Variation of some engineering properties of clays with heat treatment

This study examines the effects of heat treatment under laboratory conditions for two types of clay collected from eastern Turkey. Clay samples were burned at different temperatures ranging from 100 to 1000 °C. Various clay properties such as liquid limit, plastic limit, optimum water content, maximum dry density and specific gravity were studied. According to the experimental results, the optimum water content rapidly decreased between 100 and 400 °C, whereas a few changes were observed between 400 and 1000 °C. The maximum dry density increased between 100 and 400 °C but this increase was moderate between 400 and 1000 °C. The liquid limit rapidly decreased with the temperature ranging from 100 to 300 °C, while there was no noticeable difference in the interval of 300 and 1000 °C. The plastic limit decreased rapidly between 100 and 400 °C. For temperatures higher than 400 °C, the soil samples showed non-plastic behavior. The specific gravity rapidly decreased between 100 and 600 °C, while it decreased gradually in the interval of 600 and 1000 °C.