Hydraulic conductivity of a dense prehydrated GCL subjected to partial desiccation

A dense prehydrated GCL (DPH) was subjected to partial but increasingly severe drying cycles alternated with permeation with a calcium solution. The permeability remained low for desiccation water contents higher than the manufacturing (prehydration) water content. Increasingly long permeation was however necessary to recover low permeability. The permeability increased irreversibly for desiccation water content lower than that of prehydration. Test results indicate the permeability of DPH GCLs subjected to dry/wet cycles coupled with cation exchange strongly depends on the extent of desiccation.