Effect of Gravel on Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted Soil Liners

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Abstract
How much gravel should be allowed in low‐hydraulic‐conductivity, compacted soil liners? To address this question, two clayey soils are uniformly mixed with varying percentages of gravel that, by itself, has a hydraulic conductivity of 170 cm/s. Soil/gravel mixtures are compacted and then permeated. Hydraulic conductivity of the compacted gravel/soil mixtures is less than 1×10-7cm/s for gravel contents as high as 50–60%. For gravel contents ≤60%, gravel content is not important: all test specimens have a low hydraulic conductivity. For gravel contents >50–60%, the clayey soil does not fill voids between gravel particles, and high hydraulic conductivity results. The water content of the nongravel fraction is found to be a useful indicator of proper moisture conditions during compaction. From these experiments in which molding water content and compactive energy are carefully controlled, and gravel is uniformly mixed with the soil, it is concluded that the maximum allowable gravel content is approximately 50%.

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