Compressibility of montmorillonite/kaolinite mixtures in consolidation testing using discrete element method

In this study, the investigation of volumetric changes in soil containing montmorillonite and kaolinite and mixtures of the two has been carried out using the discrete element method (DEM). In order to achieve this goal, seven clay samples containing montmorillonite and kaolinite were prepared using the DEM by modeling all physicochemical forces between particles during consolidation testing. Particles were simulated in both flexible and non-flexible modes. The consolidation coefficients along the loading and unloading paths were found to be dependent upon the montmorillonite content of a given mixture. The results of analysis were then compared with those from laboratory testing.