CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering: Clay Mineralogy

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering
Clay Mineralogy
CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 1 / 22

Introduction to Clays
Clay particles are those with size less than

2µm
Clay particles are formed as a result of

chemical weathering of the parental rock
Clay particles are generally platy shaped

unlike silt and sand
Clay particles carry surface charges and this

has major influence on the behavior of
clayey soil (eg. plasticity, cohesion)

Molecular Structure of Clay Minerals
Clay minerals are made of two basic molecular structural units
Silica Tetrahedron Alumina Octahedron

Silica Sheets
Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)
Three of the four oxygen ions in each tetrahedron are shared to form a
hexagonal net

Silica Sheets
The bases of the tetrahedra are all in the same plane and all the tips point in
the same direction
The structure has the composition (Si4 O10 )4− and can repeat indefinitely

Alumina Sheets/Octahedral sheets
In case of trivalent cation like aluminum, a dioctahedral structure is formed

with composition Al2 (OH)6 (forms a gibbsite sheet)
In case of divalent cation like magnesium, a trioctahedral structure with
composition Mg3 (OH)6 is formed (brucite sheet)
Clay Minerals

Common Clay Minerals
Kaolinite
common in sedimentary and residual soils
Illite
common in stiff clays and shales as well as in post glacial marine and
lacustrine deposits
Montmorillonite (Smectite group)
dominant clay mineral in soil deposits derived from igneous rocks

Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a 1:1 mineral composed of alternating silica and octahedral sheets
In the plane of atoms common to both sheets, two-thirds of the atoms are
oxygens and are shared by both silicon and the octahedral cations
The bonding between two successive layers is by both van der Waals forces
and hydrogen bonding which is sufficiently strong to permit any interlayer
swelling in the presence of water

Kaolinite
A kaolinite particle is made up of a stack of several layers of the basic 7.2Å

thick units
Scanning Electron Microscope Image Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)
The lateral dimensions of these plates range from about 1 to 4 µm and their
thicknesses vary from about 0.05 to 2 µm

Montmorillonite
Montmorillonite is a 2:1 smectite mineral composed of an octohedral sheet
sandwiched between two silica sheets
The oxygen forming the tips of the terahedral sheet are common to the octahedral
sheet as well
Montmorillonite
Bonding between successive layers is by van der Waals forces and by cations
that balance charge deficiencies in the structure
These bonds are weak and easily separated by adsorption of water and the
spacing is variable ranging from about 9.6Å to complete separation
Scanning Electron Microscope Image Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)
Montmorillonite particles appear in the form of thin films with lateral

dimensions of 0.1 - 0.5 µm and thickness of 0.001 - 0.005 µm
Montmorillonite
Bentonite is very highly plastic, swelling clay material consisting of

montmorillonite mineral
It is widely used for geotechnical applications like slurry trench walls, seepage
barriers, drilling mud during pile driving, grout material etc.
Based on the exchangeable cations present, bentonites are classified as
sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite etc.
Among the clay minerals, sodium bentonite is found to have the smallest
particles and has very high liquid limit (500 % or more)

Illite
Illite is also a 2:1 mineral with a gibbsite sheet sandwiched between two silica
sheet
The main difference from montmorillonite is that the adjacent silica layers are
bonded with potassium ions

Specific Surface Area (SSA)
SSA is the total surface area of individual grains per dry mass of the grains and
the water adsorbed on the particle surface is a function of the SSA
Mineral SSA (m2 /g ) Water adsorbed (%)

Quartz 0.03 1.5 × 10−4
Kaolinite 10 0.5
Illite 100 5
Montmorillonite 1000 50
Ref: Lambe and Whitmann (1969)
As the grain size decreases, SSA of the soil increases

SSA of montmorillonite is 100 times that of kaolinite
6 g of montmorillonite (45 g of illite) has approximately the same surface
area as an entire football field

Clay - Water Interaction
Water molecule is dipolar

Surface of clay particles carry negative charge due to
Isomorphous substitution
Breakage of particles
Dissociation of hydroxyl ions
Isomorphous substitution
It is the replacement of a cation in the mineral structure by another cation of
lower valence but the same physical size
Eg. Replacement of silicon (with valency 4+) ion in a tetrahedral unit by
aluminium (valency 3+) ion

Surface forces (due to electrical charges) significantly influence the behavior
of fine grained soils because of the large surface areas of the particles
Clay-water interaction coupled with the large surface areas results in the high
water holding capacity of clayey soils
The negative surface charges attract cations and the positive charged side of
the water molecules from surrounding water

The region of attracted positive ions in the solution and the negatively
charged clay surface is called Diffuse Double Layer (DDL)
The nature and properties of DDL is dependent on
The mineral
The pore water chemistry
The innermost layer of double layer water is held strongly on the clay surface
and is known as the adsorbed water
Adsorbed water is much more viscous than free water
Adsorbed water cannot be removed by oven drying at 105-110◦ C and can be
considered as a part of the soil grain

Cation Exchange
Exchangeable cations are the positively charged ions in the pore water which
are attracted to the surfaces of clay particles to balance the negative charge
Based on the affinity for attraction the cations can be arranged in the
following manner
Al 3+ > Ca2+ > Mg 2+ > NH4+ > K + > H + > Na+ > Li +

Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
The ability of the clay particles to adsorb ions on its surface is called CEC
CEC is measured in milliequivalents per 100 g of dry soil particles and is a
measure of the net negative charge on the mineral surface
Mineral CEC (meq/100g of dry soil)

Quartz Negligible
Kaolinite 3-8
Illite 40
Montmorillonite 80

Soil Fabric
Soil fabric is the structural framework in which the mineral particles are
arranged
In the case of fine grained soil, the electro-chemical environment during the
deposition plays a major role on the kind of soil fabric

Soil Fabric
Two common type of soil fabric in clays

Flocculated
Dispersed
The faces of the clay minerals are generally negatively charged, but the edges
may be charged positive or negative depending on the depositing environment
Therefore depending on the deposition environment there may be a net
attraction or repulsion between the particles
Flocculated structure is formed when there is net attraction between the
particles
Dispersed structure is a result of repulsion between the particles

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CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 1 / 22

Clay particles are those with size less than

Clay particles are formed as a result of

Clay particles are generally platy shaped

Clay particles carry surface charges and this

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 2 / 22

Clay minerals are made of two basic molecular structural units

Silica Tetrahedron Alumina Octahedron

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 3 / 22

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 4 / 22

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 5 / 22

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

In case of trivalent cation like aluminum, a dioctahedral structure is formed

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 7 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 8 / 22

Kaolinite is a 1:1 mineral composed of alternating silica and octahedral sheets

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 9 / 22

A kaolinite particle is made up of a stack of several layers of the basic 7.2Å

Scanning Electron Microscope Image Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 10 / 22

Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

Scanning Electron Microscope Image Ref: Mitchell and Soga (2005)

Montmorillonite particles appear in the form of thin films with lateral

Bentonite is very highly plastic, swelling clay material consisting of

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 13 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 14 / 22

Mineral SSA (m2 /g ) Water adsorbed (%)

As the grain size decreases, SSA of the soil increases

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 15 / 22

Water molecule is dipolar

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 16 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 17 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 18 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 19 / 22

Mineral CEC (meq/100g of dry soil)

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 20 / 22

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 21 / 22

Two common type of soil fabric in clays

CE3070 Geotechnical Engineering 22 / 22

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