Dispersion Characteristics of Clay from Mushroom Cave, Meramec Park Lake Project, Meramec River, Missouri

The results of a laboratory study to assess the dispersion characteristics of a plastic clay (CH) from Mushroom Cave, Meramec Park Lake Project, Missouri, are presented. The sedimentary characteristics of the clay were investigated by X-ray radiography, neutron scanning, and microscopic examination of selected specimens. The mineralogy and chemical properties of the clay and the chemical properties of the natural eroding water (Meramec River water) were determined. Pinhole erosion tests conducted on undisturbed soil specimens, using both distilled water and natural water as the eroding fluid, indicated the clay was nondispersive. The results from the soil pore water chemistry tests plotted in the nondispersive zone on Sherard's relationship between dispersion and soil pore water chemistry, thus confirming the results of the pinhole erosion tests.