2019 01 27 CAJG SPRINGER Exhaust Characterisation

Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation
IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development
Amjad Kallel · Zeynal Abiddin Erguler · Zhen-Dong Cui · Ali Karrech

Murat Karakus · Pinnaduwa Kulatilake · Sanjay Kumar Shukla Editors
Recent Advances in Geo-

Environmental Engineering,
Geomechanics and
Geotechnics, and Geohazards
Proceedings of the 1st Springer Conference of the
Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable
Development
Editorial Board Members

Hassan Abdalla
Md. Abdul Mannan
Chaham Alalouch
Sahar Attia
Sofia Natalia Boemi
Hocine Bougdah
Emmanuel Bozonnet
Luciano De Bonis
Dean Hawkes
Stella Kostopoulou
Yasser Mahgoub
Saleh Mesbah Elkaffas
Nabil Mohareb
Iman O. Gawad
Mieke Oostra
Gloria Pignatta
Anna Laura Pisello
Federica Rosso
Biswajeet Pradhan
Series editor
Mourad Amer
[email protected]
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) is a series of peer-reviewed books
based on the best studies on emerging research that redefines existing disciplinary boundaries
in science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to develop integrated concepts for
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15883
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Amjad Kallel • Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Zhen-Dong Cui • Ali Karrech
Murat Karakus • Pinnaduwa Kulatilake
Sanjay Kumar Shukla
Editors
Recent Advances
in Geo-Environmental
Engineering, Geomechanics
and Geotechnics,
and Geohazards
Proceedings of the 1st Springer Conference
of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences
(CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
123
[email protected]
Editors
Amjad Kallel Murat Karakus
Sfax National School of Engineering University of Adelaide
University of Sfax Adelaide, WA, Australia
Sfax, Tunisia
Pinnaduwa Kulatilake
Zeynal Abiddin Erguler Department of Materials Science
Kütahya Dumlupınar University and Engineering
Kütahya, Turkey The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ, USA
Zhen-Dong Cui
China University of Mining Sanjay Kumar Shukla
and Technology Edith Cowan University
Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China Perth, WA, Australia
Ali Karrech
The University of Western Australia
Perth, WA, Australia
ISSN 2522-8714 ISSN 2522-8722 (electronic)

IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development
ISBN 978-3-030-01664-7 ISBN 978-3-030-01665-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01665-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018958941
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

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Preface
The physical and mechanical properties of geomaterials are inherently uncertain due to their
anisotropic, heterogeneous, and extremely complex characteristics. This limitation was com-
monly observed in geotechnical projects particularly performed before 1960, with a vague
understanding of its influence on natural and man-made structures. Therefore, a number of
catastrophic failures (e.g., slope instabilities during construction of Panama channel and
Vaiont dam, Malpasset disaster, earthquakes induced soil liquefaction, construction and
landslide problems, etc.) have been recorded during and/or after implementation of many
geotechnical projects. In spite of the negative consequences such as death tolls and destroyed
properties (including whole villages, towns, and cities), the major disasters that occurred
before 1960s are considered as important input parameters in the advancement of analytical
and numerical approaches and models in geotechnics. In parallel with population increase,
new engineering projects, particularly the construction of new residential areas, tunnels, dams,
roads, underground openings, and mining activities, etc., were carried out in more complex
and challenging geological units through advances in excavation and support system tech-
nology. The knowledge and experience gained from these engineering projects, the lessons
learned from these natural disasters, as well as the wealth of data presented at international
conferences or disseminated otherwise are instrumental to better understand the physical and
mechanical behavior of geomaterials. In this spirit, the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences was organized during November 12–15, 2018 in Tunisia with further
contributions on the issues of geo-environmental engineering, geomechanics and geotechnics,
and geohazards.
This edited proceedings volume contains the best papers accepted for presentation at the 1st
Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018 in the field
of geo-engineering. In addition, it includes three keynotes entitled “a new three-dimensional
rock mass strength criterion”, “new tools and techniques of remote sensing for geologic hazard
assessment”, and “land subsidence induced by the engineering-environmental effects in
Shanghai China”.
The book has nine chapters covering the following main areas: (a) Applications in
geo-environmental engineering including soil remediation, (b) Characterization of geomate-
rials using geological, geotechnical, and geophysical techniques, (c) Soil improvement
applications, (d) Soil behavior under dynamic loading, (e) Recent research on expansive soils,
(f) Analytical and numerical modeling of various geo-structures, (g) Slope stability,
(h) Landslides, (i) Subsidence studies, and (j) Characterization and impacts of various
geohazards.
Several books exist in the literature on each of the topics:
1. Geo-environmental engineering
2. Geotechnics
3. Geomechanics
4. Geohazards
[email protected]
vi Preface
However, it is almost impossible to find a single book that investigates all these areas. The
suggested book provides a comprehensive coverage on the abovementioned topics. The papers
have a good balance between theory and practice. Therefore, the content is useful for edu-
cators, researchers, and practitioners who would like to get a broad, comprehensive coverage
in geo-engineering. Some papers report on pioneering developments and others provide
state-of-the-art-techniques to address a wide variety of geo-engineering problems.
Sfax, Tunisia Amjad Kallel

Kütahya, Turkey Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Xuzhou, China Zhen-Dong Cui
Perth, Australia Ali Karrech
Adelaide, Australia Murat Karakus
Tucson, USA Pinnaduwa Kulatilake
Perth, Australia Sanjay Kumar Shukla
July 2018
[email protected]
Acknowledgements
Our appreciation is extended to the authors of the papers for their hard and diligent work and
producing high-quality contributions. We would like to thank the reviewers of the papers for
their in-depth reviews and great efforts in improving the quality of the papers. Also, thanks are
extended to Amjad Kallel who supervised and handled the evaluation process, to Sahbi Moalla
who handled the submission and evaluation system for the ten conference proceedings
volumes, and the publishing staff of Springer headed by Nabil Khélifi, Senior Editor for
their efforts and contributions in completing this conference proceedings volume. All the
above-mentioned efforts were very important in making this book a success.
vii
[email protected]
About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
The Arabian Journal of Geosciences (AJG) is a Springer journal publishing original articles
on the entire range of Earth sciences in partnership with the Saudi Society for Geosciences.
The journal focuses on, but not limited to, research themes which have regional significance to
the Middle East, the Euro-Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia. The journal receives on average
2000 submissions a year and accepts around 500 papers for publication in its 24 annual issues
(acceptance rate 25%). It enjoys the participation of an editorial team of 100 international
associate editors who generously help in evaluating and selecting the best papers.
In 2008, Prof. Abdullah Al-Amri, in close partnership with Springer, founded the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences (AJGS). In this year, the journal celebrates its tenth anniversary. On
this occasion and to mark this event, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the AJGS Prof.
Al-Amri organized in close collaboration with Springer the 1st Conference of the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences (1st CAJG) in Hammamet, Tunisia from November 12 to 15, 2018
(www.cajg.org).
ix
[email protected]
x About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
The conference was an occasion to endorse the journal’s long-held reputation for bringing
together leading authors from the Middle East, the Euro-Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia who
work at the wide-ranging fields of Earth sciences. The conference covered all crosscutting
themes of Geosciences and focused principally on the following ten tracks:
• Track 1. Climate, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironmental changes

• Track 2. Geoinformatics, remote sensing, geodesy
• Track 3. Geoenvironmental engineering, geomechanics and geotechnics, geohazards
• Track 4. Geography, geoecology, geoarcheology, geotourism
• Track 5. Geophysics, seismology
• Track 6. Hydrology, hydrogeology, hydrochemistry
• Track 7. Mineralogy, geochemistry, petrology, and volcanology
• Track 8. Petroleum engineering and petroleum geochemistry
• Track 9. Sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, geomorphology, pedology
• Track 10. Structural/petroleum/mining geology, geodynamics, marine geology
The dynamic four-day conference provided more than 450 attendees with opportunities to
share their latest unpublished findings and learn the newest geoscience studies. The event also
allowed attendees to meet and discuss with the journal’s editors and reviewers.
More than 950 short contributing papers to the conference were submitted by authors from
more than 70 countries. After a pre-conference peer review process by more than 500
reviewers, 700 papers were accepted. These papers were published as chapters in the
conference proceedings by Springer.
The conference proceedings consist of ten edited volumes, each edited by the following
group of Arabian Journal of Geosciences (AJGS) editors and other guest editors:
Volume 1. Patterns and Mechanisms of Climate, Paleoclimate, and Paleoenvironmental

Changes from Low-Latitude Regions
Zhihua Zhang (AJGS Editor): Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Nabil Khélifi (AJGS Editor): Earth Sciences Editorial Department, Springer, Heidelberg,
Germany
Abdelkader Mezghani (Guest Editor): Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Norway
Essam Heggy (Guest Editor): University of Southern California and Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Caltech, USA
Volume 2. Advances in Remote Sensing and Geo Informatics Applications
Hesham M. El-Askary (Guest Editor): Schmid College of Science and Technology at

Chapman University, USA
Saro Lee (AJGS Editor): Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon,
South Korea
Essam Heggy (Guest Editor): University of Southern California and Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Caltech, USA
Biswajeet Pradhan (AJGS Editor): University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Volume 3. Recent Advances in Geo-Environmental Engineering, Geomechanics and

Geotechnics, and Geohazards
Amjad Kallel (AJGS Editor): ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia

Zeynal Abiddin Erguler (AJGS Editor): Dumlupinar University, Kütahya, Turkey
Zhen-Dong Cui (AJGS Editor): China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou,
Jiangsu, China
Ali Karrech (AJGS Editor): The University of Western Australia, Australia
Murat Karakus (AJGS Editor): University of Adelaide, Australia
[email protected]
About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018 xi
Pinnaduwa Kulatilake (AJGS Editor): Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The
University of Arizona, USA
Sanjay Kumar Shukla (AJGS Editor): School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Perth,
Australia
Volume 4. Exploring the Nexus of Geoecology, Geography, Geoarcheology and

Geotourism: Advances and Applications for Sustainable Development in Environmental
Sciences and Agroforestry Research
Haroun Chenchouni (AJGS Editor): University of Tebessa, Algeria

Ezzoura Errami (Guest Editor): Chouaïb Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco
Fernando Rocha (Guest Editor): University of Aveiro, Portugal
Luisa Sabato (AJGS Editor): Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy
Volume 5. On Significant Applications of Geophysical Methods
Narasimman Sundararajan (AJGS Editor): Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Mehdi Eshagh (AJGS Editor): University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
Hakim Saibi (AJGS Editor): United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mustapha Meghraoui (AJGS Editor): Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
Mansour Al-Garni (AJGS Editor): King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Bernard Giroux (AJGS Editor): Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Québec, Canada
Volume 6. Advances in Sustainable and Environmental Hydrology, Hydrogeology,

Hydrochemistry and Water Resources
Helder I. Chaminé (AJGS Editor): School of Engineering—ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto,

Portugal
Maurizio Barbieri (AJGS Editor): University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
Ozgur Kisi (AJGS Editor): Ilila State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Mingjie Chen (AJGS Editor): Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Broder J. Merkel (AJGS Editor): TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany
Volume 7. Petrogenesis and Exploration of the Earth’s Interior
Domenico Doronzo (AJGS Editor): Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain

Emanuela Schingaro (AJGS Editor): Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro—UniBa, Italy
John S. Armstrong-Altrin (AJGS Editor): The National Autonomous University of Mexico,
Mexico
Basem Zoheir (Guest Editor): Benha University, Egypt and University of Kiel, Germany
Volume 8. Advances in Petroleum Engineering and Petroleum Geochemistry
Santanu Banerjee (AJGS Editor): Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
Reza Barati (AJGS Editor): The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Shirish Patil (Guest Editor): Saudi Aramco and King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Volume 9. Paleobiodiversity and Tectono-sedimentary Records in the Mediterranean

Tethys and Related Eastern Areas
Mabrouk Boughdiri (AJGS Editor): University of Carthage, Amilcar, Tunisia

Beatriz Bádenas (AJGS Editor): University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Paul Selden (AJGS Editor): University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Etienne Jaillard (Guest Editor): Université Grenoble Alpes, France
Peter Bengtson (AJGS Editor): Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Bruno R. C. Granier (AJGS Editor): Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France
[email protected]
xii About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
Volume 10. The Structural Geology Contribution to the Africa-Eurasia Geology:

Basement and Reservoir Structure, Ore Mineralisation and Tectonic Modelling
Federico Rossetti (Guest Editor): Università Roma Tre, Roma, Italy

Ana Crespo Blanc (Guest Editor): University of Granada, Spain
Federica Riguzzi (Guest Editor): National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Roma,
Italy
Estelle Leroux (Guest Editor): IFREMER, Unité Géosciences Marines, Plouzané, France
Kosmas Pavlopoulos (Guest Editor): Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Olivier Bellier (Guest Editor): CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Vasilios Kapsimalis (Guest Editor): Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine
Research, Anavyssos, Greece
[email protected]
About the Conference Steering Committee
General Chair
Abdullah Al-Amri: Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AJGS,
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Conference Supervisor
Nabil Khélifi: Senior Publishing Editor, Springer Middle East
and North African Program Springer, a part of Springer Nature,
Heidelberg, Germany
xiii
[email protected]
xiv About the Conference Steering Committee
Scientific Committee Chair

François Roure: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS, IFP—
Energies Nouvelles, France
Walter D. Mooney: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS,

US Geological Survey Western Region, USA
Local Organization Chair

Mabrouk Boughdiri: Associate Editor of AJGS,
University of Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisia
[email protected]
About the Conference Steering Committee xv
Evaluation Chair
Amjad Kallel: Assistant Editor of AJGS, ENIS,
University of Sfax, Tunisia
Publication Chair
Biswajeet Pradhan: Associate Editor of AJGS,
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Essam Heggy: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS,

University of Southern California and Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA
[email protected]
xvi About the Conference Steering Committee
Program Chair
Hakim Saibi: Associate Editor/Assistant Editor of AJGS,
United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Domenico Doronzo: Associate Editor/Assistant Editor of

AJGS, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain
Communication Chair
Mohamed Ksibi: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS, ISBS,
University of Sfax, Tunisia
[email protected]
About the Conference Steering Committee xvii
English Language Advisory Committee
Abdelmajid Dammak: ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia

Chokri Khalaf: FMS, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Dhouha Mabrouk: FLSHS, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Mohamed Elbahi: ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Sami Shami: ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Yasmine Basha: FLSHS, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Conference Manager
Mohamed Sahbi Moalla: Coordinator of AJGS, ISET, Univer-

sity of Sfax, Tunisia
[email protected]
Contents
Part I Keynote
A New Three-Dimensional Rock Mass Strength Criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Pinnaduwa H. S. W. Kulatilake, Mohammad Hadi Mehranpour, Ma Xingen,
and Manchao He
New Tools and Techniques of Remote Sensing for Geologic
Hazard Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Janusz Wasowski
Land Subsidence Induced by the Engineering-Environmental Effect
in Shanghai, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Zhen-Dong Cui
Part II Geo-Environmental Engineering: Identification and Assessment

of Different Geo-Environmental Problems
Synchrotron X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Applications to Speciation
of Metals in Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tatiana Minkina, Dina Nevidomskaya, Tatiana Bauer, Saglara Mandzhieva,
Abdulmalik Batukaev, Svetlana Sushkova, Victoria Shuvaeva, Inna Zamulina,
and Viсtor Chaplygin
Hydro-Geochemical Behavior of Acid Formation of Sulfide Bearing Rocks
Based on Kinetic Column Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Guzide Kalyoncu Erguler and Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Interaction of CuO Nanoparticles with Hordeum Sativum Distichum
in an Aquatic Medium and in the Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Vishnu D. Rajput, Tatiana Minkina, Alexey Fedorenko, Grigoriy Fedorenko,
Saglara Mandzhieva, Svetlana Sushkova, Natalya Chernikova, Nadezhda Duplii,
Anatoly Azarov, and Alexsandr Usatov
Behavioural Responses of Armadillidium Granulatum (Crustacea, Oniscidea)
to Zinc Contaminated Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Raja Jelassi, Wafa Hammami, Chedliya Ghemari, and Karima Nasri-Ammar
Heavy Metals Distribution in Soils of an Agricultural Area Impacted
by Former Mining Activities: Case of Trozza Mine, Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Intissar Elmayel, Pablo L. Higueras, Jalel Bouzid, Eva M. Garcia Noguero,
and Zouhair Elouaer
Statistical Distribution of Geochemical Elements in Stream Sediments
and the Influence of Flood Phosphate Mud on the Mining Area,
Metlaoui, Southwest Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Feyda Srarfi, Raouen Rachdi, Roland Bol, Nadhem Brahim, and Najet Slim Shimi
xix
[email protected]
xx Contents
Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Sediment of the Bizerte

Lagoon in Northern Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Ibtihel Saidi, Olfa Ben Said, Jamel Ben Abdelmalek, Luis Chicharo,
and Hamouda Beyrem
Assessment of Heavy Metals Along a Contamination Gradient in Soils
Collected from Industrial Areas in Northern Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Ahmed Ouni, Chedliya Ghemari, Amina Ben Said, Christelle Pruvot, Francis Douay,
and Karima Nasri-Ammar
PAHs Monitoring in Soils Affected by Electric Power Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Svetlana Sushkova, Abdulmalik Batukaev, Tatiana Minkina, Elena Antonenko,
Irina Deryabkina, Jana Popileshko, and Tamara Dudnikova
Kinetics of Crude Oil Desorption from Contaminated Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Rahal Soufiane, Hadidi Noureddine, and Moulai Mostefa Nadji
Determination of Groundwater Quality Near a Non-engineered Landfill
Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Arindam Saha, Debaprakash Parida, and Ashim Kanti Dey
Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste
in Gabes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Oumaima Chamem and Moncef Zairi
Portland Cement Exhaust Characterization and Its Potential
Use in Mineral Carbon Sequestration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Freeman E. D. Senzani and Antoine F. Mulaba-Bafubiandi
Evaluation of Air Pollutants and Dispersion Patterns for the Adjacent
Areas of Mellitah Gas Complex, Libya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Abdulhamid B. M. Danna, Amjad Kallel, and Mohamed Jamel Rouis
Study of Chemical Composition in Wet Atmospheric Precipitation
in Karachi, Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Saiyada Masood, Sumayya Saied, Azhar Siddique, Shaikh Mohiuddin,
Mirza Hussain, Muhammad Khan, and Haider Khwaja
Part III Geo-Environmental Engineering: Remediation

for Geo-Environmental Problems
Remediation Treatments and Economic Assessment of Oil Residual Sludge
from the Bottom of Tunisian Refinery Crude Oil Storage Tanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Olfa Ben Said, Rihab Belgacem, Boudour Ben Gaffar, Hamouda Beyrem,
and James R Kahn
Proposing Rehabilitation Scenarios for Limestone Quarries with 3D
Modeling and 3D Print: Case of Jbel El Oust (Tunisian Atlas) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Soumaya Ben Fredj, Fetheddine Melki, and Kamel Jridi
Potential Remobilization of Heavy Metals by Wave Friction Case
of Algiers Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Atroune Farid, Hemdane Yacine, and Bouhmadouche Mohamed
Mitigation of Salinity Hazard from Low Permeable Soil by Electrochemical
Treatment: A Laboratory Based Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Mohammed Mustapha Bessaim, Hanifi Missoum, Karim Bendani,
and Mohamed Said Bekkouche
[email protected]
Contents xxi
Heated Blends of Phosphate Sludge: Thermal Transformation

and Microstructure Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Hajer Baccour and Samir Baklouti
Geochemical of Fossil Diatoms and Its Utilization as Adsorbent
in Water Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Touina Amel, Chernai Safia, and Hamdi Boualem
Elaboration and Characterization of New Adsorbent Using Oil Shale
Ash for Dyes Removal from Aqueous Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Youssef Miyah, Anissa Lahrichi, Fatiha Mejbar, Anis Khalil, Meryem Idrissi,
and Farid Zerrouq
Biochars Induced Changes in the Physicochemical Characteristics
of Technosols: Effects of Feedstock and Pyrolysis Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Manel Kammoun-Rigane, Hajer Hlel, and Khaled Medhioub
Short-Term Effects of Sewage Sludge Compost Application
on Some Chemical Properties of Sandy Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Houda Oueriemmi, Kaouther Ardhaoui, and Mohamed Moussa
Part IV Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Characterization of Geomaterials

Generic Classification of Hoars in the Northeastern Part of Bengal Basin,
Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Mohammed Masum and Mohammad Omer Faruk Khan
Geotechnical Characterization of the Batoufam Lateritic Gravels
(West Cameroon) for Road Construction Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Takala Boris Honore and Mbessa Michel
Identification of Geotechnical Properties of Weak Rock Masses
and Stockpiles at Tunçbilek Open Pit Mining and the Related Slope
Stability Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Zeynal Abiddin Erguler, Huseyin Karakus, I. Goktay Ediz, and Cem Sensogut
Review on the Mechanical Behavior of Soil-Structure Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Xue-Ying Yang, Li Yuan, and Zhen-Dong Cui
Influence of Aggressive Groundwater Stream in Substrate for Lateral
Loaded Piles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Janusz Kozubal and Marek Wyjadłowski
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Internal Erosion
on the Behavior of Collapsible Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Med Salah Laouar, Adel Djellali, and Abdelkader Houam
Study on the Deformation Properties of Functionally Gradient Metro
Tunnel Lining Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Tong-Tong Zhang and Zhen-Dong Cui
Geological Context and Fracturing State of the Rock Massifs
of the Jijelian Ledge (Northeast Algeria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chahra Yellas and Riad Benzaid
Engineering Geological Assessment Using Geochemical, Mineralogical
and Petrographic Analysis Along the Riyadh Metro Line 3
(Saudi Arabia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Manuel Cueto, Carlos López-Fernández, Luis Pando, and Daniel Arias
[email protected]
xxii Contents
Strength Estimation of Evaporitic Rocks Using Different Testing Methods . . . . . . 157

Hasan Arman, Osman Abdelghany, Ala Aldahan, Mahmoud Abu Saima,
Bahaa Mahmoud, Saber Hussein, Abdel-Rahman Fowler, and Saaed AlRashdi
Characterization of Soil Stability to Withstand Erection of High-Rise
Structure Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Theophilus A. Adagunodo, Lukman A. Sunmonu, Olagoke P. Oladejo,
and Anuoluwapo M. Olanrewaju
Correlation Between Uniaxial Compressive and Shear Strength Data
of Limestone Rocks by Regression Analysis and ANFIS Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Masoud Rashidi, Adel Asadi, and Biltayib Misbah Biltayib
Numerical Investigation of the Interface Shear Behaviors Between
Double Soil Layers Using PFC2D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Zhong-Liang Zhang, Zhen-Dong Cui, and Ling-Zi Zhao
Comparison of Soil Strength Parameters in a Small and Large Scale
Direct Shear Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
S. Farid F. Mojtahedi, Saeed Rezvani, and Ali Nazari
Effect of Organic Matter on Geotechnical Behavior of Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Rinku Varghese, S. Chandrakaran, and K. Rangaswamy
Sand Failure: Effect of Biocide on the Geomechanical Properties
of Outcrop Carbonate Rock Under Static Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Elizabeth Wuyep, Gbenga Oluyemi, Kyari Yates, and Alfred Akisanya
Statistical Analysis of Non-destructive Evaluation of Concrete Strength
in Several Case Studies of Literature: Effect of the Number of Cores
on the Assessment Predictive Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Faiza Neggaz, Khoudja Ali-Benyahia, and Mohamed Ghrici
Correlation of Electrical Resistivity Test with the Geotechnical
Parameters of Sandy Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Ahsan Naseem, Fazal-e Jalal, Hans De Backer, Ken Schotte, and Muhammad Kashif
Evaluation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties and Structure
of Geological Materials by Broadband Ultrasonic Structuroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Ivan A. Shibaev, Oleg D. Belov, Alexander Kravcov, and Svetlana P. Mesyats
Part V Geomechanics and Geotechnics: The Behavior of Soils

Under Dynamic Loading
Mechanical Instability of Sandy Soils Under Seismic Effect (Algeria) . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Mohammed Bousmaha, Mohamed Bensoula, Renaud Toussaint, Hanifi Missoum,
and Karim Bendani
Seismic Response and Failure Mechanism of the Subway Station:
A Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Zhi-Xiang Zhan and Zhen-Dong Cui
Dynamic Characteristics of Soft Clay Under Traffic Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Shi-An Dai and Zhen-Dong Cui
Case Study of Reliability Liquefaction Analysis Based on Standard
Penetration Test: Sakarya City (Turkey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Zamila Harichane, Ayfer Erken, Mohamed Ghrici, and Alaa Chateauneuf
[email protected]
Contents xxiii
Evaluation of Some Part of Lagos (Nigeria) Wetland for Liquefaction

Vulnerability Using Integrated Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Hamid Oladunjoye, Kayode Oyedele, Omolara Adenuga, and Sofiat Adekoya
Sand-Steel Interface Behavior Under Cyclic Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Mohamed Khemissa, Naoui Tallah, and Djaâfar Barkat
Cyclic Pressuremeter Tests Dedicated to Study the Behavior of Piles
Under Cyclic Transverse Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Rim Baccara, Wissem Frikha, Philippe Reiffsteck, and Sébastien Burlon
Part VI Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Recent Studies on Expansive Soils

Direct Measurements of Swell Potential of Expansive Soils
with Computerized Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Murat Türköz
Temperature Effect on Alkali Contaminated Kaolinitic Clays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
P. Lakshmi Sruthi and P. Hari Prasad Reddy
Study on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Clay Before
and After Single Freeze-Thaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chong Xu and Zhen-dong Cui
Geotechnical Mapping of Clayey Subgrade Soils Characteristics:
A Case Study from Tebessa City (Algeria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Adel Djellali, Med Salah Laour, and Abdelkader Houam
Regression Tools to Quantify the Swelling Pressure of Expansive Soil
in Tebessa Region (Algeria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Yacine Berrah, Abderrahmane Boumezbeur, and Nouar Charef
Dynamic Properties of Soft Clay Under Freezing-Thawing Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Chen-Yu Hou and Zhen-Dong Cui
Stabilization of Clayey Soil Using Lime and Prosopis Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Gopinath Rudramurthy, Poopathi Ramasamy, and Arun Rajendran
Part VII Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Improvement of Physical

and Mechanical Properties of Soils
An Experimental Study to Compare Two Soil Improvement Techniques
Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Yasin Baskose and Candan Gokceoglu
Effect of Combined Application of Mineral Fertilizer in Soil Hydraulic
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Nissaf Karbout, Mohamed Moussa, Nadhem Brahim, Roland Bol,
and Habib Bounina
Glass Fiber Effect on the Undrained Static Response of Chlef Sand
(Northern Algeria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Leyla Bouaricha, Ahmed Djafar Henni, and Laurent Lancelot
Long Term Evaluation of Wetting-Drying Cycles for Compacted Soils
Treated with Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Maafi Nabil, Akchiche Mustapha, and Sara Rios
Geotechnical Properties of Sandy Soil Stabilized Using Cement
and Prosopis juliflora Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
[email protected]
xxiv Contents
Mechanical Properties of Loess Treated by Calcium Lignosulfonate . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Guoyu Li, Xin Hou, Wei Ma, and Fei Wang
Effect of Full Wrap-Around Ends of Geotextile on the Bearing Capacity
of Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Safa Djeridi, Naima Benmebarek, and Sadok Benmebarek
A Direct Shear Investigation on the Determination of the Shearing
Resistance of Reinforced Soil with Waste Rubber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Negadi Kheira and Arab Ahmed
Bearing Capacity Behavior of the Clay and Sand Interface Reinforced
with Geotextiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Said Nouri, Amar Nechnech, and Maria de Lurdes Costa Lopes
Improvement of Geotechnical Properties of Aged Municipal Solid Wastes
Using Dredged Sand and Portland Composite Cement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Md. Maruful Hoque, M. Tauhid Ur Rahman, and Md. Shoriful Alam Mondal
Valorization of Foundry Green Sand in Road Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Hadj Bekki, M. Yacine Haouachine, and Yacine Aouci
Experimental and Numerical Performance Evaluation of Cement-Calcined
Kaolin-River Sand-Clay Mixture as a Highway Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
E. Arinze Emmanuel and C. Ekeoma Emmanuel
Part VIII Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Analytical and Numerical

Modeling of Geo-Structures
An Analytical Model for Determining the Natural Frequency of Retaining
Structures Including the Earth Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Lyazid Guechi and Smain Belkacemi
Modelling of Material and Geometrical Nonlinearities of Footing
by a New Non-Linear Macro-Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Mourad Khebizi, Hamza Guenfoud, and Mohamed Guenfoud
Seismic Response of Back-to-Back MSE Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Mohamed Djabri and Sadok Benmebarek
Numerical Modeling and Parametric Study of Flexible Wall Reinforced
with Anchor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Dounia Amrani
Reliability Analysis of Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Faiçal Bendriss and Zamila Harichane
Numerical Analysis of Piled Raft Interaction in Soft Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Abdelkrim Ferchat, Sadok Benmebarek, and Mohamed Nabil Houhou
Multivariate Assessment of Soil—Building Foundation Interaction
Using PLAXIS Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Ivan A. Shibaev, Ivan E. Sas, Dmitry M. Bagriantcev, and Oleg L. Dudchenko
Probability of Failure Assessment of Building Using Traditional
and Enhanced Monte Carlo Simulation Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Badreddine Chemali, and Boualem Tiliouine
Slope Stability Analysis Under External Static Surcharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Soumia Merat, Lynda Djerbal, and Ramdane Bahar
[email protected]
Contents xxv
Stability Analysis of Slopes Prone to Circular Failures

Using Logistic Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Mehmet Sari
Comparative Study on the Influence of the Variation of Initial Stress
on Slope Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Brahim Lafifi and Mohamed Salah Nouaouria
The Applicability of the Hybrid Method to Analyze Slope Stabilizing
Contiguous Pile Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Mehdi Dib, Salim Kouloughli, and Mabrouk Hecini
Analysis of the Track Critical Velocity in High-Speed Railway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Wan-Kai Zhang, Li Yuan, and Zhen-Dong Cui
Flow Filling of a Closed, Circular and Almost Horizontal Pipe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Wahiba Mokrane and Ahmed Kettab
Part IX Geohazards: Assessments of Mass Movement Based Geohazards

Assessment of Geological Hazards Along Alagaba Highway-Red Sea State,
Sudan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Esamaldeen Ali and El-Khider Rahamt Allah
Mining Geohazards at the Perimeter of the Amyntaio Open Pit Coal Mine,
West Macedonia, Greece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Constantinos Loupasakis
Geomorphic Mapping Reveals ~NW-SE Extension in NW Himalaya . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Afroz Ahmad Shah, Adi Ameza Binti Mohd Addly,
and Mohammad Iskandar Bin Abdul Samat
Contribution of Morpho-Tectonic Analysis in the Study of Spatio-Temporal
Evolution of Land Movements in North-West Tunisia: Example of Balta
and Dir El Kef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Radhia Mansour, Mourad El Koundi, Nassira Zouaoui, and Abdessallem El Ghali
Mapping Geological Risk in Urban Areas (by the Example
of Moscow, Russia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Irina Kozliakova and Olga Eremina
Numerical Simulation of Land Subsidence Caused by Both Dewatering
and Recharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Xu-Bing Xu and Zhen-Dong Cui
Displacement Distribution Caused by Pumping from the Aquifer
in Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Wen-Hao Guo, Zhen-Dong Cui, and Zhen Li
Observations on Failure Behavior of Cut Slopes in Chalky Limestone,
Case Studies in RUS Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Abdullah Kallash and Hernan Vigil
The Landslide of Agrigento Hill (Sicily, Italy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Liguori Vincenzo
ROAD Slope Instabilities in Schist Massifs: Case of the National Road
Linking Marrakech to Ouarzazate (Morocco) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Abdeltif Bouchehma, Azzouz Kchikach, Imad Kadiri, Hamid Essaidi,
Mohammed Himmi, Khalil Bizani, and Hammou Mansouri
[email protected]
xxvi Contents
Rainfall Effect on Slope Stability Using Numerical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Temporal Characteristics of the Rainfall Induced Landslides in the Chinese
Loess Plateau (China) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Aidi Huo, Jianbing Peng, Yuxiang Cheng, Xiaolu Zheng, and Yiran Wen
Tempo-Spatial Distribution and Triggering Mechanism of Loess Landslide:
A Case Study from South Jingyang Platform, Shaanxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Zhao Duan, Wen-chieh Cheng, Jianbing Peng, and Wei Chen
Landslides in the Mila Basin-AGIS Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Nadira Bounemeur, Riad Benzaid, and Souad Atoub
Landslide Distribution Analysis and Susceptibility Mapping: A Case Study
from Haveli District, Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Muhammad Basharat, Rizwan Yousaf, and Muhammad Tayyib Riaz
Debris Flow Susceptibility Assessment at a Regional Scale
Based on Flow-R Model (China) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Yinping Nie and Xiuzhen Li
Vegetation Dynamics on Clay Landslides After Bioengineering Works:
Three Case Studies in North Apennines, Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Donatella Pavanelli, Antea Gennari, Lorenzo Sulpizi, and Claudio Cavazza
Training of Sensors for Early Warning System of Rainfall-Induced
Landslides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Naresh Mali, Pratik Chaturvedi, Varun Dutt, and Venkata Uday Kala
A Photogrammetric Surface Comparison for a Dam Reservoir
in a Landslide—Prone Area in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Sultan Kocaman, Eray Sevgen, and Candan Gokceoglu
Part X Geohazards: Characterization and Impacts of Different Geohazards

Evaluation of Natural Radioactivity Levels of Pre-Cambrian Basement Rocks
from the South-Western Margin of Arabian-Nubian Shield, Sudan . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Mohammed Abdallsamed, Mushaal Salih, and Asim El Mansour
Temporal Shallow Water Tidal Analysis at Sharm Obhur, the Red Sea . . . . . . . . 463
V. R. Shamji
Sinkhole Morphologies from Photogrammetry and Distinct Element
Modeling—An Example from the Dead Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Djamil Al-Halbouni, Eoghan P. Holohan, Hussam Alrshdan, Ali Sawarieh,
and Torsten Dahm
An Assessment of Sensitivity to Desertification in Western High Atlas
of Morocco: An Application to Ain Asmama Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Adnane Labbaci, Belkacem Kabbachi, Abdelkarim Ezaidi, and James Thorne
Erosion Sensitivity Mapping Using GIS-Based Multicriteria Analysis – Case
Study of the Semiarid Macta Watershed, North-West of Algeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Mohammed Amine Hamadouche, Fatima Zohra Daikh, Mohammed Chrair,
Djamel Anteur, Youcef Fekir, and Miloud Driss
Experimental Investigation of Several Different Types of Soil Erosion
Protection Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Hossein Moayedi, Ramli Nazir, Loke Kok Foong, Mansour Mosallanezhad,
and Biswajeet Pradhan
[email protected]
Contents xxvii
Land Use Sensitivity Map for Impact of Land Management on Extreme

Flood Events at the Northeast Coast of Peninsular (Malaysia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Nader Saadatkhah, Jafar Rahnamarad, Shattri Mansor, Zailani Khuzaimah,
Arnis Asmat, Nor Aizam Adnan, and Siti Noradzah Adam
Influence of Anthropogenic Activity on the Development and Spreading
of Flood Hazardous Events in Madeira Island (Portugal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Davide Baioni
Towards Development of Risk-Based, Soil and Groundwater Screening Values
(Threshold Values) for Petroleum Hydrocarbon (PHC) in Libya and Tunisia
by Considering Climate and Regional “Geographical” Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Salahadein Ahmed Alzien, Roger Brewer, Olfa Ben Said, and Rafig Azzam
Understanding Preparedness Insufficiency in the Context of DRRM:
A Case Study in Malinao, Albay, Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
Ana Marie R. Abante
Transposition of the Genius Paraseismic Knowledge at Elements
of Architectural Design; Case of Algerian Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Mohamed Benabdelfattah and Youcef Kehila
Protecting Heritage Structures Against Liquefaction:
Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Amir Tophel and G. V. Ramana
[email protected]
About the Editors
Dr. Amjad Kallel is an Associate Professor of Environ-

mental Geology. He holds a B.Eng. in Georesources and
Environment (1998) from the University of Sfax (Tunisia) and
an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Georesources and Environment
(2004) from Hokkaido University (Japan). He joined Venture
Business Laboratory (VBL) at Akita University, Japan (2005–
2006) as a researcher focusing on refining and recycling
technologies for the recovery of rare elements from natural
and secondary sources. Back in Tunisia, he worked at the
University of Gabes from 2006 to 2011, where he contributed
to the elaboration of teaching programs at the Higher Institute
of Water Sciences and Technologies of Gabes. Since 2011, he
has joined the Sfax National School of Engineering (Univer-
sity of Sfax, Tunisia). There, he has also been involved in
various research projects related to Environmental Geology
and Environmental Geotechnics. He has organized many
prestigious workshops, seminars, and international confer-
ences. In 2016, he joined the Arabian Journal of Geosciences
(Springer) as an Assistant Editor supporting the
Editor-in-Chief. Currently, he is Executive Editor of the
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
(Springer).
xxix
[email protected]
xxx About the Editors
Dr. Zeynal Abiddin Erguler is a Full Professor at Geolog-

ical Engineering Department at Kütahya Dumlupınar
University (Turkey). He holds a B.Sc. (1998), an M.Sc.
(2001), and a Ph.D. (2007) in Geological Engineering from
Hacettepe University (Turkey). His research interests mainly
focus on rock mechanics, engineering geology, environmental
geology, and soil mechanics. His current investigation is to
understand and model thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of
shale rocks in the area of shale gas production. In addition to
doing many researches and performing industry funded pro-
jects, he has also been teaching and supervising undergraduate
and graduate students. In 2017, he joined the Arabian Journal
of Geosciences (AJGS) as an Associate Editor responsible for
evaluating submissions in the fields of rock mechanics, engi-
neering geology, environmental geology, and soil mechanics.
Prof. Dr. Zhen-Dong Cui is the Dean of Institute of

Geotechnical Engineering, China University of Mining and
Technology. In July 2008, he obtained the Ph.D. from School
of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Since then, he had been a postdoctoral research fellow in the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for 1 year.
He joined Shanghai Institute of Geological Survey in 2009. In
July 2010, he joined CUMT as an associate professor and was
promoted to full professor in 2013. Supported by China
Scholarship Council, from August 2015 to August 2016, as a
visiting scholar, he researched and studied in the department
of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering,
University of Colorado Boulder.
He won Nomination of 100 Excellent Doctoral Disserta-
tions in China in 2011. He won Shanghai Excellent Doctoral
Dissertations in 2010 and Excellent doctorate thesis of Tongji
University in 2009. In 2015, he was awarded the third prize of
Shanghai Natural Science. In 2003, he was awarded the sec-
ond prize of Natural Science of the Ministry of Education. In
2008, he was awarded the second prize of Progress of Science
and Technology in Shanghai. In 2012, he was selected as
Qinglan Project for Outstanding Young Teachers of Jiangsu
Province and in 2016, he was selected as 333 Talent Project in
Jiangsu Province. In 2014 and 2017, he was twice selected as
Young Academic Leader of China University of Mining and
Technology. In 2015, he was awarded as Excellent Innovation
Team Leader of China University of Mining and Technology.
His research interests focus mainly on the urban subway
tunnel, the deformation of soft foundation, the soil dynamics,
the centrifuge model test, and the artificial frozen soil. In the
past 5 years, he took charge of National Natural Science
Foundation of China (NSFC), Jiangsu Natural Science Foun-
dation of China, Outstanding Innovation Team Project in
China University of Mining and Technology, and Special
Fund for China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. He pub-
lished more than 60 papers, in which 37 English papers
[email protected]
About the Editors xxxi
(indexed by SCI) have been published in Engineering Geol-

ogy, Natural Hazards, Computers and Geotechnics, Cold
Regions Science and Technology, Environmental Earth Sci-
ences, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences, etc. He published three books. He has applied for six
national invented patents, among which four patents have
been awarded. He is the specialized committee member of the
soft soil engineering of the geotechnical engineering branch
of the Civil Engineering Society of China, the member of
international society for soil mechanics and geotechnical
engineering (ISSMGE), and the member of international
association for engineering geology and environment (IAEG).
Assoc./Prof. Ali Karrech has a Multidisciplinary B.Sc. in

Engineering from Tunisia Polytechnic School (Tunisia, 2001),
a M.Sc. in Mechanics of Solids and Structures (2004), and a
Ph.D. in Materials and Structures (2008) from the Ecole
Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris France). In addition,
he received an Accreditation to Supervise Research in Engi-
neering Sciences from the Ecole Normale Supérieure
Paris-Saclay (Paris, France, 2013). Associate Professor Kar-
rech is currently an Associate Professor and Graduate
Research Coordinator at the School of Civil, Environmental,
and Mining Engineering of the University of Western Aus-
tralia. Prior to his appointment at the UWA, Assoc./Prof.
Karrech was a Senior Research Scientist at the Common-
wealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO) until July 2012. He had also held the position of
Assistant professor at the Petroleum Institute of Abu Dhabi
(2007–2009). He received several research awards especially
from the Australian Research Council and The Research
Council of Oman. Associate Professor Karrech’s research
interests are in the computational geomechanics for resource
engineering applications. In particular, he focuses on
poromechanics, plasticity, finite transformations, continuum
damage mechanics, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and
multi-physics coupling. He is currently a member of Engineers
Australia (MIEAust) and a member of the Australian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM). In 2017, he joined
the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (Springer) as an Associate
Editor responsible for evaluating submissions in the fields of
Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering with particular
focus on computational geomechanics for resource engineer-
ing applications.
[email protected]
xxxii About the Editors
Dr. Murat Karakus holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering

(1991) from Hacettepe University (Turkey), and a Ph.D. in
Geotechnical Engineering (2000) from University of Leeds in
the UK. He is currently an Associate Professor in the School
of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and a Mining/
Geotechnical Engineering Research Group Leader at the
University of Adelaide, South Australia. His research interests
focus on numerical analysis (continuum and discontinuum) in
tunneling and rock mechanics. He has also been researching on
strain burst analysis for deep tunnels and mining excavations. He
has directed and involved many research projects including
Australian Research Council grants. He has published several
book chapters and over 80 papers in international Journals and
Conferences. He is a member of Editorial board of three journals;
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences,
Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, International
Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment. In 2017,
he joined the AJGS as an Associate Editor responsible for
evaluating submissions in the fields of Geo-environmental/
Geotechnical Engineering.
Dr. Pinnaduwa Kulatilake is a Professor of Geotechnical

Engineering and Director of Rock Mass Modeling and Compu-
tational Rock Mechanics Laboratories at the University of Ari-
zona. He is a registered Professional Civil Engineer in California.
He received his B.Sc. (in 1976) in Civil Engineering from the
University of Sri Lanka, Peradeniya, MS (in 1978) in Soil Engi-
neering from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thai-
land, and Ph.D. (in 1981) in Civil Engineering (with geotechnics
emphasis) from the Ohio State University, USA. He has over 38
years of experience in rock mechanics & rock engineering asso-
ciated with mining, civil and petroleum engineering, geotechnical
engineering, and applications of probabilistic and numerical
methods to geo-engineering. He has written over 240 papers and is
a member of several technical committees. He has delivered over
30 keynote lectures and over 50 other invited lectures throughout
the world on topics related to rock fracture network modeling,
probabilistic geotechnics, mechanical and hydraulic properties of
joints, rock slope stability, and mechanical and hydraulic behavior
of rock masses. He has been a research paper reviewer for over 25
technical Journals and an editorial board member for International
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, International
Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Interna-
tional Journal of Advances in Geological and Geophysical
Engineering, Coal Science and Technology and Journal of Mining
& Science-Turkey. Currently, he is serving as an Associate Editor
for Arabian Journal of Geosciences. He has taught short courses
on stochastic fracture network modeling, rock slope stability
analysis, Block theory, and rock joint roughness and aperture in
Sweden, Mexico, Austria, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Poland,
Finland, Australia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Iran, Chile,
China, Italy, Peru, and Tunisia. He has served over 20 years
[email protected]
About the Editors xxxiii
either as the primary or the sole examiner for the geological

engineering professional exam conducted by the Arizona State
Board of Technical Registration. He was a Visiting Professor at
the Royal Institute of Technology and Lulea University of
Technology in Sweden as part of his sabbatical leave. Also, he
was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute, for another part of his sabbatical leave. Due to the
contributions he made on teaching, research, consulting and
service activities, he was elected to the Fellow Rank of the
American Society of Civil Engineers at the relatively young age
of 45. In 2002, he received Distinguished Alumnus Award from
the College of Engineering, Ohio State University and Out-
standing Asian American Faculty Award from the University of
Arizona in recognition of his achievements and contributions
made to the advancement of his profession. In December 2005,
Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan conferred him “Hon-
orary Professorship”. In August 2007, he organized and ran a
successful International Conference on Soil & Rock Engineering
in Sri Lanka. In January 2009, he organized and ran a
high-quality International Conference on Rock Joints and Jointed
Rock Masses in Tucson, Arizona. He was the guest editor for
two special issues published in the Jour. of Geotechnical and
Geological Engineering. He received “Kwang-Hua Visiting
Professorship” for 2009–2010 from the College of Engineering,
Tongji University, China. He was a Recipient of “Guest Pro-
fessorship” from Wuhan University, China for 2010–2013.
A few years back, he also received an award from the Chinese
Academy of Sciences to spend a sabbatical in China as a Senior
Visiting Professor. In 2013 and 2016, he received Peter Cundall
awards.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Shukla is an internationally recognized

expert in the field of Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering. He is
the Founding Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of
Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering. He is also the Pro-
gram Leader of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Edith
Cowan University, Perth, Australia. He holds the distin-
guished professorship in civil engineering at five international
universities in India and Fiji. His research interests include
geosynthetics, ground improvement, and several other topics.
He is an author of 10 books, and more than 200 research
papers, including over 120 refereed journal papers. He is a
fellow of Engineers Australia and several other professional
bodies. He serves on the editorial boards of 12 international
journals.
[email protected]
Part I
Keynote
[email protected]
A New Three-Dimensional Rock Mass
Strength Criterion
Pinnaduwa H. S. W. Kulatilake, Mohammad Hadi Mehranpour,

Ma Xingen, and Manchao He

Abstract Keywords
Discrete element method (DEM) Particle flow code

A new three-dimensional rock mass strength criterion was
developed in this paper by extending an existing rock (PFC) Rock mass strength Polyaxial compression
mass strength criterion. This criterion incorporates the test Intermediate principal stress Fracture tensor
effects of the intermediate principal stress, minimum
principal stress and the anisotropy resulting from these
stresses acting on the fracture system. In addition, the
criterion has the capability of capturing the anisotropic 1 Introduction
and scale dependent behavior of the jointed rock mass
strength by incorporating the effect of fracture geometry Jointed rock masses are known as the combination of intact
through the fracture tensor components. The new criterion rock blocks and discontinuities. Due to the presence of
was proposed after analyzing 284 numerical modeling complicated discontinuity geometry patterns, the inherent
results of the poly-axial, triaxial and biaxial compression statistical nature of discontinuity geometrical parameters,
tests conducted on the jointed rock blocks having one or and the variabilities and uncertainties involved in the esti-
two joint sets by the PFC3D software. Some of these mation of discontinuity mechanical and geometrical prop-
simulation results were compared with experimental ones erties, estimation of the jointed rock mass strength is difficult
to validate the developed PFC3D model that was used for and challenging [1]. On the other hand, understanding the
numerical modeling of jointed blocks. In this research to rock mass strength is crucial to design safe and economical
have several samples with the same properties, a synthetic structures in or on jointed rock masses.
rock material that is made of a mixture of gypsum, sand Analytical, Empirical, and numerical are three available
and water was used. To express the new rock mass approaches to estimate the jointed rock mass strength [1, 2].
strength criterion, it was also necessary to determine the Limitations of the analytical and empirical approaches, and
intact rock strengths under the same confining stress advantages of the numerical approaches in estimating rock
combinations mentioned earlier. Therefore, the intact rock mass strength are discussed in Kulatilake [2]. Because sev-
was also numerically simulated for all three compression eral parameters affect the strength of rock masses, numerous
tests and the intact rock strengths were found for 33 experimental tests are required to find the effect of these
different minimum and intermediate principal stress parameters on the strength of rock masses. That task is time
combinations. consuming, very costly and impractical to perform in the
field and laboratory. To solve this problem some researchers
modeled rock masses with numerical modeling to propose
new rock mass failure criteria. In this method, at first, a
numerical model is calibrated with a limited number of
P. H. S. W. Kulatilake (&) M. H. Mehranpour experimental tests and physical modeling of the rock masses
Rock Mass Modeling and Computational Rock Mechanics and then the calibrated model is expanded to more compli-
Laboratories, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA cated situations with more diverse conditions [3–6].
e-mail: [email protected]
Kulatilake et al. [1] and Wu and Kulatilake [6] used this
M. Xingen M. He procedure incorporating the 3DEC software to find the effect
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground
Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, of the joint geometry parameters on the deformability
Beijing, China properties of rock masses. To quantify the joint geometry
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 3

A. Kallel et al. (eds.), Recent Advances in Geo-Environmental Engineering, Geomechanics and Geotechnics,
and Geohazards, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01665-4_1
[email protected]
4 P. H. S. W. Kulatilake et al.
parameters, they used an extended form of the fracture tensor principal stresses ðr2 Þ. After gathering the results from 284
concept. Kulatilake et al. [4, 5] and He et al. [3] also numerical simulations, the development of a new rock mass
extended the fracture tensor concept to fracture tensor failure criterion was initiated using the fracture tensor con-
components and developed new rock mass strength criteria. cept which was introduced by Oda [9] and developed into
Mehranpour et al. [7] used the same procedure based on the fracture tensor components by Kulatilake et al. [1, 5].
experimental tests and PFC3D [8] modeling on intact rock, Fracture tensor combines the joint orientation distribution,
jointed rock with one joint set and jointed rock with two joint size distribution, joint density for each joint set and the
non-orthogonal joint sets to develop new rock mass strength number of joint sets by a second order tensor. Thus, the
criteria in three dimensions. The new criteria considered the fracture tensor can show the anisotropy and scale effects of
effect of all principal stresses in three dimensions and they rock masses which are exhibited by the presence of joints.
are applicable for any type of rock mass, especially for rock To express the new rock mass strength criterion, it was also
masses which generally have non-orthogonal fracture sys- necessary to determine the intact rock strengths under the
tems. These criteria also show the anisotropic strength same confining stress combinations mentioned earlier.
behavior of rock masses due to the orientation of joint sets. It Therefore, the intact rock was also numerically simulated for
should be mentioned that compared to other numerical all three compression tests and the intact rock strengths were
methods, in the PFC3D, macro parameter values are not found for 33 different minimum and intermediate principal
directly used in the numerical model, and micro parameter stress combinations. For details of the experimental and
values applicable between the particles should be calibrated numerical procedures, the reader is referred to Mehranpour
using the macro property values, and then these calibrated and Kulatilake [10] and Mehranpour et al. [7].
micro parameter values are used in PFC3D modeling. This
paper presented one of the strength criteria developed in
Mehranpour et al. [7] in a summarized form. 3 Results
Figures 12–15 of Mehranpour et al. [7] show the rock block

2 Procedures strength values obtained for the synthetic jointed and intact
rock models under different minimum and intermediate
In the conducted research to have several samples with the principal stress combinations. These figures indicate that for
same properties a synthetic rock material that is made of a each combination of the minimum and intermediate principal
mixture of gypsum, sand and water was used. To develop a stresses, the jointed rock blocks with 2 joint sets and 1 joint
new rock mass strength criterion, first conventional experi- set have resulted in a lower strength compared to that of the
mental tests on the intact rock and the joint as well as the synthetic intact rock and the jointed rock blocks with 2 joint
polyaxial compression tests on the intact rock and jointed sets have resulted in a lower strength value compared to that
samples were performed on the synthetic rock samples. It of the jointed rock blocks having 1 joint set with the same
should be mentioned that polyaxial and triaxial compression properties as the first joint set of the rock sample with 2 joint
tests were performed in the laboratory with a limited number sets. This means that adding of joint sets to a sample under
of boundary stress conditions and joint set systems, because the same minimum and intermediate principal stress combi-
the experimental tests are expensive. Then, these experi- nation reduces the strength of the sample. Figure 12 of
mental tests were simulated using PFC3D and the numerical Mehranpour et al. [7] also shows that the intermediate prin-
results were compared with the experimental results of cipal stress has a significant effect on the synthetic intact rock
synthetic intact rock and synthetic jointed rock blocks. If strength and it can increase the intact rock strength up to
these two groups of results did not match, micro parameter about 25%. Increase of the intermediate principal stress while
values of PFC3D were modified until very close results were keeping the minimum principal stress constant, increases the
obtained with an acceptable error. Accordingly, the micro strength of intact rock to a peak value and then the strength
properties of the PFC3D model were calibrated based on the decreases. However, in Figs. 12–15 for each r3 level in the
experimental test results; it turned out to be one of the jointed rock models, the reduction of the strength after
challenging parts of this project. Afterwards, polyaxial, tri- reaching the peak strength due to increase of r2 seems to be
axial and biaxial compression tests for the intact rock and lower compared to that of the intact rock model. In some
jointed rock blocks were simulated in the PFC3D with dif- plots, even the strength reduction does not seem to exist
ferent combinations of minimum ðr3 Þ and intermediate especially for low r3 values and high joint set dip angles.
[email protected]
A New Three-Dimensional Rock Mass Strength Criterion 5
4 Development of a New Rock Mass mentioned that if rI for the intended r3 and r2 combination
Strength Criterion is not available, based on the Mehranpour and Kulatilake
[11] paper one of the three intact rock failure criteria out of
By subjecting 150 synthetic jointed rock blocks to biaxial the Modified Lade, Modified Wiebols and Cook and Mogi is
loading, Kulatilake et al. [5] developed a biaxial strength recommended to represent the intact rock strength value.
criterion for jointed rock masses. Based on extensive labo- However, because in this research the intact rock strength for
ratory and numerical polyaxial test results on jointed coal all minimum and intermediate principal stress combinations
blocks, He et al. [3] extended the Kulatilake et al. [5] cri- is available, it is not necessary to use intact rock failure
terion to the polyaxial compressive stress condition. The criteria to estimate the intact rock strength.
obtained results in the current study led to the following It should be mentioned that if the joints have the same
observations: mechanical properties with isotropic behavior on the joint
plane, the effect of r2 variation on F22 should be the same as
(a) Increase of joint set dip angles, in general, reduces the effect of r3 variation on F33 . Therefore, under this
the jointed rock block strength and increases F22 (the condition Eq. 1 can be simplified to Eq. 2 as follows:
fracture tensor component in r2 direction) and F33 (the 2 3
fracture tensor component in r3 direction). Thus, rJ F33 F22
6 7
the increase of F22 and F33 reduces the jointed rock Sr ¼ ¼ exp k4 q þ q 5 ð2Þ
rI r3 r2
p rc þ 1 p rc þ 1
block strength.
(b) Increase of the minimum and intermediate principal
stresses reduces the effect of joint shearing on the In Eq. 2, k, p and q are empirical coefficients. In the
jointed rock block strength. Therefore, the increase of conducted research because all the joints were saw cut, they
the minimum and intermediate principal stresses redu- have the same isotropic mechanical behavior on the joint
ces the effects of F22 and F33 . However, this reduction plane. Thus, to fit the new rock mass strength criterion for
for low minimum and intermediate principal stresses is the numerical modeling results and to find the accuracy of
relatively higher compared to high minimum and the new rock mass strength criterion Eq. 2 can be used. The
intermediate principal stresses. best combination of the empirical coefficients was found by
(c) The effect of the minimum principal stress on the joints maximizing the coefficient of determination, R2 . The maxi-
increases with decreasing angle between the dip direc- mum R2 was found to be 0.94, indicating a very strong fit. It
tion angle of the joint set and the minimum principal results in the best values of 0.675, 3.16 and 0.6, for k, p and
stress direction. Thus, the increase of F33 increases the q, respectively. Figure 1 shows the predicted strength values
effect of r3 on the joints. versus the strength values from the PFC3D modeling for all
(d) The effect of the intermediate principal stress on the 284 data points. It indicates that the suggested strength
joints increases with the decreasing angle between the criterion (Eq. 2) is highly suitable to represent the PFC3D
dip direction angle of the joint set and the intermediate data.
principal stress direction. Thus, the increase of F22
increases the effect of r2 on the joints.
Based on the above-mentioned observations the follow-

ing equation was proposed as a new rock mass strength
criterion:
2 3
rJ 6 k3 k2 7
Sr ¼ ¼ exp 4 q3 F33 þ q2 F22 5
rI r3
p 3 rc þ1 r2
p 2 rc þ1
ð1Þ
where Sr is the strength ratio between the jointed rock mass

strength,rJ , under the minimum and intermediate principal
stresses r3 and r2 and the intact rock strength, rI , under the
Fig. 1 Predicted strength values based on the new rock mass strength
same minimum and intermediate principal stresses, rc is the criterion based on Eq. 2 versus the strength values from PFC3D
uniaxial compressive strength of the intact rock, k2 , k3 , p2 , modeling for all 284 data points from 12 different joint systems having
p3 , q2 and q3 are empirical coefficients. It should be different boundary conditions (R2 = 0.94)
[email protected]
6 P. H. S. W. Kulatilake et al.
5 Discussion minimum principal stress and joint orientation on the rock

mass strength. Because the developed jointed block strength
The equations given in Sect. 4 to estimate the jointed block criterion is expressed in a normalized form by dividing by
strength for synthetic rock are normalized with respect to the the intact block strength, the normalized jointed block
synthetic intact rock strength. Therefore, the equations are strength criterion is applicable for any rock mass. Guidelines
applicable for any rock mass. The equations allow estimat- are given to show how the developed strength criterion can
ing the normalized jointed block strength in any direction in be applied to field rock masses.
three dimensions. By estimating the strength in different
directions, the strength anisotropy and the minimum nor-
malized jointed block strength can be estimated in three References
dimensions. The intact block strength can be estimated using
one of the available intact rock strength criteria. To estimate 1. Kulatilake, P.H.S.W., Wang, S., Stephansson, O.: Effect of finite
the parameters of the intact rock strength criterion, it will be size joints on deformability of jointed rock at the
three-dimensional level. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 30(5),
necessary to perform a few laboratory tests as usual. To
479–501 (1993)
apply the equations given for normalized jointed block 2. Kulatilake, P.H.S.W.: Physical, empirical and numerical modeling
strength for any rock mass, first, the fracture geometry data of jointed rock mass strength In: Feng, XT., Hudson, J. (eds.)
(number of fracture sets and orientation distribution, size Invited Book Chapter Rock Mech. Eng., CRC Press, Balkema,
Taylor & Francis Group (2016)
distribution and intensity of each set) should be collected for
3. He, P.F., Kulatilake, P.H.S.W., Liu, D.Q., He, M.C.: Development
the intended rock mass. These data will allow the calculation of a new three-dimensional coal mass strength criterion. Int.
of the two fracture tensor components perpendicular to the J. Geomech. 17(3) (2016)
direction jointed block strength is desired. These two frac- 4. Kulatilake, P.H.S.W., Malama, B., Wang, J.: Physical and particle
ture tensor components go into the normalized jointed block flow modeling of jointed rock block behavior under uniaxial
loading. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. 38(5), 641–657 (2001)
strength equation. The confining stresses should be applied 5. Kulatilake, P.H.S.W., Park, J., Malama, B.: A new rock mass
based on the in situ stress system. For the time being the failure criterion for biaxial loading conditions. Geotech. Geol. Eng.
estimated coefficient values of the equations can be used to 24(4), 871–888 (2006)
estimate the jointed block strength. It is important to note 6. Wu, Q., Kulatilake, P.H.S.W.: REV and its properties on fracture
system and mechanical properties, and an orthotropic constitutive
that these coefficient values depend on the ratios of joint model for a jointed rock mass in a dam site in China. Comput.
mechanical property values to intact rock property values. Geotech. 43, 124–142 (2012)
This dependence should be investigated in a future research. 7. Mehranpour, M.H., Kulatilake, P.H.S.W., Xingen, M., He, M.C.:
Development of new rock mass strength criteria. Rock Mechanics
and Rock Engineering (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-
018-1538-6.
6 Conclusion 8. Itasca Consulting Group Inc.: PFC manual, version 5.0,
Minneapolis, (2016)
Based on the observations from synthetic rock testing (on 9. Oda, M.: Fabric tensor for discontinuous geological materials.
Soils Found. 22(4), 96–108 (1982)
intact, joints and jointed rock) in the laboratory, and the 10. Mehranpour, M.H., Kulatilake, P.H.S.W.: Improvements for the
intact and jointed rock modeling results using PFC3D, and smooth joint contact model of the particle flow code and its
the fracture tensor component concept, an existing rock mass applications. Comput. Geotech. 87, 163–177 (2017)
strength criterion was extended to include the stress aniso- 11. Mehranpour, M.H., Kulatilake, P.H.S.W.: Comparison of six
major intact rock failure criteria using a particle flow approach
tropy and develop a new three-dimensional rock mass under true-triaxial stress condition. Geomech. Geophy. Geo-energ.
strength criterion (Eq. 1). The new criterion clearly showed Geo-resour. 2(4), 203–229 (2016)
the effect of the intermediate principal stress as well as the
[email protected]
New Tools and Techniques of Remote
Sensing for Geologic Hazard Assessment
Janusz Wasowski
Abstract sensing principles and digital image processing and inter-

The use of earth surface remote sensing in geology is pretation, we refer the readers to textbooks and manuals
increasing thanks to the continuous development of (e.g., [1–3]).
sophisticated sensors and the improvements in digital Systematic use of remote sensing in geology began in the
image processing techniques. Here we focused on new 20th century, thanks to an increased availability of airphotos.
remote sensing tools and techniques capable of delivering Initially, black and white photography was used in recon-
high-resolution data for geologic hazard investigations. naissance geologic mapping [4]. Another important step was
These include airborne imaging systems such as UAVs the launch of Earth Resource Technology Satellite-1
(Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles) and LiDAR (Light Detec- (ERTS-1) in 1972, which heralded the exploitation of
tion and Ranging), as well as new radar sensors onboard space-borne sensors for mapping of the Earth’s resources.
of Earth-orbiting satellites. We emphasize the applica- Here we discussed selected innovative remote sensing
tions of advanced synthetic aperture radar interferometry techniques and their applications in investigations of
(InSAR) techniques referred to as multi-temporal inter- landslides/slope instabilities, as well as seismic and volcanic
ferometry (MTI). With the free imagery availability from hazards. These hazards can affect wide areas and require
the current (since 2014) European Space Agency synoptic (and possibly low-cost) information for their
(ESA) Sentinel-1 mission, MTI can now be more assessment. We also provide representative references on the
affordably exploited for long-term (years), regular uses of new remote sensing techniques in studies of specific
(weekly-monthly), precise (mm) measurements of ground geologic hazards.
displacements over large areas (thousands of km2). This,
in turn, means improved detection and monitoring
capability of landslide/slope instability, seismic and 2 Innovative Remote Sensing Techniques
volcanic hazards. and Applications
2.1 Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles

Keywords

Remote sensing Geologic hazard UAV
LiDAR Satellite InSAR UAVs, also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS),
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or simply
drones, typically require a human operator on the ground [5].
Drones can have onboard various types of simple or
1 Introduction sophisticated imaging sensors. However, they usually
include light digital cameras used to gather very
Remote sensing is often defined as the process of obtaining high-resolution (cm-dcm) images. Given the flexibility in
information about an object, area or process via the analysis survey scheduling, the UAVs are especially suitable for
of data (typically images) acquired by terrestrial or air- or rapid assessment of geologic hazards during the emergency
space-borne sensors. For background information on remote response phase (e.g., [6]). Furthermore, with the extended
flight endurance (several hours), a day-long surveillance
J. Wasowski (&) capability is secured for monitoring active geologic hazards
National Research Council, CNR-IRPI, Amendola 122i,
70126 Bari, Italy
(e.g., volcanos, landslides).

[email protected]
8 J. Wasowski
Importantly, being usually low-flying platforms, UAVs as Small Baseline Subset—SBAS and similar methods [13],
can acquire images also under low altitude cloud conditions. rely on radar imagery acquired by satellites periodically
However, their application can be restricted (or even re-visiting the same area of interest. Using these techniques,
unfeasible) in the presence of strong winds. The aviation we can obtain measurements of distance changes between
regulations can also significantly limit the use of UAVs. the space-borne radar sensor and the ground surface features
While airborne LiDAR and satellites provide, respec- (e.g., human-made structures such as buildings, roads, but
tively, (sub)regional and regional to global scale coverage, also rock outcrops and bare ground) that backscatter elec-
UAVs are best suited for acquisition of very high-resolution tromagnetic radiation emitted by the radar.
images over smaller areas and local-scale applications (e.g., Where vegetation cover is scarce, MTI can provide pre-
3D mapping, [7]; engineering geological surveys, [8]). cise (mm-cm resolution), high-density measurements (from
tens/hundreds to thousands points/km2) on slow
(mm-dcm/year) deformations of the ground surface or
2.2 LiDAR human-made structures. Radar satellites offer regional to
global coverage and nearly all-weather (“see” through the
A good overview of LiDAR technology is given by Tratt [9]. clouds) measurement capability. In the last 10 years, the
LiDAR relies on a laser beam scanning which generates MTI users have benefited from the improved spatial (from 3
spatially “continuous” very high-resolution imagery (clouds to 1 m) and temporal (from 11 to 4 days) resolutions of the
of points) of the ground surface and associated natural and new generation radar sensors (COSMO-SkyMed constella-
artificial features. One can distinguish between Terrestrial tion and TerraSAR-X). Since 2014, the applications of MTI
Laser Scanner (TLS) and Airborne Laser Scanner (ALS), or in geologic hazard investigations can take advantage of the
Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM), with the former Sentinel-1 radar satellite mission of the European Space
being more suitable for local-scale applications, and the Agency. Sentinel-1 provides regular global-scale coverage,
latter for regional studies. TLS and ALS can achieve, high temporal resolution (from 12 to 6 days) and, impor-
respectively, dcm and cm spatial resolutions and sub-cm and tantly, free imagery [14].
dcm measurement precisions. Radar interferometry has been exploited in studies of
ALS is exploited to produce high-resolution topographic ground deformations related to earthquake and volcanic
maps and digital elevation models (DEM) for local to hazards since the 1990s, (e.g., [15]). An overview of the
wide-area geo-hazard studies. Digital cameras are typically applications of MTI and other space-borne techniques in
employed during airborne LiDAR surveys to acquire specific geohazard investigations, as well as relevant litera-
high-resolution optical images. Furthermore, surface change ture, can be found in a comprehensive ESA report [16]. The
detection is provided through repeated TLS or ALS surveys. use of conventional InSAR and MTI in research oriented
This approach has been used for landslide motion and soil engineering geology investigations of landslides and unsta-
erosion volume estimates [10] and volcanic activity assess- ble slopes has been thoroughly discussed in scientific liter-
ment and monitoring (e.g., [11] and references therein). ature (e.g., [17–19]).
Importantly, good results can also be obtained in the pres-
ence of dense vegetation. For example, Cunningham et al.
[12] reported an interesting case of mapping of seismogenic 3 Conclusion
faults in forested mountainous terrain.
However, multi-temporal LiDAR has significant costs New generation aerial and space-borne sensors and inno-
especially in case of airborne surveys. Regular repeated vative remote sensing techniques are capable of delivering
measurements are more feasible with TLS, which, never- high-resolution imagery needed to produce detailed topo-
theless, requires the presence of a human operator during the graphic maps and digital elevations models. The background
scans. One important drawback is that the TLS and ALS topographic information can be frequently updated and
instruments are expensive. represents essential input for geologic hazard mapping and
assessment.
Furthermore, high-precision measurements of ground
2.3 Satellite Multi-temporal Interferometry surface displacements can be delivered by repeated LiDAR
(MTI) surveys and MTI. Satellite radars are well suited for
multi-scale (from regional to local scale) ground deformation
Conventional differential interferometry (DInSAR) and monitoring because of wide/global-area coverage and regu-
advanced MTI techniques e.g., Persistent Scatterers Inter- lar schedule with increasing re-visit frequency (e.g.,
ferometry—PSInSAR™/PSI and related approaches, as well Sentinel-1 mission). Thanks to this, the detection of geologic
[email protected]
New Tools and Techniques of Remote Sensing for Geologic … 9
hazards (e.g., active volcanos or unstable slopes) and their 10. DeLong, S.B., Prentice, C.S., Hilley, G.E., Ebert, Y.: Multitem-
monitoring can be now more effective, especially when poral ALSM change detection, sediment delivery, and process
mapping at an active earthflow. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 37, 262–
combined with suitable ground truth. 272 (2012)
11. Abellan, A., Marc-Henri Derron, M.H., Jaboyedoff, M.: Use of 3D
point clouds in geohazards special issue: current challenges and
References future trends. Remote Sens. 8(2), 130 (2016)
12. Cunningham, D., Grebby, S., Tansey, K., Gosar, A., Kastelic, V.:
Application of airborne LiDAR to mapping seismogenic faults in
1. Drury, S.A.: Image interpretation in Geology, 3rd edn. Nelson forested mountainous terrain, southeastern Alps, Slovenia. Geo-
Thornes, Cheltenham, UK (2001) phys. Res. Lett. 33, L20308 (2006)
2. Khorram, S., van der Wiele, C.F., Koch, F.H., Nelson, S.A.C., 13. Hooper, A., Bekaert, D., Spaans, K., Arıkan, M.T.: Recent
Potts, M.D.: Principles of Applied Remote Sensing. Springer advances in SAR interferometry time series analysis for measuring
International Publishing, Cham, Heidelberg, New York, Dor- crustal deformation. Tectonophysics 514–517, 1–13 (2012)
drecht, London (2016) 14. ESA Homepage, https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_
3. Lillesand, T.M., Kiefer, R.W., Chipman, J.W.: Remote Sensing the_Earth/Copernicus/Overview4, Last accessed 2018/06/01
and Image Interpretation, 7th edn. Wiley, Hoboken, USA (2015) 15. Massonnet, D., Feigl, K.L.: Radar interferometry and its applica-
4. Finkl, C.W. (ed.): Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, tion to changes in the Earth’s surface. Rev. Geophys. 36, 441–500
pp. 1388–4360. Springer ISSN, Berlin (1984) (1998)
5. Barnhart, R.K., Hottman, S.B., Marshall, D.M., Shappee, E.: 16. Bally, P. (ed): Satellite Earth Observation for Geohazard Risk
Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems. CRC Press, Boca Management. In: The Santorini Conference, Santorini, Greece, 21–
Raton, Fl, USA (2012) 23 May 2012. ESA Publication, STM-282 (2013). https://doi.org/
6. Kerle, N.: Remote sensing of natural hazards and disasters. In: 10.5270/esa-geo-hzrd-2012
Bobrowsky, P. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards, pp. 837– 17. Colesanti, C., Wasowski, J.: Investigating landslides with
847. Springer, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, New York (2013) space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry. Eng.
7. Nex, F., Remondino, F.: UAV for 3D mapping applications: a Geol. 88(3–4), 173–199 (2006)
review. Appl. Geomatics 6, 1–15 (2014) 18. Wasowski, J., Bovenga, F.: Investigating landslides and unstable
8. Tziavou, O., Pytharouli, S., Souter, J.: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle slopes with satellite multi temporal interferometry: current issues
(UAV) based mapping in engineering geological surveys: consid- and future perspectives. Eng. Geol. 174, 103–138 (2014)
erations for optimum results. Eng. Geol. 232, 12–21 (2018) 19. Wasowski, J., Bovenga, F.: Remote sensing of landslide motion
9. Tratt, D.M.: Emerging technologies, LiDAR. In: Njoku, E.G. (ed.) with emphasis on satellite multitemporal interferometry applica-
Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing, pp. 177–185. Springer Interna- tions: an overview. In Davies, T. (ed.) Landslide Hazards, Risks
tional Publishing, Cham, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, and Disasters, pp 345–403. Elsevier Inc, Amsterdam (2014). http://
London (2014) dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-396452-6.00011-2
[email protected]
Land Subsidence Induced
by the Engineering-Environmental
Effect in Shanghai, China
Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract strictly controlled in the urban area. However, the rate of

Urban land subsidence is influenced by many factors, land subsidence accelerated again in Shanghai [3].
including the building loads, the changing of groundwater Land subsidence caused by building loads was studied by
level, the construction of underground structures, etc. The some researchers. The additional stress caused by building
study results indicate that the building itself experiences loads in the foundation was the main reason for changing the
the maximum subsidence and there exists remarkable stress state of shallow soil [4]. The land subsidence caused
superimposition effect among the high-rise buildings. by building loads was mainly concentrated in the single
However, the land subsidence decreases dramatically building as well as the dense high-rise building group, which
with the distance increasing. The range of land subsi- was studied by the theoretical calculation, the in-site moni-
dence caused by building loads is within 300 m through toring, the laboratory tests and the numerical simulation.
the in-site monitoring data. In this paper, the land subsidence caused by four high-rise
buildings including World Financial Center (SWFC), Bank
of China Tower (BOC Tower), Shanghai Merchants Tower

Keywords
Land subsidence In-site monitoring High-rise and Jinmao Tower, which is located in Lujiazui area of
buildings Numerical simulation Shanghai, was studied by the in-site monitoring data. The
numerical simulation was conducted to study the land sub-
sidence caused by two high-rise buildings with relatively
close distance, Jinmao Tower and World Financial Center.
1 Introduction
Land subsidence in the soft soil area has characteristics of 2 In-Site Monitoring and Numerical
the slow generation, the long duration, the wide ranges of Simulation
affection, the complex mechanisms of generation and the
difficult prevention [1]. Shanghai is one of the first cities Shanghai is situated at the fore of the Yangtze River delta.
which suffers serious land subsidence in China [2]. It was The Quaternary deposit is thick and generally reaches 250–
mainly due to the irrational withdrawal of groundwater, but 300 m in the urban area. The upper layer (about 0–150 m) is
from the 1960s, the withdrawal of groundwater was mainly of grey soil and is composed of soft-plastic clay and
restricted. From the end of the 1970s, the pumping of sandy soil. In order to better monitor the land subsidence in
groundwater was strictly controlled in the urban area of Shanghai, a large number of monitoring systems has been
Shanghai. During this period, the 1-year average land sub- built up in the early days. Up to now, a comprehensive land
sidence was 3–5 mm and the land subsidence was controlled subsidence monitoring systems in Shanghai, consisting of
better. During the 1990s, the pumping of groundwater was bedrock marks, layered marks and GPS stations have been
set up.
Figure 1 illustrates the monitoring points around four
Z.-D. Cui (&) buildings. Along Huayuanshiqiao Road, at the positions of
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground 7, 12, 20, 30, 60, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 m away from
Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China World Financial Center, there are 10 monitoring points:
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu,
People’s Republic of China
A01, A02, A03, A04, A05, A06, A07, A08, A09 and A10,
e-mail: [email protected] respectively. Along Dongtai Road, at the positions of 7, 12,

[email protected]
12 Z.-D. Cui
Century Avenve
Jin Mao
Tower Path I
World
Yin Dong Financial
Center
Path A
Huayaunshiqiao Road
Cheng
Tai
Lujiazui Ring Road

Path B
Middle
Road
Road
Fig. 2 Layout of buildings in numerical simulation model
-10
-20
Fig. 1 The relative location and arrangement of monitoring points of -30

four buildings
Settlement (mm)
-40
20, 30, 60, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 m away from World -50
Financial Center, there are 10 monitoring points: B01, B02, -60

B03, B04, B05, B06, B07, B08, B09 and B10, respectively. 10 months
-70
Due to the complexity of the actual project, it is difficult 20 months
-80 30 months
to accurately simulate the land subsidence in the study area. 35 months
So only two super high-rise buildings were selected, which -90
were Jinmao Tower and SWFC and the numerical simula- 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Distance (m)
tions were conducted to study the land subsidence caused by
two closely spaced high-rise buildings. Figure 2 illustrates Fig. 3 Subsidence of A01–A10
the layout of buildings in the numerical simulation model.
decreased. But at the point A08 (200 m), the land subsidence
3 Results increased again, because the monitoring point A08 had the
minimum distance from Jinmao Tower, which showed the
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the variations of land subsidence superimposition effect of two high-rise buildings. In addi-
with the distance away from World Financial Center at tion, the monitoring point A10 had greater land subsidence
10 months (October 2006), 20 months (August 2007), than the point A09, which may be affected by the traffic load
30 months (June 2008) and 35 months (November 2008), of Yincheng Middle Road.
respectively. Figure 4 illustrates the variations of land subsidence with
Figure 3 illustrates the variations of land subsidence with the distance away from World Financial Center along Dongtai
the distance away from the World Financial Center along Road. The subsidence of monitoring points from B01–B10
Huayuanshiqiao Road. The point A01, which was the had the same varying regulation at 10 months, 20 months and
nearest point to the building, experienced the maximum land 30 months. However, the subsidence of monitoring points
subsidence. With the distance increase, the land subsidence from B01–B06 at 35 months was abnormal.
[email protected]
Land Subsidence Induced by the Engineering-Environmental … 13
-10 0.05
Only Jinmao Tower load
-20 0.00 Jinmao Tower and SWFC loads
-30 -0.05
-40 -0.10
Settlement (mm)
Subsidence (m)
-50 -0.15
-60
-0.20
-70
-0.25
-80 10 months
20 months -0.30
-90 30 months
35 months -0.35
-100
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
-0.40
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Distance (m)
Position (m)
Fig. 4 Subsidence of B01–B10
Fig. 6 The subsidence of path I
Figure 5 illustrates the variations of the additional stress

with the different positions. When the load of Jinmao Tower distribution of the additional stress of the foundation under
was applied, the maximum additional stress was generated at the flexible pile cap.
the center of the base and gradually decayed to zero along
the radius of the 150 m. After the Jinmao Tower and SWFC
loads were both applied, the additional stresses in the bottom 4 Discussion
of the two building foundation centers had two extreme
points. Meanwhile, the superposition effect of stresses Points A08 and B08 have the same settlement rules, which is
existed in the central area of two high-rise buildings. Fig- mainly related to the construction process of the World
ure 6 illustrates the variations of land subsidence with dif- Financial Center. Nevertheless, the settlement value of
ferent positions along Path I. The building itself experienced monitoring point A08 is larger than that of Point B08 due to
the maximum subsidence. The differential subsidence the effect of the Jinmao Tower load. The settlement value of
occurred in the building foundation and its surrounding A08 is larger than that of B08 by 113.2% at the maximum
ground. A comparative analysis of Figs. 5 and 6 showed that and the minimum value is higher than 43.8%. This shows
the distribution of soil settlement was determined by the that the land subsidence caused by high-rise buildings has a
remarkable superposition effect, which will cause the value
of land subsidence to exceed the expected value. It is
important to control the value of the loads in order to prevent
Jinmao Tower SWFC
300 excessive land subsidence.
Jinmao Tower
Jinmao & SWFC
250
200
5 Conclusion
Additional stress (kPa)
150 Based on the high-rise building group, the rules of land

subsidence caused by the engineering-environmental effect
100 were studied.
50
(1) Building itself may experience a maximum settlement
0 because of the remarkable subsidence superimposition
effect between the high-rise buildings which exceeds
-50 the allowable values.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
(2) The land subsidence decreases dramatically with the
Position (m)
distance increase and the range of the land subsidence
Fig. 5 Variations of additional stress with positions (path I, 100 m soil caused by the building load is about 300 m from the
depth) in-site monitoring.
[email protected]
14 Z.-D. Cui
(3) In the design stage, it is reasonable to control the distance 2. Monjoie, A., Paepe, R., Su, H.Y.: Land subsidence in Shanghai
between the dense high-rise buildings in order to avoid (P.R. of China). Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 46(1), 5–7 (1992)
3. Cui, Z.D., Tang, Y.Q., Yan, X.X., et al.: Evaluation of the
the settlement of regional ground over the allowable geology-environmental capacity of buildings based on the ANFIS
value and affect the normal use of other structures. model of the floor area ratio. Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 69, 111–118
(2010)
4. Tang, Y.Q., Cui, Z.D., Wang, X.H., et al.: Preliminary research on
the land subsidence induced by engineering environmental effect
Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D of dense high-rise building group. Northwest. Seismol. J. 29(2),
Program of China (2016YFC0600903).
105–108 (2007)
References
1. Cui, Z.D.: Study of the land subsidence caused by the dense

high-rise building group in the soft soil area. Ph.D. thesis, Tongji
University, Shanghai (2008)
[email protected]
Part II
Geo-Environmental Engineering:
Identification and Assessment of Different
Geo-Environmental Problems
[email protected]
Synchrotron X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Applications to Speciation of Metals in Soil
Tatiana Minkina, Dina Nevidomskaya, Tatiana Bauer,

Saglara Mandzhieva, Abdulmalik Batukaev, Svetlana Sushkova,
Victoria Shuvaeva, Inna Zamulina, and Viсtor Chaplygin
Abstract 2 Materials and Methods

Synchrotron radiation methods provide direct information
on the chemical bonds formed by metals. The investiga- The soil samples were selected from the depth 20 cm fallow
tion of local structure of Haplic Chernozem saturated with lands covered by zonal soils (Haplic Chernozem [2]) of the
Cu2+ and Pb2+ ions using X-ray absorption spectroscopy Lower Don region (Russia). Characterization of some
(XANES and EXAFS) was performed. As a result of the physical and chemical properties of the investigated soil are
study, the reliable qualitative data on the nature of bonds given in Table 1. Different dozes of nitrates and oxides Cu
formed by metal atoms have been obtained and the and Pb (2000 and 10,000 mg/kg) were added into the soil.
mechanism of their interaction with soil phases and all the After one year the soil samples of model experiments were
chemical bindings occurring in the course of this process analyzed.
were determined. The X-ray absorption spectra (EXAFS and XANES) were
measured at the Cu K-edge (8985–8990 eV) and Pb LIII-

Keywords edge (13,040 eV) at the Structural Materials Science
Synchrotron radiation XANES Cu2+ Pb2+ beamline of the Kurchatov Center for Synchrotron Radiation
(NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, Moscow [3]).
XANES and EXAFS spectra were measured both in the
transition and in the fluorescence yield modes in a step of
1 Introduction 0.5 keV using Si (111) channel-cut monochromator, which
provided an energy resolution of E/E *2 10−4. Fluores-
Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy tech- cence photons were counted using an Si avalanche photo-
niques are nondestructive methods for providing information diode and for monitoring the incident beam intensity an
for metals speciation in soils. X-ray consists of two methods ionization chamber was used. The exposition time in each
—absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and point of the spectrum was 60 s. Energy calibration was
absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. achieved by means of spectra of copper and lead foils, which
These methods can be used for understanding the transfor- were used as reference samples were taken. For detailed
mations of metal compounds entered in soil and the possible analysis of the differences in the spectra the first derivatives
environmental consequences [1]. In this study the coordi- of XANES spectra were calculated.
nation of Cu2+ and Pb2+ ions with layered silicates and
humic acid in the Haplic Chernozem was investigated using
synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy. 3 Results
It can be seen at the Fig. 1, that the experimental spectra of

T. Minkina (&) D. Nevidomskaya T. Bauer S. Mandzhieva soil samples, contaminated by CuO, are very similar to the
S. Sushkova V. Shuvaeva I. Zamulina V. Chaplygin
Southern Federal University, B. Sadovaya str. 105, 344006
spectra of CuO. On the other hand, strong differences
Rostov-on-Don, Russia between the spectra of soils treated by Cu(NO3)2 and those
e-mail: [email protected] of the initial copper-bearing compound indicate significant
A. Batukaev changes in environment of the Cu2+ ion, occurring in the
Chechen State University, Dudaeva blvd. 17, 366007 Grozny, soil. Copper nitrate is well-soluble in water; because of this,
Russia

[email protected]
18 T. Minkina et al.
Table 1 Physical and chemical properties of the investigated soil samples (Haplic Chernozem) in the 0–20 cm
Corg (%) CaCO3 (%) pHwater Exchangeable bases, cmol(+)/kg Contents (%) of particle-size fractions
Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ Sand fractions Silt fractions Clay fraction
(1.0–0.05 mm) (0.01–0.001 mm) (<0.001 mm)
3.7 0.4 7.6 31.0 6.0 0.06 9.8 62.1 28.1
Fig. 1 Experimental spectra

(a) and spectra of the first derivate
(b) of X-ray absorption XANES
for initial copper-bearing
compounds [CuO and Cu(NO3)2]
and contaminated soil samples
Cu2+ ions during the one year of incubation were sorbed by and at *13,042 eV for the samples saturated with Pb
the soil and formed complexes with organic components [4]. (NO3)2, which is due to the 2p3/2 ! 6d electron transition
The intensity of the a peak is controlled by the degree of (Fig. 2b).
bond covalence and characterizes the coordination environ- Only X-ray absorption spectra of PbO-saturated soil
ment and chemical bonds of the absorbed metal ion with its samples and PbO contain the peak, related to the 2p3/2 ! 6s
closest surroundings. With a decrease in the a peak energy, electron transition, which is indicative of the 6s and 6p
Cu complexes with soil components have predominantly the hybridization for Pb and 2px,y for oxygen. The ability of Pb2
covalent character of the bond. The intensities of the a and b +
to take part in the formation of numerous distorted com-
peaks in the experimental spectra of the initial copper- plexes, originates from the variety of possible O–Pb–O
bearing compounds are close (Fig. 1b). valent angles [5].
In Fig. 2, the experimental XANES spectra of the soil
samples with high rates of Pb contamination are presented
together with the spectra of PbO and Pb(NO3)2. The pecu- 4 Discussion
liarities of the spectra in the energy region of *13,030–
13,058 eV indicate the presence of Pb2+ ions. The maximum The experimental spectrum of soil contaminated by CuO and
value of absorbance is located in the energy region of Cu(NO3)2 are controlled by the electron transition 1s ! 4pz
*13,038–13,040 eV for the samples saturated with PbO and provides evidence for electron transfer from the metal to
Fig. 2 Experimental spectra

(a) and spectra of the first derivate
(b) of X-ray absorption XANES
for initial lead-bearing
compounds [PbO and Pb(NO3)2]
and contaminated soil samples
[email protected]
Synchrotron X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Applications … 19
a ligand [6]. The interaction between Cu2+ ions and humic atoms in equatorial and axial coordination positions in
acid may result in the formation of multilateral 6-coordinated Pb-bearing octahedrons.
spatial structure of humate complex.
Results of EXAFS study show that the incorporation of Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Ministry of
2+ Education and Science of the Russian Federation, project no.
Pb ions into the structure of phyllosilicate minerals results
5.948.2017/PP.
in a decrease of the Pb2+–O bond distances in equatorial and
axial coordination positions in Pb-bearing octahedrons [5].
Divalent Pb has the 6s2 electronic configuration of the outer
shell. A strong deformation of divalent Pb in polyhedrons is
References
due to the lone electron pair, which is often stereochemically
active. Thus, a conclusion can be made that Pb is sorbed as a 1. Synchrotron-Based Techniques in Soils and Sediments. In: Singh,
B., Gräfe, M. (eds.), vol. 34, pp. 1–480. Elsevier B, The Netherlands
bidentate inner-sphere complex at the edges of the octahe- (2010)
drally coordinated aluminum ions. 2. IUSS Working Group WRB. In: World reference base for soil
resources 2014, update 2015. International soil classification system
for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil
Resources Reports, No. 106. FAO, Rome (2015)
5 Conclusions 3. Chernyshov, A.A., Veligzhanin, A.A., Zubavichus, Y.V.: Structural
materials science end-station at the Kurchatov Synchrotron radiation
The application of the methods based on synchrotron radi- Source: recent instrumentation upgrades and experimental results.
ation for soils makes it possible to obtain direct information Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. A 603, 95–98 (2009)
4. Minkina, T.M., Soldatov, A.V., Motuzova, G.V., Podkovyrina, Y.
on the kind of bonds between soil components and metals. S., Nevidomskaya, D.G.: Speciation of copper and zinc compounds
The structural organization studied in Haplic Chernozem in artificially contaminated chernozem by X-ray absorption spec-
artificially polluted by Cu(NO3)2 and Pb(NO3)2 while troscopy and extractive fractionation. J. Geochem. Explor. 144,
applying X-ray absorption spectroscopy allowed revealing 306–311 (2014)
5. Nevidomskaya, D.G., Minkina, T.M., Soldatov, A.V., Shuvaeva, V.
the mechanism of metals associated with soil phases. The A., Zubavichus, Y.V., Podkovyrina, Y.S.: Comprehensive study of
analysis of the XANES and EXAFS results suggested that Pb(II) speciation in soil by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES
copper ions from Cu(NO3)2 are highly ordered inner-sphere and EXAFS) and sequential fractionation. J. Soils Sediments 16(4),
sorption complexes with humic acids and incorporated in the 1183–1192 (2016)
6. Xia, K., Bleam, W., Helmke, P.: Studies of nature of binding sites of
octahedral and tetrahedral sites of minerals in soil. Lead ions first row transition elements bound to aquatic and soil humic
from Pb(NO3)2 were incorporated in the silicates structure substances using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Geochim. Cos-
with bidentate inner-sphere complex formation. This led to mochim. Acta 61(11), 2223–2235 (1997)
decreasing the bond distances between Pb2+ ions and O
[email protected]
Hydro-Geochemical Behavior of Acid
Formation of Sulfide Bearing Rocks Based
on Kinetic Column Tests
Guzide Kalyoncu Erguler and Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Abstract 1 Introduction
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is an important environmen-
tal hazard due to its serious chemical contamination to the Acid mine drainage (AMD) is thought as one of the key
surface and groundwater resources. To provide enough mining-related ecological issues that results in releasing
and representative data for developing restoration tech- contaminants and decreasing the pH of surface and
niques, this time-dependent geochemical process should groundwater. It is well known that this natural process is a
be investigated based on kinetic principles. Thus, the product of the oxidation of sulfide minerals whenever oxy-
kinetic column test was generally utilized in the earlier gen dissolved in water comes into contact with these
studies without any accepted procedures related to the minerals.
column dimension and properties of materials (such as The determination of AMD potential of any site at lab-
particle size and mass of samples). To overcome the oratory condition is based on two main different testing
dissimilarities between the mass release rate of contam- techniques, which are known as static and kinetic tests. In
inants specified in the laboratory and in the field, and to comparison with a static test, the kinetic tests are better in
upscale laboratory-based measurements to the field, representing field conditions [1]. Up to now, different
kinetic column tests were performed using different approaches considering kinetic principles have been devel-
columns filled with crushed coarse and fine ore samples. oped and recommended for use in the prediction and/or
The fluctuations of pH values and the concentration of assessment of AMD. Among these approaches, the column
various constituents were determined during kinetic test is known as more representative for simulation of actual
column tests. The effluents of columns turned to acid weathering processes [1]. However, Strömberg and Banwart
after lag time of 21–65 weeks depending on the column [2] verified that the behavior of acid generation is still
dimensions and particle size. Statistically significant unclear because of inconsistencies between the laboratory
predictive models for upscaling geochemical behavior and field based AMD measurements. Despite extensively
of AMD processes were presented based on simple and performing kinetic column test to predict AMD [2–4], the
multiple regression analyses among column dimensions particle and column size dependent mass release rate of
and main parameters controlling the rate of acid oxidation products and other constituents have not been
generation. investigated in detail. Therefore, considering the constantly
increasing AMD’s impact on the environment over time and

Keywords the deficiencies related to upscaling results of the kinetic

Acid mine drainage Kinetic column test column test, a research program has been conducted to find
Oxidation Sulfide minerals suitable practical understandings by using key parameters
controlling the rate of acid generation for upscaling geo-
chemical behavior and kinetic principles of AMD genera-
tion. For this purpose, columns were manufactured in
G. Kalyoncu Erguler
Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA), various sizes based on recommendations of previous studies.
06800 Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey The length and diameter were kept as 16–72 cm and
Z. A. Erguler (&) 2–7 cm, respectively. The collected ore samples consisting
Department of Geological Engineering, Dumlupinar University, of sulfide minerals were subjected to a crushing process
43100 Kütahya, Turkey for assessing particle size dependent AMD generation.

