Swelling Behavior of Compacted Cohesive Soils — An Absorbed Energy Approach

Swelling characteristics of compacted cohesive soil were examined through laboratory tests from an absorbed energy perspective. A series of samples was prepared by a "compression procedure" in the laboratory, in which the energy or work absorbed by tested samples was derived from recorded forces and deformations. Swelling behavior of the compacted samples was found to correlate well with the absorbed energy of the samples. The testing results from this study also led to a correlation between swelling behavior and samples' basic properties (dry unit weight and moisture content), which will provide a quick approximation for swelling susceptibility in the field. The factors that significantly affect swelling characteristics of the compacted soil were also identified. Good correlations among swelling behavior, the absorbed energy, dry unit weights and moisture contents confirmed the viability of the absorbed energy approach in characterizing swelling aspects of compacted cohesive soils.