Hydraulic conductivity of compacted tills from northern Quebec

Abstract

The hydraulic conductivity of six compacted tills from northern Quebec with different grain-size distributions has been studied in saturated conditions in the laboratory. The results show that compaction conditions play an important role in hydraulic conductivity. When considering the hydraulic conductivities of specimens compacted at degrees of saturation greater than the optimum, there is a good correlation with the content of clay-size particles. This paper provides a good practical tool for evaluating preliminary hydraulic conductivity values of compacted tills from northern Quebec on the basis of their grain-size distribution and compaction conditions.Key words: till, hydraulic conductivity, grain-size distribution, compaction conditions.