[email protected]
22 G. Kalyoncu Erguler and Z. A. Erguler
Predictive models thought to be useful for upscaling kinetic better understanding of the process of acid generation
principles based on the geochemical behavior of AMD throughout column tests. To find the effect of time on the
processes were obtained by performing simple and multiple cumulative values of Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+ and SO42−, and
regression analyses among column dimensions and main the cumulative pH measurements during chemical oxidation
parameters controlling the rate of acid generation. processes, further analyses were performed by taking these
parameters as dependent and time as independent variables.
Statistically significant simple correlations were obtained
2 Materials and Methods between time and cumulative values of Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+,
SO42− and pH. By symbolizing the constants of these
The samples were collected from an open pit quarry located correlations as “a1”, “a2” and “a3”, the general equations
in Murgul, Artvin City in North-eastern Turkey. The sam- given below are obtained for the prediction of
ples were crushed to obtain relatively coarse ( 3.35 mm) time-dependent variations in cumulative values of
and fine ( 0.625 mm) particles to investigate the effect of Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+, SO42− and pH:
particle size distribution on the AMD generation. Samples
consisting of two different particle size distribution curves Cumulative SO2
4 ¼ a1 x ð1Þ
were placed in columns for kinetic tests. It was found in
X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements which, in addition to Cumulative Ca2 þ þ Mg2 þ þ Mn2 þ ¼ a2 x ð2Þ
quartz, chalcopyrite and pyrite known as the main reason for
Cumulative pH ¼ a3 b lnðxÞ ð3Þ
acid formation, constitute a significant proportion of sam-
ples’ mineralogical composition. Mineral liberation analyzer where x is time in week, a1, a2, a3 and b are dimensionless
(MLA) was also used to achieve mineral percentage of fresh constants. The variations in the constants of the above given
samples. These analyses indicated that fresh ore samples equations are thought to depend on column dimensions.
were composed mainly of chalcopyrite (32–38%), quartz Therefore, to predict these constants for practical engineer-
(32.5–37.5%), pyrite (19.5–23%), biotite (4.8–6.5%) and ing application, statistically significant regression models
ankerite (2.3–3%) with less than 0.5% of other minerals that were developed between the constants of the above equa-
are unimportant for the tests kinetic behavior. Samples with tions and column dimensions based on simple regression
relatively coarse and fine particle sizes were placed in analyses (Table 1). To incorporate the effect of time and pH,
twenty-four columns set up in different dimensions to multiple regression analyses were performed by taking
investigate the effect of particle size and column dimensions cumulative SO42− and cumulative Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+ as
on the AMD generation rate. The amount of distilled water dependent variables (y) and cumulative pH and time as
required for initiation of kinetic column tests was defined independent variables (x). The statistically significant
based on fifty-year meteorological records. Kinetic column empirical approaches were obtained as results of these
tests were performed by dropping water inside columns. multiple regression analyses. The R-squared values of these
After water had flown through the column, contaminated multiple regression analyses reveal that these predictive
solutions were collected in glass jars and then analyzed for empirical models explain 90–99% of the variability in
monitoring variations in pH and chemical composition at cumulative SO42− and cumulative Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+
specific time intervals. released from coarse samples.
3 Results and Discussion 4 Conclusions
In previous studies [2–4], investigators generally evaluated Contrary to the fluctuation in the instantaneous values of
the weathering kinetics of samples by plotting changes in Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+, SO42− and pH measurements over
key indicator parameters (such as pH values, concentration time, the cumulative values of these parameters show sig-
of Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Mn2+, SO42−) as a function of time, nificant correlations with time during the column tests.
except for a detailed research on time-dependent variations Statistically significant relationships were obtained between
in cumulative oxidation and neutralization products. In time and cumulative values of these measurements. Fur-
addition to the above given relationships between cumula- thermore, these empirical models were simplified to produce
tive concentrations of Ca2++Mg2++Mn2+ and SO42−, it is three general equations to be used for the prediction of
thought that evaluations including the time dependent vari- time-dependent variations in cumulative values of
ations in the cumulative values of pH values, concentration Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+, SO42− and pH. In addition, to predict
of Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Mn2+, SO42− would be useful for a the constants of these empirical models and determine
[email protected]
Hydro-Geochemical Behavior of Acid Formation of Sulfide … 23
Table 1 Summary of the Dependent Coarse particle size (−3.35 mm)

statistical analysis for prediction variable (y)
a1, a2, a3 and b from column Independent variable
dimensions Length (cm) (x) Diameter (cm) (x) Volume (cm3) (x)
2.3167 2.4599
a1 y = 0.031x y = 4.991x y = 0.82x0.8403
(R2 = 0.88) (R2 = 0.94) (R2 = 0.96)
a2 y = 0.025x2.1181 y = 2.634x2.2376 y = 0.505x0.7657
(R2 = 0.90) (R2 = 0.95) (R2 = 0.98)
a3 y = 7.118x−0.026 y = 6.756x−0.031 y = 6.895x−0.01
(R2 = 0.423) (R2 = 0.58) (R2 = 0.55)
b y = 0.156e0.0053x y = 0.152e0.0584x y = 0.176e0.0001x
(R2 = 0.53) (R2 = 0.62) (R2 = 0.64)
Dependent Fine particle size (−0.625 mm)
variable (y) Independent variable
Length (cm) (x) Diameter (cm) (x) Volume (cm3) (x)
a1 y = 0.035x2.22 y = 3.118x2.4512 y = 0.672x0.8101
(R2 = 0.98) (R2 = 0.86) (R2 = 0.93)
a2 y = 0.154x1.7262 y = 5.386x1.8661 y = 1.622x0.6218
(R2 = 0.83) (R2 = 0.71) (R2 = 0.77)
a3 y = 8.072e−0.002x y = 8.080e−0.023x y = 8.852x−0.031
(R2 = 0.76) (R2 = 0.55) (R2 = 0.62)
b y = 0.002x + 0.002 y = 0.026e0.2469x y = 0.010x0.339
(R2 = 0.73) (R2 = 0.51) (R2 = 0.58)
cumulative values of SO42− and Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+ for References

any desired length, diameter and volume of column, some
practical approaches were suggested based on simple 1. Bradham, W.S., Caruccio, F.T.: A comparative study of tailings
regression analyses. analysis using acid/base accounting, cells, columns and Soxhlets.
Predictive empirical relationships were obtained based on In: 2nd Int Conf Abatement of Acidic Drainage, Montreál, vol. 1,
multiple regression analyses by taking cumulative SO42− and CANMET, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 157–173 (1991)
2. Strömberg, B., Banwart, S.: weathering kinetics of waste rock from
Ca2+ + Mg2+ + Mn2+ values as dependent variables and the aitik copper mine, Sweden: scale dependent rate factors and pH
cumulative pH and time as independent variables to incorporate controls in large column experiments. J. Contam. Hydrol. 39, 59–89
combine effect of time and pH conditions, which are thought to (1999)
be key parameters controlling the rate of acid generation. 3. Benzaazoua, M., Bussière, B., Dagenais, A.M., Archambault, M.:
Kinetic tests comparison and interpretation for prediction of the
Joutel tailings acid generation potential. Environ. Geol. 46, 1086–
Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial 1101 (2004)
support of the Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate 4. García, C., Ballester, A., González, F., Blázquez, M.L.: Pyrite
(MTA Project no: 2012-37-14-01-9). behaviour in a tailings pond. Hydrometallurgy 76, 25–36 (2005)
[email protected]
Interaction of CuO Nanoparticles
with Hordeum Sativum Distichum
in an Aquatic Medium and in the Soil
Vishnu D. Rajput, Tatiana Minkina, Alexey Fedorenko,

Grigoriy Fedorenko, Saglara Mandzhieva, Svetlana Sushkova,
Natalya Chernikova, Nadezhda Duplii, Anatoly Azarov,
and Alexsandr Usatov
Abstract uses and disposal inevitably increased the level of Cu con-

Copper nanoparticles arise in soil and water from different centration in the soil and aquatic ecosystem. When Cu ends
industries, and well known for their adverse effects on up in the soil, it strongly adheres to organic matter and soil
aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The soil and hydro- minerals and interrupts the functionality of soil ecosystem.
ponic experiments were conducted to assess the toxicity Plants are sensitive to Cu toxicity with the value approxi-
of excessive amounts of CuO nanoparticles spiked in the mately 20–30 mg/kg on dry biomass basis [1]. Impact on
soil and in hydroponic conditions on the root and leaf root growth and damage to cell membranes, vascular bun-
cells of spring barley. The microscopic study indicated dles could be an immediate toxic response to the excess
changes in vascular bundles, stele, accumulation of concentration of CuO nanoparticles. Copper is not only
electronically dense material in epidermis and vacuoles. toxic to the plant but also dangerous to other organisms i.e.,
The root hairs reduced by excess CuO nanoparticles even algae, mussels, crustaceans, fishes [2].
disappeared in hydroponic condition. Moreover, there In recent years, CuO nanoparticles have received notable
were no significant changes visualized in semithin attention due to their unique physical and chemical proper-
sections of leaf cells. The descriptive study on ultrastruc- ties, and beneficiary applications in a variety of ways, for
ture also indicated several changes in the chloroplast, instance, antimicrobial activity, skin products, semiconduc-
thylakoids, plastoglobules, starch granules, peroxisomes tors, catalysis, boat antifouling paints, electronics and optics.
and mitochondrial cristae. The negative effects of CuO It is assumed that the CuO nanoparticles are the most
nanoparticles on barley were more significant in the bioreactive metal oxide particles, and highly toxic compared
aquatic medium than in the soil. to other carbon or metal oxide nanomaterials [3]. Studies
focused on the environmental toxicity of Cu-based
nanoparticles due to their increasing application in con-

Keywords
Spring barley Nanoparticles Soil spiking sumer products [4]. These studies are warning an increasing
Toxicity Ultrastructure application of CuO nanoparticles to impose a threat to the
ecosystem. The accumulation of nanoparticles in soil and
groundwater may potentially increase the accumulation in
plant tissues. Several studies indicated that CuO nanoparti-
1 Introduction cles affected crop plants growth by reducing germination
rate, photosynthesis, transpiration rate, quality of yields,
The involvement of Cu in human life is well known, and damage or corroded roots, decreased root and shoot length,
that’s why the toxicity of CuO nanomaterials attracted global and biomass [5]. These studies are only limited to mor-
scientific attention. The rapid increases in Cu manufacturing phometric parameters and did not examine the structural and
ultrastructural changes. Therefore, the two analogous
V. D. Rajput T. Minkina (&) A. Fedorenko G. Fedorenko experiments conducted in the soil and hydroponic condition
S. Mandzhieva S. Sushkova N. Chernikova N. Duplii to observe effects of excess CuO nanoparticles on spring
A. Azarov A. Usatov barley (Hordeum sativum distichum cv. Travnik), one of the
Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
most important food grain crops since ancient times, and
widely grown in this region. It is also recommended to use
A. Fedorenko G. Fedorenko
Southern Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Sciences,
this species as a bioindicator for evaluating the effects of
Rostov-on-Don, Russia heavy metals.

[email protected]
26 V. D. Rajput et al.
2 Materials and Methods 3 Results and Discussion
The commercial grade copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles Since the root is the first target tissue exposed to pollutants,
powder used in soil and hydroponic experiments conducted it seems that the functional and structural disorders appear
together. The excess CuO nanoparticles (10,000 mg/kg) more often in root than in aerial tissues. Ultrathin sections
were spiked with soil to make it possible to reveal the show the endoderm and stele of root cells were disorganized
mechanisms of metal transformation. Soil without CuO (Fig. 1). The number and lengths of root hairs is reduced
nanoparticles addition served as a control. The high con- compared with the control, even disappeared in hydroponic
centration was selected by considering the existing levels of conditions. The internal structure of the leaves suffered less
Cu in soils adjacent to industrial enterprises [6]. Several than the root, and changes were not noticeable. Previous
other studies also indicated a similar concentration of Cu in studies also indicated that the nanoparticle can uptake by
Kola Peninsula soils of the Russian territory. After a month roots and transport through vascular bundles to
of soil spiking, seeds were sown in respective pots. Simi- above-ground parts of plants depending on plant types,
larly, the hydroponic experiment was conducted in the lab anatomy and composition, shape and size of nanoparticles
using same concentration of CuO nanoparticles [5, 7]. Accumulation of Cu in the parenchyma cells was
(10,000 mg/L) with control (0 mg/L). Surface sterilized observed in the vacuoles and cell walls.
seeds were germinated in Petri plates and well-grown seeds Several ultrastructure modifications were also observed in
transferred to hydroponic vessels. Samples from the soil and the plastid, mitochondria, peroxisomes, plastoglobules,
hydroponic experiments were examined after 30 days of starch granule, protoplasm (figure not shown). It is con-
growth. Ultrathin sections were prepared by the microtome firmed, that the metal-tolerant plant prevents the uptake of
(Leica EM UC6, Germany) and examined under the toxic pollutants into aboveground tissues by restricting the
light-optical microscope (Mikmed-6 St. Petersburg, Russia) transport across the epidermis, endodermis and storing them
and transmission emission microscopy (TEM; Tecnai G2 in cortex and hyper-accumulating plants accumulate excess
Spirit Bio TWIN, Netherlands). Images were processed by amounts of toxic elements in the harvestable tissues [8].
Image_J and Adobe Photoshop software. Typically, the plant limits the translocation of metal in
Fig. 1 Effects of CuO nanoparticles on root cells: a—control, b—in pollution (in soil). Ep—epidermis, Ed—endodermis, BV—vascular
pollution (in hydroponic); c—control, d—in pollution (in soil) and leaf bundle, S—stele. Scale bar—100 µm
cells: e—control, f—in pollution (in hydroponic); g—control, h—in
[email protected]
Interaction of CuO Nanoparticles with Hordeum … 27
shoots to avoid toxicity [9]. It is expected that the identified 2. Katsumiti, A., Thorley, A.J., Arostegui, I., Reip, P.,
structural changes of the epidermis and mesoderm affect the Valsami-Jones, E., Tetley, T.D., Cajaraville, M.P.: Cytotoxicity
and cellular mechanisms of toxicity of CuO NPs in mussel cells
radial transport of liquid to the root from the peripheral areas in vitro and comparative sensitivity with human cells. Toxicol.
and may be one of the causes for a decline in both seques- Vitro 48, 146–158 (2018)
tration and translocation of mineral nutrients from the roots 3. Wang, Z., Li, N., Zhao, J., White, J.C., Qu, O., Xing, B.: CuO
to other parts of the plant. It is well known that the Cu nanoparticle interaction with human epithelial cells: cellular
uptake, location, export, and genotoxicity. Chem. Res. Toxicol.
accumulates in vacuoles and cell walls [10]. Copper depo- 25, 1512–1521 (2012)
sition and long-term toxicity decreased photosynthetic 4. Adeleye, A.S., Pokhrel, S., Madler, L., Keller, A.A.: Influence of
activity, disturbed the architecture of chloroplasts, particu- nanoparticle doping on the colloidal stability and toxicity of
larly thylakoids membranes [11]. copper oxide nanoparticles in synthetic and natural waters. Water
Res. 132, 12–22 (2018)
5. Rajput, V.D., Minkina, T., Suskova, S., Mandzhieva, S., Tsit-
suashvili, V., Chapligin, V., Fedorenko, A.: Effects of copper
4 Conclusion nanoparticles (CuO NPs) on crop plants: a mini review.
BioNanoScience 8(1), 36–42 (2018)
6. Minkina, T.M., Linnik, V.G., Nevidomskaya, D.G., Bauer, T.V.,
Copper oxide nanoparticles affected vascular bundles of the Mandzhieva, S.S., Khoroshavin, V.: Forms of Cu (II), Zn (II), and
leaf and root cells, cell membrane, plastid, thylakoids, Pb (II) compounds in technogenically transformed soils adjacent to
plastoglobules and starch granules and mitochondrial cristae. the Karabashmed copper smelter. J. Soils Sediments 18, 2217–
The findings indicated that the CuO nanoparticles in 2228 (2018)
7. Rico, C.M., Majumdar, S., Duarte-Gardea, M., Peralta-Videa, J.R.,
hydroponic conditions were more toxic than in the plants Gardea-Torresdey, J.L.: Interaction of nanoparticles with edible
grown in the soil. This could be due to the dissolution of Cu plants and their possible implications in the food chain. J. Agric.
ions. However, the mechanism is not well understood. Food Chem. 59, 3485–3498 (2011)
Therefore, the descriptive studies are needed to understand 8. Kopittke, P.M., Menzies, N.W.: Effect of Cu toxicity on
growth of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Plant Soil 279, 287–296
the mechanism of CuO nanoparticles ion dissolution and (2006)
translocation through cell organelles. These changes may be 9. Manceau, A., Nagy, K.L., Marcus, M.A., Lanson, M., Geoffroy,
considered as an important characteristic to evaluate the N., Jacquet, T., Kirpichtchikova, T.: Formation of metallic copper
CuO nanoparticles toxicity to spring barley and protective nanoparticles at the soil-root interface. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42,
1766–1772 (2008)
function of the soil in reducing the toxic effect for plants. 10. Vesk, P.A., Nockolds, C.E., Allaway, W.G.: Metal localization in
water hyacinth roots from an urban wetland. Plant, Cell Environ.
Acknowledgements The work was supported by the Russian Science 22, 149–158 (1999)
Foundation, project no. 16-14-10217. 11. Olchowik, J., Bzdyk, R.M., Studnicki, M., Bederska-Błaszczyk,
M., Urban, A., Aleksandrowicz, T.M.: The effect of silver and
copper nanoparticles on the condition of english oak (Quercus
robur L.) seedlings in a container nursery experiment. Forests 8,
References 310 (2017)
1. Marscner, H.: Mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic,

London (1995)
[email protected]
Behavioural Responses of Armadillidium
Granulatum (Crustacea, Oniscidea)
to Zinc Contaminated Soil
Raja Jelassi, Wafa Hammami, Chedliya Ghemari,

and Karima Nasri-Ammar
Abstract the degradation of these ecosystems [4]. To assess the

Avoidance and locomotor behaviours of Armadillidium quality of soil contaminated by heavy metals, biological
granulatum Brandt, 1833 collected from sebkha El Ouafi indicators were used. In fact, soil fauna, especially inverte-
were studied. Avoidance test was conducted in individuals brates, were considered as good bio-indicators of the soil
exposed to zinc contaminated soils. Globally, the animals quality [10]. These organisms were known to maintain good
did not show an avoidance behaviour after 48 h of soil structure [3]. Among soil invertebrates, terrestrial Iso-
exposure. The determined concentration effect of this pods were considered as important players in soil ecology. In
metal was equal to 1043 mg/L. The locomotor activity the present study, we chose the terrestrial isopod Armadil-
rhythm was studied in the control animals as well as those lidium granulatum living in the supralittoral zone of sebkha
exposed to Zn contaminated soils. The results revealed the El Ouafi and we proposed to study, firstly, its avoidance
existence of nocturnal behaviour whatever the experimen- behaviour after Zn exposure, and secondly, the effect of this
tal conditions. Furthermore, the Periodogram analysis metal on its locomotor behavior.
showed the existence of ultradian and circadian periods.
This latter was longer for contaminated specimens than the
control ones under entraining conditions as well as under 2 Materials and Methods
constant darkness. In addition, exposed animals showed the
most important activity time whatever the regimen imposed The present study was carried out on the banks of sebkha El
and were characterized by a phase advance contrary to the Ouafi (N37°09′21.7″ E010°13′36.2″) connected to Ghar El
control animals which showed a phase delay. Melh lagoon. Adult individuals of A. granulatum were
manually collected in the morning under stones and between
the plant roots. Then, they were transported to the laboratory

Keywords
Sebkha Zinc Soil Terrestrial isopod in perspex boxes containing soil from the collection site.
Avoidance test Locomotor behaviour
2.1 Soil Preparation and Avoidance Test
1 Introduction The soil sampled from the collection site was dried in an
oven during 24 h in 40 °C. Then, it was contaminated with a
Wetlands are a major landscape in the Mediterranean region. zinc chloride (ZnCl2) salt solution according to Köhler et al.
They are threatened by human activity. Heavy metal pollu- [7]. Four concentrations (C1, C2, C3, C4) were prepared with
tion was considered one of the major threats that can lead to three replicates for each concentration, and with 20 indi-
viduals per replicate. A control was also prepared. After its
R. Jelassi (&) contamination, the soil was acclimated during 72 h in 25 °C
National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies, before the experiment. The avoidance test consisted in
Salammbô, Tunisia maintaining A. granulatum individuals in rectangular plastic
boxes which were divided into two equal compartments by a
R. Jelassi W. Hammami C. Ghemari K. Nasri-Ammar removable plastic wall. The test period was limited to 48 h.
Tunis El Manar University, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis,
After this period, the plastic wall was reintroduced and
Research Unit of Bio-Ecology and Evolutionary Systematics,
El Manar II, Tunis, Tunisia individuals at each compartment were counted. A Probit

[email protected]
30 R. Jelassi et al.
regression was used to calculate the EC50 conducted by 3 Results

Xlstat software. The avoidance test results were represented
in terms of average net response (NR) expressed in per- 3.1 Avoidance Behaviour
centage and calculated according to Amorim et al. [1] as
follows: NR = ((C-T)/N) * 100 (C = individuals observed in A low mortality in A. granulatum individuals was shown
the control litter; T = individuals observed in the tested after Zn exposure. The estimated EC50 was equal to
litter; N = total number of individuals per replicate). 1043 mg L−1. Considering the net response, mean values
were summarized in Table 1; they fluctuated between con-
centrations. Our results showed a positive net response
2.2 Locomotor Behaviour (0 ± 24.74) after ZnC2 exposure. Concerning the other
concentrations, a negative response was observed (Table 1).
To study the locomotor behaviour of A. granulatum, exper-
iments were performed under two successive regimens: the
light/dark cycle (nLD) and the constant darkness (DD). In the 3.2 Locomotor Behaviour
two experiments, the adult control specimens (N = 21) and
specimens exposed to Zn were individually transferred to Our data showed that at the end of these experiments, all
separate annular actograph containing soil. Then they were control individuals and 42.9% of those exposed to Zn sur-
kept in a controlled environment cabinet maintained at a vived in the recording chambers. The v2 test revealed a
constant temperature of 18 ± 1 °C. The recording apparatus highly significant difference (v2 = 7.83; df = 1; p = 0.0051).
and software were constructed in the workshop of the School The most representative actograms were shown in Fig. 1.
of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, U.K. Concerning the control, the activity was strictly concentrated
The results were initially presented for analysis in the during the experimental night. Individuals started their
form of double-plotted actograms using the Chart software activity with the dusk. Under constant darkness, specimens
package version 35 (D.D. Green, University of Birmingham, delayed their activity showing thus the drift to the right.
U.K.). Periodogram analysis was performed using the pro- When exposed to Zn, A. granulatum concentrated its activity
gram based on the method of Dorscheidt and Beck [6]. Each in the experimental night during the two first days. From the
time series was scanned for periods between 10 and 33h20’ 3rd day until the 5th day, an anticipation of the activity was
and was accepted as rhythmic if the periodogram peaks highlighted. From the 6th day, the animal began to delay its
exceeded the 99% confidence level. This same technique activity slightly day after day but globally a resynchroniza-
also gave a good measure of the rhythm definition, in the tion of the activity was maintained. Furthermore, different
form of the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), measured as the locomotor patterns were obtained. In the control, the loco-
difference between the periodogram peak value and its cor- motor patterns were in most of the cases unimodal whatever
responding 95% confidence limit. The waveform of activity the experimental conditions. Exposure to Zn, locomotor
was further examined using the astronomic time under patterns became in majority multimodal. Under nLD cycle, a
entraining conditions and circadian time under free-running shift of the most important activity peak from the dusk in the
conditions. Phase values were calculated using a technique control (70.6%) towards the middle of the experimental
in which the median point of the main activity bloc was night (55.6%) for individuals exposed to Zn was observed.
correlated to the onset time of the dark phase, expressed in Under continuous darkness, this peak of activity was well
degrees. The percentage of survival, number of animals marked around the subjective dusk (61.5%).
showing periodicity, mean periods, activity time, phase shift, Through the Periodogram analysis, ultradian and circa-
and SNR (a measure of rhythm definition) were calculated dian components were determined. The first one was
for each individual and for the whole population. Differences observed only in the control under constant darkness with a
between percentages were analyzed using the v2 test, and mean period equal to s12hDD = 13h02 ± 1h39. Concerning
differences between all mean values were calculated using the circadian component, whatever the experimental condi-
the Wilcoxon test. tions, the mean period was shorter in the control than in the
Table 1 Results (average ZnCl2 nominal concentrations Net response

values ± standard error) of the
net response of A. granulatum C1 (400 mg L−1) −52 ± 12.59
individuals exposed to Zn C2 (500 mg L−1) 0 ± 24.74
contaminated soil
C3 (600 mg L−1) −24 ± 12.59
C4 (700 mg L−1) −57 ± 8.24
[email protected]
Behavioural Responses of Armadillidium … 31
Fig. 1 Double plotted actograms (a) 0 24 48 (b) 0 24 48

of the locomotor activity rhythm
of Armadillidium granulatum
under LD-DD regimens obtained
for the control individuals (a) and
those exposed to zinc (b). Grey LD
area corresponds to dark LD
condition 5
10
DD
DD
14 10
contaminated animals which exhibited a high activity time.

Furthermore, a phase advance equal to Du = 24° ± 47° was 5 Conclusion
calculated for the individuals exposed to Zn contrary to the
control ones which were characterized by a phase delay In the present study, the majority of A. granulatum indi-
(Du = −3° ± 31°). viduals did not avoid the contaminated substrate explaining
thus the highest EC50 values. The study of the locomotor
rhythm showed that this species was characterized by a
4 Discussion nocturnal behaviour with the presence of multimodal pat-
terns when exposed to Zn. Other experiments will be needed
The study of avoidance behaviour highlighted a low mor- to confirm our results.
tality showing thus the tolerance of A. granulatum to Zn, as
essential metal, like the majority of terrestrial isopods [9]
explaining thus the obtained EC50 estimated to 1043 mg References
L−1. Regarding the net response, our results were in accor-
dance with those of Ghemari et al. [5] who showed a neg-
1. Amorim, M.J., Novais, S., Römbke, J., Soares, A.M.: Enchytraeus
ative net response with the lowest concentration in P. laevis albidus (Enchytraeidae): a test organism in a standardized
individuals. These results suggested an adaptive strategy of avoidance test? Effects of different chemical substances. Environ.
individuals which may use their antenna as chemoreceptive Int. 34, 363–371 (2008)
2. Bohli-Abderrazak, D., Ayari, A., Morgan, E., Nasri-Ammar, K.:
to avoid metal contamination [8]. Furthermore, exposed and
Towards a characterization of the locomotor activity rhythm of the
unexposed A. granulatum individuals were characterized by supralittoral Isopod Tylos europaeus. Chronobiol. Int. 29, 166–174
the nocturnal behaviour. This behaviour was typical for the (2012)
majority of terrestrial isopods [2]. The unimodal pattern of 3. Cortet, J., Gomot-De Vauflery, A., Poinsot-Balaguer, N., Gomot, L.,
the locomotor activity observed in the control animals Texier, C., Cluzeau, D.: The use of invertebrate soil fauna in
monitoring pollutant effects. Eur. J. Soil Biol. 35(3), 115–134
became generally multimodal in individuals exposed to Zn. (1999)
This variation in locomotor profiles could be explained by 4. Davis, J.A., Froend, R.: Loss and degradation of wetlands in
the effect of contamination. In addition, the multiplication of southwestern Australia: underlying causes, consequences and
locomotor activity peaks corresponds to the various activi- solutions. Wetlands Ecol. Manage. 7(1–2), 13–23 (1999)
5. Ghemari, C., Ouni, A., Ayari, A., Nasri-Ammar, K.: The use of
ties of the species in its biotope such as burrowing. Porcellio laevis (Crustacea, Isopoda) as organism for the
[email protected]
32 R. Jelassi et al.
avoidance test in response to a metal contaminated litter. 8. Lukkari, T., Haimi, J.: Avoidance of Cu- and Zn-contaminated soil
Proceeding in the 3rd International Conference on Integrated by three ecologically different earthworm species. Ecotoxicol.
Environmental Management for Sustainable Development, 296– Environ. Saf. 62, 35–41 (2005)
298 (2018) 9. Mazzei, V., Longo, G., Brundo, M.V., Copat, C., Oliveri Conti, G.,
6. Harris, J.G., Morgan, E.: Estimates of significance in periodogram Ferrante, M.: Bioaccumulation of cadmium and lead and its effects
analyses of damped oscillations in a biological time series. Anal. on hepatopancreas morphology in three terrestrial isopod Crustacean
Lett. 3, 221–230 (1983) species. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 110, 269–279 (2014)
7. Köhler, H.R., Hüttenrauch, K., Berkus, M., Grǎff, S., Alberti, G.: 10. Wolters, V.: Biodiversity of soil animals and its function. Eur.
Cellular hepatopancreatic reactions in Porcellio scaber (Isopoda) J. Soil Biol. 37(4), 221–227 (2001)
as biomarkers for the evaluation of heavy metal toxicity in soils.
Appl. Soil. Ecol. 3, 1–15 (1996)
[email protected]
Heavy Metals Distribution in Soils
of an Agricultural Area Impacted by Former
Mining Activities: Case of Trozza Mine,
Tunisia
Intissar Elmayel, Pablo L. Higueras, Jalel Bouzid,

Eva M. Garcia Noguero, and Zouhair Elouaer
Abstract trace elements in the short and long runs (mobility and
Mining waste management is currently a major environ- bioavailability) and risks due to the release and dissemina-
mental concern due to the presence of high concentrations tion of heavy metals, which may favor their incorporation
of potentially toxic metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, among others) in into food chains [2]. The present work main objective was
the surroundings of old mining areas. The large quantities the study of the potential impacts on the environment (soil,
of tailings are a direct cause of serious metal contami- water, plants) of potentially toxic metals, mainly from the
nation, which is a threat to the environment as well as dumps, in the former mining site of Jebel Trozza, Tunisia
human beings. The decommissioned Jbal Trozza mine in (Kairouan region).
Kairuan (Tunisia) is considered a serious problem, and in The old Pb/Zn mine of Trozza is located approximately
order to evaluate the distribution of metals contents in the 18 km north of Hajeb El Ayoun in central northern Tunisia,
mine area, tailings and soils samples were collected in the approximately 150 km SSW Tunis. The tailings present in
vicinity of the mine. The mine tailings are characterized the area are a result of mining activities between 1907 and
by high levels of Pb (1830–5950 mg.kg−1), Zn (7590– 1937. Its excavations, plants, and tailings have been totally
12480 mg.kg−1) and Cd (85.95–123.25 mg.kg−1). The abandoned since then with no reclamation measures.
adjacent soils were also highly contaminated with metals. The Trozza mine area lies along the trend of the Sbiba
The results show that the average concentrations of Pb, Fault, a major NE–SW striking thrust structure approxi-
Zn and Cd in the soil of the mine area clearly exceed the mately coincident with the northern margin of the central
Tunisian standard values in agricultural areas (100 mg. Tunisian uplift, also known as the Serdj-Ressas line, which
kg−1 for Pb, mg.kg−1 for Zn and 3 mg.kg−1 for Cd). forms part of the Atlas thrust front [3].

Keywords
Soil mining Contamination Heavy metals mobility 2 Materials and Methods
A sampling campaign was conducted in December 2015,

during which we achieved samplings of tailings and soils
1 Introduction from the Jebel Trozza mine site. The location of each sample
was recorded using GPS (Global Positioning System) tech-
Today there is a recent awareness in North Africa about the nology as shown on Fig. 1.
risks associated with former mining activities. This aware- The wastes sampling was carried out from two types of
ness is already widespread in the world and many environ- tailing residues: four samples from the fine fraction tailings
mental studies showed interest in the assessment of DF (from the top and the base of the tailings, referred to as
contamination related to mining activities, the dynamics of DF1 to DF4); and five samples from the coarse-fraction
tailing DG (DG1 to DG5). In order to evaluate the effect of
the abandoned mine residues and estimate the lateral dis-
I. Elmayel (&) J. Bouzid Z. Elouaer persion, 16 samples were collected from near and throughout
Ecole Nationale D’ingenieurs de Sfax, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia
the wadi after removing the first layer of surface soil (2 cm);
samples were taken from the top 20 cm, [4] considering that
P. L. Higueras E. M. Garcia Noguero
Instituto de Geología Aplicada, University of Castilla-La Mancha,
the most important part of the soil profile for the control of
Ciudad Real, Spain degradation is the topsoil. The topsoil analysis is also the

[email protected]
34 I. Elmayel et al.
Fig. 1 Site of studied area and

sampling points of soils
best way to evaluate the incorporation of trace elements into

soil profiles. 3 Results and Discussion
In the laboratory, the waste and soil samples were
air-dried, transferred to clean, polyethylene bags and sub- 3.1 Mine Tailings Characterization
sequently sieved to a <2 mm and <63lm. The frac-
tion <63lm was reserved for the geochemical analysis and Table 1 shows the heavy metals concentrations in tailing
small quantities from this fraction were further ground with samples. The results display high concentrations in Pb
an agate mortar to 0.10–0.15 mm, whereas the soil frac- (1830–5950 mg.kg−1), Zn (7590–12,480 mg.kg−1), Cd
tion <2 mm was used to determine the physicochemical (85.95–123.25 mg.kg−1) and Fe (25.29–42.55%). Further-
parameters including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), more, they also show that the highest concentrations in Pb
organic matter content (SOM), and carbonate (%CaCO3). and Zn are associated to samples DF3 and DG3 (5.95 and
For the physicochemical analysis, the pH of the soil was 12.48%, respectively); those richer in Cd are associated to
measured in a solid/solution ratio of 1: 2.5 with distilled water DF4 (123.25 mg.kg−1) and DF3 (115.9 mg.kg−1) and those
[5]. The level of carbonate calcium was determined by means richer in Fe are associated to DF2 (42.55%).
of the Bernard calcimeter method; and organic matter content These high concentrations of heavy metals in mining
(SOM) was determined according to loss on ignition method. waste should be the cause of soil pollution in the vicinity of
For the chemical analysis, Multi-elemental X-ray the mine, in combination with meteorological factors
fluorescence (XRF) analyses using a Panalytical Epsilon 1 favoring the environmental dispersion of the concerned
device were performed. elements.
[email protected]
Heavy Metals Distribution in Soils of an Agricultural … 35
Table 1 Major elements and Heavy metals contents (mg kg−1) Major elements concentration (%)
heavy metals contents in mine
tailings Pb Zn Cd SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO P2O5
DF1 4000 8480 85.95 18.66 3.61 32.80 10.5 4.55 0.19
DF2 5160 7600 92.50 20.97 3.79 42.55 6.2 2.47 0.18
DF3 5950 7630 115.90 20.43 5.47 32.98 10.1 4.22 0.25
DF4 3250 12440 123.25 18.09 3.70 30.22 12.9 6.98 0.16
DG1 2860 11130 102.30 18.05 4.05 26.87 16.2 7.50 0.14
DG2 2900 11870 113.00 16.90 3.55 28.08 15.3 7.63 0.15
DG3 2980 12480 113.25 20.15 3.58 29.91 12.9 6.75 0.16
DG4 2080 10460 105.35 16.06 2.74 26.63 18.2 9.88 0.15
DG5 1890 9822 109.95 16.97 3.01 25.29 19.5 10.50 0.14
3.2 Physical–Chemical Properties and Total calcareous in the North and gypseous in the South [1]. The
Heavy Metal Levels in Soils analyzed soil samples were characterized by relatively high
organic matter content: values vary between 2.35 and 6.18%
Physiochemical properties and the XRF results are presented (Table 2); for the background samples the values are similar
in Table 2. The results show that the reactivity (pH) of the and this is due to the soil nature (arable and cultivated land).
soils in the vicinity of the mine varies from 7.6 to 8.8 with a The soil samples had high concentrations of heavy met-
mean value of 7.9, indicating the absence of soil acidifica- als, with values ranging from 190 to 9500 mg kg−1 for Pb,
tion, which, together with the alkalinity detected in the soil 500 to 40,280 mg kg−1 for Zn and 0.5 to 39 mg kg−1 for
samples, should be associated to the high concentration of Cd. The results are shown in Table 2.
carbonates (varying between 4 and 26.01%). In Tunisia, the The highest values of Cd and Pb were found in S2 and S4
soils that are developed on sedimentary rocks are mainly and the highest values of Zn were observed in S4 and S6.
Table 2 Physiochemical and Sample type pH CaCO3 (%) SOM (%) Cd (mg kg−1) Pb (mg kg−1) Zn (mg kg−1)
total heavy metal contents in soils
in the vicinity of the abandoned Polluted soils
mine area S1 8.6 19.20 3.73 12.50 6740 8760
S2 7.6 15.34 4.89 34.25 8010 17540
S3 7.7 18.75 3.19 25.80 6400 20520
S4 7.7 20.88 3.18 34.00 9580 40280
S5 7.7 25.43 3.51 3.75 1000 2190
S6 7.6 25.68 2.75 32.75 4960 28770
S7 7.6 21.17 2.87 0.50 230 500
S8 7.6 20.33 3.70 1.35 190 500
S9 7.9 23.86 3.31 5.10 1740 2880
S10 8.1 26.01 5.05 1.50 820 1610
S11 8.2 25.90 5.18 3.00 490 1270
S12 7.7 18.96 2.35 39.00 7150 37770
S13 8.4 4.00 2.87 2.85 510 2020
S14 7.7 4.00 6.18 1.10 250 900
S15 8.2 21.47 4.30 6.05 1010 4450
S16 7.8 21.59 3.30 16.75 7310 11030
Control soil
T1 8.8 4.63 2.36 0.55 25.25 67.3
Reference levels CEE – – – 3 100 300
[email protected]
36 I. Elmayel et al.
The heavy metals contents of the soil samples nearest to contamination for the surrounding area and its environ-
the mine area clearly exceed the Tunisian standards in mental compartments.
agricultural areas (100 mg kg−1 for Pb, 300 mg kg−1 for Zn – Further studies are still needed in order to properly assess
and 3 mg kg−1 for Cd) by a factor of 37, 39 and 4, the biogeochemical risks involved in the pollution of this
respectively. Besides, it is worth noting that the heavy metal region and similar areas.
contents in the control soil with respect to the Tunisian
standards are of a value of 0.55 mg kg−1 for Cd,
25.25 mg kg−1 for Pb and 67.3 mg kg−1 for Zn.
References
4 Conclusions
1. Elouear, Z., Bouhamed, F., Boujelben, N., Bouzid, J.: Assessment
of toxic metals dispersed from improperly disposed tailing, Jebel
The main Conclusions of the present study are the following: Ressas mine, NE Tunisia. Environ. Earth Sci. (2016)
2. Higueras, P., Esbrí, J.M., García-Ordiales, E., González-Corro-
– The studied wastes and soils from the mining areas show chano, B., López-Berdonces, M.A., García-Noguero, E.M.,
Alonso-Azcárate, J., Martínez-Coronado, A.: Potentially harmful
that, in general, all the samples presented a neutral to elements in soils and holm-oak trees (Quercus ilex L.) growing in
alkaline pH, similar to the background sample, the alkaline mining sites at the Valle de Alcudia Pb-Zn district (Spain)—some
pH could be attributed to the presence of carbonates. clues on plant metal uptake. J. Geochem. Explor. 182, Part B: 166–
– Soils from the area show relatively high organic matter 179 (2017)
3. Sainfeld, P.: Les gîtes plombozincifères de la Tunisie. Annales des
contents, which is evidence that the influence on the soil
mines et de la géologie 9 (1952)
productivity is lower than expected. 4. Spaargaren, O., Nachtergaele, F.: Topsoil characterization for
– Based on the Tunisian standards for agricultural areas, sustainable land management. Food and Agriculture Organization
we conclude that the majority of tailing samples and soils of the United Nations. ftp://fao.org/agl/agll/docs/topsoil.pdf (1998).
Accessed 04 May 2015
surrounding the mine of Jebel Trozza had high concen-
5. Thomas, G.W.: Soil pH and soil acidity. In: Sparks, D.L., et al.
trations of Zn, Pb and Cd, and so most of the wastes and (eds.) Methods of soil analysis part 3. Chemical method, pp. 475–
soils studied here represent a potential source of 490. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI (1996)
[email protected]
Statistical Distribution of Geochemical
Elements in Stream Sediments
and the Influence of Flood Phosphate
Mud on the Mining Area, Metlaoui,
Southwest Tunisia
Feyda Srarfi, Raouen Rachdi, Roland Bol, Nadhem Brahim,

and Najet Slim Shimi

Abstract Keywords

In this study we elucidated the relationships between Multivariate statistics Stream sediment
geochemical composition of the stream sediment samples Metal Associations Phosphate mud Metlaoui
and industrial pollution (phosphate mud flood). We Tunisia
offered an approach based on multivariate statistics: the
factor analysis with a series of factor score of the
investigated area. This type of numerical analysis, applied
to 21 samples of surveyed Metlaoui stream, should also 1 Introduction
offer an additional insight into the possible anthropogenic
impacts that might be present in the stream sediment During Phosphate manufacturing, ground phosphate rock is
geochemistry. The model is presented in the form of a firstly extracted from the mines and sent to recovery units to
variance factor matrix in which the four factors explain separate sand and clay and remove impurities. Most of the
almost 90% of the total system variability. As can be seen processes are wetted to minimize the emission of dust and
from the statistics results, the first factor (F1) predomi- facilitate transport. During this course, starting from a mine
nates and accounts for almost twice as much of the total or quarry, washing is a means of enriching the crude phos-
explained percentage variance as the second (F2). The phates by releasing the phosphate grains trapped in the clay
other factors show a decline in magnitude (F3 and F4). and limestone clumps by mixing water with the removal of
Three main metal associations were individualised in the coarse and fine particles. The enrichment of the phosphates
stream sediment of Metlaoui. Ti–Zr; Fe–Mn and Zn–Ni– by a humid process can be accompanied with rejects of mud
Cu–Mo. The increase of all concentration values (Ti, Zr, poured in hydrographic network of the region of
Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cu and Mo) reflects that the mining Gafsa-Metlaoui [2]. So the activity of phosphate ore gener-
activity (phosphate mud flood, or airborne deposition) ates a significant discharge of polluted wastewater called
could be associated with Fe–Mn oxyhydroxide that play a “phosphate mud”. These releases are extremely heteroge-
significant role in precipitating and thus fixing heavy neous. They are loaded with various pollutants that can
metals in the proximity of mine contamination source. cause environmental degradation and harm human health.
According to Galfati et al. [1], these releases are rich in
F. Srarfi (&) R. Rachdi N. Brahim N. S. Shimi phosphate and trace elements; the average is around these
Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University values: Zn: 260.91 mg/Kg, Cu: 16 mg/kg, and Ni:
of Tunis El Manar, 2092 Tunis, Tunisia 26 mg/kg.
e-mail: feydasrarfi@gmail.com
R. Rachdi
2 Materials and Methods
N. Brahim
2.1 Sampling
N. S. Shimi
Samples were collected according to an irregular network.
R. Bol The first sample S0 (control sample) was designed in a way
Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH,
52428 Jülich, Germany that the sample site is kept away from inhabited areas. The
e-mail: [email protected] samples were collected in four stations, the first one was

[email protected]
38 F. Srarfi et al.
200 m from the washing site discharge point of phosphate. examined. As can be seen, it is dominated by only one
At the sampling site, at least five samples of sediment were variable, conductivity. The reason for this is the considerably
collected from different places along a 100 m stream section. reduced number of variables loading significantly on each
Sampling was carried out during the dry season. factor.
2.2 Evaluation of Basic Statistical Parameters 4 Discussion

and Multivariate Statistics
The geochemical variability within the stream sediment of
The evaluation of basic statistical parameters for all elements Metlaoui river can be described by a four factor model,
was performed on the analytical data from the sample which accounts for 87.54% of the data variability. Although
database. Factor analysis was performed for the data set of there is some similarity in the element associations, there are
each element with the aim to observe similarities of geo- also some significant differences of the element associations.
chemical behaviour of the analysed samples. All statistical The bedrock lithology and the hydroxide of Fe and Mn seem
analyses were performed with the STATISTICA software. to be an important supply of material for corresponding suite
of elements including Ni, Cu, Zn, and Mo (Factor 1,
Table 1). This factor accounts for 42.25% of the data vari-
3 Results ability. The Ni, Cu, Zn, and Mo association seems to have as
principal origin the dispersion from mining activities (flood
As can be seen from Table 1, although the first factor (F1) of the phosphate mud). The factor 2 has high negative
predominates and accounts for almost twice as much of the loadings for Ti and Zr considered as conservative elements
total explained percentage variance as the second (F2), the in alluvial soils especially Ti [3]. Mn has a moderate con-
other factors show a slow decline in magnitude which is a tribution on this factor axis. Factor 4 is concerned essentially
sure indicator of weakness. Interdependence among the with conductivity. The correlation matrix (Table 1) shows
observed properties with the first factor F1 accounts for that conductivity slightly influences Cu, Mo and Zr dispersal
42.25% of the total system variability. It is a monopolar in the stream sediments.
factor (or slightly bipolar as far as pH is concerned) which is
essentially composed of variables positively correlating
elements such as Zn, Ni, Cu and Mo. This indicates that they 5 Conclusion
may originate in the same source. The second factor F2
explains a further 19.60% of the total information in the data Three main heavy metal associations are highlighted by
matrix. It is largely concerned with negative associations statistical results. Mo–Ni–Cu–Zn; Ti–Zr and Fe–Mn. The
within Ti, Zr and Mn. A notable absence of other elements poor role of pH may indicate the physical phenomenon that
was remarked. The third factor F3, explaining a further involves interactions of electrostatic type: adsorption/
15.50% of the total variance, is of a bipolar nature on the desorption of these element by different material surfaces
basis of the negative relationship that unites Fe and Mn with (hydroxides, clay, organic molecules). When the values were
pH, standing for a metallic-hydroxide factor. The fourth compared with the local geochemical background station S0,
factor F4, accounts for 10.15% of the total variance it is possible to identify an increase of Mo, Zn, Fe, Zr, Ti,
Table 1 The distribution of both Variable Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6
physical parameters and trace
elements in the analyzed sediment Mo 0.924 −0.019 0.267 −0.079 0.113 −0.142
stream is given on factor plots Zn 0.859 0.215 0.378 0.127 0.033 −0.085
Ni 0.971 0.122 0.021 −0.081 0.0004 −0.112
Mn 0.096 −0.611 −0.665 0.158 −0.016 −0.311
Fe 0.541 −0.343 −0.660 −0.188 −0.042 0.126
Cu 0.843 −0.045 0.062 −0.012 −0.497 0.059
Ti −0.081 −0.850 0.366 0.023 −0.152 0.237
Zr 0.227 −0.723 0.359 −0.420 0.283 −0.033
pH −0.720 −0.256 0.423 0.041 −0.261 −0.323
CE 0.309 −0.301 0.094 0.865 0.146 0.067
The bold value shows important correlations, generally identified with a value > 0.5
[email protected]
Statistical Distribution of Geochemical Elements in Stream … 39
a slight increase in Ni, Cu and Mn contents in the samples References

collected. The increase of some concentration values of Mo,
Zn, Ni, Cu either reflects mining activity (phosphate mud 1. Galfati, I., Bilal, E., Sassi, A.B., Abdallah, H., Zaier, A.:
flood, or airborne deposition), or could be associated with Accumulation of heavy metals in native plants growing near the
Fe-Mnoxyhydroxide, organic matter (humic acid) and clay phosphate treatment industry, Tunisia. Carpathian J. Earth Environ.
Sci. 6(2), 85–100 (2011)
minerals. The pollution effects caused by human activities
2. Marzougui S., Sdiri A., Rkhiss F.: Heavy metals mobility from
can be clearly deduced especially in the floodplain regions phosphate washing effluents discharged in the Gafsa area (South-
that were flooded by waters that drained phosphate mining western Tunisia). Arab. J. Geosci. (2016)
storage area in the past. Protection measures of phosphate 3. Miko, S., Halamic, J., Peh, Z., Galovi, L.: Geochemical baseline
mapping of soils developed on diverse bedrock from two regions in
mining are not sufficient to prevent the loss and release of
Croatia. Geol. Croat. 54(1), 53–118 (2001)
heavy metals from phosphate mud.
[email protected]
Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination
in the Sediment of the Bizerte Lagoon
in Northern Tunisia
Ibtihel Saidi, Olfa Ben Said, Jamel Ben Abdelmalek, Luis Chicharo,
and Hamouda Beyrem
Abstract has become one of the most challenging pollution issues. As

Metals concentrations, Geoaccumulation index (Igeo), is the case for many Mediterranean coastal lagoons, Bizerte
Factor contamination (CF) and degree of contamination lagoon is a polluted ecosystem subject to both urbanization
(DC) were used to assess heavy metals contamination in and industrialization [2]. Thus, direct and indirect discharge
Bizerte lagoon sediments. The highest metal concentra- of waste and runoff has resulted in a chemical contamination
tions were detected in stations located close the industrial of the lagoon by various toxic compounds such as heavy
sewages discharge points 1089.96 ± 28.5 mg/kg of dry metals [3]. The objectives of this study were to examine the
weight (mg/kg of dry wt). The DC was 15.65 reflecting a spatial variations of the heavy metal concentration in the
high degree of contamination for this station located close surface sediment of Bizerte, to explore the degree of heavy
to the industrial swage. metal contamination using different pollution indices.

Keywords
Marine sediments Geo-accumulation index 2 Materials and Methods
Heavy metals Sediment contamination
Sediment and fauna were collected at the Bizerte lagoon, a
coastal Mediterranean lagoon located in the Northern part of
Tunisia [4]. Three sampling sites were selected based upon
1 Introduction cement and steel industrial plants wastewater discharge
points into Bizerte lagoon (Fig. 1). Sediment granulometry
Heavy metals are micro-pollutants, which can affect the [5], sediment metal contents [arsenic (As), barium (Ba),
marine environment, since they do not undergo biological or boron (B), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), man-
chemical degradation. Thus, an index of environmental ganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), vanadium(V), and zinc (Zn)] [6]
pollution may be found not only in the presence of metals, were determined using atomic emission spectrometry with
but when their environmental concentrations exceed the inductively coupled ICP_AES plasma.
geochemical background that was determined by geological Different indices such as Contamination factor CF [7],
and geochemical processes [1]. The contamination of Contamination Degree (CD) [8] and Geo-accumulation
aquatic systems by heavy metals, especially in sediments, index Igeo [9] were calculated.
I. Saidi (&) O. B. Said H. Beyrem

Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, Faculty of Sciences
3 Results
of Bizerte (FSB), University of Carthage, 7021 Zarzouna,
Bizerte, Tunisia The granulometric analysis (Table 1) showed the particle
e-mail: [email protected] size indicating that the soil consists principally of mud and
J. B. Abdelmalek sand. The highest mud values were observed at S1, followed
Laboratory Quality Control, Cement Bizerta Bay Sabra, by S2, while the lowest ones were revealed at S3.
7018 Bizerte, Tunisia
S1 showed the highest score for total metals contents
L. Chicharo 872.13 ± 4.37 mg/kg of dry wt. The metal concentrations in
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Marine and Environmental
Research Centre (CIMA), University of Algarve, Portugal Campus
collected surface sediments were ranked in a decreasing order
de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

[email protected]
42 I. Saidi et al.
Fig. 1 The Bizerte lagoon and

the three selected sampling
stations, S1 and S2: station
upstream of the discharge; S3:
downstream station of the
discharge
Table 1 Percentage of grain size S1 (%) S3 (%) S5 (%)

distribution in coastal superficial
sediments Gravel 0.0 0.0 0.0
Sand 76.6 89.4 99.8
Mud 23.4 10.6 0.2
Mn > Zn > Ba > B > V > Cr > Pb > Cu > Ni (Fig. 2). recorded at S1. The contamination factors calculations
Higher concentrations of As, Zn, B and Pb were found in the showed low contamination factors of Cr and Ni observed in
S1 located in the upstream of raw effluent, showing the almost all the three stations (Table 2). Cd reaches a moderate
highest score for metal content, mainly contaminated with contamination level for the three sediment samples from S1.
Mn, Zn and Cr (respectively 114, 364 and 55 mg/kg of dry Low contamination factors exist in the sediments of site S3
wt). The highest zinc content (364.7 mg/kg of dry wt) was for all metals.
[email protected]
Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Sediment … 43
Fig. 2 Levels of metals in the

sediment of different locations
Table 2 Contamination factors Stations S1 S2 S3

(CF), Degree of contamination
(Dc) and geo-accumulation index Metals (CF) Igeo (CF) Igeo (CF) Igeo
(Igeo) of sediments of Bizerte Cd 2.91 0.54 2.9 0.59 1 0
lagoon
Cr 0.66 0.14 0.61 0.12 0.12 0.02
Cu 1.62 0.35 1.56 0.31 0.32 0.06
Pb 2.93 0.38 2.54 0.5 0.94 0.19
Ni 0.45 0.11 0.58 0.11 0.1 0.02
Zn 5.13 0.47 2.23 0.44 0.63 0.12
Mn 1.95 0.4 2.47 0.5 1.14 0.23
Contamination degree (CD) 15.65 12.89 4.25
The Igeo for Cr, Cu, Pb and Ni indicated unpolluted to with previous works suggests that there is a progressive
moderately polluted sediment quality (class 1) for all the increase in metal contamination in surface sediment of Bizerte
studied sites. Zn showed a slight spatial variation in the lagoon [12]. Ben Mna et al. [13] revealed Igeo values for Cd,
station close to steel industry S1 (class 1 to 2) moderately Pb, Ni and Zn above 1, suggesting a widespread pollution and
polluted. The present study showed a low contamination in showing that these heavy metals originate from anthropogenic
sediments of site 3 for all metals. The degree of contami- sources mainly urban runoffs and industrial effluent dis-
nation was 15.65 for S1 and 12, 89 for S2 and 4 at S3, charges. Zaaboub et al. [14] mentioned that the most accu-
12 < Cd < 24 reflecting the considerable degree of con- mulated trace elements in surface sediments are Zn and Pb in
tamination for the stations located close the industrial swage. Bizerte lagoon. The dominant taxon was represented by
nematodes in surface sediments station located in upstream
effluent are moderately polluted sediment with Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni
4 Discussion and Zn. Van der Wurff et al. [15] showed that nematodes can
accumulate and tolerate higher levels of copper, cadmium,
Fine sediments containing only mud primarily characterized zinc and lead than other meiofaunal organisms. The observed
the grain size distribution in the sampled stations and sand high densities of nematodes is an indicator of a disturbed
consequently accumulated more pollutants and organic matter environment, rich muddy substrates relatively higher densities
[10]. It has long been recognized that sediment characteristics of copepods in rural coastal areas, which could be an indicator
greatly influence the structure and diversity of benthic faunal of undisturbed environment, were associated with coarser
communities [11]. Comparing the Igeo results from this study sediments and low in organic matter content.
[email protected]
44 I. Saidi et al.
5 Conclusion 6. Varol, M.: Assessment of heavy metal contamination in sediments

of the Tigris river (Turkey) using pollution indices and multivari-
ate statistical techniques. J. Hazard. Mater. 195, 355–364 (2011)
The contamination factor, the geo-accumulation index, and 7. Muller, G.: Die Schwermetallbelastung der Sedimenten des
the degree of contamination show that, currently, the lagoon Neckars und Seiner Nebenflusse. Chem. Ztg 6, 157–164 (1981)
of Bizerte, is unpolluted to moderately polluted. Most of the 8. Hakanson, L.: An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control:
a sedimentological approach. Water Res. 14, 975–1001 (1980)
superficial sediments of Sabra Bay of Bizerte lagoon are
9. Carvalho, S., Gaspar, M.B., Moura, A., Vale, C., Antunes, P., Gil,
moderately contaminated, by mainly manganese, lead, zinc, O., Cancela da Fonseca, L., Falcao, M.: The use of the marine biotic
chromium, barium and arsenic with a slighter degree nickel. index AMBI in the assessment of the ecological status of the O´ bidos
The results show that the Bizerte lagoon is relatively pol- lagoon (Portugal). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 52, 1414–1424 (2006)
10. Gray, J.S.: Animal-sediment relationships. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol.
luted based on the ratio of nematode and copepod densities.
Annu. Rev. 12, 223–261 (1974)
11. Coblentz, K.E., Henkel, J.R., Sigel, B.J., Taylor, C.M.: Influence
of sediment characteristics on the composition of soft-sediment
References intertidal communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico. PeerJ
(2015). https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1014
12. Barhoumi, B., Elbarhoumi, A., Clérandeau, C., Al-Rawabdeh, A.
1. Zhang, L.J., Wang, G., Yao, D., Duan, G.Z.: Environmental M., Atyaoui, A., Touil, S., Driss, M.R., Cachot, J.: Using an
significance and research of heavy metals in offshore sediments. integrated approach to assess the sediment quality of an Mediter-
Mar. Ecol. Lett. 19, 6–9 (2016) ranean lagoon, the Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia). Ecotoxicology 25(6),
2. Béjaouia, B., Harzallaha, A., Moussab, M.: Annie Chapellec and 1082–1104 (2016)
Cosimo Solidorod. Analysis of hydrobiological pattern in the 13. Ben Mna, H., Oueslati, W., Helali, M.A., Zaaboub, N., Added, A.,
Bizerte lagoon (Tunisia). Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1, 121–129 Aleya, L.: Distribution and assessment of heavy metal toxicity in
(2008) sediment cores from Bizerte Lagoon, Tunisia. Environ. Monit.
3. Yoshida, M., Hamadi, K., Ghrabi, A.: Solid waste landfills and Assess. 7, 189–356 (2017)
soil/sediment contamination around Bizerte lagoon: possible 14. Zaaboub, N., Martins, M.V.A., Dhib, A., Béchir, B., Galgani, F.,
pollution sources. In: Ghrabi, A., Yoshida, M. (eds.) Study on El Bour, M., Aleya, L.: Accumulation of trace metals in sediments
Environmental Pollution of Bizerte Lagoon, vol, 55 (2002) in a Mediterranean lagoon: usefulness of metal sediment fraction-
4. Blott, S.J., Pye, K.: GRADISTAT: a grain size distribution and ation and elutriate. Environ. Pollut. 207, 226–237 (2015)
statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments. 15. Van der Wurff, A.W.G., Kools, S.A.E., Boivin, M.E.Y., Van den
Earth Surf. Process. Land. 26, 1237–1248 (2001) Brink, P.J., van Megen, H.H.M.: Type of disturbance and
5. Loring, D.H.: Regional mineralogical variability in Eastern Cana- ecological history determine structural stability. Ecol. Appl. 17,
dian Marine Sediments. Nantes, France, ICES WG/MS (1993) 190–192 (2007)
[email protected]
Assessment of Heavy Metals Along
a Contamination Gradient in Soils Collected
from Industrial Areas in Northern Tunisia
Ahmed Ouni, Chedliya Ghemari, Amina Ben Said, Christelle Pruvot,

Francis Douay, and Karima Nasri-Ammar
Abstract by heavy metals [5–7]. Furthermore, soil quality depends on

Many studies were interested in the assessment and the the nature of the physicochemical parameters within the soil
monitoring of soil contamination with heavy metals. This and is influenced by the heavy metals contents [8].
study aimed to evaluate the effects of emissions from the Bizerte, situated in Northern Tunisia, was characterized
Tunisian Steel Company El Fouladh in Bizerte (Tunisia). by a significant industrial activity generating high contami-
In this context, we measured Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), nation. Contrariwise, few studies were conducted to qualify
Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) soil’s concentrations from this anthropic activity except those of Ghemari et al. [9]
8 sites along a contamination gradient. Besides, physic- using the terrestrial isopod Porcellio laevis and those of
ochemical parameters, pH, organic carbon, CEC, and Ghannem et al. [10] using beetles. Thus, the main objectives
CaCO3 were measured. Heavy metals were determined of this study were (i) to measure the concentrations of Zn,
using an atomic absorption spectrometry. The results Cd, Cu and Pb and the physico-chemical parameters in
revealed a high concentration of heavy metals in the the soils to assess the contamination around the sampling
sampled soils. The contamination factor (CF) was deter- sites (ii) and to follow the mobility of the heavy metals
mined to assess the soil contamination of the sampling throughout a contamination gradient.
sites, and revealed that the level of contamination varied
along a contamination gradient, which may be due to the
mobility of metals. 2 Materials and Methods
Samples were taken near the Tunisian Steel company

Keywords
Assessment Pollution Soils Heavy metals (El Fouladh), located in Bizerte Northern Tunisia, in the
Sampling sites region of Menzel Bourguiba, the south side of the Bizerte’s
lake and where soil samples were taken at a depth of
10–15 cm (Fig. 1).
In the laboratory, the collected soil samples for each
1 Introduction station were dried at 40 °C in an oven aiming to determine
the pH, CaCO3, organic carbon, and metal concentrations in
Metallic contamination has become a worldwide threat due the soils. Carbonate and organic carbon contents were
to the environmental persistence of heavy metals issued from determined according to the NF ISO 10693 and NF ISO
the surrounding industrial activities [1–4]. Consequently, 10694 standards respectively. Soil pH was measured
many studies were carried out to assess soil contamination according to the NF ISO 10390 standard. The Cation
Exchange Capacity (CEC) was determined according to the
A. Ouni (&) C. Ghemari A. Ben Said K. Nasri-Ammar
NF X 31-130 standard. The determination of heavy metals
Faculty of Science of Tunis, Research Unit of Bio-Ecology concentrations requires the mineralization of the samples.
and Evolutionary Systematic, University of Tunis El Manar, The digestion consists in adding 4.5 mL of 37%
2092 El Manar II, Tunis, Tunisia hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 1.5 mL of 70% nitric acid
(HNO3) using a Hot Block system-assisted digestion
C. Pruvot F. Douay (Environmental Express® SC100, Charleston, SC, USA)
Institut Supérieur d’Agriculture (ISA), Laboratoire Génie Civil et
géo-Environnement (LGCgE), Yncréa Hauts-de-France,
during 1 h 30 at 120 °C. After that, the analytical
48 boulevard Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex, France

[email protected]
46 A. Ouni et al.
determination was conducted using an atomic absorption exists (CF < 1). Regarding S1, it exhibited moderate con-
spectrometry (AAS) by flame (FAAS-6800, Shimadzu). tamination with the measured metals. Also, very high con-
The contamination factor (CF) corresponds to the ratio tamination was obtained in S2, S5 and S8 for Zn and Pb.
between the metal concentration in soil (in mg/kg dry Regarding Cd, moderate and high contamination were
weight) and its baseline value (in mg/kg dry weight). reported in (S1, S2, S8) and in (S5) respectively. Consid-
According to Hakanson [11], CF values were interpreted as ering Cu, only high contamination was observed for S8.
follows: To better understand the soil distribution along the
studied physicochemical parameters (pH, C.org, CEC, and
• CF < 1: means that low contamination exists. CaCO3), and the heavy metals concentrations (Cd, Pb, Zn,
• 1 < CF < 3: means that moderate contamination exists. and Cu), a principal correspondence analysis (PCA) was
• 3 < CF < 6: means that very high contamination exists. performed (Fig. 2). The first and the second axis of PCA
• CF > 6: means that very high contamination exists. revealed a cumulative percentage of 77.00%. Except for pH,
all quantitative data were projected on the first axis ‘F1’.
Considering the second axis, the metals were positively
projected and correlated with Org. C. The sampling sites S2,
3 Results S5 and S8 were positively correlated with heavy metals,
and are considered as the most contaminated sites. How-
The physicochemical properties and heavy metals concentra- ever, CEC and CaCO3 values characterized the two sam-
tions in the soils were determined and summarized in Table 1. pling sites S7 and S6, and were negatively correlated with
The results showed that the organic carbon values oscillated pH (Fig. 2).
between 5.05 and 35.61 (g/kg). Considering the CaCO3, the
values ranged from 34.90 (g/kg) to 297.02 (g/kg) reflecting a
high variability in the sampling sites. The lowest value of CEC 4 Discussion
was observed in S3 (3.49 mg/kg), while the highest was found
in S6 (22.28 mg/kg). Furthermore, the soil pH values ranged The soils were sampled from 8 sites and belonged to the
between 8.04 and 9.84 in S7 and S4, respectively reflecting that industrial area of Bizerte (Northern Tunisia). The first site
all the sampling sites were characterized by an alkaline pH (>7). S1, considered as the source, showed moderate contamina-
Considering the metals concentrations in soils, Zn con- tion. However, we observed low contamination in the more
centration ranged from 50.60 to 3222.33 mg kg−1 dw, distant sites (S6 and S7). Also, a decrease in soil contami-
where the highest concentration was observed in S8. Simi- nation was observed away from the source of pollution. In
larly, the highest Cu concentration was obtained in S8 this context, Van Straalen et al. [12] showed a comparable
(440.91 mg kg−1 dw). Besides, Cd concentration oscillated gradient of contamination, where the closest site to the
from 0.43 in S3 and S7, to 2.24 in S5. However, compared pollution was not the most contaminated.
to the rest of the areas, soils Pb concentration was remark- The relationship between heavy metals concentrations
ably high in S2 with 1672.23 mg kg−1 dw. and soil physicochemical parameters was evaluated using
The results of the contamination factor showed an PCA analysis. A strong correlation was obtained between
important variability between the sampling sites (Table 2). the studied metals and organic carbon. Similarly, a study
Thus, for S6 and S7, whatever the metals, low contamination was carried out in Nanjing area (China), where a positive
Table 1 Heavy metals concentrations and physicochemical parameters of the sampling soils
Zn Cu Pb Cd Org. C CaCO3 CEC pH
S1 895.25 107.21 165.37 0.91 27.08 97.41 7.17 8.69
S2 2497.26 36.11 1672.23 1.99 32.30 96.52 5.53 8.69
S3 429.70 42.73 219.57 0.43 7.46 71.48 3.49 9.09
S4 436.32 154.38 67.16 0.66 14.00 155.88 4.38 9.84
S5 2503.71 178.43 596.15 2.24 34.14 34.90 8.98 9.19
S6 50.60 14.09 0.42 0.55 5.05 297.02 22.28 8.24
S7 149.34 44.34 54.78 0.43 16.32 245.30 13.19 8.04
S8 3222.33 440.91 390.29 1.50 35.61 63.78 7.70 8.32
Org. C organic carbon content in g kg−1; CaCO3 total carbonates contents in g kg−1; CEC cation exchange capacity (Cmol kg−1); Zn, Cu, Pb
and Cd Cadmium, Lead, Zinc and Copper soil’s concentrations in mg kg−1 dw
[email protected]
Assessment of Heavy Metals Along a Contamination Gradient … 47
Table 2 Contamination factor Zn Cu Pb Cd

(CF) of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd in
soils from the different sampling S1 2.98 1.07 1.65 1.31
sites S2 8.32 0.36 16.72 2.84
S3 1.43 0.43 2.20 0.61
S4 1.45 1.54 0.67 0.94
S5 8.35 1.78 5.96 3.20
S6 0.17 0.14 0.01 0.79
S7 0.50 0.44 0.55 0.61
S8 10.74 4.41 3.90 2.15
Fig. 1 Localization of
the sampling sites in the region of
Bizerte
Fig. 2 Plot of the two principal PCA: Axis F1 and F2 : 77.00 %

components from PCA of the
measured soil properties: 2
physicochemical parameters (pH, S4
CaCO3, CEC, Org. C) and heavy S3 pH
metals concentrations (Cd, Pb, Cu
and Zn), and the situation of 1
sampled soils along the two axes
F2 (20.92 %)
S1
0
CaCo 3 Cu S5 Cd
Pb Zn
S2
Org. C
-1 S7
S8
S6 CEC
-2
-2 -1 0 1 2
F1 (56.08 %)
[email protected]
48 A. Ouni et al.
correlation was obtained among Cu, Zn and Pb [7]. Also, a 3. Thompson, J., Bannigan, J.: Cadmium: toxic effects on the
negative correlation was obtained between metals and pH, reproductive system and the embryo. Reprod. Toxicol. 25, 304–
315 (2008)
confirmed the decrease of the solubility in soils with the 4. Zhuang, S.S., Zhang, H.M., Qin, R., Jiang, W.S., Liu, D.H.:
increasing pH [13]. Cadmium induction of lipid peroxidation and effects on root tip
cells and antioxidant enzyme activities in Vicia faba L. Ecotoxicol.
18, 814–823 (2009)
5. Chlopecka, A., Bacon, J.R., Wilson, M.J., Kay, J.: Forms of
5 Conclusion cadmium, lead and zinc in contaminated soils from southwest
Poland. J. Environ. Qual. 25, 69–79 (1996)
Although they are near to the pollution source, metal con- 6. Culbard, E.B., Thornton, T., Watt, J., Wheatley, M., Moorcroft, S.,
centrations in the soil were sometimes low but globally, they Thompson, M.: Metal contamination in British urban dusts and
soils. J. Environ. Qual. 17, 226–234 (1998)
indicated that the soils were polluted with Cd, Pb, Zn and 7. Lu, Y., Gong, Z., Zhang, G., Burghardt, W.: Concentrations and
Cu. The present study confirmed the findings of Ghemari chemical speciations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cr of urban soils in
et al. [9] which revealed the impact of soil contamination on Nanjing China. Geoderma 115, 110–111 (2003)
terrestrial organisms. 8. Selim, H.M., Sparks, D.L.: Heavy Metals Release in Soils. CRC
Press, Boca Raton (2001)
Thus, the data obtained here in, provided values that 9. Ghemari, C., Waterlot, C., Ayari, A., Leclerq, J., Douay, F.,
could be useful in future studies to assess soil pollution by Nasri-Ammar, K.: Assessment of heavy metals in soil and
heavy metals in Tunisian industrial areas and will be helpful terrestrial isopod Porcellio laevis in Tunisian industrialized areas.
to set up monitoring programs to reduce the pollution impact Environ. Earth Sci. 76, 223 (2017)
10. Ghannem, S., Khazri, A., Sellami, B., Boumaiza, M.: Assessment
on terrestrial ecosystems. of heavy metal contamination in soil and Chlaenius (Chlaeniellus)
olivieri (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the vicinity of a textile factory
near Ras Jbel (Bizerte, Tunisia). Environ. Earth Sci. 75, 442 (2016)
References 11. Hakanson, L.: An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution
control. A sedimentological approach. Water Res. 14(8),
975–1001 (1980)
1. Boldina-Cosqueric, I., Amiard, J.C., Amiard-Triquet, C., 12. Van Straalen, N.M., Butovsky, R.O., Pokarzhevskii, A.D.,
Dedourge-Geffard, O., Métais, I., Mouneyrac, C., Moutela, B., Zaitsev, A.S., Verhoef, S.C.: Metal concentrations in soil and
Berthet, B.: Biochemical physiological and behavioural markers in invertebrates in the vicinity of a metallurgical factory near Tula
the endobenthic bivalve Scrobicularia plana as tools for the (Russia). Pedobiologia 45, 451–466 (2001)
assessment of estuarine sediment quality. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 13. Krásný, J., Sharp, J.M.: Groundwater in Fractured Rocks: IAH
73(7), 1733–1741 (2010) Selected Paper Series, vol. 9. ISBN: 9780415414425 (2007)
2. Clemens, S.: Toxic metal accumulation, responses to exposure and
mechanisms of tolerance in plants. Biochimie 88, 1707–1719
(2006)
[email protected]
PAHs Monitoring in Soils Affected by Electric
Power Station
Svetlana Sushkova, Abdulmalik Batukaev, Tatiana Minkina,

Elena Antonenko, Irina Deryabkina, Jana Popileshko,
and Tamara Dudnikova
The environmental pollution in soils affected by emis-
sions from the Novocherkasskaya Electric Power Station Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent
(NEPS) was monitored according the monitoring data of hydrophobic compounds and one of the most dangerous
two years (2016–2017). The monitored sites are located toxicants of the environment affecting all living organ-
on fallow lands 20 km around NEPS. PAHs extraction isms mutagenicity and carcinogenity. From 16 up to 32
from the soil samples was performed using ecologically PAHs compounds have been subjected to control in
clean newly developed method of subcritical water countries that have a legislative regulation that depends
extraction. The 5-km zone located in the northwestern on toxicants carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and toxicity
direction from the power station, in direction of predom- [1]. Monitoring of soil technogenic contamination with
inant winds was the most subjected to PAHs contamina- PAHs has been carried out over many years [2]. The
tion, mostly high at a distance up to 5.0 km from the PAHs presence in soils is caused by increased level of the
contamination source. The level of high-molecular PAHs environmental pollution. Energy power industry is one of
exceeding the level low-molecular PAHs form the the main PAHs contamination sources especially thermal
monitoring sites situated in direction of predominant power plants. Novocherkasskaya Electric Power Station
winds from the energy plant. The vise-versa dependence (NEPS) has become the greatest power plant in the
was established for sites around NEPS. According the 16 European part of Russian Federation as well as in the
priority PAHs content in the studied soils. The most whole Europe for years. NEPS produces electricity using
subjected to environmental pollution of soils were the the low-quality coal as the main energy source. After coal
monitored sites located in direction of predominant winds burning emissions fall through 185 and 250 m high pipes,
from NEPS. they directly spread to the nearby environment. NEPS
territory reaches the city Novocherkassk 300–400 thou-

Keywords sand people and has a significant contribution to the air
PAHs Environmental pollution Monitoring pollution of the entire region. The purpose of this inves-
Electric power station tigation was to develop PAHs monitoring in soils affected
by the NEPS.
The soils within the NEPS impact zone were the main
object of our study. Figure 1 shows satellite images of the
S. Sushkova (&) T. Minkina E. Antonenko I. Deryabkina impact zone and the monitored sites location. The major
J. Popileshko T. Dudnikova
Southern Federal University, B. Sadovaya str. 105,
part of the territory in the impact zone of the NEPS has
344006 Rostov-on-Don, Russia mostly ordinary calcareous chernozems (Haplic Cher-
e-mail: [email protected] nozems) (Cho). In addition, the meadow-chernozemic soils
A. Batukaev [Haplic Chernozems (Stagnic)] (MChS) (plot 3sw) and
Chechen State University, Dudaeva blvd. 17, 366007 Grozny, alluvial soils (Al) (Fluvisols) are distinguished within the
Russia

[email protected]
50 S. Sushkova et al.
Fig. 1 Map of monitored sites of the environmentally polluted energy producing plants zone
Tuzlov River floodplain [3]. Chernozems and

meadow-chernozemic soils have deep humus horizons (70– 3 Results
100 cm), the middle levels for the region organic matter
(2.4–2.9%), cation exchange capacity (CEC) (31.2–47.6 The study of PAHs content in 20 cm soil layer of monitored
cmol (+)/kg). The content of exchangeable calcium was sites located in the NEPS impact zone showed an intensive
76–90% of the sum of exchangeable cations, pH of water accumulation of polyarenes in 2016. The PAHs content in all
extract was neutral or weakly alkaline (7.4–7.7). By their studied soils increased in 2017 compared to 2016 data. It was
particle-size distribution, the soils are classified as heavy found that the average value of PAHs total concentration in
loamy and light clayey varieties formed on calcareous 20 cm soil layer of the monitored sites in direction of pre-
loess-like deposits with physical clay content 51–55% and dominant winds from NEPS was 1196.9 ± 17.0 µg/kg in
clay content 27–30%. The alluvial soils are specified by a 2016 and 1514.1 ± 12.1 µg/kg in 2017 (Fig. 2a). The aver-
coarser texture, less thick humus horizon (40–60 cm) age value of PAHs total concentration in 20 cm soil layer of
which were characterized by the lower organic matter monitored sites around NEPS was 580.8 ± 6.6 µg/kg in 2016
content (up to 1.8%); CEC (10.6 cmol(+)/kg) and high and 946.3 ± 7.4 µg/kg in 2017 (Fig. 2b). Accordingly, the
content of exchangeable calcium. dynamic of PAHs total concentration in 20 cm soil layer of
The soils were sampled annually in June during the the monitored sites has been found to be on the increase.
2 years 2016–2017. The newly developed method of sub-
critical water extraction was used for PAHs determination in
the soil samples [4]. The content of PAHs in the extracts was 4 Discussion
quantified by the HPLC method with ultraviolet and
fluorescence detection simultaneously according ISO 13877 The PAHs accumulation in the monitored sites soils was shown
requirements [5]. The solvents and reagents used in the to be in direction of predominant winds depending mostly on
research had HPLC grade mark and were represented by distance from NEPS. The most affected monitored soil was site
ethanol, n-hexane, potassium hydrate, acetonitrile, NaOH, no. 4 (1.6 km sw) with maximum PAHs concentration in 2017
and anhydrous Na2SO4. The PAHs standards in acetonitrile —2352.9 ± 15.9 µg/kg, and in 2016—1958.61 ± 23.0 µg/kg.
in a concentration of 200 µg cm−3 (Sigma-Aldrich/Merch) A sharp increase of total PAHs content was noticed in the soil
was used as standard solution prepared during HPLC of the monitored site no. 8 (5.0 km nw) rising from
analyses. 1080.8 ± 12.1 µg/kg in 2016 up to 1484.9 ± 16.9 µg/kg in
[email protected]
PAHs Monitoring in Soils Affected by Electric Power Station 51
Fig. 2 Dynamic of PAHs total concentration in 20 cm soil layer of monitoring sites (a) in direction of predominant winds from NEPS (b) around
NEPS in 2016–2017
2017 proving that the territory of environmental pollution explained by the increase of contaminants emission. The
from NEPS emissions reached 5.0 km in the predominant most polluted area by PAHs was the soil situated in the
wind direction. Dynamics of PAHs total concentration in distance 5 km in the north-west direction, and most of
20 cm soil layer of monitored sites showed the PAHs content the NEPS deposition has been emitted to a distance of about
decreased in site no. 9 (15.0 km nw) 760.7 ± 8.6 µg/kg in 1.6 km and decreases at the distance of 15 km from 62% up
2016 and 1091.0 ± 10.4 µg/kg in 2017. A relatively close to 54% in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
contamination level was found for site no 10 (20.0 km nw)
987.6 ± 11.7 µg/kg in 2016 and 1127.8 ± 16.2 µg/kg in Acknowledgements The investigation has been supported by the
2017 (Fig. 2). Thus, the most affected sites were no. 4 (1.6 km projects of RFBR 16-35-60051, Grant of the President of Russia
MK-3476.2017.5, Ministry of Education and Science of Russia
nw) and 8 (15.0 km nw) located at the distance 1.6–5.0 km 5.948.2017/PCh.
from NEPS, respectively. This data are in agreement with
previous research on NEPS emission zone and show that
NEPS still have the prevailing effect on close territories and References
cause a high level of environmental pollution [6].
The data on PAHs concentrations in 20 cm soil layer of
1. Wenzl, T., Simon, R., Kleiner, J., et al.: Analytical methods for
monitoring sites around NEPS in 2016 and 2017 showed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food and the environ-
that the level of total PAHs varied from 383.3 ± 11.6 µg/kg ment needed for new food legislation in the European Union. Trend.
up to 842.5 ± 8.4 µg/kg in 2016 and from 600.3 ± Anal. Chem. 25(7), 716–725 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.
11.0 µg/kg up to 1135.2 ± 13.4 µg/kg. The total PAHs 2006.05.010
2. Pereira, T., Laiana, S., Rocha, J., Broto, F., Comellas, L., Salvadori,
content in the monitored site no. 5 (1.2 km w) was the D., Vargas, V.: Toxicogenetic monitoring in urban cities exposed
highest of all sites around NEPS from 863.5 ± 8.3 µg/kg up to different airborne contaminants. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 90,
to 2168.0 ± 11.6 µg/kg due mostly to its connection to the 174–182 (2013)
site location. 3. IUSS Working Group WRB: World reference base for soil
resources 2014, update 2015 International soil classification system
for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil
Resources Reports. No. 106. FAO, Rome (2015)
5 Conclusion 4. Sushkova, S.N., Minkina, T.M., Mandzhieva, S., et al.: New
alternative method of benzo[a]pyrene extraction from soils and its
approbation in soil under technogenic pressure. J. Soils Sed. 16(4),
The aerotechnogenic emissions of power plant NEPS were 1323–1329 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1104-8
prevailing source of environmental pollution and PAHs 5. ISO 13877-2005: Soil quality-determination of polynuclear aro-
accumulation in soils of the studied region. For the first time matic hydrocarbons—Method using high—performance liquid
during 2 monitoring years, a total of sixteen PAHs content chromatography (2005)
6. Sushkova, S., Minkina, T., Turina, I., et al.: Monitoring of benzo[a]
was studied for soils affected by energy-producing plants. pyrene content in soils under the effect of long-term technogenic
The total PAHs content was revealed to increase gradually in poluttion. J. Geochem. Explor. 174, 100–106 (2017). https://doi.
soils of the studied territories over the period 2016–2017 org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.02.009
[email protected]
Kinetics of Crude Oil Desorption
from Contaminated Soil
Rahal Soufiane, Hadidi Noureddine, and Moulai Mostefa Nadji
Abstract contaminated soil is difficult [3–7]. Problems associated with

The objective of this work was to study the power of crude oil-contaminated site in environmental media have
surfactant solutions on the remediation of soils contam- received increasing attention. To solve such problems, an
inated by crude oil during a batch washing process. We innovative technology for the cleaning up process is a must.
used as surfactants Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Solubilization of oil by the surfactants is a key factor in the
Sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS). In this study, remediation of soils contaminated by hydrocarbons [6–10].
we examined the effect of various parameters (level of The use of surfactants can improve the solubility of hydr-
contamination, type of surfactant and contamination age) carbones by distributing them into the hydrophobic cores of
on the surfactant elimination of oil from soil. The results the surfactant micelles [7, 10, 11]. The objective of the
obtained in this study showed the potential of surfactants present work was to study the effects of surfactants solutions
in the cleanup of soils contaminated by hydrocarbons, and and even their structure as well as the sand nature on the
that the surfactants structure has a crucial impact on the remediation of crude oil-contaminated soils by a batch
elimination kinetic. washing process.

