(1) Hydration occurs as clay packets absorb water and swell.
(2) Dispersion (or disaggregation) causes clay platelets to break
apart and disperse into the water due to loss of attractive
forces as water forces the platelets farther apart.
(3) Flocculation begins when mechanical shearing stops and
platelets previously dispersed come together due to the
attractive force of surface charges on the platelets.