Etude de la repartition de l'eau dans des argiles saturees Mg2+ aux fortes teneurs en eau

Abstract Powdered 2:1 Mg-clay samples were rehydrated up to the maximum hydration. Both scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize their structural organization i.e. particle arrangement, texture and crystal structure. Low-angle X-ray scattering experiments were carried out to quantify the microstructure of the system. The results showed that sample water contents reached at saturation are not directly related to changes in layer distance. The hydration mechanism is rather correlated to particle size and particle aggregate size. It is also shown that the a, b plane extension of the layers influences particle size and shape. Finally, it appears that for a better understanding of clay swelling mechanisms, at high water contents, it is necessary to take into account all organization levels and that the contribution of interlayer space to the total water content, for Mg-smectites, is small.