What are Expansive Clay Soils?

Expansive clay soils, sometimes referred to as ‘shrink-swell’ clays, cause billions of dollars of damage every year. In the UK, insurance claims for shrink-swell damage have been as high £0.5billion in a single year, while in the US problems related to expansive clay cost an estimated $15 billion annually, more than all other geotechnical hazards (such as earthquakes, landslides, etc.) combined. Expansive clays and the problems they cause are particularly expensive because expansive clays cover large areas of land, in countries across the globe.

What are Expansive Clay Soils?

Clay soils have very small, plate like particles which can absorb large quantities of water, expanding to become plastic and sticky. When they are dry, however, these same soils become hard; they shrink, and cracks appear in the ground, and this is known as shrink-swell behaviour. Clay soils containing certain mineral types, such as montmorillonite, smectite or vermiculite, are particularly prone to shrink-swell behaviour and volume changes of up to 10% are not uncommon.

The degree of ground shrinkage will depend upon the shrink-swell characteristics of the clay and the water content near the surface. In the ground, moisture content will vary based upon seasonal rainfall and vegetation growth to a depth of possibly 3m and the depth or variability can be increased by the presence of tree roots, or by localised changes to surface drainage or paved areas. Changes in rainfall intensity, or extended periods of drought, will also have a major impact on ground shrinkage. Clearly changes in climate will have consequences for structures built over areas of expansive clay soils. Designing for climate change resilience will need to account for this in the future by building to mitigate against shrink-swell effects.

What problems are caused by Expansive Clay Soils?

There are several key areas where expansive clay soils will cause significant issues. These include buildings, road pavements and large paved areas such as school playgrounds and car parks.

The damage to buildings

Building damage due to heave caused by expanding foundation soils can result in cracking of walls or floor slabs, but the most dominant form of building damage is from subsidence caused by shrinkage of clays soils below the foundations. Extended periods of dry weather often result in major structural damage, fractured drains and services.

The damage to road pavements and similar structures

In many regions across the globe, expansive clays give rise to major pavement problems requiring regular and expensive maintenance. The problems are caused by variability in moisture content across the road pavement: the pavement surface protects the subgrade from the ingress of moisture, but rainfall on the shoulders does seep down, and penetrates below the edges of the pavement. The subgrade soil below the central section of the road is then drier than the subgrade below the edges and the result is non-uniform shrink-swell behaviour across the road width. The variable volume change across the pavement results in the development of longitudinal cracks, usually located close to the road edge. These cracks can be wide: up to 50mm is not uncommon. For many low-volume roads in expansive clay soil regions, this is the primary cause of pavement failure.

Geogrid Stabilisation - A Proven Solution

Incorporating a stabilisation geogrid - such as Tensar TriAx - within the unbound layers of a pavement, has been proven to be an effective way to control surface cracking, due to shrink-swell behaviour. The aggregate particles interlock with the geogrid and the resulting confinement controls particle movements, distributing strain to prevent surface cracking. Research and trials in Texas have led to geogrid stabilisation becoming the primary solution adopted by the Texas DoT, and further successful examples from the US, Australia, France, and elsewhere have proven the value of this approach.

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