Clay minerals
The common clay minerals are montmorillonite or smectite, illite, and kaolinite or kaolin. These minerals tend to form in sheet or plate like structures, with length typically ranging between 10−7 m and 4x10−6 m and thickness typically ranging between 10−9 m and 2x10−6 m, and they have a relatively large specific surface area. The specific surface area (SSA) is defined as the ratio of the surface area of particles to the mass of the particles. Clay minerals typically have specific surface areas in the range of 10 to 1,000 square meters per gram of solid. Due to the large surface area available for chemical, electrostatic, and van der Waals interaction, the mechanical behavior of clay minerals is very sensitive to the amount of pore fluid available and the type and amount of dissolved ions in the pore fluid.