Keywords

Crude oil Contamination Surfactant
Desorption kinetics Remediation
2.1 Materials
We used an Algerian crude oil, which was selected as a

1 Introduction representative organic pollutant model. It was obtained from
a collection center located in HaoudhElhamra (HassiMes-
Hazardous and Toxic pollutants become a widespread saoud, South of Algeria). The anionic surfactants were
environmental problem that can lead to soil contamination. obtained via a dispenser and were used without further
This contamination can be due to industrial accidents or purification (Table 1). In this study, we used three sand
voluntarism (spills of industrial waste, leaking underground types (Table 2):
storage tanks and pipelines…) [1–3]. The elimination of
these hazardous compounds from soils has become a major • Sand from Adrar town about 1500 km from Algiers.
concern, and presents a challenge to scientists and engineers. • Sand from Ouargla, located 820 km south of Algiers.
In general, the organic pollutants have a high interfacial • Sand from operating station hydrocarbons Hadjret annas,
tension and low solubility, which makes their disposal of located in Ouargla.
R. Soufiane (&) M. M. Nadji 2.2 Methods

Materials and Environmental Laboratory, University of Medea,
Medea, Algeria
In this experiment we chose 25 and 50 g of oil contaminated
e-mail: rahalsoufi[email protected]
in a 1 kg sand for Periods of one and 10 months to see the
H. Noureddine
effect of age contamination on the washing process by sur-
Department of Process Engineering, University of Medea, Medea,
Algeria factants solutions. For washing, the samples were taken as a

[email protected]
54 R. Soufiane et al.
Table 1 Characteristics of the selected surfactants

Surfactant Molecular formula MW CMC (mM)
SDS C12H25SO4Na 288.38 8.3
SDBS C12H25C6H4SO3Na 348.5 3–2.8
Table 2 Characteristics of the selected sand

Sand pH Humidity Density
Ouargla 6.87 0.138 2.5
Station 7.13 0.109 2.667
Adrar 7.12 0.280 2.64
function of time. We put individual samples consisting of display an increase in the recovered oil content followed by
100 ml of surfactant solution containing 10 g of contami- stabilization. According to these figures, we note that for the
nated sand in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks. These samples were three sands curves are similar. The mass of oil in the liquid
sealed with a cap to prevent loss of solution. They were then phase increases during the washing until it reaches a
stirred for a period of 2, 4, 6, 8, 18 h at 200 rpm using a maximum.
shaker at room temperature to ensure maximum solubility. From Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and at the same concentrations of
After stirring, the mixture was filtered using filter paper and surfactants, the highest concentration of the oil solution was
diluted by (1/50) for the COD analyses. The concentration of found in the presence of SDBS. However, the lowest was
desorbed oil was determined by COD method. The surfac- found with SDS, for different oil contents and for all three
tant concentration was kept constant for the blank and the sands. These figures also indicate that the nature of sand and
samples in order to eliminate the effect of the surfactant. surfactant have a very significant effect on the evolution of
The COD value was determined by a standard method and the mass of oil in the liquid phase. It was found that the
the concentration of desorbed oil was deduced from the maximum of the mass was reached after 20 h of washing.
standard curve of crude oil established in water solution. According the Figs. 2 and 3 the age of contamination has a
remarkable effect in the desorption process. The evolution of
the crude oil desorption in function of time represented on
3 Results and Discussion Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show that the desorption kinetics follow a
pseudo-first order mass transfer model (Eq. 1), that describes
Crude oil desorption profiles versus time in anionic surfac- the crude oil concentration in all surfactants solution:
tants solutions in the washing processes carried out with
dSC
three kinds of sand and two surfactants are shown in Figs. 1, ¼ k SC SC ð1Þ
2 and 3, respectively. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show that the curves dt
Fig. 1 Oil desorption evolution in the presence of SDBS for 10 months of contamination (50 g/1 kg)
[email protected]
Kinetics of Crude Oil Desorption from Contaminated Soil 55
Fig. 2 Oil desorption evolution in the presence of SDS for 10 months of contamination (50 g/1 kg)
Fig. 3 Oil desorption evolution in the presence of SDS for 1 month of contamination (25 g/1 kg)
Table 3 Mass transfer coefficients, correlation coefficients of crude oil

10 months of contamination 1 months of contamination
Sand SDBS SDS SDS
R2 k (h−1) R2 k (h−1) R2 k (h−1)
Ouargla 0.93 0.065 – – – –
Station 0.87 0.0003 0.88 0.038 0.926 0.048
Adrar 0.88 0.018 0.92 0.0247 0.945 0.002
where S*C represents the mass of oil saturation (g), SC is the given in Table 3. Indeed, these results indicate that the
mass of oil in the surfactant solution at time t(g) and k is the desorption kinetics of crude oil depend on the surfactants
mass transfer coefficient (h−1). Integrating (Eq. 1) yields the structure [7, 10], sand and age of contamination. Comparing
following equation: the correlation coefficients (R2) to the experimental data of
each surfactant, it was remarked to vary between 0.87 and
SC ¼ SC 1 ekt ð2Þ 0.945. The results obtained show the structure and the CMC
of the surfactants (Table 1) at a remarkable effect on the
The fitting of Eq. (2) to the experimental data (Figs. 1, 2
decontamination process. The mass of oil recovered by the
and 3) was used to find the parameter k for each surfactant
[email protected]
56 R. Soufiane et al.
surfactants clearly show the effectiveness of the anionic 2. Raton, F.L., Riser-Roberts, E.: Remediation of Petroleum Con-
surfactant in the decontamination processes. According to taminated Soil: Biological, Physical, and Chemical Processes.
Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL (1998)
Pennell et al., anionic surfactants are still qualified by their 3. Pennell, K.D., Abriola, L.M., Weber, W.J.: Surfactant-
solubilizing power, which allows a moderate solubilization enhancedsolubilization of residual dodecane in soil columns: 1.
of apolar substances, even at low concentrations [3]. Experimental Investigation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 27, 2332–2340
(1993)
4. Chen, J., Wang, X.J., Hu, J.D., Xu, F.L., Tao, S.: Numerical
simulation of PAHs sorption/desorption on soil with the influence
4 Conclusion of Tween80. J. Environ. Sci-China 18(4), 716–720 (2006)
5. Khalladi, R., Benhabiles, O., Bentahar, F., Moulai-Mostefa, N.:
The results obtained in this study, showing that the anionic Surfactant remediation of diesel fuel polluted soil. J. Hazard.
Mater. 164, 1179–1184 (2009)
surfactants are very effective in cleaning contaminated soil 6. West, C.C., Harwell, J.H.: Surfactants and subsurface remediation.
by hydrocarbons. Indeed, the effectiveness of these surfac- Environ. Sci. Technol. 36, 2324–2330 (1992)
tants in a batch washing process is always meaningful. The 7. Rosen, M.J.: Surfactants and Interfacial Phenomena, 3rd edn.
results obtained in this study show that SDBS presents the Wiley, New Jersey (2004)
8. ASTI Homepage, http://www.springer.com/ASTI, Last accessed
best results by SDS in terms of performance, and the des- 21 Nov 2016
orption kinetics depend on the sand, contamination age and 9. Salager, J.L., Forgiarini, A.M., Marquez, L., Manchego, L., Bullon,
the surfactants nature. J.: How to attain an ultralow interfacial tension and a three-phase
behavior with a surfactant formulation for enhanced oil recovery: A
review. Part 2. J. Surfact. Deterg. 16, 631–663 (2013)
10. Rahal, S., Khalladi, R., Moulai-Mostefa, N.: Solubilization of
References crude oil by extended and otheranionic surfactants. Arab. J. Sci.
Eng. 41(1), 111–117 (2016)
11. Bourrel, M., Shechter, R.S.: Microemulsions and related systems:
1. Pearl, M., Pruijn, M., Bovendeur, J.: The application of soil formulation, solvency, and physical properties. In: Surfactant
washing to the remediation of contaminated soils. Land Contam. Science Series, vol. 30, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York and Basel
Reclam. 14(3), 713–726 (2006) (1988)
[email protected]
Determination of Groundwater Quality Near
a Non-engineered Landfill Using Electrical
Resistivity Tomography
Arindam Saha, Debaprakash Parida, and Ashim Kanti Dey

Abstract Keywords

Groundwater is one of the major sources of drinking Groundwater contamination Non-engineered
water. Groundwater often gets contaminated which makes landfill Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
very dangerous when consumed. Groundwater sources Water quality index (WQI)
present in an immediate environment of a non-engineered
landfill are more prone to get contaminated. Prediction of
groundwater contamination using the platitudinous
method using a few test wells is time consuming and 1 Introduction
cannot accurately illustrate the contamination of the
whole site. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), an Landfills are the systems which facilitate the containment of
advanced non-invasive technique, can effectively and wastes keeping the surrounding environment safe. But if
economically be used to delineate and predict the these landfills are not properly designed or well-maintained,
contaminated zoned of groundwater. This study devel- they cause serious environmental threats to its immediate
oped a correlation with which the quality of groundwater environment. Nowadays, major drinking water sources are
near a non-engineered landfill can be known without mostly affected by the detrimental effects of non-engineered
making any borehole and laboratory analyses. For this landfills. Leachate is a toxic chemical solution which gets
study a model non-engineered landfill of dimension emanated from the landfill when water flows through the
4 m 2.4 m 0.6 m depth was prepared to replicate landfill wastes [1]. Leachate percolates through the soil and
the original site condition. Electrical resistivity test was ultimately contaminates the groundwater source below the
performed on and around the landfill to visualize the landfill. The prediction of this contamination using con-
groundwater contamination. Groundwater was collected ventional methods is difficult and time consuming. More-
regularly near the landfill for five months and analyzed over, it fails to provide full information on the whole site
for contaminant concentrations. Water quality index contamination. Geophysical methods are found to be more
(WQI) was calculated to determine the quality of water effective and efficient in predicting the spread of ground-
for each sample and correlated with the resistivity data. water contamination. Among all the geophysical methods,
Design chats were prepared by correlating water quality electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique is found to
with resistivity value. The study evidenced the efficiency be very much adaptable for this concern [2].
of resistivity surveys in predicting the contaminated zone Electrical resistivity tomography technique is a non-
of groundwater. invasive geophysical technique which depends upon the
property of the material in carrying the electrical current.
This technique is performed on the surface with the help of a
resistivity measuring instrument and some electrodes to get
the subsurface information [3]. Though this technique is
very old, its effective applications in the study of emerging
environmental issues are yet to be explored extensively. In
this method, Current is passed through the subsoil from
A. Saha (&) D. Parida A. K. Dey current electrodes and the potential difference between two
National Institute of Technology Silchar, Cachar, 788010,
Assam, India points is measured by the potential measuring electrodes.
e-mail: [email protected] Depth of observation depends on the spacing between the

[email protected]
58 A. Saha et al.
electrodes which is in turn responsible for the resolutions of well was kept to 1.2 m. ERT tests were conducted every
the data quality. This technique has higher control over the month along these two profiles and subsequently water from
telluric noise which tends to distort the observed data. these two boreholes was drawn and tested in laboratory.
Resistivity value obtained at the site is nothing but the The laboratory test of the water samples includes pH,
apparent resistivity value of the subsurface material which is turbidity, alkalinity, chloride, iron, sulphate, nitrate, dis-
later processed and inverted using RES2DINV and solved oxygen and hardness. To represent the quality of
RES3DINV software to get the true resistivity value in 2D groundwater simply, a water quality index (WQI) was used
and 3D resistivity survey, respectively. Determining the [4]. To calculate the water quality index, firstly each
quality of water from the resistivity value is one of its kinds parameter of the nine considered, was given some weight,
in the field of environmental geo-technique. ranging from 1 to 5, depending upon the impact of each
The quality of water at any stage is defined by the Water parameter on human health. Secondly, the relative weight of
Quality Index (WQI) which is determined from the physico- each parameter was deduced by dividing its weight pre-
chemical analyses of the given water sample. WQI is an scribed by the sum of total weights of all the parameters.
effective tool which facilitates the information about the quality Thirdly a quality rating scale for each parameter was pre-
of water to the concerned body. WQI reflects the combined pared by dividing the concentration of each parameter by the
effects of various parameters on the water quality. The quality standard value of drinking water prescribed in BIS guideline,
of water is categorized as excellent, good, poor, very poor and and multiply the value by 100 [5]. Finally, the water quality
extremely harmful depending upon the WQI values. index was obtained by the summation of the product of each
The objective of this pilot study was to correlate the relative weights and their quality rating scale.
groundwater quality, calculated using WQI, with the resis-
tivity values obtained from the ERT survey over a period of
time at a non-engineered landfill site. 3 Results
3.1 Resistivity Survey

The resistivity survey has shown variations in the resistivity
A non-engineered landfill was made at a site within the values below the landfill before and after the filling of waste.
campus area of NIT Silchar, with the latitude 24° 45′ and The resistivity profiles before and after four months of
longitude 92° 47′. The site is chosen because the water table dumping are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Accord-
is not very deep, so that leachate from the landfill could ing to the observed depth of contaminant flow, resistivity
easily contaminate the ground water within a short time values were interpreted from the true resistivity profiles for a
span. The landfill was prepared in the month of November. depth range between 0.7 and 1.2 m. The representative
The study area receives an average annual perception of resistivity values were taken from the groundwater table to
around 300 cm. The water table is around 0.7 m below the the contaminated depth. The range of resistivity values
ground surface. The site had mainly silty clayey soil with observed at the site for boreholes 1 and 2 up to 0.7–1.2 m
permeability of 3.174 10−6 cm/s. depth is presented in Table 1. It is observed that the resis-
A trench of dimension 4 m 2.4 m 0.6 m was pre- tivity values near both boreholes decrease with time; which
pared. The trench was prepared on the lowest side of the indicates that the contaminant concentration in soil is
slope and near a pond. Waste comprising food waste from a increasing.
hostel, paper waste, plastics and cow dung were dumped in
the trench and made levelled with the ground surface. It was
intended to replicate the original landfill site present at Sil- 3.2 Water Quality Data
char in Assam, India through this pilot study. The model
landfill was prepared in the month of November. For each successive month, the quality of the contaminated
Two ERT tests were conducted on downstream side of water was determined according to the physicochemical
the landfill and at a perpendicular distance of 0.5 and 1.5 m analyses of the water samples. Water quality index
from the landfill. 48 numbers of electrodes were used at a (WQI) was calculated for the samples from each borehole as
spacing of 0.5 m and performed at every month. Two per the obtained physicochemical concentrations for each of
observatory wells, each located in the middle of the ERT the observed months. The water quality was categorized as
profile, were prepared to monitor contamination of ground- per the WQI values and was presented for corresponding
water and collect the samples. The depth of the observatory boreholes in Table 2.
[email protected]
Determination of Groundwater Quality Near a Non-engineered … 59
Fig. 1 ERT profile before making landfill on Nov-2017
Fig. 2 ERT profile after four months of dumping waste in Mar-2018
Table 1 Resistivity values Sl. No. Month Resistivity (Ohm-m)

corresponding to the time of
observation for borehole 1 and 2 Near borehole 1 Near borehole 2
1 November-2017 70–75 75–80
2 December-2017 55–60 40–50
3 January-2018 50–55 30–40
4 February-2018 40–45 20–30
5 March-2018 45–50 30–35
Table 2 WQI and Month Borehole 1 Borehole 2

corresponding water quality for
borehole 1 and 2 WQI Water quality WQI Water quality
November-2017 89.19 Good 89.19 Good
December-2017 111.36 Poor 121.72 Poor
January-2018 119.76 Poor 240.35 Very poor
February-2018 114.63 Poor 264.09 Very poor
March-2018 109.55 Poor 238.72 Very poor
3.3 Correlations Between Resistivity and Water

Quality 4 Discussion
The variation of the resistivity values with the quality of From this pilot study, it was observed that the resistivity
water for corresponding distances from the landfill are also values decrease over a period of time indicating the con-
presented in Table 3. A good regression coefficient for the tamination of groundwater at corresponding depths. The
correlation was obtained from the analysis. The obtained contaminant concentration increases with time, however, in
resistivity data and the water quality index over the observed the month of March, the resistivity values increased sug-
periods are correlated and the resulting graph is presented in gesting a decrease in contaminant concentration. The only
Fig. 3. The figure helps in determining the water quality reason for this anomaly was a sudden downpour in the early
once resistivity of the ground is known. days of March. This heavy downpour decreased the
[email protected]
60 A. Saha et al.
Table 3 Variation of resistivity with quality of water

Month Borehole 1 Borehole 2
Resistivity range Water quality Resistivity range Water quality
November-2017 70–75 Good 75–80 Good
December-2017 55–60 Poor 40–50 Poor
January-2018 50–55 Poor 30–40 Very poor
February-2018 40–45 Poor 20–30 Very poor
March-2018 45–50 Poor 30–35 Very poor
300 • ERT is effective in mapping the flow of contaminated

groundwater.
water quality index (WQI)
250
y = 0.1117x2 - 15.034x + 588.93
• The changes in contaminants concentration in ground-
200 R² = 0.885 water can be easily captured through ERT.
150 • Quality of ground water in terms of Water Quality Index
100
near non-engineered landfill can be predicted through
resistivity survey.
• ERT is successful in providing subsurface information
50
0 within a short period of time.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Resistivity values
Fig. 3 Correlation between resistivity value and water quality index

over a period of five months References
contaminant concentration, thereby increasing the resistivity. 1. Mor, S., Ravindra, K., Dahiya, R.P., Chandra, A.: Leachate
The physico-chemical analyses of the collected water sam- characterization and assessment of groundwater pollution near
municipal solid waste landfill site. Environ. Monit. Assess. 118,
ples confirmed the decreased value of the contaminant
435–456 (2006)
concentration after the rainfall. The resistivity of the area 2. Koda, E., Thaczyk, A., Lech, M., Osinski, P.: Application of
below the landfill was about 80 ohm-m before contamina- electrical resistivity data sets for the evaluation of the pollution
tion but at the same place the resistivity value was reduced to concentration level within landfill subsoil. Appl. sci. 7, 262 (2017)
3. Loke, M.H., Chambers, J.E., Rucker, D.F., Kuras, O., Wilkinson, P.
about 20 ohm-m after four months of contamination. The
B.: Recent developments in direct current geoelectrical imaging
spread of contamination was clearly visible in the resistivity method. J. Appl. Geophys. 95, 135–156 (2013)
profiles of the subsurface below the landfill. The spread of 4. Ramakrishnaiah, C.R., Sadashivaiah, C., Ranganna, G.: Assessment
contaminant flow, indicated by the decreased resistivity of water quality index for the groundwater in Tumkur Taluk,
Karnataka State, India. E-J. Chem. 6(2), 523–530 (2009)
value was about 6 m long across the landfill and more than
5. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) 10500, Indian Standard drinking
2.5 m deep in the month of March-2018 as shown in Fig. 2. water specification, 2nd Revision (2012)
5 Conclusion
The experiment showed that the variation in the degree of

contamination of groundwater over a period of time can
effectively be predicted from the resistivity survey. The
following conclusions can be drawn.
[email protected]
Physical and Chemical Characteristics
of Municipal Solid Waste in Gabes
Oumaima Chamem and Moncef Zairi
The most common way of solid waste disposal in many
countries is landfilling. In Tunisia 65% of the solid waste The rapid increase in population, booming economy, rapid
is landfilled. However, although landfilling is cheap in urbanization and the rise in the community living standards is
comparison to other waste management options, it coupled with an accelerated municipal solid waste generation
requires significant funds for the construction, the oper- rate in developing countries [1, 2]. In general, the operation
ation phase and the post-closure phase. The mechanical and management of municipal solid waste (MSW) collection
and biological pretreatment processes, applied for dec- services in many developing countries are the responsibility
ades in developed countries, reduce the economic and of the Municipal Corporation and some private companies;
environmental costs of landfilling by reducing the both are often rudimentary, poorly developed and incom-
volumes of waste to be buried and stabilize them. In plete. This was revealed by the lack of information about the
addition, recovering valuable materials upstream of the quantities and types of MSW collected, the amounts recov-
preprocessing can generate a product with high added ered and recycled, the insufficient infrastructure and weak
value. A survey was conducted in 2017 to characterize the strategic planning [3, 4].
municipal solid waste (MSW) composition. Thereto the Accurate data on generation and composition of MSW is
waste was analyzed during January–February (dry sea- pivotal in order to decide towards the appropriate waste
son) and August–September (wet season). Municipal management system.
solid waste (MSW) in Gabes includes of a wide range of The production and composition of MSW depends on
heterogeneous materials. The organic waste was the main many factors, such as economic status; climatic and geo-
fraction, followed by textiles, fines, paper, plastics, graphical conditions, and collection frequency [5, 6]. The
leather, rubber, glass, ceramic, and metal. The average moisture content, organic matter and heavy metals are all
MSW moisture content in Gabes landfill amounts to 69%. parameters which are of importance for waste biodegrada-
tion in landfills, as well as for the most economically feasible

Keywords choice and design for transport and treatment of waste

Municipal solid waste Developing countries materials [7].
Arid climate Landfill Gabes Management In this paper, MSW characteristics from Gabes Munici-
pality were investigated in order to evaluate the current
methods of treatment and propose an alternative waste
management plan.
O. Chamem (&) M. Zairi 2.1 Samples Collection

Water, Energy and Environment Laboratory LR3E, The National
School of Engineering of Sfax (ENIS), Sfax, Tunisia Two Samples were collected from Gabes landfill in two dif-
e-mail: [email protected] ferent seasons, one during the wet season (January 17, 2017)
M. Zairi

[email protected]
62 O. Chamem and M. Zairi
and the other in the dry season (August 28, 2017) in order to Finally, the digestion solution was filtered through a
examine the seasonal variations in MSW composition. 0.45-m membrane and the filtrate was diluted to 100 mL in a
According to the MODECOM (Methodology for flask [10].
municipal solid waste characterization), the MSW sampling
was performed and classified manually into seven fractions:
(1) organics, (2) cardboard paper, (3) plastics, leather and 3 Results and Discussion
rubber, (4) textiles and sanitary textiles, (5) metals, (6) glass
and ceramic and (7) fines waste [2]. 3.1 Average Composition of MSW in Gabes City
The waste composition analysis indicated that organic matter

2.2 Laboratory Analyses is the largest waste fraction in MSW of Gabes city, which
consists mainly of food residue, slaughterhouse waste,
In this study, according to the standard NF M03-002, the decayed vegetables and yard waste (31% kg/kg-dry and 59%
moisture content of typical MSW was determined, by drying kg/kg-dry of the total MSW collected during the winter and
2 kg of each fraction using hot air oven set at 105 °C for, summer respectively), followed by Textiles which accounts
24 h. The moisture content is expressed in percentages, for 12% kg/kg-dry in winter and 16% kg/kg-dry in summer,
which is loss in the weight from the original wet weight of fine waste (10% kg/kg-dry in summer and 14% kg/kg-dry in
each sample [7]. winter), papers-cardboard (9% kg/kg-dry in dry season and
The organic matter content (OM) was determined 10% kg/kg-dry in wet season), plastics, leather and rubber
according to procedure 2540E in Standard Methods [8] by (7% kg/kg-dry in wet season and 11% kg/kg-dry in wet
igniting for at least 4 h at 550 °C of about 50 g of MSW season), glass and ceramics and metals each accounted for
until a constant weight was achieved [9]. The organic con- 3% or less (see Fig. 1).
tent is the percent weight lost on ignition. According to the
standard NF EN ISO 11885(1998), the determination of
heavy metal contents (Ni, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Cu) by ICP– 3.2 Physicochemical Characteristics of MSW
OES (Optima 2100DV, Perkin-Elmer, USA) in each fraction
of MSW required the following steps: First, about 0.5 g of Moisture content
each fraction was transferred to a polytetrafluorethylene
digestion capsule. In Fig. 2 the moisture content of each fraction of MSW in
Next, all the samples were dissolved in 5 mL of nitric Gabes city is shown. The far largest water content (77%)
acid, 5 mL of hydrofluoric acid and 3 mL of perchloric acid. was observable for the organic fraction (indicated as
and then heated on an electric heating plate. After evapo- fermentable).
ration, each capsule was rinsed by 10 mL of hydrochloric Previous studies have reported that in developing coun-
acid and demineralized water. tries high water contents of MSW is considered normal,
Fig. 1 MSW composition in wet season (a) and dry season (b)
[email protected]
Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste … 63
Fig. 2 Moisture content of each waste fraction (given in %)
Table 1 Heavy metal content Element Fe Cd Zn Cu Cr Ni Pb

mg/kg dry weight) of each waste
fraction Paper 447 8 24 25 2 5 23
Plastic 189 7 45 23 1 3 25
Textile 349 8 25 9 0 5 32
Fermentable 318 10 59 19 1 9 23
Yard 654 6 24 10 1 9 20
Fine matter 4258 12 53 21 5 8 34
Ranges of household waste – 03– 380– 77– 21– 16– 100–
[9, 16] 41 2677 1048 426 200 800
while in industrialized countries such high contents are not In fact, this result indicate the possibility of using com-
observable [7]. posted organic waste as fertilizer and soil amendment [7].
Indeed, the given value of moisture content in MSW of
developing country can be explained by the specific food
consumption which largely consists of fresh fruits and veg- 3.3 MSW Valorisation
etables [7].
In addition to the aforementioned results, a supplementary
Organic matter valorisation of the MSW was evaluated applying the Tanner
graphic method [17, 18], which uses three parameters:
The organic matter content was estimated to about 69% by Moisture (% M), Ashes (% Ce) and Volatile Matter
dry matter. This high value is explained by the large share of (% VM).
food waste [7]. The observations fit the data of most The results of this analysis show that the waste is suitable
developing countries, which have tremendous organic confor composting, because of its high contents of moisture and
tent of MSW such as, Mauritius 85% [11], Tanzania 80% volatile matter (% M: 69%, VM: 69%, Ce: 31%) (see Fig. 3).
[12], Morocco 68% [13] and Algeria 64.6% [14].
This result indicates that composting has a potential for
waste management in Gabes [7, 15]. 4 Conclusion
Heavy metal contents This paper focused on determining the physical composition
of Gabes MSW, and then determining its optimum
The total metal contents in MSW of Gabes landfill are physiochemical parameters. These parameters proved that
summarized in Table 1. It showed that compared to the the high amount of organic waste in Gabes landfill can be
concentrations reported by François [9] and Aloueimine effectively used as organic manure through composting
[16], the concentrations of all heavy metal ions were rela- which would be an appropriate method of MSW manage-
tively low and below the reference limits. ment in Gabes city.
[email protected]
64 O. Chamem and M. Zairi
6. Collivignarelli C., Sorlini S., Vaccari M.: Solid wastes manage-

ment in developing countries. CD-ROM of ISWA World
Congress, Rome (2004)
7. Zairi, M., Aydi, A., Dhia, H.B.: Leachate generation and biogas
energy recovery in the Jebel Chakir municipal solid waste landfill,
Tunisia. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 16, 141–150 (2014)
8. Eaton, A.D., Franson, M.A.H.: Standard Methods for the Exam-
ination of Water & Wastewater. American Public Health Associ-
ation (2005)
9. Francois, V.: Détermination d’indicateurs d’accélération et de
stabilisation de déchets ménagers enfouis. Etude de l’impact de la
recirculation de lixiviats sur colonnes de déchets, thèse de doctorat
No 8-2004. Université de Limoges, pp. 158. Yousuf TB, R. M.
(2007). Monitoring quantity and characteristics of municipal solid
waste in Dhaka City. Environ. Monit. Assess. 135, 3–11 (2004)
10. Xiaoli, C., Shimaoka, T., Xianyan, C., Qiang, G., Youcai, Z.:
Characteristics and mobility of heavy metals in an MSW landfill:
implications in risk assessment and reclamation. J. Hazard. Mater.
144, 485–491 (2007)
11. Mohee, R.: Assessing the recovery potential of solid waste in
Mauritus. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 36, 33–43 (2002)
12. Mbuligwe, S.E., Kassenga, G.: Feasibility and strategies for
anaerobic digestion of solid waste for energy production in Dar
EsSalaam city, Tanzania. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 42, 183–203
(2004)
13. Zahrani, F.: Contribution à l’élaboration et validation d’un
Fig. 3 Tanner ternary diagram protocole d’audit destiné à comprendre les dysfonctionnements
des centres de stockages des déchets (CSD) dans les pays en
développement. Application à deux CSD: Nkolfoulou (Came roun)
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1. Minghua, Z.X., Xiumin, F., Rovetta, A., Qichang, H., Vicentini, A.: Municipal solid waste in Mostaganem city (Western Algeria).
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management in Pudong New Area, China. J. Waste Manag. 29, 15. Gajalakshmi, S., Abbasi, A.S.: Solid waste management by
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2. Srivastava, V., Ismail, S.A., Singh, P., Singh, R.P.: Urban solid (5), 311–400 (2008)
waste management in the developing world with emphasis on 16. Aloueimine, S.: MSW Characterization Methodology in Nouak-
India: challenges and opportunities. Rev. Environ. Sci. Biotechnol. chott, Mauriatnia (2006)
14(2), 317–337 (2015) 17. Antonopoulos, I.S., Karagiannidis, A., Kalogirou, E.: Estimation
3. Ayininuola, G.M., Muibi, M.A.: An engineering approach to solid of municipal solid waste heating value in Greece in the frame of
waste collection system: Ibadan North as case study. Waste formulating appropriate scenarios on waste treatment (2010)
Manage. 28, 1681–1687 (2008) 18. Gillet, R.: MSW Management and its Application in Developing
4. Buenrostro, O., Bocco, G.: Solid waste management in munici- Countries, vol. 1. OMS Publisher, PUND, Copenhagen, Denmark
palities in Mexico: goals and perspectives. Resour. Conserv. (1985)
Recycl. 39, 251–263 (2003) 19. MODECOM (Methode de caractérisation des ordures ménagères):
5. Tchobanoglous, G., Hilary, T., Vagil, S.A.: Integrated solid waste Methodology for municipal solid waste characterization. ADEME
management: engineering principles and management issues. Report, 2nd edn., pp. 1601–2766 (1993)
Mc-Graw Hill, New York (1993)
[email protected]
Portland Cement Exhaust Characterization
and Its Potential Use in Mineral Carbon
Sequestration
Freeman E. D. Senzani and Antoine F. Mulaba-Bafubiandi
Portland cement manufacturing produces, in its exhausts,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, During the manufacture of Portland cement, calcium oxide
oxygen, nitrogen, water vapour, and argon. Significant (CaO), obtained from limestone calcining (CaCO3) is fused
amounts of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are at 1450 °C with silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3) and iron
therefore released into the atmosphere. For the purpose of oxide (Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) (Fig. 1). The fused product is cooled
minimizing the input of greenhouse and acid rain gases, rapidly to solidify as a set of new minerals, known as
ways of capturing the carbon dioxide by, for instance, Portland cement clinker, or, just clinker (Fig. 2, Table 1).
mineral carbonation, are being investigated around the The main raw material which supplies the calcium oxide is
world. This study is a review of the masses of gases, their the sedimentary rock limestone or, alternatively, its igneous
volumes, temperatures, and the heat energy they release. and metamorphic equivalents, namely carbonatite and mar-
It forms the first step in determining ways for on-site ble, respectively. They need to contain at least 42% CaO, or
carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide sequestration. The 75% CaCO3 for this purpose. The other inputs are quartz
study shows that for a tonne of clinker, the masses of the rich sand to provide silica, bauxite for alumina and haematite
gases produced, in tonnes, are 1.2 CO2 (63%), 0.004 SO2 or magnetite for iron-oxide. Clay may also supply a com-
(0.2%), 0.008 CO (0.4%), 0.0549 O2 (2.82%), 0.5 H2O bination of the silica, alumina and iron oxide. The raw
(25.8%), 0.16 N2 (0.1%) and Ar 0.0028 (0.096%). The materials are blended to satisfy the Lime Saturation Factor
total volume of the gases leaving the stack, if the exit (LSF), such that,
temperature is 300 °C, is 2.975 m3, but reaches 4.532 m3
at 600 °C, while the heat energy potentially available for LSF ¼ ðCaOÞ=ðf2:8 x SiO2 g þ f1:18 x Al2 O3 g þ f0:65 x Fe2 O3 gÞ 1:
downstream use, is 1272 and 1938 MJ, again at 300 and ð1Þ
600 °C, respectively. This is wasted heat energy that
cement companies should use to capture the gases that The most common fuels used are coal and petroleum, but
have negative environmental consequences. utilisation of various waste materials is on the increase. The
conversion of the raw materials and burning of the fuels lead
to the production of exhaust gases consisting of different

Keywords
Cement Clinker Sequestration Mineral carbonation proportions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur
dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, water vapour, and argon
(Table 2). These are expelled at temperatures between 300
and 600 °C [1].
This study involves a determination of the heat energy
carried and dispersed into the atmosphere during the fusing
process [1]. The aim is to find ways of utilising the energy to
speed up the process of the carbonation of olivine and
F. E. D. Senzani (&) A. F. Mulaba-Bafubiandi
Mineral Processing Technology Research Centre, Department pyroxene in order to contribute to the reduction of the
of Metallurgy, School of Mining Metallurgy and Chemical amount of greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere. It is
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, part of a broader investigation focusing on developing
University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17911 Doornfontein, 2028,
methods that exploit the earth raw materials on an artisanal
South Africa
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] to small scale, which is expected, in turn, to support physical

[email protected]
66 F. E. D. Senzani and A. F. Mulaba-Bafubiandi
Fig. 1 Simplified flow chart of

Portland cement manufacture
Fig. 2 Portland clinker

(a) nodules (b) micrograph
blue = alite; purple = belite;
white = calcium aluminoferrite
(ferrite); grey = tricalcium
aluminate (aluminate); field of
view = 300 µm
Table 1 Mineral and chemical Mineral Chemical formula Typical % in Portland cement
composition of Portland cement
clinker Tricalcium silicate (alite) Ca3SiO5 45
Dicalcium silicate (belite) Ca2SiO4 27
Tricalcium aluminate (aluminate) Ca3Al2O6 11
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (ferrite) Ca4Al2Fe2O10 8
See Refs. [1, 3–6]
Table 2 Heat energy generated Gas Heat capacity Heat energy available (MJ)
by flue gases during manufacture [J/(kg/K)]
of 1-tonne Portland cement at 300 °C (573 K) at 600 °C (873 K)
Carbon dioxide (calcination) 844 340.46 518.72
Combustion gases Sulphur dioxide 640 1.47 2.23
Carbon monoxide 1020 4.68 7.12
Oxygen 919 6.85 10.43
Carbon dioxide 844 248.09 377.98
Water vapour from coal and raw meal 1930 552.95 842.45
Sucked in air Nitrogen 1040 93.07 141.80
Oxygen 919 22.06 33.62
Argon 520 0.55 0.84
Carbon dioxide 844 0.04 0.06
Water vapour 1930 2.21 2.22
Total 1272.43 1937.47
See Ref. [1]
[email protected]
Portland Cement Exhaust Characterization and Its Potential … 67
development and increase employment opportunities in rural and maintain the high temperature until acceptable levels of
areas [2]. carbonation have been achieved. A similar review of exhausts
from fossil fuel based-power generation plants would achieve
a similar purpose. Parallel studies should also be conducted
2 Methods for SO2, which contributes to acid rain.
The study was carried out by reviewing from different

sources the exhaust gases quantities of the cement manu- 5 Conclusions
facturing process, and their physical conditions, namely the
masses, their volumes, temperatures, and the heat energy This study reviewed the flue gases that are known to be
they potentially contain at 300 and 600 °C. The two tem- produced and discharged at high temperatures of between
peratures represent the range at which the gases are emitted 300 and 600 °C into the atmosphere during the manufacture
[1]. There are chemical thermodynamic tables with infor- of cement. Published information from a variety of sources
mation that allows the calculation of the heat energy con- made available the masses, volumes, as well as heat
tained in the gases as they are expelled at these temperatures, capacities. These were used to determine how much heat
as performed in this study. Based on the masses and heat energy might potentially be made available from the
capacities, this investigation determined the thermal energy exhausts. The total flue gas mass was 1.94 tonne. At a
contained in the gases, as 1 tonne of clinker is produced. temperature of 300 °C, the volume was 14.87 m3, while the
heat energy available was 1272.43 MJ for every tonne of
Portland cement produced. At 600 °C, the volume was
3 Results 22.66 m3, while the heat energy was 1937.47 MJ. The
energy that is lost to the atmosphere could be utilized in
For a tonne of clinker, the masses of the gases produced, in other processes such as mineral carbonation. It is recom-
tonnes, are estimated to be 1.2 CO2 (63%), 0.004 SO2 (0.2%), mended that future designs of cement plants be required to
0.008 CO (0.4%), 0.0549 O2 (2.82%), 0.5 H2O (25.8%), 0.16 utilize the wasted energy for this process, among others.
N2 (0.1%) and Ar 0.0028 (0.096%). The total volume of the
gases leaving the stack, if the exit temperature is 300 °C, is
2.975 m3, but reaches 4.532 m3 at 600 °C, while the heat References
energy available for downstream use, is 1272 and 1938 MJ,
again at 300 and 600 °C, respectively (Table 2) [1–6]. 1. Peray, K.E.: The Rotary Cement Kiln. Chemical Publishing
Company Inc., New York NY (1982)
2. Tonnegu, E.L.: Limestonnee Report. Council for Geoscience,
Pretoria, South Africa (2007)
4 Discussion 3. British Geological Survey (BGS), Mineral Profile, Cement Raw
Materials. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005)
Because 1272–1938 MJ heat energy is released to the atmo- 4. Eckel, E.C.: Cement Materials of the United States. United States
sphere, mostly as high-temperature greenhouse and acid rain Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior (1905)
5. Taylor, H.F.W.: Cement Chemistry. Academic Press, London
gases, there is potential to tap the thermal power and utilize it (1990)
in the process of carbonation of the contained CO2. Such 6. Wright, J.B.: Constructional and Other Bulk Materials. The Open
chemical reactions are speeded up to viable rates if the water University Press. Miltonne-Keynes, UK. 88 p (1974)
in which they are conducted is at a high temperature [7–9]. 7. Sanna, A., Uibu, M., Carmanna, G., Kussik, R., Maroto-Valer, M.
M.: A review of Carbonation Technologies to Sequester CO2.
The heating up of such aqueous solutions and suspensions Chem. Soc. Rev. 48, 8049–8080 (2014)
forms the first possible use for the energy which is otherwise 8. Zevenhoven, R., Fagerlund, J.: Mineralisation of carbon dioxide
wasted. For instance, if 3 tonne (3000 kg) of water are (CO2). In: Maroto-Valer, M.M. (ed.) Developments and Innovation
required to form the carbonation solution/suspension of in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture and Storage Technology,
pp. 433–462. Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Oxford (2010)
exhausts from production of 1 tonne of cement, it will need 9. Hogan, C.M.: Abiotic factor. In: Monosson, E., Cleveland, C. (eds.)
1005 MJ for its temperature to rise from 20 to 100 °C. The Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the
remainder of the energy would be available to stir the mixture, Environment. Washingtonne DC (2010)
[email protected]
Evaluation of Air Pollutants and Dispersion
Patterns for the Adjacent Areas of Mellitah
Gas Complex, Libya
Abdulhamid B. M. Danna, Amjad Kallel, and Mohamed Jamel Rouis
Abstract used in almost all oil and Gas installation in Libya for safe
This study aimed to assess the dispense of concentrations disposal of undesired products of produced hydrocarbons.
and patterns of dispersion of gases and particulate matter By burning these products of hydrocarbons and converting
emitted from the Mellitah gas complex in Libya, specif- them largely to carbon dioxide and water their environ-
ically the adjacent areas. Concentrations of these pollu- mental impacts are greatly reduced [1]. Air pollution is one
tants and dispersion patterns are very variable with the of the most critical issues. EPA has identified nitrogen oxi-
wind direction. Therefore, it was found that the concen- des, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone (O3), particu-
trations of pollutants in the areas that were in the wind lates (PM10) as an indicator of air quality. They are well
direction were higher than those that were to the opposite known as sources emitted from combustion of hydrocarbons
of the wind direction. The highest concentrations were of oil and Gas installations. Air pollutants are divided into
recorded in the late night and early morning, specifically two types: primary pollutants emitted from a specific source.
between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. It was noted that during these Among these, the most important are SO2, CO, NOx, SOx,
times, the air may be stable or static, which confirms that hydrocarbons (VOCs) and minerals. Secondary contami-
the wind has an influence on the monitoring processes nants are those formed in the atmosphere by chemical
either negatively or positively. reaction of primary pollutants including O3, oxidized
hydrocarbons and other photochemical oxidants [2].
To know the quality of the atmosphere for the cities required

Keywords
Air pollution Oil installations Gas installation an extensive analysis. Monitoring programs should be per-
Gas emission Risk sources formed on a daily basis and in particular in the surrounding
area of the industrial plants in order to protect the environ-
ment. The air pollution is not yet a major problem in almost
all the Libyan Cities due to the fact of the low emission for
1 Introduction the cities being open which makes dilution more
efficient [3].
Libya, situated on the Mediterranean coast experiences
temperate humid, cold, and hot climate. The local meteo-
rological conditions most of the year are mild humidity, 2 Materials and Methods
temperate calm north east wind. This paper focused mainly
on the follow-up of major air pollutants near the Mellitah gas In cooperation with the National Environment Agency, the
complex shown in Fig. 1. Libya is among the major oil research was carried out for a specific period of time for
exporting countries in Africa and its economy is heavily some areas adjacent to the Mellitah gas complex in Libya.
dependent on oil and Gas production. It has several oil and The self-measuring devices used to measure the pollutants
Gas fields all over Libya. Flaring is the common methods were installed onboard of a mobile car unit. The system
absorbs air, analyzes and obtains the quantity and type of
A. B. M. Danna (&) recorded contaminants. The most important compounds
College of Engineering Technology, Janzour, Libya
measured in the air were nitrogen oxides (NOx–NO–NO2),
SO2, H2S, CO, O3 (PM1–PM2–PM10), weather conditions
A. B. M. Danna A. Kallel M. J. Rouis
Sfax National School of Engineers, University of Sfax, Sfax,
also were measured (humidity, temperature, wind direction
Tunisia and speed).

[email protected]
70 A. B. M. Danna et al.
Fig. 1 Mellitah gas complex site location
monitoring periods. The wind speed was relatively high on

3 Results and Discussion the first days of the monitoring process. The wind speed was
6–9 m/s, and the direction was as measured EN. The loca-
The most important compounds measured in the air were tion to measure the discharged pollutants is situated north of
nitrogen oxides (NOx–NO–NO2) as shown in Table 1. the observation point. After that, the speed of the wind
Table 2, presents data of particulates and SO2, H2S, O3, CO, decreased but only at night. The direction was also north-
shown in Table 3. The daily average of the readings easterly, but during the daytime it changed to the north, and
obtained, as well as the highest and minimum readings, were it was accompanied by an increase in its velocity ranging
presented to facilitate the possibility of tracking these results. from 6 to 8 m/s and continued on to the third day. 80% of
Figure 2 presents changes in concentration of (NO, NOx, the highest rates for each gas recorded in the time period
NO2), whilst Fig. 3 displays particulates amounts changes were between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when the wind speed is
and Fig. 4 presents shows the recorded amounts of SO2, between (0.5–2 m/s), which confirms that the wind is the
H2S, O3, CO. main factor of the monitoring process, whether negative or
The presented measurements are part of the results positive.
obtained, displaying the readings (every half hour) over
24 h, equivalent to (48) readings per day. When comparing
the results obtained with the international and Saudi stan- 4 Conclusion
dards [4, 5], they may be somewhat acceptable, but this does
not confirm the absence of pollution in the region due to Air pollution in areas adjacent to Mellitah gas complex,
several conditions, including the location of the monitoring Libya was assessed by measuring the pollutants NOX, NO,
site, the determination of distances and directions and the NO2, SO2, H2S, CO, O3, PM1, PM2 and PM10. Although
[email protected]
Evaluation of Air Pollutants and Dispersion Patterns … 71
Table 1 The daily average of NO NOx NO2

nitrogen oxides levels (ppb)
1 5.2 8.2 3
2 15.8 23 7.2
3 0.5 1.8 1.2
4 0.7 3.6 2.9
5 1.7 6.2 4.5
6 0.9 5.1 4.2
7 0.8 4.6 3.8
8 1 7 6
9 1.1 4.7 3.6
Table 2 The daily average of PM1 PM2 PM10

particulates levels (lg/m3)
1 6.6 15.7 22.5
2 5.9 14.4 37.8
3 6.3 12.4 28
4 7.6 11.8 18.1
5 13.3 20 29.1
6 18.1 25.9 35.1
7 15.1 21.4 30.7
8 12.3 20.7 50.7
9 10.4 17.1 32.2
Table 3 Concentration levels of SO2 H2S O3 CO

SO2, H2S, O3 and CO (ppb)
4.6 1.6 32.1 3
3.9 1.1 38.1 2
2.5 1.2 46.5 1
8.5 1.8 41.1 2
7.9 2.2 39.2 2
4.8 1.5 38.4 3
6 1.5 37.6 2
6.4 1.6 40.8 3
6.3 1.4 35 2
the obtained results are in general in the range of interna- longer periods during which all the variables are taken into
tional regulations, they do not confirm the absence of pol- account and a better selection of control sites and control
lution in the region due to many factors. From this point of techniques should be selected to cover such a large area to be
view, it can be said that these monitoring studies may require effective and without any restrictions.
[email protected]
72 A. B. M. Danna et al.
Fig. 2 Mean nitrogen oxides concentration
Fig. 3 Mean particulates values
Fig. 4 Mean H2S, SO2, O3, CO concentration
[email protected]
Evaluation of Air Pollutants and Dispersion Patterns … 73
References 4. World Health Organization: Ambient (outdoor) Air Quality and Health,
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en. Accessed 13 Apr
2015
1. ENPI-SEIS Country report—LIBYA, Mar 2015 5. Royal Commission Environmental Regulations: Royal Commission
2. Abogrean, E.M., Elssaidi, M.A., Almathnani, A.M., Alansari, M.H.: for Jubail and Yanbu. Yanbu, Royal Commission Environmental
Seasonal behavior of gaseous, PM10 and VOCs pollutants of Regulations, Environmental Control Department, Saudi Arabia
Tripoli Ambient Air, Libya (ICCEBS’ 2015) (2004)
3. Danna, A.B.M., Jamel, R.M.: Environmental Risk Modeling of
Power Plants & Oil Installations in Libya, https://doi.org/10.1109/
SM2C.2017.8071829
[email protected]
Study of Chemical Composition in Wet
Atmospheric Precipitation in Karachi,
Pakistan
Saiyada Masood, Sumayya Saied, Azhar Siddique, Shaikh Mohiuddin,

Mirza Hussain, Muhammad Khan, and Haider Khwaja

Abstract Keywords

Anthropogenic and natural emissions in atmosphere Rainwater Anthropogenic pollution Organic acids
directly affect the rainwater chemistry as its chemical Sources Karachi
speciation is representative of emission status in the
surrounding area. A comprehensive study on the chemical
composition of rainwater was carried out in Karachi, a
mega-city of Southeast Asia to delineate the urbanization 1 Introduction
impact on the local environment. Rainwater samples were
analyzed for conductivity, pH, HCO3−, F−, Cl−, NO2−, The study of chemical species in wet precipitation is of great
NO3−, SO42−, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, HCOO−, importance because of their adverse environmental and
CH3COO−, C2O42−, pyruvate, malonate, propionate, human health effects [1–3]. The chemical composition of
glyoxylate, and total organic carbon (TOC) levels. The precipitation plays a significant role in scavenging soluble
ionic load in rainwater samples was found to be high in components from the atmosphere and helps to understand
the densely populated sampling sites experiencing heavy the atmospheric pollutants contribution [4]. These scavenged
traffic activity and located adjacent to industrial zones. pollutants affect the natural chemical composition and pH of
Na+ was the most dominant ionic species, followed by precipitation, which leads to the damage of ecosystem,
SO2−,
4 Ca2+, Cl−, HCO3−, K+, NH4+, Mg2+, NO3−, human health, wild life, and the built environment [5, 6].
CH3COO− and HCOO− in sequence. HCOO− and Relatively few systematic studies of rainwater chemistry
CH3COO− were found to be the predominant carboxylic have been carried out in developing countries with arid
acids and their mean concentrations were 4.9 ± 7.3 and climates in comparison with widespread studies in Europe
9.4 ± 16.0 µeq/L, respectively. These organic acids and North America [7–15]. In Pakistan, the rapid economic
together contributed with 7% to the TOC in precipitation. growth, industrial expansion, increase in population, and
Source apportionment of the contaminants was accom- urbanization have led to an increase in pollutant emissions
plished by statistical techniques, which indicated strong and deteriorartion of air quality [16, 17]. Therefore, infor-
impact of anthropogenic pollution on the rainwater mation gathering of the current status of precipitation
chemistry in Karachi. chemistry in urban centers of Pakistan through monitoring
has become essential.
Karachi, the fastest growing megacity of the world, rep-
resenting the urban and coastal area of Pakistan, has a unique
geography and demography that greatly contributes to
S. Masood S. Saied S. Mohiuddin M. Khan changes in atmospheric chemistry. The major objectives of
University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
this paper were to: (1) provide a detailed assessment of the
A. Siddique chemical composition of precipitation; (2) compare the
Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
results of this study with other studies from various places in
M. Hussain H. Khwaja (&) the world; and (3) investigate possible sources of various
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health,
Albany, NY, USA constituents of precipitation in the study area.
M. Hussain H. Khwaja
University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA

[email protected]
76 S. Masood et al.
2 Materials and Methods 3 Results and Discussion
The megacity Karachi (Fig. 1) is the most urbanized, The samples pH profile indicate marked variations ranging
industrialized, and affluent city in Pakistan. There are vari- from 3.31 to 7.9 with an average of 6.84 (Table 1). The
ous industrial areas located close to or even merged with lowest pH was observed at AFOHS site along with a high
residential areas in Karachi. Twenty one rainwater samples concentration of SO42−, reflecting strong impact of anthro-
from such areas, considered to be representative of these pogenic pollution on the rainwater chemistry. The AFOHS
sites, were collected using polyethylene buckets (Fig. 1). site is located adjacent to a dumping yard facing an industrial
The pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of rainwater zone. The high EC values at FBA, NN, and NZ reflect
samples were measured immediately with conductivity the worst atmospheric environmental quality in the study
(4320 JENWAY) and pH (3310 JENWAY) meters. The area.
Dionex IC-3000 system was used to determine the major The ionic species mean concentration in precipitation
anions (F−, Cl−, NO2−, NO3−, SO42−, C2O42−, HCOO−, follows the order of Na+ ˃ SO42− ˃ Ca2+ ˃ Cl− ˃ HCO3− ˃
CH3CHOO−, pyruvate, malonate, propionate, glyoxylate) K+ ˃ NH4+ ˃ Mg2+ ˃ NO3− ˃ CH3COO− ˃ HCOO−. The
and cations (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) concentrations. dominance of SO42− in anions suggests that a SO2 emission
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurement was performed from fossil-fuel combustion was a major reason for rain-
by Shimadzu 5000 TOC analyzer. water acidification. The concentration of SO42− was found to
A statistical analysis was conducted using the software be much higher than those of major cities in North America,
SPSS 20 to identify the sources of observed species. Asia, Mexico, South America, and the Middle East, indi-
Descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and factor analyses cating strong influence of anthropogenic pollution in Kar-
(using PCA) were also performed on the precipitation data. achi. The high NH4+ concentrations in Karachi precipitation
A stringent quality control protocol including calibration of could possibly be attributed to neutralization by such key
the instruments, analyses of duplicate samples, spike factors as overuse of fertilizers, biomass burning, livestock
recoveries were used to control data quality. breeding, and agricultural activities.
Fig. 1 Map of Karachi showing the sampling sites
[email protected]
Study of Chemical Composition in Wet Atmospheric Precipitation … 77
Table 1 Descriptive statistics of Parameters Minimum Maximum Annual arithmetic mean

chemical compositions in
precipitation in Karachi Precipitation (mm) 0.25 10.9 8.80 ± 3.10
TOC (mg/L) 0.05 16.2 3.90 ± 4.60
EC (µS/cm) 13.7 476 115 ± 121
pH 3.31 7.9 6.84 ± 0.93
H+ (µeq/L) 0.01 490 23.5 ± 107
HCO3− (µeq/L) 0.02 708 164 ± 211
Na+ (µeq/L) 61.8 3510 484 ± 759
NH4+ (µeq/L) 7.0 359 123 ± 104
K+ (µeq/L) 3.6 454 132 ± 120
Mg 2+
(µeq/L) 4.1 362 97.2 ± 108
Ca2+ (µeq/L) 7.0 2210 333 ± 531
−
Cl (µeq/L) 10.4 1090 242 ± 289
NO3− (µeq/L) 0.36 109 27.1 ± 31.0
SO42− (µeq/L) 21.6 1690 397 ± 467
HCOO− (µeq/L) 0.44 27.1 4.90 ± 7.30
CH3COO− (µeq/L) 0.34 66.9 9.4 ± 16.0
The TOC concentrations spanned two orders of magni- The four factors corresponding to four major sources
tude; the mean value, 3.9 ± 4.6 mg/L (Table 1), indicated explained 81.2% of the total variance with a factor loading
that Karachi’s rainwater is relatively loaded with organic greater than 0.5. Factor 1, which explains 35.6% of the total
compounds. Concentrations of HCOO− and CH3COO− in variance, has high loading of Cl−, Mg2+, NH4+, K+, SO42−,
Karachi’s rainwater were comparable to urban areas, NO3−, and Na+ in a decreasing order, implying a mixed
implying the importance of anthropogenic sources of car- source of anthropogenic (indicated by SO42−, NO3−, NH4+
boxylic acids. A positive correlation was found between the and K+) and marine (indicated by Cl−, Mg2+, and Na+)
concentrations of HCOO− and CH3COO−, suggesting that pollution. Factor 2, explaining 16.4% of the total variance
their sources are closely related to, and/or controlled by a has large loading in HCOO−, CH3COO− and HCO3−. This
common reaction. factor represents the direct emissions of these low-molecular
The SO42−/NO3− ratios are characteristic of the site and weight carboxylic acids from anthropogenic sources. Factor
reveal the anthropogenic influence of its immediate envi- 3, with 16.4% of the total variance, shows high loadings in
ronment. Compared to the SO42−/NO3− ratios reported for Ca2+ and Na+ and moderate value in CH3COO−. This factor
other cities in the world, Karachi had one of the highest at appears to be linked to the terrestrial source. Factor 4,
14.6. The dominance of SO42− can be attributed to the explaining 12.8% of the total variance, has large loading in
influence of the surrounding anthropogenic sources (com- H+ and SO42−, suggesting the influence of anthropogenic
bustion, vehicular traffic, and garbage burning). source.
Correlation coefficients between the individual organic The metropolitan Karachi has an arid climate and is
ions and various inorganic parameters were lower than the bordered by Balochistan and Iran to the northwest, desert of
organic-organic correlation coefficient. A high correlation Sindh and India to the east and southeast, and Arabian Sea to
was seen between H+ and SO42− and between SO42− and the west southwest. Seasonal differences in air mass trajec-
NO3−. It is interesting to note that Ca2+ and NH4+ also had a tories were observed. The random air mass trajectories was
high correlation coefficient with SO42− (r = 0.50 and 0.60, noted in winter precipitation due to the thunderstorms
respectively). NH4+ also showed strong correlation with passing the study area, whereas a common pattern of air
NO3− (r = 0.60). The most likely explanation of these results mass trajectories from the Arabian Sea were observed in the
is that in the atmosphere of Karachi, a major portion of SO42 summer monsoon rainfall. The most distinctive effect of
−
is associated with the H+ ion. They also occurred as salts the air masses on the rainwater composition of the
associated with other cations e.g., CaSO4, (NH4)2SO4, Karachi metropolitan area was observed in the terrestrial
NH4HSO4, and NH4NO3. component Ca2+.
[email protected]
78 S. Masood et al.
4 Conclusion 4. Kulshrestha, U., Kulshrestha, M.J., Sekar, R., Sastry, G., Vaira-
mani, M.: Chemical characteristics of rainwater at an urban site of
South-Central India. Atmos. Environ. 37(21), 3019–3026 (2003)
A detailed study on precipitation chemistry was performed 5. Senthilnathan, T.: Measurements of urban ambient air quality of
in a mega-city Karachi. The results revealed that SO42− and Chennai city. Indian J. Air Pollut. Control 8(1), 35–47 (2008)
Cl− are the dominant anions, while Na+ and Ca2+ are the 6. Al-Khashman, O.A.: Chemical characteristics of rainwater col-
lected at western site of Jordan. Atmos. Res. 91, 53–61 (2009)
major cations, respectively. HCOO− and CH3CHOO− were
7. Galloway, J.N., Likens, G.E.: Calibration of collection procedures
found to be the predominant carboxylic acids. We believe for the determination of precipitation chemistry. Water Air Soil
this is the first report of the precipitation concentration levels Pollut. 6(2–4), 241–258 (1976)
of carboxylic acids in Karachi. These organic acids together 8. Munger, J.W., Eisenreich, S.J.: Continental-scale variations in
precipitation chemistry: ion concentrations are dominated by land
contributed with 7% to the TOC in precipitation. SO42−/
use and proximity to man-made emissions. Environ. Sci. Technol.
NO3− ratio showed that the contribution of SO42− to acidity 17(1), 32–42 (1983)
was 14.6 times higher as that of NO3−. The high enrichment 9. Smirnioudi, V., Siskos, P.: Chemical composition of wet and dust
factor of seawater for Ca2+, K+, and SO42− suggested that deposition in Athens, Greece. Atmos. Environ. Part B. Urban
Atmos. 26(4), 483–490 (1992)
these ions mainly originated from non-marine sources. The
10. Downing, C., Vincent, K., Campbell, G., Fowler, D., Smith, R.:
use of principal component analysis allowed the interpreta- Trends in wet and dry deposition of sulphur in the United
tion of rainwater chemistry characterization. Four compo- Kingdom. Water Air Soil Pollut. 85(2), 659–664 (1995)
nents that accounted for 82.1% of the total variance were 11. Nilles, M.A., Conley, B.E.: Changes in the chemistry of precip-
extracted. The coupling between the chemical content and itation in the United States, 1981–1998. Water Air Soil Pollut. 130
(1–4), 409–414 (2001)
air masses back trajectories highlighted the importance of 12. Ito, M., Mitchell, M.J., Driscoll, C.T.: Spatial patterns of
the origin of air masses in the acquisition of rainwater precipitation quantity and chemistry and air temperature in the
chemistry. The chemical composition of precipitation in this Adirondack region of New York. Atmos. Environ. 36(6), 1051–
study was influenced by natural (sea-salt and soil compo- 1062 (2002)
13. Hontoria, C., Saa, A., Almorox, J., Cuadra, L., Sánchez, A.,
nents) and anthropogenic (combustion, traffic, biomass Gascó, J.M.: The chemical composition of precipitation in Madrid.
burning, refuse combustion) sources. Water Air Soil Pollut. 146(1–4), 35–54 (2003)
14. Menz, F.C., Seip, H.M.: Acid rain in Europe and the United States:
an update. Environ. Sci. Policy 7(4), 253–265 (2004)
15. Celle-Jeanton, H., Travi, Y., Loÿe-Pilot, M.-D., Huneau, F.,
References Bertrand, G.: Rainwater chemistry at a Mediterranean inland
station (Avignon, France): local contribution versus long-range
1. Tsakovski, S.L., Simeonov, V.D.: Chemometric study of atmo- supply. Atmos. Res. 91(1), 118–126 (2009)
spheric wet and dry precipitates from an urban region. Toxicol. 16. Parekh, P.P., Khwaja, H.A., Khan, A.R., Naqvi, R.R., Malik, A.,
Environ. Chem. 65(1–4), 203–216 (1998) Shah, S.A., Khan, K., Hussain, G.: Ambient air quality of two
2. Al-Khashman, O.A.: Ionic composition of wet precipitation in the metropolitan cities of Pakistan and its health implications. Atmos.
Petra Region, Jordan. Atmos. Res. 78, 1–12 (2005) Environ. 35(34), 5971–5978 (2001)
3. Báez, A., Belmont, R., García, R., Padilla, H., Torres, M.C.: 17. Biswas, K.F., Ghauri, B.M., Husain, L.: Gaseous and aerosol
Chemical composition of rainwater collected at a southwest site of pollutants during fog and clear episodes in South Asian urban
Mexico City, Mexico. Atmos. Res. 86(1), 61–75 (2007) atmosphere. Atmos. Environ. 42(33), 7775–7785 (2008)
[email protected]
Part III
Geo-Environmental Engineering: Remediation
for Geo-Environmental Problems
[email protected]
Remediation Treatments and Economic
Assessment of Oil Residual Sludge
from the Bottom of Tunisian Refinery
Crude Oil Storage Tanks
Olfa Ben Said, Rihab Belgacem, Boudour Ben Gaffar,

Hamouda Beyrem, and James R Kahn
Abstract increasing amount of sludge in oil storage tanks which

The residual sludge from the bottom of refinery crude oil threatens the environment and human health by the infil-
storage tanks causes major environmental and societal tration of toxic substances into the ground and consequently
problems in Tunisia. Due to its high viscosity, it must be into the water table [2]. This situation poses a real ecological
removed from the storage tanks in order to utilize the and social problem, due to the bad management of storage
crude oil. However, its disposal in the environment leads and disposal. The spread of untreated crude oil residual on
to the infiltration of toxic metals into groundwater and agricultural land creates an economically and environmen-
eventual contamination of surface water bodies. The aim tally irreversible problem. The strong persistence of the
of this work was to characterize and treat sludge from metal contamination makes it environmentally irreversible,
Tunisian refinery by two different approaches (chemical requiring hundreds of years for the metals to break down.
and biological) and evaluate the economic efficiency of The dispersal of the pollution makes the cost of
sludge remediation. Our results showed that both post-spreading treatment too high to remediate [3]. Hence
approaches are useful in terms of reducing the metal the economic and environmental need for adequate treatment
content of the sludge. However, the biological approach is of sludge before spreading or landfilling. In order to reduce
more economically efficient and leads to better ecological the volumes of residues to be stored several treatment
outcomes. methods have been applied including chemical and physical
treatment. The biological treatment alternative represents a
reliable, low cost and environmentally friendly technology

Keywords
Sludge Petroleum Biological treatment compared to the chemical and physical methods [4]. Sludge
Chemical treatment Metals treatment is one of the most complicated pollution abatement
processes with necessities and requirements of environ-
mental and public health concerns. The economic magnitude
of this problem is illustrated by the high cost of both
1 Introduction investment and operation. The present work aimed to char-
acterize the residual sludge from the bottom of an actual
With the accelerated development of the industrial sector, crude oil storage tank of the Tunisian refinery “la Société
humans are increasingly responsible for the pollution of the Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage STIR”, to perform
environment to such an extent that scientists are now remediation treatments to reduce metal and to evaluate the
labelling the current period as the Anthropocene [1]. The sludge remediation economically.
diversity, the scale and range of production of the industrial
outputs have led to a considerable increase in the quantity of
waste. Petroleum activity, in particular, produces an 2 Materials and Methods
O. Ben Said (&) R. Belgacem B. Ben Gaffar H. Beyrem 2.1 Sludge Sampling, Characterization
Bizerte Faculty of Sciences, Environment Biomonitoring and Remediation Treatments
Laboratory LBE, Bizerte, Tunisia
STIR uses cylindrical tanks with floating covers to stabilize
J. R. Kahn
Department of Economics, Washington and Lee University,
stored oil. The sludge sample was taken from the bottom of
Lexington, VA 24450, USA

[email protected]
82 O. Ben Said et al.
the RS9 crude oil storage tank; this sludge represents the showed the presence of iron Fe, magnesium Mg, sodium Na,
result of crude oil (AZERI) decanting. barium Ba, zinc Zn, copper Cu, Manganese Mn, nickel Ni,
Several chemical analyzes were conducted both before lead Pb, vanadium V and chromium Cr (Table 1). Fe, Mg,
and after remediation treatments such as moisture content Na and Cu were the most dominant.
[5], organic carbon content [6], metal content [7]. Almost with all hydraulic binders used, metal sludge
Chemical treatments were performed with Stabilization- content has decreased. For Cu, Pb and Zn, the results clearly
Leaching. Various types of hydraulic binders were used show a reduction percentage that exceeded 90% (Table 2).
(Portland cement, lime, gypsum and clay) [8]. However, for Mg the highest percentage was obtained with
The biological treatment involved sludge inoculation with lime and then cement. For Na, a reduction was found only
enriched consortia of microbial inoculants of oily sludge [4]. with cement and then limes.
Following the biological treatment, a significant decrease
of Cu, Pb, Mg, and Na was observed with reduction per-
2.2 The Economics of Sludge Remediation centages greater than 97% (Table 2).
The economics of sludge remediation can be better understood

by looking at three basic economic concepts (1) Pollution 3.2 Economics of Sludge Remediation
abatement is generated by paying high initial capital costs and
the receiving benefits for a long period of time (2) In the A Table 3 examines a hypothetical project to remediate
presence of irreversible environmental change, a precaution- sludge which has an initial cost of 30 million Euros, and yields
ary approach should be implemented (3) One of the keys to benefits in terms of reduced cancer rates of 2 million Euros per
sustainability is to use waste outputs as economic inputs. year for 100 years. The project looks like a winner, with
Pollution remediation is associated with high initial costs, 30 million in costs and 400 million in benefits over the years,
but gives continuous benefits over a long term. Economists but the calculation of NPV generates a far different calculation
compare costs and benefits in different periods by calculating of net benefits [9]. Table 3 presents the NPV of this project
the present value of the stream of net benefits (benefits calculated with a typical discount rate of 10, 2.5% (a good
minus costs) in each time period. Equation (1) represents a approximation of the long term real rate of growth of GDP)
typical calculation of the net present value NPV, where B(t) and a lower rate of 1%, consistent with Weitzman’s admoni-
represents the benefits in year t, C(t) represents the costs in tion to discount the future at the lowest possible rate. It also
year t, T represents the number of periods in which the shows the present value of net benefits that occur during year
project generates costs or benefits, and r represents the rate 10, year 20, year 30 and year 100. The project would have a
of time preference, or the discount factor. negative NPV of 10.9 million Euros (10%), 72 million (2.5%)
and 126 million (1%).
ZT
NPV ¼ ðBðtÞ CðtÞÞert dt ð1Þ
0
4 Discussion
The sludge used in present study has a high concentration of

3 Results dry matter and could be classified as dry sludge. Fe, Mg, Na
and Cu were the most predominant elements; this could be
3.1 Characterization and Remediation associated with the origin of crude oil stored in STIR and the
Treatments tank bottom corrosion phenomenon [4].
With almost all of the hydraulic binders used, metal levels
The sludge is very rich in organic matter (60.4%) and con-
decreased mainly for Cu, Pb and Zn. Similar results were
tains a high percentage of dry matter (98.7%). Metal analysis
reached with the biological treatment.
Table 1 Metal content (ppm) in residual sludge from RS9 tank before treatment
Fe Mg Na Ba Zn Cu Mn Ni Pb V Cr
50 28.4 15.4 0.7 5.4 12 1.5 1.3 2.3 0.4 0.3
[email protected]
Remediation Treatments and Economic Assessment of Oil Residual … 83
Table 2 Percentage of metal reduction in sludge after remediation treatments

Mg Na Zn Cu Pb
Chemical treatment Cement 93 60 99 96 91
Lim 99 42 99 99 95
Clay 62 0 99 99 99
Gypsum 12 0 99 99 99
Biological treatment 99 97 0 100 99
Table 3 Present value of net benefits of a hypothetical project with €30 million initial cost and benefits of 2 million/year for 100 years
Discount rates
10% 2.5% 1%
Present value of net benefits of the entire project −€10.900,000 €43,000,000 €96,000,000
Present value of the 2 million benefit in year 10 €740,000 €1,500,000 €1,800,000
Present value of the 2 million benefit in year 20 €270,000 €1,200,000 €1,64,000
Present value of the 2 million benefit in year 30 €100,000 €940,000 €1,480,000
Present value of the 2 million benefit in year 100 €91 €164,000 €740,000
The NPV shows the importance of evaluating projects 2. Liu, W., Luo, Y., Teng, Y., Li, Z., Ma, L.Q.: Biodegradation of oily
with long time horizons with a low discount rate, otherwise sludge contaminated soil by stimulating indigenous microbes.
Environ. Geochem. Health 32, 23–29 (2010)
the distant future is essentially discounted to zero. 3. Kahn, J., O’Neil, R.: Ecological interaction as a source of economic
irreversibility. South. Econ. J. 66(2), 381–402 (1999)
4. Gallego, J.L.R., García-Martínez, M.J., Llamas, J.F., Belloch, C.,
5 Conclusion Pelaez, A.I., Sanchez, J.: Biodegradation of oil tank bottom
sludge using microbial consortia. Biodegradation 18, 269–281
(2007)
Both chemical and biological treatments have shown effi- 5. Black, C.A.: Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1, Physical and
ciency in immobilizing metals in sludge, while the biological Mineralogical Properties. American Society of Agronomy, Madi-
one was more selective. This process has the advantage of son, WI, USA (1965)
6. Schnitzer, M.: Organic matter characterization. In: Methods of Soil
being ecological, which will allow an alternative for the Analysis, Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties, pp. 581–
elimination of sludge and their valorization as an agricultural 594. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI, USA (1982)
input. Although we have not conducted a cost-benefit anal- 7. Marchandise, P., Olió, J.L., Robbe, D., Legret, M.: Trace metal
ysis, economic arguments associated with irreveribilities and determination in river sediments and sewage sludge. Inter laboratory
comparison of extraction techniques. Environ. Technol. Lett. 3,
sustainability suggest that bioremediation should be 157–166 (1982)
aggressively pursued in order to protect water resources, 8. Pereira, C.F., Pinero, M.R., Vale, J.: solidification/stabilisation des
ecosystems, and public health. poussières de four à arc électrique utilisant les analyses des cendres
volantes du processus de stabilisation. Hazard. Mater. 82, 183–195
(2001)
9. Weitzman, M.L.: Why the far-distant future should be discounted at
References its lowest possible rate. J. Environ. Econ. Manag. 36(3), 201–208
(1998)
1. Steffen, W., Grinevald, J., Crutzen, P., McNeill, J.: The Anthro-
pocene: conceptual and historical perspectives. Philos. Trans. Roy.
Soc. London Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 369, 842–867 (2011)
[email protected]
Proposing Rehabilitation Scenarios
for Limestone Quarries with 3D Modeling
and 3D Print: Case of Jbel El Oust
(Tunisian Atlas)
Soumaya Ben Fredj, Fetheddine Melki, and Kamel Jridi
The production of building materials in Tunisia has
recently undergone a notable development thanks to Jbel El Oust is located in delegation of Zaghouan, about
several factors. Among these, we can mention the growth thirty kilometers south of Tunis, near the village of Cheylus
of property sector, the increase of the construction sites of (delegation of Zaghouan). The outcrop of Jebel El Oust is a
public works (roads, motorways and bridges) and the use vast complex anticline with a folded and faulted heart,
of the calcareous materials in cement production. All formed by Lias limestone. The sides of the outcrop consist
these factors led to the exploitation of new quarries of of Cretaceous age and Tertiary grounds. The study area is
different types and ages, such as quarries of carbonated characterized by semi-arid climate of an average annual
rocks of the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene age. The temperature equal to 18.6 °C and average precipitation
exploitation of these quarries affects the environment and varying between 300 and 400 mm/year. The area has a
the landscape. Although the Tunisian legislation imposed particular dense hydrographic network, and the Meliane
an impact study (law no. 89-20 of 22 February 1989) River also known as Oued Miliane is a main component of
carried out by the operating company to leave the quarry this network. The hot thermal waters of Jbel El Oust have
in a good state quarry being exploited, many quarries are been exploited since 1976 in order to feed a modern thermal
abandoned without being redeveloped and integrated into establishment where the modern cryotherapy is practiced [1].
their natural environment. Thus, good rehabilitation The establishment is known today by the thermal station of
management performed by proposing redevelopment Jbel El Oust. The site is characterized by a huge diversity of
scenarios using three-dimensional modeling developed plants and animals. The plants’ richness of the site is mainly
by specific software can be efficient to overcome the represented by the forest trees such as pines, holm oaks,
negative impacts of the quarries exploitation on the eucalyptus, subshrubs like acacias and many different types
environment. of scrub plants on the southern flanks of the mountain. The
environment site contains a diverse fauna including mam-

