Correlation Of Anisotropic Free Swell Behavior With Mineralogy In Clearwater Clay Shale From Fort McMurray, Alberta

ABSTRACT: Swelling in shale has long been known to cause problems for structures supported on Clearwater Formation. With zones of low-density clay rich stratum, the Clearwater clay shale possesses a very high swelling potential. An investigation was conducted in the laboratory on four facies of the Clearwater clay shale formation namely, Kcc-710, Kcc-700, Kcb-650, and Kca-625 to determine the swelling potential. Special attention has been devoted to predicting the swelling potential in correlation with mineral composition. The swelling strains in orthogonal directions were measured by conducting free swell tests. X-Ray diffraction analysis was conducted to determine the mineralogical content of samples from the individual facies. By correlating the observed strains with different mineral contents, an explicit relationship among the volumetric strain, the smectite content and the elapsed time was obtained. Moreover, an examination of experimental axial and radial strains was made to determine the anisotropic behavior of the clay shale.