1. Introduction 5
2. History of the Term "Laterite" and a New Definition 6
3. Laterites in CivilEngineering 12
4. The Present Study 16
4.1 Selection ofthe Samples 16
4.1.1 Chemical Composition 16
4.1.2 Mineralogy 23
4.1.3 Element Correlation Analysis with the Microprobe 25
4.1.4 Determination of Mechanical Properties 30
4.1.4.1 Grain-size distribution 30
4.1.4.2 Plasticity 43
4.1.4.3 Colloidal activity 56
4.1.4.4 Swelling tests 58
4.1.4.5 Enslin values 62
4.1.4.6 Specific gravity 65
5. Classification of Tropical Weathering Products 66
5.1 Classification on the Basis of Chemistry and Mineralogy 66
5.2 Soil-Mechanics Classification 77
6. Summary and Discussion 81
7. References 84
8. Tables 91