Keywords mals such as wild boars, foxes, wild rabbits, hedgehogs
Quarries Environment Rehabilitation which are among the smallest mammals in the world,
Limestone Jbel EL oust Modeling 3D Lizards and birds as well as partridges. The natural condi-
3D print tions and benefits favor the presence of habitats, explaining
the existence of an ancient Roman city that occupies the
eastern slope of Jbel El Oust. During the last decades, the
S. B. Fredj (&) F. Melki northern flank of Jbel El Oust has been exploited by different
Geomatic Research Unit, Structural and Applied Geology companies mainly the SOROUBAT one. This company has
(UR11ES13), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis,
Université de Tunis El Manar, 1060 Tunis, Tunisia token advantage from an industrial quarry. The actions of
e-mail: [email protected] the exploiting companies were to collect and produce
F. Melki limestones for the building projects and the public works
e-mail: [email protected] sector. The recent exploitation has been a great negative
K. Jridi impact on the environment. The current study aimed to
SOROUBAT Group 34, 36 Avenue de la Gare, propose rehabilitation scenarios for the SOROUBAT quarry
Mégrine Riadh, Ben Arous, Tunisia using 3 Dimensional (3D) simulation software and 3D

[email protected]
86 S. B. Fredj et al.
printing. These scenarios have a purpose to protect the 3 Results

environment by integrating the quarry in its natural envi-
ronment after the exploitation’s cessation. 3.1 Geotechnical Site Characterization
A geo-technical study was carried out in the studied quarry;

2 Materials and Methods the limestones of Jbel El Oust have great mechanical
quality.
The quarry which is the subject of this study, operated by the The main geotechnical characteristics of these limestones
SOROUBAT Company, located in Jebel El Oust, in the are: Los Angles 22, Duval humide 3.9, Duval sec: 11.4 and
northwest of Zaghouan and north-south of the city of Adhesion to bitumen: 99%. The mechanical resistance of
BirMcherga, is divided into two compartments; northern and their blocks can be approximated by the following values:
southern compartments. The northern compartment dates to Compressive strength: 50–8 MPa, tensile strength 8 MPa,
the Jurassic age, represented by the lower and the middle lias internal friction angle: 45 and cohesion: 10 MPa.
(Fig. 1) with a fault system characterized by the dominance From these characteristics and according to the
of the North-South direction and North 45 direction (N45). HoeK-Bray chart, the results obtained by calculating the
The N45 are responsible for the appearance of extrusive maximum angle of repose for the northern compartment are
Lias. The Second compartment is represented by the lower the following: Front F1: a = 80.5°; Front F2 a = 81.55°
Lias limestones crossed by an N60–70 fault system inter- Front F3 a = 83.6° (Fig. 1) and the edge angle calculation
sected by N130 to N160 systems. The proposed scenarios result b = 46.65.
were introduced to put into perspective the site landscape in
its natural environment. Then, a geotechnical study was
performed on the northern compartment to assess the sta- 4 Discussion
bility of the different fronts. In a second part, according to
the heights of the fronts and slope angles, a 3D simulation of In order to prepare the rehabilitation step of, we designed the
two scenarios was carried out using two software programs. quarry shape after the end of the exploitation and a 3D
The first software is “Autodesk 3dsMax” designed for 3D printing was obtained from the plan side of the quarry
modeling, animation, rendering and visualization was used. employing SketchUp (Fig. 2).
The second software is the “SketchUp” used for the drawing Two scenarios were purposed to integrate the site in its
the landscape and 3D modeling. natural environment. The first scenario consists of
The representing model of the quarry after the final re-implanting plants and trees in the quarry’s fronts,
exploitation was printed in a 3D model using the “Ultimaker (Fig. 3). Reforestation of the rehabilitated quarry can be
2+ 3D printer”, based on the side plan of the quarry. These achieved by direct sowing or planting [2]. It favors the
3D representations could potentially provide a better stabilization of slope and restoring the site to its original
understanding of the proposed rehabilitation scenarios. environment.
Fig. 1 Panoramic view of the northern compartment of the Jbel El Oust quarry
[email protected]
Proposing Rehabilitation Scenarios for Limestone Quarries … 87
Fig. 2 3D models of the quarry

shape after the end of
exploitation. a the step of 3D
print with “Ultimaker 2+ 3D
printer”; b the final quarry model
Fig. 3 First 3D rehabilitation

scenarios using SketchUp
software
Fig. 4 Second 3D rehabilitation

scenario obtained using 3dsMax
software
The second scenario consists in redeveloping a tourist

area by the construction of natural wood guest houses as an 5 Conclusions
annex to the thermal station of Jbel El Oust. In fact, the
tourist development of the quarry helps to highlight the In order to protect the environment, we propose two reha-
historical and natural values of the outcrop represented by bilitation scenarios in this research work using 3D modeling
the archaeological site of Jbel El Oust (Fig. 4). software and 3D printing.
[email protected]
88 S. B. Fredj et al.
These scenarios presented in 3D models showed the final References

state of the quarry after the rehabilitation and facilitated the
decision making process by the quarrying companies. 1. Curie, J.: Les travertins anthropiques, entre histoire, archéologie et
In our future works, we are planning to create a new environnement: étude geoarchéologique du site antique de Jebel
web application for conception of rehabilitation numerical Oust (Tunisie). Géographie, Université de Bourgogne (2013)
2. Vanpeene-Bruhier, S., Piedallu, C., Delory, I.: Réaménagement
model.
forestier des carrières de granulats. Cemagref editions (2002)
[email protected]
Potential Remobilization of Heavy Metals
by Wave Friction Case of Algiers Bay
Atroune Farid, Hemdane Yacine, and Bouhmadouche Mohamed

Abstract Keywords

Marine pollution is one of the majors problems of Marine pollution Superficial sediments
concern to coastal populations. This concern resulted Heavy metals Algiers Bay
principally from multiple forms of marine pollution.
Algeria is one of the most affected countries by this
pollution, resulting in an obstacle to economic and social
development. However, the uncontrolled urbanization of 1 Introduction
watersheds and the presence of high-risk industrial sites,
close to urban concentrations, have generated consider- The watershed of Oued El Harrach belongs to the large
able pollution and degradation, which has endangered the Algiers coastal watershed. It covers an area of 1270 km2 and
environment and public health. The pollution by heavy stretches over 51 km from North to South for and 31 km
metals of superficial sediments, carried by the El Harrach from East to West. The concentration of heavy metals along
river, is spread over Algiers Bay in a diversified way. the Oued continues to increase especially for mercury (Hg),
These sediments generally have a high affinity for lead (Pb), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). Consequently, the
fine-grained sediments. Maouche (Thèse de 3ème cycle. coastline of Algiers Bay is very concerned with heavy metal
Océanologie. Univ. Perpignan, 225 p + annexes, 1987 pollution which affects the bathing water quality. Although
[1]) specified that the fraction below 40 lm occupies these pollutants deposited at relatively large depths, these
more than 75% of the superficial sediments of the Bay of sediments are nevertheless susceptible to be eroded by the
Algiers. Heavy metals are usually associated with the fine waves combined with the general current. The aim of this
fraction. Then, numerical modeling of waves and sedi- work was to study the possible remobilization of heavy
ment transport were applied in order to observe the metals during the frequent waves of NE characterizing the
potential dynamic of marine pollution in Algiers Bay. The bay of Algiers.
results show that heavy metals can be remobilized by
moderate waves (frequent). This work allowed to high-
light the possible role of waves in the resuspension of 2 Methods
contamined sediments deposited on the shallow water of
the bay of Algiers. Therefore, it is highly recommended to Surficial nearshore sediment samples were taken using a van
monitor the water quality of Algiers Bay in order to Veen. The positioning plan was based on the mission carried
protect both the human health and marine ecology of the out by the Marine Geology Laboratory.
region (including the coastal waters of Algiers Bay). The particle size analysis was carried out by dry
mechanical sieving on a series of AFNOR type sieves on the
coarse fraction (>40 lm) for 15 min. Carbonate levels were
determined by calcimetry on the total fraction of the sample.
Metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, Pb and Hg) were determined
using an atomic absorption spectrometer). Statistical treat-
A. Farid (&) H. Yacine B. Mohamed ment by A.C.P (Principal Component Analysis) was applied
Laboratoire Géo-Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de la Terre, to all the geochemical data obtained by analysis. Simulating
Géographie et Aménagement du Territoire, Université Houari
Boumediene, BP 32, El-alia, Algiers, Algeria Waves Nearshore Model [2] was used to simulate waves of
e-mail: [email protected] the NE sector that are frequent in the Bay. Then, these

[email protected]
90 A. Farid et al.
Table 1 Evolution of heavy Authors/lg/g Cu Zn Cr Mn Fe Pb

metals in Algiers Bay
Maouche [1] 24–51 123–231 250–316 3.8–4.8 20–161
Chouikhi et al. [4] 72–222 11–84 109–350 18–117
Boudjellal et al. [5] 23.4–72.7 60.25–255 16.19–93
Yoshida et al. [6] 28–86 98–520 36.2–95 630–1100 18.84 37–127
Atroune et al. [7] 22–98 128–375 38–105 258–398 3.9–4.5 33–154
results were inserted in the model Sedtrans05 [3] to know if of the effect of bottom on the waves shows that the waves
these waves cause a transport on sedimentary bottom. For are modified by this effect at the surrounding study area (See
the implementation of this model it was assumed that the Fig. 1).
speed of the general current is equal to 2 m s−1. These
applications concerned the surrounding area of Algiers Port
located at a depth of approximately 25 m. 4 Discussion
High concentrations of heavy metals are usually associated

3 Results with fine sediments of a silty nature and rich in organic
matter. Low concentrations are located in the bay area,
From the spatial distribution of these metallic elements it can where relatively coarse sediments predominate over the
already be seen that, the high contents of heavy metals eastern part of the bay. The results show that frequent NE
present in the superficial sediments of the Bay of Algiers are waves with heights of 1 m could mobilize sediments near
located in the western sector of the bay between the port the Algiers Harbour (depth about 25 m). These results were
(discharges of hydrocarbons, chemicals) and in the imme- obtained using a general current of 0.3 m s−1. It is important
diate vicinity of the mouth (discharges from domestic and to emphasize that this current can have higher speeds. As a
industrial tributaries). The metal concentrations (Table 1) result, sediment transport would be more important. In
vary between 128 and 375 lg/g for zinc, 33 and 154 lg/g addition, the simulation of shoaling coefficient (Ks) shows
for lead, 38 and 105 lg/g for chromium, 22 and 98 lg/g for that the waves are significantly modified by shallow waters
copper and between 0.04 lg/g. and 8.74 lg/g for mercury. of the harbour area. This modification was induced by the
The results show that frequent NE waves with heights of friction of waves on the bottom. Consequently, sedimented
1 m could mobilize sediments on the 25 m deep coastal heavy metals could be remobilized pollution that could
bottom in presence of current of 0.3 m s−1. The simulation spread to adjacent areas of the Harbour.
Fig. 1 Simulation of shoaling coefficient (Ks); effect of bottom on the waves around Algiers harbour. SWAN model. Hs: 1.5 m; Tp: 6 s and D°:
N45°
[email protected]
Potential Remobilization of Heavy Metals by Wave Friction … 91
5 Conclusion 2. Booij, N., Ris, R.C., Holthuijsen, L.H.: A third-generation wave

model for coastal regions. 1. Model description and validation.
J. Geophys. Res. 104(C4), 7649–7666 (1999)
The spatial distribution of heavy metals shows that superfi- 3. Neumeier, U., Ferrarin, C., Amos, C.L., Umgiesser, G., Li, M.Z.:
cial sediments are in perpetual motion and hydrodynamics Sedtrans05: an improved sediment-transport model for continental
can change the distribution of fine sediments at any time. shelves and coastal waters with a new algorithm for cohesive
sediments. Comput. Geosci. (2008) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.
Moreover, the simulation of waves and sediment trans-
2008.02.007
port evidenced that this pollution can possibly be reactivated 4. Chouikhi, A., Boulahdid, M., Sellali, B., Boudjellal, Y., et Azzouz,
by bottom friction in the bay of Algiers. Hence, given the M.: Distribution des sels nutritifs des eaux interstitielles et de
state of critical pollution levels of the waters of the sea and métaux lourds dans les sédiments superficiels du golfe d’Arzew et
de la baie d’Alger. In: Symposium international sur la pollution des
rivers, the need for the establishment of wastewater treat-
eaux marines. Casablanca, p. 10 (1991)
ment plants is of major importance. This solution would 5. Boudjellal, B., Sellali, B., Benoud, D., Mallem, M.T.: Métaux
improve the quality of fluvial waters and contribute to lourds dans les sédiments superficiels de la baie d’Alger. In:
improving the state of the coastal marine environment of the Résultats du workshop sur la circulation des eaux et pollution des
côtes méditerranéennes du Maghreb. Rabat, pp. 153–156 (1993)
Bay of Algiers.
6. Yoshida, M., Moali, M., Houas, O., Lakhdari, M., Nechaoui, L.,
Guerrida, D., Chatal, A., Oussalem, S., Makour,F., Khelifi, F., laleg,
A.: Environmental pollution in oued El Harrach area, Alger.
References A preliminary report on mercury and heavy metals contaminations.
In: Compte rendu du séminaire sur la pollution et la protection de
l’environnement en Algérie, Alger, pp 19–37 (2005)
1. Maouche, S.: Mécanismes hydrosédimentaires en baie d’Alger 7. Atroune, F., Boutaleb, A.: Les métaux lourds dans les sédiments
(Algérie): Approche sédimentologique, géochimique et traitement superficiels de la baie d’Alger: Influence de l’Oued El Harrach sur
statistique. Thèse de 3ème cycle. Océanologie. Univ. Perpignan, leur distribution. Bulletin du service géologique National 23(2),
225 p + annexes (1987) 169–178 (2012)
[email protected]
Mitigation of Salinity Hazard from Low
Permeable Soil by Electrochemical
Treatment: A Laboratory Based
Investigation
Mohammed Mustapha Bessaim, Hanifi Missoum, Karim Bendani,

and Mohamed Said Bekkouche

Abstract Keywords
Soil salinization has become a serious problem and an Salinization Hazard Remediation Electrochemical
environmental issue of worldwide significance, affecting Saline soil
the ecosystem biodiversity, human health and civil
engineering infrastructures. This research investigated
the efficiency of the electrochemical treatment (ECT) for
remediation and mitigation of salinity hazard. The salinity 1 Introduction
of soil samples, including magnesium (Mg2+), sulfate
(SO24 ) and chloride (Cl−) contents, was investigated Soil salinization is a real threat and the main reason of land
using different duration time of 72 and 120 h. The degradation in many areas around the world [1–3].
originality of this research is to investigate the effect of This phenomenon has compromised approximately 7% of
the processing time on the migration and removal of the earth’s land surface, 20% of agricultural lands, and 50%
harmful salt ions. During the treatment time, Mg2+ ions of the cultivated land in the world [1]. This scourge is
were transferred toward the cathode, whereas SO24 and namely related to climate changes. The high temperatures
Cl− ions were transported toward the anode by and low rainfall rates in arid and semi-arid areas led to
electro-migration. The optimal removal efficiency for excessive salt accumulation in soil sub-surface. The exces-
Mg2+ was 90 and 93% after 72 and 120 h respectively, sive amount of salt within the soil matrix can have adverse
while the extraction rate of SO24 ions was 5 and 15%. effects on plant and agriculture productivity, including
The removal of magnesium was substantially higher than reduced water availability, osmotic adjustment, nutrient
that of sulfate and chloride ions, owing to the combined uptake and tissue injury [3, 4].
action of electro-osmosis and electro-migration mecha- Furthermore, the high rate of salt can have detrimental
nisms. On the other hand, increasing in the processing effects on human health such as birth malformation,
time allowed better transfer of ions species, enhancing methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome), infant mortality,
thereby salts extraction. This study demonstrated that the goiter, hypertension and epidemiological gastric cancer [5,
harmful effect of salinity can be readily mitigated by ECT 6]. In terms of constructions, excessive concentration of salts
treatment. Therefore, ECT treatment could be success- leads to adverse impacts affecting roads and bridges, build-
fully used for mitigation of salinity hazard and restoration ings and steel structures. In addition, it alters soil properties,
of salt affected soils for environment protection and civil causing surface crusting, permeability deterioration, erosion,
engineering constructions management. water logging, and decrease in soil bearing capacity [7]. This
creates an urgent need to solve these problems. Generally,
soil salinity can be reduced by several techniques such as
irrigation, soil substitution, chemical amendment and
M. M. Bessaim (&) H. Missoum K. Bendani bio-remediation.
M. S. Bekkouche However, these methods were found to be expensive and
Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University of Mostaganem, Architecture mostly ineffective, namely when dealing with soft soils, due
and Civil Engineering Department, Mostaganem, Algeria
e-mail: [email protected] to their low permeability and mineralogical complexity. The
electrochemical treatment (ECT) can be an innovative and
M. M. Bessaim H. Missoum K. Bendani
Construction, Transport and Protection of Environment low-cost technique that can solve those deficiencies [8].
Laboratory (LCTPE), Mostaganem, Algeria The principles of this process involve application of an

[email protected]
94 M. M. Bessaim et al.
electrical potential via inserted electrodes within the polluted electrolyte chambers to allow gases resulting from the
media. electrochemical treatment to escape.
Salts, which have high water solubility and exist as
charged ions, are transported and removed by electro-
migration, electro-osmosis and electrophoresis from soil 3 Results and Discussion
surface [1, 9]. The combined effect of these processes alters
the chemistry of the medium, changing thereby the 3.1 Removal Efficiency of Harmful Salts
physico-chemical properties of the soil in question.
This research investigated the viability of ECT treatment The removal efficiency of salts present in soil sections at the
on mitigation of salinity hazard for enhancing agriculture end of the treatment is shown in Fig. 2. The highest con-
and constructions uses. centration of Mg2+ was observed near the cathodic section,
during the 120 h. The increase of the processing time, allow
the development of the acidic front at the anode,
2 Materials and Methods which enhance the desorption of these species. Thus, their
transport toward the cathode, via electro-migration and
2.1 Saline Soil electro-osmotic flow.
In case of chloride ions, they moved and accumulated at
The saline soil used in this study was collected from the anodic area by electro-migration, explaining the high rate
Mostaganem, Algeria. The soil was mixed with deion- recorded in soil sections near this region during the 72 h.
ized water, so that the water content was adjusted to ensure The extraction rate of chloride was 62 and 63% for 72 and
sufficiently the ECT process. Table 1 shows the physico- 120 h respectively.
chemical properties of the saline soil. However, it was found, that the optimal removal was
achieved for magensium and sulfate ions, reaching an effi-
ciency of 93 and 15% during 120 h, while, only 90 and 5%
2.2 Electrochemical Cell were eliminated during 72 h. Increasing in treatment time
leads to better removal for both magnesium and sulfate ions,
The diagram of the electrochemical cell used in these because longer periods allowed more electrical transport
experiments is shown in Fig. 1. The bench scale was con- through the soil matrix [1]. Among all investigated salts,
sisted of three compartments: soil box, anolyte and catholyte Mg2+ showed the highest removal rate. This is related to the
reservoirs. Soil samples were placed in the central box. Filter combined action of electro-osmosis and electro-migration
paper was placed between the specimen and electrolytes mechanisms. Moreover, sulfate and chloride ions form
reservoirs to avoid loss of soil. Anolyte and catholyte were complexes with other cations present within the media, re-
filled with deionized water solution and circulated continu- ducing significantly their migration and solubility, hindering
ously over the processing time. A measuring cylinder was thereby their extraction [1, 4]. Due to the removal of those
connected to the cathodic chamber to collect the electro- harmful salts, a significant decrease of soil salinity was
osmosis flow (EOF). Gas vents were provided in the achieved, mitigating hence the harmful hazards of this
phenomenon. As a result, a direct influence on the
enhancement of agronomic productivity as well as man-
Table 1 Physico-chemical properties and composition of saline soil agement of civil engineering structures can be achieved.
Parameters Values
pH 8.10
EC (dS/m) 18.32 4 Conclusions
Organic content (%) 5.30
An ECT process was effectively used to mitigate salinity
Particle size analysis (%)
hazard and reclaim saline affected soil. The proposed tech-
Sand 12 nique achieved 93, 63 and 15% removal rates for magne-
Silt 48 sium, chloride and sulfate ions, respectively. Increasing in
Clay 40 process time allows better electrical transport, leading an
Initial concentration (mg/kg) optimal transport of ionic species. The removal of magne-
Mg2+ 297 sium ions was greater than those of anionic salts, despite
SO24 490 their fast ionic mobility. This is related to the chemical form
− of sulfate and chloride ions, forming complexes with
Cl 142
cations present in interstitial pore fluid, decreasing their
[email protected]
Mitigation of Salinity Hazard from Low Permeable Soil … 95
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the electrochemical cell
(a) (b)
1,6 1,6
2+ 2+
Mg Mg
-
1,4 Cl 1,4 Cl -
Normalized concentration of salts

Normalized concentration of salts
SO42- SO42-
1,2 1,2
1,0 1,0
0,8 0,8
0,6 0,6
0,4 0,4
0,2 0,2
0,0 0,0
0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1,0 0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1,0
Normalized distance from anode Normalized distance from anode
Fig. 2 Salts distribution at the end of the ECT. a 72 h, b 120 h
mobility, solubility and hindering their removal. These 4. Kim, K.J., Cho, J.M., Baek, K., Yang, J.S., Ko, S.H.: Electrokinetic
results lead to a net reduction in soil salinity, thus reducing removal of chloride and sodium from tidelands. J. Appl. Elec-
trochem. 40(6), 1139–1144 (2010)
the real hazard of soil salinity. 5. Reddy, K., Cameselle, C.: Electrochemical Remediation Technolo-
gies for Polluted Soils, Sediments and Groundwater. Wiley,
New York (2009)
References 6. Choi, J.H., Lee, Y.J., Lee, H.G., Ha, T.H., Bae, J.H.: Removal
characteristics of salts of greenhouse in field test by in situ
electrokinetic process. Electrochim. Acta 86, 63–71 (2012)
1. Cho, J.M., Park, S.Y., Baek, K.: Electrokinetic restoration of saline 7. Jayasekera, S.: Electrokinetics to modify strength characteristics of
agricultural lands. J. Appl. Electrochem. 40(6), 1085–1093 (2010) soft clayey soils: a laboratory based investigation. Electrochim. Acta
2. Lukman, S., Mu’azu, N.D., Essa, M.H., Usman, A.: Optimal 181, 39–47 (2015)
removal of cadmium from heavily contaminated saline-sodic soil 8. Mosavat, N., Oh, E., Chai, G.: Laboratory assessment of kaolinite
using integrated electrokinetic adsorption technique. Arab. J. Sci. and bentonite under chemical electrokinetic treatment. J. Civil
Eng. 40, 1289–1297 (2015) Environ. Eng. 3, 1–7 (2013)
3. Khanamani, A., Fathizad, H., Karimi, H., Shojaei, S.: Assessing 9. Acar, Y.B., Alshawabkeh, A.N.: Principles of electrokinetic reme-
desertification by using soil indices. Arab. J. Geosci. 10, 287 (2017) diation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 27(13), 2638–2647 (1993)
[email protected]
Heated Blends of Phosphate Sludge:
Thermal Transformation and Microstructure
Characterization
Hajer Baccour and Samir Baklouti
The mining industry faces many environmental chal-
lenges resulting from the huge amounts of waste gener- The washing of phosphate in the laundry of Kef Eddour
ated by mines such as phosphate sludge. This waste (Metlaoui) generates a large amount of phosphate sludge,
deposited in the mine site is a potential source of which contains, essentially apatite minerals associated with
pollution. The aim of this study was to valorize Tunisian carbonate and silicate minerals. Moreover, the accumulation
phosphates sludge in ceramic manufacturing. To this end, of this waste constitutes a potential source of pollution [1]
the microstructure of heated blends was characterized and changes the landscape [2]. The awareness about the
using X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled protection of the environment and waste management urges
plasma and atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), us to value the latter in building materials, particularly in
scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal analyses ceramic products. Unfortunately, the reuse of phosphate
(DTA-TG) and dilatometry. Their ceramic properties: sludge has been limited in Tunisia. Phosphate sludge con-
shrinkage, water absorption, density and compressive sists of fluorapatite, quartz, carbonate and clay mineral [3].
strength were followed as a function of heating temper- Because the low contents of alumina and silica, phosphate
ature and kaolin content. The DTA curve shows an sludge only is unable to afford a stable ceramic material [4].
exothermic peak at 900 °C, which corresponds to the It should be enhanced with alumino-silicates such as clay
neoformation of the gehlenite phase. Moreover, [5]. The physical properties of ceramics are related to the
fluor-apatite phase remains stable up to about 1100 °C. microstructure, which depends on the mineralogical and the
Based on their mineralogical and ceramic properties, chemical composition of the raw materials [3, 4]. Further-
heated blends of phosphate sludge may be a used in the more, the effects of the clay addition and heating tempera-
ceramic industry. The addition of kaolin at different tures on some physical ceramic properties were investigated.
proportions with phosphate sludge improved the perfor-
mance of samples sintered at 1100 °C and proved that the
content of phosphate sludge in the mixture remained 2 Materials and Methods
limited to 30% wt against 70% wt of kaolin.
The phosphate sludge (without flocculant) used in this work

Keywords was taken from the storage ponds in Kef Eddour area located
Ceramic Phosphate Sludge Dilatometry in the region of Metlaoui. The analytical methods were used
Pollution Kaolin during this study in order to characterize these samples. The
ceramic samples were prepared in the form of pellets. Then
they were shaped by uniaxial pressing using a hydraulic
press with a pressure of 100 MPa. The pellets obtained with
a mass of about 4 g are dried at 105 °C for 24 h to evaporate
the residual moisture and then are heated at 900, 1000 and
1100 °C for up to 2 h on programmable electric furnace.
H. Baccour (&) S. Baklouti
The density of fired samples was determined with AccuPyc
Laboratoire de Chimie Industrielle, Ecole Nationale D’Ingénieurs II 1340 pycnometer. The compressive strength was
de Sfax, BP W 3000 Sfax, Tunisia achieved with LLOYD Instruments LR50 K.

[email protected]
98 H. Baccour and S. Baklouti
3 Results zeolite heulandite type and dolomite (Ca Mg (CO3)2). These

results are in agreement with those of the chemical analyses.
3.1 Chemical Composition
For the preparation of the ceramic samples, a suspension in 3.3 Thermal Analysis
well-defined proportions of the phosphate sludge powder
(BL) and/or kaolin and distilled water was prepared. Sodium The DTA analysis indicated that the curve of sludge sample
tripolyphosphate (STPP) was added as a deflocculant. The showed endothermic peaks at 622, 739 and 824 °C which
composition of the studied mixtures of raw materials is given are attributed to the decomposition of CaCO3, CaMg(CO3)2
in Table 1. and Ca6Al2,40Si6,60O18(H2O)4,77, respectively [3]. The DTA
The chemical analysis showed that phosphate sludge curve also presented a pic exothermic at 900 °C, which
consisted essentially of SiO2 (29.44wt%), CaO (25wt%), corresponds to the neoformation process, particularly of the
P2O5 (9wt%) and Al2O3 (6.21wt%). Also, it was revealed gehlenite [5]. The results of the dilatometric analysis of the
that the percentage of SiO2 was relatively large, probably phosphate sludge are shown in Fig. 1. These results show
indicating the presence of free silica in the wash sludge. In that: at 200 °C a slight expansion appeared, probably due to
addition, the high content of CaO suggests the presence of the elimination of residual water. From 200C up to 700 °C,
large quantities of carbonates and calcium minerals. This the curve showed a slow and stable shrinkage probably
hypothesis was supported by the relatively high value of loss related to the dehydroxylation of heulandite in addition to
on ignition for phosphate sludge due to its elevated organic the expansion of grains. Between 750 and 900 °C a
matter content [6]. Also, the significant weight percentage of shrinkage due to an important phenomenon the decarbona-
phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5 = 9%) may reflect the exis- tion of the phosphate sludge powder accompanied by the
tence of phosphate residues in the form of apatites such as gaseous releases of CO2. Above 1000 °C, a start of
fluorapatite. Furthermore, it was noted that the content of shrinkage was observed which continued even at a temper-
potassium alkalis (K2O = 4.58%) was important and the ature of around 1200 °C, probably due to the sintering
existence of magnesium oxide (MgO = 1.77%) probably phenomenon of the phosphate sludge. Thus this material
indicated the presence of dolomite (MgCa(CO3)2) [7] sintered only at a temperature above 1100 °C [6].
(Table 2). X-ray diffraction patterns of raw and heated sludge (Fig. 1)
indicated a gradual disappearance of carbonates as a function
of temperature and achieved at 900 °C. The persistence of
3.2 X-Ray Diffraction fluorapatite, this phase is therefore relatively stable at this
temperature range. Fluorapatite persisted up to 1100 °C [5].
The diffractogramme of the phosphate sludge obtained The appearance of a new phase crystallized gehlenite at the
by X-ray diffraction showed several crystalline mineralogi- temperature 900 °C. Thermal analysis showed that carbonate
cal phases. Calcite (CaCO3), carbonate-fluorapatite was removed, but the amount of quartz and fluorapatite
(Ca9.35 (PO4)4.72F1.98 (CO3)1.483) as major minerals. Also, remained almost stable to about 1000 °C, then decreased with
the diffractogramme revealed the presence of quartz (SiO2), further heating. It was believed that ghlenite occured from the
breakdown products of kaolin and carbonates derived lime.
Density increased as a function of temperature and was
generally followed by a decrease in the total porosity of the
Table 1 Composition of raw studied mixtures blends, BL: phosphate samples (Fig. 2). From these results, it is noted that the
sludge compressive strength and the Young’s modulus of all
Mixtures the prepared samples increased with the firing temperature.
This increase was more remarkable from 1000 to 1100 °C.
M0 100% Kaolin
Thus, ceramic samples sintered at 1100 °C have the most
M1 90% Kaolin +10% BL
important mechanical properties. This improvement of the
M2 80% Kaolin + 20% BL mechanical properties is explained by the increase of the
M3 70% Kaolin + 30% BL density and the decrease of the total porosity. For samples
M4 60% Kaolin + 40% BL containing phosphate sludge content between 30% wt and
M5 50% Kaolin + 50% BL 100% wt, the mechanical properties remained almost con-
M6 100% BL
stant or decreased slightly.
[email protected]
Heated Blends of Phosphate Sludge: Thermal Transformation … 99
Table 2 Chemical composition of phosphate sludge and pharmaceutic kaolin

CaO P2O5 SiO2 C.org Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO Na2O K2O LOI
BL 25 9 29.44 2.05 6.21 1.13 1.77 0.55 4.58 17.35
Kaolin 1.81 – 44.17 – 36.55 1.69 0.27 1.83 0.73 12
Fig. 1 Dilatometric curves of the phosphate sludge and X-ray diffraction patterns of heated phosphate sludge
Fig. 2 Evolution of density and porosity as a function of heating temperature and kaolin addition
can be used in ceramics since it allows obtaining samples

4 Conclusion sintered at 1100 °C with acceptable mechanical properties
except for shrinkage which remains high. The use of kaolin
Phosphate sludge constitute a huge amount of pollutants, with phosphate sludge improves the performance of samples
their valorization in building materials has become a sintered at 1100 °C provided that the content of BL in the
necessity. The results show that the phosphate sludge alone mixture remains limited to 30% wt.
[email protected]
100 H. Baccour and S. Baklouti
References 4. Fakhfakh, E.: Effects of sand addition on production of lightweight

aggregates from tunisian smectite-rich clayey rocks. Appl. Clay Sci.
35, 228–237 (2007)
1. Sis, H.: Reagents used in the flotation of phosphate ores: a critical 5. Loutou, M.: Phosphate sludge: thermal transformation and use as
review. Miner. Eng. 16, 577–585 (2003) lightweight aggregate material. J. Environ. Manag. 130, 354–360 (2013)
2. González, C.: Microstructure and mineralogy of lightweight aggre- 6. Rachid, H.: Valorization of phosphate waste rocks and sludge from
gates manufactured from mining and industrial wastes. Constr. the Moroccan phosphate mines: challenges and perspectives.
Build. Mater. 25, 3591–3602 (2011) Procedia Eng. 138, 110–118 (2016)
3. Loutou, M.: Heated blends of phosphate waste: microstructure 7. Wissem, G.: Beneficiation of phosphate solid coarse waste from
characterization, effects of processing factors and use as a Redayef (Gafsa Mining Basin) by grinding and flotation techniques.
phosphorus source for alfalfa growth. J. Environ. Manag. 177, Procedia Eng. 138, 85–94 (2016)
169–176 (2016)
[email protected]
Geochemical of Fossil Diatoms and Its
Utilization as Adsorbent in Water Treatment
Touina Amel, Chernai Safia, and Hamdi Boualem
Abstract media for various organic and inorganic chemicals as well as

Diatomite is characterized by exceptional physicochem- an adsorbent [2]. It is insoluble in water, and extremely
ical properties and its many industrial applications. Using stable in the ambient conditions. A number of
a variety of techniques in this study, we characterized the laboratory-scale studies were performed to investigate the
chemical, physicochemical and structural properties of a potential application of diatomite as adsorbent in water
diatomaceous earth sampled in the deposit of sig Algeria. treatment [3].
Natural diatomite was tested as a potential sorbent for the The present work reports on a variable geochemical and
removal of heavy metal ions. The results show that the mineralogical composition of samples of diatomite deposit
high sorption ability of diatomite makes the material a from Sig region in western of Algeria. The local diatoma-
suitable candidate in the removal of heavy metals (Pb(II), ceous earth (78.41% SiO2) was tested for its potential use as
Zn(II) and Cd(II)) from water. a natural adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals as Pb
(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions in the water treatment.

Keywords
Diatomite Geochemistry Adsorbent
Waster Treatment 2 Materials and Methods
The natural sample was collected from Sig deposit (Algeria).

After dry state crushing and grinding of the material in a
1 Introduction toothed roll crusher, a representative sample, designated ND
of granulometry 40–100 µm was selected. This sample has
Diatomite is a sedimentary rock composed of the skeletal already been described in previous papers [4]. Several
remains of single-cell aquatic plants called diatoms. The techniques have been used to characterize diatomite (X-ray
remarkably complex skeletons are unusual in that they are diffractometry, X-ray florescence, scanning electron micro-
composed of natural silica with various amounts of impu- scopy, etc.). The adsorption of Pb(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) on
rities and a high degree of unique structure [1]. In Algeria, diatomite was investigated using batch technique at 25 °C.
the principal deposits of diatomite belong to the category of
the deposits of continental context, formed in lake media
with lagoons of Miocene age (-10 AM). It is the acid vol- 3 Results
canicity of this period which brought the silica stock
favorable to the development of the diatoms: these deposits 3.1 Deposit Site
are located in the tertiary basins of miocene of the west of
Algeria. In this research, samples of diatomite were obtained from the
Diatomite’s highly porous structure, good sorption abil- location of Sig (Mascara-Algeria) deposits for microscopic,
ity, chemical inertness, low density and high surface area mineralogical studies and/or chemical and physical analyses.
result in a number of industrial applications as filtration The internal and external views of this deposit are shown in
Figs. 1 and 2.
T. Amel C. Safia H. Boualem (&)
LCVRM, ENSSMal, BP 19 Bois Des Cars, Dely Ibrahim, 16320
Alger, Algérie

[email protected]
102 T. Amel et al.
3.3 Mineralogy Phases
The X ray pattern revealed that the raw diatomite contains,

in addition to amorphous, SiO2 (quartz form and Tridimite),
CaCO3 in the calcite and Ankerite. It is important to note
that diatomite contains more than 56% amorphous silica
(Table 1) and does not contain any clay phase, contrary to
many other diatomite layers from other origin.
3.4 SEM Microscopy
The observation by Scan Electronic Microscopy showed that

the samples of the taken sediments were obviously very rich in
Fig. 1 An external view of Sig deposit diatoms. Their forms are often broken but their structures
remain preserved very well. The centric form is the prevalent.
The SEM images show that the material is characterized by a
high porosity [5]. The key to the exceptional properties of
diatomite lies more in the microstructure—each diatom is
peppered with thousands of holes, usually of three distinct
sizes, ranging from a few microns in diameter down to sub-
micron diameters. The number and sizes of holes vary with the
species. The combination of the natural silica composition, the
overall structure of the diatom particles, and the network of
holes in the structure are responsible for the unique properties
of these multi-functional mineral products (Fig. 3).
3.5 Physicochemical Properties
The physicochemical properties of natural diatomite are

summarized in Table 2. We notice that the natural product is
characterized by a high porosity, a mesoporous surface, a
Fig. 2 An internal view of Sig deposit basic pH related to the presence of calcium carbonate.
3.2 Geochemical Composition 3.6 Adsorption Capacities
The geochemical composition analysis showed that the Figure 4 shows the adsorption kinetics (Fig. 4a) and
diatomite samples contain on average SiO2 (78.41%), CaO adsorption isotherms (Fig. 4b) of the metal ions onto natural
(11.09%), Al2O3 (2.48), Fe2O3 (1.2), MgO (1.34), Na2O diatomite at 25 ± 1 °C and at pH 5.0. The results show that
(0.62), K2O (0.59), TiO2 (0.21) with trace metal element as diatomite is characterized by a high capacity to eliminate
Cu, Zn and Pb. metal pollutants.
Table 1 Mineralogy phases for Phases Formula %

diatomite sample
Amorphous silica SiO2 56
Crystalline silica SiO2 8
Calcite CaCO3 24
Ankerite Ca(Fe, Mg)(CO3)2 7
[email protected]
Geochemical of Fossil Diatoms and Its Utilization as Adsorbent … 103
Fig. 3 SEM images of natural

diatomite
Table 2 Physicochemical Parameters Value

properties of natural diatomite
pH 8.25
3
Real density (g/cm ) 2.24
Apparent density (g/cm3) 0.57
Porosity (%) 74.55
Surface area (m2/g) 23.27
Fig. 4 Adsorption capacity of

natural diatomite. a Adsorption
kinetics. b Adsorption isotherms
2. Ivanov, S.É., Belyakov, A.V.: Diatomite and its applications. Glass

4 Conclusions Ceram. 65(1–2), 18–21 (2008)
3. Sheng, G., Wang, S., Hua, J., Lua, Y., Li, j., Dong, Y., Wang, X.:
Adsorption of Pb(II) on diatomite as affected via aqueous solution
In conclusion, the use of the diatomite samples as an adsorbent chemistry and temperature. Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng.
for the removal of Pb(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) from heavy Aspects 339, 159–166 (2009)
metal-contaminated water under various conditions gave 4. Hamdi, B., Kessaissia, Z., Donnet, J.B., Wang, T.K.: Analytical
excellent performances. The results demonstrated that the study of physico-chemical, textural and structural of Kieselguhr.
Analusis J. 26, 8–12 (1998)
adsorption of heavy metals was strongly dependent of contact 5. Hadjar, H., Hamdi, B., Jaber, M., Brendlé, J., Kessaïssia, Z., Balard,
time, initial concentration, temperature and pH of the medium. H., Donnet, J.B.: Elaboration and characterisation of new meso-
porous materials from diatomite and charcoal. Microporous Meso-
porous Mater. 107, 219–226 (2008)
References
1. Yuan, B., Ding, S., Wang, D., Wang, G., Li, H.: Heat insulation
properties of silica aerogel/glass fiber composites fabricated by
press forming, Mater. Lett. 75, 204–206 (2012)
[email protected]
Elaboration and Characterization of New
Adsorbent Using Oil Shale Ash for Dyes
Removal from Aqueous Solutions
Youssef Miyah, Anissa Lahrichi, Fatiha Mejbar, Anis Khalil,

Meryem Idrissi, and Farid Zerrouq
The aim of this work was the elaboration and character-
ization of a zeolite (OSZ) in an alkaline medium from the The work described herein was undertaken in order to
oil shale ash for the removal of the two dyes Crystal respond to a major environmental challenge that is water
Violet (CV) and Red Congo (RC) in aqueous milieu. The pollution and its impacts on receiving media, especially
adsorbent material quality (OSZ) prepared was studied by those arising from pollution caused by textile industry is the
X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), major concern for the developing countries [1]. The small
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled by and large scale operations in this textile sector cause haz-
EDX, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ardous effect to environment [2]. The textile manufacturing
fluorescence of X-rays spectroscopy (FRX). In addition, processes involves large consumption of water and various
the adsorption in batch system of the two dyes CV and chemicals which will generate waste [3]. Wastewater from
RC on the OSZ material was studied. Therefore, we the textile industry is rated as the most polluting among all
accomplished a parametric study of the adsorption by industrial sectors [4]. Dyes present even in low concentra-
studying the effect of several important parameters on tions are highly visible [5]. They affect the photosynthetic
the decolorizing power of the used material, namely, the activity of the aquatic life due to the reduced light penetra-
contact time, the adsorbent dose, the pH solution and the tion [6]. Dyes are known for their stability and recalcitrant
temperature. The decolorization percentage was 97 and ability, making them very dangerous to human health,
81% for CV and RC dye respectively. Kinetic studies of because they have a carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic,
dyes carried out the pseudo-second order at different dye and toxic power [7]. Additionally it may also cause severe
concentration values. The Langmuir model describes damage to human beings such as kidney dysfunction,
satisfactory adsorption on the OSZ. Thermodynamic reproductive system, liver brain and central nervous system
studies indicated that dye adsorption process by OSZ damage [8].
was spontaneous, physisorption and endothermic in Consequently, the development of an efficient and sus-
nature. tainable process to manage the pollution resulting from the
dye industry has long been a considerable undertaking for

Keywords environmental protection [9]. In this respect, the classical
Zeolite Oil shale ash Isotherm Kinetic physico-chemical processes for dye removal from wastew-
Thermodynamic Adsorption ater include oxidation, photochemical degradation, reverse
osmosis, adsorption, membrane separation and coagulation/
flocculation [10–12]. The removal of dyes in an economic
Y. Miyah (&) F. Mejbar A. Khalil M. Idrissi F. Zerrouq way remains an important issue for researchers and envi-
Laboratory of Catalysis, Materials and Environment,
School of Technology, University Sidi Mohammed ronmentalists. The adsorption is an excellent alternative
Ben Abdellah Fez, Fez, Morocco especially using inexpensive and a high adsorption capacity
e-mail: [email protected] adsorbent without requiring any additional pre-treatment
F. Zerrouq step before application. Adsorption is superior to other
e-mail: [email protected] wastewater treatment techniques in terms of its initial cost,
A. Lahrichi flexibility and simplicity of design, ease of operation
Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, and insensitivity to toxic pollutants [13]. Currently, several
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah Fez, Fez, Morocco

[email protected]
106 Y. Miyah et al.
studies have been performed on the possibility of adsorbents solutions were prepared using ultrapure water (MILLIPORE,
such as corn cob, sawdust, clay, fly ash, activated carbon, direct-Q, UV3 with Pump) to prevent and minimize any
chitin and others [13, 14]. However, these adsorbents need possible interferences. Specimens were accomplished using
to be improved in their adsorption capacities while other a syringe filter of 0.45 µm diameter (Minisart, sartorium
adsorbents are still under development [15]. stedim biotech). The effect of several variables such as the
In this work, we were interested in the study of the adsorbent amount (0.5–2 g/L), the contact time (0–
adsorption of the dyes on the oil shales taken of a layer of 120 min), and the initial concentration while coloring (50–
Timahdit, located in the mountains of the Average Atlas 100 mg/L), the pH (4–12) and the temperature of the solu-
(Morocco) and spread out over a surface of 1000 km2. The tion (20–50 °C) were all studied. After 20 min, the balance
schist layer thickness varies from 100 to 150 m. Oil shale is was established. At the end of adsorption experiments, the
be one of the most interesting energy and chemical sources dye concentration was given by measuring the solution
in the world after the exhaustion of oil deposits [16]. Mor- absorbance using a UV–visible spectrophotometer (Jasco
occo is one of the world leading countries in terms of oil V530). All experiments were carried-out in triplicate and the
shale resources [17]. They are very promising and estimated medium values were presented.
at 86 billion tons in Tarfaya deposit, located in the south Hence, the dye removal percentage was calculated using
western part of Morocco within a 2000 km2 area and in this equation:
Timahdit deposit, located about 250 km southeast of the
capital Rabat, at 18 billion tons within a 196 km2 area. C0 Ce
% dye removal ¼ 100 ð1Þ
Mining and processing of the oil shale will significantly C0
disturb the environment, as a result of pollution by dust where C0 and Ce are the initial and final concentrations of
particles and ash derived from the oil shale. Valorisation of mixture dye respectively (mg/L) in the solution.
these valuable by products will reduce the environmental
impact and will make oil shale development economically
feasible for energy production in the future [18].
The target of this study was, then, to develop adsorbent 3 Results and Discussion
systems which are effective in the treatment of water and
particularly for the removal of textile dyes. To this end, we The study of the kinetics of the removal of Crystal violet and
were interested in the adsorption of dyes on a very abundant Crystal Violet (CV) and Red Congo (RC) by the ashes of
material such as the oil shale ash. The batch technique was zeolitized oil shales in an aqueous medium shows that
used under a variety of conditions to produce quantitative equilibrium time was very fast and can be in less than
adsorption, namely amount of adsorbent, dye concentration, 10 min, it was also independent of the initial concentration.
contact time, pH solution and temperature. In addition, The amount adsorbed by the OSZ adsorbent increases as
kinetic models were applied to experimental results such as a function of the initial CV and RC concentration (Table 1).
the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order model. The This can be explained by the presence of a large number of
adsorption isotherm data were well described by the Lang- molecules that diffuse to the sites on the surface of the
muir and Freundlich models. Furthermore, the thermody- adsorbent and therefore the partial adsorption depends on the
namic analysis suggests that the adsorption is a spontaneous initial concentration of the dye.
process and endothermic in nature. The temperature of the material is a parameter that sig-
nificantly influences the amount of adsorption. The results
obtained show that the amount of adsorption increases with
2 Materials and Methods the temperature in the studied range. This means that the
interaction between the OSZ adsorbent and the two CV and
The sample of oil shale studied comes from the region of RC adsorbents was of an endothermic nature.
Timahdit (Morocco). It was washed with ultra pure water, To optimize the amount of OSZ added to the CV and RC
centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 1 h and sieved at 63 lm. The solution, experiments were performed using 200 ml of the
obtained material was noted OSB. It was calcined at 950 °C 100 mg L−1 dye solution and a dose of OSZ adsorbent,
for 5 h in the oven to remove organic matter and the which results show that the adsorption rate increases as a
obtained material is noted OSC. Adsorption measurements function of the concentration of the adsorbent used. A con-
were carried out by mixing various oil shale ash quantities centration of 2 g L−1 of the ashes of zeolitized oil shales
for eliminating two dyes Crystal Violet (CV) and Red Congo makes it possible to reach the maximum adsorption with a
(RC) dyes potential in a series of beakers containing 200 mL percentage of 97% and afterwards stabilization was
of solution colored by different pHs using heating with observed, indicating a saturation of the pores of the
numerical control and a magnetic stirrer (Stuart). Dye adsorbent.
[email protected]
Elaboration and Characterization of New Adsorbent Using Oil … 107
Table 1 Percentage by OSZ at [CV and RC]0 (mg L−1) 100 80 70 60 50

different initial concentrations of
the two CV and RC dyes Percentage (%) CV 97 94.2 90.1 86.3 76.8
RC 81 70.5 50.1 41.3 38.1
pH is among the main variables that affect the adsorption 4. Heibati, B., Rodriguez-Couto, S., Al-Ghouti, M.A., Asif, M.,
process, influencing not only the adsorbent surface charge, the Tyagi, I., Agarwal, S., Gupta, V.K.: Kinetics and thermodynamics
of enhanced adsorption of the dye AR 18 using activated carbons
degree of ionization of the material present in the solution and prepared from walnut and poplar woods. J. Mol. Liq. 208, 99–105
the dissociation of functional groups at the active sites of the (2015)
adsorbent. Adsorbent, but also the chemical properties of the 5. Mittal, A., Mittal, J., Malviya, A., Kaur, D., Gupta, V.K.:
dye solution. In this case, the pH must control the adsorption of Adsorption of hazardous dye crystal violet from wastewater by
waste materials. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 343, 463–473 (2010)
the dyes on the particles in the suspension, because the 6. Miyah, Y., Lahrichi, A., Idrissi, M., Boujraf, S., Taouda, H.,
adsorbed molecules and the adsorbent particles can be affected Zerrouq, F.: Assessment of adsorption kinetics for removal
at the level of their functional groups by the concentration of potential of Crystal Violet dye from aqueous solutions using
H+ ions involved in the molecular adsorption process. The Moroccan pyrophyllite. J. Assoc. Arab Univ. Basic Appl. Sci. 23,
20–28 (2017)
corresponding parameters which also present the correlation 7. Mohamad Amran, M.S., Dalia, K.M., Wan, A.W.A.K., Azni, I.:
coefficients R2. These calculated coefficients are closer to the Cationic and anionic dye adsorption by agricultural solid wastes: a
kinetic model of the pseudo-second order. This indicates that comprehensive review. Desalination 280, 1–13 (2011)
this model describes well the experimental results of the 8. Miyah, Y., Idrissi, M., Zerrouq, F.: Study and modeling of the
kinetics Methylene blue adsorption on the clay adsorbents
adsorption of the two dyes CV and RC. (Pyrophillite, Calcite). J. Mater. Environ. Sci. 6(3), 699–712 (2015)
9. Miyah, Y., Lahrichi, A., Idrissi, M.: Removal of cationic dye –
Methylene blue– from aqueous solution by adsorption onto corn
4 Conclusion cob powder calcined. J. Mater. Environ. Sci. 7(1), 96–104 (2016)
10. Duta, A., Visa, M.: Simultaneous removal of two industrial dyes
by adsorption and photocatalysis on a fly-ash–TiO2 composite.
The present study proved that CV can be removed from dye J. Photochem. Photobiol. A Chem. 306, 21–30 (2015)
bearing effluent in an eco-friendly way using OSZ. In this 11. Gupta, V.K., Suhas: Application of low-cost adsorbents for dye
respect, the adsorption was rapid and could be considered to removal—a review. J. Environ. Manage. 90, 2313–2342 (2009)
12. Mohamad Amran, M.S., Dalia, K.M., Wan, A.W.A.K., Azni, I.:
fit pseudo-second order kinetics model in the case of CV and Cationic and anionic dye adsorption by agricultural solid wastes: a
RC was increased with the increasing initial concentration of comprehensive review. Desalination 280, 1–13 (2011)
dye solution. The removal percentage of the cationic CV dye 13. El Haddad, M., Slimani, R., Mamouni, R., ElAntri, S., Lazar, S.:
was greater than that of the anionic dye RC which indicates Removal of two textile dyes from aqueous solutions onto calcined
bones. J. Assoc. Arab Univ. Basic Appl. Sci. 14, 51–59 (2013)
that our materials OSZ and are effective for the removal of 14. Idrissi, M., Miyah, Y., Chaouch, M., El Ouali Lalami, A.,
cationic dyes. The Langmuir model described satisfactorily Lairini, S., Nenov, V., Zerrouq, F.: CWPO of phenol using
the adsorption on OSZ. Finally, the thermodynamic studies manganese-based catalysts. J. Mater. Environ. Sci. 5(S1),
indicated that the dye adsorption process by oil shale ash 2309–2313 (2014)
15. Cao, J.S., Lin, J.X., Fang, F., Zhang, M.T., Hu, Z.R.: A new
was physisorption and endothermic in nature. absorbent by modifying walnut shell for the removal of anionic
dye: kinetic and thermodynamic studies. Bioresour. Technol. 163,
199–205 (2014)
References 16. Dahri, M.K., Kooh, M.R.R., Lim, B.L.: Water remediation using
low cost adsorbent walnut shell for removal of malachite green:
equilibrium, kinetics, thermodynamic and regeneration studies.
1. Pal, A., He, Y., Jekel, M., Reinhard, M., Gin, K.Y.H.: Emerging J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 2, 1434–1444 (2014)
contaminants of public health significance as water quality 17. Saoiabi, A., Doukkali, A., Hamad, M., Zrineh, A., Ferhat, M.,
indicator compounds in the urban water cycle. Environ. Int. 71, Debyser, Y.: Timahdit (Morocco) oil shales: composition and
46–62 (2014) physicochemical properties. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie
2. Wojciech, K., Cendrowski, K., Bazarko, G., Mijowska, E.: Study des Sciences-series IIC-chemistry; Paris, Chimie/Chemistry 5(4),
on efficient removal of anionic, cationic and nonionic dyes from 351–360 (2001)
aqueous solutions by means of mesoporous carbon nanospheres 18. Miyah, Y., Idrissi, M., Lahrichi, A., Zerrouq, F.: Removal of a
with empty cavity. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 94, 242–253 (2015) cationic dye—Méthylène Bleu—from aqueous solution by adsorp-
3. Haik, Y., Qadri, S., Ganoe, A., Ashraf, S., Sawafta, R.: Phase tion onto oil shale ash of Timahdit (Morocco). Int. J. Innov. Res.
change material for efficient removal of crystal violet dye. Sci. Eng. Technol. 8(3), 15600–15613 (2014)
J. Hazard. Mater. 176, 1110–1112 (2010)
[email protected]
Biochars Induced Changes
in the Physicochemical Characteristics
of Technosols: Effects of Feedstock
and Pyrolysis Temperature
Manel Kammoun-Rigane, Hajer Hlel, and Khaled Medhioub
Soils in urban areas are anthropized and unfavorable for
agricultural practices. Constructed Technosols (TS) are Human activities such as industrialization, urbanization and
mainly manmade and easily manipulated by mixing intensive agriculture, cause soil degradation. Construction of
different proportions of anthropogenic materials. To Technosols, an innovative approach, consists of mixing soils
achieve this study, twelve types of biochars were with recycled waste and industrial by-products. This process
produced at 350 and 450 °C, using olives husks (OH), presents quadruple benefit as it (i) treats degraded lands,
almond shells (AS) and coffee husk (CH) to improve (ii) valorizes by-products and wastes, (iii) stocks organic
Sandy soil (SS) quality during ten weeks. The main aim carbon in soil and (iv) creates a substrate with selected
of this work was to assess the short-term impact of physical, chemical and biological properties. The addition of
biochar addition on soil properties. An open-air pot composts and biochar to reconstituted soils was proposed as
experiment was designed in a pilot scale adding biochars a potential method for improving soil quality [1, 2]. The
to SS at the rates of 5%. The results showed that the beneficial effects of biochar are associated to their impacts
addition of biochars, in the beginning, improved soil on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of
Organic matter (OM) and N contents and there were no soils [3]. Considering all these effects, biochar addition to
significant effects on the pH and EC values in all the soil can enhance plant productivity and crops perfor-
Technosols compared to control (SS). The OM contents mance [4]. The objectives of this study were to compare
and total N remained stable during the incubation for changes in the physicochemical characteristics of technosols
Technosol treated with biochars produced at 350 °C prepared by mixing biochars (provided from different feed-
indicating high recalcitrant indices. However, the OM and stocks and prepared at tow pyrolysis temperatures) with
N contents decreased for the lower recalcitrance materials Sandy soil. This kind of soil is characterized by low OM and
prepared at 450 °C. The pH values remained stable and nutrients contents, very extended in the south of Tunisia and
EC increased in soil with all biochars. Thus, the use of considered without agronomic values.
biochar contributed to soil carbon sequestration and
improved OM content in Technosols.

Keywords

Constructed technosols Urban area Soil quality Twelve types of biochars (B) were produced at 350 and
Biochars C recalcitrance 450 °C using four types of olives husks (OH), almonds
shells (AS) and coffee husk (CH) to improve Sandy soil
(SS) quality during ten weeks. OH originated from different
kind of olive oil industries (OHI, OH1, OH2, OH3).
Pyrolysis was achieved using four production techniques
under oxygen-limited conditions. Characterizations of bio-
M. Kammoun-Rigane (&) H. Hlel chars indicated that pH was neutral for those produced at
Faculty of Sciences, Sfax University, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia 350 °C and basic ranging from 8.3 to 10.3 for biochars
e-mail: [email protected] prepared at 450 °C. All biochars were characterized by
K. Medhioub higher EC values than 4.5 mS/cm and may be a source of N
IPEIS, Sfax University, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia

[email protected]
110 M. Kammoun-Rigane et al.
Table 1 Abbreviation used for SS + B 350 °C SS + B 450 °C

all mixtures
TS1 (i, f): SS + OHI TS7 (i, f): SS + OHI
TS2 (i, f): SS + OH1 TS8 (i, f): SS + OH1
TS5 (i, f): SS + CH TS11 (i, f): SS + CH
TS5 (i, f): SS + AS TS12 (i, f): SS + AS
Sandy Soil (SS): Control, in the beginning of the experiment (i), At the end of the experiment (f)
and recalcitrant carbon. An open-air pot experiment was Various salts were found in the ash fraction of biochar
conducted during ten weeks in order to study the impact of causing a deterioration or loss of one or more soil functions.
biochar addition on soil properties. Table 1 presents the Chintala et al. [5] attributed the increment of EC to the
abbreviation used for all mixtures. Constructed Technosols release of weakly bounded nutrients (cations and anions) of
prepared at the ratio of B/SS = 5/95% (V/V) were placed in biochars into the soil solution. However, higher soluble salts
pots in open-air condition and wetted twice a week. All related to the high EC values should cause soil salinization.
mixtures were performed in three replications and SS was No significant effect was observed for the TN compared to
used as control. control plots. Biochar additions increased TS organic matter
The physicochemical analyses were conducted according (SOM) and carbon (SOC) contents. An increment of SOM
to NFT 01-013 NFT-012 for pH and NFT-90-031 for electric contents was recorded for all TS by 100–700% comparing to
conductivity (EC mS/cm). The OM and TN contents were SS. The highest SOC contents were observed in TS9 and
evaluated following the methods JIS K0102.14.4, (1995) TS10 (4.24 and 3.02% respectively) prepared using biochar
and ISO 11261 (1995), respectively. The total organic car- of OH pyrolysis at 450 °C. At the end of our experiments,
bon was calculated using the formula: we observed a decrease of SOM mainly for TS5, TS7 TS9,
TS10 (from 3.03 to 1.99; 3.24 to 1.94; 7.4 to 2.54; and 2.64
TOC% = OM%/1724. to 2.1 respectively) as observed by Liang et al. [6] which is
associated to the mineralization of organic matter released
All the analysis were conducted in triplicate and the mean from biochar. Inversely, a SOM conservation was observed
values are presented in Table 2. for TS1, TS3, TS6, TS8 and TS12. Zimmerman et al. [7]
observed similar results and explained the phenomenon by
adsorption due to the affinity of biochar surfaces and pores
3 Results and Discussion for SOM and protect them from being decomposed. The
TS2, TS4 and TS11 showed a SOM stabilization as observed
The characteristics of the SS used as control and TS in the in Cross and Sohi [8] who found an inhibition of SOM
beginning and at the end of the experiment are presented in decomposition during biochar incubation experiments with
Table 2. We evaluated the effects of different kinds of bio- two different soils.
char on soil quality during ten weeks. The pH of SS was
neutral (7.3), the EC value was 1.1 mS/cm, TN, OM and C
content were low. The biochar application had no significant 4 Conclusion
effect in terms of pH values and EC in all mixtures in the
beginning of the trial (ranging from 7.2 to 7.5 and 1.1 to 1.53 In our study, we used biochars prepared by pyrolysis at
mS/cm respectively) despite the alkaline pH and the high EC different temperatures of olive oil industries by-products,
values of biochars. At the end of the experiment, pH values almonds shells and coffee husk to improve sandy soil quality
were reduced slightly and ranged from 7.7 to 6.8. The during a short-term experiment. The prepared Technosols
highest reduction was observed for TS1 and TS10 (0.6 and were placed in pots in open air conditions. In conclusion, the
0.5 unit pH, respectively). These values led to improve the incorporation of these highly carbonaceous biochar materials
bioavailability of important nutrients such as phosphorus. can induce ameliorations mainly in the SOM contents of
Addition of 5% biochar, produced at 450 °C to the Tech- Sandy soil and stabilize pH at neutral value. Besides, bio-
nosol increased the EC values in all mixtures and the highest chars had no significant effect on TN contents. The liming
was observed in TS7, 9, 10, 11 and 12 (less than 1.5 mS/cm potential of biochars produced at 450 °C can be attributed to
in the beginning and ranged from 4.65 and 4.95 mS/cm at the high EC causing soil salinization. The creation of
the end). Technosols with biochar is an effective strategy to sequester
[email protected]
Biochars Induced Changes in the Physicochemical Characteristics … 111
Table 2 The influence of biochars on Technosol properties

pH EC (mS/cm) TN (%) OM (%) TOC (%)
SS 7.3 1.13 0.03 0.99 0.57
TS1 i 7.4 1.10 0.07 1.96 1.13
f 6.8 1.93 0 4.24 2.55
TS2 i 7.2 1.10 0.04 2.3 1.32
f 7 1.57 0.05 1.99 1.15
TS3 i 7.2 1.16 0 2.10 1.20
f 7.1 2.02 0.02 3.13 1.82
TS4 i 7.2 1.27 0.05 2.84 1.63
f 7.2 1.90 0.03 2.54 1.47
TS5 i 7.2 1.10 0.02 3.03 1.74
f 7.2 2.06 0.05 1.99 1.15
TS6 i 7.5 1.30 0.02 2.29 1.31
f 7.2 1.99 0.03 3.38 1.96
TS7 i 7.4 1.27 0.03 3.24 1.86
f 7.4 4.65 0.04 1.94 1.12
TS8 i 7.3 1.53 0.02 2.04 1.17
f 7.7 1.80 0.02 4.74 2.75
TS9 i 7.4 1.29 0.03 7.4 4.24
f 7.4 4.84 0 2.54 1.47
TS10 i 7.5 1.26 0.03 5.26 3.02
f 7 4.71 0 2.64 1.53
TS11 i 7.4 1.31 0.08 2.10 1.20
f 7.3 4.89 0 2.44 1.41
TS12 i 7.5 1.19 0.1 1.70 0.98
f 7.4 4.95 0 3.38 1.96
carbon in soil and improve soil structure. This study should crop productivity using meta-analysis. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.
be completed by increasing the ratio of biochars mainly for 144, 175–187 (2011)
4. Graber, E.R., Harel, Y.M., Kolton, M., et al.: Biochar impact on
Technosols prepared for use in urban areas and needing high development and productivity of pepper and tomato grown in
OM and nutrient contents. fertigated soilless media. Plant Soil 337, 481–496 (2010)
5. Chintala, R., Schumacher, T.E., McDonald, L.M., et al.: Phosphorus
sorption and availability from biochars and soil biochar mixtures.
CLEAN Soil Air Water 41, 1–9 (2013)
References 6. Liang, B., Lehmann, J., Sohi, S.P., Thies, J.E., O’Neill, B., et al.:
Black carbon affects the cycling of non-black carbon in soil. Org.
1. Kammoun Rigane, M., Medhioub, K.: Assessment of properties of Geochem. 41, 206–213 (2010)
Tunisian agricultural waste composts: application as components in 7. Zimmerman, A.R., Gao, M., Ahn, M.Y.: Positive and negative
reconstituted anthropic soils and their effects on tomato yield and carbon mineralization priming effects among a variety of
quality. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 55(8), 785–792 (2011) biochar-amended soils. Soil Bio. Biogeochem. 43, 1169–1179
2. Jones, D.L., Rousk, J., Edwards-Jones, G., DeLuca, T.H.: Murphy, (2011)
biochar-mediated changes in soil quality and plant growth in a three 8. Cross, A., Sohi, S.P.: The priming potential of biochar products in
year field tria. l. Soil Biol. Biochem. 45, 113–124 (2012) relation to labile carbon contents and soil organic matter status. Soil
3. Jeffery, S., Verheijen, F.G.A., van der Velde, M., Bastos, A.C.: A Biol. Biochem. 43, 2127–2134 (2011)
quantitative review of the effects of biochar application to soils on
[email protected]
Short-Term Effects of Sewage Sludge
Compost Application on Some Chemical
Properties of Sandy Soil
Houda Oueriemmi, Kaouther Ardhaoui, and Mohamed Moussa
Abstract matter and macronutrients (N, P, K) that are essential for

The application of sewage sludge compost in agricultural plant growth. The application of this biosolid can contribute
soils has a dual interest. This allows preserving nature and to the improvement of the soil chemical (EC, pH, CEC),
improving the soil quality by supplying plant nutrients. biological (microbial biomass, nitrogen cycle) and physical
A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect (water retention, aggregate stability, bulk density) properties
of different amounts of sewage sludge compost (0, 20, 40 [7, 8]. In this present work, we assessed the land application
and 60 t ha−1) on chemical soil properties. The considered of sewage sludge compost on the soil’s chemical properties.
soil depths are (0–20; 20–40 and 40–60 cm). OM, N, P, The experiment was conducted using a randomized com-
K, pH, CE determination followed amendment with plete block design with three replications. Therefore, three
sewage sludge compost. The results indicated that the levels of sewage sludge compost (20, 40 and 60 t ha−1) have
evaluated chemical soil parameters were changed by the been applied to the field.
application of this biosolid. In addition, sludge applica-
tion increased the organic status of the soil and nutrients.

Keywords
Reuse Sewage sludge compost Soil fertility This research was gegun in September 2017 at the field
pH Electrical conductivity experiment of the Institute of Arid Regions of Medenine at
El Fje, located at 33° 16′ 21″ North latitude and 10° 19′ 30″
East longitude. The site is characterized by a semi-arid to
arid climate with a mean annual precipitation of 150 mm and
1 Introduction an average temperature of 18–20 °C.
The used soil had a sandy texture. The sewage sludge
Sewage sludge is a concentrated suspension of solids that compost was prepared at the pilot composting station of
has been produced during the treatment of urban waste Medenine. It was produced under aerobic conditions by a
water. Increasing costs of commercial fertilizers, shortages mixture of garden waste and an activated sewage sludge
in organic matter content and the generation of high volumes collected from the wastewater treatment plant of Medenine.
of sewage sludge have made the re-use of this biowaste in The main characteristics of sewage sludge compost used in
agriculture an alternative solution. Sewage sludge compost this study are shown in Table 1.
is a beneficial soil amendment, it contains mainly organic The parcel design was a randomized complete block,
consisting of an untreated plot (control) and three rates of
sewage sludge compost (20, 40 and 60 t ha−1) and three
H. Oueriemmi (&) K. Ardhaoui M. Moussa
IRA, Medenine, Tunisia
blocks. Each block consisted of four plots, and each plot had
e-mail: [email protected] a total area of 11 m2. After being air-dried, the soil sample
K. Ardhaoui
was crushed and passed through a 2-mm sieve.
e-mail: [email protected] Soil pH was analyzed with a pH electrode in the saturated
M. Moussa
past extract (EC). The electrical conductivity was measured
e-mail: [email protected] using a conductimeter. Soil organic matter was measured by
K. Ardhaoui
rapid oxidation and subsequent titration with ferrous
ISBAM, Gabes University, Gabes, Tunisia ammonium sulphate [9]. Total nitrogen (TN) in all samples

[email protected]
114 H. Oueriemmi et al.
Table 1 Main characteristics of Characteristics Sewage sludge compost

sewage sludge compost used in
this study pH 6.75
CE (mS cm−1) 11.46
Sodium (%) 0.45
Potassium (%) 0.47
Calcium (%) 1.60
Magnesium (%) 0.59
Copper (%) 0.008
Zinc (%) 0.02
Iron (%) 0.30
Manganese (%) 0.006
was determined using the Kjeldahl’s method [1] by attacking 0.25 1000
0.20 0-20 800
the matter at high temperatures using concentrated sulphuric 0.15 0-20
P (ppm)
600
N(%)
0.10 20-40
acid in the presence of a catalyser. The available phosphorus 400 20-40
0.05 40-60
(P) was measured by Olsen method [6]. 200 40-60
0.00
0
3 Results Treatments (t ha-1) Treatments (t ha-1)
100
80 0-20
3.1 Effect of Sewage Sludge Compost
K (ppm)
60
20-40
Application on the Percentage of Organic 40
20 40-60
Matter 0
The percentage of organic matter showed a decrease with

soil depth (Fig. 1). The results indicate that the addition of Treatments (t ha-1)
sewage sludge compost (40 t ha−1) causes an increase in the

Fig. 2 Effect of sewage sludge compost on N, P and K contents in soil
content of OM in soil surface, it is about 0.80%.
In addition, the decrease in OM content with depth
reflects its decomposition and rapid mineralization by the
microorganisms.
Application on pH and Soil Salinity
As first observation, the pH profiles showed that soil is

generally neutral. In fact, pH values at 0–20 depth were
Application on Macronutrient
varying from 7.50 to 7.38 for CSS-20 and SSC-60, respec-
Concentrations in Soil
tively. Furthermore, the soil electrical conductivity increased
with sewage sludge application. The highest (EC) value was
The macronutrient contents (N, P, and K) increased by
found with the medium sewage sludge compost application
adding biosolids such as sewage sludge compost (Fig. 2).
dose (40 t ha−1). In addition, these results showed that the
measured EC increased with depth. For instance, EC reached
1.0 5.38 mS/cm and 5.31 mS/cm in the treatments SSC-20 and
0-20
OM in soil (%)
0.8 CSS-60, respectively at 40 and 60 cm depths.

