ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the consolidation test as a means of assessing the effects of chemical permeants on clay permeability. Specific soil-fluid interactions and their effects on permeability will be discussed in conjunction with analysis of test results. When organic fluids were mixed with clay soils, dramatic changes in the soil consistency and behavior were observed. W. J. Green and his associates tested the effects of various solvents on clay columns designed to simulate liners used at chemical waste disposal sites. Permeability for acetic acid is low indicating that properties other than dielectric constant may be more important. The magnitude of the increase is fluid and soil specific. Other than the obvious decrease in permeability for water that occurs with decreasing particle size, no definite general trends were observed relating permeability with fluid or soil properties. From the limited data set, it was concluded that soil cation exchange capacity and pH have no discernible influence on permeability with organic fluids.
