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Engineering Geology of the Patonga Claystone, Central Coast, New South Wales, with Particular Reference to Slaking Behaviour

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Engineering Geology of the Patonga Claystone, Central Coast, New South Wales, with Particular Reference to Slaking Behaviour THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF THE PATONGA CLAYSTONE, CENTRAL COAST, NEW SOUTH WALES, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SLAKING BEHAVIOUR Sorawit Nunt-jaruwong (M.App.Sc. University of New South Wales) A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2006 i ABSTRACT The Patonga Claystone, a red bed facies in the Narrabeen Group of the Sydney Basin, is one of the most unfavorable rock units in the basin from a geotechnical point of view. This rock unit is composed of sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and claystone. One of the unfavorable characteristics is the low shear strength, which causes instability of cut slopes; another is its slaking-prone behaviour. Numerous measurements of geotechnical properties, along with extensive mineralogical and geochemical determinations, were carried out to identify cause of this slaking behaviour. Key techniques were the use of quantitative X-ray diffractometry for mineralogical analysis, and the determination of slake durability index and related properties to evaluate the slaking behaviour under both standard and more extended conditions. Standard (two cycle) slake durability test results indicate a range from low to high slake durability index values, with some mudstone samples having very low durability and some sandstones having very high slake durability indices. Jar slake test results indicate that the rock samples break rapidly and/or develop several fractures (Ij = 4) in an as-received state, but degrade to a pile of flakes or mud (Ij = 1) if the samples are oven dried before testing. The results for jar slake testing of oven-dried material are comparable, for individual samples, to those obtained from the more comprehensive slake durability tests. The mineralogy of the samples was evaluated by quantitative X-ray diffraction techniques using the Rietveld-based Siroquant processing system. Comparison to independent chemical data show a generally good level of agreement, suggesting that the mineralogical analysis ii results are consistent with the chemical composition of the individual rock samples. Good correlations were also obtained between clay mineralogy determined from oriented- aggregate XRD analysis of the <2 micron fraction and the results from powder diffractometry and Siroquant analysis of the whole-rock samples. Evaluation of the slake durability characteristics and other geotechnical properties in relation to the quantitative mineralogy suggests that quartz and feldspar form a rigid framework in the rocks that resists the disruptive pressures that cause slaking. Expansion of the clay minerals by various processes, including the incorporation of water into the interlayer spaces of illite/smectite as well as changes in pore pressures associated with entry of water into micro-fractures in the clay matrix, are thought to produce the disruptions that cause slaking and degradation. An abundant clay matrix also reduces the strength of the rock materials, probably because of the less rigid nature of the clay minerals relative to the quartz and feldspar particles. As well as the mineralogy, the loss on ignition (LOI) and water absorption percentage were found to provide good indicators of longer-term slaking behaviour. Both properties are also related to the overall clay content. Rock samples with water absorption values of <10, 10-15 and >15% behave as highly durable, intermediate and less durable materials respectively. Rocks with LOI values of greater than 5% by weight behave as less durable rock materials, at least for the strata encompassed by the present study. The water absorption and LOI values were also used to develop a predictive model of slake durability characteristics for the different rock materials in the Patonga Claystone, providing a relatively simple basis for predicting longer-term stability in a range of geotechnical studies. