THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TAP AH KAOLIN SOIL

Tapah kaolin is widely used in ceramics industry and as construction materials.
Kaolin commonly known as one type of clay because of the kaolinite mineral in it.
Different type of clay has different behavior depend on its index and engineering
properties. The properties of soil are depending on the type of fortrtation and the
geological area. The objectives of this report are to determine the index and
engineering properties ofTapah kaolin and determine the soil distribution of kaolin in
Tapah. Four soil samples are taken from Associated Kaolin Industries Sdn. Bhd in
Tapah, Petak. Laoofatoty experiments, which are sieve analysis, hydrometer analysis,
particle density and vane shear test, were carried out on four soil samples taken from
the study area. The results indiCated that the soil iri the studied area is ptedofuiriaiitly
sand. The samples are classified as silty sand and sandy clay. As for the engineering
properties, the soil is low in iliidrained shear strength oetweeri 12.5 to 2§ kpa. The
condition of soil is soft due to low cohesiveness of soil since the soil contains more
sand. The formation is resulted from the hydrothermal alteration of the metasediments
and granite because the samples collected are located in granitoids area.