Carbonate and gypsum soils properties and classification

Abstract

 Carbonate soils resulting from calcrete development under subhumid to semi-arid climates and gypsum soils resulting from gypcrete development in desert environments exhibit particular properties and engineering behaviours related to the amount of carbonate and gypsum fines. Conventional index properties fail to characterize the engineering behaviour of calcrete and gypcrete soils. The conventional index tests encounter serious restrictions and shortcomings when applied to calcrete and gypsum soils. This paper briefly reports the properties of calcrete and gypcrete soils and suggests that the calcium carbonate and the gypsum equivalent should be considered as the fundamental index properties for

effective characterization and classification of these soils.