0.6 20-40
0.4 40-60
0.2 4 Discussion
0.0
C SSC-20 SSC-40 SSC-60
Our study showed that soil fertility parameters such as OM,
Applied dose of compost (t ha-1)
N, P and K were improved after short-term application of
Fig. 1 Influence of sewage sludge compost application on organic sewage sludge compost. This increase can be explained by
matter content the fact that sewage sludge compost generally contains a
[email protected]
Short-Term Effects of Sewage Sludge Compost Application … 115
high amount of nutrients. Our investigation is in agreement Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America,
with the previous works obtained by Latare and Walter [4, Madison (1982)
2. Courtney, R.G., Mullen, G.J.: Soil quality and barley growth as
10]. In fact, they stated that sewage sludge application had a influenced by the land application of two compost types.
positive impact on soil fertility. Bioresour. Technol. 99(8), 2913–2918 (2008)
However, it was noted that organic matter and total 3. Garrido, S., Del Campo, G.M., Esteller, M.V., Vaca, R., Lugo, J.:
nitrogen in soil did not increase significantly with sewage Heavy metals in soil treated with sewage sludge composting, their
effect on yield and uptake of broad bean seeds (Vicia faba L.).
sludge compost treatments, possibly because of the lower Water Air Soil Pollut. 166, 303 (2005)
biosolid rate [3]. 4. Latare, A.M., Omkar, K., Singh, S.K., Gupta, A.: Direct and
Considering the soil salinity reflected by (EC), we residual effect of sewage sludge on yield, heavy metals content and
remarked a significant increase of this salinity in the treated soil fertility under rice–wheat system. Ecol. Eng. 69, 17–24 (2014)
5. Mendoza, J., Tatiana, G., Gabriela, C., Nilsa, S.M.: Metal
soil. This is in line with the results of Mendoza et al. [5]. In availability and uptake by sorghum plants grown in soils amended
addition, Courtney and Mullen [2] suggested that potassium with sludge from different treatments. Chemosphere 65, 2304–
and sodium are the main contributors to this increase of EC. 2312 (2006)
6. Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanabe, F.S., Dean, L.A.: Estimation of
available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbon-
ate. U. S. Department of Agriculture Circular No. 939. In:
5 Conclusions Banderis, A.D., Barter, D.H., Anderson, K. (eds.) Agricultural and
Advisor (1954)
Land application of sewage sludge compost has become a 7. Poulsen, P.H.B., Magid, J., Luxhoi, J., De Neergaard, A.: Effects
of fertilization with urban and agricultural organic wastes in a field
widespread practice in Tunisia. The use of this com- trial-waste imprint on soil microbial activity. Soil Biol. Biochem.
post could improve soil fertility mainly by increasing pH, 57, 794–802 (2013)
total nitrogen, organic matter and phosphorus amounts in the 8. Roig, N., Nadal, M., Sierra, J., Ginebreda, A., Schuhmacher, M.,
sandy soil situared in an arid area. Domingo, J.L.: Novel approach for assessing heavy metal
pollution and ecotoxicological status of rivers by means of passive
sampling method. Environ. Int. 37, 671–677 (2011)
9. Walkley, A., Black, I.A.: An examination method for determina-
References tion for role organic matter and proposed modification of the
chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci. 37, 29–38 (1934)
10. Walter, I., Cuevas, G., Garcia, S., Martinez, F.: Biosolid effects on
1. Bremner, J.M., Mulvaney, C.S.: Nitrogen—total. In: Page, A.L. soil and native plant production in a degraded semiarid ecosystem
(ed.) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2, pp. 595–624. American in central Spain. Waste Manag. Res. 18, 259 (2000)
[email protected]
Part IV
Geomechanics and Geotechnics:
Characterization of Geomaterials
[email protected]
Generic Classification of Hoars
in the Northeastern Part of Bengal Basin,
Bangladesh
Mohammed Masum and Mohammad Omer Faruk Khan
Abstract get dried up but only some localized places still retain some
The northeastern part of Bangladesh which is also the water which is termed as ‘beels’ (shallow water body).The
northeastern part of the Bengal Basin is an area of interest haor areas are important from socio-bio-geo-economic point
for many disciplines for its unique geologic, tectonic, of views. There are more than four hundred haors in the area
structural, ecologic, environmental and socio-economic which occupy more than 6000 km2 of land [6]. The haors
aspects. This part of the country is important for its span over the districts of Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Netro-
richness in wetland resources locally termed as haors. The kona, Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and B. Baria [1]. Most
current study analyzed the wetlands from a generic aspect of the people that live by the haor area are poor. The people
and attempted to classify them according to the dominant in the haor areas have no or little access to the basic services
tectonic and structural influence. It is expected that such a compared to that of the people in the mainland [3]. Poverty
study would reveal new insights about these haors. is mainly caused by natural disasters such as flood, flash
flood, drought etc. The biodiversity of haor areas are ample
and many rare and endangered species of birds, reptiles and

Keywords
Haor Basin Tectonic and generic mammals thrive in the areas. Swamp forests are also very
important natural resource that contributes significantly to
the uniqueness of haor areas. The landscapes of haor areas
are also very prospective for tourism development [5].
1 Introduction A generic classification is a geoscientific approach to char-
acterize the areas dominated by haors depending on their
The northeastern part of Bangladesh which is under the mode of formation. This approach should give more insight
jurisdiction of the Sylhet Division (Fig. 1) is well known for as to the generation of the lowlands.
its richness in wetland resources locally termed as haors. The
areas underlined by haors are generally discussed under a
unique framework such that the term ‘haor basin’ is widely 2 Structure and Tectonics
used for this part of the country. However, while there is a
very little visible difference among the haors being enor- Tectonically the Sylhet Division is situated on the Sylhet
mous sweet water bodies, geological factors such as tectonic Trough which is in the northern end of the Central Deep Basin
settings and structural conditions reveal that the haor basin geo-tectonic province of the Bengal Basin. The trough ter-
can be broadly subdivided into two categories and their minates against the Shillong Massif in the north truncated by
mode of origin may vary accordingly. In Bangladesh, the the Dauki Fault. On the western part of the trough is the Hinge
local term haor is applied to a bowl-shaped depression that Zone and on the further west the Stable Shelf geo-tectonic
goes under water for about half a year during the wet period. province of the Bengal Basin. The trough is bounded by the
The term haor is a corrupted form of its Bengali word Chandpur High on the southwest and on the further south by
‘Sagar’ or Arabic word ‘Bahar’ meaning ‘Sea’ [4]. How- the Faridpur Trough. The trough is closed on the south and east
ever, during the rest of the year i.e. the dry period, the haors by the westward migrating Indo-Burman Range (Alam et al.
[2]). The important tectonic elements are shown in Fig. 2.
M. Masum (&) M. O. F. Khan Structurally the trough is a basin shaped depression filled
Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB), 153, Pioneer Road,
Shegunbagicha, 1000 Dhaka, Bangladesh
with thick sediments. The sediments are folded into a series
e-mail: [email protected] of anticlines and synclines in the southern and eastern parts

[email protected]
120 M. Masum and M. O. F. Khan
Fig. 1 Location map of the

Northeastern Haor dominated
area
which are mere northern extensions of the western part of the

Indo-Burman Range. The Dauki Fault is a reverse fault 3 Methodology
(Alam et al. [2]) along which the Shillong Massif pops-up
and acts as a major source of sediments and water for the Ideally an observational approach was implemented in cat-
northern part of the Haor Basin. The sediments of the Haor egorizing the haor areas. Aerial imagery from Google Earth
Basin are folded to form an isolated anticline in the middle has been used for their ease of access and clarity. Maps were
of the Sylhet Trough. The Sylhet Trough in general and its generated using the Free and Open Source (FLOSS) GIS
northern half in particular are mostly influenced by subsi- software QGIS. The authors experience from working in
dence as the trough is under thrusting against the uplifting haor areas helped tremendously in the development of
Shillong Massif (Alam et al. [2]). concepts and ideas approached in the current study.
[email protected]
Generic Classification of Hoars in the Northeastern Part … 121
Fig. 2 Important tectonic elements surrounding Sylhet Trough
east-west direction while the haors of the latter area are

4 The Classification and Its Basis distributed following a loosely northeast south direction.
The above mentioned characteristics of those two areas
The Haor Basin of the northeastern Sylhet Division can be are closely related to their tectono-structural setting. The
broadly subdivided into two depression areas as (i) Northern important tectonic elements around the Sylhet Trough are
Depression and (ii) Southern Depression. Most of the haors shown in (Fig. 2) and structural features are shown in
occur in the Northern Depression and are represented by (Fig. 3). The Northern Depression is located to the imme-
many numbers of closely spaced; often interconnected haors, diate south of the Dauki Fault. As the Sylhet Trough is a
while the Southern Depression is represented by only several slowly subsiding area against the uplifted Shillong Massif,
haors that are separated from each other for considerable the Northern Depression is dominated by subsidence. As a
distances by intervening hill ranges. The haors of the result, the haors occupying the areas i.e. the Northern
Northern Depression are clustered while in the Southern Depression can be classified as “Subsidence Haors” owing
Depressions they are distributed in a sequential manner. The to the subsidence of the Sylhet Trough which greatly influ-
haors in the former area are distributed following an ences their development.
[email protected]
122 M. Masum and M. O. F. Khan
Fig. 3 Major structural features influencing the study area (The N-S ridges are formed due to E-W compression)
In contrast, the haors of the Southern Depression are

located largely in the synclines between the anticlines of the 5 Conclusion
Indo-Burman Range. These anticlines are expressed as
north-south elongated hills and plunge in the north into the The Subsidence induced Haors are mainly tectonic con-
southern and eastern margin of Sylhet Trough. Thus, the trolled while the Synclinal Haors are mainly structure con-
depressions created by these anticline-syncline systems are trolled. These facts may subtly influence the geologic,
occupied by the characteristic haor of the Southern environmental and socio-economic aspects of the areas and
Depression which can be classified as “Synclinal Haors” special consideration should be given to any future studies
(Fig. 4). with these facts in mind.
[email protected]
Generic Classification of Hoars in the Northeastern Part … 123
Fig. 4 Classification of the Haors based on dominant tectonic and structural signatures
References 4. Choudhury, G.A., Nishat, A.: Hydro-Meteorological Characteristic

of Hakaluki Haor. Union Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka,
Bangladesh, x + 91p (2005)
1. Alam, M.S., Quayum, M.A., Islam, M.A.: Crop production in the 5. IUCN-Bangladesh, CNRS. Natural Resource Economic Evaluation
Haor areas of Bangladesh: insights from farm level survey. The of Hakaluki Haor. BGD/99/G31-Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity
Agriculturists 8(2), 88–97. Sci. J. Krishi Foundation. Management Project: Hakaluki Haor Component (Draft Final.
ISSN-1729-5211 (2010) Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh
2. Alam, et al. Geological Map of Bangladesh, GSB. vol. 14, p. 14 (2006)
(1990) 6. Salauddin, M., Islam, A.K.M.S.: Identification of land cover
3. BHWDB. Brief Outline for Development of Haor Master Plan. changes of the Haor area of Bangladesh using MODIS images.
Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Board (BHWDB). In: 3rd International Congress on Water & Flood Management
Ministry of Water Resources (2014) (2011)
[email protected]
Geotechnical Characterization
of the Batoufam Lateritic Gravels (West
Cameroon) for Road Construction Purpose
Takala Boris Honore and Mbessa Michel
This study involves the geotechnical characterization of
lateritic soils from Batoufam (West Region of Camer- Batoufam is a locality of the Western Cameroon, located
oon). The methodology involved the collection of sam- between latitude 5°14′ and 5°18′ North, and between lon-
ples from the field and laboratory analyses which gitude 10°26′ and 10°31′ East. According to Guiffo [1], the
involved identification and characterization tests at the general morphology of the Batoufam relief is that of the
National Advanced School of Engineering of Yaoundé. High plateau. Soils are mostly lateritic. This work dealt with
The results obtained show that: In the quarry, two the Batoufam soils and devoted their quintessence to the
stratigraphic levels are observed, a nodular and a superior determination of their geotechnical characteristics in relation
sandy clay level on which vegetation is present; The to their use in road construction.
material studied is a gravelly sandy clay of the A-2-7
(0) class according to the HRB classification; The
gravelly materials have an optimum dry density of 2, 23 2 Methods
and an optimum water content of 13%. The direct bearing
capacity values of CBR and by immersion are 42, 5 and In the case of this study, the methodology is based on field
31 respectively, classifying them of the S5 class. The works, on the one hand, and on laboratory analysis which
values of resistance to compression and traction are 15.44 involves an identification test and a physical characterization,
bars; 13.78 bars and 8.82 bars and of 1.7 bars; 1.5 bars on the other. On the field, the extraction reveals a visible
and 1.4 bars respectively after exposure for 4.7 and pedologic profile that defines the main horizons. This quarry
28 days in open air. According to the practical guide situated at an altitude 1435 m matches with the coordinates
involving road construction in tropical countries, the latitude 05°17′20.1″N, and longitude 10°28′14.6″E.
material studied is useful as platform and base layer for all The identification test involved the particle-size analysis
traffic classes (T1–T5), as well as foundation base for low (Wet sieving obtained in accordance with the NF P 94-056
traffic (T1–T3). norm, and Sedimentation with the NF P 94-057 norm) and
Atterberg limits (carried out in conformation to the NF P

Keywords 94-051 norm). For the characterization tests, the Proctor tests
Batoufam West region Basalts Geotechnical (in conformity with the NF P 94-093 norm) and CBR
properties Cameroon (precisely by the NF P 94-078 norm), as well as simple
compression tests (in accordance with the NF P 94-420
norm) and indirect traction (carried out according to the
NF P 94-422 norm) were performed.
T. B. Honore (&)
University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon
M. Michel
National Advanced School of Public Works, Yaoundé, Cameroon

[email protected]
126 T. B. Honore and M. Michel
Table 1 Percentages of the different size fractions

Classes Gravel Coarse sand Fine sand Silt Clay
Percentage (%) 74 9.3 4.5 2.2 10
Table 2 Summary of the obtained results from the Atterberg limit

Parameter wl wp Ip IC Il f X Ip
Value 42 22 20 1.75 −0.75 280
(a)
3 Results
2,1
Dry densities
3.1 Physical Characteristics
2,0
For the particle-size analysis and Atterberg Limits, the
1,9
results are presented respectively in Tables 1 and 2. The
numeric results obtained led to the establishment of the 1,8
granulometric curve in Fig. 1a, and the curve of the variation 15 35 55
in water content following the number of drop in Fig. 1b. CBR values
(b)
1,8
3.2 Behaviour Parameters
Dry densities
1,6
The immediate CBR index and immersion values were 1,4

determined from the dry density variation curves following
these indices (respectively at Fig. 2a, b). We thus found 42.5 1,2
10 40 70
and 31, respectively.
CBR values
Fig. 2 a Variation in densities following the CBR index (CBR by

immersion); b variation in densities following the CBR (immediate
CBR)
(a)
80
3.3 Compressive Strengths Simple
Sieves
40 and the Indirect Traction
The values of the resistance to traction and compression are

0
1 0,01 0,0001 shown in Tables 3 and 4.
Mesh of sieves
(b)
44 4 Discussion
Water content(%)
The materials have a low percentage in fine particles, either

40 14% of the material, lower than (34.20 and 16.20%) in
Ebolowa by Nanga Bineli [2], but greater than those
obtained in 2012 by Djuickouo (12%) in Dschang. Liquidity
36 and plasticity limits are lower than 63 and 43% obtained by
10 100 Djuickouo [3], and 48.6% obtained by Ananfouet Djeufack
Number of hits [4] on hardened basalt soils, both in Dschang locality.
Fig. 1 a Granulometric curve; b variations of the water content
However, compared to the three authors mentioned, the
according to the number of hits (Atterberg limits) plasticity index is respectively equal, greater and lower than
theirs (20; 18.3; 27.4 and 33.5% respectively).
[email protected]
Geotechnical Characterization of the Batoufam Lateritic Gravels … 127
Table 3 Resistance to traction Days 4 7 28

P max (N) 5000 4000 1000
Rit 0.14 0.11 0.03
Rt (Mpa) 0.11 0.09 0.02
Rt (bars) 1.10 0.88 0.22
Table 4 Resistance to Days 4 7 28

compression
F max (N) 28,000 25,000 16,000
S (mm2) 18136.6 18136.6 18136.64
Rc (Mpa) 1.54 1.38 0.88
Rc (bars) 15.44 13.78 8.82
Cu 30.88 27.57 17.64
For Autret [5], the Proctor values (2.23), accommodate layer notably in platform and in form layers for all classes of
with those recommended for foundation layers; cd > traffic and as foundation layers for low traffic; T1–T3. They,
1.90 g/cm3 and in base layer, cd > 2 g/cm3. According to however, require the optimization of their characteristics
the CEBTP (1984), specifications, the lateritic gravels of especially for their use in a foundation layer for important
Batoufam belong to the bearing class of S5 (CBR > 30). traffics (T4 and T5) as well as in base layers.
Resistance to compression and traction decreases with the
number of days spent in open air. Thus, with time there is the
creation and the appearance of fissures on the material which References
gradually disintegrates losing its resistance and later
becomes friable. This is as well illustrated by the values of 1. Guiffo, J.P.: Les Bamiléké de l’intérieur et leurs problèmes. éditions
cohesion of the material that follows the same evolution as de l’Essoah, 163–175 (2009)
that of the resistance to compression. 2. Nanga Bineli, M.T.: Caractérisation géologique et géotechnique des
graveleux latéritiques sur granites de la région d’Ebolowa (Sud-
Cameroun). Master thesis, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, 73p
(2016)
5 Conclusion 3. Djuickouo, C.N.: Caractérisation géotechnique des graveleux
latéritiques sur basaltes de la zone de Maka (Dschang,
ouest-Cameroun). D.I.P.E.S II thesis, Yaoundé, (2012), 70p + annex
The studied material is classified as a gravelly sandy-clay 4. Ananfouet Djeufack, C.Y.: Cartographie et caractérisation géotech-
with a well graded grain size particle, average plasticity, of nique des sols développés sur roches volcaniques de la ville de
the class A-2-7(0) according to the HRB classification and as Dschang, Master thesis, Falculty of sciences, University of
such being part of gravels and sandy silt or clayey. Dschang, Dschang, 89p (2012)
5. Autret, P.: Latérites et graveleux latéritiques, Document of the
In accordance with the practical guide for the dimen- Institute of Science and Technology Equipment and Environment
sioning pavements for tropical countries, it is realised that for Development, France, 38p (1983)
the lateritic gravels of Batoufam are usable for pavement
[email protected]
Identification of Geotechnical Properties
of Weak Rock Masses and Stockpiles
at Tunçbilek Open Pit Mining
and the Related Slope Stability Analyses
Zeynal Abiddin Erguler, Huseyin Karakus, I. Goktay Ediz,

and Cem Sensogut
Tunçbilek lignite basin situated in the western part of
Turkey has been increasingly excavated by open-pit and The Neogene aged Tunçbilek basin is generally known for
underground mining for a very long time to meet weak, thinly bedded, stratified and fractured rock masses.
Turkey’s energy demand. The blasted and then the Thus, a considerable time-dependent slope instabilities were
excavated stratified rock masses in this basin consist recorded at this basin due to low shear strength parameters as
mainly of clay-bearing rocks such as claystone, mud- well as decreases in these parameter with water content
stone, siltstone and marl. It was found that the strength increase and progressive disintegration behavior. The
and deformation properties of these clay-bearing rocks Neogene deposits in the Tunçbilek basin begin with the
decrease with the increase in water content. In addition, Beke formation reaching a thickness of about 1000 m.
time-dependent attenuations were also recorded in these The Beke formation consists of pebbles, sandstones, mud-
mechanical properties due to disintegration caused stones and thin lignite levels. Tunçbilek formation involving
by physical weathering processes. Therefore, several lignite layers, which can be economically produced by
time-dependent instabilities were observed in the slopes open-cast and underground mining techniques, conformably
left after open pit mining activities. This study aimed to overlies Beke formation. This lignite containing formation
determine the design parameters of weak rock masses and mainly consists of clay-bearing rocks such as marl and
stockpiles at Tunçbilek basin and then to recommend safe claystone, which indicates very fast disintegration and
slope geometry for open pit mining activities. For this decomposition behavior against physical and chemical
purpose, the geotechnical properties of rock masses and weathering processes, sandstone, conglomerate and lime-
stockpiles were obtained based on in situ tests, charac- stone levels. The lignite bearing levels are found inside this
terizations and back analyses of instabilities. basin extending to NE and SW directions.
Due to the water sensitive and disintegration character-

Keywords istics of rock masses studied, identifying representative
Instability Open-pit mining Slope stability engineering parameters for these geomaterials requires
Stockpile Weak rock mass comprehensive field-based evaluations. Thus, in order to
collect the required data to incorporate with slope stability
analyses of rock masses and stockpiles in Tunçbilek basin, a
research involving in situ tests, measurements and observa-
tions, back analyses of previous instabilities and data mining
on obtained variables was carried out. In addition to these
field investigations, rock mass classification systems and
empirical failure criteria were also used for this particular
purpose. The results of all of these geotechnical studies and
Z. A. Erguler (&) H. Karakus
Geological Engineering Department, Dumlupinar University, associated stability analyses were discussed in the following
43270 Kütahya, Turkey sections.
I. G. Ediz C. Sensogut
Mining Engineering Department, Dumlupinar University,
43270 Kütahya, Turkey

[email protected]
130 Z. A. Erguler et al.
2 Geotechnical Properties of Rock Masses Beside the rock masses, the geotechnical properties of
and Stockpiles stockpiles produced after open-pit and underground mining
activities were also significant to achieve safety condition for
The slopes of open-pit mining activities were excavated slopes excavated in the Tunçbilek basin. Therefore, the wet
within weak rocks masses involving claystone, mudstone, unit weight of stockpiles was measured at field conditions by
siltstone, marl, clayey limestone, limestone, conglomerate digging large-sized trenches. After in situ volume and
and sandstone. Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) was collected samples mass basic measurements, the unit weight
utilized as an input parameter in rock mass classification of stockpiles changes was determined to be between 17.9
system. UCS of these weak geological units were predicted and 21.3 kN/m3 with a mean value of 20.1 kN/m3. Since it is
by performing the needle penetrometer test [3]. In addition very difficult to accurately determine the shear strength
to the strength of rock materials, degree of weathering, parameters of stockpiles using small-size samples in labo-
geomechanical properties of discontinuities (type, dip, frac- ratory, it was decided to use the average of previously
ture frequency, roughness, aperture, and infilling) were also published cohesion and internal friction angle values given
very important for understanding the failure behavior of rock in Table 1 in slope stability analyses of these geomaterials.
masses. These properties were measured during field
investigation. Furthermore, for the fractures quantitative
description, Rock Quality Designation (RQD) values of rock 3 Limit Equilibrium Analyses of Slopes
masses were also determined as 20–93% with a mean value and Stockpiles
of 63.1% by using core boxes of 20 different core runs of a
drilling program in Tunçbilek basin. Based on the methods of Bishop simplified, Janbu simplified
Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system recommended by and Fellenius, limit equilibrium analyses were performed
Bieniawski et al. [1] was also used for the engineering using the data given in Table 1 and considering the earth-
classification of the rock masses encountered within this quake effect. In order to be used in the limit equilibrium
project. By utilizing charts and graphs proposed by Bieni- analysis, geological cross-sections with 19 different direc-
awski et al. [1] and using the data obtained from field and tions were taken to provide a reliable representation of the
laboratory studies, the RMR values for clay-bearing rock slopes within the study site. In addition, three more topo-
levels (e.g., marl, claystone etc.) and other geological units graphical cross-sections were prepared from stockpiles for
involving conglomerate-sandstone were approximated as 42 associated analyses in this geomaterial. The dynamic limit
and 38, respectively. The shear strength parameters (cohe- equilibrium analyses were performed on slopes in different
sion and internal friction angle) were predicted from RMR geometries having overall slopes angles ranging between
values of associated geological materials. When the 25° and 45° for all the geological cross-sections by fixing the
approaches recommended by Bieniawski et al. [1] were bench height to 9 m. As a result of these analyses, the
applied to rock masses, the cohesion of clay-bearing rocks proposed design geometry for stable slopes excavated in
changes was found to be between 200 and 300 kPa and the undisturbed rock masses involving both sequences of
internal friction angle of the same rock units to range clay-bearing rock and conglomerate-sandstone unit is illus-
between 25° and 35°. For geomaterials mainly involving trated in Fig. 1. Limit equilibrium analyses involving
conglomerate and sandstone, the cohesion and internal investigation on the slope stability of stockpiles were per-
friction angle are 100–200 kPa and 15° and 25°, respec- formed by taking average shear strength parameters given in
tively. In addition to the RMR system [1], Hoek-Brown Table 1 and considering various slope geometries. The
failure criteria [2] were also used to understate the failure results of these analyses on three different topographical
behavior of rock masses in this study site. The results cross-sections of deposited stockpiles indicate that any
obtained by using the RMR system [1] and Hoek-Brown decrease in factor of safety is mainly controlled by an
failure criteria [2] are summarized in Table 1. increase in bench height of stockpiles. When all the analyses
Table 1 Input parameters used Parameters Stockpile Rock mass I Rock mass II
for slope stability analyses of rock
masses and stockpiles c (kPa) 20.5 (5–35.9) 200–300 100–200
/ (°) 32.3 (23.6–41) 25–35 15–25
c′(kPa) – 80–237 65 (27–94)
/′(°) – 24.6–40.6 17 (12.8–26.1)
c (kN/m3) 20.1 (17.9–21.3) 22.6 22.6
c: cohesion; /: internal friction angle, c′: effective cohesion; /′: effective internal friction angle; c: unit
weight; Rock mass I: clay-bearing rocks; Rock mass II: conglomerate-sandstone
[email protected]
Identification of Geotechnical Properties of Weak Rock Masses … 131
Fig. 1 The geometry proposed

for the slopes excavated in
undisturbed rock masses
are considered, the stable condition for the deposition of be safely deposited if average bench height, width and
stockpiles can be proposed as 30 m, 40 m and 36° for the angles are kept as 30 m, 40 m and 36°, respectively.
bench height, width and angle, respectively.
Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial
support of the Western Lignite Corporation (WLC).
4 Conclusion
The representative cohesion and internal friction angle of References

rock masses consisting of clay-bearing rocks were specified
as 200 kPa and 30°, respectively. However, relatively lower 1. Bieniawski, Z.T.: Engineering Rock Mass Classifications.
shear strength parameters (150 kPa and 25°) were obtained Wiley-Interscience, New York, 264 p (1989)
2. Hoek, E., Carranza-Torres, C.T., Corkum, B.: Hoek–Brown failure
for the conglomerate and sandstone-rich sequences. Based criterion—2002 edition. In: Hammah, R., Bawden, W., Curran, J.,
on the given shear strength parameters, it was found that the Telesnicki, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Fifth North American Rock
overall slope angle might be 32° with a haul road width of Mechanics Symposium (NARMS-TAC), University of Toronto
30 m and bench width of 8 m. The unit weight of stockpiles Press, Toronto, pp. 267–273 (2002)
3. Ulusay, R., Erguler, Z.A.: Needle penetration test: evaluation of its
ranges from 17.9 to 21.3 kN/m3 with a mean value of 20.1 performance and possible uses in predicting strength of weak and
kN/m3 based on the in situ measurements. The dynamic limit soft rocks. Eng. Geol. 149–150, 47–56 (2012)
equilibrium analyses results indicate that the stockpiles can
[email protected]
Review on the Mechanical Behavior
of Soil-Structure Interface
Xue-Ying Yang, Li Yuan, and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract deformation mechanism, draw the stress-strain relationship

At the soil-structure interface, there are some frontier curve, obtain the rule of stress distribution and interface
problems, such as non-linearity, large deformation and displacement at the soil-structure interface, propose relevant
local discontinuity, which is one of the core topics in the constitutive models, and finally commit to the needs of
study of soil and structure interaction. This paper numerical simulation and practical engineering.
introduced the progress and present situation of the This paper introduced the progress and presented situa-
mechanical behavior of soil-structure interface in laboration of the mechanical behavior of soil-structure interface in
tory test, constitutive model and numerical simulation, a laboratory test, constitutive model and numerical simula-
analyses the problems that have not been studied in depth tion, analyzed the problems that have not been studied in
and pointed out that the determination of thickness depth, and predicted the future research trends.
of the contact surface, the sensitivity analysis of the
mechanical parameters of the contact surface and the
dynamic contact questions would be the main research 2 Soil-Structure Interface Shear Tests
trend in the future.
Nowadays, the shear apparatus mainly includes direct shear
apparatus and single shear apparatus. However, the direct

Keywords
Soil-structure interface Mechanical behavior shear apparatus suffers from many defects such as fixed
Shear test shear plane, the decrease of the shear area and so on. Though
the single shear apparatus has overcome these defects, it was
also subject to the uneven distribution of shear stress and
strain in process, and failed to accurately reflect the interface
1 Introduction behavior. Therefore, many scholars began to adopt a tor-
sional shear apparatus or a resonant column apparatus to
In underground engineering, soil-structure interaction prob- improve the test process. In order to reduce the size effect,
lems are widespread. However, under the load action, the the test instrument is also developing towards large-scale
mechanical response at the interface between soil and and smartness. For example, Zhang et al. have recently
structure is neither different from soil nor structural material. designed a new automated large-scale apparatus (3DMAS)
It involves nonlinear, large deformation, local discontinuity for 3-D cyclic testing, photographic and schematic views of
and other mechanical frontiers, which makes contact surface the 3DMAS are presented in Figs. 1 and 2 [1].
research extremely difficult. In addition, more attention has been paid to the related
At present, the research thoughts on the soil-structure macro and micro testing technology and the intellectualiza-
interface study are as follows: Through the laboratory test tion of data acquisition systems. Hoping to reproduce the
method, research focuses on the study of the failure and characteristics of the true three-dimensional, discontinuous,
large deformation and diversity of soil-structure interface.
X.-Y. Yang L. Yuan (&) Z.-D. Cui
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep
Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil
Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology,
Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

[email protected]
134 X.-Y. Yang et al.
model of coarse-grained soil-structure interface was been

established by Zhang [6]. It can be used to describe the
interface mechanical response under monotonous and cyclic
loading. Wang derived the 3 parameter-model of the inter-
face stress and strain relationship from the microcosmic
angle, which has been proved by mathematical principles
and experimental results [7].
Although there are various interface constitutive models,
the Clough-Duncan hyperbolic model and the ideal rigid-
plastic model are widely used in numerical simulation. The
main reason is that the model is simple and the parameters
are easy to determine. The elastic-plastic model develops
quickly, but a simple and practical model is not widely
Fig. 1 Photograph of the 3DMAS
accepted. The interface damage model has just been devel-
oped in recent years, and has been applied in some large
projects; however, it is still concentrated in a few scientific
research colleges and universities and needs further
promotion.
4 Numerical Simulation of Soil-Structure

Interface
Under load, the soil or structure will slip or crack at the

contact surface. The traditional method of continuous
deformation analysis will no longer apply to the study of this
problem. And as commonly known there is a shear zone
between the different materials, which has a given thickness.
Here is an example for gravelly soil-structure interface (see
Fig. 3) [8]. To simulate these engineering and physical
problems, the existing methods mainly include finite and
Fig. 2 3-D schematic diagram of the 3DMAS discrete element methods.
The current finite element method to solve contact
problems divides the contact area into several elements with
3 Constitutive Model of Soil-Structure simple shape, and through the specified constitutive relation
Interface of contact elements simulates the interface mechanical
behavior. These interface elements mainly contain two
The constitutive model of soil-structure interface is the spring node elements, zero-thickness element, thickness
comprehensive reflection of macroscopic mechanical prop- element and contact friction element. Zero-thickness Good-
erties of soil materials or structures. At present, it mainly man element and thin-layer Desai element are the most
consists of nonlinear elastic, elastic-plastic, rigid-plastic, common.
coupling, damage and three-parameter models. The discrete element method is used from micro aspect
As early as 1970s, Clough and Duncan put forward a to solve the discontinuous media problem. The process
hyperbolic relationship based on the direct shear test results,
which represented the nonlinear elastic model [2]. Subse-
quently, Brandt introduced a simplified elastic-plastic model,
which was described by 2 polygons [3]. Then, Yin et al.
thought that the interface failure form should be rigid-plastic
[4]. However, both them could not reflect the nonlinear,
hardening, strain softening and dilatancy characteristics
during the interface deformation. For the first time, Desai
et al. applied the basic theory of damage mechanics to the Fig. 3 Schematic of an interface layer in soil-structure interaction
interface constitutive relation [5]. The elastic-plastic damage system
[email protected]
Review on the Mechanical Behavior of … 135
includes three steps: generating particles and making them (4) To strengthen the study on dynamic contact problem. In
compact, defining contact type and material properties, the present numerical calculation, there are few
defining the boundary and initial conditions. Besides, it is dynamic constitutive models of soil-structure interface
complex and difficult to match the mechanical parameters of that can be selected, and the interface dynamic
mesoscopic granular materials with macroscopic samples. mechanical behaviors are not sufficient.
Nowadays, discrete element software, represented by Parti-
cle Flow Code (PFC), has been widely applied to the study
of soil-structure interaction problems. Acknowledgements This work was supported by National Key
Research and Development Program (Grant No. 2017YFC1500702).
5 Prospect References
Although many achievements have been made in the study 1. Zhang, J.M., et al.: An automated large-scale apparatus for 3-D
of soil-structure interface at home and abroad, there are still cyclic testing of soil-structure interfaces. Geotech. Test. J. 41(3),
many problems to be further studied: 459–472 (2018)
2. Clough, G.W., Duncan, J.M.: Finite element analyses of retaining
wall behavior. J. Soil. Mech. Found. Div. ASCE 97(12), 1657–1673
(1) In the shear testing system, the research on larger size, (1971)
complex stress path, high stress state, special soil, pre- 3. Brandt, J.R.T.: Behavior of Soil-concrete Interface. University of
cise macro and micro measurement technology and Alberta, Edmonton (1985)
4. Yin, Z.Z., et al.: Deformation and mathematical simulation of
micro failure mechanism should be further strengthened.
contact surfaces between soil and structural materials. Chin.
(2) The determination of the interface thickness should be J. Geotech. Eng. 16(3), 14–22 (1994)
further studied. With different soil-structure interfaces, 5. Desai, C.S., et al.: Cyclic testing and modeling interfaces.
the interface thickness is different. Therefore, more J. Geotech. Eng. Div. ASCE 111(6), 793–815 (1985)
6. Zhang, G.: Study on static and dynamic characteristics and
experiments should be carried out to establish corre-
elastoplastic damage theory of interface between coarse-grained
sponding databases and summarize the regularities. soil and structure. Tsinghua University, Beijing (2002)
(3) Carrying out more sensitivity analysis of the interface 7. Wang, W.: Study on soil-structure interface model based on
mechanical parameters. Standardizing the influence potential energy dissipating principle and its application. Hohai
University, Nanjing (2006)
factors and quantifying the influence degree, so as to
8. Saberi, M., et al.: Constitutive modeling of gravelly soil-structure
define the interface parameters and ranges more com- interface considering particle breakage. J. Eng. Mech. 143(8),
prehensively and precisely. 04017044 3 (2017)
[email protected]
Influence of Aggressive Groundwater Stream
in Substrate for Lateral Loaded Piles
Janusz Kozubal and Marek Wyjadłowski
This article described and defined the sulphate corrosion
effects. This type of corrosion is one of the most The approach adopted in this work was dedicated to situa-
important factors that limit the lifespan of concrete tions where the horizontal displacements of the pile caps are
construction. Harsh environmental conditions have a critical. A description of the material by a reduction in its
large impact on the operational costs of concrete piles compression strength replaced in this study with an analysis
or columns. The presented phenomena are non- of the crack propagation more appropriate for concrete
deterministic; therefore, the reliability analysis was used structures. Direct studies of corrosion involving concrete
for the assessment of the impact. The strength character- sampling and chemical groundwater analysis or the perfor-
istics of the soil around the construction modeled as mance of non-destructive testing in the case of corrosive
one-dimensional random field, and corrosion defined by a burns are rare and difficult to carry out [1]. The motivation to
set of random variables. Fick’s second law described the present the reliability assessment of concrete piles originated
penetration of sulphate ingress into the concrete material from the evaluation of real foundation cases. Problematic
with explicit numerical solutions for boundary conditions foundations were located in areas containing substrates
and an increase in the transition factor under the progress consisting of non-bearing sediments and seasonal fluctua-
of corrosion. This process was solved in an analytical and tions in groundwater levels. The propagation of cracks and
numerical way to calculate corrosion, generate random material deterioration caused a chemical aggression [2, 3].
fields and determine the reliability. A numerical example Reliability problems were defined in many previous studies,
was provided to illustrate the proposed method to prevent i.e., [4], and in the precursor [5] approach to geotechnical
unexpected structural failures during pile service life. The problems. The one-dimensional random field was associated
proposed methodology can assist designers and the with the analyzed substrate trough non-linear stiffness in the
management of the existing piles in the decision making general homogenic layer.
concerning interventions that ensure safe and serviceable The task was modelled numerically using the finite ele-
operations of a geotechnical construction. ment method with elastic material for pile subjected to
elasto-plastic material stretched on one dimensional random

Keywords field with solution of Bernoulli’s deflection of beam from the

Concrete piles Sulphate corrosion Safety level p-y method. The numerical variant of the task was previ-
Reliability Geotechnics Horizontal load ously presented by [6, 7].
2 Sulphate Corrosion in Time-Dependent

Formula as Reliability Process
In the present article the percolation model was used to

describe the micromechanical sulphate corrosion process,
J. Kozubal (&) M. Wyjadłowski the progress measure is a concrete crack density correlated
Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wyb. St.
Wyspiańskiego 27, 50–370, Wrocław, Poland with concentration of sulphate ions. It is assumed that the
e-mail: [email protected] high density of fissures allows the concept of percolation.

[email protected]
138 J. Kozubal and M. Wyjadłowski
The diffusion coefficient and the mechanical characteristics

of the concrete can be described as a set of threshold con-
centrations like conductivity percolation threshold, in which
micro cracks are connected to form continuous channels that
provide fluid flow. Concentration less than kth without
wasted water transport; kdg rigidity percolation threshold, in
which mutual influence of connected channels of microcraks
causes a sharp loss of material stiffness. In the presented
method, deterioration ingress was described with the
assumption of the same values as Kth and Kdg. The factor of
diffusion in concrete has got direct dependency on porosity.
The model of the ingress of sulphate in concrete is function
of time and depth under Fick’s second diffusion law. The
authors created an axial symmetrical model, to describe the
degradation process of the concrete pile. The boundary Fig. 1 The value of reliability index b as surfaces depending on
conditions and penetration process into concrete were pro- corrosion depth, corroded edge along pile and the assumed limitations
vided to the numerical model. The model was written and of a displacement pile cap {8, 10 and 12 mm}
solved in the FlexPDE program where a and js coefficients
were calibrated to the results of laboratory experiments
results from literature data for two ions concentrations 10 3 Results
and 20% [8].
Continuous corrosion reduced the thickness of the pile col-
umn over time as probability process. The function of the
2.1 The Mechanical Model Pile—Soil log-normal probability distributions was fit to the results of
corrosion for continuous description of its progress in time.
For a pile with a varied diameter into substrate with random This is a reliability process solved independently from
stiffness, the p-y model was used. The soil stiffness was deformation calculation.
assumed to be dependent on depth z under terrain as non- An impact of the destructed zone depth and length for the
linear function. The stiffness of the pile determined the reliability index is shown in Fig. 1.
elementary stiffness for each of its segments. Taking into We can observe two important phenomena: a decrease in
account a depth of elements in the later part of the calcula- the limit restriction leads to higher values of the safety factor
tion, the beam segments were connected to a zone covered and an increase of the depth of corrosion into material leads
by corrosion. A solution was obtained iteratively due to the to lower values of the safety factor. The derivative effect is
non-linear calculations in Mathematica in Wrocław Centre the occurrence of the falloff associated with the length of the
of Server Supercomputing. corrosion (in middle parts of each safety surface), and this
phenomenon has origins in pile mechanics coupled with
the soil. The two presented random elementary processes,
2.2 Corrosion as Non-deterministic Process the corrosion and the deflection of structure, are connected
by the corrosion depth variable.
The calculations performed using the Monte-Carlo method
based on 107 drawing number for progressive corrosion with
two selected random variables: C0 (ion concentration at pile 4 Discussion
skin) and k (time of corrosion attack per year). All the
random variables were defined as symmetrical probability This work was devised in response to the lack of general
beta distributions, they were scaled to domain divided by guidelines beyond design and classification rules for piles
mean value of random parameters [9]. and Controlled Modulus Columns. The complexity of the
[email protected]
Influence of Aggressive Groundwater Stream … 139
problem for horizontally loaded piles was described by the with time dependent processes is an answer to the main
following: an environment with progressive corrosion; question designers have about the dependency between
inhomogeneous material under destruction process; random limitations of head displacement conditions and time and
substrate material as a mechanical substrate. safety.
A simple procedure has been presented in this work and
can be used for evaluating the reliability of piles in the face
of ongoing material degradation. Moreover, we made some References
simplifying assumptions to emphasize pre-selected effects:
random fields that modelled the soil properties are one 1. Mori, Y., Ellingwood, B.R.: Reliability based service life assess-
dimensional; the model of soil-column interaction needs ment of aging concrete structures. J. Struc. Eng. 119, 1600–1621
further studies for full representation as a FEM 3D model; (1993)
2. Luping, T., Andersen, A.: Chloride ingress data from five years
the corrosion process is only restricted to pure concrete field exposed in a Swedish marine environment. In: 2nd Interna-
material; investigators focus on controlling the rust creation tional Workshop on Testing and Modelling the Chloride Ingress
mechanism [10]. into Concrete (pp. 1–15), Paris (2000)
The results are consistent with engineering intuition. The 3. Mahmoodian, M., Alani, A.M.: Multi-failure mode assessment of
buried concrete pipes subjected to time-dependent deterioration,
presented processes during the life span of the construction using system reliability analysis. J. Fail. Anal. Prev. 13, 634–642
consider time as next operating factor for engineers or it (2013)
involves reducing the level of confidence for existing objects. 4. Ekici, A., Huvaj, N.: Validation of 3D finite element solution for
Three main conclusions can be drawn from this study: Cor- laterally loaded passive piles. 8th European Conference on
Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering, June 2014.
rosion provides positive results of reliability corresponding to https://doi.org/10.1201/b17017-117
experimental results. We observed that a decrease in the 5. Biernatowski, K., Pula, W.: Probabilistic analysis of the stability of
reliability index is connected to both dimensions of the cor- massive bridge abutments using simulation methods. Struct. Saf. 5,
roded zone and time for its parameters that are typical and 1–15 (1988)
6. Bauer, J., Kozubal, J., Puła, W., Wyjadłowski, M.: Application of
common in field testing; the algorithm for generating random HDMR method to reliability assessment of a single pile subjected
field GRF is fast and convenient for solving the to lateral load. Stud. Geotech. et Mech. 34, 37–51 (2012)
one-dimensional problems. It established the assumed spatial 7. Muszyński, Z., Rybak J.: Horizontal displacement control in
correlation of a random variable; the modified response course of lateral loading of a pile in a slope. In: IOP Publishing
Ltd IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering,
surface method in this same level of quality produces low vol. 245, pp. 1–8 (art. 032002) (2017)
values of probability with lower time consumption in the 8. Ming, F., Deng, Y.S., Li, D.Q.: Mechanical and durability
calculation process and combines the advantages of the direct evaluation of concrete with sulphate solution corrosion. Adv.
methods from the Monte Carlo family, discarding problems Mater. Sci. Eng. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/6523878
(Article ID 6523878)
connected with first and second order methods. 9. Hong, H.: Assessment of reliability of aging reinforced concrete
The use of ground improvement as piles provide cost and structures. J. Struct. Eng. ASCE 126, 1458–1465 (2000)
time savings and a more sustainable solution for the con- 10. Stewart, M., Rosowsky, D.: Structural safety and serviceability of
struction of foundations on sites with poor quality soils concrete bridges subject to corrosion. ASCE J. Infrastruct. Syst.
41, 146–155 (1998)
compared to more traditional solutions. The presented
approach to measuring a sensitive complex system reliability
[email protected]
Experimental Investigation of the Effect
of Internal Erosion on the Behavior
of Collapsible Soils
Med Salah Laouar, Adel Djellali, and Abdelkader Houam
Abstract a major problem of civil engineering. The unpredictable

This is an experimental study on an actual topic of nature of the collapse, which can get dangerous ampleness,
collapsible soils, which has offered a range of diversified does not allow the use of purely deterministic approaches.
applications. These soils are characterized by the unsat- Indeed, the comprehension of the collapse phenomenon, of
uration and the abrupt collapse after wetting, located in its causes and mechanisms is essential. Various theoretical
many parts of the world, especially when they are arid or approaches and experimental methods for predicting this
semi-arid. These types of soils are located in a significant type of soils are in progress, offering some remedies for
number of countries in particular those of the northern geotechnical problems identified with these soils [1]. Shows
hemisphere between the 30th and 55th parallels as well as that the most vulnerable soils to the suffusion are
countries of South America. The cycles of prolonged well-graded, and that the internal erosion is one of the main
dryness which occurred in the past years on several causes of failure of hydraulic structures. According to [2], 71
occasions and in several regions of the world modified the cases of internal erosion counted in France between 1970
parameters governing the behavior of the soil and gave and 1997. The results of this experimental work conducted
rise to new collapsible soils zones. The results of the tests on reconstituted soils, composed of sand and kaolin in dif-
of this experimental study, conducted on reconstituted ferent proportions, indicate the influence of the initial
soils in a large number of tests, indicated the influence of moisture content, the state of compactness and the hydraulic
the parameters retained on the collapse potential, the gradient over the collapse potential and fines migration.
migration of fines and the ultrasonic speeds. Similarly, the They reveal a certain number of aspects of the
fine particles played an important role in the formation of hydro-mechanical behavior of collapsible soils and show the
macroporous loose structures. prediction tool of the migration of fine particles.

Keywords
Collapsible soil Migration Fine particles 2 Properties of Materials and Experimental
Hydraulic gradient Program
2.1 The Sand
1 Introduction The sand used for soils reconstitution was washed river sand
extracted from the river of Mellegue in the Tebessa region.
The prevention of natural or industrial risks is an integral Given the low percentage of its fine content, it was used for
part of the concerns of the research teams, in this sense, the making concrete. The grain size of the sand was between 2
dimensioning of works able to repose on collapsible soils is and 0.08 mm and 2.83% of the particles’ weight was less
than 80 µm. The chemical composition and the geotechnical
M. S. Laouar (&) A. Djellali characteristics of this sand are represented in Tables 1 and 2,
Civil Engineering Department, Larbi Tebessi University, respectively.
12002 Tebessa, Algeria
A. Houam
Civil Engineering, Department College of Engineering,
King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

[email protected]
142 M. S. Laouar et al.
Table 1 Chemical composition Composition SiO2 FeO3 Al2O3 CaO MgO NaCl P.F
of the adopted sand
Content (%) 14.28 3.44 2.81 43.40 3.62 0.29 31.20
Table 2 Geotechnical cs (g/cm3) cdmin (g/cm3) cdmax (g/cm3) emin emax Cu Cc Es (%) Grain shape
characteristics of the tested sand
2.67 1.34 1.73 0.54 0.85 2.29 0.96 69.25 Rounded
2.2 The Kaolin

3 Results and Discussion
The used Kaolin in the soils reconstitution (<80 µm) was
taken from Tamazert deposit in the region of Elmilia-Algeria. 3.1 Oedometer Tests
It is generally used in the manufacture of fine porcelain used
as raw materials for pottery and ceramic products. The The collapse potentials obtained from various tested soils
chemical composition and the kaolin geotechnical charac- vary as follows: for soil 1, from 0.88 to 14%; for the soil 2,
teristics of are presented in Tables 3 and 4. from 0.95 to 15.9%; for the soil 3, from 3.45 to 17.2%; for
the soil 4, from 3.95 to 18.65%; for the soil 5, from 4.5 to
19.61%; The collapse criteria reported by [3] show that the
2.3 Reconstituted Soils tested soils are susceptible to collapse.
The tests were performed on five reconstituted soils con-

sisting of fine particles of kaolin and sand in various pro- 3.2 Influence of Fine Particles on the Potential
portions. The geotechnical properties of the same soils are of Collapse
presented in Table 5.
Experimental Program It is clear that whatever the values of compaction energy
The experimental program included several numbers of (E) and of the hydraulic gradient (i), the soil5, containing the
oedometer, internal erosion and ultrasonic tests. The retained highest quantity of fine particles, exhibits the greatest col-
parameters in each test series and the number of tests are lapse susceptibility, Fig. 1. The compaction energy and the
detailed in Table 6. hydraulic gradient influences the behavior of the tested soils
Table 3 Tamazert kaolin Composition SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 CaO MgO K2O Na2O
chemical composition
Content (%) 71.51 18.48 0.58 0.15 0.22 0.26 3.15 0.10
Table 4 Kaolin geotechnical Specific surface Ø < 2 µm (%) wL (%) wp (%) IP (%) Gs Ac
characteristics
15 m2/g 42 65.85 39.34 26.42 2.45 0.63
Table 5 Reconstituted soils Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4 Soil 5

geotechnical properties
Kaolin proportion (%) 10 20 30 40 50
Sand proportion (%) 90 80 70 60 50
GS 2.46 2.56 2.59 2.65
wL (%) 16.47 18.47 26.63 28.97 35.37
wp (%) 11.03 11.95 14.77 15.37 20.87
3
dmax (g/cm ) 1.84 1.96 1.82 1.95 2.04
wopt (%) 13.88 12.82 14.67 9.43 8.62
Ø < 2 µm (%) 4.91 7.03 9.84 14.12 16.74
[email protected]
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Internal … 143
Table 6 Tests program and Test type Retained parameters Number of tests
parameters
Oedometer Moisture contents: 2, 4, 6 and 8% 60
Compaction degrees: 20, 40 and 60 blows/layer
Hydraulic gradient: 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60
Internal erosion Moisture contents: 4% 15
Hydraulic gradient: 0, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15
Ultrasonic Moisture contents: 2, 4, 6 and 8% 12
Hydraulic gradient: 10
Fig. 1 Variation of collapse 20 E=20, i=15

potential with percentage of fine 18
particles 16 E=20, i=30
Collapse Potential
14 E=20, i=45
12
(%)
E=20, i=60
10
8 E=40, i=15
6 E=40, i=30
4
E=40, i=45
2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 E=40, i=60
Percentage of fine particles (%)
differently: for the same hydraulic gradient value, the 3.3 Influence of Moisture Content
increase of the compaction energy promotes the decrease of and Compaction Energy on the Ultrasonic
void volumes, the stability of the soil structure and the set- Speed
tlements’ reduction. Given that the increase of moisture
content by saturation decreases suction, at the same time it In view of the results obtained in the series of ultrasonic tests
favors the breaking of inter-granular bonds. The result is a Fig. 2, it should be noted that for all the tested soils, the
soil structure devoid of fines, rich in macrospores, suscep- ultrasonic speed is proportional with the initial moisture
tible to the collapse. content and the compaction energy. The findings mentioned
Fig. 2 Variation of ultrasonic N0 N0

speed with moisture content and
number of blows N1 N1
N2 N2
N3 N3
1100
Ultrasonic Speed (m/s)
1000
Ultrasonic Speed (m/s)
1000
900
900
800
800
700
700
600 600
500 500
400 400
0 2 4 6 8 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Moisture content (%) (So 5, E=60) Number of blows (Soil 1, w0=2%)
[email protected]
144 M. S. Laouar et al.
above were confirmed by representing in the same bench- relevant approach, that can be used to highlight the hetero-
mark the variation of ultrasonic speeds depending on the geneity of the soil, locate the voids volumes, pores and the
number of blows for all soils. state of compactness, on the one hand, and quantify and
monitor the process of internal erosion of the fine particles,
on the other hand.
4 Conclusion
The importance of this experimental study was the syn- References

chronization between the tests series. The internal erosion
tests show that the extraction of the fine particles under the 1. Chetti, A., Hazzab, A., Korichi, K.: Modélisation d’un écoulement
effect of hydraulic flow followed of the fines’ migration after diphasique érodant. Larhyss J. 9, ISSN 1112–3680 (2011)
eliminating the cohesion is the main cause of the soils’ 2. Fry, J.J., Degoutte, G.: L’érosion interne: typologie, détection et
réparation, Barrages et réservoirs, n°. 6, 26 p. Comité Français des
collapse. During the flood of collapsible soils the fine par- Grands Barrages (1997)
ticles move, in the direction of flow, through their structures 3. Ayadat, T., Ouali, S.: Identification des sols affaissables basée sur
from one level to another. The ultrasonic auscultation is a les limites d’Atterberg. Note Technique. Revue française de
new method for predicting the soil’s collapse. This is a very géotechnique (1999)
[email protected]
Study on the Deformation Properties
of Functionally Gradient Metro Tunnel
Lining Structure
Tong-Tong Zhang and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract reduced in some position of the lining structure. If the

In this article, a literature review about FGMs and a new deformation can meet the requirement, the construction of
idea were presented. In the past few years, the concept of the lining structure will greatly reduce the cost.
FGMs has been introduced in the geotechnical engineer-
ing; some scholars have done some research about it. On
this basis, this paper provided a new idea about the future 2 The Research Status on Mechanical
application of FGMs in geotechnical engineering. The Characteristics in the Functionally
results show that the functionally gradient lining structure Gradient Cylinder
can meet the deformation requirement when the elastic
modulus is reduced in some positions. In other words, the Some scholars used different forms of elastic modulus
functionally gradient lining structure can reduce the functions to analyze the internal force distribution of func-
material cost greatly. tionally graded cylinder. In general, the elastic modulus is
considered as a function of radius, and the Poisson’s ratio is
assumed to be a constant. By summarizing the literature, the

Keywords
FGMs Functionally gradient lining structure functions of elastic modulus along the radius can be roughly
Deformation Structure design divided into the following laws: linear law [4], power law
[5], exponential law [6] and other laws [7]. The specific
forms are shown as follows.
EðrÞ ¼ Ar þ B ð1Þ
1 Introduction
r a b r b
Great performance achievements are already well at hand for EðrÞ ¼ E0 r b or EðrÞ ¼ E0 or EðrÞ ¼ E0
ba a
the class of materials called composites, in which one type of ð2Þ
hybrid material is functionally gradient materials (FGMs)
EðrÞ ¼ E0 eð ba Þ or EðrÞ ¼ E0 eð b Þ
[1]. It is a new functional material whose composition and bðraÞ br
ð3Þ
structure change continuously from one direction to another,
making the properties of materials change continuously [2, EðrÞ ¼ E0 ð1 þ bs þ cs2 Þ
3]. The variations of composition and properties in con- ra ð4Þ
ventional composite materials and FGMs are shown as s¼
rb
Fig. 1.
The concept of functionally gradient material can intro- where a is the inner radius, b is the outer radius.
duced into the design of metro tunnel lining structure to To improve it, the elastic modulus function was set
reduce its cost. On this basis, the concrete mark can be changing with three parameters, and the Poisson’s ratio is
considered a constant, the specific form is shown as
T.-T. Zhang Z.-D. Cui (&) follows [8].
China Skate Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep
r
Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil EðrÞ ¼ E0 ½1 nð Þk ð5Þ
Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, b

[email protected]
146 T.-T. Zhang and Z.-D. Cui
Fig. 1 Variations of composition

and properties in conventional
composite materials and FGMs
To find the optimal elastic modulus function along the

radius in the functionally gradient cylinder, back analysis 4 Discussion
method was used based on a specific failure criterion [9].
From the above literature review, we can remark that a huge
number of research efforts has been made in the internal
3 The Research Status of FGMs force analysis of the FGMs under axisymmetric loads. In
in Geotechnical Engineering addition, the research of functionally gradient concrete metro
tunnel segments has made some achievements. However, no
The radial function of elastic modulus was derived in the one has analyzed the internal force and deformation of the
functionally gradient vertical shaft based on the equal stress functionally gradient metro tunnel lining structure under
difference ðrh rr Þ under uniform surrounding rock pres- non-axisymmetric loads.
sure [9]. The result is as follows. Above all, we can do some research in the deformation
properties of the functionally gradient metro tunnel lining
2ð1lÞ
1 2l 12l structure whose elastic modulus or other material properties
EðrÞ ¼ B lnðr=R1 Þ þ 1 ð6Þ change along a certain direction. In this point, the elastic
1l
modulus was set as changing with the angle, then, the
In addition, a function/structure integration model of deformation of functionally graded lining structures is
functionally gradient concrete segment was developed derived based on structural mechanics and material
where there is no interface between the functional layers mechanics. The deformation of homogeneous lining struc-
[10]. The schematic diagram of the model is as shown in ture was compared to the functionally gradient structure; the
Fig. 2. result is shown as Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of

integrated design of
function/structure
[email protected]
Study on the Deformation Properties of Functionally Gradient … 147
60 reduced in some positions (Fig. 3); therefore, the

homogeneous structure
functionally gradient lining structure can reduce the
50 functionally gradient structure
material cost while satisfying the normal use.
40
deformation(×10-4m)
30 Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D

20
10 References
0
1. Gupta, A., Talha, M.: Recent development in modeling and
-10 analysis of functionally graded materials and structures. Prog.
Aerosp. Sci. 79, 1–14 (2015)
-20 2. Koizumi, M.: FGM activities in Japan. Compos. Part B 28, 1–4
-0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 (1997)
α 3. Wang, S.S.: Fracture mechanics for delamination problems in
composite materials. Stud. Appl. Mech. 6(3), 369–383 (1983)
Fig. 3 The deformation of homogeneous lining structure and func- 4. Shi, Z., Zhang, T., Xiang, H.: Exact solutions of heterogeneous
tionally gradient lining structure elastic hollow cylinders. Compos. Struct. 79(1), 140–147 (2007)
5. Dai, H.L., Fu, Y.M., Dong, Z.: Exact solutions for functionally
graded pressure vessels in a uniform magnetic field. Int. J. Solids
Struct. 43(18), 5570–5580 (2006)
5 Conclusion 6. Tutuncu, N.: Stresses in thick-walled FGM cylinders with
exponentially-varying properties. Eng. Struct. 29(9), 2032–2035
(2007)
A critical review and a new idea was given in the present 7. Shokrolahi-Zadeh, B., Shodja, H.M.: Spectral equivalent inclusion
paper, in which the research status has been discussed and method: Anisotropic cylindrical multi-inhomogeneities. J. Mech.
some research results about the idea have been presented. Phys. Solids 56(12), 3565–3575 (2008)
The general conclusions are as follows. 8. Eraslan, N.A., Akis, T.: Elastoplastic response of a long function-
ally graded tube subjected to internal pressure. Turk. J. Eng.
Environ. Sci. 29(6), 361–368 (2005)
(1) The study of functionally gradient structures is mainly 9. Zhang, N.: Study on Bearing Behavior of Functionally Gradient
focused on mechanical properties while the mechanical Concrete Shaft Lining. North China Electric Power university
analysis of the functionally gradient metro tunnels lin- (2012)
10. Wang, X.G.: Research and Application of Functionally Gradient
ing structure has not started yet. Concrete Segment Used in River-crossing or Sea-crossing Tun-
(2) The functionally gradient lining structure can meet the nels. Wuhan University of Technology (2007)
deformation requirement when the elastic modulus is
[email protected]
Geological Context and Fracturing State
of the Rock Massifs of the Jijelian Ledge
(Northeast Algeria)
Chahra Yellas and Riad Benzaid
Abstract along this section of the road, whose morphology is domi-

The national road n°43 connecting the cities of Jijel and nated by very high reliefs and very steep and jagged cliffs.
Bejaia (North-East of Algeria) runs along the Mediter- The study of the state of fracturing of a rock mass of this
ranean and crosses over more than 50 km a ledge by statistical and numerical methods was addressed in
volcano-sedimentary rock mass. The road development this article to define the families of discontinuities and their
of this ledge is constantly apprehended for the needs of influence on the stability of the studied massif. Based on
road traffic. Several topographic and geotechnical con- geometric parameters proposed by the ISRM [5, 6], we
straints permanently threaten the rocky cliffs overlooking evaluated the state of fracturing of a rocky massif on a
the sea. In this article, we studied the fracturing of the sensitive section of the RN43 on the jijelian ledge.
rock by estimating its occurrence on the massif by
statistical methods. The large number of discontinuities
observed in the study area by the azimuthal orientation 2 Geological Context
measurements of the dip of the rupture plane of the
various joints recorded, the spacing and the distribution of Oriental Babors are part of the internal tellian domain. It is
the discontinuities served as a basis for our work. the geographical entity extending from West to East, and
from North to South, from the Mediterranean to the Babors
Mountains [7]. Several distinct tectonic units have been

Keywords
Fracturing Rock mass Discontinuity recognized [8]. These are characterized by their stratigraphic
Stereographic projection composition and metamorphic evolution, each unit being
subdivided into subunits (Fig. 1).
Geographically, Brek’s unit presents a long limestone
chine extending from south to north from the Adrar El-Alem
1 Introduction to the Tazeguezaout Mountain.
This limestone chine is interrupted in its middle by a
The behavior of a rock mass depends not only on the western basin of Beni Zegoual and an oriental basin drained
mechanical properties of the rock itself but also on the dis- by the river of Dar El-Oued and separated by a line of crest
continuities it contains [1–3]. The existence of structural joining the southern chine to the chains [7] (Fig. 2). The
planes induces discontinuity and anisotropy of the rock Brek-Gouraya tectonic unit located north-east of the
masses, which influences the mechanical properties and Baborien massif is crossed by the road section, subject our
infiltrations to a large extent [4]. study. It consists of a set of carbonate scales often cut into
The road section concerned by our study is part of the vertical strips.
national road n°43 (RN43) linking Jijel to Béjaia (Northeast
Algeria). Several instability points have been identified
3 Description and Morphology of the Massif
C. Yellas (&) R. Benzaid Our study focused on a mountainous massif with steep
Laboratoire de Génie Géologique (LGG), slopes often cut by cliffs. The discontinuities resulting from
Université Mohammed Seddik Benyahia- Jijel,
BP. 98, Ouled Aissa, 18000 Jijel, Algérie
fragmentation in blocks were diffused and favor the insta-
e-mail: [email protected] bility of the slope. Among the discontinuities found on the

[email protected]
150 C. Yellas and R. Benzaid
Fig. 1 Geological sketch of the Brek-Gouraya unit Oriental Babord, (from Obert [7], slightly modified)
Fig. 2 Interpretative geological

section of the Baborian tectonic
units, Jijel- Algeria
Fig. 3 Different lines of

measurement of the rock mass
magma massif of El-Aouana, faults, cracks, and joints discontinuities and further complicates the analysis of frac-
(Fig. 3). It is noteworthy to remark that within the Baborian turing inside the massif because of the lack of information
carbonates, the karst flow network adds to the series of on the extension of these cracks in depth.
[email protected]
Geological Context and Fracturing State of the Rock Massifs … 151
Fig. 4 Stereographic projection

results. a Measures taken on the
Aftis site, b measures taken on
the El-Aouana site
Petrographic and mineralogical studies on samples

from the El-Aouana and Aftis sites have revealed the exis- 5 Conclusion
tence of volcanic (dacite, andesite) and subvolcanic (micro
diorite, micro grano-diorite and diorite) adakitic facies [9]. The characterization of the network of discontinuities of a
rock mass crossed by a road layout requires a capital
importance for the durability of this infrastructure and the
4 Results and Discussion safety of the traffic.
As part of this work, we noticed that the intensity of the
The study of the natural discontinuities of the rock mass was fracturing cuts the studied massif into nested blocks. The
conducted according to several classes observed in the field. different families of identified discontinuities interfered in
Each discontinuity class is characterized by its azimuth, dip, the rock mass according to their respective directions. This
cliff spacing, infill and extension, although the latter is conditioned both the mechanical and hydraulic properties of
locally difficult to follow on the cliff overlooking the road. the massif as well as its stability.
Field data were processed by stereographic projection on the The stereographic projection applied to the magma massif
lower hemisphere of the Schmidt Canvas, the results of of El Aouana allowed us to evaluate the state of fragmen-
which are shown in the stereograms of Fig. 4. The stereo- tation of the front of the massif. Compiling the data and
graphic projection applied to the magma massif of using the stereonet revealed three dominant families of
El-Aouana clearly clarified the state of fragmentation of the vertical and oblique fractures namely, the N130 to N150
front of the massif. The compilation of data using the family, the N70 to N80 family of tectogenetic order related
stereonet revealed three dominant families of vertical and to the structuring phases of the chain and a last family of
oblique fracturing: the first family N130 to N150, the second fracture N10 to N20 which seems to be of less extension and
family N70 to N80 of tectogenetic order related to the presents one of the subhorizontal embeddings.
structuring phases of the chain and a third N10 to N20
fracture family appears to be of lesser extent, probably due
to the decompression of the ascending magmatic mass, and References
presents one of the subhorizontal dips.
The high density of the fractures indicates the proximity 1. Hoek, E., Martin, C.D.: Fracture initiation and propagation
of the regional shear zones linked to tertiary tectogenesis of in intact rock e A review. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 6, 287–
300 (2014)
the massif. Our work also allowed highlighting two different
2. Li, X., Zhu, W.: The damage fracture analysis of ajointed rock mass
fracturing states depending on the magmatic (El-Aouana and its application in engineering. Eng. Fract. Mech. 43(2), 165–I
site) or sedimentary (Aftis site) nature of the massifs. 70 (1992)
[email protected]
152 C. Yellas and R. Benzaid
3. Singhal, B.B.S., Gupta, R.P.: Fractures and discontinuities. In: 7. Obert, D.: Etude géologique des babors orientaux (Domaine
Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks, 2nd edn. Springer, tellien, Algérie) Ph.D. thesis, University of Paris 6, Paris, France
Heidelberg (2010) (1981)
4. Chen, W.Z., Yang, J.P., Tan, X.J., Yu, H.D.: Study on mechanical 8. Leikine, M., Obert, D., Bellier J.-P.: Integration des Babors aux
parameters of fractured rock masses. Sci. China Tech. Sci. 54(1), nappes telliennes; existence d’un metamorphisme ante-nappe.
140–146 (2011) Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France S7-XVII(5), 764–
5. ISRM: International Society for Rock Mechanics. Suggested methods 772 (1975)
for the quantitative description of discontinuities in rock masses. Int. 9. Benali, H., Semroud, B., Belanteur, O.: Sur la présence d’Adakites à
J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 15, 319–368 (1997) El Aouana (Algérie). Première Conférence Internationale de
6. Kimour, M., Serradj, T.: Characterization of geological rock mass Géologie Africaine, Assiut, Egypte (1999)
case of the Socar Heliopolis – Guelma, Algeria Aggregate Quarry.
Proc. Earth Planet. Sci. 15, 205–212 (2015)
[email protected]
Engineering Geological Assessment
Using Geochemical, Mineralogical
and Petrographic Analysis Along
the Riyadh Metro Line 3 (Saudi Arabia)
Manuel Cueto, Carlos López-Fernández, Luis Pando, and Daniel Arias
Abstract framework of the largest metro project ever built from

Anticipating the geotechnical constraints for construction scratch in the world. The Riyadh Metro Project totals
is necessary to ensure the viability of engineering and 176 km, with 85 stations and 7 depots. Completion is
building projects, especially in challenging geological expected to be by the end of 2018. In addition to the 342
contexts such as Riyadh. This paper shows the use of boreholes and geophysical surveys (39 km of integrated
geological identification tests to detect and assess hazards seismic refraction, electrical resistivity and ground penetra-
along the Line 3 of the Riyadh Metro Project, which is the tion radar), geochemical X-ray fluorescence (XRF), miner-
largest metro project ever built from scratch. A total of alogical X-ray diffraction (XRD) and petrographic analysis
475 samples of soil and rock were chemically, miner- (PA) were also carried out to assess the potential hazards
alogically and petrographically analyzed prior to con- identified along L3. Consequently, preventive and corrective
struction. The obtained results enabled the successful measures were implemented in order to avoid future
assessment of potential geotechnical hazards such as geotechnical problems. The number of geological identifi-
collapse, swelling, stickiness and abrasiveness along Line cation tests carried out was almost certainly higher than ever
3. These results were essential to consequently implement in engineering, due to the project importance and the com-
corrective measures during construction. plex geological settings of the site.

Keywords
2 Geological Setting

Engineering geology Geotechnical hazard
Riyadh Metro line 3
Riyadh is located in the center of the Arabian Peninsula
belonging to the Interior Homocline of the stable Arabian
Shelf that crops out in a great curved belt flanking the
1 Introduction eastern margin of the Arabian Shield [1]. Metro Line 3 runs
through Late Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous carbonate rocks,
Geological constraints are one of the main causes of con- which from bottom to top are: Jubaila Formation, Arab
struction delay and excessive costs in large infrastructure Formation (A, B, C and D members), Hith Formation and
projects. In engineering geological studies, it is crucial to Sulaiy Formation (Fig. 1). In L3, even though karst is the
understand the soils and rocks’ chemical and mineralogical most threatening geo-hazard [2], other potential dangers
composition. These materials can produce processes of were identified prior to construction such us swelling,
swelling, aggressiveness, etc., resulting in bad ground con- stickily-clay, mixed-face conditions, etc.
ditions. This article aimed to examine the main geological
hazards identified within Line 3 (L3), which is the longest
line under construction in the KSA capital (41 km) in the 3 Methodology
M. Cueto (&) A number of 475 rock and soil samples were collected from
IDOM, Avda. Monasterio de El Escorial 4, 28049 Madrid, Spain
borehole cores (466) and open outcrops (9) along the entire
L3 with special emphasis on the underground section
C. López-Fernández L. Pando D. Arias
Department of Geology, University of Oviedo, Jesús Arias de
through Riyadh’s downtown. The chemical composition was
Velasco s/n, 33005 Oviedo, Spain determined by 458 XRF spectrometry tests. A Philips

[email protected]
154 M. Cueto et al.
Fig. 1 General layout of the Riyadh Metro Project highlighting the different types of sections and stations along the Line 3. The main geological
units are shown in white (RDA-ANM-IDOM)
PW2404 spectrometer equipped with a rhodium anode tube confirmed, as previously described by Sharief et al. [5]. This
allowed the examination of major and trace elements result discards the risk of structural damage by floor heaving
according to ASTM C1271 [3]. The identification of total in tunnels (swelling in anhydrite) or fracturing due to set-
sulfur content based on ASTM D1619 [4] was assessed tlements (dehydration of gypsum). The soil layers showed
through a Leco sulfur analyzer in 458 samples. The miner- high content of silica, calcium oxide, loss pack ignition
alogical composition was identified by 453 XRD using a elements and calcium carbonate. However, only the
Philips X’Pert Pro diffractometer equipped with a copper anthropic soils showed a significant presence of calcium
anode tube. The analysis was performed according to the sulphate minerals (gypsum, bassanite and anhydrite). The
procedures of the International Centre for Diffraction Data. sulphate content was restricted to the top three meters of the
The quantitative phase study was based on the Rietveld ground in relation to the anthropic waters (8.2%). These
method. Finally, the petrographic analysis was carried out by results made essential the use of sulphate-resistant cement.
examining thin sections with a Zeiss-made microscope to
identify textures and mineralogical components.
4.2 Mineralogical Analysis
4 Results and Discussion Through XRD in the infilling soils of large sinkholes up to
12% of paligorskite and 8% of montmorillonite content was
4.1 Geochemical Analysis identified. These are potentially expansive minerals. It was
concluded that in general their presence was generally low
Most of the rock samples showed high calcium carbonate and this risk was finally discarded using specific geotech-
and very low sulphate content, corresponding to pure lime- nical tests in the most hazardous areas (swell pressure and
stone, with a small percentage of argillaceous limestone and free swelling test). All the rock units showed similar min-
the dolomite presence limited to Arab D and Jubaila (Fig. 2). eralogical composition with low clay minerals presence and
The linear trend is indicative of geochemical affinity. absence of expansive minerals. The presence of quartz is low
Using the geochemical analysis, the total dissolution of (1.0 to 6.8%) which results in a low abrasive ground that
the anhydrite levels in Arab and Hith formations was would otherwise severely damage the cutting tool of the
[email protected]
Engineering Geological Assessment Using Geochemical … 155
Fig. 2 Left: trend evolution between dolomite (%MgO) and limestone Fe2O3 & K2O) with differentiation of limestone (Jubaila, Arab D &
(%CaO) in rocks of L3 showing limestone predominance. Right: ABC and Sulaiy) from argillaceous limestone (Arab carbonate & clay
carbonate (%CaO & MgO) versus siliciclastic elements (%SiO2, Al2O3, breccia) (RDA-ANM-IDOM)
TBM. This fact was later confirmed using 11 Cerchar tests analysis and common geotechnical tests used in civil engi-
(CAI 0.32 to 0.95), which corresponds to low abrasiveness. neering projects, such as Cerchar, swell pressure, free
swelling tests, etc.
4.3 Petrographic Study Acknowledgements We would like to thank IDOM Consulting,

Engineering, Architecture, S.A.U. for supporting this research and
especially all the staff involved in the design of the Line 3. Also, the
The petrographic study enabled the identification of different
authors gratefully acknowledge Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Development
engineering geological units, which are listed in Fig. 2. Fur- Authority (RDA) promoting the Riyadh Metro Project and especially
thermore, in highly adhesive clayey units, stickiness causes ArRiyadh New Mobility Consortium (ANM) selected to deliver the
difficulties during the use of TBM. Sticky-clay can affect the Package 2- Line 3.
production rate by clogging moving parts of the TBM and
sticking to the exposed steel [6]. Based on the test results,
potential sticky ground conditions were predicted mainly in the References
Arab carbonate and clay breccia and Hith. On the other hand,
the friction process and the water fluids can also adversely affect 1. Powers, R.W., Ramirez, L.F., Redmond, C.D., Elberg Jr., E.L.:
the TBM progress under mixed-face conditions, such as brec- Geology of the Arabian Peninsula: sedimentary geology of Saudi
Arabia. U.S. Geological Survey Paper (1966)
ciated units with potential clayey matrix washing. 2. Cueto, M., Olona, J., Fernández-Viejo, G., Pando, L., López-Fer-
nández, C.: Karst-induced sinkhole detection using an integrated
geophysical survey: a case study along the Riyadh Metro Line 3
5 Conclusions (Saudi Arabia). Near Surf. Geophys. 16, 270–281 (2018)
3. ASTM C1271-99: Standard Test Method for X-ray Spectrometric
Analysis of Lime and Limestone. ASTM International, West
This study showed how the exhaustive multi-technique Conshohocken, PA (2012)
geological testing (X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and 4. ASTM D1619-16a: Standard Test Methods for Carbon Black—
petrographic analysis) was crucial to shed light on potential Sulfur Content. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA
(2016)
geotechnical hazards, anticipating engineering problems 5. Sharief, F.A., Khan, M.S., Magara, K.: Outcrop-subcrop sequence
which would otherwise have led to delays and excessive and diagenesis of Upper Jurassic Arab-Hith Formations, Central
costs during construction. The systematic geochemical, Saudi Arabia. J. King Abdulaziz Univ.-Earth Sci. 4, 105–136
mineralogical and petrographical tests were found as a (1991)
6. Khademi, H.J., Shahriar, K., Rostami, J.: Double shield TBM in
highly successful and economic tool to predict geotechnical challenging difficult ground conditions—a case study from Nosoud
properties and bad ground conditions for the Line 3 of the water transfer tunnel, Iran. In: Rapid Excavation and Tunneling
Riyadh Metro. Further analysis will seek to show correla- Conference (RETC), Nevada, USA (2009)
tions between the aforementioned identification geological
[email protected]
Strength Estimation of Evaporitic Rocks
Using Different Testing Methods
Hasan Arman, Osman Abdelghany, Ala Aldahan,

Mahmoud Abu Saima, Bahaa Mahmoud, Saber Hussein,
Abdel-Rahman Fowler, and Saaed AlRashdi
Abstract between the UCS and Vp, PLI, ITS and SHRRcor for the
Rock strength is recognized as the ability of a rock to evaporitic rocks. This behavior may relate to textural and
resist stress or deformation without breaking down. mineralogical heterogeneity within the samples, despite
Testing methods are suggested by ISRM (International overall homogenous hand specimen characteristics, and
Society of Rock Mechanics) and ASTM (American calls for caution in applying a single rock strength value
Standards Testing Material), and include Unconfined in engineering applications.
Compressive Strength (UCS), Point Load Index (PLI),

Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS), Schmidt Hammer Keywords
Rebound (SHR) and Sonic Velocity (SV). In the inves- Rock strength Evaporitic rocks Unconfined com-
tigation presented here a comparison of these methods pressive strength Schmidt Hammer Point load index
was performed using evaporitic rocks. These sedimentary
rocks are common in the Arabian Peninsula as exposures
or in the subsurface and they may constitute the
foundations of buildings. We have chosen samples of 1 Introduction
the Lower Miocene evaporitic rocks from Al Ain city,
United Arab Emirates (UAE). 35 UCS, 51 PLI, and ITS, Rock strength measurement and characterization of discon-
640 SHR and 86 SV tests were carried out on either core tinuities (mainly fractures) are important tasks in engineering
samples or rock blocks according to ASTM Standards. applications. Overall, rock strength is defined as the ability
The results revealed moderate to weak correlations of rocks to resist stress or deformation without breaking
down [1]. Inhomogeneity and rapid changes in the physical
H. Arman (&) O. Abdelghany A. Aldahan M. A. Saima B. properties of rock masses cause unexpected rock failure,
Mahmoud S. Hussein A.-R. Fowler particularly when these factors are combined with the pres-
United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box: 15551 Al Ain, UAE ence of water. Therefore, it is common to measure rock
strength using several testing methods and approaches [2].
O. Abdelghany A number of methods are suggested for the testing of rock
strength. These include Unconfined Compressive Strength
A. Aldahan (UCS), Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS), Point Load Index
(PLI) and Schmidt Hammer Rebound (SHR) and Sonic
M. A. Saima Velocity (SV) tests. In this study we applied these tests on a
suite of evaporitic rocks, with the aim of providing data that
B. Mahmoud can be used to better constrain their rock strength properties.
These sedimentary rocks are common in the Arabian
S. Hussein Peninsula as exposures or in the subsurface and they may
represent the foundations of buildings and infrastructure
A.-R. Fowler constructions.
The evaporitic rocks used here are found in the Al Ain
S. AlRashdi region of the United Arab Emirates. The rocks belong to the
University of the Western Cape, P/Bag X17, Cape Town, 7535,
South Africa Lower Miocene (Lower Fars Formation) and outcrop on the
e-mail: [email protected] eastern limb of the Hafit Mountain (Fig. 1).

[email protected]
158 H. Arman et al.
Fig. 1 Geological map and

sampling location with exposure
and rock block samples.
LE = Lower Eocene, 55-49 Myr;
M-UE = Middle to Upper
Eocene, 49-34 Myr; LO = Lower
Oligocene, 34-29 Myr and
LM = Lower Miocene, 23-16
Myr. These formations are
dominated by different types of
carbonate rocks, with the
exception of evaporates, which
dominate the Lower Fars
Formation. From top right to
bottom right: photographs of
quarry sample site (looking E);
boulder sized rock samples; rock
sample showing pattern of test
points for SHR
2 Samples and Rocks Strength Testing 3 Results and Discussion
The evaporitic rocks used in this investigation lie on the Table 1 presents the statistical results of the performed tests.
western limb of Hafit Mountain (a major NNE trending According to the intact rock classification [4] the studied
asymmetric anticline) (Fig. 1). These rocks are part of the evaporitic rocks can be classified as medium strong using the
Lower Fars Formation (Lower Miocene 23-16 Myr) [3]. The UCS and PLI mean values. The relations between the mean
evaporitic rocks are dominated by nodular, granular and PLI for the 50 mm in diameter size rock sample, ITS, SHRRcor,
crystalline gypsum as massive gypsiferous layers and veins Vp and the mean UCS (Fig. 2) indicate medium to weak linear
that are interbedded with friable marls and mudstones. correlations. These mean values and relationships between the
Within the exposed area of the Lower Fars Formation, a tests for evaporitic rocks are expected due to the relatively
quarry site was located and used for the collection of 26 fragile crystalline structure of gypsum and the aggregated
representative samples, over a formation thickness of about properties of the rocks in general. Furthermore, the interlay-
10–20 m (Fig. 1). To reduce effects of anisotropy, samples ering occurrence of marl and mudstones on macro- and
showing any bedding signs were avoided. A total of 640 micro-scales affects the strength properties of the rocks. The
laboratory SHR were carried out on the rock block samples, rock strength test values of the evaporitic rocks are also lower
before preparing the coring for other tests. In each rock than those for carbonate rocks in the same area [5] and thus
block a minimum of 20 surface SHR tests were performed provide a complimentary data set for engineering evaluation
with a vertically downward orientation for the rock hammer. of this terrain. The strength data for evaporitic rocks presented
The SHRRcor (corrected value of SHR) value of each test here also draws attention to the variability in rock strength
was determined and reported according to ASTM Standard. despite the texturally rather comparable rock samples that
A total of 97 core samples (NX, 54 mm in diameter) were were used. This is an important issue for evaporitic rocks
prepared from the rock blocks for the 35 UCS, 51 PLI and locally and in general, considering the broad range of textures
ITS and 86 SV (for Vp and Vs) tests. and mineralogical compositions for these rocks.
[email protected]
Strength Estimation of Evaporitic Rocks Using Different … 159
Table 1 The statistical results for the tested samples

UCS (MPa) PLI (MPa) ITS (MPa) SHRRcor (N) blocks SV (km/s)
Vp Vs
Number of samples 35 51 51 26 86 86
Minimum 17.46 0.53 1.47 19.55 4.19 1.65
Maximum 40.03 2.19 4.39 27.55 6.15 3.43
Average 27.86 1.40 2.80 23.22 5.35 2.47
Standard deviation 5.36 0.49 0.67 2.29 0.50 0.44
within expected values and trends for evaporitic rocks. The

data also suggest that further caution should be taken during
engineering applications dealing with evaporites, due to the
sensitivity of their strength properties to textural variations.
References
1. Hawkins, A.B.: Aspects of rock strength. Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ.

