Prof. D. N. Singh

K SRINIVAS

Ph. D.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, India srinivasciv@gmail.com

LABORATORY SIMULATION OF SOIL-CONTAMINANT INTERACTION

Attempts were made to study the changes undergone by the soils, when they interact with contaminants whose attributes are chemical concentration, pH and temperature, by employing the state-of-the-art techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Nanoindentation, Laser scanning diffraction, zeta potential device and a calorimeter in tandem. The utility of these techniques for establishing physical, chemical and mineralogical changes occurring in the soil, development of the residual normal and shear stresses on the surface of their particles, changes in their hardness, residual modulus and resistance to indentation, when exposed to elevated temperatures has been demonstrated. Efforts have also been made to establish relationships between soil specific parameters (viz., clay content, specific surface area, cation exchange capacity, zeta potential, percentage organic matter) and the heat of wetting, which has been found to be an important parameter that quantifies physico-chemico-mineralogical characteristics of the soil.