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A Critical Appraisal of Debye Length in Clay-Electrolyte Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Tadikonda Venkata Bharat  and
Asuri Sridharan
Tadikonda Venkata Bharat*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati — 781039, Assam, India
Asuri Sridharan
Affiliation:
Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, India
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: tvb@iitg.ernet.in
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Abstract

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The equivalent diffuse double layer (DDL) thickness in clay-electrolyte systems is a very useful parameter for analyzing the engineering behavior of clays under different environmental conditions. The equivalent DDL thickness is generally assumed to be equal to the characteristic (Debye) length. The present work examined critically the applicability of characteristic length to define equivalent DDL thickness under various clay-surface and pore-fluid conditions. A critical analysis is presented of the changes in the equivalent DDL thickness and characteristic length under the influence of different clay-surface and electrolyte properties. The equivalent DDL thickness was found to be smaller than the characteristic length for a wide range of surface and pore-fluid parameters normally encountered in engineering practice. An accurate and simple power relationship was developed to predict the equivalent DDL thickness from the characteristic length, which is applicable to a wide range of clay-electrolyte systems.

Keywords

Clay-electrolyte SystemDebye LengthDiffuse Double Layer
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 43 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 2015

Footnotes

Formerly Professor of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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