Influence of Inorganic Salt Solutions on the Engineering Behavior of Black Cotton Soil

The key purpose of the clay liner in the landfilling system is to reduce or eliminate leachate interaction with groundwater. Bentonite clays and sand—bentonite mixtures are frequently used as bottom liners because of their significant swelling tendency and low permeability. However, in India, bentonite and sand are both expensive and scarce. It is necessary to get alternative liner material to replace costly bentonites and sands. On the other hand, almost 20% of India’s land is covered with black cotton (BC) soil derived from basalt rock. As a result, the focus of this study was on the utilization of BC soil as a landfill liner. However, it is crucial to evaluate the properties of the liner material in the presence of chemicals that influence the actual engineering properties of the liner material. The main motive of this research is to examine BC soil’s consistency limits, swelling, and volume change tendency under the impact of two inorganic salt solutions (NaCl and CaCl2) at different concentrations (0, 0.1, and 1N). Test findings show that Free Swell Index, consistency limits, coefficient of volume change, swelling strains, and compression ratio were decreased for a rise in cation valency and salt solution concentration.