57, 17–30 (1998)
2. Arman, H., Hashem, W., Abdelghany, O., Aldahan, A.: Effects of
lithofacies and environment on in situ and laboratory Schmidt
hammer tests: a case study of carbonate rocks. Q. J. Eng. Geol.
Hydrogeol. 50, 179–186 (2017)
3. Boukhary, M., Abdelghany, O., Bahr, S.: Nummulites alsharhani n.
Fig. 2 Mean PLI, ITS, SHRRcor, Vp versus mean UCS sp. (Late Lutetian) from Jabal Hafit and Al Faiyah: Western side of
the Northern Oman Mountains, United Arab Emirates. Revue
Paleobiol Geneve 21, 575–585 (2002)
4. Marinos, P., Hoek, E.: Estimating the geotechnical properties of
4 Conclusion heterogeneous rock masses such as Flysch. Bull. Eng. Geol.
Environ. 60, 85–92 (2001)
5. Arman, H., Hashem, W., Tokhi, E.M., Abdelghany, O., Saiy, E.A.:
The results of this study indicate scattered values for the Petrographical and geomechanical properties of the lower oligocene
UCS, PLI, and ITS, SHRRcor and SV tests in the evaporitic limestones from Al Ain city, United Arab Emirates. Arab. J. Sci.
rocks. This feature, in addition to the moderate to weak Eng. 39(1), 261–271 (2014)
relationships between the different test parameters, are
[email protected]
Characterization of Soil Stability
to Withstand Erection of High-Rise Structure
Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography
Theophilus A. Adagunodo, Lukman A. Sunmonu, Olagoke P. Oladejo,

and Anuoluwapo M. Olanrewaju
In this paper, we used the Electrical Resistivity
Tomography (ERT) technique to examine the suitability The required time and financial implications of geotechnical
of the subsurface for its ability to withstand erection of a investigation for civil engineering activities can discourage
proposed high-rise structure in Emmanuel Alayande the structural engineers and developers [5]. In contrast,
College of Education, Oyo, Nigeria. The Wenner array geostatistical investigation is inexpensive and fast [10].
was used for the ERT survey, with the varying electrode Besides, the geotechnical test results are meant for
separations of 1.0, 3.0, 6.0 and 8.0 m respectively, and point-to-point information [6]; it is unsuitable to produce
the electrode increment of 5.0 m across the three volumetric information about the subsurface structure.
(3) traverses that were established in the study area. The In this study, the characterization of soil stability for
traverses were of distance 100 m each, with W-E superstructure construction was achieved by carrying out
orientation that would enable the subsurface imaging of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) measurements
the study area. The subsurface features experienced in the adopting Wenner array in order to relate the images gener-
study area were topsoil/laterites, weathered layer, clayey ated from electrical signatures to the subsurface stability
zone, and bedrock. The inverse model along traverses 1 information. Wenner array measures the subsurface lateral
and 2 revealed that the clayey zones beneath these variation, while the electrode spacing corresponds to the
traverses are very thick, which showed that the study area depth of investigation. Applications of Electrical Resistivity
was unsuitable for construction of high-rise building (ER) technique have been reported from appreciable number
without the certified building engineers’ advice. of publications, among which are Samouelian et al. [9],
Sudha et al. [10], Adagunodo et al. [4], Adagunodo et al. [3],

Keywords Adagunodo et al. [2], Wahab and Saibi [11], Adagunodo

Soil characterization Soil stability High-rise et al. [1], and Oyeyemi et al. [8].
structure Electrical resistivity tomography The management of Emmanuel Alayande College of
Pre-foundation investigation Education, Oyo has recently approved of the construction of
a mega structure auditorium for academic purposes. The
auditorium is expected to be erected between the Fine and
Applied Art and Sandwich Degree Building within the
institution. The site is resting on the basement rocks of SW
Nigeria (1) as revealed in Fig. 1. This work was expected to
T. A. Adagunodo (&)
Department of Physics, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria provide information to the professional builders prior to
e-mail: [email protected] construction.
L. A. Sunmonu
Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria 2 Materials and Method
O. P. Oladejo
Department of Physics, Emmanuel Alayande College A digital PZ-02 earth resistivity meter was used to carry out
of Education, Oyo, Nigeria the ERT survey in the study area. The Wenner array was
A. M. Olanrewaju used for the ERT survey, with the varying electrode
Department of Mathematics, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

[email protected]
162 T. A. Adagunodo et al.
5° 00′ E 10° 00′ E 15° 00′ E

Sokoto
The qa pseudosection obtained for the three (3) traverses on
Bauchi Maiduguri
LEGEND the proposed site for superstructure erection is presented in
International boundary
10° 00′ N Major Rivers Fig. 2. The image depicts the subsurface geological features
Major towns
Ilorin
FCT FCT
Younger granite in the study area. From the inverse model section of traverse
1, the first layer in the structure has a resistivity ranging from
Older granite
Oyo Sedimentary basin
Ibadan Benue
The Schist belt
Lagos Migmatite-gneiss Complex
Study area 46.4 to 168 Xm at the depth ranging from 0.25 to 1.27 m.
Port
5° 00′ N Harcourt
This layer is considered as topsoil. The weathered layer
0 70 140 280 420 km
(mixture of sand and clay) was observed under the topsoil.
5° 00′ E 10° 00′ E 15° 00′ E
The next observed zone towards the western part of traverse
Fig. 1 Geological domains of Nigeria (Adapted and modified from [2]) 1 is the clayey zone, which ranged from 17.7 to 33.0 Xm at
the depth of 2.49–5.73 m. The dynamic movement of this
zone could cause differential settlement to the column of the
separations of 1.0, 3.0, 6.0 and 8.0 m respectively, and the walls from that axis if not properly taken care of from the
electrode increment of 5.0 m across the three (3) traverses designing stage. The bedrock (fresh/fractured) under
that were established in the study area. The traverses are of the clayey and weathered zones in traverse 1 showed that the
distance 100 m each, with W-E orientation that will enable fractured bedrock covered a wider range than the fresh
the subsurface imaging of the study area. The apparent bedrock. This could be disastrous for construction of
resistivity ðqa Þ data was computed and processed based on high-rise foundation without a proper design.
the literature from Adagunodo et al. [2]. The obtained data The inverse model of traverse 2 revealed that the topsoil
was processed using RES2DINV software [7], which is ranged from 0.25 to 2.3 m. The weathered layer fell directly
capable of producing inverted data through a nonlinear under the topsoil, but was experienced as sandy clay/silty
Least-square technique. sand towards the base of the traverse. The clayey zone
Fig. 2 Imaging of the ERT

traverses in the study area
[email protected]
Characterization of Soil Stability to Withstand Erection … 163
(a highly conductive region) was entrapped by the weathered investigation into the integrity of a reclaimed open dumpsite for
layer and mostly spanned through the entire profile with the civil engineering purpose. Interciencia J. 42(11), 324–339 (2017)
2. Adagunodo, T.A., Sunmonu, L.A., Adeniji, A.A.: Effect of
depth ranging from 2.3 to 7.2 m. This clayey zone is unfa- dynamic pattern of the saprolitic zone and its basement on
vourable for civil engineering constructions, because it could building stability: a case study of a high-rise building in
set the foundation of the overlying structure into motion Ogbomoso. J. Appl. Phys. Sci. Int. 3(3), 106–115 (2015)
during the seasonal variation. 3. Adagunodo, T.A., Sunmonu, L.A., Oladejo, O.P.: Effect of
constructing high-rise buildings without a geophysical survey.
The same subsurface trend was observed in traverses 2 Niger. J. Phys. 91–100 (Special Edition September 2014)
and 3. In traverse 3, qualitative interpretation of this profile 4. Adagunodo, T.A., Sunmonu, L.A., Oladejo, O.P., Ojoawo, I.A.:
showed that the conductive zone is also too thick and could Vertical electrical sounding to determine fracture distribution at
cause foundation problem in the future if proper channels Adumasun area, Oniye, Southwestern Nigeria. IOSR J. Appl.
Geol. Geophys. 1(3), 10–22 (2013)
(building engineers) were not consulted before the con- 5. Adewoyin, O.O., Joshua, E.O., Akinwumi, I.I., Omeje, M.,
struction processes commence. The bedrock beneath the Joel, E.S.: Evaluation of geotechnical parameters using geophys-
clayey/weathered zone was observed along 36.0–45.0 m, at ical data. J. Eng. Technol. Sci. 49(1), 95–113 (2017)
the depth of about 6.0 m. This showed that the bedrock of 6. Adewoyin, O.O., Joshua, E.O., Akinyemi, M.L., Omeje, M.,
Joel, E.S.: Investigation to determine the vulnerability of reclaimed
the study is not a shallow type. land to building collapse using near surface geophysical method.
J. Phys: Conf. Ser. 852(1), 012030 (2017)
7. Loke, M., Barker, R.D.: Practical techniques for 3D resistivity
4 Conclusion surveys and data inversion. Geophys. Prospect. 44, 499–523
(1996)
8. Oyeyemi, K.D., Aizebeokhai, A.P., Adagunodo, T.A., Olofinnade,
The suitability of the proposed site for construction of a O.M., Sanuade, O.A., Olaojo, A.A.: Subsoil characterization using
mega auditorium in Emmanuel Alayande College of Edu- geoelectrical and geotechnical investigations: implications for
cation, Oyo was investigated via the ERT technique. The foundation studies. Int. J. Civ. Eng. Technol. 8(10), 302–314
(2017)
inverse model along traverses 1 and 2 revealed a very thick 9. Samouelian, A., Cousm, I., Tabbagh, A., Bruand, A., Richard, G.:
clayey zone, indicative that the study area is unsuitable for Electrical resistivity survey in soil science: a review. Soil Tillage
construction of high-rise building without proper consulta- Res. 83, 173–193 (2005)
tions from the building engineers. 10. Sudha, K., Israil, M., Mittal, S., Rai, J.: Soil characterization using
electrical resistivity tomography and geotechnical investigations.
J. Appl. Geophys. 67, 74–79 (2009)
Acknowledgements We appreciate the conference support received 11. Wahab, S., Saibi, H.: 2-D inversion of electrical resistivity data
from Covenant University, Nigeria. around sayanokami spring in Ito Campus (Kyushu University,
Fukuoka, Japan). In: International Workshop on Earth Resources
Technology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, 8–9 Dec 2016
References
1. Adagunodo, T.A., Adeniji, A.A., Erinle, A.V., Akinwumi, S.A.,

Adewoyin, O.O., Joel, E.S., Kayode, O.T.: Geophysical
[email protected]
Correlation Between Uniaxial Compressive
and Shear Strength Data of Limestone Rocks
by Regression Analysis and ANFIS Model
Masoud Rashidi, Adel Asadi, and Biltayib Misbah Biltayib
To determine rock mechanical properties like uniaxial
compressive strength and shear strength accurately, it is Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) represents one the
required to put considerable time to find and collect most common parameters for describing intact rock strength
suitable samples for laboratory testing. To improve the in the field of engineering geology and rock engineering.
time and cost efficiency, many empirical relationships The uniaxial compressive strength of an intact rock is cal-
have been proposed in literature. The purpose of this culated by dividing the compressive force at failure, applied
study is to develop a model to correlate uniaxial in one direction, by the sample’s area of cross section.
compressive strength and shear strength data of intact Laboratory tests are the most accurate approach for predic-
rocks. In this study, two mathematical methods, adaptive tion of UCS. There are also more indicators of rock strength
neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) and regression available in scientific and professional literature including
analysis, were used to correlate the uniaxial compressive triaxial, point load, Schmidt rebound hammer, scratch,
and shear strength. A new approach based on artificial indentation, thick wall cylinder (TWC), etc.
intelligence techniques is considered to develop and train In case of failure of rock mass, intact rock blocks forming
UCS-s data. A total of 40 sets of data were used to the mass may slide, translate, rotate, shear or split. Conse-
correlate UCS and s data of limestone rocks. The resulted quently, the shear behavior of the mass is substantially dif-
regression equation shows that the relationship between ferent from that of a single discontinuity. At low normal
uniaxial compressive and shear strength has an acceptable stress level, shearing results in dilation of the mass associated
determination coefficients of R2. Results of this research with rotation of blocks. The friction angle of mass at low
study has also indicated that, because of their acceptable normal stress is high, whereas the cohesion is low. As the
accuracy in development of an efficient correlation normal stress increases, the dilation is suppressed and
between UCS and s data, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference shearing of the intact rock material commences. This results
systems are appropriate tools to correlate UCS-s data, in in a relatively higher cohesion and lower friction angle. “Due
addition to the regression model proposed in this paper. to continuous change in mechanism of failure, the shear
strength envelope of rock mass is highly curvilinear, espe-

Keywords cially in low normal stress range. It is not feasible to prepare

Uniaxial compressive strength Shear strength and test specimens of rock mass in the field” [3].
Limestone rocks Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) based models are
systems successfully employed by some researchers to solve difficult
non-linear problems in geomechanical models and geotech-
nical projects. In this regard, in order to correlate UCS and s
data, as two major geotechnical parameters, an artificial
intelligence (AI) method named adaptive neuro-fuzzy infer-
M. Rashidi (&) B. M. Biltayib
Petroleum Engineering Department, College of Engineering, ence system (ANFIS) is developed. In addition, a strong
Australian College of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait correlation based on a regression model is achieved in this
e-mail: [email protected] study, and the results of regression and ANFIS models are
A. Asadi compared to have a better understanding of both methods and
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Science and Research their applications in making predictions in complex areas.
Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

[email protected]
166 M. Rashidi et al.
2 ANFIS The UCS-s data from their paper was analyzed and hired to
correlate uniaxial compressive strength and shear strength
Artificial inference techniques like artificial neural networks, data of limestone rocks by the application of two different
genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic have been employed methods named regression model and adaptive neuro-fuzzy
vastly in recent years. Artificial neural network can effi- inference systems (ANFIS).
ciently recognize patterns and to adapt the model to deal
with unstable environment. Fuzzy logic has the applicability
to simulate the use of human knowledge and expertise for 3.1 Regression Model
uncertainty analysis. Therefore, ANFIS, as an integration of
both ANNs and Fuzzy Logic approaches, has recently Regression models are generally considered traditional pre-
become a popular tool to solve geomechanical and dictive models to correlate rock mechanical properties.
geotechnical engineering as well as petroleum and engi- Many simple models to estimate UCS & shear strength has
neering geology problems. ANFIS is an artificial neural been developed before using the dry density value, the
networks model that functions equivalently with the fuzzy P-wave velocity, the point load index and other properties.
inference model. It can be trained to develop If-Then fuzzy The aim of this study is to correlate data of UCS and s. The
rules and determine membership functions for input and outcome of regression analysis using MATLAB software
output variables of the system. ANFIS is a fuzzy Sugeno Curve Fitting App is shown in Eq. 1.
model which has the advantageous ability of learning and
s ¼ ð0:243 UCSÞ 6:893 ð1Þ
adaptation. This framework makes adaptive neuro-fuzzy
inference systems automatically expert and less dependent The value of R2 is equal to 0.8344, and the linear plot is
on human knowledge and expertise. The applicability of shown in Fig. 1. Another set of data including 13 samples
ANFIS model has been reviewed and reported to solve was used to validate this correlation, and the coefficient of
complex geomechanical problems in the paper by Asadi [1]. 0.7963 was reached which confirmed the accuracy of Eq. 1.
3 Data Analysis 3.2 ANFIS Performance
According to the study conducted by Khanlari and Abdilor The data sets extracted from limestone core specimens
[2], 40 sets of data reached from experimental tests on including 40 pairs of UCS-s data are used as training,
limestone rocks were published as summarized in Table 1. checking and testing data of ANFIS in MATLAB.
Table 1 Data statistics Variable UCS (r)a Shear Strength (s)a

Min 56.15 5.41
Max 103.99 18.39
Mean 87.0542 14.0387
Median 89.98 15.07
a
All units are MPa
Fig. 1 UCS versus Shear Stress

(s) plot
[email protected]
Correlation Between Uniaxial Compressive and Shear Strength … 167
Fig. 2 Checking prediction data

by ANFIS
The dataset were divided into 3 parts of Training, Testing tools to estimate shear strength using uniaxial compressive
and Checking pairs of UCS-s data. After testing and strength data for limestone rocks, and could be significantly
changing different parameters for ANFIS, the best one with useful and practical in relevant industries. We suggest that
four Triangular-shaped built-in membership function and researchers and industry experts could study the applicability
linear output MF was derived, and the fuzzy inference sys- of ANFIS model regarding our proposed scope, and try to
tem (FIS) was optimized with hybrid method after 50 epochs find and apply bigger data sets belonging to limestone for-
during ANFIS training stage. Because of the fact that error mations. Another proposal would be to test this method on
of the ANFIS model was low, and output data were near the different rock types in different locations and geological
targets, the proposed method is applicable for UCS assess- conditions.
ment using shear strength data. The error of the ANFIS
model was reached the value of 0.671 (Fig. 2).
References
4 Conclusions 1. Asadi, A.: Application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system for

the assessment of excavation damaged zone using uniaxial
Our results showed that although the excellence of artificial compressive strength data. In: Schubert, W., Kluckner, A. (eds.)
Proceedings of the ISRM Regional Symposium EUROCK 2015 &
intelligence techniques over other regression models should 64th Geomechanics Colloquium—Future Development of Rock
not be considered as guaranteed, these highly applicable and Mechanics, pp. 291–296. Austrian Society for Geomechanics,
practical methods are definitely a magnificent development Salzburg, 7–10 Oct 2015
in data science. Indeed, AI methods including adaptive 2. Khanlari, G., Abdilor, Y.: Estimation of strength parameters
of limestone using artificial neural networks and regression
neuro-fuzzy inference systems, can have a great impact on analysis. Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 5(11), 1049–1053. ISSN
our studies to produce prediction models as a requirement of 1991-8178 (2011)
development in the fields of geomechanics and geotechnical 3. Singh, M.: A document on: assessment of engineering properties of
engineering. The results of this study have showed us that rock mass in civil engineering applications. In: IGS Working group
on Rock Mechanics and Tunneling
the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems are powerful
[email protected]
Numerical Investigation of the Interface
Shear Behaviors Between Double Soil Layers
Using PFC2D
Zhong-Liang Zhang, Zhen-Dong Cui, and Ling-Zi Zhao
Abstract process of interfaces between two granular soils were ana-

The influence of the interface morphology and stiffness lyzed by Hu et al. [2] with the perfect-plastic model. Lash-
ratio of the deformation modulus of upper and lower kari [3] proposed a simple semi-hyperbolic state-dependent
layers on the stress-shear displacement curves and shear constitutive model for sand-structure interfaces, considering
strength parameters were investigated with numerical the influence of normal stiffness on volume change and
shear tests in PFC2D. The shear strength of the specimen stress path. Kock et al. [4] established the soil shear model
increases with the increase of the normal stress. The lager with PFC2D to study the influence of different particle
the normal stress, the later the peak shear stress would shapes on the shear behaviors of sedimentary soil. Gu et al.
appear. In case of saw teeth at the interface, the peak [5] analyzed the details of the formation process of the shear
values of the shear stress appear in the end of the shear band with a discrete element model of the particle material.
tests. The increase of the stiffness ratio can cause the Zhu et al. [6] and Lei et al. [7] investigated the deformation
connection fracture in the lower layer particles with process and pattern of shear band through plane shear tests
smaller stiffness and reduce the thickness of the shear and numerical simulations, considering the influences of
band. The smaller saw teeth size and stiffness ratio, the vertical pressure and shear rate on the properties of the shear
larger the shear stress. band.
In this study, the interface shear test model of the double-
layer soil was developed with PFC2D and the influence of

Keywords
the interface morphology and soil parameters on shear

Double soil layers Interface Shear test
Saw teeth Stiffness ratio force-displacement behaviors was analyzed.
2 Set-up of the Shear Test Model in PFC2D

1 Introduction
Before the numerical shear test with PFD2D, the parameter
In the soft subsoil with upper crust, the soft subsoil will of the materials should be calibrated. In the shear model,
squeeze around and generate relative larger horizontal shear sandy and clayey soils were selected as the upper crust in the
force within a certain range. Therefore, the study of shear upper shear box and soft subsoil in the lower shear box,
behavior of the horizontal interface between double soil respectively.
layers is an important topic in geomechanics. Based on the calibration of the porosity, the cohesive
The contact and friction effects of the interface between strength and the internal friction angle, the minimum particle
soil layers have been studied by many scholars. Hu and Pu radius and the maximum particle size ratio were selected as
[1] studied the mechanical characteristics of soil-structure 1.5 mm and 1.5, respectively. The friction coefficient
interface through the direct shear tests. Based on the simple l = 0.39. The calibration of normal stiffness was accom-
shear tests, the interface behavior and the non-linear failure plished by simulating the natural stacking process and the
stiffness and contact strength of the particles were deter-
Z.-L. Zhang Z.-D. Cui (&) L.-Z. Zhao mined by the plane biaxial compression test. The normal
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground stiffness of the upper sand and lower soft clay were selected
Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering,
China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
as 1.66 105 and 3.27 104 kPa/m, respectively. The
e-mail: [email protected] ratio of the normal stiffness to the shear stiffness was

[email protected]
170 Z.-L. Zhang et al.
selected as 2.5. In addition, the normal bond strength of the small and dense saw teeth can enhance the integrity of the
upper sand and lower soft clay were selected as 0 and shear strength of the interface, the shear stress of the speci-
1.02 kPa, respectively. men with 25 mm saw teeth is larger than that of the specimen
As shown in Fig. 1, the shear model with size of with 50 mm saw teeth. The shear stress decreases with the
400 mm 200 mm was established. The boundary effect increase of the stiffness ratio of the deformation modulus of
can be eliminated owing to the length to height ratio of the upper and lower layers. When the stiffness ratio was over 10,
model being 2. Moreover, the shear stress can reach its peak there was only hardening, but no softening process occurred.
within the shear displacement of 35 mm. Four different The shear stress and normal stress were fitted with the
normal stresses (50, 100, 150 and 200 kPa), two saw teeth of linear functions after the shear tests. The strength parameters
different sizes (50 and 25 mm) at the interface and two including the cohesive strength and the internal friction
stiffness ratios of deformation modulus of upper and lower angle of the shear specimen under different variables were
layers (3.98 and over 10) were selected as the variables in summarized in Table 1. The internal friction angle decreases
the numerical shear tests. with the increase of the stiffness ratio. In the numerical shear
process, the increase of the stiffness ratio will cause the
connection fracture in the lower layer particles with smaller
3 Results of Numerical Shear Tests stiffness and reduce the thickness of the shear band.
The variation of the shear stress-displacement curves are

illustrated in Fig. 2. It can be seen that the shear strength of 5 Conclusion
the specimen increases with the increase of the normal stress.
There is a hardening phenomenon in the early stage of In this study, the numerical investigation of the interface
shearing and the normal stress increases the hardening pro- shear behaviors between the double soil layers was estab-
cess. The stress experiences the peak value in the shear lished with PFC2D. The effects of the interface morphology
displacement range of 5 * 10 mm. The lager the normal and soil parameters on shear force-displacement behaviors
stress, the later the peak shear stress would appear. were analyzed. The main deduced conclusions can be stated
as follows.
4 Discussion (1) The shear strength of the specimen increases with the
increase of the normal stress. The lager the normal
When there are saw teeth at the interface between the double stress, the later the peak shear stress would appear.
soil layers, the deformation of the saw teeth makes the shear (2) The interface morphology and stiffness ratio have
stress of the interface more complicated. In the shear pro- influences the shear behaviors of the shear interface.
cess, the sand upper crust is lifted up and the shear stress The smaller saw teeth size and stiffness ratio, the larger
experiences the peak value at the end of the shear. Since the the shear stress.
Fig. 1 Preparation of shear

specimen
(a) Initial state of shear specimen (b) Interface position of shear specimen
(c) Saw teeth wall of shear specimen (d) Prepared saw teeth shear specimen
[email protected]
Numerical Investigation of the Interface Shear … 171
Fig. 2 Shear stress-displacement 80 80

relationship of samples with 50 kPa 50 kPa
different conditions 100 kPa 100 kPa
150 kPa 150 kPa
60 60
200 kPa
Shear stress (kPa)
Shear stress (kPa)

200 kPa
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Shear displacement (mm) Shear displacement (mm)
(a) 50 mm saw teeth (b) 25 mm saw teeth
120 120
50 kPa 50 kPa
100 kPa 100 100 kPa
150 kPa 150 kPa
90
200 kPa
Shear stress (kPa)
Shear stress (kPa)

200 kPa
80
60 60
40
30
20
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Shear displacement (mm) Shear displacement (mm)
(c) Stiffness ratio 3.98 (d) Stiffness ratio over 10
Table 1 Calculation of shear Variables Cohesive strength (kPa) Internal friction angle (°)
strength parameters
50 mm saw teeth 2.52 18.47
25 mm saw teeth 9.78 18.93
Stiffness ratio 3.98 14.61 26.53
Stiffness ratio over 10 9.91 17.64
Acknowledgements This work was funded by the National Key R&D 4. Kock, I., Huhn, K.: Numerical investigation of localization and
Program of China (2016YFC0600903). micromechanics in a stratified soil specimen. Struct. Geol. 29(10),
1679–1694 (2007)
5. Gu, X.Q., Huang, M.S., et al.: Discrete element modeling of shear
band in granular materials. Theoret. Appl. Fract. Mech. 72, 37–49
References (2014)
6. Zhu, H., Zhou, W.H., et al.: Numerical study of the formation of
1. Hu, L., Pu, J.: Testing and modeling of soil-structure interfaces. shear bands in soil under interface shearing. Procedia Eng. 175,
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 130(8), 851–860 (2004) 102–109 (2017)
2. Hu, L., Zhang, B., Ma, J.: Mechanical characteristics for interface 7. Lei, D., Huang, J., et al.: Deformation analysis of shear band in
between granular materials. Mech. Res. Commun. 37(1), 42–46 granular materials via a robust plane shear test and numerical
(2010) simulation. Powder Technol. 323, 285–392 (2018)
3. Lashkari, A.: A simple critical state interface model and its
application in prediction of shaft resistance of non-displacement
piles in sand. Comput. Geotech. 88, 95–110 (2017)
[email protected]
Comparison of Soil Strength Parameters
in a Small and Large Scale Direct Shear Test
S. Farid F. Mojtahedi, Saeed Rezvani, and Ali Nazari
According to the recommended criteria in the instruction,
the maximum grain diameter of the samples should not The direct shear test is a useful and practical geotechnical
exceed a certain size to meet the standard requirements test to obtain strength properties of soil. This test is very
for the direct shear test. It can be said that there is a practical due to its speed and simplicity. It is performed on
tendency to use a small-scale shear test instead of a undisturbed soils. According to the recommended criteria in
large-scale one, and the reason is that problems such as the instruction [1], the maximum grain diameter of the
expensive equipment among others arise when using a samples should not exceed a certain size to meet the standard
large-scale direct shear test. Since small-scale direct shear requirements for the for the direct shear test. Many
test is recommended only for fine-grained soils, coarse geotechnical laboratories currently use direct shear tests to
soil should be tested on a large-scale, or they should be determine the soil characteristics, including the angle of
adjusted to be tested in a small direct shear by modifying friction or the shear strength of the sand. However, today,
grain distribution. In this study, two different methods there are different sizes of shear boxes and the question
were investigated for grading modification and using a arises, as how would the internal friction angle changes be in
small-scale shear test. The advantage of these methods is terms of sample size. Parsons [2] compared the results of
that they assess the change in the internal friction angle. direct shear tests on the crushed quartz and a clean uniform
To this end, six soil samples containing coarse particles sand. In this study, the angle of internal friction decreases by
were collected from Ardabil city. All the samples were rising the direct shear box. Parson evaluated three different
tested for the determination of soil resistance parameters parts of direct cutting boxes. In another study by Skempton
in a large direct shear test. Samples were tested on a and Hutchison [3], the effect of the direct shear box size was
small-scale direct shear test after applying the modified investigated on the undrained shear strength of the clay.
method mentioned above. Finally, soil strength parame- Those tests were conducted on specimens with the following
ters were compared with two different scales. The results dimensions: 300 600 mm. The authors indicated that the
clearly indicate that the strength parameters obtained from shear strength of the samples in these dimensions is 66% of
the replacement method lead to a closer approximation to the standard shear strength. The standard shear strength is
the resistance parameters obtained by the large-scale the shear strength of the tests on samples with 38 mm in
direct shear test. diameter. Lo [4] specified that the undrained shear strength
of clay in samples with 300 mm in diameter is about 65% of

Keywords the shear strength in samples of 38 mm in diameter. The
Direct shear test Scale effect Replacement method overall result of this study is that the shear strength decreases
Elimination method by increasing the sample size. In total, there are 4 meth-
ods presented to modify grading of the soil, with two
methods common for the coarse particles: parallel method
[5], screening method [6], tetragonal method [7] and the
replacement method [8].
S. F. F. Mojtahedi (&) S. Rezvani A. Nazari

Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

[email protected]
174 S. F. F. Mojtahedi et al.
2 General Laboratory Plans degrees on Northern latitude against the equator axis and on
4 and 55 to 48 and 20 degrees on eastern longitude from
Large-scale direct shear test apparatus (a square box with a Greenwich meridian (Fig. 1).
cross-section of 300 300 mm) was used to determine the
strength parameters of coarse-grained soils, and samples
were prepared by removing seeds larger than the standard 4 Direct Shear Tests
value to determine the soil strength parameters by
small-scale direct shear test apparatus (box A square cross Direct shear tests were conducted on the soils according to
section of 100 100 mm). Two modification methods of ASTM D3080-98. The results of direct shear and index tests
gradation were used in this paper. In the first method, called are shown in the Table 1.
the elimination method, aggregates larger than the
No. 4 sieve were removed from the mixture. In the second
method, called the replacement method, after removing 5 Interpretation of Results
aggregates larger than No. 4 sieve, the removed weight of
the aggregates were replaced with aggregates between 5.1 The Effects of Scale on Internal
No. 4 and No. 16 sieves, and the resulting samples of this Friction Angle
method are named with the prefix R. Then, the results of
Large-scale and small-scale direct shear tests were compared Tests have shown the difference of 1 to 4 degrees in the
to each other. internal friction angle of soils, and often, internal friction
angle values of small-scale apparatus are larger than the
values of large-scale apparatus. However, the results are
3 Materials and Methods influenced by some other factors such as the moisture con-
tent of the sample, the range of strain rate, the value of the
The soil samples used in this study were natural materials of vertical load, the cross section of the shear box (circular or
Ardabil city. Ardabil plain is located at the geographic square) and so on. The results indicate a one-degree differ-
center of the province, and between 38, 3 to 38, and 27 ence in the friction angle as shown in Table 2.
Fig. 1 The approximate location of Ardabil plain
[email protected]
Comparison of Soil Strength Parameters in a Small … 175
Table 1 The results of direct Sample No. c (kPa) Gs emax emin gd;max wopt
shear and index tests performed
on collected samples 1 6.67 41 2.688 0.9 0.4 19.6 12
2 0.06 44 2.689 0.82 0.36 20.4 11
3 3.18 42 2.69 0.92 0.41 19.8 12
4 5.26 40 2.675 0.85 0.38 19.9 11
5 1.10 39 2.69 0.87 0.39 19.8 12
6 0.30 46 2.683 0.83 0.33 20.6 10
Table 2 The results of standard Sample No. Friction angle (degree) Dry unit weight (kN/m3)
sand in large and small shear
boxes Small box Large box
1 34.0 33.0 17.6
2 35.5 35.0 18.3
5.2 The Effects of Removing Coarse Grains angle of the small-scale test were greater than those of the
on Internal Friction Angle large-scale test.
The internal friction angle of six sandy soil samples of which

out-of-range aggregates (larger than No. 4 sieve) were 5.4 Comparison of Grading Correction Methods
removed, was measured by small-scale direct shear tests. For
saturated soils, due to neglecting the effect of cohesion The results of direct shear tests are shown in Fig. 3. As seen
parameter (c), the failure envelope passes through zero on in this figure, the internal friction angle of the replacement
the shear axis, as shown effective stress versus shear stress method is much closer than the results obtained from elim-
space. In some results, the failure envelope passes auto- inating method. So, it can be expected that the replacement
matically through zero, but there is a little cohesion in some method provides better and more reliable results for a sand
others which can be assumed as the resistance of particles’ with a low amount of fines.
bonding. The ultimate friction angle was measured at 10
percent strain. However, the sand has continued to expand
and never reached a constant volume in a few samples. Due 6 Conclusion
to the high density of the samples (90% density), dilation
was observed, and the shear stress was still increasing after The results of the direct shear tests are as follows:
the strain of 10 percent, but the increase was not remark-
able. As expected, the results show the larger values of • According to the previous studies, the scale affects the
internal friction angle compared to the results of large-scale internal friction angle up to 3 degrees; however, in this
direct shear tests. Briefly, the results show a difference study, the observed scale effect was 1.5 degrees of dif-
between 3 and 6 degrees between the internal friction angle ference between elimination and large-scale direct sheer
measured by large-scale and small-scale direct shear appa- method.
ratus, and the difference increased with the increase of • The internal friction angle obtained by the elimination
out-of-range particles (larger than No. 4 sieve). method showed a 4-to-6-degree difference with the
results of the large-scale direct shear test on initial sam-
ples, and this difference increases with the increase of
5.3 The Impact of Placement Method out-of-range particles.
on Internal Friction Angle • The replacement method results had a 2-to-3-degree
difference compared to the results of the large-scale direct
By removing particles larger than No. 4 sieve and replacing shear test on initial samples.
them with aggregates between No. 4 and No. 16 sieve, a soil • Generally, the results of the replacement method present
was obtained which meets the requirements of maximum closer values to the initial samples results, compared to
particle size in small-scale apparatus. The results are shown the elimination method. But, there is no certain comment
in Fig. 2. The results show that the values of internal friction about soils which more than 40% of their weight is
[email protected]
176 S. F. F. Mojtahedi et al.
Fig. 2 The friction angle resulting from large-scale shear test on original samples corresponding to the friction angle of samples modified by
a elimination method, b replacement method
[email protected]
Comparison of Soil Strength Parameters in a Small … 177
Fig. 3 The comparison of all friction angles of shear tests
comprised of out-of-range particles, so it is recom- 3. Skempton, A.W., Hutchinson, J.: Stability of natural slopes and
mended that large-scale direct shear test be performed on embankment foundations. In: Soil Mech & Fdn Eng Conf
Proc/Mexico/ (1969)
these soils. 4. Lo, K.Y.: The operational strength of fissured clays. Geotechnique
20(1), 57–74 (1970)
5. Lowe, J.: Shear strength of coarse embankment dam materials. In:
Proceedings of 8th International Congress on Large Dams, vol. 3,
pp. 745–761. International Commission on Large Dams, Paris (1964)
References 6. Zeller, J., Wullimann, R.: The shear strength of the shell materials
for the Göschenenalp Dam. Butterworths Scientific Publication,
1. ASTM D3080-98: Standard Test Method for Direct Shear Test of Switzerland (1957)
Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions, ASTM International, 7. Fumagalli, E.: Tests on cohesionless materials for rockfill dams.
West Conshochocken, PA (1998) J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 92(SM5, Proc Paper 490) (1969)
2. Parsons, J.D.: Progress report on an investigation of the shearing 8. Frost, R.J.: Some testing experiences and characteristics of
resistance of cohesionless soils. In: Proceedings of the 1st boulder-gravel fill in earth dams. In: Evaluation of Relative Density
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation and its Role in Geotechnical Projects Involving Cohesionless Soils.
Engineering, vol. 2, pp. 133–138 (1936) ASTM International (1973)
[email protected]
Effect of Organic Matter on Geotechnical
Behavior of Soils
Rinku Varghese, S. Chandrakaran, and K. Rangaswamy
Abstract organic content by conducting tests on the natural organic

The unpredictable behaviour of organic soil makes the soil and after treating the same soil with hydrogen peroxide
soil complicated to handle for geotechnical engineers. In to remove the organic content.
this paper an attempt was made to study the effect of
organic content on the geotechnical behaviour by study-
ing a natural organic soil and comparing the results with 2 Materials Used for the Study
the same soil after removing the organic content. The
organic content from the soil was removed by hydrogen The natural organic soils were collected at a depth of 3 m
peroxide method. Significant changes in the values were from local site near mills at Calicut city, Kerala. The organic
noticed with and without the organic content. From the matter in the soil mainly consists of decomposed wood. The
results it was observed that the presence of organic collected samples were crushed and sieved through 425
content decreases the strength and increases compress- micron sieve and stored in plastic bags. Before the test, the
ibility of the soil. organic content in the soils were found out by loss of igni-
tion method. From the test results it was found that a 12% of
organic matter is present in the soil. The soil showed a low

Keywords
Organic soils Geotechnical behavior Shear strength specific gravity of about 1.81 which also indicated the
Compressibility presence of organic content.
In order to study the geotechnical behavior, the natural
organic soil was subjected to experiments like Compaction,
unconfined compressive strength and consolidation. These
1 Introduction test results were compared to an organic soil after removing
organic content.
In the recent years considerable research has been conducted The organic content from the natural organic soil was
on the effect of organic content on the geotechnical beha- removed by hydrogen peroxide method. Schmidt [7] said in
viour due to its unpredictable behaviour. Organic soils show his paper that the hydrogen peroxide method have no sig-
high variation in the plasticity characteristics with slight nificant effect on Atterberg limits, clay mineralogy, consol-
change in the water content. This is also one of the main idation and shear strength characteristics. Hydrogen
concerns of geotechnical engineers. Studies have been peroxide method for organic content removal was conducted
conducted on the plasticity [1], compaction [1, 2], consoli- as per the ASTM D2974. After treating the soil, it was
dation [3, 4] and shear strength characteristics [5, 6] to subjected to Loss of ignition tests to confirm the removal of
understand the effect of organic content on the soil proper- organic content. After the confirmation the soil was air dried
ties. The more number of studies were conducted on high and the various geotechnical tests were conducted.
organic content natural soils like peat and seldom studies on
the low to medium amorphous type of organic content. In
this paper an attempt was made to study the effect of low 3 Results and Discussion
R. Varghese (&) S. Chandrakaran K. Rangaswamy The test results by comparing the natural organic soil and the
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology
Calicut, NIT Campus P.O., 673601 Kerala, India
same soil after removal of organic content by hydrogen
e-mail: [email protected] peroxide method is given below.

[email protected]
180 R. Varghese et al.
3.1 Compaction Characteristics 100
80
Figure 1 shows the compaction curve for natural organic soil
UCS, kPa
and treated soil. From the compaction curve it is noticed that 60
the organic matter reduces the maximum dry density while it
increases the optimum moisture content of the soil. That is 40 Organic soil
Treated soil
maximum dry density and optimum moisture content for
20
organic soil is 1.69 kN/m2 and 39%, respectively. While
maximum dry density and optimum moisture content for 0
treated soil is 1.81 kN/m2 and 25%, respectively. The trend 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
shown in the figure goes on well with the tendency of Strain, %
organic matter to adsorb water and the reduction of specific
Fig. 2 Unconfined compressive strength versus strain for organic and
gravity with increasing organic content and also matches treated soil
with the literature [4, 8]. It was found that organic matter
reduces the soil’s compactability by increasing the stability
of the soil and also by retaining greater water content which 2.3
Organic soil
cushions the soils against compaction. The organic particles 2.2 Treated soil
are generally stiff when compressed, but when they absorb 2.1
Void Ratio
water they become soft and sponge-like. This indicates that 2.0
at relatively low water contents much of the water added to 1.9
the soil becomes in effect part of the organic matter which 1.8
results in reducing the efficiency of adjusting the water 1.7
content to optimise the compaction behaviour [1]. 1.6
1.5
1 10 100 1000
Consolidation Pressure(kPa)
3.2 Unconfined Compressive Strength
Fig. 3 Variation of void ratio with different consolidation pressure for
The results of unconfined compression tests on organic and organic and treated soil
treated soil are shown in Fig. 2. The treated soil showed
higher strength compared to the organic soil. The decrement
3.3 Consolidation Characteristics
in strength is due to the presence of organic matter. The
organic matter has high water holding capacity which
Figure 3 shows the variation of void ratio with respect to
increases the liquid limit of the soil and thereby decreasing
consolidation pressure for organic and treated soil. It is
strength. It is also noticed from the graph that the strain
noticed that the organic soil has high void ratio compared to
value at which failure occurs is higher in case of organic soil
treated soil. The high void ratio in organic soils is associated
compared to the treated soil. This shows that with the
with the low specific gravity of the organic matter and high
presence of organic matter the nature of the soil is also
water content of the soils [3, 9]. From the graphs, it can also
changing. That is the soil is trying to behave more like
be noted that the reduction in void ratio with respect to time
ductile soils.
and consolidation pressure is less or gradually decreasing in
the case of a treated soil while in the case of organic soils it
is high or the trend is steeper.
1.80
Organic soil
Dry density, kN/m 2
Treated soil
1.75
4 Conclusions
1.70
1.65 From comparing the test results on the natural organic soil
and the same soil after hydrogen peroxide treatment the
1.60
conclusions drawn are listed below.
1.55
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 • Significant changes are observed in the geotechnical
Water content, % behaviour with the presence of organic matter in soils,
even though the percentage of organic content was less.
Fig. 1 Compaction curve for organic and treated soil
[email protected]
Effect of Organic Matter on Geotechnical Behavior of Soils 181
• Maximum dry density decreased while optimum mois- 3. Reddy, B.K., Sahu, R.B., Ghosh, S.: Consolidation behavior of
ture content increased with the presence of organic organic soil in normal Kolkata deposit. Indian Geotech. J. 44(3),
341–350 (2014)
matter. 4. Puppala, A.J., Pokala, S.P., Intharasombat, N., Williammee, R.:
• The unconfined compressive strength was higher for a Effects of organic matter on physical, strength, and volume change
treated soil compared to the organic soil. This indicates properties of compost amended expansive clay. J. Geotech. Geoen-
that the presence of organic matter decreases the strength vironmental Eng. 133, 1449–1461 (2007)
5. Devi, K.R., Sahu, R.B., Mukherjee, S.: Shear strength of organic
of the soil. The failure strain value also showed promi- clay in Kolkata region. Indian Geotech. J. 45(1), 25–34 (2015)
nent changes with the presence of organic matter 6. Cola, S., Cortellazzo, G.: The Shear Strength Behavior of Two
• High void ratio is seen for organic soils Peaty Soils, pp. 679–695 (2005)
7. Schmidt, N.O.: A Study of the Isolation of Organic Matter as a
Variable Affecting Engineering Properties of a Soil, Urbana, Illinois
(1965)
8. Sen, P., Dixit, M., Chitra, R., Ratnam, M.: Effect of organic content
References on the index properties and compaction parameters of soil, 4(4),
354–359 (2014)
9. Santagata, M., Bobet, A., Johnston, C.T., Hwang, J.:
1. Husein Malkawi, A.I., Alawneh, A.S., Abu-Safaqah, O.T.: Effects One-dimensional compression behavior of a soil with high organic
of organic matter on the physical and the physicochemical matter content. J. Geotech. Geoenvironmental Eng. 134, 1–13
properties of an illitic soil. Appl. Clay Sci. 14(5), 257–278 (1999) (2008)
2. Thiyyakkandi, S., Annex, S.: Effect of organic content on geotech-
nical properties of Kuttanad clay. Electron. J. Geotech. Eng. 16 U,
1653–1663 (no. Ayyar 1971) (2011)
[email protected]
Sand Failure: Effect of Biocide
on the Geomechanical Properties of Outcrop
Carbonate Rock Under Static Conditions
Elizabeth Wuyep, Gbenga Oluyemi, Kyari Yates, and Alfred Akisanya
The effects of chemical interaction of a biocide with
formation rocks on the rock geomechanical strength were Biocides are typically used in the oil and gas industry to
examined. A combination of analytical tests (Scanning control the activities of undesirable bacteria and microor-
Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis ganisms that can cause corrosion of the pipelines and also
—SEM/EDX, X-Ray Powder Diffraction—XRPD and produce some substances such as H2S, organic acids, etc.
Particle Size Distribution) and uniaxial compressive test that affect the yield and quality of oil and gas negatively.
was used in this study. The particle size distribution Unfortunately, the deleterious effect of the interaction of the
showed an increase in D50 with poor sorting for the biocide with the reservoir rock has not always been
chemically treated carbonate core sample. The XRPD accounted for. Seto et al. [4] examined the effect of poly-
shows evidence of altered minerals in the chemically ethylene oxide (PEO), aluminium chloride (AlCl3) and
treated samples. It was observed that the interaction led to dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) on sandstone
precipitation of new materials that clogged the pore space under static conditions and found that these chemicals did
of the rock samples leading to about 150% increase in not cause any significant change in the compressive strength
compressive strength of the carbonate following treatment of the sandstone. Nevertheless, the chemistries and compo-
with the biocide. The results give more insight into the sition of the chemicals used in the work are different from
limitations of the existing sand production prediction those of biocide and other commonly used oilfield
models with respect to the effect of oilfield chemicals on chemicals.
the strength of the reservoir rocks. The current work investigated the effects of biocide on
the geomechanical strength of reservoir rock and sand pro-

Keywords duction potentials under static condition. The results give

Chemical interaction Glutaraldehyde Carbonate more insight into the limitations of the existing sand pro-
Uniaxial compressive strength Reservoir rock duction prediction models with respect to the effect of oil-
field chemicals on the reservoir strength.
2 Materials and Experimental

Implementation
Glutaraldehyde (C5H8O2), a biocide was obtained from

E. Wuyep (&) G. Oluyemi REDA oilfield UK Ltd; whilst a synthetic brine was used as
School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University,
Aberdeen, AB10 7GJ, UK
control. Four (4) cylindrical outcrop core samples with a
e-mail: [email protected] diameter of 38 mm and length 51 mm obtained from Texas,
K. Yates
USA through Kocurek Industries Ltd were the substrates.
School of Pharmacy and Life Science, Robert Gordon A combination of saturation test, analytical tests, particle
University, Aberdeen, AB10 7GJ, UK size distribution analysis and mechanical tests were carried
A. Akisanya out on untreated and chemically treated (biocide) core
School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, samples (carbonate). X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) and
Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK

[email protected]
184 E. Wuyep et al.
Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analyser (EDXA) techniques 3.2 Grain Size Distribution Analysis
were used to determine mineral and element compositions
respectively. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was The D10, D50 and D90 values for the glutaraldehyde effluents
used to analyse the mineral textural characteristic. While the from carbonate increased remarkably (a factor of 10) relative
particle size distribution was analysed with the use of Mal- to those of brine (Table 1).
vern Mastersizer. Compressive strength was investigated
under uniaxial compression test. The results of the tests were
then analysed using an integrated approach. 3.3 Response of Strength and Young’s Modulus
to Chemical Treatment
3 Results Figure 1a shows an increase in mean strength of untreated

carbonates (Edward brown) from 5.6 MPa to about 8.4, and
3.1 Evaluation of Elemental and Mineralogical 15 MPa owing to treatment with brine and glutaraldehyde (1
Composition of the Rock Sample and 2) respectively. The 50% and approximately 150%
increase in strength of carbonate post chemical treatment with
A cross-section of untreated carbonate (Edward brown) brine and glutaraldehyde confirms the pore space filling by the
under SEM revealed dolomitized limestone with moderately precipitated materials made possible by the
sorted euhedral-subhedral dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) mineral dissolution/precipitation reaction.
with sucrosic texture [6]. Observed in the SEM micrograph The measured Young’s modulus, E, of carbonate from
are cloudy centres and light rims which are typical of the test results shows an increase from 4 to 12 GPa fol-
dolomites. Several interconnected pore spaces were lowing treatment with glutaraldehyde and no change (5 GPa)
observed in the sample. The EDX spectrum indicates the with brine treated sample (Fig. 1b).
presence of Mg, C, O, Ca, Al, K, Cl, Si and Fe.
On the other hand, the SEM micrograph shows the glu-
taraldehyde treated carbonate to have about 90% of the pore
spaces filled with the precipitated materials which are 4 Discussion
believed to have originated from the dissolution and pre-
cipitation. EDX scan revealed 58 and 11% increase in Ca The 89–92% decrease in calcite content indicated by XRPD
and Mg content respectively in the glutaraldehyde and brine suggests a dissolution reaction; whilst the 25–29% increase
treated samples. According to existing literature [3], three in dolomite indicates a precipitation reaction. The clay
simultaneous reaction mechanisms are identified with calcite fraction shows little or no change with the clay minerals
dissolution process. Thus, in this work, the likely reactions content (kaolinite, illite and mixed-layered illite-smectite)
involving the calcite dissolution and dolomite precipitation when exposed to brine and glutaraldehyde.
when the rock is exposed to brine and glutaraldehyde are as The interaction between glutaraldehyde and the carbon-
presented below: ates as well as the interaction between the brine and glu-
taraldehyde can lead to precipitation of new materials that
Hþ fill the pore spaces (pore clogging).
CaCO3 $ Ca2 þ þ HCO
3 ð1Þ The increment of the particle size distribution on exposure
to glutaraldehyde suggests some dissolution/precipitation
CaCO3 þ H2 CO03 $ 2HCO
3 ð2Þ
reaction orchestrated by diffusion and adsorption might have
taken place between the chemical and the rock samples that
CaCO3 þ H2 O $ Ca2 þ HCO
3 þ OH

ð3Þ
led to deterioration of the grain to grain binding resulting in
grains detachment and release into the fluid stream. The result
2H
þ
Ca2 þ þ Mg2 þ þ 2C þ 7O $ CaMgðCO3 Þ2 þ H2 O ð4Þ is consistent with earlier works [2, 5].
Table 1 Grain size distribution Effluents Particle size (µm) Folks [1]
with sorting of the original brine
and the effluents Carbonate D10 D50 D90 Sorting (r1) Description
Original brine 3 7 30 0.01 Very well sorted
Carb-Brine 2 15 41 0.54 Moderately sorted
Carb-Glut 1 7 70 407 0.84 Moderately sorted
Carb-Glut 2 7 71 408 0.85 Moderately sorted
[email protected]
Sand Failure: Effect of Biocide on the Geomechanical Properties … 185
Fig. 1 Stress-strain relationship (a) Carb-Untreated (b) Carb-Untreated

in plastic regions of untreated and 18
chemically treated Edward brown
Carb-Brine Carb-Brine
carbonate: a complete response to Carb-Glut 1 Carb-Glut 1
16 14
failure; b stress-small strain Carb-Glut 2 Carb-Glut 2
response 14 12
12
10
Stress (MPa)
10
Stress (MPa)
8
8
6
6
4
4
2 2
0 0
0 5 10 0 0.05 0.1 0.15
Strain (mm/mm) Strain (%)
2. Oluyemi, G.: Conceptual physicochemical models for scale

5 Conclusion inhibitor-formation rock interaction. Pet. Sci. Tech. 32(3), 253–
260 (2014)
3. Plummer, L.N., Wigley, T.M.L., Parkhurst, D.L.: The kinetics of
The results show that chemical reactions, namely, diffusion, calcite dissolution in CO2-water systems at 5 degrees to
adsorption, dissolution and precipitation took place. The 60 degrees C and 0.0 to 1.0 atm CO2. Am. J. Sci. 278(2), 179–
interaction between biocide and carbonate rock led to pre- 216 (1978)
cipitation of new materials that filled the pore spaces giving 4. Seto, M., Nag, D.K., Vutukuri, V.S., Katsuyyama, K.: Effect of
chemical additives on the strength of sandstone. Int. J. Rock Mech.
rise to approximately 150% uniaxial compressive strength Min. Sci. 34, 3–4 (1997)
increase, a phenomenon that potentially leads to formation 5. Wuyep, E., Oluyemi, G., Yates, K., Akisanya, A.: Geochemical
damage and hydrocarbon production impediment. effects of oilfield chemicals on sand failure in reservoir rocks. J. Pet.
Sci. Eng. 165, 347–357 (2018)
6. Wuyep, E., Oluyemi, G., Yates, K., Akisanya, A.: Evaluation of the
interactions between oilfield chemicals and reservoir rocks. J. Pet.
References Sci. Eng. (2018b)
1. Folk, R.: A review of grain-size parameter. Sedimentology 6(2), 73–

93 (1966)
[email protected]
Statistical Analysis of Non-destructive
Evaluation of Concrete Strength in Several
Case Studies of Literature: Effect
of the Number of Cores on the Assessment
Predictive Capacity
Faiza Neggaz, Khoudja Ali-Benyahia, and Mohamed Ghrici
Strength assessment of existing buildings is a challenge
for structural engineers who need to feed structural There may be a need to assess in situ concrete strength when
computations with material data. Such assessment is evaluating the structural seismic capacity of existing con-
required in various contexts like the prediction of their structions, designed according to previous seismic criteria of
seismic capacity, change of use or evaluation after a which the seismic safety factors are currently considered low
seismic damage. Destructive testing (DT) (coring) in [10]. For instance, in North Algeria, thousands of public
conjunction with non-destructive testing (NDT) offer an buildings (hospitals, schools …) have to comply with the
alternative of concrete strength assessment in existing recent seismic criteria of the local code. The fundamental
constructions. The accurate quality of this strength questions which are nowadays of concern for the managers
assessment is a fundamental point. The Rebound Hammer are the estimate of residual life span and the re-categorization
(RH) and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) techniques of the structures [5].
which appear to be complementary are often used in This estimation is usually performed by compression tests
combination with the objective of improving the strength of cores that are drilled from structural elements. The coring
of the estimations. The present study is based on on-site method is expensive, invasive, time consuming and in some
data of several case-studies selected from literature. The cases difficult or impossible to be performed. In any case,
thorough statistical analysis of the data and the perfor- NDT offers an important approach, since it gives access to
mance of the models allowed showing the effect of the information of material properties with moderate cost and
number of cores used for the model identification on the rapid execution [6]. The DT in conjunction with NDT offer
assessment quality. In several situations, the conclusions an alternative method of concrete strength assessment in
aimed to quantify the number of cores needed to offer a existing buildings [9, 11–13]. The non-destructive assess-
better effectiveness of the assessment process. ment requires a relationship establishment between the
results of non-destructive tests and the compressive strength

Keywords of cores [2, 8, 11]. The accuracy of the strength assessment

Cases-study Non-destructive evaluation depends mainly on the number of cores used for calibration
RH UPV Number of cores Assessment quality [3, 4, 7]. In general, when the number of cores increases, a
good quality of assessment is observed. However, the pos-
sible negative effects on the structural stability (during and
after coring) and the budget requirements limit the number
of cores [10]. The European standard EN 13791 [8] rec-
ommends at least 18 pairs of data (core strengths and NDT
test results). ACI standard [1] recommends also six to nine
areas of measurement with two cores in each. The real
F. Neggaz K. Ali-Benyahia M. Ghrici (&)
Department of Civil Engineering, University Hassiba Benbouali, challenge aims to reduce the number of calibration cores
02000 Chlef, Algeria without reducing the assessment quality. Some research
e-mail: [email protected] works in recent literature [3, 4] tackled the question: how
K. Ali-Benyahia many cores are needed to offer a better effectiveness of
Department of Technology, University Djillali Bounaama, assessment process? These conclusions depend especially on
44225 Khemis-Miliana, Algeria

[email protected]
188 F. Neggaz et al.
the case-study analyzed. The present paper focused on results of 500 iterations with the objective of analyzing the
several real case-studies of existing constructions with the robustness of the assessment quality.
objective of analyzing the accuracy of this strength assess-
ment depending of the number of calibration cores and
providing some recommendations for more reliable assess- 3 Analysis of the Effect of Cores Number
ment using the root mean square error “RMSE” and the on the Assessment Quality
coefficient of determination “r2” as statistical indicators.
The common engineering approaches are to test the model
precision on the sample where it is identified. The real
2 Methodology of Strength Assessment challenge here is to test the assessment accuracy of the
conversion model on new data (prediction stage). The dif-
An assessment methodology (Fig. 1) is proposed in order to ference between fitting and prediction errors is usually
analyze the effect of the number of cores on the errors confused. This model can be used to evaluate strengths on
convergence of the predictive capacity. All the data of each the other measurement points (N-NC). The indicators RMSE
case-study selected from literature is considered as the same and r2 are thus used in order to estimate the distance between
population “N”. The data collected on site is in form of measured and estimated strengths on the (N-NC). The dif-
triplet (core strength “F”, Rebound “R” and Ultrasonic Pulse ference in precision between the two stages is very impor-
Velocity “V”). The cores which are used for calibration are tant, especially if NC is low, but the real practice is often
randomly selected among all the data “N”. The number NC based on only the precision of fitting model [3]. A fitting
varies between 2 and 20. For each NC, a statistical regres- model can present a good precision quality but a very low
sion leads to a specific model Fm ¼ f ðNDTm Þ: The model prediction capacity [4]. The fitting and prediction errors
shapes were tested here: the power, exponential and double present contradictory behaviors in accuracy when NC
power laws for RH, UPV and combined method respec- increases (Fig. 2). This study aimed to show the adequate
tively. Only the models of physical sense are accepted number of cores at which the fitting and prediction errors are
among the identified models. RMSE and r2 values are thus stabilized.
calculated at the identification (on sample NC) and predic-
tion (on sample N-NC) stages. All this procedure is repeated
500 iterations for each NC. Statistical properties (average, 4 Conclusion
median, 95% percentile and variability) are quantified for the
A several real case-studies of literature were used as a basis
for the analysis of the effect limit of the number of cores on
concrete strength assessment using the RMSE and coeffi-
cient r2 as statistical indicator. The fitting and prediction
errors present contradictory behaviors in precision quality if
NC increases. This study allowed quantifying the number of
cores needed to obtain a better effectiveness of the assess-
ment process.
Fig. 1 Strength assessment process at fitting and prediction stages Fig. 2 Fitting and prediction RMSE against the number of cores
[email protected]
Statistical Analysis of Non-destructive Evaluation of Concrete … 189
References 7. Breysse, D., Martinez-Fernandez, J.L.: Assessing concrete strength

with rebound hammer: review of key issues and ideas for more
reliable conclusions. Mater. Struct. 47, 1589–1604 (2014)
1. ACI 228 1R.: In-Place Methods to Estimate Concrete Strength. 8. EN 13791.: Assessment of In-Situ Compressive Strength in
American Concrete Institute, USA (2003) Structures and Precast Concrete Components. CEN (2007)
2. Ali-Benyahia, K., Ghrici, M., Kenai, S., Breysse, D., Sbartaï, Z. 9. Fiore, A., Porco, F., Uva, G., Mezzina, M.: On the dispersion of
M.: Analysis of the relationship between nondestructive and data collected by in situ diagnostic of the existing concrete. Constr.
destructive testing of low concrete strength in new structures. Build. Mater. 47, 208–217 (2013)
Asian J. Civ. Eng. 18(2), 191–205 (2017) 10. Masi, A., Chiauzzi, L.: An experimental study on the
3. Ali-Benyahia, K., Sbartaï, Z.M., Breysse, D., Kenai, S., Ghrici, M.: within-member variability of in situ concrete strength in RC
Analysis of the single and combined non-destructive test approaches building structures. Constr. Build. Mater. 47, 951–961 (2013)
for on-site concrete strength assessment: general statements based on 11. Pucinotti, R.: Reinforced concrete structure: non-destructive in situ
a real case-study. Case Stud. Constr. Mater. 6, 109–119 (2017) strength assessment of concrete. Constr. Build. Mater. 75, 331–
4. Alwash, M., Breysse, D., Sbartaï, Z.M.: Non-destructive strength 341 (2015)
evaluation of concrete: analysis of some key factors using 12. Uva, G., Porco, F., Fiore, A., Mezzina, M.: Proposal of a
synthetic simulations. Constr. Build. Mater. 99, 235–245 (2015) methodology for assessing the reliability of in situ concrete tests
5. Balayssac, J.P., Laurens, S., Breysse, D., Garnier, V.: Evaluation and improving the estimate of the compressive strength. Constr.
of Concrete Properties by Combining NDT Method. RILEM, Build. Mater. 38, 72–83 (2013)
pp. 187–192 (2013) 13. Vona, M., Nigro, D.: Evaluation of the predictive ability
6. Breysse, D.: Nondestructive evaluation of concrete strength: an of the in situ concrete strength through core drilling and its effects
historical review and a new perspective by combining NDT on the capacity of the RC columns. Mater. Struct. 39, 149–160
methods. Constr. Build. Mater. 33, 139–163 (2012) (2013)
[email protected]
Correlation of Electrical Resistivity
Test with the Geotechnical Parameters
of Sandy Soil
Ahsan Naseem, Fazal-e Jalal, Hans De Backer, Ken Schotte,

and Muhammad Kashif
Non-destructive tests (NDTs) are the most economical
and easy to use techniques to determine different soil ERT is an in situ NDT which can be used to have a good
properties. They expedite the process of determining knowledge about sub-surface profile. The major benefit of
sub-surface characteristics. These include Ground Pene- this test is that it does not require extensive testing and
trating Radars (GPRs), Seismographs, Shear Wave material transportation to the laboratory thus not only does it
Velocity (SWV) and Electrical Resistivity Test (ERT) save a lot of money but it can enable us to get rid of the
etc. ERT is nowadays getting worldwide popularity for extensive laboratory testing too. The other benefits include
determining the sub-surface geology in geotechnical less expertise, less operational costs, faster operation and
engineering, as it does not require extensive testing. This less personnel required [1, 2]. These benefits make ERT very
research aimed at developing empirical correlations of popular among the investigators to use for reconnaissance
ERT with different soil parameters by performing exten- survey of any site, to determine different sinkholes, study
sive conventional laboratory tests in order to get all the crack propagation in soils [3], problematic soil seams, set-
required soil parameters by just performing ERT in the tlement issues in an already constructed building, factor of
future, which otherwise require great time and effort to be safety (F.S) of any landslide etc. [4, 5]. But, as it is still a
determined by the conventional laboratory tests. The new technique in the geotechnical engineering, it lacks
developed correlations include relationship of resistivity reliable and sufficient amount of research which can be
value obtained in the field with the internal friction angle readily used. Despite being an expedite and easy to use
(r2 = 0.964), cohesion (r2 = 0.946) and the bearing technique, one has to conduct extensive laboratory tests after
capacity of shallow foundation (r2 = 0.90) for depth to performing ERT in order to determine different geotechnical
width ratios of 0.5 and 1.0 respectively. The regression properties of the soil for different design procedures. The
coefficients obtained ensured the development of quite currently existing correlations include a relationship of
good correlation for the sandy-clayey soil. resistivity with cone penetration and moisture content [2],
resistivity with SPT blows [1], hydraulic conductivity of

Keywords compacted clays [4, 6], Atterberg’s limits and dry density
Non destructive tests Electrical resistivity test etc. [7]. But no research has been able to develop compre-
Soil parameters hensive relationship with a high confidence value between
ERT and geotechnical soil parameters in such a way that
performing ERT alone would be enough to use the devel-
oped correlations to determine almost each soil parameter,
which otherwise would require a lot of testing, time and
money to be determined.
The correlations which were developed based upon this
research included the relationship of resistivity with shear
A. Naseem (&) H. De Backer M. Kashif strength parameters (internal friction angle (ø) and cohesion
University of Ghent, 9052 Ghent, Belgium (c)) and allowable bearing capacity for shallow foundations
e-mail: [email protected] with depth to width ratio (D/B) of 0.5 and 1.0.
Fazal-eJalal K. Schotte
COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad, 22060, Pakistan

[email protected]
192 A. Naseem et al.
2 Methodology /ð Þ ¼ 0:0985R þ 0:973 ðr2 ¼ 0:964Þ ð1Þ
The research included performing the ERT using Wenner- cðkPaÞ ¼ 36:569 0:1052R ðr2 ¼ 0:964Þ ð2Þ
Schlumberger array at 7 different locations on the site, each
of 1 km long and then the bore holes were drilled at the test
location to recover the soil samples. A total of 7 boreholes
3.2 Correlation with Bearing Capacity
were drilled using motorized auger. 28 probes were erected
at 1 m c/c spacing and contours were generated. The soil
Bearing Capacity analysis at any depth requires detailed
samples were recovered using shelby tubes from each 1.5 m
calculations of overburden stresses, cohesion, friction angle,
depth up to a maximum depth of 7.5 m. These soil samples
bearing capacity factors, relative density etc., if conventional
were then waxed and transported to the laboratory, where the
equations are to be used. So, in the development of this
conventional laboratory tests including soil gradation, direct
correlation, the allowable bearing capacity (qa) of soil was
shear tests and triaxial tests were performed in accordance
calculated with D/B ratios of 0.5 and 1.0 using conventional
with the ASTM (2014) standard procedures.
Terzaghi’s bearing capacity equation by keeping F. S = 4.0
Finally, the resistivity values obtained at each depth were
and then plotting these values for each depth against the
plotted against the obtained laboratory soil parameters of the
obtained resistivity at that corresponding depth as shown in
same depth and the empirical correlations were developed
Fig. 2. Based on the developed plot, Eq. 3 was suggested for
using the regression analysis.
the calculation of allowable bearing capacity. From Fig. 2, it
is also evident that D/B ratio has no major influence on the
empirical correlations developed.
3 Results
qa ðkPaÞ ¼ 48:446e0:0083R ðr2 ¼ 0:903Þ ð3Þ
3.1 Correlation with Shear Strength Parameters
In order to develop the correlations of resistivity with the

strength parameters, direct shear tests were performed on the
soil samples recovered from different depths. The values of
internal friction angle (ø) and cohesion (c) were then plotted
against the resistivity (R) obtained at the same depth as 1400
shown in Fig. 1. The developed equations are given by
Allowable Bearing Capacity, qa
Eqs. 1 and 2. 1200
1000
35 35
(kPa)
800
30 30
Phi, φ (degrees)
25 25 600
Cohesion, c (kPa)
20 20 400
15 15
200
10 10
0
5 5 0 100 200 300 400
Resis vity, R (ohm-m)
0 0
0 100 200 300 400
B.Capacity (D/B = Expon. (B.Capacity
Resis vity, R (ohm-m)
0.5) (D/B = 0.5))
resis vity vs phi Linear (resis vity vs
phi) B. Capacity (D/B = Expon. (B. Capacity
resis vity vs. Linear (resis vity vs. 1.0) (D/B = 1.0))
cohesion cohesion)
Fig. 2 Correlation of resistivity with allowable bearing capacity
Fig. 1 Correlation of resistivity with the shear strength parameters ðD=B ¼ 0:5; 1:0Þ
[email protected]
Correlation of Electrical Resistivity Test with the Geotech … 193
4 Discussion soil parameters for the design procedures by using the

developed correlations, which previously had to be deter-
Figure 1 shows that the trend lines developed have high mined using extensive laboratory testing.
regression values of r2 = 0.964 and r2 = 0.946 for friction
angle and cohesion, respectively. It is also evident from the
plot that the greater the density and internal friction angle, References
the greater the resistivity would be, while the greater the
cohesion, the smaller the resistivity value would be. It means 1. Sudha, K., Israil, M., Mittal, S., Rai, J.: Soil characterization using
that as the particle size increases, its resistivity value also electrical resistivity tomography and geotechnical investigations.
J. Appl. Geophys. 67(1), 74–79 (2009)
increases and vice versa.
2. Cosenza, P., Marmet, E., Rejiba, F.: Correlations between geotech-
Figure 2 shows that the trend lines developed from the nical and electrical data: a case study at Garchy in France. J. Appl.
plots yielded high regression values of about r2 = 0.912 and Geophys. 60(3), 165–178 (2006)
r2 = 0.903, respectively. The benefit of this correlation is, 3. Hassan, A., Toll, D.G.: Electrical resistivity tomography for
characterizing cracking of soils. In: Geo-congress: stability and
that just using the resistivity value now, one can obtain the
performance of slopes and embankments III, ASCE, pp. 818–827
allowable bearing capacity value instead of using the exist- (2013)
ing cumbersome conventional equations which require many 4. Abu-Hassanein, Z.S., Benson, C.H., Blotz, L.R.: Electrical resis-
inputs calculated using laborious tests to yield this value. tivity of compacted clays. J. Geotech. Eng. 122(5), 397–406 (1996)
5. Joab, M.J., Andrewsb, M.: Investigating slope failures using
electrical resistivity: case studies. Assoc. Prof. Eng. Trinidad
Tobago 38(1), 66–75 (2009)
5 Conclusion 6. Shevnin, V., Delgado-Rodríguez, O., Mousatov, A.: Estimation of
hydraulic conductivity on clay content in soil determined from
From this research, it is concluded that: firstly, ERT can be resistivity data. Geofísica internacional 45(3), 195–207 (2006)
7. Bryson, L.S.: Evaluation of geotechnical parameters using electrical
well correlated with the different geotechnical soil parame- resistivity measurements. Earthq. Eng. Soil Dyn. ASCE (2005)
ters. Secondly now ERT alone can be used to determine the
[email protected]
Evaluation of the Physical and Mechanical
Properties and Structure of Geological
Materials by Broadband Ultrasonic
Structuroscopy
Ivan A. Shibaev, Oleg D. Belov, Alexander Kravcov,

and Svetlana P. Mesyats
Abstract However, these methods are rather laborious: they require

This paper presented the results of a laboratory study of that samples be specially prepared. That is why broadband
pyroxenite and carbonate core samples taken at different ultrasonic structuroscopy has recently become increasingly
depths in an open pit mine. Longitudinal and shear wave popular as a means for evaluating the physical and
velocities in these samples were measured with an error of mechanical properties and internal structure [4] of geological
0.1%. The local porosity of the samples was evaluated materials at the micro-level.
with the use of broadband ultrasonic structuroscopy. This method involves using a laser to generate
high-power short pulses and employing a broadband
piezoelectric transducer to record signals travelling through

Keywords
Geophysics Structuroscopy Local moduli the sample and scattered by its internal heterogeneities; the
of elasticity Fractures in rocks Porosity method measures velocities of elastic waves with an error of
0.1%, attaining a depth resolution of 30 lm and a lateral
resolution of 0.5 mm. In [5, 6], such resolutions are achieved
through the use of specially designed opto-acoustic genera-
1 Introduction tors combined with a piezoelectric transducer. We used
seismic tomography to study the structure and properties of a
The evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of rock sequence. Pyroxenite and carbonate samples taken from
geological materials at different scales is very important for the rock sequence were studied using broadband ultrasonic
the mineral mining and processing industry. At the structuroscopy.
macro-level, these properties are studied by such geophysi-
cal methods as seismic tomography [1], electrical prospect-
ing, etc. At the micro-level, the porosity, fractures, and other 2 Methods and Materials
structural features of rock samples are chiefly characterized
by electron microscopy [2] and X-ray tomography [3]. Geophysical monitoring was first carried out to determine
the initial state of certain layers of the rock sequence. The
seismic survey involved evaluating longitudinal and shear
I. A. Shibaev (&) O. D. Belov wave velocities in the rock sequence, based on which the
The National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”,
Leninsky Prospect 4, Moscow, 119991, Russia
range of Poisson’s ratio m was estimated.
e-mail: [email protected] Rock samples for physical and mechanical testing and for
O. D. Belov
laboratory studies by broadband ultrasonic structuroscopy
e-mail: [email protected] were taken from different depths in the open pit mine.
A. Kravcov
The core samples were 60–120 mm long on average.
Department of Construction Technology, Faculty of Civil Longitudinal and shear wave velocities in pyroxenite and
Engineering in Prague, Thákurova 7/2077, carbonate samples were calculated from the difference in the
166 29 Prague 6—Dejvice, Czech Republic arrival times of the signals reflected from the front surface
and bottom of the samples.
S. P. Mesyats Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus were determined
The Establishment of RAS Mining Institute, 14, Fersman Str,
Apatity, Murmansk reg., 184209, Russia
from these velocities.

[email protected]
196 I. A. Shibaev et al.
Table 1 Acoustic and elastic properties of rocks of the Kovdorskoye iron ore deposit
Seismic monitoring data
Rock Longitudinal wave velocity, Cp (m/s) Shear wave velocity, Cs (m/s) Poisson’s ratio
1. Pyroxenite 2860–6820 1018–4034 0.17–0.32
2. Carbonatite 2640–5810 1500–4080 0.01–0.33
Laboratory data
Rock Average value of longitudinal wave, Cp Average value of shear wave, Cs Poisson’s ratio Young’s modulus
(m/s) (m/s) (m) (GPa)
1. Pyroxenite 6893 4390 0.16 138
2. Carbonatite 4337 2625 0.23 53
3 Results
The results of the examination of the rock samples from the

Kovdorskoye complex ore deposit (iron ore deposit in the
Murmansk region of Russia) by the ultrasonic method for
laboratory determination of elastic and strength properties
are given in Table 1.
Longitudinal wave velocities measured in the northern
side of the open pit mine vary from 2600 to 6800 m/s, which
is in good agreement with the laboratory data.
The seismic monitoring revealed that longitudinal wave
velocities vary over a wide range; this means that there is a
high degree of variability of rock properties, which is pri-
marily due to fractures in the rocks.
If we introduce coefficient Be for estimating the degree of
fracturing, which value is calculated by the below formula Fig. 1 Porosity map of pyroxenite sample
(1):
2
Cp0 4 Discussion
Be ¼ 1 ð1Þ
Cpi
The results of the ultrasonic study allowed the mechanical
where cp0 is the velocity of longitudinal waves in a solid
characteristics of rocks to be described at different scales
rock mass and cpi is the velocity of longitudinal waves in a
without resorting to mechanical and destructive testing [8];
fractured rock mass, then it is possible to evaluate the degree also, the energy consumption of an ore concentration process
of fracturing of the rock mass, which determines its stability. can be predicted.
Also, using the well-known expression [7], the porosity Accordingly, the inefficiency of beneficiation of certain
of the rock samples was recalculated by the following for- minerals can be justified.
mula (2):
" 2 #32
C 5 Conclusion
P¼ 1 ð2Þ
C0
Based on the aforesaid results, it can be stated that differ-
where C0 is the maximum velocity of longitudinal waves in ences in the elastic characteristics of pyroxenite were suc-
the sample and C is the local velocity of longitudinal waves. cessfully studied by broadband ultrasonic structuroscopy,
Additional measurements of local shear wave velocity compared to seismic monitoring data.
made it possible to determine the elastic characteristics of the Broadband ultrasonic structuroscopy allows minor chan-
sample. ges in the internal structure of rock samples to be revealed;
Figure 1 shows a porosity map of a pyroxenite sample. the method makes it possible to determine the local elastic
[email protected]
Evaluation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties … 197
moduli and porosity of rock samples with high accuracy 4. Cherepetskaya, E.B., Karabutov, A.A., Makarov, V.A., Mironova,
without resorting to X-ray tomography. E.A., Shibaev, I.A., Vysotin, N.G., Morozov, D.V.: Internal
structure research of Shungite by broadband ultrasonic spec-
troscopy. Key Eng. Mater. 755, 242–247 (2017)
Acknowledgements This work was carried out with the financial 5. Kravcov, A., Svoboda, P., Konvalinka, A., Cherepetskaya, E.B.,
support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 16-17-10181). Karabutov, A.A., Morozov, D.V., Shibaev, I.A.: Laser-ultrasonic
testing of the structure and properties of concrete and carbon
fiber-reinforced plastics. Key Eng. Mater. 722, 267–272 (2017)
6. Podymova, N.B., Karabutov, A.A., Cherepetskaya, E.B.: Laser
References optoacoustic method for quantitative nondestructive evaluation of
the subsurface damage depth in ground silicon wafers. Laser Phys.
1. Melnikov, N.N., Mesyats, S.P., Ostapenko, S.P., Cherepetskaya, E. 24(8), 086003 (2014)
B., Shibaev, I.A., Morozov, N.A., Kravcov, A.N., Konvalinka, A.: 7. Podymova, N.B., Karabutov, A.A., Cherepetskaya, E.B.: Measuring
Investigation of disturbed rock zones in open-pit mine walls by the dependence of the local Young’s modulus on the porosity of
seismic tomography. Key Eng. Mater. 755, 147–152 (2017) isotropic composite materials by a pulsed acoustic method using a
2. Ming, Z., Ning, J.G., Zhang, H.B., Liu, X.S.: Study on microscopic laser source of ultrasound. J. Appl. Mech. Tech. Phys. 54(3),
structure and mineral composition of shallow rock using SEM. Key 500–507 (2013)
Eng. Mater. 303–306, 2552–2558 (2013) 8. Shibaev, I.A., Cherepetskaya, E.B., Bychkov, A.S., Zarubin, V.P.,
3. Kravcov, A., Svoboda, P., Konvalinka, A., Cherepetskaya, E.B., Ivanov, P.N.: Evaluation of the internal structure of dolerite
Sas, I.E., Morozov, N.A., Zatloukal, J., Koťátková, J.: Evaluation of specimens using X-ray and laser ultrasonic tomography. Int.
crack formation in concrete and basalt specimens under cyclic J. Civil Eng. Tech. 9(9), 84–92 (2018)
uniaxial load using acoustic emission and computed X-Ray
tomography. Key Eng. Mater. 722, 247–253 (2017)
[email protected]
Part V
Geomechanics and Geotechnics: The Behavior
of Soils Under Dynamic Loading
[email protected]
Mechanical Instability of Sandy Soils Under
Seismic Effect (Algeria)
Mohammed Bousmaha, Mohamed Bensoula, Renaud Toussaint,

Hanifi Missoum, and Karim Bendani
Abstract corresponding to the earthquake recorded in Boumerdes in

The aim of this work was to study the saturated sand 2003 (Algeria).
behavior under seismic effects which are stressed with
several seismic vibrations and a reproduced seismic
shaking frequency. The external excitation was operated 2 Settings
by regular horizontal oscillations with controlled fre-
quency and amplitude. The liquefaction had then a direct 2.1 Experimental Study
impact on the vertical displacement of intruders. We
concluded that the movement of the intruder depends on The soil is located in the city of Oran in northwestern
the imposed acceleration and the relative density. Algeria known for its considerable seismic activity. The sea
front of the city of Oran is at important risk of collapse by
the prolonged flow of the groundwater. The sample consists

Keywords
Saturated sand Seismic shaking Frequency mainly of sand with a low plasticity index. A series of lab-
Vertical displacement Acceleration oratory tests were conducted to obtain the geotechnical
characteristics of the sample [1]; the sample is sand and
graded (SP). From the results obtained from the characteri-
zation tests, we have:
1 Introduction cs 2.663: specific gravity of soil grain,
emin 0.672: minimum void ratio (corresponding to dense
Liquefaction is an important phenomenon in the mechanical state),
instability of a geotechnical study. Its factors have been emax 0.967: maximum void ratio (corresponding to loose
constantly modified to have an approach avoiding a catas- state).
trophic failure of the ground and controlling the mechanical
instability under seismic vibration. An accurate determina-
tion of critical conditions has been a major challenge for
geotechnical engineering. This experimental study allowed 2.2 Materials
us to know the mechanical behavior in seismic conditions of
a saturated reconstituted sample medium and loose density The reconstituted loose state preparation method remains an
taken at the port of Oran. In a dynamic condition, the aim important subject in the experimental field of geotechnics
was to provoke the sand sample under seismic solicitations [3]. There are two sample preparation methods for both dry
and saturated conditions for laboratory use such as sedi-
mentation with or without dry or wet tamping or pluviation
through a funnel. To do this, the correct choice method must
M. Bousmaha (&)
University USTO MB of Oran, Oran, Algeria
reproduce the conditions in situ of the soil. The aim was to
e-mail: [email protected] mimic the evolution of the vertical displacement of an
M. Bensoula H. Missoum K. Bendani
intruder in a Plexiglas box. The experimental studies consist
University of Mostaganem, Mostaganem, Algeria in applying a seismic shaking to granular medium. We used
R. Toussaint
two different densities in order to cover a wider band of data
University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France (medium and loose state). The free end of the rod was

[email protected]
202 M. Bousmaha et al.
attached to one side of this box and the other was attached to The first phase of the vibratory stress tests was performed to
the engine. When the motor is run horizontally, the Plexiglas achieve a displacement reaching a peak which corresponds
box is affected by a sinusoidal movement. to the maximum of depression of the studied sample fol-
lowed by a horizontal line signifying the end of the test by a
loss of resistance [2, 5]. In the vibratory test using a seismic
3 Results frequency of the Boumerdes earthquake in 2003 (Fig. 1), the
use of the same frequency allows us to get an idea of the soil
At different vibration types, saturated sand samples are behavior over a short time span (Fig. 2).
sensitive to liquefying. On the other situation, it can be The aim was to have a sand behavior idea at different
observed that the samples show the same behavior for the modes of vibratory stress for saturated sand corresponding to
same initial relative density and at the different vibrations. a minimum relative density. In the saturated cases, it is the
Fig. 1 Earthquake of Boumerdes 2003
Fig. 2 Representation of vertical displacement max with both relative densities
[email protected]
Mechanical Instability of Sandy Soils Under Seismic Effect … 203
Table 1 Recap of maximum Dr = 0% Start 312 Start 317 Start 319 Start 320 Start 321
displacements results with two
different relative densities (Dr) Time (s) 9375 9125 1,079,167 1,095,833 8,958,333
Displacement max (mm) 1,616,667 1,491,803 1,770,492 1,852,459 142,623
Dr = 45% Start 297 Start 299 Start 300 Start 301 Start 302
Time (s) 9,166,667 925 9,166,667 9,041,667 9375
Displacement max (mm) 6,164,384 630,137 5,616,438 4,931,507 6,712,329
presence of the Archimedes condition which is the often After conducting the experiments in the case where the
responsible for the penetration of the intruder [4]. From the penetration height of the intruder exceeds 10%, the results
two states test studied previously, it is possible to assume the show that the sand may be subject to a potential risk of
results based on the following Table 1 and the correspond- liquefaction.
ing results are shown in Fig. 2. Beyond 30% of this height, liquefaction is more accen-
tuated and this can be adequately interpreted by the relative
density.
4 Discussion Finally, void ratio, relative density and vibratory fre-
quency of the seism are to be considered as essential
The test consisted in following the penetration of an intruder parameters for the liquefaction phenomena. With great
in saturated sand with distilled water since the liquefaction acceleration and saturation, the sandy soil is affected by this
of the environment occurs with the water under seismic phenomenon.
shaking [5]. Because, the Archimedes force is present only
in a saturated situation, its presence is often responsible
for the intruder penetration [4]. The results analysis References
led to establish a relation between the intruder max dis-
placement and the corresponding time, see the following 1. Bousmaha, M., Missoum, H., Bendani, K., Derkaoui, M., Bel-
equations: houari, F.: Experimental study on mechanical instability of sand-silt
mixtures. Int. J. Appl. Eng. Res 11(3), 2149–2156. ISSN 0973-4562
(2016)
Situation 1: Depmax = 1.82 t − 1.61 With Dr = 0% and
2. Clément, C., Toussaint, R., Stojanova, M., Aharonov, E.: Sinking
if t 2 [9, 11] s
during earthquakes: critical acceleration criteria control drained soil
Situation 2: Depmax = 5.23 t − 42.2 With Dr = 45% and liquefaction. Phys. Rev. E 97, 022905. https://doi.org/10.1103/
if t 2 [9, 9.5] s physreve.97.022905 (2018)
3. Ladd, R.S.: Specimen preparation and liquefaction of sands.
J. Geotech. Eng. ASCE 100(GT10), 1180–1184 (1974)
4. Sanchez-Colina, G., Alonso-Llanes, L., Martinez, E., Batista-Leyva,
A.J., Clément, C., Fliedner, C., Toussaint, R., Altshuler, E.:
5 Conclusion Note: «lock-in accelerometry» to follow sink dynamics in shaken
granular matter. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85(12), 126101 (2014)
5. Toussaint, R., Clément, C., Fliedner, C., Stojanova, M., Aharonov,
The principal objective of this work was to study the phe- E., Sanchez-Colina, G.E., Altshuler, A., Batista-Leyva, J., Flekkøy,
nomenon of liquefaction obtained by horizontal shaking in a E.G.: Sink vs. tilt penetration into shaken dry granular
saturated medium. Sand taken from the port of Oran. Seis- matter: the role foundation. Geophys. Res. Abstr. 16 EGU2014,
mic tests were carried out in two densities (loose and med- 12539 (2014)
ium) for saturated sand in the case of a seismic vibration.
[email protected]
Seismic Response and Failure Mechanism
of the Subway Station: A Literature Review
Zhi-Xiang Zhan and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract displacement of the subway station is restrained by the

Because of the surrounding soil around the subway surrounding soil and the seismic acceleration of the under-
station, it is generally believed that the aseismic behavior ground structure is smaller than that of the ground structure.
of the underground subway station is so good that Therefore, the aseismic design of the subway station has
research on the seismic response of the underground been ignored over the past several decades. However, the
structures is of no use. However, in 1995, Daikai subway subway station would be damaged seriously under the action
station was the first large-scale underground structure that of the strong earthquake, such as the earthquake damage at
almost collapsed in the earthquake, which aroused Daikai subway station. Figures 1 and 2 [1] show the seismic
people’s attention to the aseismic design of the under- response and failure mechanism of the subway station under
ground structures. In this paper, a systematic summary of the action of El Centro wave. Different from the ground
the seismic response research about the subway stations structures, the subway station needs to bear the self-weight
was proposed as a reference for researchers based on of the overlying soil. Under the action of strong earthquakes,
several documents. The effects of the earthquake, geo- the vertical bearing capacity of mid-columns and lateral
logical condition and structural characteristics on the walls decreases. And the self-weight of the overlying soil
earthquake damage of Daikai subway station were and the inertia force of the vertical earthquake loading will
summarized. In addition, some suggestions we are put result in the large deformation of the vertical components
forward for the further study of the seismic response and and the roof of the subway station. The decrease of the
failure mechanism of the subway station. Finally, some bearing capacity of the joint between the roof and the lateral
measures for the isolation and shock absorption were wall will increase the axial compression ratio of the
proposed. mid-columns, which will accelerate their damage. What is
more, the reduction of the restraint of the lateral wall to the
roof accelerates the deformation of the roof. When the

Keywords
Subway station Seismic response Failure mid-columns are seriously damaged, the roof cannot bear
mechanism Isolation and shock absorption the self-weight of the overlying soil and falls. Finally, the
structure collapses.
Research about the seismic response and the failure
mechanism was summarized systematically in this paper to
1 Introduction give a reference to the design and construction of the subway
station.
The rapid development of the economy and the explosion of
the population in large cities result in the traffic jam on the
ground surface, which promotes the development of the 2 Analysis Methods
subway tunnels and stations. As we know, the lateral
The methods to analyze the seismic response and the failure
Z.-X. Zhan Z.-D. Cui (&) mechanism of the subway station mainly include the theo-
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground retical analysis, numerical simulation, model test and field
Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China measurement. The results obtained by using the first three
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu,
methods are usually verified by using the last method.

[email protected]
206 Z.-X. Zhan and Z.-D. Cui
Fig. 1 The deformation

evolutionary process of the
subway station under the action
of El Centro wave
Fig. 2 The damage evolutionary

process of the subway station
under the action of El Centro
wave
The simplified methods for seismic analysis of under- not monotonous with the increase of the aspect ratio of
ground structures are summarized in Table 1 [2]. Those columns and there is a recommended aspect ratio range.
methods do not consider the vertical earthquake loading and Among all the subway stations that have been built, some
are only suitable for small earthquakes. What is more, under have irregular cross sections. Tang et al. [6] studied the
the action of strong earthquakes, the cumulative damage of damage mechanisms of a variable cross-section subway
materials, the fracture, contact and collision of components, station structure in complex geological ground by con-
and the interaction of soil-structure should be considered. structing a three-dimensional numerical model and found
The numerical simulation considering the interaction of that the seismic response of sub-layer of the variable
soil-structure mainly includes the substructure and global cross-section subway station structure with a narrow base
analysis methods [3]. When using the method of global was stronger than that of the up-layer, which is different
analysis, the non-uniform and nonlinear material properties from that of the ordinary ones. In addition, the peak accel-
of the generalized structure, the irregular terrain and the eration, velocity and relative lateral displacement of the
contact nonlinearity can be considered. Two conventional variable cross-section subway station structure with a narrow
pseudo-static analyses, applying either a displacement-based base are also different from those of the ordinary ones.
or a force-based approach, were carried out to simulate the The seismic damage data about the real subway stations
seismic response of the subway station [4]. The mid-column are very scarce. So the model tests mainly including the
is the key component of the subway station. The columns shaking table test and centrifuge test are used to obtain some
with different aspect ratios have different lateral seismic seismic damage data. Zou et al. [7] proposed an improved
capacity. So finding a reasonable aspect ratio is a significant Finite Element method called New Pseudo-Static Analysis to
problem. The ultimate bearing capacity analysis of isolated predict the nonlinear behavior of underground frame struc-
columns of various sizes was performed using the finite tures subjected to increasing horizontal seismic excitations,
element software ABAQUS/CAE [5]. The results indicate which can predict the nonlinear performances of under-
that the ultimate bearing capacity of the isolated columns is ground structures under horizontal earthquake loadings.
[email protected]
Seismic Response and Failure Mechanism of the Subway Station … 207
Table 1 Characteristics of simplified methods for seismic analysis of underground structure cross-section
Analysis Key parameter Advantage Disadvantage Application scope
methods
Seismic The inertia force of the structure, dynamic It is suitable for the ground It is not suitable for It should be
coefficient earth pressure and the height calculation of the structures the underground aborted
method overlying soil structures
Method of Deformation of the free field It has a simple form and is easy The interaction of The stiffness
free field to be achieved soil-structure is difference
deformation ignored between soil and
structure is small
Method of Deformation of the free field and interaction It has a simple form and the The burial depth of It is suitable for
flexibility coefficient of soil-structure interaction of soil-structure is structures and the type the conventional
coefficient considered preliminarily of earthquakes are design
ignored
Response Foundation spring stiffness, relative The interaction of soil-structure The foundation spring It is suitable for
displacement displacement of soil layers, shear force is considered and the theoretical stiffness is not easy to the conventional
method between the adjacent soil layers and the inertia basis is enough determine design
force of the structure
Response Horizontal effective acceleration The interaction of soil-structure The effective response It is suitable for
acceleration is considered and the theoretical acceleration is not the conventional
method basis is enough accurate design
Pushover Target displacement and horizontal effective It is the improved pushover The type of the load is It is suitable for
analysis acceleration analysis method used for the single, which is not the conventional
method ground structures and its easy to achieve design
concept is clear
(5) The multi-level isolation and shock absorption tech-

3 Conclusion nology should be applied during the construction of the
subway station.
The seismic response and failure mechanism of the subway
station were summarized in this paper. The drawn conclu- Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D
sions are as follows. Program of China (2017YFC1500702)
(1) The poor aseismic performance of the mid-column is

the key factor for the damage of collapse of a subway References
station. Different from the ground structures, the
self-weight of the overlying soil and the inertia force of 1. Li, W.T.: Study on seismic responses of soil large-scale structure
the vertical earthquake loading acting on the roof of the interaction system. Tongji University, China (2017)
underground structures will change the axial compres- 2. Xu, C., Xu, Z., Du, X., et al.: Comparative study of simplified
methods for seismic analysis of underground structure. Earthq. Eng.
sion ratio of the mid-column, which has an important Eng. Dyn. 37(2), 65–80 (2017)
influence on the deformation capacity and shear 3. Du, X.L., Li, Y., Xu, C.S., et al.: Review on damage causes and disaster
strength of the mid-column. mechanism of Daikai subway station during 1995 Osaka-Kobe
(2) The simplified methods for the seismic analysis of the earthquake. Chin. J. Geotech. Eng. 40(2), 223–236 (2018)
4. Fabozzi, S., Licata, V., Autuori, S., et al.: Prediction of the seismic
underground structures do not consider the vertical behavior of an underground railway station and a tunnel in Napoli
earthquake loading, so the simplified methods based on (Italy). Undergr. Space 2(2), 88–105 (2017)
the more advanced dynamic approaches should be 5. Chen, Z.Y., Liu, Z.Q.: Effects of central column aspect ratio on
studied and applied. seismic performances of subway station structures. Adv. Struct.
Eng. 21(1), 14–29 (2018)
(3) The cumulative damage of materials, the fracture, 6. Tang, B., Chen, S., Li, X., et al.: Numerical simulation on seismic
contact and collision of components, and the interaction behavior of variable cross-section subway station structure in complex
of soil-structure should be considered in the numerical geological ground. Int. Collab. Lifeline Earthq. Eng., 464–470 (2016)
simulation. 7. Zou, Y., Liu, H., Jing, L., et al.: A pseudo-static method for seismic
responses of underground frame structures subjected to increasing
(4) The nonlinear method for seismic response analysis excitations. Tunneling Undergr. Space Technol. 65, 106–120 (2017)
under complex geological conditions should be studied.
[email protected]
Dynamic Characteristics of Soft Clay
Under Traffic Load
Shi-An Dai and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract dynamic load through a series of sine waves and superpo-

The widely distributed soft clay in Shanghai is particu- sitions. Later generations generally accepted this simulation
larly prone to settlement, causing many disasters. In order method and obtained a wide range of applications. In order
to predict the settlement of soft soil, an in-house dynamic to study the long-term cumulative subsidence of subgrade
triaxial test was carried out to study the influence of under traffic load, the subgrade and track were numerically
dynamic stress amplitude, frequency and effective aver- simulated [2]. The dynamic response of the railway subgrade
age principal stress on the axial strain of soft soil. It laid was studied by changing the indoor model tests such as train
the foundation for the study of settlement of soft clay in running speed, axial load and train dynamic load cycle. The
Shanghai. This article also put forward many places worth undrained deformation behavior of saturated soft soil under
considering and investigating and hoped to help scholars. long-term cyclic loading was studied [3, 4]. The frequency
of natural vibration of the foundation is about 2.3 Hz [5].
The following data is cited from the literature [6].

