Swelling of clay-sulfate rocks: A review of processes and controls

The swelling of clay-sulfate rocks is a major threat in tunnel engineering, causing serious damage to tunnels and producing high additional costs during tunnel construction and operation. The swelling problem is also known from other geotechnical fields, such as road and bridge construction, and in conjunction with geothermal drillings. The planning of counter measures that would stop or minimize the swelling is extremely difficult, and it is currently impossible to predict the swelling behavior of an actual geotechnical project. One of the reasons is our limited knowledge of the processes involved in the swelling of clay-sulfate rocks, and of the geological, mineralogical, chemical, hydraulic and mechanical controls of the swelling. This article presents a literature review of processes in swelling clay-sulfate rocks and associated controls. Numerical models that aim at simulating the processes and controls are also included in this review, and some of the remaining open questions are pointed out. By focusing on process-related work in this review, the article intends to stimulate further research across disciplines in the field of swelling clay-sulfate rocks to finally get a step further in managing the swelling problem in geotechnical projects.