SpringerLink
Log in

Role of composition and fabric of Kuttanad clay: a geotechnical perspective

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Kuttanad clay from Kerala, India is a soft soil with associated problems of low shear strength and compressibility. An attempt is made to characterize the soil in terms of its mineralogy, fabric, organic matter, and pH in order to understand its geotechnical behavior and suggest a suitable ground improvement technique. It was found that the soil has a unique combination of minerals such as metahalloysite, kaolinite, iron oxides, and aluminum oxides. The diatom frustules present in the soil indicate biological activity during the sediment formation, and this also accounts for the nature of organic matter predominantly present in the soil, which is mostly derived from planktonic organisms. A considerable amount of organic matter is present in the soil, and the magnitude measured accounts to about 14 % by mass. The soil is found to be acidic and the low pH to some extent can be connected to the partial oxidation of pyrite. The aggregated-flocculated fabric, as deduced from the scanning electron microscopy images, is supported by comparison of liquid limit with plasticity index and the shrinkage limit. Low specific gravity, high liquid limit, and relatively low plasticity index are explained due to presence of organic matter, silica frustules, and fabric. The influence of soil fabric and composition on the index properties of the soil is likely to bear a direct link to the corresponding influence on the engineering behaviour of the soil.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ASTM (1998) Standard test method for shrinkage factors of soils by the mercury method (D427). American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • ASTM (2002) Standard test methods for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer (D854). American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayyar TSR (1966) Strength characteristics of Kuttanad clays. University of Roorkee

  • Bjerrum L (1973) Problems of soil mechanics and construction on soft clays and structurally unstable soils (collapsible, expansive and others) Paper presented at the 8th international conference on soil mechanics and foundation engineering, Moscow 3:111–159

  • BSI (1990) Methods of test for soils for civil engineering purposes. Classification tests (BS 1377—Part 2)

  • Crawford CB, Fannin RJ, Kern CB (1995) Embankment failures at Vernon. Br Columb Can Geotech J 32:271–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Rodriguez JA, Cruz RL-S, Dávila-Alcocer VM, Vallejo E, Girón P (1998) Physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of Mexico City sediments: a geotechnical perspective. Can Geotech J 35:600–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eden WJ, Bozozuk M (1962) Foundation failure of a silo on varved clay The. Eng J 45:54–57

    Google Scholar 

  • EuroSoilStab (2002) Development of design and construction methods to stabilise soft organic soils: design guide soft soil stabilisation. CT97-0351. Project No. BE 96-3177 Industrial and MaterialsTechnologies Programme (Brite- EuRam III), European Commission

  • Gulturk E, Guden M (2011) Thermal and acid treatment of diatom frustules. J Achiev Mater Manuf Eng 46:196–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Hight D, Bond A, Legge J (1992) Characterization of the Bothkennaar clay: an overview. Geotechnique 42:303–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes RE, Moore DM, Reynolds Jr RC, Hampshi’e N (1993) The nature, detection, occurence, and origin of kaolinite/smectite. In: Kaolin: genesis and utilization, Special Pub. No. 1, The clay minerals society, pp. 291–323

  • JCPDS (1999) Joint committee on powder diffraction standards. International centre for diffraction data, Newtown Square

  • Kirkgard MM, Lade PV (1991) Anisotropy of normally consolidated San Francisco Bay Mud. Geotech Test J 14:231–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambe TW (1958) The structure of compacted clay. J Soil Mech Found Div, ASCE 84:1–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Locat J, Tanaka H (2001) A new class of soils: fossilifereous soils? Paper presented at the 15th international conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, Instanbul, 3:2295–2300

