Utilization of swelling clays in barriers for waste disposal sites

Swelling clays are usually excavated and discarded from construction sites to avoid the detrimental effect of the swelling pressure on foundations and pavements. In this study five clayey soils were collected from highway construction sites, three of them were desert deposits, and the other two were alluvial soils. The aim of this research is to select the most suitable clay soil for Liners and barriers in waste disposal landfills. The comparison was based on their plasticity, compaction characteristics, CBR values, swelling pressure and swelling percent, and the rate of swelling as an indication to hydraulic conductivity.