Interpretation of hydraulic conductivity of bentonites based on sedimentation characteristics

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.This study suggests a new test method for the interpretation of hydraulic conductivity of GCLs. The proposed methodology is sedimentation test which can be applied after swell index test by vigorously shaking the graduated cylinder. The study basically shows that the bentonites may have the same swell index values, but different hydraulic conductivities. Therefore, swell index may not be a suitable test method for the interpretation of hydraulic conductivity. However, bentonites have different sedimentation characteristics which can be correlated well with the hydraulic conductivity. For example, bentonites serving accumulation type of settling (AS) may have greater hydraulic conductivity than the bentonites serving mixed or flocculated type of settling (i.e., MS and FS)