Geotechnical characterization of Natural Zeolite

This study covers the findings of laboratory test results on two different zeolites. During the laboratory tests, different grain sized zeolites were used. According to the present fine contents, zeolites were entitled with ?granular? (GZ-1 and GZ-2) and ?fine? (FZ-1 and FZ-2).Most of the previous studies on zeolites were focused on the cation exchange capacities (CECs) of the material. The alternative usage of zeolite with bentonite instead of sands has also been investigated. However, a study on the use of zeolites alone in geotechnical applications has not been investigated, so far.In this thesis, geotechnical characterization of natural zeolites was presented. To assess the suitability of zeolites in geotechnical applications, some engineering properties of zeolites (e.g., compaction properties, compressibility, shear strength and hydraulic conductivity) were investigated.The results show that zeolites had relatively low dry unit weights than those of sands and clays. Also, it is observed that the shear strength properties of zeolites were similar with dense sands. Hydraulic conductivity tests showed that the compacted granular and fine zeolites have high hydraulic conductivities than the desired limit values for impervious soil liners. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that zeolites may be used as a light weight geomaterial and permeable reactive barrier material in many geotechnical applications.