Influence of clay mineralogy and pore-medium chemistry on clay sediment formation

Abstract

The responses of the two common clay minerals in soils, namely kaolinite and montmorillonite, to varying physicochemical factors are quite drastic and opposite. The effect of variation in the physicochemical factors is phenomenal at very high water contents of the sediments, as the electrical forces of attraction and repulsion play a decisive role in controlling the structure of the sediment formed. This note discusses through detailed illustrations the effect of dielectric constant and electrolyte concentration as well as the effect of valency and hydrated size of the exchangeable cations on the sediment volume of clayey soils as governed by the clay mineralogy. Key words: clays, kaolinite, montmorillonite, pore-medium contamination, sediment formation.