Mechanical behaviour of an expansive clay mixture during cycles of wetting and drying inundated with different quality of water

An investigation on the swelling potential of an expansive clay mixture was carried out through wetting and drying tests. The tests were conducted on samples inundated with distilled, acidic and saline water in a modified consolidation apparatus under surcharge pressures of 10 and 20kPa. The results showed that the swelling potential is increased with increasing the number of wetting and drying cycles until they attain a constant value. The magnitude of swelling potential for samples inundated with distilled water is more than the acidic and saline water. Dry unit weight and specific volume of the soil increase with increasing the number of wetting and drying cycles until they reach nearly constant values that are dependent on the quality of the inundating water. Furthermore, increasing the surcharge pressure causes a reduction in swelling potential, dry unit weight and specific volume.