The Effect of Nano Clay on Dispersive Soil Behavior (Case Study of Minab City)

Dispersive soils are vulnerable to erosion by water. In soil layers where clays are saturated with sodium ions soil can disintegrate into fine particles and wash away. In such soils, the clay particles lose adhesion in the presence of water and consequently, soil’s colloidal particles easily move away from each other. In order to deal with the adverse effects of this kind of soils, three major options are available: avoiding construction on such soils, replacing dispersive soil and using various additives to improve and stabilize the soil. In most cases, application of the first two methods is infeasible and cost effective but adding various additives is beneficial to overcome the encountered problems. In this study, the effect of nanoclays on dispersive soils of the Minab wastewater treatment plant has been investigated by using special tests for the determination of the soil dispersion. The results of the experiments indicated that, adding a low percent of nanoclays to the soil can improve the level of dispersion a little but adding excessive amounts of nanoclay increases the dispersivity potential.