Microstructure and cementation of two carbonatic fine-grained soils

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of the microstructure and cementation of two carbonatic fine-grained soils obtained from a deposit of lacustrine origin formed during the Wisconsin glaciation. The two soils differ in the degree of cementation (with average total carbonate contents of ∼55% and ∼38%), the dominating carbonate mineral (calcite versus dolomite), and the forms of carbonates present. The study is founded on observations of the microstructure using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry, and examination of the effects of carbonate dissolution on Atterberg limits and particle-size distribution. In both soils, the majority of the carbonate is in the form of a coating layer on the clay and silt particles, with a thickness less than 2–3 μm, and decreasing in the sample with lower carbonate content. This coating layer “networks” particles and groups of particles. Carbonate cementation impacts the engineering properties of both soils, and the site’s overconsolidation ratio (OCR) profile clearly reflects changes in carbonate content and microstructure. One-dimensional compression tests show that cementation is associated with a moderate degree of structuring, and that the resulting structure is stable, with no complete destructuration occurring even after the effective stress exceeds 10 times the preconsolidation stress.