Remarks on the design of clay liners used in lagoons as hydraulic barriers

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Leroueil ◽  
J. P. Le Bihan ◽  
R. Bouchard

Considering that (i) the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays is smaller on the wet side of optimum; (ii) the plastic limit is the water content below which the soil develops fissures under small stresses; (iii) the plastic limit and the optimum standard Proctor water content are similar for many natural soils; and (iv) the strength of compacted clays, thus the limit of trafficability, is a function of (w – wopt)/Ip, relevant conditions for the design of clay liners and the evaluation of their hydraulic conductivity are proposed. Key words : compacted clay, liner, hydraulic conductivity, strength, design.

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majdi A. Othman ◽  
Craig H. Benson

Several studies have shown that freeze–thaw causes changes in the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays. Cracks formed by ice lensing and shrinkage cause the hydraulic conductivity to increase. In this paper, changes in hydraulic conductivity are related to changes in morphology. Photographs of thin sections of frozen specimens show that ice lenses form in compacted clay during freezing in a closed system. Photographs also show that similar ice structures are obtained for one- and three-dimensional freezing, which explains why similar hydraulic conductivities are obtained for both conditions. The photographs also show that a significant network of cracks forms in a single cycle of freeze–thaw. With additional cycles, new ice lenses are created and thus the hydraulic conductivity continues to increase. However, after about three cycles the number of new ice lenses becomes negligible and hence further changes in hydraulic conductivity cease. The temperature gradient and state of stress affect morphology and hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays subjected to freeze–thaw. At larger temperature gradients, more ice lenses form and hence the hydraulic conductivity increases. In contrast, application of overburden pressure inhibits the formation of ice lenses and reduces the size of the cracks remaining when lenses thaw. As a result, the hydraulic conductivity is reduced. Key words : compacted clay, hydraulic conductivity, clay liners, soil liners, freeze-thaw, ice lenses, structure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7301
Author(s):  
Marcin K. Widomski ◽  
Anna Musz-Pomorska ◽  
Wojciech Franus

This paper presents research considering hydraulic as well as swelling and shrinkage characteristics of potential recycled fine particle materials for compacted clay liner for sustainable landfills. Five locally available clay soils mixed with 10% (by mass) of NaP1 recycled zeolite were tested. The performed analysis was based on determined plasticity, cation exchange capacity, coefficient of saturated hydraulic conductivity after compaction, several shrinkage and swelling characteristics as well as, finally, saturated hydraulic conductivity after three cycles of drying and rewetting of tested specimens and the reference samples. The obtained results showed that addition of zeolite to clay soils allowed reduction in their saturated hydraulic conductivity to meet the required threshold (≤1 × 10−9 m/s) of sealing capabilities for compacted clay liner. On the other hand, an increase in plasticity, swelling, and in several cases in shrinkage, of the clay–zeolite mixture was observed. Finally, none of the tested mixtures was able to sustain its sealing capabilities after three cycles of drying and rewetting. Thus, the studied clayey soils mixed with sustainable recycled zeolite were assessed as promising materials for compacted liner construction. However, the liner should be operated carefully to avoid extensive dissication and cracking.


1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 872-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott B. Donald ◽  
Edward A. McBean

The acceptance of compacted clay liners, from a management point of view, has been a source of major concern because of the uncertainty associated with the hydrogeologic properties of the clay. By examining the flux of leachate through the compacted clay liner of a typical engineered landfill, where the hydraulic conductivity of the clay is represented by a stochastic process, an acceptance protocol suitable for compacted clay landfill liners is derived. Determination of the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the clay liner is accomplished by comparing the flux of leachate through a homogeneous representation of the clay with the flux obtained by Monte Carlo analyses. Acceptance criteria are subsequently developed based on a statistical technique which calculates the confidence limits about a percentile of a probability distribution as well as about the mean of the distribution. For the landfill configuration simulated, the results indicate that the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay landfill liner follows a lognormal distribution and exhibits virtually no spatial correlation structure. In addition, for liners exhibiting a geometric mean conductivity of 10−7 cm/s and a standard deviation of 0.3, the geometric mean value is a conservative estimate of the hydraulic conductivity of the clay, provided the liner is constructed in a series of four 150 mm lifts. Key words: clay liners, hydraulic conductivity, statistical analyses, latin hypercube, equivalent hydraulic conductivity.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horace K Moo-Young, Jr. ◽  
Thomas F Zimmie

A major concern in the design of landfill covers and liners that use compacted clays as the hydraulic barrier is freezing and thawing. Paper mill sludges have been used in landfill covers to subtitute for clays as the hydraulic barrier. In this study, laboratory-compacted paper sludges have been subjected to one-dimensional and three-dimensional laboratory freezing and thawing cycles. Freezing and thawing increased the hydraulic conductivity of the paper sludges about one to two orders of magnitude. To determine why freezing and thawing cause an increase in hydraulic conductivity, an evaluation of the effects of freezing and thawing on the macrostucture of paper sludges was conducted. Frozen thin sections of paper sludges were prepared after freeze–thaw cycling and were compared to frozen thin sections of a compacted clay. Macrostructure analysis of the paper sludge and clay thin sections was conducted by using back lighting to reveal the details of ice structure. Analysis of the clay thin sections revealed ice lenses and shrinkage cracks. Ice lenses and shrinkage cracks in sludge thin sections were difficult to determine when the same procedure for compacted clays was used. Key words: freeze, paper sludge, landfill, permeability, macrostructure, thin sections.


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