963. pp. 115-143.

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