H. Tosun, COMPARATIVE-STUDY ON PHYSICAL TESTS OF DISPERSIBILITY OF SOILS USED FOR EARTHFILL DAMS IN TURKEY, ASTM geotechnical testing journal, 20(2), 1997, pp. 242-251
Use of dispersive clays in earthfill dams causes serious problems that
may be difficult to solve later unless this type of soil is adequatel
y defined and properly used. The problems may occur suddenly and cause
catastrophic failures. In many countries, such problems have resulted
in dam incidents or failures attributed to dispersive soils. This pap
er briefly presents tests to determine the dispersibility properties o
f soils and discusses their limitations as shown by the comparative st
udy on crumb and pinhole tests. The study was based on test results of
352 samples belonging to 29 different projects currently under planni
ng and design stages in Turkey. As a result of this study, it can be s
tated that the results of pinhole tests mainly confirm those of crumb
tests, while some index tests do not provide a more reliable way to id
entify dispersive soils.