Duration = 15 mins.

N. Sivakugan
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Elements of Earth

8-35 km crust % by weight in crust

O = 49.2
Si = 25.7 82.4%
Al = 7.5
Fe = 4.7
Ca = 3.4
Na = 2.6
K = 2.4
Mg = 1.9
other = 2.6
12500 km dia
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Soil Formation

Parent Rock

Residual soil Transported soil

~ in situ weathering (by ~ weathered and
physical & chemical transported far away
agents) of parent rock
by wind, water and ice.
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Parent Rock

~ formed by one of these three different processes

igneous sedimentary metamorphic

formed by cooling of formed by gradual formed by alteration

molten magma (lava) deposition, and in layers of igneous &
e.g., limestone, shale sedimentary rocks by
e.g., granite pressure/temperature

e.g., marble
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Residual Soils

Formed by in situ weathering of parent rock

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Transported Soils

Transported by: Special name:

 wind “Aeolian”
sea (salt water) “Marine”
lake (fresh water) “Lacustrine”
river “Alluvial”
ice “Glacial”
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Basic Structural Units

Clay minerals are made of two distinct structural

units.
hydroxyl or
oxygen oxygen

aluminium or
silicon magnesium

0.26 nm
0.29 nm

Silicon tetrahedron Aluminium Octahedron

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Tetrahedral Sheet

Several tetrahedrons joined together form a

tetrahedral sheet.

tetrahedron

hexagonal
hole

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Tetrahedral & Octahedral Sheets

For simplicity, let’s represent silica tetrahedral sheet by:

Si

and alumina octahedral sheet by:

Al

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Different Clay Minerals

Different combinations of tetrahedral and octahedral

sheets form different clay minerals:

1:1 Clay Mineral (e.g., kaolinite, halloysite):

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Different Clay Minerals

Different combinations of tetrahedral and octahedral

sheets form different clay minerals:

2:1 Clay Mineral (e.g., montmorillonite, illite)

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Kaolinite

Al
Si
Typically
70-100 Al
0.72 nm
layers Si
Al
joined by strong H-bond
no easy separation Si
Al joined by oxygen
sharing
Si
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Kaolinite

 used in paints, paper and in pottery and

pharmaceutical industries
 (OH)8Al4Si4O10

Halloysite
 kaolinite family; hydrated and tubular structure

 (OH)8Al4Si4O10.4H2O

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Montmorillonite
 also called smectite; expands on contact with water
Si
Al
Si

Si
Al 0.96 nm
easily separated Si
by water
Si
joined by weak
van der Waal’s bond Al
Si 15
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Montmorillonite

 A highly reactive (expansive) clay

 (OH)4Al4Si8O20.nH2O swells on contact with water

high affinity to water

Bentonite
 montmorillonite family

 used as drilling mud, in slurry trench walls,

stopping leaks
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Illite
Si
Al
Si
joined by K+ ions
Si
fit into the hexagonal 0.96 nm
Al
holes in Si-sheet
Si

Si
Al
Si
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Others…

Chlorite
 A 2:1:1 (???) mineral.
Si Al Al or Mg

Vermiculite
 montmorillonite family; 2 interlayers of water

Attapulgite
 chain structure (no sheets); needle-like appearance
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A Clay Particle

Plate-like or Flaky Shape

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Clay Fabric
edge-to-face contact
face-to-face contact

Flocculated Dispersed
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Clay Fabric

 Electrochemical environment (i.e., pH, acidity, temperature,

cations present in the water) during the time of
sedimentation influence clay fabric significantly.
 Clay particles tend to align perpendicular to the load applied on them.

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Scanning Electron Microscope

 common technique to see clay particles

 qualitative

plate-like
structure

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Others…

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

 to identify the molecular structure and minerals present

Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA)

 to identify the minerals present

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Casagrande’s PI-LL Chart

60
U-line
50
montmorillonite illite A-line
Plasticity Index

40

30
kaolinite
20
halloysite
10

0
chlorite
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid Limit

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Specific Surface

 surface area per unit mass (m2/g)

 smaller the grain, higher the specific surface

e.g., soil grain with specific gravity of 2.7

1 mm cube
10 mm cube
spec. surface = 222.2 mm2/g spec. surface = 2222.2 mm2/g
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Isomorphous Substitution

 substitution of Si4+ and Al3+ by other lower valence

(e.g., Mg2+) cations
 results in charge imbalance (net negative)

positively charged edges

+ +
+ _ _ _ _+ + _ negatively charged faces
+ _ _ _ __
+ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _

Clay Particle with Net negative Charge 28

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Cation Exchange Capacity (c.e.c)

known as exchangeable cations

 capacity to attract cations from the water (i.e., measure of

the net negative charge of the clay particle)

 measured in meq/100g (net negative charge per 100 g of clay)

milliequivalents

 The replacement power is greater for higher valence and

larger cations.
Al3+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ >> NH4+ > K+ > H+ > Na+ > Li+
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A Comparison

Mineral Specific surface C.E.C

(m2/g) (meq/100g)
Kaolinite 10-20 3-10
Illite 80-100 20-30
Montmorillonite 800 80-120
Chlorite 80 20-30

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Cation Concentration in Water

 cation concentration drops with distance from clay particle
+ clay particle +

+- - + cations
+ + +
+ + + - - ++ + +
+ + + + + + + +
+ + - - + +
+ + - + +
+ + + + + -+ + + + +
+ +
+ + + + + - - + + + +
+ + + + + + +
+ + + + +- -+ +
+ + + + +
+ +- -+ +
+ + + +
+ +

+ double layer + free water

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Adsorbed Water

 A thin layer of water tightly held to particle; like a skin

 1-4 molecules of water (1 nm) thick

 more viscous than free water

- - adsorbed water
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
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Clay Particle in Water

adsorbed water

- -
1nm
- -
- - 50 nm
- - free water
- -
- - double layer
- - water
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Summary - Clays

 Clay particles are like plates or needles. They are

negatively charged.

 Clays are plastic; Silts, sands and gravels are non-plastic.

 Clays exhibit high dry strength and slow dilatancy.

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Summary - Montmorillonite

 Montmorillonites have very high specific surface,

cation exchange capacity, and affinity to water.
They form reactive clays.

 Montmorillonites have very high liquid limit (100+),

plasticity index and activity (1-7).

 Bentonite (a form of Montmorillonite) is frequently used as

drilling mud.

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