Wesley, L. D. (2001). GeÂotechnique 51, No.

10, 901±904

TECHNICAL NOTE

Consolidation behaviour of allophane clays

L . D. W E S L E Y 

KEYWORDS: clays; consolidation; deformation; permeability; DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS

mineralogy.
INTRODUCTION
Residual clays in which the predominant clay mineral is allo-
phane are formed in situ from the weathering of volcanic ash.
They are often referred to as volcanic ash soils; however, this
term is very general and can cover a wide range of soils that do
not contain allophane. Hence in this note the term allophane
clays is used. Such clays are found in many parts of the world,
in particular Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zeal-
and, Central and South America, and parts of Africa. Allophane
clays have unusual characteristics: their basic geotechnical
properties have previously been described by the author
(Wesley, 1973, 1977). Information on their consolidation charac-
teristics is very limited; this note is a contribution towards
®lling this gap.
The clay mineral allophane was originally considered to be
amorphous: that is, non-crystalline or `gel-like'. More recent
research shows that this is not the case (Wada, 1989). Small-
angle X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy show allophane
to consist of aggregations of spherical particles about 4 nm in
diameter. Also, allophane normally occurs in conjunction with
another clay mineral called imogolite. Imogolite appears to
consists of threads, smooth and curved, varying in diameter
from 10 to 30 nm, and extending up to several ìm in length.
The imogolite threads `weave' between the aggregations of
allophane particles, or form `bridges' between them. This gives
the material a very open `porous' structure.
OEDOMETER TESTS
Oedometer tests have been carried out on undisturbed sam-
ples from Indonesia and New Zealand. Most of the tests form
part of a research programme, but some are routine tests done
for speci®c projects. Results from six of the tests, considered to
be representative of all the results, are presented here. Details
of these samples are given in Table 1. Sampling was done either
using thin-walled sample tubes or by taking block samples.
In Fig. 1 the results are plotted in the normal manner of void
ratio against pressure, using a log scale for the latter. In Fig. 2
the curves are re-plotted using a linear scale. The results show
several important characteristics. First, the curves in Fig. 1 are
of a similar shape, resembling those of overconsolidated materi-
als with `apparent' preconsolidation pressures ranging from
about 300 kPa (Sample I.6) to nearly 1000 kPa (Sample NZ.1).
Second, the initial void ratios are high, and cover a wide range,
from about 2´5 to 5´3. Third, when plotted on a linear scale,
their behaviour is not really similar: in fact it shows quite
distinct differences. Some samples, such as I.3 and NZ.7, show
steadily increasing stiffness with stress level, while other sam-
ples, such as I.4 and I.6, show a marked decrease in stiffness at
speci®c pressures: that is, they show a clear `apparent' precon-
solidation pressure. Other samples, such as NZ.1 and NZ.6,
show approximately linear behaviour. Since the `apparent' pre-
consolidation pressure of I.4 and I.6 has no connection with the
stress history or overburden pressure it is perhaps better referred
to as the vertical yield pressure. Note that this vertical yield
pressure is greater for Sample I.4 than that for I.6, although the
latter is from a much greater depth and thus has a much higher
overburden stress than the former. It is clear from Figs 1 and 2
that the behaviour of allophane clays in oedometer tests does
not conform to a regular pattern. The reason why some
allophane clays display a clear yield stress while others do not
is unknown. It may be related to the initial density of the parent
ash, but could also be due to variations in the composition of
the ash.
Fig. 3 illustrates a further unusual characteristic, namely that
compressibility is not related to void ratio. The wide range of
natural void ratios of allophane clays suggests that there might
be some link between compressibility and void ratio. In Fig. 3
the tangent `constrained modulus' M is used as a measure of
compressibility, de®ned as:
Stress
Mˆ under conditions of zero lateral strain
Strain
Values of M at the start and end of the oedometer tests (during
stress increments 0±200 kPa and 1600±2000 kPa respectively)

Table 1. Details of samples used for oedometer tests

Sample number Location information Depth: m Void ratio Water content: Atterberg limits
%
LL PL PI
I.3 Cipanunjang, Indonesia 1´0 4´76 161´2 187 149 38
I.4 Cipanunjang, Indonesia 3´0 4´72 156´1 179 139 40
I.6 Kamojang, Indonesia 12´2 5´34 190´7 
NZ.4 Omata, New Zealand 7´5 2´58 81´3 
NZ.6 Omata, New Zealand 7´0 3´20 114´1 
NZ.7 Omata, New Zealand 5´1 2´49 88´5 
 Atterberg limits not measured on these samples.

