Geotechnical characteristics and mineralogy of compacted clays used as an impervious core for the camligoze dam, turkey

Abstract

Soil materials used to construct the impervious core of the Camligöze dam consist of clay minerals, quartz, feldspar, and calcite. Smectite and chlorite + kaolinite appear to be the dominant clay minerals. Illite-smectite and illite also are present. The soils are predominantly of the CL (inorganic clays, silty clays, sandy clays of low plasticity) type, and to a lesser extent of the MH (inorganic silts of high plasticity) type and gravelly, sandy, and silty clay. The study-area soils are not active, provide low to medium swelling potential, and are impervious when compacted. According to the undrained shear strength when compacted, materials can be regarded as “soft.” Evaluation based on specific gravity, maximum dry unit weight, optimum water content, liquid limit, and the plasticity index results in an assessment rating of the relative desirability of the tested soils for core as 3 (very high level of desirability). For a small quantity (20%) of the soils that are of the MH type, the desirability is 9 (very low level of desirability). The materials are generally usable as impervious material for the clay core. © 1996 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.