Keywords
Cyclic loading Part of the drainage Interval load In this paper, the dynamic properties of saturated soft
Axial strain clays were studied using the intermittent and partial drainage
methods. Dynamic triaxial tests were conducted to study the
dynamic properties of saturated soft clays.
1 Introduction
2 Experimental Results and Analysis
With the rapid development of the transportation industry,
people have higher requirements for the durability and safety This paper studied the influence of dynamic stress ampli-
of transportation facilities. The high compressibility, high tude, frequency and effective mean principal stress on axial
water content, low permeability, and low bearing capacity of strain. The mean effective principal stress is one-third of the
soft soil are great challenges facing the transportation effective axial pressure plus twice the effective confining
industry. Large settlements often occur in the construction of pressure.
railways and highways on soft soils. Therefore, it is of great
practical significance to study the dynamic response and (1) The average effective principal stress affects the results.
long-term accumulation mechanism of soft soil under traffic
load. In Fig. 1, the single curve in the soil is in a rising state,
A large number of scholars have studied the long-term which increases faster after the existing turning point. There
settlement of soft soil foundation under traffic load. Jeknins is no simple linear change between maximum dynamic strain
[1] summarized the contents of predecessors’ studies and and dynamic stress amplitude. Figure 1 is the turning point
based on the existing research results, simulated a train because of the existence of this test based on the undisturbed
soil; when the dynamic stress amplitude is small because the
S.-A. Dai Z.-D. Cui (&) soil has structural, cumulative plastic deformation, the soil
China State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep mass deformation cannot take place obviously. This
Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil enhanced many scholars to put forward the law of the
threshold cyclic stress of soil. The larger the average effec-
e-mail: [email protected] tive principal stress, the less the influence of axial strain.

[email protected]
210 S.-A. Dai and Z.-D. Cui
3.5 (3) The effect of stress amplitude on the test results
3.0 p'0=35kPa In Figs. 3 and 4 the soil is under different dynamic stress
p'0=51kPa amplitudes, the axial strain decreases with the increase of
2.5 p'0=69kPa load vibration frequency, but this is not simply a linear
(%)
change between them. It shows that the relationship between

2.0 the vibration frequency and dynamic strain does not simply
Axial strain
come from the load and allows the possibility to another

1.5 interpretation. There is a certain natural frequency in the
foundation soil, and when the frequency of external load is
1.0
close to its natural frequency, the soil will produce larger
dynamic strain and smaller dynamic strength. Therefore, the
0.5
0.0 1.5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Dynamic stress amplitude d (kPa)
d=10 kPa
1.2
Fig. 1 Variations of axial strain with dynamic stress under different d=20 kPa
effective principal stress means
d=30 kPa
(%)
0.9
The reason is that under the impact of the main stress, the d
Axial strain
soil is squeezed, and the space that can be compressed is
very small. 0.6
(2) Frequency affects the outcome

0.3
In Fig. 2, the results show that at the same frequency, the

axial strain and the dynamic stress amplitude are almost
0.0
linear. There is no obvious inflection point in the graph, and 0 1 2 3 4 5
the higher the frequency, the smaller the effect of axial Frequency f (Hz)
strain. The higher the frequency, the faster the vibration
Fig. 3 Variations of maximum axial strain with vibration frequency
frequency, the easier the soil compression and the less under different dynamic stresses
obvious the axial strain.
1.4 3.5
1.2 f=1 Hz 3.0

d =10kPa
f=2.5 Hz
d =20kPa
1.0 f=4 Hz
2.5 =30kPa
(%)
d
(%)
d
0.8 2.0
Axial strain
Axial strain
0.6 1.5
0.4 1.0
0.2 0.5
0.0 0.0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72
Dynamic stress amplitude d (kPa) Effective mean principal stress p'0 (kPa)
Fig. 2 Variations of axial strain with dynamic stress under different Fig. 4 Variations of maximum axial strain with effective mean
vibration frequencies principal stress under different dynamic stresses
[email protected]
Dynamic Characteristics of Soft Clay Under Traffic Load 211
influence of vibration frequency factor on the dynamic level of the soil dynamic strain; the soil dynamic strain
characteristics of saturated soft clay is not simple with the increases as the dynamic stress amplitude, and decrea-
increase of vibration frequency and the decrease of dynamic ses as the effective mean principal stress.
strain. (2) Generally speaking, the low frequency load will cause
the soil to produce larger dynamic strain, but there is a
certain natural frequency for the foundation soil; when
3 Discussion the applied load frequency is close to its natural fre-
quency, it can cause the soil to have a more dynamic
This paper discussed the influence of dynamic stress strain and its dynamic strength will be reduced.
amplitude, frequency and effective mean principal stress on
the soil axial strain. Without considering other factors, the
number of test groups in this paper is relatively small, and Acknowledgements The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
the results may be biased. In addition, the traffic load can Universities (2018ZZCX04) funded this work, which is greatly
appreciated.
also cause changes in the horizontal soil stress. So it is
necessary to consider the influence of confining pressure on
the dynamic characteristics of the soil.
In fact, at a certain moment, there is not much ring References
oscillation caused by traffic load. The duration of the interval
should also be considered. In addition, although the 1. Jenkins, H.: The effect of track and vehicle parameter on wheel-rail
remodeled soil was relatively easy to obtain following a vertical forces. Railway Eng. 3(1), 21–27 (1974)
desired pattern, it lacks the structural properties of the 2. Cai, Y., Cao, X.W.: The critical dynamic stress and permanent
deformation of subgrade filling soil under repeated loading.
original soil itself, and therefore is not practical. J. Southwest Univ. 31(1), 1–5 (1996)
3. Jiang, H.G.: Research on the interaction and accumulation settle-
ment of the high-speed railway slab track structure-subgrade
4 Conclusion dynamic interaction. Zhejiang University (2014)
4. Guo, L., Wang, J., Cai, Y., et al.: Undrained deformation behavior
of saturated soft clay under long-term cyclic loading. Soil Dyn.
This paper analyzed the influence of dynamic stress ampli- Earthq. Eng. 50, 28–37 (2013)
tude, frequency and effective average principal stress on 5. Bian, X.C., Chen, Y.M.: Response characteristics of layered
axial strain. Its main conclusions can be stated as follows. foundation under the action of moving load. J. Rock Mech. Eng.
26(01), 182–189 (2007)
6. Yang, J.Q.: Study on dynamic behavior and long-term cumulative
(1) The dynamic stress amplitude and effective mean settlement of saturated soft soil foundation under train load. China
principal stress are the main factors to determine the University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (2017)
[email protected]
Case Study of Reliability Liquefaction
Analysis Based on Standard Penetration
Test: Sakarya City (Turkey)
Zamila Harichane, Ayfer Erken, Mohamed Ghrici,

and Alaa Chateauneuf
Abstract the difficulty and expense to preserve undisturbed samples

In the present paper, the standard penetration test and reproduce the stress state, empirical methods based on
(SPT) based liquefaction trigging analysis using the in situ tests such as the standard penetration test (SPT) or the
first-order moment method probabilistic method (FORM) cone penetration test (CPT) are rather used [2]. Determin-
was conducted in the Sakarya (Turkey). Variability of istically, soil liquefaction is assessed using a safety factor to
input parameters for a specified level of risk was judge whether liquefaction would occur or not. But the
considered. The reliability analysis of liquefaction trig- inability of this kind of method to determine the liquefaction
gering was followed in order to take into account the probability related to a safety factor [3], probabilistic
uncertainties of input parameters. The SPT results were methods provide a more reliable analysis. Several practical
obtained in an experimental program following the 1999 reliability-based methods were proposed by several
Kocaeli earthquake. These results together with the researchers. Mostly, these methods are based on Seed and
empirical approach of Seed and Idriss and its updates, Idriss [4] method together with NSP- or CPT-data to assess
used in a probabilistic framework, were enough to soil liquefaction triggering.
confirm the occurrence of liquefaction in the studied area. In this paper, a probabilistic procedure for liquefaction
evaluation incorporating uncertainties in the input parame-
ters which were treated as random variables was conducted

Keywords
based on the popular Seed and Idriss liquefaction analysis

Factor of safety FORM Uncertainty
Liquefaction SPT method. The probabilistic approach was built from the steps
in a deterministic liquefaction analysis and the accuracy of
the procedure of analysis was studied by conducting a case
study.
1 Introduction
During major earthquakes the occurrence of soil liquefaction 2 Deterministic Model for Soil Liquefaction
is one of the most disastrous factors that may cause eco- Trigging
nomic and human losses. An important aspect for earthquake
risk analysis and hazard management is the evaluation of the The deterministic evaluation of liquefaction potential of soils
liquefaction potential of soil [1]. Many methods have been is frequently carried using the simplified procedure origi-
carried out to study le liquefaction triggering but because of nally proposed by Seed and Idriss [4] and which, since then,
has undergone several revisions and updates using the SPT.
Z. Harichane (&) M. Ghrici The evaluation of liquefaction resistance in the Seed and
Geomaterial Laboratory, University Hassiba Benbouali of Chlef, Idriss procedure involves two calculation steps: (1) the
Chlef, Algeria cyclic stress ratio (CSR), i.e. the cyclic loading on the soil
caused by the earthquake and (2) the cyclic resistance ratio
A. Erken (CRR) which expresses the resistance of the soil to
Civil Engineering Faculty, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul,
Turkey
liquefaction.
A. Chateauneuf
Institut Pascal, University of Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand,
France

[email protected]
214 Z. Harichane et al.
3 Reliability Analysis for Soil Liquefaction 1 lz l lRS

b¼ ¼ ¼ pRffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð3Þ
Trigging dz dz r2R þ r2S
The different variables involved in this deterministic method where dz is the covariance coefficient, lR and rR the mean
are prone to uncertainties. So reliability assessment of liq- value and standard deviation, respectively, of R and lS and
uefaction may provide means of evaluating the combined rS those of S. The Hasofer Lind method which is a first-order
effects of uncertainties in providing better engineering reliability method (FORM) [2] was used here.
decisions [5, 6]. The liquefaction potential may be evaluated
at different depths within a soil profile since both CSR and
CRR vary with depth. The reliability analysis for soil liq- 4 Results
uefaction consists in defining the performance function.
A specified value (or state) called the limit state of the In an experimental program [7] led in the Sakarya-Adapazari
performance function may be used to judge on the occur- region following the Kocaeli earthquake of Magnitude
rence of liquefaction. A simple form of the performance M = 7.4, SPT results are available for several places. A soil
function for liquefaction is expressed as: profile and index properties of a borehole under a tilted area
was chosen. The safety factor against liquefaction was cal-
Z ¼ RS ð1Þ culated as the ratio between the CRRand CSRM=7.5 r0v =1atm
where CRRM=7.5, r0v =1atm and CSRM=7.5 r0v =1atm are,
where S denotes the CSR and R the CRR. So, if Z = R −
respectively, the CRR and CSR adjusted for M = 7.5 and
S < 0, the performance state is “failure”, i.e., liquefaction
r0v = 1 atm. CRRM=7.5, r0v =1atm is deduced from the values of
occurs. If Z = R − S > 0, the performance state is “safe”,
the equivalent clean sand corrected SPT (N1)60cs and
i.e., no liquefaction occurs. If Z = R − S = 0, the perfor-
CSRM=7.5 r0v =1atm according to Boulanger and Idriss [8]. The
mance state is on a “limit state”, i.e., on the boundary
between liquefaction and non-liquefaction states [3]. To deterministic data and results of the borehole BH4 are
account for measurements or inherent uncertainties in esti- plotted in Fig. 1. Judging on factor of safety against lique-
mating CSR and CRR, the input parameters may be con- faction, the occurrence of liquefaction is expected. To con-
sidered as random variables. The liquefaction probability Pf duct the reliability analysis, the input parameters (fines
is defined as the probability of Z = R − S : content (FC), SPT blow count value (N1)60, peak ground
acceleration (amax), magnitude (MW), total pressure (rv), and
Z0 effective pressure (r0v )) were considered as normally dis-
pf ¼ PðZ 0Þ¼ fz ðzÞdz ¼ Ffz ð0Þ ð2Þ
tributed random variables. The amax value was assumed
1
0.4 g and the MW value is 7.4. The coefficients of variation
where fz(Z) and Fz(Z) denote, respectively, the probability (Cv) of the parameters were estimated according to Phoon
density function (PDF) and cumulative probability function [9] (Table 1). The obtained results are shown in Fig. 2. From
(CPF) of Z. The reliability index b is defined according to Fig. 2, the probability of failure is close to one (1), except for
the first-order and second moment method, as the depth z = 8.0 m because of the low value of fine content
Fig. 1 Deterministic data and (a) (N1)60cs (b) CRR M=7.5, (c) CRR M=7.5, (d) Factor of safety
v'=1atm v'=1atm
results of the borehole BH4:
0 10 20 30 0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
a (N1)60cs, b CSR M=7.5, r0v =1atm, 0 0
0 0
c CRR M=7.5, r0v =1atm, d factor of
safety (FS) 5 5 5 5
10 10 10 10
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
15 15 15 15
20 20 20 20
25 25 25 25
30 30 30 30
35 35 35 35
Table 1 Coefficients of Parameter FC (N1)60 amax MW rv r0v

variation of input parameters
Cv 0.35 0.40 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.20
[email protected]
Case Study of Reliability Liquefaction Analysis … 215
Fig. 2 a Probability of failure, (c)

b index of friability and c factors (a) Failure probability (b) Fiability index
affecting the friability analysis 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 -3 -1.5 0 (N1)60 FC SV1 SV AMAX MW
against liquefaction at the 0 0
borehole BH4
5 5
10 10
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
15 15
20 20
25 25
30 30
35 35
(FC = 15) [9]. Also, the friability index obtained according 2. Phoon, K.K., Ching, J.: Risk and Reliability in Geotechnical. CRC
to Eq. (3) is negative because of the negative values of the Press Taylor & Francis Group (2015)
3. Hwang, C.W., Yang, C.W., Juang, D.S.: A practical
limit state function (Eq. 1) at all the depths in the soil profile. reliability-based method for assessing soil liquefaction potential.
The reliability method used in this study confirmed suc- Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 24(9), 761–770 (2004)
cessfully the occurrence of liquefaction during the 1999 4. Seed, H.B., Idriss, I.M.: Simplified procedure for evaluating soil
Kocaelli Earthquake. liquefaction potential. J. Soil Mech. Foundations Division 97,
1249–1273 (1971)
5. Guellil, M.E., Harichane, Z., Djilali Berkane, H., Sadouki, A.: Soil
and structure uncertainty effects on the soil foundation structure
5 Conclusion dynamic response. Earthq. Struct. 12(2), 153–163 (2017)
6. Sadouki, A., Harichane, Z., Elachachi, S.M., Erken, A.: Response of
anisotropic porous layered media with uncertain soil parameters
In this study a reliability analysis of soil liquefaction trigging to shear body- and Love- waves. Earthq. Struct. 14(4), 313–322
has been conducted based on SPT results in the framework of (2018)
probabilistic methods. The reliability FORM method has 7. Kaya, Z., Erken, A.: Cyclic and post-cyclic monotonic behavior of
shown its ability on the decision of the occurrence of lique- Adapazari soils. Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 77, 83–96 (2015)
8. Boulanger, R.W., Idriss, I.M.: CPT and SPT. Based Liquefaction
faction at the studied site compared to that confirmed in many Triggering Procedures. Report. UCD/CGM- 14/01, Department of
studies that followed the 1999 Kocaelli Earthquake. Civil and Environmental. Engineering, University of California
(2014)
9. Phoon, K.K.: Reliability-Based Design in Geotechnical Engineer-
ing, Computations and Applications, 1st edn. Taylor & Francis
References (2008)
1. Huang, H.W., Zhang, J., Zhang, L.M.: Bayesian network for

characterizing model uncertainty of liquefaction potential evaluation
models. KSCE J. Civil Eng. 16(5), 714–722 (2012)
[email protected]
Evaluation of Some Part of Lagos (Nigeria)
Wetland for Liquefaction Vulnerability Using
Integrated Approach
Hamid Oladunjoye, Kayode Oyedele, Omolara Adenuga,

and Sofiat Adekoya
The study aimed to assess the vulnerability of some parts
of Lagos wetland towards the liquefaction phenomenon. The liquefaction phenomenon is one of the geological haz-
Due to the population density of Lagos, the coastal area ards resulting from an earthquake. It occurs to young
has been an alternative to the dwellers. The recent review Holocene, saturated loose sands. These sands lose their
of seismicity phenomena recorded within the recent years stiffness and strength in response to strong ground shaking
shows that the country might not be safe anymore [8]. From the definition, it shows that the phenomenon is
from Earthquake related hazards such as liquefaction. only attributed to an area with frequent earthquake occur-
Multi-channel Analysis of Surface waves (MASW) and rence in which Lagos is not included. The review of the
Cone penetration testing (CPT) were carried out. seismicity in Nigeria showed that about 27 earth tremors
Twenty-four (24) channels geophones were connected have been recorded across the nation from 1933 till date.
to the ABEM Mark 6 Seismograph to detect the generated Though, the magnitudes of these tremors have not been
seismic wave produced through active method. 10-Ton properly recorded due to unavailability of the equipment, the
Dutch Cone Penetrometer was employed in acquiring the magnitudes of the recent ones have been placed to loiter
CPT sounding data. The shear wave velocity models between 2.1 and 5.0 [1, 2]. Previous studies showed that
generated showed the presence of loose sands with shear Equatorial Fracture Zones (EFZ) such as St. Paul,
wave velocity value ranging from 140–180 m/s. The soil Romanche, Charcot and Chain fracture zones are responsible
behaviour type chart showed that the sediments in the for transporting the process via the Gulf of Guinea to the
study area are sand mixtures. These sands have the soil coastal part of Lagos [12]. This is represented in Fig. 1.
behaviour type index (Ic) that is within the liquefiable Liquefaction assessments have been carried out by vari-
boundary. The sediments are mainly dilative soil with low ous researchers using geophysical, geotechnical procedures
degree of fine particles. Simplified procedure showed that or both techniques. A simplified procedure was developed
the depth of 4.50–16.00 m has factor of safety less than 1 using Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) blow counts [13].
which is an indication of probable liquefaction during The simplified procedure has been reviewed by several
sudden ground shaking. authors in an attempt to recalculate the parameters such
stress reduction ratio [6], Magnitude scaling factors [3], etc.

Keywords Robertson and Campanella [10] introduced the evaluation of
Liquefaction Lagos Wetland MASW liquefaction using Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) in 1985.
Factor of safety A seismic method was used to provide an alternative pro-
cedure of evaluating liquefaction [4]. Reviews and
advancements have been achieved on these techniques such
as integrated approach of both CPT and SPT [9, 5]. Also the
review carried out by Idriss and Boulanger gave an oppor-
H. Oladunjoye (&) O. Adenuga S. Adekoya
Department of Physics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, tunity to evaluate liquefaction for the earthquake of magni-
Ago Iwoye, Nigeria tude that is less than 7.5 as earlier proposed through the
e-mail: [email protected] simplified procedure of Magnitude scaling factor (MSF) [3].
K. Oyedele
Department of Geosciences, University of Lagos,
Akoka Lagos, Nigeria

[email protected]
218 H. Oladunjoye et al.
Fig. 1 Map of Nigeria showing

the equatorial fracture zones
(EFZ) Modified after Samaila and
Likkason [12]
Resistance Ratio (CRR), Soil Behaviour Test Index (Ic) [11],

2 Materials and Methods Factor of Safety against Liquefaction (Fs) were evaluated
from the acquired data using the following equations.
The integrated approach of geophysical and geotechnical h i
methods were employed. Multichannel Analysis of Surface I c ¼ ð3:47 logQÞ2 þ ðlogF þ 1:22Þ2 0:5 ð2Þ
Waves (MASW) of Seismic refraction was employed to
obtain the 2-D shear wave velocity model (Vs). The (Vs) where Q is the cone penetration resistance; F is the friction
obtained from the seismic line profile was used to infer the ratio.
possible lithological arrangement based on the shear wave
sav amax rv0 rd
velocity values. The (Vs) is one of the basic mechanical CSR ¼ 0 ¼ 0:65 : 0 ð3Þ
properties of soil materials which is directly related to rv0 g rv0 MSF
small-strain shear modulus Gmax with the Eq. 1 below. 0
where sav = average shear stress; rv0 = initial vertical
Gmax ¼ qVs2 ð1Þ effective stress; amax = max acceleration of the ground;
rv0 ¼ total overbudden stress; rd = stress reduction ratio;
where q is the mass density of the soil; Gmax and Vs are MSF = magnitude scaling factor.
properties required in earthquake response and soil structure
interaction analyses. CRR ¼ CRR Km Kr Ka ð4Þ
10 ton Cone of Cone Penetrating Tests (CPT) was
where Km = magnitude correction; Kr = overbudden stress
deployed as the geotechnical measure for the purpose of this
correction; Ka = initial static shear correction.
study. This provides the necessary parameters needed such
as sleeve resistance for the evaluation and assessment of the CRR
Fs ¼ ; Fs \1:0; Liquefaction ð5Þ
Liquefaction potential of the study area. Liquefaction CSR
parameters such as Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) [7], Cyclic
[email protected]
Evaluation of Some Part of Lagos (Nigeria) Wetland … 219
3 Results profile, the Vs with values ranging from 130 to 170 m/s was
delineated at the depth of about 12–20 m along the profile line.
See Figs. 2, 3 and 4 and Table 1. This area showed that the sand sediments within the lithologic
unit mainly saturated loose sand which can liquefy in the
presence of increased stress.
4 Discussion The soil Behaviour type chart obtained from the study
area as shown in the Fig. 3 was obtained from the acquired
A 2D shear wave velocity was presented as one of the results of CPT sounding. The chart showed that the soils are mainly
the MASW seismic refraction data acquired within the study cohesionless soils with formations ranging from dense
area as shown in Fig. 2. The obtained inverted 2-D shear wave sands, clean sands and sand mixtures. The friction between
velocity (Vs) model showed the contrast in the wave velocity the granular particles of cohesionless soil was found to have
across the lithologic units in the study area. The Vs values low shear strength. The soils are mainly drained dilative with
across the profile 1 ranges between 140.0 and 280.0 m/s. sand sediments of little degree of fine particles. The soil
Along the 2-D shear wave velocity (Vs) model of the profile 1, behavior type index for the sounding points in the study area
low Vs of about 162–180 m/s was delineated at the depth of ranges between 1.70 and 2.5. This means that the soil is
about 9.0–16.0 m. This was suspected to be loose saturated susceptible to cyclic liquefaction. The normalized friction
sand, due to the presence of very low shear wave velocity ratio obtained is less than 1, confirming the degree of fines of
recorded at that point. Shear wave velocity does not propagate the silty sand in the study area. The friction ratio which is a
easily in liquid medium thereby makes it have low shear wave function of grain characteristics increases with the increase
velocity as depicted in the lithologic unit. Within the second in fine content and plasticity. This shows that the sand
Fig. 2 a 2-D shear wave velocity model of the datum point 1, b 2-D shear wave velocity model of the datum point 2
Fig. 3 a Soil behaviour type chart of the datum point 1, b soil behaviour type chart of the datum point 2
[email protected]
220 H. Oladunjoye et al.
Fig. 4 a Liquefaction CRR curve of the CPT datum point 1, b liquefaction CRR curve of the CPT datum point 2
Table 1 Part of liquefaction S/N Depth (m) Vs (m/s) Fines % n Vs1 (m/s) CRR F.S Can liquefy
parameters obtained from shear
wave velocity from the study area 1 2.00 150.00 5.00 0.25 215.04 4.000 2.00 No
2 4.50 100.00 5.00 0.25 128.43 0.056 0.23 Yes
3 7.00 152.00 4.28 0.25 176.51 0.128 0.50 Yes
4 10.50 165.00 0.00 0.25 170.20 0.113 0.47 Yes
5 14.00 160.00 0.04 0.25 152.36 0.083 0.37 Yes
6 16.00 180.00 0.00 0.25 190.42 0.090 0.57 Yes
7 19.00 284.00 0.00 0.25 249.42 0.500 2.51 No
sediments in this area have a low plasticity index as depicted

in the normalized friction ratio. 5 Conclusion
The plots of Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) against the cor-
rected cone tip resistance (qc1N Þ are presented in Fig. 4. The The study showed that the coastal sand of some parts of
plots show the variability of the corrected cone tip resistance Lagos wetland areas are susceptible to the liquefaction
(qc1N ) with respect to the Cyclic stress ratio (CSR) generated phenomenon in the presence of ground shaking. The sand
during the ground shaking. The corrected cone tip resistance sediments consisting of loose saturated sands which can be
(qc1N ) is the representation of the resistant degree of the soil easily agitated and behave like liquid when there is an
towards the increased stress within the ground. Therefore the increase in stress. The plot of SBTn Index showed that their
red ink points are characterized as liquefiable points; which indices is within 1.7–2.5 which was absolutely within liq-
means points with factor of safety less than 1. The lique- uefiable region (Liquefiable region > 2.6). The sediments in
faction parameters evaluated with the acquired shear wave the area are dilative soils with very low degree of fines and
velocity was presented in Table 1. The table shows the low plasticity index. This observation was confirmed with
factor of safety against liquefaction in accordance to shear the plot of friction ratio which is mostly less than 1. It was
wave velocity with respect to their depth. commonly believed that Lagos-Nigeria is safe from the
[email protected]
Evaluation of Some Part of Lagos (Nigeria) Wetland … 221
liquefaction phenomenon, which needs to be reviewed as the 5. Green, R.A., Cubrinovski, M., Cox, B., Wood, C., Wotherspoon, L.,
sediment in the studied part show high degree of vulnera- Bradley, B., Maurer, B.: Select liquefaction case histories from the
2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. Earthq. Spectra 30(1),
bility. Therefore, the liquefaction assessment should be 131–153 (2014)
included as part of geotechnical assessment prior to the 6. Idriss, I.M.: An update to the Seed-Idriss simplified procedure for
construction of engineering structures. evaluating liquefaction potential. In: Proceedings, TRB Workshop
on New Approaches to Liquefaction, Publication No. FHWARD-
99–165, Federal Highway Administration (1999)
7. Idriss, I.M., Boulanger, R.W.: Soil Liquefaction During Earth-
References quakes. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Oakland, CA
(2008)
8. Marcusson, W.F.: Definition of terms related to liquefaction.
1. Adepelumi, A.A.: Short-term probabilistic forecasting of earth-
J. Geotech. Eng. Div. ASCE 104(9), 1197–2000 (1978)
quakes occurrence in South-Western Nigeria. Technical Report
9. Robertson, P.K.: Interpretation of cone penetration tests—A
Submitted to the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, Toro,
unified approach. Can. Geotech. J. 46, 1337–1355 (2009)
Nigeria (2009)
10. Robertson, P.K., Campanella, R.G.: Liquefaction potential of
2. Akpan, U.O., Yakubu, T.A.: A review of earthquake occurrences
sands using CPT. J. Geotech. Eng. ASCE 111(3), 384–403 (1985)
and observation in Nigeria. Earthq. Sci. 23, 289–294. https://doi.
11. Robertson, P.K., Wride, C.E.: Evaluating cyclic liquefaction
org/10.1007/s11589-010-0725-7 (2010)
potential using the cone penetration test. Can. Geotech. J. 35(3),
3. Boulanger, R.W., Idriss, I.M.: CPT and SPT based liquefaction
442–459 (1985)
triggering procedures. Rep. No. UCD/CGM-14/01, University of
12. Samaila, N.K., Likkason, O.K.: Role of equatorial fracture zones
California, Davis, CA (2014)
on fluid migration across the South Atlantic Margins. J. Earth Sci.
4. Dobry, R., Powell, D.J., Yokel, F.Y., Ladd, R.S.: Liquefaction
Clim. Change. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7617-004 (2013)
potential of saturated sand—The stiffness methods. In: Proceed-
13. Seed, H.B., Idriss, I.M.: Simplified procedure for evaluating soil
ings of the 7th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering,
liquefaction potential. J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. ASCE 97(9),
Istanbul, vol. 3 (1980)
1249–1273 (1971)
[email protected]
Sand-Steel Interface Behavior Under Cyclic
Loading
Mohamed Khemissa, Naoui Tallah, and Djaâfar Barkat
Abstract 2 Experimental Approach

This paper is to investigate the behavior of sand-steel
interfaces under cyclic loading. A series of direct shear The direct cyclic shear tests were performed using a standard
test results performed on a dune sand in contact with a shear box consisting of a fixed lower half-box and a mobile
stainless steel rigid plate, as well as those of a numerical upper half-box. The test specimens consist of a dry dune
simulation carried out using the Plaxis-2D (version 8.2) sand enclosed in the mobile upper half box in contact with a
software were presented and discussed. The cyclic shear stainless steel rigid plate placed in the fixed lower half box.
experimental and numerical curves are fairly well These test specimens were confined under a conventional
concordant. These curves make it possible to conclude normal stress rv = 100 kPa and then sheared alternately
that the sand-steel interface cyclic shear modulus and the over a horizontal travel of ±2 cm during 20 cycles.
corresponding damping ratio were influenced by the sand Figure 1 shows the smooth and rough plates used in this
compactness and the steel plate roughness. The results study. Table 1 gives the main identification characteristics of
also show that the rough plate is more effective than the the dune sand and the stainless steel rigid plate used in this
smooth one mainly when it is in contact with a dense sand study.
than with loose sand.

Keywords 3 Numerical Simulation
Sand-Steel interface Direct shear test Maximum
dynamic shear modulus Maximum damping ratio Figure 2 shows the geometrical model adopted in the present
numerical simulation. This is comparable to the physical
model used in the experimental study presented above. The
calculations made using the Plaxis-2D (version 8.2) software
1 Introduction [6] assume that the confinement of this model is ensured by
the application of a distributed load on its upper side and the
Numerous theoretical and laboratory experimental investi- shearing by the application of a prescribed displacement on
gations on soil-structure interfaces under monotonic and its lateral sides. The shear plane is defined by the interface
cyclic loadings have been developed during these last dec- element whose behavior obeys the Mohr-Coulomb model
ades [1–5]. However, the cyclic shear effects on the interface like that of sand but with reduced shear characteristics
shear modulus and the corresponding damping ratio are still (the reduction coefficient, called the shape factor, charac-
unclear. terizes the shape of the interface) [5, 6].
The purpose of this paper was to focus on some of the
above-mentioned aspects and conclude on the effect of the
cyclic shear behavior of the sand-steel interface on its 4 Results and Discussion
stress-strain-strength dynamic properties.
Figures 3 and 4 show the experimental and predicted cyclic
M. Khemissa (&) N. Tallah D. Barkat
shear curves for smooth and rough sand-steel interfaces
Geomaterials Development Laboratory, University of M’sila, respectively. The qualitative analysis of these results makes
28000 M’sila, Algeria it possible to draw the same remarks made by Khemissa

[email protected]
224 M. Khemissa et al.
Fig. 1 Photographs of the used

smooth (a) and rough (b) stainless
steel rigid plates
Table 1 Main identification Materials Parameters Values

characteristics of the used
materials Dune sand Specific density, cs 2.65
Minimum dry density, cd-min 1.50
Maximum dry density, cd-max 1.73
Sand equivalent, SE (%) 76
Coefficient of uniformity, Cu 2.33
Coefficient of curvature, Cc 1.19
Density index of loose sand, ID-min (%) 15
Density index of dense sand, ID-max (%) 90
Stainless steel rigid plate Yield stress, re (MPa) 240
Fig. 2 Geometrical model Distributed load

adopted for the direct cyclic shear
test
Prescribed
Sand displacement
Interface
Fig. 3 Experimental and 50 Exp. Num. 50 Exp. Num.

predicted cyclic shear curves for 40 40
Shear stress, τ (kPa)
30 30
the smooth sand-steel interface

20 20
10 10
0 0
-10 -10
-20 -20
-30 -30
-40 -40
-50 -50
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Distorsion, γ (%) Distorsion, γ (%)
a/ Loose sand b/ Dense sand
[email protected]
Sand-Steel Interface Behavior Under Cyclic Loading 225
Fig. 4 Experimental and 150 Exp. Num. 150 Exp. Num.

predicted cyclic shear curves for
100 100

the rough sand-steel interface
50 50
0 0
-50 -50
-100 -100
-150 -150
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Distorsion, γ (%) Distorsion, γ (%)
a/ Loose sand b/ Dense sand
Fig. 5 Cyclic shear behavior 2 Exp. Num. 50 Exp. Num.

parameters for the smooth and 38.9 37.8
1.42 35.8
33
Gmax (MPa)
rough sand-steel interfaces 1.19 31.8 30.5 28.6 27.9
max (%)
1 0.81 0.78 25
0.580.65 0.49 0.51
0 0
et al. [5] on the experimental and numerical data under amplitude of the horizontal travel and the corresponding
monotonic loading: number of cycles.
– These curves have almost similar shapes for each state of

sand compactness and for each form of steel roughness. 5 Conclusion
– They describe a behavior characterized by an increase of
the interface shear strength (highlighted friction mobi- The experimental and numerical results presented in this
lization by adherence between the sand and the steel plate). paper were intended to study the mechanical behavior of
– The interface shear strength is higher for a rough inter- soil-structure interfaces under cyclic loading. In particular, it
face than for a smooth one and with dense sand than with is dedicated to the cyclic shear direct effect on the interface
loose one. In addition, there may be a reasonable shear modulus and the corresponding damping ratio.
agreement between experimental and predicted data. The comparative analysis shows that the maximum shear
modulus and the corresponding damping ratio are greatly
The comparative analysis of the experimental and pre- affected by the dune sand compactness and the stainless steel
dicted cyclic shear behavior parameters values leads to the plate roughness, as well as by the amplitude of the horizontal
following remarks (Fig. 5): travel and the corresponding number of cycles.
– The maximum shear modulus Gmax is higher for dense

sand than for smooth sand and more with smooth inter- References
face than with rough interface.
– The maximum damping ratio bmax is higher for smooth 1. Shahrour, I., Bencheikh, B.: Analysis of the soil-structure interac-
interface than for rough interface and more for dense tion under monotonic and cyclic loadings. In: Hirsch, C.,
sand than for rough sand. Zienkiewicz, O.C., Onate, E. (eds.) First European Conference on
Numerical Methods in Engineering, pp. 269–275. Brussels (1992)
2. Shahrour, I., Rezaie, F.: An elastoplastic constitutive relation for the
However, a parametric analysis (not showed here) seems soil–structure interface under cyclic loading. Comput. Geotech.
to indicate that these two parameters are influenced by the J. 21(1), 21–39 (1997)
[email protected]
226 M. Khemissa et al.
3. Boulon, M., Ghionna, V.N., Mortara, G.: A strain-hardening 5. Khemissa, M., Tallah, N., Bencheikh, B.: Experimental and
elastoplastic model for sand–structure interface under monotonic numerical modeling of the sand–steel interface behavior under
and cyclic loading. Math. Comput. Model. 37, 623–630 (2003) monotonic loading. Innov. Infrastruct. Solutions 3, 25 (2018)
4. Khemissa, M., Safer, S., Aidjouli, S.: Roughness’s shapes compar- 6. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Vermeer, P.A.: PLAXIS: Finite element code
ative analysis of some reinforced earth elements under monotonous for soil and rock analyses, version 8.2. Balkema, Rotterdam,
loading. Alexandria Eng. J. 54, 577–582 (2015) Brookfield (2002)
[email protected]
Cyclic Pressuremeter Tests Dedicated
to Study the Behavior of Piles Under
Cyclic Transverse Loads
Rim Baccara, Wissem Frikha, Philippe Reiffsteck, and Sébastien Burlon
Abstract 2 Materials and Methods

We propose a cyclic pressuremeter (CPM) test protocol
deduced from the reaction of the soil-pile values derived The pressuremeter test is an in situ test consisting in the
from tests of cyclic transverse loads on pile. The relative radial expansion of a cylindrical probe on the wall of a
displacements issued from CPM tests are compared to the borehole. This probe was introduced into the borehole until
relative displacements of the pile under cyclic transverse reaching the desired depth of the test. Then, equal incre-
loads. ments of pressure were applied with the control unit, trans-
ferred with a tubular system to the probe [7]. For CPM tests,

Keywords the applied pressure was in loops of loading and unloading
Pile Pressuremeter Transverse Cyclic [8]. The volume variation was measured as an out-put of the
Load test. The used material consisted of a control unit able to
control electro valves by means of a computer. The borehole
was drilled until 5 m of depth by hand auger and the probe
was manually introduced into the soil until the required
1 Introduction depth. The CPM tests were stopped when a stabilization of
the volume variation was observed.
For some structures such as onshore and offshore wind tur- The CPM test program was adapted to the cyclic loading
bines and oil platforms, which are supported by piles, cyclic tests on a pile carried out in Plancoët [9]. The pile subjected
transverse loads are very significant due to the wind and to cyclic loading tests was an HEA28A embedded to 6.1 m.
waves. Several previous studies were interested in the action The pile was instrumented by 28 couples of strain gauges
of piles under cyclic transverse loads [1–3]. The pres- from which the moment was directly deduced. The main
suremeter is a widely used tool in the prediction of the experimental result in this study was the reaction of the
behavior of a transversely loaded pile in the case of a static soil-pile P. P was obtained by a double differentiation of the
load [4–6]. In fact, as an application of a cavity expansion, recorded moment curve. The maximum and the minimum
the pressuremeter test is comparable to the soil-pile reaction reactions (Pmax and Pmin, respectively) were measured on
under transverse loads. In the present paper, we proposed to different depths during the cyclic loads under the maximum
use the results of a cyclic pressuremeter (CPM) test program and the minimum applied loads (Hmax and Hmin, respec-
to predict the behavior of a pile subjected to cyclic loading tively). The pressures applied by the pressuremeter were
tests. The experimental site is in Plancoët (Côtes-d’Armor, deduced from the soil reactions P recorded during the first
France). cycle of the loading tests on pile. The pressure of the start of
the cyclic load on the CPM, also called average pressure pav ,
at a given depth, was determined as follows.
R. Baccara W. Frikha (&)
Pmax þ Pmin
laboratoire d’ingénierie géotechnique, ENIT, Tunis, Tunisie pav ¼ ð1Þ
e-mail: [email protected] 2B
R. Baccara P. Reiffsteck B is the width of the pile. The pressure of the
GERS-SRO, IFSTTAR, Champs sur Marne, France
half-amplitude p1=2 is given by:
S. Burlon
Terrasol, SETEC, Paris, France

[email protected]
228 R. Baccara et al.
maxðjPmax j; jPmin jÞ 1
p1=2 ¼ ð2Þ
Pressure (bar)
B
In order to ensure the contact between the probe and the 0.5
soil, both paver and p1=2 were increased by the pressure of
soil at rest p0, deduced from static pressuremeter tests. Also, 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
inversed corrections were taken into consideration, like the
pressure loss ploss due to the hydraulic system and to the volume (ml)
membrane rigidity pmr. Fig. 1 Pressure-volume curve from PCCH2 at 2 m of depth
pi ¼ pi þ ploss þ pmr with i ¼ av; 1=2 ð3Þ
cyclic loads to the first value of the measured displacement
The frequencies of the CPM tests and the tests on pile derived from the first cycle y0i and from the CPM tests as
were kept identical. The two CPM test programs, PCCH1 follows.
and PCCH2 are related to the average of the results of the
yi
pile tests CH1 and CH2 respectively. CH1 is the cyclic yPile
Re;i ¼ i ¼ max; min ð4Þ
loading test with a maximum load of Hmax = 13.3 kN. This y0i
test consisted of three series. The first and the second series DV
are identical, with a number of cycles NC = 1000 (3.9 h). yCPM
Re ¼ ð5Þ
DV0
The third one is performed with NC = 10,000 (39 h). CH2 is
the cyclic loading test with Hmax = 20 kN and was con- DV0 and DV are the evolution of the volume measured in
ducted twice, identically as NC = 10,000 (39 h). For all the the first average pressure and during cyclic pressure,
tests, a minimum load Hmin = 6.7 kN was maintained. respectively.
Table 1 sums up all undertaken parameters for the CPM tests Figures 2 and 3 show the results of the relative dis-
in Plancoët. placements for CH1 compared to PCCH1, and CH2 com-
pared to PCCH2 at different depths.
At 1 and 2 m of depth, the accumulation of the horizontal
3 Results and Interpretation displacement for both pile and CPM tests are less than
150%. At 3 and 4 m, the relative displacement is more
The pressure-volume curves represent the evolution of the important. The accumulation of the displacement under
applied pressure as a function of the observed volume minimum loads is more important than the accumulation of
change during the CPM tests (example from the PCCH2 at the displacement under maximum loads. The area of soil
2 m of depth in Fig. 1). between ymin and ymax is in fact the most disturbed by the
The cyclic loads started when the volume was about cyclic loadings.
70 ml. The accumulation of volume was relatively important After an important number of cycles, the curves of are
in the first cycles (distant loops), when it started to stabilize included between the curves of and at the first 3 m. CPM test
in the last part of the curve (condensed loops). curves and tests on pile curves have the same trend.
Relative displacement from the results of tests performed The CPM test results are able to predict the pile displace-
on pile is defined as the ratio of the displacement during ments under cyclic loads.
Table 1 Values of CPM tests Depth PCCH1 PCCH2

parameters (Plancoët site) (m) paver p1/2 Duration NC paver p1/2 Duration NC
(kPa) (kPa) (h) (kPa) (kPa) (h)
1 37.7 13.6 1.27 287 50.5 26.6 0.85 234
2 29 9.4 1.28 332 37.5 20 0.85 220
3 19 5.2 0.93 224 30 12 0.85 225
4 17 5 1.24 317 25 11 0.85 211
5 – – – – 21 10 0.88 207
[email protected]
Cyclic Pressuremeter Tests Dedicated to Study the Behavior … 229
Fig. 2 Comparison of relative 1.5
relaƟve displacement
1m 1.5 2m
displacements for CH1 and
PCCH1
1 1
0.5 0.5
0 0
0.00E+00 5.00E+06 1.00E+07 0.00E+00 5.00E+06 1.00E+07
Time (ms) Time (ms)
2
3m 3 4m
1.5
2
1
1
0.5
0 0
0.00E+00 5.00E+06 1.00E+07 0.00E+00 5.00E+06 1.00E+07
Time (ms) Time (ms)
Fig. 3 Comparison of relative 2

1.5
relaƟve displaecement
displacements for CH2 and 1m 2m

PCCH2 1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0 0
0.00E+00 2.00E+06 4.00E+06 0.00E+00 2.00E+06 4.00E+06
Time (ms) Time (ms)
2.5
3m
2
displacement
relaƟve
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.00E+00 1.00E+06 2.00E+06 3.00E+06 4.00E+06
Time (ms)
from the tests on pile, were developed and exerted on the same
4 Conclusion experimental site. Afterwards, a relative displacement, derived
from CPM tests, was compared to the relative displacement
In this paper, we presented the cyclic loading tests on a pile from tests on pile. The results show that CPM tests are able to
carried out at the site of Plancoët. Then, CPM test program describe the behavior of the pile under cyclic transverse loads
deduced from the soil-pile reaction, an experimental result and to predict the horizontal displacement of the pile.
[email protected]
230 R. Baccara et al.
References 6. Briaud, J.-L.: The Pressuremeter. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam (1992)

7. Ménard, L.: Règles d’utilisation des techniques pressiométriques et
d’exploitation des résultats obtenus pour le calcul des fondations.
1. Little, R.L., Briaud, J.L.: A pressuremeter method for single piles Notice générale D60 (1967, 1975)
subjected to cyclic lateral loads in sand. Miscellaneous paper 8. Reiffsteck, P., Fanelli, S., Tacita, J.L., Dupla, J.C., Desanneaux, G.:
GL-88–14 (1988) Utilisation des essais d’expansion cyclique pour définir des modules
2. Matlock, H.: Correlations for design of laterally loaded piles in soft élastiques en petites déformations. In: Proceedings of the 18th
clay. 2nd Ann. Offshore Tech. Conf., 1577–1594 Houston (1970) International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
3. Poulos, H.G.: Behaviour of laterally loaded piles: I—single piles. Engineering, Paris, Presses de l’ENPC(3), pp. 2383–2386 (2013)
J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. ASCE 5(97), 711–731 (1971) 9. Jézéquel, J.F., Saintilan, D.: Résistance latérale des pieux. Site de
4. Ménard, L., Bourdon, G., Gambin, M.: Méthode générale de calcul Plancoët. Chargement appliqué sur le pieu isolé. Rapport FAER
d’un rideau ou d’un pieu sollicité latéralement en fonction des 1.05.01.4, Laboratoire Régional de St Brieuc (1986)
résultats pressiométriques. Sols-Soils VI, n° 22–23 (1969)
5. Bigot, G., Bourges, F., Frank, R.: Etude expérimentale d’un pieu
soumis aux poussés latérales du sol. Revue Française de Géotech-
nique N° 18, février, pp. 29–47 (1982)
[email protected]
Part VI
Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Recent Studies
on Expansive Soils
[email protected]
Direct Measurements of Swell Potential
of Expansive Soils with Computerized
Equipment
Murat Türköz
Abstract during the construction of such structures. When the soils are
Many studies have mentioned that expansive soils cover compacted at high energy levels to be used in embankment,
wide areas in many parts of the world. Research work on the natural structures break down and cement bonds break,
this subject has been conducted and designed criteria have water content decreases, dry densities increase and swelling
been proposed. The identification and classification indices increase. Due to this reason, swelling can reach a
techniques developed for expansive soils are used to high value. As an example of this situation, Li and Du [1]
qualitatively determine the possible impact of volume stated that after the clay soil with plastics limits of 13–17%
change on the behavior of soils. Yet, a standard and liquid limits of 35–40% was kneaded and compacted, an
measurement and identification method for determining artificially swelling soil behavior could be shown. In general,
the swell potential of the soils has not been established. the determination of the swell potential of the soils is also
The direct measurements that constitute the subject of this made with a conventional consolidation device. ASTM D
study are computer controlled and can be simply applied 4546 [2] describes the application of uniaxial swell tests on
and provide very useful quantitative data for design soils using the classical consolidation (odometer) device as
engineers without the need for complex laboratory defined in the standard. In these methods, the pressure
equipment. Within the scope of this study, first, geotech- required for the sample to reach the initial void ratio is
nical properties of 40 different soil samples were deter- defined as the swell pressure. In particular, the concentration
mined and then, compaction characteristics at the of laboratory equipment used in determining the swell
Standard Proctor energy level were obtained. The swell potential on a single device causes the actual indices to
percentage and swell pressure values of samples prepared differ. In a study by Ali and El Turabi [3], the classical
by compressing in optimum water content were deter- consolidation device and potential volume change
mined using computer controlled direct methods. As a (PVC) meter equipment were used to determine the swell
result, statistical evaluations were made for the purpose of pressures of expansive soils. Available data indicated that
practical use. the swell pressures obtained from the odometer method give
greater results than those obtained from PVC method and
that the PVC method is more consistent [3].

Keywords
Compaction Expansive soil Swell percentage In this study, for the results of the swell potential of the
Swell pressure compacted soil samples to be comparable, experiments were
performed on specimens with the same diameter and height.
For this reason, the Expansion Index (EI) and Potential
Volume Change (PVC) meter equipment have been
1 Introduction converted.
Damage caused by expansive soils is almost entirely

restricted to light structures. It is also a problem outside the 2 Materials and Methods
conventional construction practices when encountered
2.1 Materials
M. Türköz (&)
Civil Engineering Department, Eskisehir Osmangazi University,
26480 Eskisehir, Turkey
Soil samples used in this study were taken from Eskişehir,
e-mail: [email protected] Şanlıurfa and Afyon provinces of Turkey. To determine the

[email protected]
234 M. Türköz
swelling potential of the samples, geotechnical testing pro- diameters (Fig. 1). As soon as the samples placed in the
gram including grain size analysis (ASTM D 422-63), equipment were soaked in water, the swell potential was
Atterberg limits (ASTM D 4318-00), specific gravity measured at a series of time intervals using digital defor-
(ASTM D 854-00) and compaction characteristics were mation meters. At the same time, the variation of the swell
performed on the samples [2], and then, swell tests were potential from graphs drawn using real-time recorded read-
performed on the compacted soil specimens using direct ings could also be monitored (Fig. 2).
methods.

2.2 Methods
The statistical evaluation of the tests results carried out in
Swell percentage test determines the amount of vertical this study is presented in Table 1. The parameters from the
heave that occurs when the soil is wetted. This test was identification tests were used in the description and classi-
performed on specimens prepared by compressing in the fication of the swell potential of the samples. In general,
desired density and water content. The swell percentage is higher soil plasticity indices and liquid limits imply larger
defined as the ratio of the initial length of the sample to the swelling potentials [4]. When the parameters obtained from
final length of the sample after being soaked in water under the identification test results were evaluated as the primary
7 kN/m2 [4]. The swell pressure test was carried out on the indicator of the swell potential, different swelling potentials
samples prepared as in the swell percentage test. The test were identified. The relationship between the swell per-
covers the determination of the pressure resulting from the centage and pressure is given in Fig. 2. In this figure, the
obstruction of the swelling developed after the wetting of the relationship between swell percentage and pressure can be
compressed soil sample. The pressure at the end of the test is observed in a high and meaningful level. Especially at the
defined as the swell pressure of the soil [4]. low swelling potential levels, the relationship is more pro-
On the basis of the definitions given in the paragraph nounced. Similar evaluations could also be made based on
above, the development of the test devices to be used in the index values and the compaction characteristics of the
determining the swell percentage and swell pressure vari- soil samples.
ables was inspired by PVC Meter and EI meter equipment.
The mold of the PVC meter used in the determination of the
swell pressure was modified to compare the results (Fig. 1). 4 Conclusion
The equipment used to determine the swell percentage was
also developed by taking advantage of EI meter equipment. In this study, swell percentage and pressure values of high
A weight was manufactured to place 7 kPa of pressure on plasticity clay soils were determined using computerized
the samples in 2-cm-high thin-walled rings with 7-cm direct methods, the effect of some physical parameters on
Fig. 1 Computerized equipment

used for determining swell
parameters of the samples
[email protected]
Direct Measurements of Swell Potential of Expansive Soils … 235
Fig. 2 The relationship between the swell percentage and pressure
Table 1 The statistical data for Property Num. Value

the considered soils
Min. Max. Mean Std. deviation
Grain size
Clay (%) 40 14.0 61.0 41.9 11.5
Silt (%) 40 32.8 60.9 45.9 8.0
Sand (%) 40 3.8 30.0 10.2 6.4
Gravel (%) 40 0.0 15.4 2.0 3.4
Atterberg limits
Liquid limit (%) 40 40.0 75.0 60.6 7.0
Plastic limit (%) 40 19.0 36.0 28.7 3.0
Plasticity index (%) 40 20.0 42.0 31.9 5.1
Standard proctor
wopt (%) 40 18.2 29.4 23.9 2.19
qdmaks (Mg/m3) 40 1.400 1.653 1.534 0.05
Specific gravity (Gs) 40 2.6 2.83 2.76 0.04
Swell tests
Swell pressure (kPa) 40 11.3 89.9 39.4 15.8
Swell (%) 40 0.84 12.2 3.44 2.19
Activity (A) 40 0.5 1.9 0.8 0.32
these values was investigated. As a result, the developed 2. ASTM: Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Soil and Rock, Vol.
equipment is small and easy to use. Therefore, it should be 04.08. American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia
(1994)
considered as an advantage of these devices. 3. Ali, E.M., Elturabi, M.A.D.: Comparison of two methods for the
measurement of swelling pressure. In: Fifth International Confer-
ence on Expansive Soils, pp. 72–74, Adelaide South Australia
References (1984)
4. Turkoz, M., Savas, H., Acaz, A., Tosun, H.: The effect of
magnesium chloride solution on the engineering properties of clay
1. Li, S., Du, Y.: On the swelling-shrinkage properties and mechanisms soil with expansive and dispersive characteristics. Appl. Clay Sci.
of compacted expansive soils. In: Proceeding of the 30th International 101, 1–9 (2014)
Geological Congress, vol. 23, pp. 253–259, China(1997)
[email protected]
Temperature Effect on Alkali Contaminated
Kaolinitic Clays
P. Lakshmi Sruthi and P. Hari Prasad Reddy
Abstract hydrated salt crystals due to alkali contamination leads to an

It is well understood that the swelling behavior of alkali increase in the number of instances of structural failures [1].
contaminated kaolinitic clays is mainly influenced by Serious cracks and upliftment of floor by more than 80 mm
mineralogical and morphological changes. However, in K-Unit plant, Runcorn and significant rise in columns and
complete mineralogical changes occur over a long period beams were also observed [2].
of time due to slow reaction rates at normal temperatures In this regard, intensive research has been carried out by
or field contamination conditions. The long term effects of many researchers [3, 4] to understand the mineral alterations
alkali on kaolinitic clays can be simulated by increasing behind soil alkali interaction. Mineralogy is a controlling
the reaction rate through carrying the studies at elevated factor determining the sizes and surface characteristics of the
temperatures. The present study focused on understanding particles in soil. Thus, mineralogy is fundamental to the
the effect of temperature (35, 60, 80 and 110 °C) on understanding of the geotechnical properties [5]. Kaolinite
mineral dissolution and new mineral formations of alkali when reacting with NaOH in between 80 to 140 °C, for-
contaminated kaolinitic clays. Further, the obtained mation of feldspathoids such as sodalite and cancrinite were
results were compared with the mineralogy changes noticed by [6]. From the literature, it is clear that long term
observed in soil samples after interacting with alkali for a effects of soil alkali contamination leads to dangerous con-
long period (60 days) in laboratory at normal temperature sequences. So, in order to accelerate the reaction rate and
of about 27 °C, considering the field contamination simulate the field contamination, samples were exposed to
condition. It is clear from the XRD and SEM studies higher temperatures.
that a complete change in morphology was observed
when exposed to higher temperatures.

Keywords
Kaolinitic clays Temperature XRD 2.1 Clays Used
SEM
In the present study, two kaolinitic clays with varying
mineral contents were used for the experimental investiga-
tion. One is a natural red earth soil (Warangal, India) and the
1 Introduction other is commercially available kaolin (Visakhapatnam,
India). Both clays were air dried and soil passing through
Research studies highlighted the fact that geotechnical fail- Indian Standard 425-lm sieve were prepared before use. The
ures, such as differential settlements, ground heave below clays physical properties are presented in Table 1.
manufacturing units of industrial plants, occur due to alter-
ations in the soil engineering properties. Among the various
pollutants, it is the alkali contamination that has the most 2.2 Contaminant Used
significant impact on soil behavior. Formation of neogenic
The used contaminant in this study was 4 N sodium
P. Lakshmi Sruthi P. Hari Prasad Reddy (&) hydroxide solution. The solution was prepared by dissolving
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of
Technology, Warangal, 506004, India
the chemically pure salt in distilled water.

[email protected]
238 P. Lakshmi Sruthi and P. Hari Prasad Reddy
Table 1 Kaolinitic clays Properties Red earth Kaolin

physical properties
Specific gravity 2.62 2.70
Liquid limit (LL) (%) 38 42.9
Plastic limit (PL) (%) 22.64 29.72
Plasticity Index (PI) (%) 15.36 13.18
Free swell Index (ml/g) 1.0 1.1
Maximum dry unit weight (kN/m3) 18.3 17
Optimum water content (%) 20.74 27.05
2.3 Experimental Investigation

3 Results and Discussions
The aim of the experimental investigation was to understand
the effect of temperature on mineral dissolution and new 3.1 Mineralogical Changes Due to Alkali
mineral formations of kaolinitic clays. These studies were Interaction
carried out to simulate the long-term effects of alkali on
complete mineral dissolution and mineralogical changes that Figures 1 and 2 show the XRD patterns of red earth and kaolin
occur in kaolinitic clays [7], which subsequently may interacting with NaOH solution at different temperatures. In all
influence the geotechnical properties of soils. Due to the the samples, complete kaolinite dissolution and new mineral
slow reaction rates at normal temperature under alkaline formations were observed. Sodalites are the primary minerals
environment, engineering properties of soils could not be formed in all the samples. However, the secondary mineral
able to notify unless the scenario becomes dangerous. So, to formations varied with temperature and clay type. Further, it can
speed up the reaction rate, and to understand the effect of be observed that the duration of interaction for the mineralogical
varying temperature on mineral dissolution and new mineral changes to take place varied with temperature: 1 day at 110 °C,
formations, samples were exposed to different temperatures 4 days at 80 °C, 2 weeks at 60 °C and 1 month at 35 °C for
(35, 60, 80 and 110 °C). In the mineral transformation both clays. The results obtained by varying the temperature
process the volume of interacting solution plays an important were compared with the XRD pattern of red earth (Fig. 1b) and
role [8]. Solid to liquid ratio (S/L) was set to 2.5 for red kaolin (Fig. 2b) obtained by considering field contamination
earth and S/L = 4 for kaolin, since complete transformations condition [7]. The mineralogical changes observed on the field
with 4 N NaOH occurred at that particular volume of contamination conditions (i.e. at 27 °C) were similar to tem-
interaction at 110 °C for one day interaction period. So, in perature effects. However, clay-alkali reaction occurred at a
order to maintain uniformity throughout the work, the same very slow rate i.e. 60 days. At a 60-day interaction period, a
volume of interaction was taken for the other temperatures complete dissolution of kaolinite mineral was observed in red
(35, 60 and 80 °C) also and the effect of temperature on earth only, which indicates that kaolin requires more period of
mineral dissolution and neogenic formations was interaction for a complete dissolution of kaolinite mineral. To
investigated. re-confirm the formation of new minerals identified from XRD
studies the samples were taken for SEM studies.
2.4 X-Ray Diffraction and SEM Studies

3.2 Morphological Changes Due to Alkali
After being exposed to varying temperatures, the samples Interaction
were taken for X-ray diffraction and SEM analyses. XRD
samples were scanned from 6° to 70° using 0.01 steps. Figure 3a shows the SEM photographs of red earth samples
TESCAN VEGA 3LMU scanning electron microscope interacting with 4N NaOH solution at different temperatures.
with conventional tungsten heated cathode was used to From this figure, it can be noticed that red earth exhibited a
understand the morphological alterations in clays. compacted and aggregated form of morphology. At 27 °C,
[email protected]
Temperature Effect on Alkali Contaminated Kaolinitic Clays 239
Fig. 1 XRD patterns of red earth interacted with a water and 4N Fig. 2 XRD patterns of kaolin interacted with a water and 4N NaOH
NaOH at b 27 °C, c 35 °C, d 60 °C, e 80 °C and f 110 °C at b 27 °C, c 35 °C, d 60 °C, e 80 °C and f 110 °C
morphology shows a more disintegrated form with void Figure 4a shows the microstructure of kaolin with highly
spaces in between. Coalesce pellet formations with crystalline loose fibrous structure [8]. Figure 4b displays a complete
trona can be observed (Fig. 3b). At 35 °C, prismatic with change in morphology at 27 °C, highlighting the formation
more crystalline morphology was observed, which confirms of sodalites depicting cotton ball morphology [10]. Due to
the formation of goethite (Fig. 3c). Thermonatrite and natrite the presence of more than one mineral, proper identification
mineral at 60 °C represented a group of platy and flaky mor- of morphology cannot be observed at 35 °C (Fig. 4c). The
phology (Fig. 3d) whereas at 80 °C, traces of cotton ball formation of platy crystals (thermonatrite) and cotton ball
morphologies were observed (Fig. 3e). Further, at 110 °C morphology was clearly visible from Fig. 4d at 60 °C.
interaction, cotton ball morphologies highlighted the forma- Severe morphological changes have been observed with the
tion of sodalites. Very small traces of reaction products called formation of intense sodalite particles highlighting the
sodalites and crystal shaped morphology of topaz can be seen increase in the size of sodalite particles at 80 and 110 °C.
[9] (Fig. 3f). Complete transformation of morphology from The fibrous like structures (Fig. 4a), were completely
aggregated form to well defined crystals indicates the disso- absent at all temperatures except at 27 °C (Fig. 4b). The
lution of silica and alumina under alkali conditions which morphological studies thus clearly support XRD studies,
leads to formation of sodium based zeolites. highlighting the new mineral formations.
[email protected]
240 P. Lakshmi Sruthi and P. Hari Prasad Reddy
Fig. 3 SEM images of red earth interacting with a water and 4N NaOH at b 27 °C, c 35 °C, d 60 °C, e 80 °C and f 110 °C
Complete dissolution of kaolinite mineral was not

4 Conclusion observed in kaolin at field contamination even after a 60-day
interaction period. The same was observed with in one day
Kaolin having more kaolinite content, volume of interacting at 110 °C. Thus, the long term mineralogical changes can be
solution required for complete dissolution of clay mineral is well understood in a short period of time at elevated
relatively higher when compared with red earth. temperatures.
For both clays at all temperatures, the primary mineral
observed was sodalite, whereas secondary minerals varied
with the type of clay and temperature.
[email protected]
Temperature Effect on Alkali Contaminated Kaolinitic Clays 241
Fig. 4 SEM images of kaolin interacting with a water and 4N NaOH at b 27 °C, c 35 °C, d 60 °C, e 80 °C and f 110 °C
References 6. Barrer, R.M.: Hydrothermal Chemistry of Zeolites. Academic

Press, London (1982)
7. Chavali, R.V.P., Vindula, S.K., Reddy, H.P.P., Ambili, B., Rakesh
1. Shekhtman, L.M., Baranov, V.T., Nesterenko, G.F.: Building Pillai, J.: Swelling behavior of kaolinitic soils contaminated with
deformations caused by the leakage of chemical reagents. Soil alkali solutions: a micro-level study. Appl. Clay Sci. 135, 575–582
Mech. Found. Eng. 32(1), 32–36 (1995) (2016)
2. Sibley, M.H., Vadgama, N.J.: Investigation of ground heave at ICI 8. Sruthi, P.L., Reddy, H.P.P.: Characterization of kaolinitic clays
Mond division, Castner-Keller works. Runcorn. Geol. Soc. Lond. subjected to alkali contamination. Appl. Clay Sci. 146, 535–547
Eng. Geol. Spec. Publ. 2, 367–373 (1986) (2017)
3. Cuadros, J., Linares, J.: Experimental kinetic study of the 9. Russell, A.: Topaz from Cornwall, with an account of its localities.
smectite-to-illite transformation. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, Mineral. Mag. 20(106), 221–236 (1924)
439–453 (1996) 10. Barnes, M.C., Addai-Mensah, J., Gerso, A.R.: A methodology for
4. Wang, Y., Siu, W.: Structure characteristics and mechanical quantifying sodalite and cancrinite phase mixtures and the kinetics
properties of kaolinite soils. I. Surface charges and structural of the sodalite to cancrinite phase transformation. Microporous
characterizations. Can. Geotech. J. 43, 587–600 (2006) Mesoporous Mater. 31, 303–319 (1999)
5. Mitchell, J.K.: Fundamentals of Soil Behavior, 2nd edn. Wiley,
New York, NY (1993)
[email protected]
Study on Physical and Mechanical Properties
of Clay Before and After Single Freeze-Thaw
Chong Xu and Zhen-dong Cui
Abstract necessary to study the behavior of soils subjected to freezing

Previous research indicates that significant changes in and thawing cycles. This article selected the Shanghai qua-
engineering behavior of cohesive soils may occur if the soil ternary Silt Soft Clay (SSSC) as the research object. The
undergoes cycles of freezing and thawing. Understanding changes of physical and mechanical properties before and
this behavior would prove useful to engineering practice as after freezing and thawing were analyzed by experiment [1].
soils are subjected to freeze-thaw cycles during construc- The SSSC is a modern sediment formed in a
tion or placement. This research study focused on the slow-flowing environment and under the condition of the
impact of a single freeze-thaw cycle on the characteristics participation of microorganisms. Its project performance:
of Shanghai quaternary Silt Soft Clay (SSSC). It was found high compressibility, poor permeability, low shear strength
that the changes in density and specific gravity were small, (related to loading speed and drainage conditions) and high
the water content and porosity ratio increased, the plastic porosity ratio [2].
limit stabilizes with liquid limit increasing, and the soil
body was soft. The permeability coefficient increased and
the permeability increased. The cohesion and internal 2 Methods
friction angle of the clay after freezing and thawing slightly
increased, the compression coefficient increased, the com- The undisturbed soil was transported to the laboratory after
pression modulus decreased, the compressibility of the soil being sampled on site, according to the Ministry of Com-
increased, and the clay had no confinement resistance after munications Earthwork Test Procedure JTG E40-07, ensur-
freezing and thawing. The compressive strength was only ing that the water content of the soil sample was exactly the
1/3 to 1/2 of that of the undisturbed soil, and the intensity same inside and outside, and the disturbance of the soil
decay was obvious, and the sensitivity was reduced. sample transport was minimized [3]. The soil sample was at
−10 °C. Constant temperature freezing 72 h, to ensure uni-
form temperature within the sample freeze-dried, after

Keywords
Single freeze-thaw Silt soft clay Physical property removal, placed in a sealed desiccator 3d, until the temper-
Mechanical properties ature is close to the room temperature (to prevent migration
of water to the soil sample), and then remove the test
specimen for testing [4].
1 Introduction
3 Results
The stress-strain-strength characteristic of soil is a hot spot
of research. With the extensive application of artificial 3.1 Basic Physical Indicators
freezing methods in the field of reinforced formations, it is
The water content increases by 12.8%. The void ratio and
C. Xu Z. Cui (&) the liquid limit increase slightly. The density, the specific
China State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep gravity and the plastic limit decrease slightly. The horizontal
Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil permeability coefficient triples these results are summarized
in Table 1.

[email protected]
244 C. Xu and Z. Cui
Table 1 Basic physical parameters of indigenous soil and frozen thaw soil at −10 °C
Soil samples Water Density Specific Void Liquid Plastic Plastic Vertical Horizontal
content (g/cm3 ) weight ratio limit limit index permeability permeability
(% ) coefficient coefficient
(10−6 cm/s) (10−6 cm/s)
Undisturbed 33.5 1.762 2.75 1.08 35.8 20.4 15.4 0.34 2.8
soil
Frozen and 37.8 1.730 2.74 1.18 36.6 20.2 16.4 0.96 8.6
thawed soil
1.2 160
Undisturbed soil undisturbed soil
Freezing and thawing soil 140 freezing and thawing soil
undisturbed soil
porosity ratio rapid descent stage
120 freezing and thawing soil
Shear strength, kPa

Porosity ratio, e
100
1.0
porosity ratio slow 80

descending section
60
40
0.8
20
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400
Load, kPa Vertical pressure, kPa
Fig. 1 Pore ratio and load curve Fig. 2 Shear strength and vertical pressure curve
3.2 Mechanical Properties 60

undisturbed soil
The test results show that after a freeze-thaw cycle, the reinvent the
50 original soil
cohesion force and internal friction angle increase, but it is
freezing and
easier to compress, the compressive strength is reduced by
thawing soil
half, and the sensitivity is reduced. 40
remodeling
Stress, kPa
The change trend of the undisturbed soil and the frozen-thawing soil
frozen-thawed soil was the same [5], but it was obvious that 30
the porosity ratio increased slightly after freezing and
thawing (see Fig. 1). Under the conditions of lower positive
20
pressure, the shear strength of both sides was close, and then
with the increase of vertical pressure [6], the undisturbed
soil shear strength growth rate was decreased significantly, 10
and the results also showed that the cohesion and internal
friction angle of freeze-thaw soil were both increased (see 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Fig. 2). The stress-strain curve of the original soil shows
Strain, %
strain softening, and the strain that reached the peak inten-
sity almost doubled compared to the original soil. The Fig. 3 Stress and strain curve
stress-strain curve of freeze-thaw soil shows strain
[email protected]
Study on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Clay … 245
Table 2 Mechanical properties parameters of intact soil and frozen-thawed soil at −10 °C
Soil samples Cohesive Internal friction Compression Compression Unconfined compressive Sensitivity
force (kPa) angle ( ) coefficient (MPa 1 ) modulus (MPa) strength (kPa)
Undisturbed 8.3 17.3 0.8 2.40 48.6 4.6
soil
Frozen and 9.8 19.4 0.9 2.18 24.9 4.1
thawed soil
hardening. After a freeze-thaw cycle, the unconfined com- limit stabilized with liquid limit increasing, and the soil
pressive strength of the soil was reduced largely, only body was soft. The permeability coefficient increased and
1/3 * 1/2 of the original soil, as shown in Fig. 3 and Table 2. the permeability increased, too.
2. The cohesion and internal friction angle of the clay after
freezing and thawing slightly increased, the compression
4 Discussion coefficient increased, the compression modulus
decreased, the compressibility of the soil increased, and
This paper dealt with the physical properties of SSSC the clay had no confinement resistance after freezing and
including water content, density, specific gravity, void ratio, thawing. The compressive strength was only 1/3 to 1/2 of
liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, permeability that of the undisturbed soil, and the intensity decay was
coefficient, and mechanical properties, involving compress- obvious, and the sensitivity was reduced.
ibility, compression modulus, cohesion, and internal friction
angle, unconfined compressive strength.
After a single freeze-thaw cycle, the soil properties Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Fundamental
changed. The most obvious diversification was the increased Research Funds for the Central Universities (2018ZZCX04).
water content, increased permeability, lower compressive
strength, and reduced sensitivity. The reason was the
migration of external moisture during the freezing process References
and the reorganization of the original soil structure after
freezing and thawing. 1. Huang, Y.C.: Evaluating the behavior of a cohesive soil undergoing
one cycle of freeze-thaw. Geotech. Front., 643–651 (2017)
2. Hong, J.: Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Shanghai
Saturated Soft Clay under Artificial Freezing Condition. Tongji
5 Conclusion University, Shanghai (2008)
3. Wei, R.L.: Soil extraction techniques and improvements in soft clay.
This paper systematically compared the physical and Chin. J. Geotech. Eng. 8(6), 113–125 (1986)
4. Zhang, Z.L.: Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Clay Before and
mechanical properties of the fourth layer of silty soft clay in After Freezing and Thawing Under Subway Vibration Load. China
Shanghai, which has undergone a freeze-thaw cycle, through University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (2015)
a geotechnical test method. The present study leads to the 5. Wang, S.F.: Microscopic pore change and fractal characteristics of
following conclusions. artificial frozen-thawed soft clay. Chin. J. Geotech. Eng. 38(7),
1254–1261 (2016)
6. Yin, Z.Z.: Experimental study on uniaxial unconfined compressive
1. The changes in density and specific gravity were small, strength of artificial frozen clay in Shanghai. Rock Soil Mech. 33
the water content and porosity ratio increased, the plastic (03), 788–792 (2012)
[email protected]
Geotechnical Mapping of Clayey Subgrade
Soils Characteristics: A Case Study
from Tebessa City (Algeria)
Adel Djellali, Med Salah Laour, and Abdelkader Houam
Abstract have experienced severe asphalt cracking and early loss of

Mapping of soils is essential when quantifying the serviceability [3]. As a case study, Tebessa city is located in
relation between soils parameters and risk of swelling the Northeast of Algeria (Fig. 1). The geology of the site has
subgrades. Numerical mapping of soils areas affected by been studied by several researchers [4, 5]. The quaternary
expansive clay minerals is essential when designing the and plio-quaternary formations occupied the central part;
pavements structures. In this paper, a simple method for they are formed by actual and recent alluvial deposits,
automatic mapping of expansive clayey soils was sandstones and gravels [5].The expansive clay presents the
proposed. 40 samples from subgrades of Tebessa city major subgrade soil formations, where the base of principal
were subjected to various laboratory tests. The different national roads are (N10, N16 and N82). The pavements
geotechnical data were mapped to classify the subgrade deterioration was characterized by the cracks on the top
soils and hazard delimitation of swelling areas using the surface, and are confirmed to be due to the swelling pressure
geo-statistical method and automatic mapping technol- which was not introduced in design [4].
ogy. The results showed that soils were clayey marl. The The aim of this work was to sketch a different geotech-
Montmorillonite are observed abundant with small pro- nical map to classify the subgrade soils and hazard delimi-
portion of illite and kaolinite. These maps could be used tation of swelling areas, using a geo-statistical method and
to draw up the strategies of the clayey subgrade soils automatic mapping technology. The second goal was to
improvement and roads’ design. Also the new soils draw up strategies of the clayey subgrade soils improvement
mapping method has the advantages of being quick, and pavements design.
objective and helpful to the engineers to localize the
hazard zone in the study area.