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I thank my supervisors Dr Colin Ward and Greg McNally for setting up the topic, encouraging, understanding, and editing the report. Advice, help, and interest from many other staff members are gratefully acknowledged, in particular Michael de Mol and Rad Flossman with the sample preparation, Irene Wainwright for assistance with the XRF and CEC analyses, and Dr Ervin Slansky and Jaine Steer for the XRD analysis. The National Energy Petroleum Organization (Thailand) is gratefully thanked for their financial support during the study. My colleagues in Engineering Geology Section, Department of Energy Development and Promotion (DEDP) Thailand, are also thanked for their support, and for looking after my duties during my absence from the office. The Schools of Mining Engineering and Civil Engineering, and also the Electron Microscopy Unit at the University of New South Wales, are also thanked for access to laboratory facilities. Sincere thanks are also extended to Kwea Htay and his family, for their kind and unforgettable friendship. Thank you very much, my best friends. I also thank Coal Operations Australia Limited (COAL) for supplying borehole information and core samples for XRD analysis and geotechnical testing. Thanks are also given to Chris Herbert and his colleagues at Mining Exploration Geology Services Pty Limited (MEGS) for their kind and valuable discussions and their ready supply of useful information. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout my student years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES xiii CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Geology of the Sydney Basin 1 1.2 Geology and Geotechnical Problems of 6 Patonga Claystone 1.3 Problems Encountered in Patonga Claystone 7 1.3.1 F3 Freeway slope failure 7 1.3.2 Slump in Woolworths Carpark basement 9 1.3.3 Surficial sliding Toowoon Bay 10 Caravan Park 1.3.4 Sewage Treatment Works, Charmhaven 10 1.4 Aims of study 11 1.5 Research Design 12 1.5.1 Literature review 12 1.5.2 Sampling program 13 1.5.3 Mineral composition 13 1.5.4 Geotechnical properties 17 1.5.5 Data evaluation 17 CHAPTER 2: Geology and Sedimentology 18 2.1 Introduction 18 2.2 Regional Geology 18 2.3 Geology of the Study Area 24 2.4 Sedimentology and depositional Environment of 33 the Patonga Claystone CHAPTER 3: Mineralogical and Chemical Analysis 41 3.1 Introduction 41 3.2 Clay and the Clay Minerals 44 3.2.1 Definitions 44 3.2.2 Classification of the Clay Minerals 46 3.2.3 Interstratified or Mixed-layer Clay Minerals 51 3.2.4 Geotechnical Properties and Clays 54 3.3 X-ray Diffraction Techniques 59 3.3.1 Background Theory 59 3.3.2 XRD Equipment and Setting 62 3.3.3 Sample preparation 63 3.4 Mineral Identification from Powder XRD Data 66 3.4.1 Using Philips APD Software 66 3.4.2 Using XPlot for Windows 69 3.5 Clay Mineral Characteristics from Oriented 70 Aggregate X-ray Diffractrometry 3.5.1 Clay Mineral Identification 70 3.5.2 The Nature of the XRD patterns from 73 the oriented aggregate samples studied 3.5.3 Qualitative interpretation 74 3.5.4 Estimation of illite and smectite 78 proportions in mixed layer clay minerals 3.5.5 Compare I/S proportion to Newmod 82 v 3.5.6 Quantitative Interpretation of Oriented 86 Aggregates 3.5.6.1 Quantitative assessment of clay 86 mineral proportions 3.5.6.2 Clay minerals percentages from 89 oriented aggregates in the present study 3.6 Chemical Analysis 93 3.6.1 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry 94 3.6.1.1 Methodology 94 3.6.1.2 Results 96 3.6.2 Organic Matter Content 99 3.6.2.1 Methodology 99 3.6.2.2 Results 102 3.7 Quantitative Whole-rock Mineralogical 103 Analysis Using Siroquant 3.7.1 Previous Methods 103 3.7.2 Using Siroquant 105 3.7.3 Problems with Siroquant 109 3.7.4 Results 110 3.7.5 Comparison of Siroquant Mineralogy to 114 Chemical Composition 3.7.6 Comparison of Powder and Oriented 119 Aggregate XRD Data 3.7.7 Relationship between LOI and mineralogy 122 3.8 Cation Exchange Capacity 123 3.8.1 Methodology 124 3.8.2 Results 126 3.8.3 Relation of CEC to Clay Content 128 3.9 Comparison to Thin Section Studies 131 3.10 Concluding Summary 133 CHAPTER 4.1: Mudrock Durability 137 4.1.1 Introduction 137 4.1.2 Slaking Mechanisms 138 4.1.3 Causes of Mudrock Deterioration 142 4.1.4 Slake Durability Testing 148 4.1.5 Relevance of Tests to Deterioration in 159 Natural Exposures 4.1.6 Slake Durability Classification 161 4.1.7 Some Previous Studies of Slaking Behaviour 169 4.1.8 Tests Used in this Study 174 4.1.8.1 Jar slake test 175 4.1.8.2 Slake durability test 176 4.1.8.3 Water adsorption 177 4.1.8.4 Water absorption 178 4.1.8.5 Other tests not used 179 CHAPTER 4.2: Durability Test Results 181 4.2.1 Moisture content 181 4.2.2 Jar slake testing 182 4.2.3 Slake durability test 192 4.2.3.1 Slake durability test results 192 4.2.3.2 Rock characteristics after testing 195 4.2.3.3 Rock types and slake durability 199 4.2.4 Water adsorption 202 vi 4.2.5 Water absorption 202 4.2.6 Relations of other parameters to slake 204 durability index 4.2.6.1 Moisture content and slake durability 205 4.2.6.2 Jar slake index against slake durability 207 4.2.6.3 Water adsorption and slake durability 211 4.2.6.4 Water absorption and slake durability 215 4.2.6.5 Slake durability decay index 219 4.2.7 Concluding Summary 221 CHAPTER 5: Other Geotechnical Properties 224 5.1 Introduction 224 5.2 Previous Studies 224 5.3 Tests Used in the Present Study 237 5.3.1 Specific gravity, density and porosity 239 5.3.2 Indirect tensile strength 245 5.3.3 Uniaxial compressive
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