Abstract:
Marine clays are reported to undergo an irreversible change in plasticity on drying. Various reasons such
as the presence of halloysite and allophane minerals that change their structure, the presence of sesquioxides or organic matter that undergo cementation and the presence of salinity that generates strong
attractive forces leading to aggregation on drying have been reported. In this study, the properties of
Cochin marine clay, obtained from Cochin, India, in air-dried and oven-dried conditions were evaluated.
The study shows that the plasticity characteristics get altered on drying, but can be reversed by proper
dispersion using dispersion tools.
