The reported results indicate that there is a discrepancy regarding seawater's effects on the consistency limits and compressibility properties of clayey soils having relatively low plasticity. To clarify this ambiguity, consistency limits including liquid, plastic and shrinkage limits, sediment volume and compressibility characteristics of ten soils from Turkey were tested using distilled water and seawater from the Aegean Sea. The results indicate that the effect of seawater is negligible in the tested consistency limits and compressibility characteristics of soils when they have liquid limits, determined using distilled water, up to 110%. The effect of seawater on the consistency limits and compressibility of Na-bentonites is the highest. The results of previous research are compiled and compared with those obtained in this study. All reported data were normalized by dividing the index values obtained using seawater by those obtained using distilled water. The comparison of data indicate that the compiled data and the authors' data are in good agreement, i.e. when the normalized values plotted as function of liquid limit, all index properties plot along the unity line until the liquid limit of soils is about 110%; then, the value of normalized index value decreases almost linearly on a log-log scale. However, data gathered from Canadian glacial soils deviate slightly from the reported trend.
Abstract