Mesoscale Behavior of Montmorillonite Clay Modified by a Responsive Polymer
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 2
Abstract
Responsive polymers can be combined with clay particles to form adaptable, or “tunable,” clay–polymer composites. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential for “tunability” of a nanocomposite at the mesoscale through changes in material properties—swelling behavior, Atterberg limits, hydraulic conductivity, and shear strength—with varying pH and ionic concentration of the surrounding fluid. The composite was synthesized from a nonionic form of the polymer polyacrylamide and an expansive clay, montmorillonite. An attempt was made to induce changes in behavior of the composite by exposing the material to a selected range of pH and ionic concentration conditions, thereby influencing the conformation (shape and size) of the responsive polymer molecules under different stress levels and solid contents. Behavior was compared for the cases of predicted coiled, partially extended, and extended conformation. The test results demonstrate that conformation of responsive polymer and tunability of composite depends primarily on solution type, stress levels, and solid content. The “tuning” response of a nanocomposite is maximized with a significant change in ionic concentration of the surrounding fluid. Nanocomposite swelling was 30% less than pure clay and had a friction angle 12° greater than pure clay at high ionic concentration. At low or high pH conditions, nanocomposite tunability was limited.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1266288. The authors thank Ms. Nancy Roberts and Mr. Ken Thomas for their support with the laboratory equipment and testing for this study. Authors also thank undergraduate research assistant Laura Ferrer for helping on collect data on the plastic limit and cyclic swelling tests.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 2 • February 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Sep 6, 2022
Accepted: Jul 26, 2023
Published online: Nov 24, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Apr 24, 2024
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