Abstract
Gypsum is a sulfate mineral that exists at variable contents of top soils, particularly those in arid and semiarid areas of the world. Despite its relatively low solubility, gypsum dissolves when exposed to fresh water and alters soil’s physical, chemical, and engineering properties. As fresh water flows through soil, gypsum is leached out and causes significant plastic deformations. This work addresses the evolution of unrecoverable vertical strain and void ratio of an artificial sandy gypseous soil subjected to soaking and leaching processes under one-dimensional loading conditions. A set of experimental leaching-deformation tests was performed inside a modified consolidometer with a controlled water flow system. In order to quantify evolution of void ratio during salt leaching, modified phase relationships were presented and implemented. Measured deformations, and the corresponding variation of leachate properties, were manipulated to obtain the evolution of void ratio under loading and leaching settings. The results showed that the leaching process produced considerable magnitudes of gradual plastic compressive strains, even at gypsum contents of as little as 5%. These strains were found two to 26 times higher than those measured on similar, but non-gypseous soil specimens subjected to soaking. Furthermore, the magnitude of leaching-induced strain was found, in many cases, two to five times that induced by soaking. The results suggested that void ratio can increase substantially under salt leaching conditions, even when the soil body compresses. From geotechnical viewpoint, quantifying deformations associated to leaching in addition to soaking is unquestionably critical for insightful design of civil projects constructed on gypseous soils.
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Data sets generated during the current study are available from the author on reasonable request.
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The author would like to thank the staff of the Central Labs Unit of the College of Engineering, the University of Anbar, for facilitating access to the soil mechanics lab.
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Al-Sharrad, M.A. Collapsibility and leaching behavior of an artificial sandy gypseous soil. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 445 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03465-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03465-0