  • McManis KL, Ferrell RE Jr, Arman A (1983) Interpreting the physical properties of a clay using microanalysis techniques ASTM. Geotech Test J 6:87–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mebius LJ (1960) A rapid method for the determination of organic carbon in soil. Analytica Chimica Acta 22:120–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesri G, Rokhsar A, Bohor BF (1975) Composition and compressibility of typical samples of Mexico City clay. Geotechnique 25:527–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JK (1993) Fundamentals of soil behavior. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell J, Santamarina J (2005) Biological considerations in geotechnical engineering. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 131:1222–1233. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:10(1222)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moum J, Rao CN, Ayyar TSR (1973) A natural 17 Å montmorillonite-organic complex from Alleppey, Kerala State, India. Clays Clay Miner 21:89–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagaraj TS, Jayadeva MS (1983) Critical reappraisal of plasticity index of soils. J Geotech Eng 109:994–1000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagaraj TS, Miura N (2001) Soft clay behaviour—analysis and assessment AA Balkema. Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Osipov VI, Sokolov VN (1978) Relation between the microfabric of clay soils and their origin and degree of compaction. Bull Int Assoc Eng Geol 18:73–81. doi:10.1007/bf02635351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pandian N, Nagaraj T, Sivakumar Babu G (1993) Tropical clays. I: index properties and microstructural aspects. J Geotech Eng 119:826–839. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1993)119:5(826)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul MA, Barras BF (1999) Role of organic material in the plasticity of Bothkennar clay. Geotechnique 49:529–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quigley RM (1980) Geology, mineralogy, and geochemistry of Canadian soft soils: a geotechnical perspective. Can Geotech J 17:261–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajasekaran G (2006) Influence of microfossils and pyrites on the behaviour of oceanbed sediments. Ocean Eng 33:517–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajasekaran G, Essaku S, Mathews PK (1994) Physico-chemical and mineralogical studies on Cochin marine clays. Ocean Eng 21:771–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajasekaran G, Murali K, Srinivasaraghavan R (1999) Microfabric, chemical and mineralogical study of Indian marine clays. Ocean Eng 26:463–483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salgado J, González MI, Armada J, Paz-Andrade MI, Carballas M, Carballas T (1995) Loss of organic matter in Atlantic forest soils due to wildfires. Calcula Ignit Temp Thermochim Acta 259:165–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnitzer M, Hoffman I (1966) A Thermogravimetric Approach to the Classification of Organic Soils. Soil Sci Soc Amer Proc 30:63–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seed HB, Woodward RJ, Lundgren R (1964) Clay mineralogical aspects of Atterberg limits. J Soil Mech Found Eng Div, ASCE 90:107–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiwakoti DR, Tanaka H, Tanaka M, Locat J (2002) Influences of diatom microfossils on engineering properties of soils. Soils and Found 42:1–17. doi:10.3208/sandf.42.3_1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sivapullaiah PV, Sridharan A, Raju KVB (2000) Role of amount and type of clay in the lime stabilization of soils. Proc ICE-Ground Improv 4:37–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skempton AW (1953) The colloidal activity of clays. Proc Third Int Conf Soil Mech Found Eng 1:57–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Suganya K, Sivapullaiah PV (2013) Mechanisms of binder interactions and their role in strengthening Kuttanad clay. Paper presented at the proceedings of the 18th international conference on soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, Paris, 2–6 September, pp. 429–432

  • Tanaka H, Locat J (1999) A microstructural investigation of Osaka Bay clay: the impact of microfossils on its mechanical behaviour. Can Geotech J 36:493–508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka H, Locat J, Shibuya S, Soon TT, Shiwakoti DR (2001) Characterization of Singapore, Bangkok, and Ariake clays. Can Geotech J 38:378–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka M, Tanaka H, Kamei T, Hayashi S (2003) Effects of diatom microfossil contents on engineering properties of soils ISOPE: thirteenth international offshore and polar engineering conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, pp. 372–377

  • Unnikrishnan P (2000) Phase transitions of Trace metals in the aquatic environment of Kuttanad, Kerala. Thesis, Department of Chemical Oceanography, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin

  • Yariv S (1991) Differential thermal analysis (DTA) of organo-clay complexes. In: Smykatz-Kloss W, Warne SSJ (eds) Thermal analysis in the geosciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 328–351. doi:10.1007/BFb0010274

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Younger J, Jayaputra A, Rachlan A (1990) Characteristics of Bandung clay and performance under embankment loading: a review Proc, Konperensi Geoteknik, Indonesia

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India

    K. Suganya & P. V. Sivapullaiah

Authors
  1. K. Suganya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. V. Sivapullaiah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Suganya.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Suganya, K., Sivapullaiah, P.V. Role of composition and fabric of Kuttanad clay: a geotechnical perspective. Bull Eng Geol Environ 76, 371–381 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0911-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0911-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation