Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2007.

This study addresses the need for investigation of drying-rate characteristics of fine-grain soils. The research was an attempt to develop a parameter for use in thermal consolidation and/or shrinkage modeling. The investigation required the development of new test methods. During the study, a strong correlation between plasticity indices and certain drying characteristics was noted and discussed in detail. An argument is presented for the superiority of the Drying-Rate Test in comparison with current laboratory procedures for determining Atterberg Limits.

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In landfill design, the containment of solid and liquid contaminant is essential. Leachate is produced from the biodegradation of the waste with the migration of liquid including rain-water through the heap. This liquid can become a health hazard if it leaches into the groundwater. Liners are placed beneath leachate collection systems to prevent leachate from seeping into the soil underneath the landfill. Compacted clay liners, usually containing bentonite clay, are widely used. Bentonite can be characterized by its low hydraulic conductivity and high swell potential. With a low hydraulic conductivity, the liner can serve as a barrier. The high swell potential aids in the integrity of a liner when suffering from cracking or puncturing. The chemicals that can be found in leachate are capable of increasing the clays hydraulic conductivity due to chemical interactions. Chemical compatibility testing - laboratory hydraulic conductivity tests using specific chemical solutions as a permeant - are performed to determine the effects. Laboratory hydraulic conductivity tests, regardless of the permeant, can be time-consuming and expensive. In this study, pure Wyoming bentonite clay and Bentofix clay were used. Deionized water and 0.01M, 0.1M, 0.5M concentrations of four inorganic salt (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2) solutions were the liquids to which both clays were exposed during testing. Plastic limit and liquid limit tests were run on both clays with all 13 liquids. Laboratory hydraulic conductivity testing with pure Wyoming benonite clay was done with 12 different permeants- all solutions except 0.01M CaCl2 and 0.5M CaCl2. The hydraulic conductivity testing on Bentofix clay was run with 3 permeants- de-ionized water, 0.1M CaCl2, and 0.1M NaCl. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between the experimentally determined liquid limit and plastic limit of a specific clay and its hydraulic conductivity when exposed to a synthetic leachate. It was determined that a trend exists that will allow for less expensive and time-consuming determination for hydraulic conductivity of a clay liner when exposed to a specific chemical solution. However, more experimental data need to be collected before a definite trend is verified. The proposed procedure requires that a hydraulic conductivity test of the clay be run using deionized water as the permeant, and plasticity index tests be performed using the leachate.

This dissertation examines the skill of adaptable playing essential for collaborative pianists by looking closely at the sonata's many challenges for ensemble playing, using musical examples from the sonata to study balance between instruments, tone and articulation, choice of voicing, and use of pedal to ensure a successful performance.

Previous thread rolling methods for the plastic limit are shown to be inadequate and inaccurate. Alternative methods for the plastic limit are shown to be imprecise and unreliable. The strength-based concept and use of the fall-cone test to determine the plastic limit are shown to be flawed. An apparatus that replicates Atterberg’s rolling technique, devised and developed by the author, is described, referred to as the Barnes Apparatus. A thread of soil is rolled between two plates configured to permit extrusion and reduction of diameter with much less operator interference than with the standard test and judgement of the crumbling condition is eliminated. Using a loading device nominal stresses are derived and from dial gauge readings diametral strains are determined for each rolling traverse of the soil thread. Toughness has previously only been studied in an empirical or qualitative manner. From plots of nominal stress vs. strain the workability or toughness of the plastic soil is determined as the work/unit volume. The apparatus and test are appropriate to a wide range of soils. Threads are tested over a range of water contents from near the sticky limit to the brittle state. Good correlations between toughness and water content display an abrupt ductile-brittle transition and give an accurate definition of the plastic limit. From the correlations useful properties are obtained such as the maximum toughness at the plastic limit, the toughness limit, the water content at zero toughness, the stiffness transition, the toughness coefficients, the toughness index and the workability index. An investigation into the significance of the soil thread diameter of 3 mm in the standard plastic limit test has found that as the water content of a soil reduces it undergoes a transition from fully plastic, to cracked, to brittle, largely regardless of the diameter of the thread. It is recommended that the 3 mm diameter requirement is withdrawn from the standard test procedure as unnecessary and emphasis placed on observing the behaviour of the soil thread as it is rolled by hand. A review of the relationship between the clay matrix and the granular particles in a soil has found that the linear law of mixtures and activity index are appropriate only at high clay contents. The terms granular spacing ratio and matrix porosity are introduced to explain the effect of the granular particles on the toughness and plastic limit. An analysis confirms that with small diameter soil threads large granular particles affect the results disproportionately. An aggregation ratio term is introduced to explain the change in toughness in the clay matrix as its water content reduces towards the plastic limit. To assess the effect of granular particles in a clay matrix on the toughness and plastic limit the results of tests conducted on mixtures of a high plasticity clay and silt, and sand particles of two different sizes are discussed. Smaller particle sizes are found to have a greater effect on reducing the toughness and the plastic limit of the clay. In the ceramics industry mixing different clays together to obtain suitable properties is common. The toughness and plastic limits of two pairs of mixed clays do not follow the linear law of mixtures but are dependent on the total clay content and the content of a dominant clay mineral.