Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-26T08:56:19.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Critical Appraisal of Debye Length in Clay-Electrolyte Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Tadikonda Venkata Bharat  and
Asuri Sridharan
Tadikonda Venkata Bharat*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati — 781039, Assam, India
Asuri Sridharan
Affiliation:
Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, India
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: tvb@iitg.ernet.in
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The equivalent diffuse double layer (DDL) thickness in clay-electrolyte systems is a very useful parameter for analyzing the engineering behavior of clays under different environmental conditions. The equivalent DDL thickness is generally assumed to be equal to the characteristic (Debye) length. The present work examined critically the applicability of characteristic length to define equivalent DDL thickness under various clay-surface and pore-fluid conditions. A critical analysis is presented of the changes in the equivalent DDL thickness and characteristic length under the influence of different clay-surface and electrolyte properties. The equivalent DDL thickness was found to be smaller than the characteristic length for a wide range of surface and pore-fluid parameters normally encountered in engineering practice. An accurate and simple power relationship was developed to predict the equivalent DDL thickness from the characteristic length, which is applicable to a wide range of clay-electrolyte systems.

Keywords

Clay-electrolyte SystemDebye LengthDiffuse Double Layer
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 43 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Formerly Professor of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

References

Achari, G. Joshi, R. Bentley, L. and Chatterji, S., 1999 Prediction of the hydraulic conductivity of clays using the electric double layer theory Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36 783–792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baille, W. Tripathy, S. and Schanz, T., 2010 Swelling pressures and one-dimensional compressibility behaviour of bentonite at large pressures Applied Clay Science 48 324–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bharat, T.V. Sivapullaiah, P.V. and Allam, M.M., 2013 Novel procedure for the estimation of swelling pressures of compacted bentonites based on diffuse double layer theory Environmental Earth Sciences 70 303–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, J. and Anadarajah, A., 1998 Influence of pore fluid composition on volume of sediments in kaolinite suspensions Clays and Clay Minerals 46 145–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, F. and Quigley, R.M., 1985 Hydraulic conductivity of natural clays permeated with simple liquid hydrocarbons Canadian Geotechnical Journal 22 205–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNCDI) (1999) H12: Project to Establish the Scientific and Technical Basis for HLW Disposal in Japan: Supporting Report 2 (Respiratory Design and Engineering Technology), Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Kitazumi, Y. Shirai, O. Yamamoto, M. and Kano, K., 2013 Numerical simulation of diffuse double layer around microporous electrodes based on the Poisson-Boltzmann equation Electrochimica Acta 112 171–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambe, W.T. and Whitman, R.V., 1979 Soil Mechanics New York Wiley.Google Scholar
Low, P.F., 1980 The swelling of clay. II. Montmorillonites Soil Science Society of America Journal 44 667–676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MATLAB 8.0 and Statistics Toolbox 8.1 (2012) The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, USA.Google Scholar
McBride, M.B., 1997 A critique of diffuse double layer models applied to colloid and surface chemistry Clays and Clay Minerals 45 598–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, J.K. and Soga, K., 2005 Fundamentals of Soil Behavior New York Wiley.Google Scholar
Muhunthan, B., 1994 Liquid limit and surface area of clays Geotechnique 41 135–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poortinga, A.B. Bos, R. Norde, W. and Busscher, H.J., 2002 Electric double layer interaction in bacterial adhesion to surfaces Surface Science Reports 47 1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prakash, K. and Sridharan, A., 2004 Free swell ratio and clay mineralogy of fine-grained soils Geotechnical Testing Journal 27 220–225.Google Scholar
Schanz, T. and Tripathy, S., 2009 Swelling pressure of a divalent rich bentonite: Diffuse double-layer theory revisited Water Resources Research 45 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scruton, B. and Blott, B.H., 1973 A high resolution probe for scanning electrostatic potential profiles across surfaces Journal of Physics E: Scientific Instruments 6 472–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sellin, P. and Leupin, O.X., 2014 The use of clay as an engineered barrier in radioactive-waste management — a review Clays and Clay Minerals 61 477–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sridharan, A. and Prakash, K., 1999 Influence of clay mineralogy and pore medium chemistry on clay sediment formation Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36 961–966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sridharan, A. and Prakash, K., 1999 Mechanisms controlling the undrained shear strength behaviour of clays Canadian Geotechnical Journal 36 1030–1038.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sridharan, A. and Choudhury, D., 2002 Swelling pressure of sodium montmorillonites Geotechnique 52 459–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sridharan, A. Rao, S.M. and Murthy, N.S., 1986 Liquid limit of montmorillonite soils Geotechnical Testing Journal 19 156–164.Google Scholar
Tripathy, S. Sridharan, A. and Schanz, T., 2004 Swelling pressures of compacted bentonites from diffuse double layer theory Canadian Geotechnical Journal 41 437–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Olphen, H., 1977 An Introduction to Clay Colloid Chemistry New York Interscience.Google Scholar
Verwey, E.J.W. and Overbeek, J.T.G., 1948 Theory of the Stability of Lyophobic Colloids Amsterdam Elsevier.Google Scholar
Zheng, L. Samper, J. and Montenegro, L., 2011 A coupled THC model of the FEBEX in situ test with bentonite swelling and chemical and thermal osmosis Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 126 45–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed