This paper describes the method of earth reinforcement using soilbags and illustrates its application for case studies involving a pond and the expansive soil slope protection for a highway. The strength properties of soilbags were investigated using unconfined compression tests and bearing capacity tests on real soilbags containing either medium grained sands or gravels. The test results show that soilbags have high strength when subjected to an external load. This is primarily attributed to the mobilization of tensile forces in the bags. It is concluded that earth reinforcement using soilbags could substantially improve the bearing capacity of soft ground as well as minimizing deformation under working loads.

Swelling deformation and swelling pressure tests of Tsukinuno bentonite and its mixtures with Toyoura sand were performed on a modified odometer. The swelling strain and swelling pressure of bentonite and its mixtures are dependent on the dry density, the increment of water content and the surface fractality of bentonite particle aggregates in voids. The water volume absorbed by bentonite is related to the surface fractal dimension (Ds) of bentonite. The correlation of the water volume to vertical overburden pressure (p) is obtained as Vw/Vm=KpDs 3 for Tsukinuno bentonite with fractal-textured surface. The maximum swelling strain is predicted according to the correlation of the water volume to vertical overburden pressure. The predictions of the maximum swelling strain are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, the good relationship between swelling strain and elapsed time is also proposed in this paper.

Soil surface area does not keep constant and varies with the yardstick. Experimental results show that the amount of molecules absorbed in the surface monolayers is a function of absorbate size. The surface topography of soils from a few up to as many as thousand angstroms is very well described by fractal dimension, Ds. The surface fractal dimension, Ds is usually used to measure the irregularities of soil surface. The surface fractal dimensions of kaolin, montmorillonite and other six soils are measured using the adsorption method. The surface fractal dimensions of kaolin and montmorillonite are examined by the values measured using the nitrogen/water isotherm adsorption. The relationship between the surface fractal dimension and the content of clay is also discussed in this paper.

Bentonite with a low hydraulic conductivity is often used as engineered barriers to prevent groundwater contamination by leachate from the nuclear waste. When bentonite is immersed into the water solution, swelling deformation and swelling pressure will occur to create a tight contact with confining rock. The swelling deformation and swelling pressure are proportional to the amount of water volume absorbed by bentonite. The water volume absorbed by bentonite is related to its surface fractality. The correlation of the normalized water volume by bentonite volume (Vw=Vm) to vertical overburden pressure (p) is obtained as Vw=Vm ¼ KpDs 3, which presents a method to determine the surface fractal dimension of bentonite using the swelling tests. The surface fractal dimensions (Ds) of Wyoming bentonite and Tsukinuno bentonite are 2.64, 2.65, respectively obtained from the swelling tests. The surface fractal dimension of bentonite can be used to estimate the maximum swelling strain and swelling pressure in the disposal system f nuclear waste.