Relative Abundance of Monovalent and Divalent Cations and the Impact of Desiccation on Geosynthetic Clay Liners
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 3
Abstract
Laboratory experiments were conducted on a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) containing Na–bentonite to determine how the swell index and hydraulic conductivity of GCLs are affected by wet-dry cycling with solutions having different relative abundance of monovalent and multivalent cations. Relative abundance of monovalent and multivalent cations was characterized by the RMD of the test solution, which is defined as the ratio of the total molarity of monovalent cations to the square root of the total molarity of multivalent cations at a given ionic strength. RMD was found to control the final swell index, relative abundance of monovalent and divalent cations in the final exchange complex, and the final hydraulic conductivity of bentonite exposed to wet-dry cycling. Ionic strength affects the number of wet-dry cycles required for a change in hydraulic conductivity to occur and the rate of change in swell index. Large increases in hydraulic conductivity and loss of swelling capacity occurred for solutions having . Modest or small changes in hydraulic conductivity and swell index were obtained when the RMD was . These findings suggest that chemical analysis of the pore water in cover soils may prove useful in evaluating the compatibility of GCLs and cover soils used in applications where wet-dry cycling may occur.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study was provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (Contract No. UNSPECIFIED2C-R361-NAEX) and the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Nos. NSFCMS-9900336 and NSFCMMI-0625850. David Carson and Thabet Tolaymat were the project managers for the portion funded by USEPA. The findings in this paper are solely those of the writers. This paper has not been reviewed by USEPA or NSF. Endorsement by USEPA or NSF is not implied and should not be assumed. Tammy Rauen, Sabrina Bradshaw, and Joseph Scalia of the University of Wisconsin-Madison assisted with the testing program. James Olsta of CETCO provided valuable comments during preparation of the manuscript.
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© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Oct 29, 2007
Accepted: May 13, 2008
Published online: Mar 1, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2009
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