A large scale laboratory swell test to establish the susceptibility to expansion of crushed rock containing pyrite

Michael L. J. Maher, Bernadette Azzie, Cróna Gray, Jon Hunt

In the proceedings of: GEO2011: 64th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 5th Pan-American Conference on Teaching and Learning of Geotechnical Engineering

Session: Laboratory Testing

ABSTRACT: Certain rock types, particularly mudstones and shales, are susceptible to destructive progressive expansion, when they contain sufficient oxidisable sulphides and other minerals that allow the growth of gypsum. The most widely documented cases of damage from pyrite-induced expansion are in Quebec, but the most recent cases have come to light in Ireland and it is now estimated that thousands of houses, as well as some industrial and institutional buildings are undergoing progressive damage. This paper describes a series of large scale laboratory swell tests conducted over a period of almost two years. The results confirmed that crushed mudstone aggregate continues to swell at a rate of 0.6% of fill thickness per year even after being removed from a 5-year old building where it had caused severe structural damage. The swell tests also confirmed that all size components in a well graded aggregate contribute to the rate and magnitude of heave.

RÉSUMÉ: Certains types de roches, particulièrement les schistes argileux et les shales, peuvent être affectées par un gonflement croissance de gypse. Les cas les mieux documentés de dommages causés par le gonflement relié à la pyrite se trouvent au Québec, mais les cas les plus récents sont apparus en Irlande, et on estime que des milliers de résidences, en plus de certains bâtiments industriels et institutionnels, subissent actuellement des dommages progressifs. Cet période près de deux anste argileux continue de gonfler à un taux de 0,6 structuraux importants. Les essais de gonflement confirment également que tou

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