Manuscript received 12 December 2000; revised manuscript accepted 9

August 2001.
Discussion on this paper closes 1 May 2002, for further details see
inside back cover.
 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Auckland, New
Zealand.

901

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 902 WESLEY
Pressure: kPa 20
10 100 1000 5000

15

Constrained modulus, MPa

10
5

Sample 1.3
0
Sample 1.4 (a)
4
Sample 1.6 15
Sample N.Z.1
Sample N.Z.6
Sample N.Z.7
10
Void ratio

5
3 1 2 3 4 5 6
Initial void ratio
(b)

Fig. 3. Constrained modulus (M) against void ratio: (a) between 0

and 100 kPa; (b) between 1600 and 2000 kPa

void space) is bound up in the allophane itself, and does not

2 play a part in the compression of the soil under applied load.
Fig. 3 also shows that at the higher stress level the compressi-
bility is becoming much more uniform. At low stress levels
structural effects, which vary from sample to sample, presum-
ably dominate compressibility, while at higher stress levels these
effects have largely been eliminated.

1
CONSOLIDATION RATE
Fig. 1. Typical e±log p curves for allophane clays Fig. 4 shows typical square root of time plots, taken from
one of the tests. The sample thickness was 19 mm. The curves
Pressure: kPa
0 500 1000 1500 2000 Root time: min½
0 0 2 4 6 7
0

10
Compression: vertical strain %

20
Degree of consolidation: % of total compression

12

20
80
–25

40
60
kPa

30
16
Sample 1.3 0–
32
Sample 1.4 0k
Sample 1.6 60 Pa
Sample N.Z.1
Sample N.Z.6
Sample N.Z.7

40
80
Fig. 2. Compression curves using a linear scale for pressure
16–32 kPa

are plotted against initial void ratio. It is evident from this plot
that there is no correlation at all between compressibility and
void ratio. Higher void ratios do not lead to greater compressi- 100
bility. The most likely explanation for this appears to be that a
large proportion of the water in the soil (and consequently of Fig. 4. Typical square root of time plots

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 CONSOLIDATION BEHAVIOUR OF ALLOPHANE CLAYS 903
are respectively for low, medium and high stress increments. 50 50
Two important factors are immediately apparent: ®rst, that cv- New Zealand
consolidation is very rapid at low stress levels; and, second, that samples
it decreases very signi®cantly as the stress level rises, to
approach a more `normal' rate at the higher levels. At the low 10 100
stress level the rate is so rapid that 80% of the consolidation
k- Indonesian
occurs within about the ®rst 10 s of load application, and thus samples
cv- Indonesian
too quickly for readings to be taken to establish the initial shape

Coefficient of consolidation: cm2/s

Coefficient of permeability: 10–9 m/s

samples
of the curve. It is therefore dif®cult to extract reliable values of
1 10
coef®cient of consolidation (cv ) for allophane soils from normal
consolidation tests, except at high stress levels.
There are two possible explanations for the very rapid rate of
consolidation at low stress levels. The ®rst is that the samples
are not fully saturated, and it is the instantaneous compression 0·1 1
of the air that produces the rapid consolidation rate, and not the
drainage of pore water from the voids. However, conventional
estimates of degree of saturation based on density, water content
and speci®c gravity suggest that allophane soils are virtually
fully saturated except very close to the ground surface (Wesley, 0·01 0·1
1973), and hence this is unlikely to be the explanation. The
second possibility is simply that the soil has a very high
permeability arising from the structure of the soil. To investi- cv - remou
lded New
gate this issue, a series of consolidation tests have been carried Zealand sa
mples
out using cylindrical samples in triaxial cells. The samples were 0·001 0·01
hand-trimmed from block samples taken from shallow pits; the
trimming was done very carefully to minimise sample distur- 0·0004
20 100 1000 2000
bance. Samples 76 mm long were used with drainage from one
end only, which meant that the theoretical consolidation time Fig. 6. Coef®cients of consolidation and permeability against stress
was increased by a factor of 64 compared with the oedometer level
tests, thereby allowing readings to be taken from which cv
values could be determined. The samples were set up with the
base connected to a pore pressure transducer, and the top to a cv values from the undisturbed samples are tending toward the
drainage outlet. Back pressure was used to fully saturate the values for the remoulded material. It appears that the natural
samples, and the pore pressure dissipation rate was used to structure of the soil gives it a high permeability: this structure
calculate the cv values. The samples were consolidated using a is destroyed by both high stress levels and remoulding. This is
series of pressure increments similar to the procedure used in in keeping with the structure revealed by electron micrographs.
standard consolidation tests, so that cv values were obtained for In its undisturbed state the aggregations of allophane particles
each pressure increment. Tests were carried out on two samples appear to be separated by the `bridges' of imogolite threads,
from Indonesia and New Zealand respectively. The tests on the giving the material its very open structure. After remoulding,
New Zealand samples were repeated after thoroughly remould- this structure disappears and the soil appears as an amorphous
ing the soil. With the Indonesian samples the coef®cient of mass. It should be recognised that at comparable stress levels
permeability was also measured between loading increments: the void ratio of the remoulded soil is less than that of the
this was done by subjecting the samples to small, controlled undisturbed soil, and this no doubt contributes to the difference
pressure gradients, and measuring the ¯ow rate.
The results are illustrated in Figs 5 and 6. Fig. 5 shows the 50
graphs of pore pressure dissipation at each stage of one
particular test. These illustrate the dramatic reduction in dissipa-
tion rate with stress level: the time for 50% dissipation at the
highest load increment is approximately three orders of magni- 10
tude greater than that at the lowest increment. Fig. 6 shows the
d

