On the Swelling Behaviour of Weak Rocks Due to Gypsum Crystallization

The paper describes the case of an industrial pavement in Northern Italy, subjected to significant uplift (up to 0.2-0.4 m) due to the response of the rock mass below the concrete floor. The study included monitoring the pavement for a long period of time, the execution of a geotechnical investigation campaign and a number of X-ray diffraction analyses. The results of the investigation suggested that a strong correlation exists between the uplift of the pavement, the swelling behaviour of the material exposed by the excavation and the chemical process of gypsum crystallization.