Mineralogy-swelling potential relationships for expansive shales

The extent to which mineralogy and swelling potential is correlated in the expansive clays and shales is studied. Sites are selected in Cretaceous shales, including Pierre Shale, that are uplifted into steeply dipping strata near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Swelling potentials are obtained on limited suites of samples with conventional and labor-intensive schemes including Seed and Chen's schemes, and with swell-consolidation measurements in response to saturation, consolidation, and rebound in an oedometer. The results showing the percent total smectite provide a useful index of swelling potential concept defined by Seed and correlates well with the swelling potential indices developed by Seed, Chen, and McKeen.