coef®cients of consolidation (cv ) and permeability (k) plotted

rbe

against stress level, and emphasises the trend already apparent

Coefficient of consolidation: cm2/s

istu

from Fig. 5. It is clear that the high cv values are a direct

und

1
re¯ection of the k values.
ples

It is also seen that after remoulding the behaviour becomes

sam

more `conventional', with consistently low cv values that do not

change greatly with stress level. At the higher stress levels the
land

0·1
Zea
New

20 80
0– 0·01
16
Dissipation: %

40 00
40 20 0– kP
0– 800 a
10

kP ulded
4 New Zealand samples remo
0–

00 a
60
2

kP
00
50

a
–1

kP

0·001
00

80
kP
a

100 1·5 2·0 2·5 3·0

10–2 10–1 1 10 102 103 Void ratio
Time: min
Fig. 7. Coef®cient of consolidation against void ratio for the New
Fig. 5. Pore pressure dissipation tests on a sample from Indonesia Zealand tests

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 904
in consolidation rates. However, it is not the complete explana-
tion, as Fig. 7 indicates. This shows the coef®cient of consoli-
dation plotted against void ratio. It is clear that two distinct
relationships exist, one for the soil in its undisturbed state and
another for the soil in its remoulded state.
Returning to Fig. 4 and the shape of the graphs of consolida-
tion against root time, note that there is an upper limit to the
coef®cient of consolidation that can be measured with conven-
tional consolidation tests. This value is about 0:01 cm2 =s, which
is much less than the values indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. It is
therefore not normally possible to measure cv values for allo-
phanic clays with conventional consolidation tests.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FOUNDATION DESIGN AND BEHAVIOUR
Settlement estimates based on oedometer tests are normally
made by extracting suitable parameters from the tests: either the
log parameters Cc and Cs , or the linear parameters M (con-
strained modulus) and mv (coef®cient of compressibility). With
normally consolidated or lightly overconsolidated sedimentary
soils, which show a distinct preconsolidation pressure, the log
parameters are often the most appropriate, while with heavily
overconsolidated soils, which lack a distinct preconsolidation
pressure, the linear parameters may well be more appropriate.
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WESLEY
Allophane clays exhibit quite variable behaviour, and no ®xed
guidelines can be given except that the results should be plotted
using both linear and log scales, and a choice then made as to
which parameters are the most appropriate for settlement esti-
mates. It is only by plotting the results on both scales that a
clear picture of the consolidation behaviour is obtained.
The cv values suggest that consolidation rates in the ®eld can
be expected to be very high. In terms of foundation perform-
ance the soil is likely to behave in a drained manner: no
signi®cant pore pressures will be generated during construction,
and consolidation will fully occur as the load comes onto the
soil. Post-construction settlement is thus likely to be small.
REFERENCES
Wada, K. (1989). Allophane and imogolite. In Minerals in Soil Environ-
ments, 2nd edn, SSSA Book Series No. 1, pp. 1051±1087. Soil
Science Society of America, Madison, USA.
Wesley, L. D. (1973). Some basic engineering properties of halloysite
and allophane clays in Java, Indonesia. GeÂotechnique 23, No. 4,
471±494.
Wesley, L. D. (1977). Shear strength properties of halloysite and
allophane clays in Java, Indonesia. GeÂotechnique 27, No. 2,
125±136.