Keywords
Soil mapping Classification Hazard In this study, forty samples were selected to characterize the
Swelling pressure Subgrade studied soils. Tests were carried out according to the French
standards such as: particle size distribution [7], water content
[8], dry density [9], liquid and plastic limits [10], methylene
blue value, [11], carbonate content [12] and free swelling
1 Introduction pressure [13]; core sample were taken along some sections
of national roads of the city (N10, N16 and N82). The
The infrastructures transportation developments are princi- locations of the boreholes are positioned using GPS. They
pally related to earthworks, for the construction of highways were deliberately chosen approximate to the sections where
[1, 2]. Numerous pavements designed on expansive soils the pavements had distressed. From various boreholes,
it showed that the soils were of clayey marl, clayey silts and
A. Djellali (&) M. S. Laour clay. The statistical evaluation on the studied samples is
Civil Engineering Department, Larbi Tebessi University, given in Table 1.
12002 Tebessa, Algeria
A. Houam
Civil Engineering Department, King Khalid University
College of Engineering, Abha, KSA, Saudi Arabia

[email protected]
248 A. Djellali et al.
Fig. 1 Location map of the study area [6]
Table 1 Statistical data of Properties Number Minimum Maximum Mean St. deviation
geotechnical characteristics
samples [6] Particles <0.08 mm (%) (NF P 94-056) 40 53.78 97.2 86.89 9.86
Water content, w (%) 40 11.71 28.55 19.14 3.85
Dry density, qd (mg/m3) 40 1.47 1.93 1.69 0.13
Liquid limit, LL (%) 40 42 77 60 9.37
Plastic limit, PL (%) 40 15 51 29.82 11.72
Plasticity index, PI (%) 40 16 51 30.17 8.27
3
Methylene blue values, MBV (cm /g) 40 2.08 10.86 5.12 1.99
Carbonate content, CaCO3 (%) 40 6.56 74.20 41.16 17.10
Swelling pressure, Ps (kN/m2) 40 100 260 175.50 8.89
montmorillonite, smectite clay and illite, with small samples

3 Results containing more or less illite and kaolinite.
3.1 Soils Classification

3.2 Numerical Classification Maps
The subgrade soils classification, according to the GTR
method [14], ranges the region of the studied soils as A2, A3 To generate spatial distribution maps, the kriging method
and A4, as marly clays and clays with high waterproof and was employed on the geotechnical data using a linear vari-
plasticity. According to Dakshanamurthy and Romana chart ogram. The used estimation method is based on a set of near
[15], the Tebessa’s samples were placed in the area between values points where the calculator program Surfer 11 was
[email protected]
Geotechnical Mapping of Clayey Subgrade Soils Characteristics … 249
(a) (b) (c) 75

35.44 35.44 35.44 70
65
35.43 35.43 35.43 60

55
50
35.42 35.42 35.42
45
40
35.41 35.41 35.41 35
30
25
35.4 35.4 35.4
20
15
35.39 35.39 35.39 10
8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 5
0
(d) (e) (f)

35.44 35.44 35.44
35.43 35.43 35.43
35.42 35.42 35.42
35.41 35.41 35.41
35.4 35.4 35.4
35.39 35.39 35.39
8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.1 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15
Fig. 2 Spatial distribution maps of geotechnical characteristics of subgrade soils, a PI, b VBS, c CaCO3, d w, e SSA, f Ps
employed to recover variables maps. Each data point was extended from 100 to 540 kPa which is classified as inter-
weighted via its distance from the node. Based on this mediate to high [18, 19].
method, far away points from the node will have less weight
in the estimated node. The Z value is calculated by [16]:
5 Conclusion
X
n
ZA ¼ Wi Zi ð1Þ
i¼1 In this paper a soil classification method was proposed,
based on different authors, and a combination of geotech-
where ZA is the calculated value of the node grid, n is the nical characteristics in Tebessa city in Algeria. The classi-
number of adjacent data values, Zi is the value at position i fication of soil is related to expansive clay minerals,
with weight Wi. The results of the physico-mechanical and determined with 40 samples around pavements sections
chemical properties distribution maps of subgrade soils are which suffered great damage. Using kriging and stack tool
shown in Fig. 2. from the automatic mapping software, soil maps were gen-
erated, and we provided a numerical delineation which can
be used in hazard delimitation of swelling areas. The new
4 Discussion soils mapping method has the advantages of being quick,
objective and helpful to engineers to locate risky zones.
The spatial distribution maps of geotechnical characteristics
of subgrade soils represented in Fig. 2, showed that, PI
varied from 16 to 51%, that these soils are moderately to References
very clayey, with swelling potential moderate to very high
[17]. The, MBV extended from 2 to 11 cm3/g, indicate that 1. Al-Mukhtar, M., Lasledj, A., Alcover, J.F.: Behaviour and
soils are medium plastics silts and very plastic clays. The mineralogy changes in lime-treated expansive soil at 20 °C. Appl.
CaCO3 varied from 7 to 74%. The majority of the soils are Clay Sci. 50, 191–198 (2010)
marly clays. The w extended from 14 to 29%, where the site 2. Zha, F., Liu, S., Du, Y., Cui, K.: Behavior of expansive soils
stabilized with fly ash. Nat. Hazards. 47, 509–523. https://doi.org/
is slightly wet to wet. The Specific surface area SSA, varied 10.1007/s11069-008-9236-4 (2008)
from 44 to 228 m2/g where the minerals clays are Illites and 3. Djellali, A., et al.: Static analysis of flexible pavements over
montmorillonites [18]. Finally the free swell pressure Ps, expansive soils. Int. J. Civ. Eng. 15(3), 391–400 (2017)
[email protected]
250 A. Djellali et al.
4. Vila, J.M.: La chaîne alpine de l’Algérie orientale et des confins 11. NF P94-068: Sols: Détermination de la valeur de bleu de
Algéro-Tunisiens. Université Pierre et Marie curie, Paris VI, Thèse méthylène d’un sol ou d’un matériau rocheux par l’essai à la
de Doctorat ès sciences (1980) tache. Normalisation Française (1998)
5. Fehdi, C., Rouabhia, A., Mechai, A., Debabza, M., Abla, K., 12. NF P94-048.: Sols: Reconnaissance et essais - Détermination de la
Voudouris, K.: Hydrochemical and microbiological quality of teneur en carbonate - Méthode du calcimètre. Normalisation
groundwater in the Merdja area, Tébessa, North-East of Algeria. Française (1996)
Appl. Water Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-014-0209-3 13. XP P 94-091: Sols : Essai de gonflement à l’oedomètre.
(2014) Détermination des déformations par chargement de plusieurs
6. Djellali, A., Houam, A., Saghafi, B.: Indirect estimation of éprouvettes. Normalisation Française (1995)
swelling pressure of clayey subgrade under pavement structures. 14. GTR: Guide technique pour la réalisation des remblais et des
Arab. J. Sci. Eng. (2017) couches de forme. Edition du SETRA-LCPC, Bagneux, Fascicule
7. NF P 94-056: Sols: Reconnaissance et essais—Analyse granu- I&II, Paris (2000)
lométrique—Méthode par tamisage à sec après lavage. Normali- 15. Fredlund, D.G., Hasan, J.U., Filson, H.: The prediction of total
sation Française (1996) heave. In: Proceedings 4th International Conference on Expansive
8. NF P94-050: Sols: Reconnaissance et essais—Détermination de la Soils. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. ASCE. 1, 1–17 (1980)
teneur en eau pondérale des matériaux—Méthode par étuvage. 16. Golden software Homepage. https://support.goldensoftware.com,
Normalisation Française (1995) Last Accessed 9 June 2018
9. NF P94-053: Sols: Reconnaissance et essais—Détermination de la 17. Chen, F.H.: Foundations on expansive soils. American Elsevier
masse volumique des sols fins en laboratoire—Méthodes de la Sci. Pub. Com. New York (1988)
trousse coupante, du moule et de l’immersion dans l’eau. 18. Mitchell, J.K., Soga, K.: Fundamentals of Soil Behaviour. Wiley
Normalisation Française (1991) (2005)
10. NF P94-051: Sols: Détermination des limites d’Atterberg—Limite 19. Costet, J., Sanglerat, G.: Cours pratique de mécanique de sol.
de liquidité à la coupelle—Limite de plasticité au rouleau. Troisième édition. Tome 1, plasticité et calcul de tassement. Tome
Normalisation Française (1993) 2, calcul des ouvrages, p. 464. Dunod Paris (1983)
[email protected]
Regression Tools to Quantify the Swelling
Pressure of Expansive Soil in Tebessa Region
(Algeria)
Yacine Berrah, Abderrahmane Boumezbeur, and Nouar Charef
Abstract in a flat topography. Soils swelling hazard has become a

This study aimed to quantify the pressure generated by serious problem. Several formulae have been established in
the clayey soil of Tebessa region in order to use it as a order to predict the swell pressure and potential using simple
parameter for particular construction works. The statisti- geotechnical parameters [3, 4, 6–12]. Recently, the swelling
cal, principal component analysis and regression tools behavior of soils has been studied using more sophisticated
were used as simple techniques taking into account the modeling techniques such as dimensional analysis [1, 2] and
combined effects of the soil properties on swelling neural network analysis [5]. The present study relied on
behavior and dealt with the swell pressure models. In statistical approaches to evaluate and predict the swell
the selection of independent variables; regression analy- pressure parameter from the correlation of physical and
ses were carried out and the multi-colinearity problem mechanical parameters such as the water content, the dry
was considered, in the multiple regression analysis. density, plasticity index, the clay content and the
Regressors were added to obtain the final model. The pre-consolidation pressure. The principal component analy-
obtained model is acceptable and gives the best results sis (PCA) and the multiple regressions were used for the
when compared to previous cited models in the literature. studied soil data to derive the model that allows the evalu-
The regression analysis technique is a powerful predictive ation of the swell pressure. Therefore, many aspects of sta-
tool for assessing the swell pressure for all soil conditions. tistical analyses like the type of regression, the models and
results interpretations, and the determination of whether the
used methods are feasible and how well the best model fits,

Keywords
Clayey soil Swell pressure Soil parameters were all included in this work.
Statistical tools
1 Introduction As a first step, before using the principal component anal-

ysis, all the tests of descriptive statistics were carried out to
In the N.E of Algeria, Tebessa region is characterized by an screen the different variables used to derive the model. These
arid climate, Soil expansion was the main cause of the variables are: The natural water content (w), dry density (cd),
observed damage to different structures at the study area due liquid limit (Wl), plasticity index (Ip), the % of fine fraction
to the high pressure generated within the clayey formations of less than 80 µ (Ff), the preconsolidation pressure (Pc),
which only had good correlation with the swelling pressure
(Ps). These parameters were chosen as mentioned on
Table 1 as independent variables.
Y. Berrah (&)
Mining Institute, Tebessa University, Tebessa, Algeria
3 Results
A. Boumezbeur
Department of Geology, Tebessa University, Tebessa, Algeria
The data used in the present study were analyzed in the first
N. Charef
Department of Civil Engineering, Souk-Ahras University, Souk
part with the principal component analysis (PCA). This
Ahras, Algeria technique is one of the best known multivariate analyses,

[email protected]
252 Y. Berrah et al.
Table 1 Descriptive statistics of Variable Observations Minimum Maximum Mean Std. deviation
the used data and variables [2]
w (%) 86 11,710 38,240 20,433 4835
cd (KN/m ) 3
86 11,600 19,400 16,380 1570
Wl (%) 86 36,000 160,000 65,535 22,717
IP (%) 86 19,000 85,000 42,640 14,951
Ff % < 80µ 86 44,000 97,600 88,822 10,039
Pc (KPa) 86 70,500 265,000 163,488 40,215
Ps (KPa) 86 60,000 670,000 256,622 155,683
Variables (axes F1 and F2: 74,01 %) Ps (KPa) / Standardized

1
coefficients
0.75 Ff (mm) (95% conf. interval)
0.8 IP (%)
γd Pc (KPa)
Standardized coefficients
0.5
0.6
(KN/m3) Ps (KPa) WL (%) Pc (KPa)
F2 (20,73 %)
0.25 0.4
IP (%)
WL (%)
0 0.2
-0.25 0
-0.5 w (%) -0.2 Ff (mm)
-0.4 γd
-0.75 w(%)
(KN/m3 )
-0.6
-1 Variable
-1 -0.75 -0.5 -0.25 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
F1 (53,28 %)
Fig. 2 Parameters contribution to the multiple regression model [2]
Fig. 1 The circle of correlation of variables
regression 0.94 (Fig. 3). The multiple linear regression
also known as eigenvector analysis for removing the adverse models gave the best-fit for all soil conditions.
effects of collinearity. The (PC) number is based on the
Kaiser’s values (variances) higher than 1 [10]. The results
are represented by circles of correlations which represent the 4 Conclusion
projections of the variables on the first two components.
A variable which is projected near the circle and close to a The principal component analysis results using six out of the
principal axis is well represented on that axis (Fig. 1). seven soil parameters as input show strong correlation on the
In the second part of this work, two stages (learning and first principal axis and absorb about 74% of the total vari-
validating) were used; 86 data samples were applied to ance, the PCA allowed the grouping of the best correlated
formulate the empirical model in the learning stage, other parameters as the first group was composed of water content,
data were used for validation. The empirical models, were dry density and the fines fraction with a high effect on the
linearly fitted to the data using a single independent variable; swelling phenomenon; the second group constituted of soil
those with negative contribution are respectively (w; cd ; Ff ), indices and preconsolidation pressure had a positive contri-
the other factors represented by (wl ; Ip ; Pc ) have a positive bution. The multiple regression analysis technique is a
contribution to this analysis as shown by Fig. 2 and finally powerful and very practical method to predict the swelling
multiple independent variables or multiple linear regression pressure; it validated the obtained results by the PCA
were established for developing the empirical model to method. This methodology to derive the model is a useful
indicate a reliable assessment of swelling pressure of the and powerful tool to estimate engineering properties of
studied clayey soil. These were developed using Minitab 17. swelling soils. In this investigation, there were six propri-
The general model is presented in Table 2. eties cd ; w; Ff ; wl ; Ip and Pc which were strongly correlated
The final model in the current study consisting of six to swelling pressure. The model proposed in the present
parameters showed a good correlation compared to previous study, showed the best results when compared to previous
models cited in the literature with coefficient of models cited in the literature.
[email protected]
Regression Tools to Quantify the Swelling Pressure … 253
Table 2 Multiple regressions to drive the model of swelling pressure Ps (KPa)

Observations 86.000
Sum of weights 86.000
DF 79.000
R2 0.938
2
Adjusted R 0.933
RMSE 40.171
DW 2.231
Equation of the model:
Ps = 339.43 − 25.97*cd − 9.41*w − 0.68*Ff + 2.060*WL + 6.1*IP + 1.23*Pc
Fitted Line Plot 2. Berrah, Y., Boumezbeur, A., Kherici, N.: Application of dimen-
Ps (KPa) = 1,3 + Ps Exp sional analysis and regression tools to estimate swell pressure of
800 expansive soil in Tebessa (Algeria). Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ.
(2016)
700 3. Daksanamurthy, V., Raman, V.: A simple method of identifying
600 an expansive soil. Soil Found. Japan. Soc. Soil. Mech. Found. Eng.
13(1), 97–104 (1973)
500 4. Erguler, Z.A., Ulusay, E.: A simple test and predictive models for
assessing swell potential of Ankara (Turkey) clay. Eng. Geol. 67,
Ps (KPa)
400
331–352 (2003)
300 5. Erzin, Y.: Artificial neural networks approach for swell pressure
Regression versus soil suction behavior. Can. Geotech. J. 44(10), 1215–1223
200 95% CI (2007)
95% PI
100 6. Gray, C.W., Allbrook, R.: Relationships between shrinkage
S 38,9577 indices and soil properties in some New Zealand soils. Geoderma
0 R-Sq 93,8% 108(3–4), 287–299 (2002)
R-Sq(adj) 93,7% 7. Kariuki, P.C., Van der Meer, F.D.: A unified swelling potential
-100
index for expansive soils. Eng. Geol. 72, 1–2, 1–8 (2004)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
8. McCormack, D.E., Wilding, L.P.: Soil properties influencing
swelling in Canfield and Geeburg soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 39,
Ps Exp 496–502 (1975)
9. Marquardt, D.W.: Generalized inverses, ridge regression, biased
Fig. 3 Experimental (measured) versus predicted swell pressure linear estimation, and nonlinear estimation. Technometrics 12,
591–612 (1970)
10. Montgomery, D.C.: Introduction to statistical quality control, 7th
References edn. Wiley, New York, USA (2013)
11. Nagaraj, T.S., Srinivasa, M.B.R.: Rational approach to prediction
swelling soil behavior, transportation research record (1985)
1. Buzzi, O.: On the use of dimensional analysis to predict swelling 12. Agus, S.M.: Prediction and classification of expansive clay soils.
strain. Eng. Geol. 116, 149–156 (2010) Expansive Soils Recent Adv. Charact. Treat. (2006)
[email protected]
Dynamic Properties of Soft Clay Under
Freezing-Thawing Cycle
Chen-Yu Hou and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract Therefore, studying the dynamic characteristics of sub-

The problems of land subsidence and deformation caused way under freeze-thaw cycles will play a guiding role in the
by freezing-thawing are a major problem in the construc- future subway construction, operation and maintenance.
tion of subway tunnels, and researchers are now focusing
on them. This article summarized the research results on
the dynamic characteristics of soft clay under freezing- 2 The Review of Dynamic Properties Under
thawing cycles, and analyzed the influencing factors to Freeze-Thaw Cycles
provide a reference for predicting the settlement of
subway tunnels after construction by the freezing method. There are many factors that may affect the dynamic char-
acteristics of soft clay under the effect of freeze-thaw cycle.
Through dynamic tri-axial tests, resonant column tests, and

Keywords
other test methods, the dynamic characteristics of soft clay

Soft clay Freezing and thawing cycle
Dynamic characteristics Axial strain Pore water can be obtained under different influence factors.
pressure After applying a dynamic load, the additional deforma-
tion will be produced [2]. In the dynamic tri-axial test, the
lower the loading frequency, the greater the deformation of
the soil, but the plastic deformation decreases with the
1 Introduction increase of the loading times, and the dynamic stress is
reduced. There is a cyclic stress ratio [3] in saturated soft
Soft clay is widely distributed in many cities. Subway tun- clay. When the cyclic stress is higher than this value, the soft
nels are mostly built on soft soil foundation. The soft soil clay will be damaged. With the increase of cyclic stress ratio
foundation has low bearing capacity, low permeability, high and cycle times, the index of softening will gradually
water content, high compressibility and poor engineering decrease [4]. The load and frequency will also have a
properties. Therefore, the ground settlement, the open significant effect on the long-term settlement of the soft
excavation and excavation instability caused by its substratum of the tunnel.
mechanical properties are becoming more and more promi- After freeze-thaw of soft clay, micro-cracks and pores are
nent. Freezing is often used in subway construction. After formed in the soil, and the structural morphology of the soil
freezing and thawing cycles, the mechanical properties of the particles and the way of connection between the particles
soil like frost heave and thaw will change significantly. The will change, which will destroy the cementation of the soil
subway will also vibrate during the operation, which will and reduce the its structural strength [5]. Whether it is loose
reduce the strength of soft soil foundation and produce soil or fine-grained one, the strength of the soil after the
different degrees of settlement and deformation [1]. freeze-thaw cycle will be reduced [6], and the soil structure
will be more seriously damaged. The elastic modulus of the
soil after the freeze-thaw cycle was attenuated, and the
C.-Y. Hou Z.-D. Cui (&) attenuation of the elastic modulus of the soil was related to
China State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep the properties of the soil [7]. The shear strength of soft clay
Underground Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil increases first and then decreases with the increase of the
Engineering, China University of Ming and Technology,
number of freeze-thaw cycles [8].

[email protected]
256 C.-Y. Hou and Z.-D. Cui
3 Results 2.4
2.2
The following are experimental data of the axial strain and 2.0
pore water pressure of soft clay under freeze-thaw cycles in 1.8
some works from the literature [9, 10]. 1.6
Axial strian, %
1.4
1.2
4 Discussion
1.0
From Fig. 1, we can see that the influence of frequency on 0.8 U
the strain of soil is obvious. The lower the frequency, the 0.6 ºC
ºC
time of contact between the vibration load and the soil will 0.4 ºC
ºC
be longer, and more energy will be transmitted to the soil, 0.2 ºC
ºC
thus the axial strain is greater. 0.0
From Fig. 2, it is obvious that the lower the freezing tem- 0 5000 10000 15000 20000
perature, the greater the strain accumulation. Because the vol- Times, N
ume of water ice in pores expands after freezing and thawing, it
Fig. 2 Axial strain and loading times curve at different freeze-thaw
leads to an increase in the number of large pores in the soil and a cycles
greater damage to its structural properties, which speeds up the
rate of strain accumulation. Secondary freezing-thawing will
exacerbate the structural destruction of the soil and produce a 16
greater cumulative strain. Therefore, in the construction of
freezing method, secondary freezing- thawing of foundation 14
Excess pore water pressure, kPa
soil should be avoided as much as possible.

12
From Fig. 3, Freeze-thaw soil produces greater excess
pore water pressure than the original soil, because the pores 10
of freeze-thaw soils are squeezed and expanded, and the
volume of water in the pores after saturation is increased. 8
Under the same number of vibrations, the cyclic load with
low frequency acts on the soil for a long time, the energy 6
U, 2.5Hz
transferred to the soil structure is much greater, and the 4 F, 2.5Hz
excess pore water pressure generated is greater. U, 1.0Hz
F, 1.0Hz
2 U, 0.5Hz
0.50 F, 0.5Hz
0
0.45 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
0.40 Times, N
0.35 Fig. 3 Pore pressure at different frequencies

Axial strain, %
0.30
0.25 Figure 4 shows that the lower the freezing temperature is,
0.20 the faster the pore pressure develops, and the pore pressure
U, 2.5Hz will increase when it is stable. This is because the structure
0.15 F, 2.5Hz of the soil is destroyed by freezing-thawing, the volume of
U, 1.0Hz
0.10 pores increases, and the cumulative pore pressure during
F, 1.0Hz
0.05 U, 0.5Hz cyclic loading will increase as temperature decreases. The
F, 0.5Hz secondary freeze-thaw exacerbates the weakening of the soil
0.00
0 2000 4000 6000 structure, and has a destructive effect on the soil structure,
the weakening of the structure and the increase of pores
Times, N
facilitate the accumulation and development of the excess
Fig. 1 Axial strain and loading times curve at different frequencies pore pressure during the cyclic loading.
[email protected]
Dynamic Properties of Soft Clay Under Freezing-Thawing Cycle 257
0.6 addition, at lower freezing temperature, the frost heave

will have more effects on the soil.
0.5
Normalized pore pressure
Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Fundamental

0.4
Research Funds for the Central Universities (2018ZZCX04).
0.3
U
References
0.2 ºC
ºC
ºC
1. Wang, X.B., Yang, P.: Experimental study on effects of freezing
and thawing on mechanical properties of clay. Chin. J. Geotech.
0.1 ºC
ºC Eng., 1768–1772 (2009)
ºC 2. Seed, H.B., Chan, C.K.: Effect of duration of stress application on
0.0 soil deformation under repeated loading. In: Proceedings of 5th
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 International Congress on Soil Mechanics and Foundations, Paris,
Times, N pp. 341–345 (1961)
3. Larew, H.G., Leonards, G.A.: A repeated load strength criterion.
Fig. 4 Pore pressure at different freeze-thaw cycles In: The 41st Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board,
Washington, D.C. (1962)
4. Zhang, Y., Kong, L.W., Li, X.W.: Dynamic backbone curve model
of saturated soft clay under cyclic loading. Rock Soil Mech.,
5 Conclusion 1699–1705 (2010)
5. Ling, X., Li, Q., Wang, L., et al.: Stiffness and damping radio
evolution of frozen clays under long-term low level repeated cyclic
This paper summarizes the research results of dynamic loading: experimental evidence and evolution model. Cold Reg.
properties of soft clay under freeze-thaw cycles, and mainly Sci. Technol., 45–54 (2013)
analyzes the effects of loading times, frequency, freezing 6. Qi, J., Vermeer, P.A., Cheng, G.: A review of the influence of
freeze-thaw cycles on soil geotechnical properties. Permafrost
temperature, and freeze-thaw cycles on the axial strain and Periglacial Process., 245–252 (2006)
pore water pressure of soft clay. The obtained results can be 7. Simonsen, E., Janoo, V.C., Isacsson, U.: Resilient properties of
summarized as follows. unbound road materials during seasonal frost conditions. J. Cold
Reg. Eng., 28–50 (2002)
8. Wang, T.L., Liu, J.K., Peng, L.Y.: Study on mechanical properties
1. Under the same loading times, the lower the frequency, of cement improved soil under freeze-thaw cycles. China Railway
the greater the axial strain and excess pore water pressure Sci., 7–11 (2010)
of the soil, the greater the damage to the soil. 9. Zhang, Z.L.: Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Clay Before and
2. Freeze-thaw cycles will exacerbate the destruction of soil After Freezing and Thawing Under Subway Vibration Load. China
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (2015)
structure. The greater the number of freeze-thaw cycles, 10. Zhang, S.Y.: Experimental Study on Dynamic Characteristics and
the more obvious the destruction will be. Microstructure of Frozen-Thawed Soil Under Subway Loading.
3. The lower the freezing temperature, the higher the soil Zhejiang University, Zhejiang (2016)
strain and the pore pressure accumulation rate. In
[email protected]
Stabilization of Clayey Soil Using Lime
and Prosopis Fibers
Abstract appreciably reduce the swelling and shrinkage of black

In this paper, an experimental study was carried out to cotton soils and make them stable even in wet conditions [1].
evaluate the geotechnical properties of clayey soil However, soils treated using lime or cement tend to exhibit
stabilized using lime and prosopis fibers. In the present high stiffness and brittle behavior [2]. The addition of natural
study, the fibers used were at 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and or synthetic fibers along with these additives substantially
1.0% by weight of the soil and the amount of lime used improves the ductility and the post-peak strength of the soils
was kept constant as 4%. From the test results, it was [3]. Prosopis juliflora (PJ) is a woody weed tree that belongs
inferred that the optimum content of lime and prosopis to the genus prosopis which includes 44 species, 40 among
fibers required to achieve superior geotechnical properties these are native to Americas, three to Asia and one to Africa
in clayey soil was found to be 4 and 1%. At this optimum [4]. PJ is widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions of
combination, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) the world and grows in areas of low rainfall. In India and
increases by 73.5%, California bearing ratio (CBR) other regions, PJ is largely used as fuel wood by rural people
resistance increases by 51.9% and linear shrinkage and serves as food for livestock [5]. In this paper, the effect
decreases by 69% when compared to the natural soil. of the addition of lime and PJ fibers on geotechnical prop-
Formation of cementitious compounds upon addition of erties of clayey soil has been experimentally investigated.
lime and better interlocking of soil grains by prosopis
fibers contributed to the significant improvement in the
properties of clayey soil. 2 Materials and Methods
The materials used in this work are black cotton soil,

Keywords
Clayey soil Lime Prosopis UCS hydrated lime, and PJ fibers. The black cotton soil used in
CBR this study was brought from a site called Kutaripattu village
near Tindivanam located at about 121 km from Chennai,
TamilNadu, India. The soil was obtained through a pit
excavated up to a depth of 1 m below the earth surface. The
1 Introduction particle size distribution of the natural soil was determined
using a hydrometer. The soil was classified as CL according
An economical construction of earth embankments and to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) with
pavements requires the use of the locally available soils with ASTM D 2487 [6]. The plastic and liquid limits of the
properties modified using appropriate stabilization methods. natural soil were 44 and 25%, respectively. After extraction
In India, expansive soils like black cotton soil are the second by wet retting process, PJ fibers were dried in hot air oven
largest distributed soil covering over 20% of the total land and ground to a size of 1–3 mm.
area. Chemical additives like cement and lime prove to be an Tests such as standard proctor compaction, atterberg
effective material for achieving the desirable properties for limits, pH, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), California
these types of weak soils. 4–5% lime addition can bearing ratio (CBR), linear shrinkage and consolidation were
carried out as per Indian Standards [7–13]. Six different soil
G. Rudramurthy (&) P. Ramasamy A. Rajendran compositions (untreated, treated with only lime and treated
Department of Civil Engineering, University College of
Engineering, Tindivanam, 604001, TamilNadu, India
with both lime and PJ fibers) were used for the investigation.
e-mail: [email protected] PJ fibers were used in four different percentages namely

[email protected]
260 G. Rudramurthy et al.
0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1% by weight of the dry soil. In the

preparation of all specimens, the method adopted differs
slightly depending on the ingredients added to the soil.
The compaction curves obtained through proctor compaction

test revealed the value of maximum dry unit weight and
optimum moisture content (OMC) for the natural soil sample
as 1.825 kg/m3 and 23.72%. The optimum content of lime
required for long term pozzolanic reaction can be found by
performing pH test as illustrated in [14]. The pH value of the
natural soil was found to be 9.36 and in lime-added soils, the
pH value tends to increase with the addition of lime. At 4%
lime, pH value was 9.51 and the value remained constant on
further increase in the lime content. Thus, the optimum Fig. 1 Results of uniaxial compressive strength test
content of lime added in all the treated soil mixes was kept
constant as 4%. The soil showed an immediate decrease in the treated soil using 4% lime and 1% PJ fiber, about 73.5%
plasticity index (PI) upon addition of lime. The decrease in more than that of natural soil. A similar trend was observed
PI value indicates an improvement in the workability of the during CBR test wherein soil treated with 4% lime and 1%
soil. The addition of 4% of lime was enough to enhance the PJ fibers exhibited higher CBR resistance of about 51.93%
workability of the soil by reducing the PI from 19.44 to more than the natural soil. The CBR value for soil samples
12.38%. The addition of lime (4% wt.) increases the opti- under soaked condition (Fig. 2), exhibited a decreasing trend
mum moisture content (OMC) from 23.72 to 25.13% and compared to soils under unsoaked condition. It is mainly
reduces the maximum dry density from 1.825 to because in a soaked condition, the water molecules tend to
1.707 kg/m3 when compared to 0% lime added. The fill up the voids upon saturation [19].
increase in OMC upon addition of lime is mainly due to The soil compression index (Cc) was found to decrease
excess water required for hydration reaction and the reduc- with the addition of lime. This is mainly due to two basic
tion in the dry density could be due to the aggregation of reactions namely (a) ion exchange reaction and (b) floccula-
cemented soil particles and the effective change in grading tion, which transform the soil structure from plastic to
[15]. In soil samples treated with both lime and PJ fiber, a granular [20].
further increase in OMC and decrease in MDD were
observed. This can be attributed to the low specific gravity of
PJ fibers and the lubricating effect of absorbed water by PJ
fibers which mitigate the compaction effort [16].
From UCS test results, it was inferred that the untreated
soil exhibits a more ductile behavior and smaller peak
strength than the lime-treated soil. Although the initial
stiffness of the soil added with both lime and PJ fiber appears
to be the same as that of the untreated soil, the fracture
toughness of the former was found to be appreciably higher
than the latter mainly due to the crack bridging ability of the
fibers [17]. Also, the decrease in the failure strain of the
lime-treated soil has been overcome by the fiber addition. In
soils treated with both lime and fiber, the axial stress was
found to increase with the increase in the axial strain until
the peak value was reached, but the lime-treated soil expe-
riences a sudden drop in stress [18]. From Fig. 1, it can be
observed that addition of 4% lime increases the UCS value
marginally. However, with the inclusion of PJ fibers the
UCS value of soil increases sharply with the increase in the Fig. 2 Variation of CBR value at penetration 2.5 and 5 mm at soaked
fiber content. The maximum UCS value was reported for condition
[email protected]
Stabilization of Clayey Soil Using Lime and Prosopis Fibers 261
Further, the Cc value decreases sharply with the increase 5. Pasiecznik, N.M., Vera-Cruz, M.T., Harris, P.J.C.: Prosopis
in fiber content, with the maximum reduction of 52.09% juliflora withstands aridity and goat browsing in the Republic of
Cap Verde. Nitrogen Fixing Tree Res. Rep. 13, 89–91 (1995)
observed in the soil stabilized using 4% lime and 1% fibers. 6. ASTM D2487-17: Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for
Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System). ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA (2017)
4 Conclusion 7. IS: 2720-5: Determination of Liquid and Plastic Limit. Bureau of
Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1985)
8. IS: 2720-5: Determination of pH Value. Bureau of Indian
In this study, the effect of the addition of lime and PJ fibers Standards publications, New Delhi (1987)
on geotechnical properties of clayey soil was experimentally 9. IS: 2720-26: Determination of Water Content-Dry Density Rela-
investigated. Based on the test results, it can be concluded tion Using Light Compaction. Bureau of Indian Standards
publications, New Delhi (1985)
that: 10. IS: 2720-10: Determination of Unconfined Compressive Strength.
Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1991)
1. The optimum content of lime and PJ fibers for achieving 11. I.S. 2720-16: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
best results was found to be 4 and 1% by weight of soil. CBR. Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1997)
12. I.S. 2720-20: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
2. At optimum combination of lime and fibers, Linear Shrinkage. Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New
– UCS and CBR value of soil increases by 73.5 and Delhi (1992)
51.9%. 13. I.S. 2720-15: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
– linear shrinkage of the soil decreases by 69%. Consolidation Properties. Bureau of Indian Standards publications,
New Delhi (1986)
– compression index decreases by 52.09%. 14. Muhmed, A., Wanatowski, D.: Effect of lime stabilisation on the
strength and microstructure of clay. IOSR J. Mech. Civil Eng. 6(3),
87–94 (2013)
15. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: A study on the potential utilization of
References crumb rubber in cement treated soft clay. J. Build. Eng. 9, 177–191
(2017)
16. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Behaviour of cement stabilized treated
1. Uppal, H.L., Chadda, L.R.: Physico-chemical changes in the lime coir fiber reinforced clay-pond ash mixtures. J. Build. Eng. 8,
stabilization of black cotton soil (India). Eng. Geol. 2(3), 179–189 131–140 (2016)
(1967) 17. Ates, A.: Mechanical properties of sandy soils reinforced with
2. Ayeldeen, M., Kitazume, M.: Using fiber and liquid polymer to cement and randomly distributed glass fibers (GRC). Compos.
improve the behaviour of cement stabilized soft clay. Geotext. B 96, 295–304 (2016)
Geomembr., 1–11 (2017) 18. Tang, C., Shi, B., Gao, W., Chen, F., Cai, Y.: Strength and
3. Chen, M., Shen, S.L., Arulrajah, A., Wu, H.N., Hou, D.W., Xu, Y.S.: mechanical behavior of short polypropylene fiber reinforced and
Laboratory evaluation on the effectiveness of polypropylene fibers on cement stabilized clayey soil. Geotext. Geomembr. 25, 194–202
the strength of fiber reinforced and cement stabilized shanghai soft (2007)
clay. Geotext. Geomembr., 1–9 (2015) 19. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Effect of waste rubber fibers on the
4. Burkart, A.: A monograph on the genus Prosopis (Leguminosae geotechnical properties of clay stabilized with cement. Appl. Clay
subfam Mimosoideae). (Part 1 and 2). Catalogue of the recognized Sci. 149, 97–110 (2017)
species of Prosopis. J. Arnold Arboretum 57, 219–249, 450–525 20. Rao, S.M., Shivananda, P.: Compressibility behavior of lime-
(1976) stabilized clay. Geotech. Geol. Eng. 23, 309–319 (2005)
[email protected]
Part VII
Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Improvement
of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Soils
[email protected]
An Experimental Study to Compare Two Soil
Improvement Techniques Performance
Yasin Baskose and Candan Gokceoglu
Abstract Especially in poor and loose ground environments,

The main purposes of the present study were to compare depending on the feature of engineering structures, some
in situ performances of two ground improvement tech- serious foundation problems such as settlement, swelling,
niques, which are jet grout and deep soil mixing bearing capacity, liquefaction during earthquakes can be
techniques. In this study, Manisa State Hospital Project encountered. To overcome such types of problems, various
location was selected as the test site, because this location ground improvement techniques have been applied. Ground
has difficult geological and geotechnical conditions. In the improvement techniques have been developed and diversi-
test site, three jet grout colons and three deep soil mix fied, depending on the development of technology for the
colons having same cement content were constructed. last five decades. Jet grout technique has been applied suc-
After 28 days of curing time, the core specimens were cessfully in several projects [1–3] while deep mix technique
extracted for the uniaxial compressive testing, and lump is relatively new but successful improvement method [4, 5].
specimens were collected for further tests and analyses However, a comparison between the performances of these
such as X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and techniques applied in the same conditions has not been taken
determination of physical properties. The results of the into account in the literature yet.
uniaxial compression tests show that the uniaxial com- Manisa city center is located at an active tectonic zone
pressive strengths of the specimens extracted from the and a State Hospital is planned to be constructed on weak
deep soil mix colons are drastically higher than those of and problematic soil conditions. To prevent settlement and
the jet grout colons. Additionally, to understand the causes liquefaction problems, a soil improvement is mandatory.
of this difference, several features of the improved soil Two soil improvement techniques, jet grout and deep soil
were investigated by various mineralogical and petro- mix, have been applied in situ and their performances have
graphic methods. According to the results of these been compared. Three jet grout colons and three deep soil
investigations, the fabric and some mineralogical proper- mix colons having the same cement content have been
ties were seriously affected by the improvement technique. constructed. After 28 days of curing time, the core speci-
mens have been extracted for the uniaxial compressive
testing, and lump specimens have been collected for other

Keywords
tests and analyses (i.e. X-ray diffraction, electron micro-

Soil improvement Jet grouting Deep soil
mixing Mineralogy Petrography scopy and determination of physical properties).
2 Project Area and In-Situ Applications

1 Introduction
Manisa State Hospital Construction area was selected as the
Depending on the increase of population, construction of test site. Manisa is located at the western part of Turkey
large engineering structures and buildings in difficult geo- (Fig. 1) and on the Gediz Graben. The region is an active
logical and geotechnical conditions is indispensable. tectonic zone and has experienced large earthquakes. For
this reason, the earthquake effects on the structures and
Y. Baskose C. Gokceoglu (&) grounds should be considered.
Department of Geological Engineering, Hacettepe University,
06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
During the investigations, a total of 13 drillholes have
e-mail: [email protected] been performed. The depth of each varies between 20 and

[email protected]
266 Y. Baskose and C. Gokceoglu
Fig. 1 Location map of the test site
25 m. Loose Quaternary sediments have been encountered

during all borehole works. Quaternary sediments are formed
by loose sands and silts and occasionally clay. The SPT
values vary between 13 and 22. According to the results of
SPT, the alluvial units can be classified as loose in general
and dense occasionally. The groundwater level is about
7.5 m from the surface. The sediments were deposited by the
fluvial processes but some of the materials is composed of
debris transported from higher altitudes.
In the first stage of in situ applications, three jet-grout and
three deep mix colons having the length of 3 m and the
diameter of 0.8 m have been constructed (Fig. 2). The
distances between the colons were 2 m. The ratio of water/
cement was selected as 1 for both techniques.
After 28 days of curing time, the test site has been
excavated and the colons have been extracted. The targeted
diameter, 0.8 m, was obtained from the deep mix technique
while the diameters of the colons constructed by jet-grout
technique have been obtained as 0.50–0.65 m. The natural
conditions and amount of cement were the same while the
application procedures of the techniques followed in the Fig. 2 The colons constructed on the test site
[email protected]
An Experimental Study to Compare Two Soil Improvement … 267
present study were different. This application provided a (Fig. 3b, c). The distribution of Ca in the improved samples
comparison between the performances of both techniques. is important for the strength because the increase of the
strength is provided by the cement. As can be seen from
Fig. 3b and 3c, the distribution of Ca in the sample taken
3 Results from the deep mix colon is homogenous while that in the
one taken from the jet grout colon is heterogenous. This
To check the performances of both techniques, core speci- analysis explains the strength difference clearly.
mens were extracted from the colons with a portable core
drill machine. A total of 18 standard core specimens for
uniaxial compressive test were obtained from the deep mix 4 Conclusion
colons. The same procedure was also applied on the jet grout
colons and the necessary core specimens for the tests were In the present study, a comparison between the performances
extracted. During the core extraction stage, extraction of of deep soil mix and jet grout was performed. For the pur-
standard core specimen from the jet grout colons was pose of the study, in situ jet and deep mix colons have been
extremely difficult due to weak character of the colons. On constructed. After 28 days of curing, the colons were
these core specimens, the standard uniaxial compressive excavated and the core specimens were extracted. The UCS
strength and unit weight tests were applied and the results and unit weight tests were applied on the core specimens.
are given in Table 1. When considering the UCS test results, the core specimens
The UCS test results showed that the UCS values of the obtained from the deep mix colons was found to be
core specimens obtained from the deep mix colons are approximately 3–4 times higher than those obtained from the
considerably higher than those from the jet grout colons. jet grout colons. To understand these drastic differences,
To understand the nature of this difference, the scanning scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed.
electron microscope (SEM) analyses were performed on According to the results of these analyses, the distribution of
natural soil sample (Fig. 3a) and improved soil samples Ca in deep mix colons is rather homogenous.
Table 1 The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and unit weight (c) test results
Specimen no c (kN/m3) UCS (MPa)
JET-A 16.6 2.0
JET-B 17.1 2.8
JET-C 17.2 2.9
DM-A 17.2 5.4
DM-B 16.7 6.4
DM-C 17.0 8.6
Fig. 3 Ca mappings obtained from SEM analysis: a the natural soil sample; b the sample taken from the deep mix colon; c the sample taken from
the jet-grout colon
[email protected]
268 Y. Baskose and C. Gokceoglu
References 3. Shen, S.L., Wang, Z.F., Horpibulsuk, S., Kim, Y.H.: Jet grouting
with a newly developed technology: the twin-jet method. Eng. Geol.
152(1), 87–95 (2013)
1. Wong, I.H., Poh, T.Y.: Effects of jet grouting on adjacent ground and 4. Bruce, D.A., Bruce, M.E.C., DiMillio, A.F.: Deep mixing method: a
structures. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 126(3), 247–256 (2000) global perspective. Civ. Eng. 68(12), 38 (1998)
2. Coulter, S., Martin, C.D.: Effect of jet-grouting on surface 5. De Silva, M.S., O’Riordan, N.J., Parry, L.N.: Trials for the
settlements above the Aeschertunnel, Switzerland. Tunnell. Under- construction of a cement solidified retaining structure in a domestic
ground Space Technol. 21(5), 542–553 (2006) landfill site using deep soil mixing. Eng. Geol. 60(1), 49–60 (2001)
[email protected]
Effect of Combined Application of Mineral
Fertilizer in Soil Hydraulic Properties
Nissaf Karbout, Mohamed Moussa, Nadhem Brahim, Roland Bol,

and Habib Bounina
The effects of compost, bentonite, and manure as soil
amendments on soil hydraulic properties and improving Climate change accompanied by climate variability and
water availability from saturation to oven dryness were other extreme climate events would have a direct effect on
investigated. The soil amendments were mixed with sand the quantity and quality of agricultural production [1],
dune soil and compared with untreated soil (U) and especially in semi-arid and arid regions where water scarcity
reference soil (Chott Djerid soil). Two methods, hyprop is the most limiting factor for agricultural production. The
and WP4 dew point potentiometer, were used to measure quality and quantity of crop production is not only deter-
the whole range of soil hydraulic properties from mined by total water amount and water use efficiency, but
saturation to oven dryness. The hyprop and WP4 results also is affected by rainfall distribution and the soil
also exhibited that soil amendments increased the soil water-holding capacity, The region of Kebili south Tunisia is
water content of the amended soils at low matric an arid area, where long-term intensive cultivation has led to
potentials. The results of soil water retention curves serious soil degradation, including reduced soil
revealed that control retained less water at any matric water-holding capacity. In south Tunisia over half of the
potential compared to the amended soils. The soil water rural population is directly dependent on locally grown crops
retention increased with the increase of soil amendments and date palm production. Though dates production in
amount. The particle size distribution changed with the Tunisia hardly exceed 2% of the global production, Tunisia
addition of bentonite. These results suggested that the soil is considered leader in date palm export especially for Deglet
amendments improved the soil water retentively which Nour variety which gives importance to this sector in rural
confirmed the appropriateness of these soil amendments development and for the Tunisian economy [2]. Nefzaoua
for potential use in sandy soils improvements. region (22,900 km2) in South Tunisia covers 48% of the
total area of all Tunisian oases with nearly 15,600 ha of

Keywords traditional and modern palm trees plantations [3]. The

Hydraulic properties Soil amendments Nefzaoua region contains over 4 million palm trees of which
Hyprop WP4 dew point potentiometer ca 1.6 million are Deglet Nour (the most valuable date
variety). The date palm production in this region has
decreased over the last decades from 190.6 Gg in 2011–2012
[4] to 182.5 Gg in 2014–2015. The unfavorable location of
Nefzaoua oasis surrounded by Chott Jerid and Gharsa salt
N. Karbout (&) M. Moussa
Institute of Arid Area, Mednine, Tunisia plains may further exacerbate soil degradation problems [5,
e-mail: [email protected] 6] and drought and lack of water resource are the main
N. Karbout H. Bounina limiting factors in the decrease of date palm production in
Institute of Agronomic of Tunisia, Tunis, Tunisia this region. Mekki et al. [7] affirmed that the Nefzawa oasian
N. Brahim agro-systems rely on deep fossil aquifers for their agricul-
Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis EL Manar, tural water supply. The resulting exploitation of these
2092 Tunis, Tunisia aquifers, increased fourfold between 1970 and 2000, and led
R. Bol to quantitative and qualitative degradations of water
Institute of Bio-Geoscience, Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), resources.
Juelich Research Center, 52428 Juelich, Germany

[email protected]
270 N. Karbout et al.
The aim of the present study was to examine the viability The clay percentage in soil increased from 36.2 to 36.5%
of new proposed amendment materials, consisting of mix- in SBC and SBM with a decrease in sand percentage to
tures of organic (farm manure or compost) and mineral range from 31 to 32.7%, respectively. In this context,
(bentonite clay) materials. This combination integrated with Grandy and Robertson [9] affirmed that the addition of
the common management practices in Nefzaoua oases will mineral amendment influenced in the change of particle size
help to improve the water holding capacity in Nefzaoua distribution, also affirmed that the addition of organic
oasis system. amendment do not have a significant influence in particle
size distribution in soil.
The particle size distribution has change significantly
2 Materials and Methods (p < 0.05) in 20–40 cm of depth in SBC and SBM amend-
ment, but we don’t have significant effect with other soil
Soil samples were collected from a traditional oasis in Fan- amendment.
tassa (33.8°N; 8.7°E), in Kebili governorate, southern Tuni- In the deep layer 40–60 cm the effect of amendment is
sia. The six treatments were (i) sandy soil + farm manure not significant; a similar percentage of particle size distri-
(SF), (ii) sandy soil + compost (SC), (iii) sandy soil + ben- bution in all treatments was observed.
tonite clay (SB), (iv) sandy soil + bentonite + farm manure
(SBF), (v) sandy soil + bentonite + compost (SBC) and
(vi) untreated control (U). The treatment amendments were 3.2 Treatments Effects on Soil Water Retention
applied on June 17, 2014, and the soil of Chatt Djred was (SWR)
considered as reference soil (Ch). Therefore, the soil was
repacked to bulk densities measured in the field. Using dis- The water retention curve (WRC) increased significantly
turbed soils was feasible because the natural soils did not (p < 0.05) in all treatments with organic amendments
show any structure, which could be destroyed by repacking. (Fig. 1, Table 1). Water retention content was significantly
For the estimation of the hydraulic properties, the HYPROP® (p < 0.05) lower in the untreated and Chatt Djerid soils
(UMS, München, Germany) method as described by compared to all other treatments. Corresponding to the
Schindler et al. [8] was used in combination with the addition of organic amendments mainly manure and com-
WP4® Dewpoint Potentiometer (Decagon Devices, WA, post to the soil the water retention increased, the maximum
USA). value of ðS was measured in the amended soil with bentonite
and compost SBC treatment (ðS = 0.477 cm3.cm3), fol-
lowed by SBF, SC and SM in which the values reached
3 Results respectively (ðS = 0.462 cm3.cm3, ðS = 0.457 cm3.cm3,
ðS = 0.441 cm3.cm3). The increase of water retention in the
3.1 Treatments Effects on Soil Aggregates soil was related to the increase of macro and medium pores
in those soils and this is confirmed with our results con-
The soils were mostly fine texture with clay content less than cerning the macroparticule size decrease with the addition of
50%, the proportion of grain size distribution in different organic and mineral amendment from 33.1% for the coarse
treatments were more or less similar. U soil and Ch soil have sand (ø = 600 µm) to 22% in soil amended with SBC. This
similar grain size distribution. Also, the addition of organic result is also confirmed with the study of [10], who showed
amendment (compost or manure) do not have a significant that the addition of biochar like organic amendment
effect in particle size distribution, But changed with the increases soil water retention and moisture in soil. Also,
addition of bentonite. Ramos [11] specified that the addition of compost increases
Fig. 1 Fitted retention curves for (a) 0.5 (b) 0.5 (c) 0.5
0-20cm 20-40cm 40-60cm
the different treatments for a 0–
20 cm depth, b 20–40 cm depth, 0.4 0.4 0.4
. [cm 3 cm -3 ]
. [cm 3 cm -3 ]
. [cm 3 cm -3 ]
and c 40–60 cm depth

0.3 0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1 0.1
0 0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
log h [-cm] log h [-cm] log h [-cm]
[email protected]
Effect of Combined Application of Mineral Fertilizer … 271
Table 1 Grain size distribution for the different treatments and three sampling depths
Depth Treatment Clay Fine silt Middle silt Course silt Fine sand Middle sand Course sand
<2 µm 2 µm 6.3 µm 20 µm 63 µm 200 µm 600 µm
0– U 22.1 0.0 11.7 14.6 1.0 17.5 3.1
20 cm Ch 22.6 0.5 25.4 20.2 1.3 5.3 24.6
SC 7.2 0.2 11.4 15.8 2.9 13.9 21.0
SM 8.5 0.4 11.5 14.7 1.5 9.0 25.7
SBC 36.5 0.4 16.8 38.5 2.0 13 21.9
SBM 36.2 0.3 16.2 37.6 2.1 13.5 22.3
20– U 23.2 0.8 11.4 5.2 3.2 21.6 34.6
40 cm Ch 22.0 0.0 32.1 14.4 0.4 2.2 26.8
SC 13.4 1.2 23.4 52.4 4.8 0.0 4.8
SM 12.5 2.1 25.6 40.4 15.2 1.5 3.1
SBC 38.3 0.0 11.3 3.2 2.4 12.7 32.1
SBM 37.9 0.5 22.3 19.0 0.8 5.7 13.8
40– U 22.6 0.5 45.4 6.9 1.1 7.1 17.3
60 cm Ch 20.6 0.3 42.4 16.3 0.1 1.6 18.7
SC 22.1 0.3 11.3 14.1 2.6 16.1 33.4
SM 22.1 0.5 23.1 13.0 1.2 12.2 27.7
SBC 20.5 0.5 22.5 11.2 3.2 15.4 22.5
SBM 22.6 0.5 20.4 15.4 1.1 13.2 21.7
water retention in soil. Furthermore, Kim et al. [12] affirmed References

that the soil amendments may alter the pore size distribution
(increase meso and micro pores) and increase the surface 1. Mi, J., Gregorich, E.G., Xu, S., McLaughlin, N.B., Ma, B., Liu, J.:
area which affects the water retention at low matric poten- Effect of bentonite amendment on soil hydraulic parameters and
tials, this increase in water retention due to the adsorptive millet crop performance in a semi-arid region. Field Crops Res.
forces between the soil solid surface and the soil solution. 212(October), 107–114. Elsevier (2017)
2. Amor, R.B., Giménez, E.A., de Miguel Gómez, M.D.: The
Therefore it is affected by specific surface area of the soil. competitive advantage of the Tunisian palm date sector in the
However, at higher depths (20–40 cm), The WRC is mediterranean region. Span. J. Agricult. Res. 10(2) (2015)
increased, in SBM and SBC amendment because of the 3. Rurales, Alternatives: Revue de Communication et Débat Sur Les
decrease of clay particle size distribution in the soil Alternatives Agricoles et Rurales (2016)
4. Anselm, D., Abdelhamid, H.: No TitleLes Oasis de Tunisie À
(ðS = 0.499 and 0.487 cm3.cm3), but in 40–60 cm of depth Protéger Contre La Dégradation et Les Effets Du Changement
we have a decrease and small difference in WRC in all Climatique (2012)
treatments (Fig. 1, Table 1). The results was confirmed by 5. Kadri, A., Van Ranst, E.: Contraintes de La Production Oasienne
(Mi et al. [1]. et Stratégies Pour Un Développement Durable. Cas Des Oasis de
Nefzaoua (Sud Tunisien). Science et Changements
planétaires/Sécheresse 13(1), 5–12 (2002)
6. Marlet, S., Bouksila, F., Bahri, A.: Water and salt balance at
4 Conclusions irrigation scheme scale: a comprehensive approach for salinity
assessment in a Saharan Oasis. Agric. Water Manag. 96(9), 1311–
1322 (2009)
Our study provided the first experimental field-based evi- 7. Mekki, I., Jacob, Frederic, Serge, M., Ghazouani, W.: Manage-
dence in oasis systems in the South Tunisia that adding ment of groundwater resources in relation to oasis sustainability:
bentonite clay (to create a mixed organic/mineral amend- the case of the Nefzawa Region in Tunisia. J. Environ. Manage.
ment) enhances the soil water retention and protects the oasis 121, 142–151 (2013)
8. Schindler, U., Durner, W., von Unold, G., Müller, L., Wieland, R.:
environment from degradation. The evaporation method– Extending the measurement range of
[email protected]
272 N. Karbout et al.
soil hydraulic properties using the air-entry pressure of the 13. Belgacem, B.: Contribution À L’étude de Bonification Des Sols
ceramiccup. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 173(4), 563–572 (2010) Sableux Par Un Amendement Argileux. Mémoire de 3éme Cycle,
9. Grandy, A.S., Robertson, G.P.: Land-use intensity effects on soil INAT (1986)
organic carbon accumulation rates and mechanisms. Ecosystems 14. Fernández-Gálvez, J., Gálvez, P., Mingorance, M.D.: Soil
10, 59–74 (2007) hydrophysical properties resulting from the interaction between
10. Osama, M., Wolfgang D.: Effect of bentonite, hydrogel and organic amendments and water quality in soils from Southeastern
biochar amendments on soil hydraulic properties from saturation to Spain—a laboratory experiment. Agricult. Water Manage. 104
even dryness. Pedosphere (2017) (February), 104–112. Elsevier (2012)
11. Ramos, M.C.: Effects of compost amendment on the available soil 15. Mohawesh, O., Durner, W.: Effect of bentonite, hydrogel and
water and grape yield in vineyards planted after land levelling. biochar amendments on soil hydraulic properties from saturation to
Agricult. Water Manage. 191(September), 67–76. Elsevier (2017) oven dryness. Pedosphere, August. Elsevier (2017)
12. Kim, J.S., Sparovek, S., Longo, R.M., De Melo, W.J., Crowley,
D.: Bacterial diversity of terra preta and pristine forest soil from
the Western Amazon. Soil Biol. Biochem. 39, 648–690 (2007)
[email protected]
Glass Fiber Effect on the Undrained Static
Response of Chlef Sand (Northern Algeria)
Leyla Bouaricha, Ahmed Djafar Henni, and Laurent Lancelot
Abstract a higher confining pressure to prevent bond failure regardless

In this article, a laboratory study using a series of 24 of the type of sand. Also, he observed an increase in both the
consolidated undrained triaxial tests was carried out on major principal stress and the secant modulus when
samples consisting of two relative densities, reinforced increasing the length of the fiber. Glass fiber reinforcement
and unreinforced by glass fibers of varying content and has also been studied in combination with the addition of
subjected to three confining pressures. The results showed cement [4]. Triaxial compressive strength and tensile strength
that the presence of fibers contributed towards achieving a of glass fiber reinforced sand were sharper with higher fiber
clear improvement on the undrained shear resistance of contents and longer fibers [5]. Nevertheless, there is no
the tested sand. It was also noticed that the presence of general consensus on this rule, but some studies have
randomly distributed fibers in the soil mass, provoked a revealed few contradictions existing in this context. Bearing
considerable diminution in interstitial pressure, while in mind the divergences in the published results, the literature
contributing to the resistance improvement against lique- emphasizes various combinations to know: fiber types, fiber
faction and the optimum of the resistance of fiber is 0.4% content and length, modulus of elasticity or rigidity, as well
for all the performed tests. as the physical characteristics of soil, such as the particle
sizes and form, density and mode of sample preparations [6].
Several published studies in the literature have been devoted

Keywords
to the phenomenon of liquefaction of Chlef sand, associating

Triaxial test Liquefaction Undrained
Density Glass fiber triaxial tests under monotonic and cyclic loading. However, it
should be noted that no study has been reported on the effect
of glass fiber inclusions on the response to static liquefaction
of saturated sands. The main objective of this study was to
1 Introduction investigate the liquefaction behavior of Chlef sand, unrein-
forced and reinforced with glass fibers.
Soil reinforcement by glass fibers is particularly interesting
considering its non-biodegradability environment, its high
tensile strength, low cost and local availability [1, 2]. This 2 Materials and Methods
paper focused on the study of the improvement and
strengthening of soils with respect to liquefaction. Thus, All tests in this study were carried out on samples of sand
Al-Refeai [3] noted that the inclusion of glass fibers required from the valley Chlef (Algeria). The glass fiber was obtained
from the Company of National Products in Plastic and
L. Bouaricha (&) Rubber Chlef (Algeria). The particle size distribution curve
Laboratoire de Science Matériaux et Environnement, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) view are shown
Université Chlef, Chlef, Algérie in Fig. 1. The main characteristics of this sand are summa-
rized in Table 1 and the essential characteristics of glass
A. Djafar Henni fiber are summarized in Table 2. The mixtures were pre-
Laboratoire de Structures, Géotechnique et Risques,
Université Chlef, Chlef, Algérie
pared according to the technique of Ladd [7] at two relative
densities and for a fiber percentage varying from 0 to 0.6%.
L. Lancelot
Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Géo-Environnement,
Thus, the average concentration of fibers included in the
Université Lille1, Chlef, France mixtures being determined by the following relationship:

[email protected]
274 L. Bouaricha et al.
100
(a) Chlef_S (b)
Percent Passing by Weight
75
50
25
0
10 1 0.1 0.01
Particle size (mm)
Fig. 1 Particle size distribution curve (a) and SEM view of Chlef sand (b)
Table 1 Physical characteristics of Chlef sand

D50 ðmmÞ D10 (mm) Cu (−) Cc (−) Gs ðÞ emin(−) emax(−) Shape
0.452 0.181 3.029 1.26 2.717 0.58 0.98 Rounded
Table 2 Physical and mechanical characteristics of glass fibers

Name Unite E-glass
Thickness (D) (mm) 0.013
Specific density (Gs) / 2.62
Specific weight of fibers (g/m2) 300
Tensile strength (T) (N) 2500
Shear modulus (G) (GPa) 29.2
wf ¼ ðWf =Ws Þ 100ð%Þ ð1Þ

3 Results and Discussions
where Wf is the weight of the fibers and Ws is the weight of
the dry sand. The variations of the deviator q and the pore pressure DU, as
The fibers prepared and cut into pieces of 15 mm were well as the effective stress paths for unreinforced Chlef sand
manually randomly mixed with the sand until all fibers are and reinforced with 0.4% of fiber, subjected to three con-
evenly distributed in the sand. The dry deposition method fining pressures for loose and medium dense states are
was used to prepare the triaxial samples which makes it presented in Figs. 2 and 3. In the loose state (Fig. 2), the
possible to pour the mixtures from a cone in the mold of unreinforced samples can be seen to have a relaxation of the
50 mm diameter and 100 mm high while respecting the state resistance beyond 1%, confirmed by the contracting behav-
of fixed density. To ensure the saturation of our samples, the ior observed in the pore pressure curves (Fig. 2b).
Skempton B coefficient values were all measured above However, the reinforced samples show a peak of resistance
0.97. These samples were isotropically consolidated at three to an axial deformation of less than 0.5%. Liquefaction is
levels of average stress (100, 200 and 300 kPa) then sub- observed for unreinforced samples under a confining pressure
jected to undrained monotonic triaxial compression loading of 100 kPa. The reinforced samples show dilatant tendencies
with a constant strain rate (500 microns/min). at lateral pressures of 100, 200 and 300 kPa, while the
[email protected]
Glass Fiber Effect on the Undrained Static Response … 275
0%_100kPa 0,4%_100kPa 0%_100kPa 0,4%_100kPa

500 (a) 0%_200 kPa 0,4%_200 kPa
(b) 0%_200 kPa 0,4%_200 kPa
300 0%_300kPa 0,4%_300kPa
0%_300kPa 0,4%_300kPa
Pore water pressure ΔU (kPa)

Deviator stress q (kPa)
400
250
300 200
150
200
100
100
50
0
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Axial strain ε (%) Axial strain ε (%)
Fig. 2 Results of undrained triaxial tests for reinforced and unreinforced Chlef sand for loose state subjected to three confinements
unreinforced samples appear rather vulnerable for these same fiber content, in the loose and medium dense states. Figure 4
pressures and show collapse structures. For a medium density shows the evolution of the calculated secant moduli for an
(Fig. 3), there is a marked improvement in the shear strength axial strain of 0.15% versus fiber content for the two relative
of the reinforced sand compared to what is observed in Fig. 2 densities.
for the loose state. The obtained results are consistent with In the loose state (Fig. 4a), the secant modulus increases
those of Chen and Loehr [8] and Liu et al. [9]. from 24 MPa for an unreinforced sand to 43 MPa for a sand
The variations of the cohesion and the internal friction reinforced with 0.4% fiber, rate at which the stiffness is
angle as a function of the fiber content are summarized in maximum. For the medium dense state (Fig. 4b), the mean
Table 3 for both relative densities. The results show a sig- increase in secant modulus for a fiber content of 0.2% is about
nificant increase of these parameters with the increase of the 50%, and up to 96% soil reinforced with 0.4–0.6% fiber.
0%_100kPa 0,4%_100kPa 0%_100kPa 0,4%_100kPa

(a) 0%_200 kPa 0,4%_200 kPa (b) 0%_200 kPa 0,4%_200 kPa
0%_300kPa 0,4%_300kPa 300 0%_300kPa 0,4%_300kPa
500
Pore water pressure ΔU (kPa)
250
Deviator stress q (kPa)
400
200
300
150
200
100
100 50
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Axial strain ε (%) Axial strain ε (%)
Fig. 3 Results of undrained triaxial tests for reinforced and unreinforced Chlef sand for medium and dense states subjected to three confinements
Table 3 Shear strength Medium dense state Loose state

parameters
w(%) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
C(kPa) 8.55 25.62 31.41 26.98 5.44 15.6 24.09 19.41
U(°) 25.78 29.45 34.88 32.07 17.7 23.96 27.37 26.46
[email protected]
276 L. Bouaricha et al.
(a) (b) Chlef_100 kPa

100 Chlef_100 kPa 100 Chlef_200 kPa
Chlef_200 kPa
Chlef_300 kPa
80 80
Esec (MPa)
Chlef_300 kPa
Esec (MPa)
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
wf (%) wf (%)
Fig. 4 Effect of fiber content on secant moduli of Chlef sand
fiber and clinker residue content. Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica

4 Conclusion 39(4), 462–471 (2017)
3. Al-Refeai, T.O.: Behavior of Granular Soils Reinforced with
Discrete Randomly Oriented Inclusions. Geotext. Geomembr. 10
The results of this study indicate that glass fiber reinforce- (4), 319–333 (1991)
ment is useful for improving the resistance of sand to static 4. Consoli, N.C., Prietto, P.D.M., Ulbrich, L.A.: Influence of fiber and
liquefaction of Chlef sand. The values of the cohesion (C’), cement addition on behavior of sandy soil. J. Geotech. Geoenviron.
the internal friction angle (U) and the secant modulus (Esec) Eng. 124(12), 1211–1214 (1998)
5. Maher, M.H., Ho, Y.C.: Behaviour of fibre-reinforced cemented
increase with the increase of the percentage of fiber for a sand under static and cyclic loads. Geotech. Test. J. 16(3), 330–338
maximum rate of 0.4% fiber. Therefore, the relative density (1993)
of the sand and the fiber content should be taken into 6. Shukla, S.K.: Fundamentals of Fibre-Reinforced Soil Engineering.
account in practical applications. Springer Nature, Singapore (2017)
7. Ladd, R.S.: Specimen preparation using undercompaction. Geotech.
Test. J. 1(1), 16–23 (1978)
8. Chen, C.W., Loehr, J.E: Undrained and drained triaxial tests of
References fiber-reinforced sand. In: Proceedings of the 4th Asian Regional
Conference on Geosynthetics, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg,
pp. 114–120 (2008)
1. Mujah, D., Ahmad, F., Hazarika, H., Safari, A.: Evaluation of the 9. Liu, J., Wang, G., Kamai, T., Zhang, F., Yang, J., Shi, B: Static
mechanical properties of recycled glass fibers-derived three dimen- liquefaction behavior of saturated fiber-reinforced sand in undrained
sional geomaterial for ground improvement. J. Clean. Prod. 52, ring-shear tests. Geotext. Geomembr. 29(5), 462–471 (2011)
495–503 (2013)
2. Bouaricha, L., Djaafer Henni, A., Lancelot, L.: A laboratory
investigation on shear strength behavior of sandy soil: effect of glass
[email protected]
Long Term Evaluation of Wetting-Drying
Cycles for Compacted Soils Treated
with Lime
Maafi Nabil, Akchiche Mustapha, and Sara Rios
Abstract important method for reuse and valuation of unusable soil.

This article addressed the results of an experimental study Exposure to repetitive environmental conditions present one
that dealt with the behavior of recycled soil treated with of the most destructive actions that may damage infrastruc-
lime and exposed to wetting- drying cycles at the long tures, because their mechanical properties are severely
term. The object of this research was to focus on the effect affected and the consequence is; crack propagation and
of a wide range of lime content on evolution of volume instability, occurring in geotechnical works. The most
and durability of stabilized soils, when exposed to destructive actions are freezing-thawing [1] and wetting-
wetting- drying cycles. In this work, an experimental drying cycles [2, 3]. However, the results of some research
study was performed on soils which were treated with 8 works on the effects of drying-wetting cycles on the stability
rates (0–8%) of lime. The treated soils were conserved for and durability of soils are very disparate and depend on the
three different periods of cure: 7, 28 and 180 days, and type of soil, the percentage of stabilizer, test methods and
then exposed to 12 wetting-drying cycles of 48 h for each cure conditions [4]. Treatment with lime has double effects,
cycle. However, the behavior under wetting-drying cycles the first is to improve soil properties (in the short run), and
was only satisfactory for lime percentages above 6%. The the second is to stabilize the soil (in the medium and long
formation of C-S-H and C-A-H responsible for the runs) [5]. The immediate effect of the addition of lime causes
increased strength of stabilized soil samples are showed the flocculation and the agglomeration of clay particles
and the expensive ettringite was also responsible for the caused by cation exchange on the surface of soil particles.
decreased strength of stabilized soil samples. The result of this reaction in the short-run is mainly to
improve workability and plasticity of soil which improves its
handling and implementation by compaction to achieve the

Keywords
Soil Treatment Lime Long term required capacity of soils [6, 7]. Over the long-run, the
reactions may require time from a week to months or even a
year to complete, depending on the speed of the chemical
decomposition and hydration of aluminates and silicates.
1 Introduction This process results in the formation of cementitious mate-
rials which bind the soil particles and improve the
Soil treatment techniques have been known for more than mechanical properties of the treated soil. Stabilization is a
60 years in the field of earthworks, in the construction of process of changing (usually in the medium or long runs),
embankments and roads (highways, railways, road, airports, the soil characteristics to bring it to final state of stability,
etc.). The treatment method by lime is an ecological and particularly against water action, and result in a strong soil. It
sustainable method and currently it is considered as an retains its original form, its stability and its quality when
exposed to the environment and maintains adequate residual
strength at the long term. It also provides sufficient strength
M. Nabil (&) A. Mustapha to resist climate conditions. The lack of knowledge about
Department of Civil Engineering, LEEGO, University of Houari stabilization due to the reaction between lime and soil, and
Boumedien (USTHB), Algiers, Algeria
e-mail: maafi[email protected]
about the behavior of soils treated with lime in the
long-term, and subject to cycles of drying-wetting are the
S. Rios
CONSTRUCT-GEO, Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP),
reasons behind the lack of the use of this technique. In-depth
Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal research aiming at acquiring more knowledge should allow

[email protected]
278 M. Nabil et al.
expanding the scope of the lime treatment in earthworks for and 180 days respectively. However, soils with 8% lime
the embankment bases in wet and floodplain zones. showed a good relation between drying-wetting cycles and a
loss in volume; 22.27, 13.22 and 9.23% at 7, 28 and
180 days respectively.
2 Materials and Testing Methods After 7 days of cure, the variation in water content is clear,
and water content increases after each cycle for the studied
Support materials of this study are; natural soils classified soils with low lime contents (3 and 4%). Lime contents higher
according to ASTM unified classification system D 2487 than 4%, water content remains almost stable after the 7th
(ASTM, 2000) as indicated in Table 1. The soil samples cycle for the soil. On the other hand, the water content was
were collected from north Algeria of Sidi Aissa region of observed to decrease when the lime content increases. The
M’Sila (SAM). The untreated soil X-ray diffractogram is effect of lime addition is especially visible in soils cured to 28
shown in Fig. 1. The soil mainly includes illite, kaolinite, and 180 days, where the water content remains almost stable
chlorite, Smectite and quartz minerals. Tables 1 and 2 pre- for all lime percentages in soil. The soil is a porous material, so
sent the physical and chemical properties of soils. Lime used it has the ability to absorb water by capillarity, and to maintain
for the treatment of the different soils is quicklime (CaO), this water during the humidification. After the drying cycle,
delivered by the ERCO company located in SAIDA, ALE- they showed a crack due to shrinkage and low tensile strength.
GIRIAS. The physical and chemical characteristics of lime When the water content decreases due to the repetitive expo-
are given in the Table 3. sition to drying cycles, suction forces increase until the tensile
stress is equal to the cohesive forces. At this stage, the for-
mation of cracks allows more shrinkage during visual obser-
3 Experimental Results vation of the tested samples. With the loss of additional water,
primary cracks grow and allow the formation of new cracks.
The variation in the studied soils volume at different periods The external surface of soil samples was also affected due to
of cure such as 7, 28 and 180 days exposed to the rapid loss of water at the surface and inside of the samples.
drying-wetting cycles are presented in Fig. 2. The increase At the beginning of the second wetting cycle, cracks are not
in number of solicitation drying-wetting affects significantly closed or partially closed on the surface, so that cracking is not
the volume of treated and untreated soils. After 7 days of a completely reversible process (rebounding) during
curing; there was a decrease of volume for all soils treated wetting-drying cycles. New cracks may therefore be created in
and untreated with lime and a different levels of volume soils so that during the next drying cycle, cracks occurs
change was observed. The untreated soil presented an probably in the same spot. Crack propagation causes a loss of
important damage during the 1st cycle of drying-wetting. strength and subsequently accelerates the samples degradation
The sample with 1 and 2% of lime deteriorated during the with water absorption. This degradation differs according to
1st cycle and the sample with 3 and 4% of lime, had no rate of lime used during the treatment of these soils. Treated
important damage during the (2nd and 3rd), (4th and 5th) soils showed low propagation of fissures due to the formation
and (7th and 8th) cycles after 7, 28 and 180 days respec- of new hydrated C-S-H which limiting and reducing the
tively. Above 4% additional lime, soils showed satisfying development of cracks, when they are subjected to the
behavior to the last cycle. A decrease of about 78.62, 75.62 drying-wetting cycle compared to untreated soils. The studied
and 66.32% in volume was noted with 3% of lime after 7, 28 soils treatment with lime might improve the resistance when
Table 1 Geotechnical properties Soils index SAM

of the studied soils
Parameters Mean values
Liquid limit (ASTM D 4318 00) 61
Plastic limit (ASTM D 4318 00) 30
Plasticity index (ASTM D 4318 00) 31
Methylene blue value (ASTM C837) 6.2
Grain size (%) >0.075 mm 84
Clay content (%) (ASTM D 422 61) 22
pH (ASTM D 6276-99A) 8.46
Free swelling (ASTM D 4546) (%) 4
(UCSC) ASTM D 2487 CH
[email protected]
Long Term Evaluation of Wetting-Drying Cycles for Compacted … 279
Fig. 1 XRD patterns of the soil
Table 2 Chemical composition Constituents % SiO2 AlO3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O SO3 Cl
of the studied soils
SAM 50.01 15.81 6.76 8.39 2.42 1.57 0.5 3.31 0.03
Table 3 Physical-chemical Designation (%)

properties of Saida’s Quicklime
Chemical composition CaO 82.77
MgO 1.83
Fe2O3 0.87
Al2O3 3.27
SiO2 1.35
SO3 0.11
K2O 0.151
Na2O 0.064
Insoluble in HCl <1.00
Physical properties Bulk density 731 g/l
Density 3.315
Absorption coefficient <5
Sensitivity to freezing b30 <30
Volume of extinction 2.73 cm3
Over 630 lm 0
Over 90 lm <10
these soils were exposed to the drying-humidifying cycle. This residual calcium is available and the pH is high enough, the
effect is very remarkable especially with important periods of pozzolanic reaction will continue. These reactions result in
cure (superior than 28 days), as a consequence allowing the the formation of calcium hydrates due to the presence of
development of pozzoulanic reactions and formation of new Ca+2, OH− and SiO4 and AlO6 ions [1]. The Identification
hydrates C-S-H, that contribute to the reduction of porosity revealed the formation of new calcium hydrates (CSH and
and consequently, the reduction of the water absorption CAH) in all the lime-treated samples and ettringite in sam-
capacity of soils treated with lime. Ultimately, stable soils ples with low lime content.
were obtained as a result. Exposure to repetitive wetting–drying cycles led to an
The XRD analyzes of the lime-treated soil for 180 days at increase in the macropores (pore diameter more than 6 lm)
20 °C and exposed to a wetting-drying cycle are illustrated is illustrated in Fig. 4 due to additional ettringite formation
in Fig. 3. The pozzolanic reactions are the results of the for soil samples with 4% of lime. A slight reduction in the
combination between the silica and the alumina of the soil volume of micropores (pore diameter less than 0.3 lm) for
with lime calcium to the presence of water. As long as the soil samples with 8% of lime can also be observed.
[email protected]
280 M. Nabil et al.
Fig. 2 The loss of volume and water content changes with wetting and drying cycles of studied soils
Fig. 3 XRD patterns of the soil after 180 days of curing at the end of wetting–drying cycles
Fig. 4 Pore size distribution of the soil samples at the end of wetting–drying cycles
[email protected]
Long Term Evaluation of Wetting-Drying Cycles for Compacted … 281
4 Conclusion References
The cyclical drying-wetting exposure of investigated soils 1. Aldaood, M., Bouasker, M., Al-Mukhtaret, M.: Impact of wetting–
allows following two determining indicators of the durability drying cycles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of
(volume change and the rate of water absorbed) depending lime-stabilized gypsums soils. Eng. Geol. 174(2014), 11–21 (2014)
2. Al-Obaydi, M.A., Al-Kiki, I.M., Al-Zoubaydi, A.H.: Strength and
on the rate of lime and period cure of the studied soil. durability of gypsums soil treated with waste lime and cement.
Measuring the rate of water absorption collected soils at J. Al-Rafidain Eng. 18(1), 28–42 (2010)
the time of the cyclic solicitations makes it possible to 3. Maafi, N., Akchiche, M., Sara, R.: Chapter 5 Wetting and Drying
observe a disproportional relationship between the rate of Compacted Soil-Lime Mixtures. Springer Nature
4. Tang, A.M., Ngoc, M., Cui, Y.J.: Effects of the maximum soil
water absorbed and lime. For superior percentage of lime; aggregates size and cyclic wetting–drying on the stiffness of a
treated soils showing low water absorption rate confirm their lime-treated clayey soil. J. Geotech. 61(5), 421–429 (2011)
low volume variation. The same behavior was observed for 5. Lemaire, K., Deneele, D., Bonnet, S., Legret, M.: Effects of lime
all soils with different cure periods. For inferior percentages and cement treatment on the physicochemical, microstructural and
mechanical characteristics of a plastic silt. Eng. Geol. 166(8), 255–
of lime, the studied soils indicate an opposite behavior like 261 (2013)
their large volume variation. 6. Alrubaye, A.J., Hasan, M., Fattah, M.Y.: Improving geotechnical
The two distinguishing behaviors are due to the low characteristics of kaolin soil using silica fume and lime. Spec.
permeability, caused by the decrease of the porosity due to Top. Rev. Porous Media Int. J. 7(1), 77–85 (2016)
7. Alrubaye, A.J., Hasan, M., Fattah, M.Y.: Stabilization of soft kaolin
the cementation following the pozzolanic reaction between clay with silica fume and lime. Int. J. Geotech. Eng. 11(1), 90–96.
mineral of sol and lime by the formation of new hydrated Taylor & Francis (2017)
C-S-H and C-A-H responsible for the decrease of pores and
propagation of cracks.
[email protected]
Geotechnical Properties of Sandy Soil
Stabilized Using Cement and Prosopis
juliflora Fibers
Abstract three dimensional network and binds the soil particles

In this paper, the geotechnical properties of sandy soil together as a coherent unit and restricts the particle move-
stabilized using cement and prosopis juliflora fibers have ment [2]. Prosopis juliflora (PJ) is a woody weed tree which
been studied. Abundant availability, superior mechanical belongs to the genus prosopis which includes 44 species, 40
properties and low energy consumption for processing of which are native to Americas, three to Asia and one to
make prosopis juliflora fibers an ideal choice for soil Africa [3]. Higher lignin content (17.11%), lower microfibril
stabilization. In the present study, the fibers used were at angle (10.64°) and higher tensile strength (558 MPa) makes
0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0% by weight of the soil and Prosopis juliflora fibers, as a promising material for rein-
the amount of cement used was kept constant as 9%. forcing weak soils [4]. In this paper, the geotechnical
Among all the trials, the combination of 9% cement and properties of sandy soil stabilized using cement and PJ fibers
1% fibers was found to yield optimum results. In this were studied.
combination, the shear strength of natural soil increases
up to 2.36 times, the angle of internal friction increases
from 47° to 68° and the CBR value increases by 68.19%. 2 Materials and Methods
The most remarkable effect observed due to the fiber
inclusion was the change in the behavior of cemented soil The materials used in this work were sandy soil, cement and
from brittle to ductile. PJ fibers. The used sandy soil in this study was brought from
a site called Tirukovilur town near Thenpennai river located
at about 192 km from Chennai, TamilNadu, India. The

Keywords
Sand Cement Prosopis juliflora Shear strength particle size distribution of the raw soil samples was deter-
CBR mined using Sieve analysis. The soil was classified as SP
(poorly graded sand) according to the Unified Soil Classi-
fication System (USCS) with ASTM D 2487 [5]. Natural
fibers were extracted by adopting wet retting process. As the
1 Introduction detailed study on the stabilization of soil using natural fibers
in particulate form has not been carried out yet, prosopis
Stabilization of sandy soils using chemical additives and fibers used in the present work were ground to a size of
fibrous materials appreciably increases its strength and sta- 1–3 mm.
bility. Chemical additives like cement and lime proved to be Tests such as standard proctor compaction, direct shear
an effective material for achieving the desired properties for and, California Bearing Ratio were carried out as per Indian
sandy soils. However, soils treated using lime or cement Standards [6–9]. The direct shear test was performed at the
tend to exhibit high stiffness and brittle behavior [1]. vertical normal stress of r = 50, 100 and 150 kPa in order to
Addition of natural or synthetic fibers along with these define the shear strength parameters (c and u). During the
additives substantially improves the ductility and post- peak test, the strain rate was maintained at 0.12 mm/min. CBR test
strength of soils. The random distribution of fibers forms a was carried out in accordance with IS 2720: part 16 (1997).
Three samples from each soil mix (treated and untreated)
G. Rudramurthy (&) P. Ramasamy A. Rajendran were tested under unsoaked and soaked (in water for 96 h)
Department of Civil Engineering, University College of
Engineering, Tindivanam, 604001, TamilNadu, India
conditions. The soaked condition simulates the behavior of
e-mail: [email protected] subgrade under heavy rainfall or flooded situations.

[email protected]
284 G. Rudramurthy et al.
Six different soil compositions (untreated, treated with

only cement and treated with both cement and PJ fibers)
were used for the investigation. PJ fibers were used in four
different percentages namely 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1% by
weight of the dry soil. In a previous study [10] carried out to
evaluate the effect of cement addition on sandy soils, it was
inferred that the increase in shear strength was observed up
to 10% addition of cement. In the present study, the amount
of cement used was kept constant as 9%. In the preparation
of all specimens, the method adopted differs slightly
depending on the ingredients added to the soil.
The compaction curves obtained through proctor compaction

test revealed the value of maximum dry unit weight and Fig. 1 CBR variation (unsoaked soil)
optimum moisture content (OMC) for the natural soil sample
as 1.841 kg/m3 and 10.06%. Stabilization of sandy soil
using cement (9% wt.) increases the optimum moisture
content (OMC) from 10.06 to 11.86% and reduces the
maximum dry density (MDD) from 1.841 to 1.629 kg/m3.
The increase in OMC upon addition of cement is mainly due
to the excess water required for the hydration reaction and
the reduction in the dry density could be due to aggregation
of cemented soil particles and the subsequent change in
grading of soil. In soil samples treated with both cement and
PJ fibers, further increase in OMC and decrease in MDD was
observed. This can be attributed to the lower specific gravity
and low water absorption capacity of PJ fibers [11].
From the results of the direct shear tests, it was observed
that the value of peak shear strength and the failure strain of
the treated soil were significantly influenced by the amount
of fiber content [12]. Shear strength of soil treated using 9%
cement and 1% fiber was found to be highest among all
other specimens, about 2.36 times more than that of natural Fig. 2 CBR variation (soaked soil)
soil. Addition of cement appreciably increases the cohesion
of soil mainly due to the formation of cementitious com-
pounds after cement hydration. Further, with the inclusion of interlocking. Further, the addition of fiber bridged up the
fibers the cohesiveness of cement stabilized soil steadily crack and prolonged the failure when compared to the
increased with the increase in the fiber content. The angle of untreated soil. It is also observed that the CBR value for soil
internal friction of uncemented soil increased from 47° to samples under soaked condition exhibited a decreasing trend
68°, when treated with 9% cement and 1% PJ fibers [13]. compared to soils under unsoaked condition. It is mainly
The variation CBR resistance for soils (untreated, treated because in soaked condition, the water molecules tend to fill
with only cement and treated with both cement and PJ fibers) up the voids upon saturation [14].
under unsoaked and soaked conditions are given in Figs. 1
and 2. Soils treated with 9% cement and 1% PJ fibers offered
the highest CBR resistance of about 68.19% more than the 4 Conclusion
untreated soil. The increase in CBR resistance in fiber sta-
bilized soil could be due to the reason that randomly oriented In this paper, the effect of the addition of cement and Pro-
discrete fiber inclusions in soil mass improved its sopis juliflora fibers on the geotechnical properties of sandy
load-deformation behavior by interacting with the soil par- soil has been studied. Based on the test results, it can be
ticles mechanically through surface friction and by concluded that,
[email protected]
Geotechnical Properties of Sandy Soil Stabilized Using Cement … 285
1. Addition of 9% cement and 1% PJ fibers could produce from Prosopis juliflora bark. Carbohyd. Polym. 92, 1928–1933
superior geotechnical properties in sandy soil. (2013)
5. ASTM D2487-17: Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for
2. At the optimum combination of cement and PJ fibers, Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System). ASTM
• the shear strength of natural soil increases up to 2.36 International, West Conshohocken, PA (2017)
times. 6. IS. 2720-26: Determination of Water Content-Dry Density Rela-
• the angle of internal friction increases from 47° to tion Using Light Compaction. Bureau of Indian Standards
publications, New Delhi (1985)
68°. 7. IS. 2720-13: Determination of Direct Shear Strength. Bureau of
• natural soil CBR resistance increases by 68.19%. Indian Standards Publications, New Delhi (1986)
8. IS. 2720-16: Indian standard for Laboratory Determination of
CBR. Bureau of Indian Standards Publications, New Delhi (1997)
9. IS. 2720-15. Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
Consolidation Properties. Bureau of Indian Standards Publications,
References New Delhi (1986)
10. Consoli, N.C., Vendruscolo, M.A., Fonini, A., Rosa, F.D.: Fiber
reinforcement effects on sand considering a wide cementation
1. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: A study on the potential utilization of
range. Geotext. Geomembr. 27, 196–203 (2009)
crumb rubber in cement treated soft clay. J. Build. Eng. 9, 177–191
11. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Behavior of cement stabilized treated
(2017)
coir fiber reinforced clay-pond ash mixtures. J. Build. Eng. 8,
2. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K., Shekhwat, P.: Strength behavior of
131–140 (2016)
clayey soil mixed with pond ash, cement and randomly distributed
12. Gray, D.H., Asce, A.M., Ohashi, H.: Mechanics of fiber
fibers. Transp. Infrastruct. Geotechnol., 1–19 (2018)
reinforcement in sand. J. Geotech. Eng. 109(3), 335–353 (1983)
3. Burkart, A.: A monograph on the genus Prosopis (Leguminosae
13. Consoli, N.C., Prietto, P.D.M., Ulbrich, L.A.: Influence of fiber
subfam. Mimosoideae). (Part 1 and 2). Catalogue of the recognized
and cement addition on behavior of sandy soil. J. Geotech.
species of Prosopis. J. Arnold Arboretum 57, 219–249, 450–525
Geoenviron. Eng. 124(12), 1211–1214
(1976)
14. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Effect of waste rubber fibers on the
4. Saravanakumar, S.S., Kumaravel, A., Nagarajan, T., Sudhakard, P.,
geotechnical properties of clay stabilized with cement. Appl. Clay
Baskaran, R.: Characterization of a novel natural cellulosic fiber
Sci. 149, 97–110 (2017)
[email protected]
Mechanical Properties of Loess Treated
by Calcium Lignosulfonate
Guoyu Li, Xin Hou, Wei Ma, and Fei Wang
Abstract physical and chemical solidification methods. Generally,

The chemical stabilization can consolidate the soil some physical methods are easy to operate and their econ-
particles with the chemical reactions. In this paper, omy is better. So, these are most widely used in China [2]. In
calcium lignosulfonate, a polymer eco-friendly material, actual engineering, the compacted loess foundation/subgrade
was used for the treatment of the collapsible loess. Based is often affected by wetting-drying and freezing-thawing
on lots of tests such as Atterberg limits, uniaxial cycles. The compression coefficient and permeability of the
compression, loading-unloading, and X-ray diffraction, compacted loess is increased, and the strength decreases
the stabilization mechanisms and strength characteristics [1, 3, 4]. But the simple physical stabilization methods were
of the calcium lignosulfonate treated loess were analyzed not able to completely meet the actual needs of the loess
and compared with the NaOH and Na2O nSiO2 treated engineering project. Many scholars focused on the study of
specimens, respectively. Calcium lignosulfonate can the chemical solidification methods and developed some
reduce the thickness of the electric double layer of stabilization agents [5, 6]. These traditional stabilization
particles and produce silica and carbonate cementations, agents can improve the loess structure, increase its com-
thus increasing the loess strength significantly and pressive strength, reduce its compressibility, and eliminate
reducing energy dissipation. The strength of the treated its collapsibility in the different degrees [7–9]. These, how-
loess increased with the increasing amount of calcium ever, have different disadvantages like their high cost. The
lignosulfonate. Also, the results prove that calcium cement soil has great shrinkage. The lime soil water and
lignosulfonate is a new eco-friendly stabilizing agent. frost resistance is poor [8]. Also, the most common and
biggest defect is that they are always unfriendly to the
environment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new types

Keywords
Calcium lignosulfonate Eco-material Loess of the stabilizing agents for the ecological environmental
Chemical solidification Compressive strength protection.
In this study, the calcium lignin sulfonate was used to
treat the loess, and its stabilizing effect was compared with
the common stabilizers by their strength tests. The calcium
1 Introduction lignosulfonate was produced as a by-product of lignin. It is
non-toxic and environmentally friendly with high reserves
As a special type of soil used in engineering, the collapsible and stable chemical properties [10].
loess has poor engineering characteristics such as high
sensitivity to water and large uneven settlement resulting in
some engineering problems, huge economic loss and secu- 2 Testing Methods
rity risks [1].
For the improvement of collapsible loess foundation and 2.1 Physical Properties of the Loess Samples
subgrade, the common treatment methods include some
The typical collapsible loess was sampled. Its physical
G. Li (&) X. Hou W. Ma F. Wang properties such as gradation, liquid limit (multipoint liquid
State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, limit method) and plastic limit (rolling device method) and
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,
Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, 730000, China
specific gravity were measured according to the related
e-mail: [email protected] testing methods (JTG E40-2007). Its plastic limit, liquid

[email protected]
288 G. Li et al.
limit, plasticity index and specific gravity are 18.24%, 3 Results

26.29%, 8.05 and 2.70, respectively. The maximum dry
density is 1.91 g/cm3 corresponding to an optimal moisture 3.1 Liquid and Plastic Limits
content of 13%.
Following mixing NaOH at a content of 3%, the plastic and
liquid limits of the soil specimens increased up to 21.30 from
2.2 Sample Preparation 18.24% and 30.10 from 26.29%, respectively. The plasticity
index also increased up to 8.80 from 8.05. For the Na2O
After the sample air-drying, the different types and contents nSiO2 stabilized specimens at a same mixing content of 3%,
of the stabilizers (calcium lignosulfonate, NaOH, and the plastic and liquid limits also increased up to 21.50 and
Na2O nSiO2) were added to the loess, and the mixture 29.20%, respectively. For the calcium lignosulfonate stabi-
ratios of stabilizers are 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 5.0%. The lized specimens, the plastic limit increased to 20.25%, and
distilled water was prepared for every specimen based on the the liquid limit slightly decreased to 26.20%. Accordingly,
optimal water content of 13%. The calcium lignosulfonate the plasticity index decreased to 7.70.
was mixed with the loess directly, then added distilled water
and stirred well. The NaOH and Na2O nSiO2 were dis-
solved in the distilled water to prepare the solution to be 3.2 Uniaxial Compressive (UC) Strength
added into the loess. Finally the loess sample was stirred
uniformly and compacted layer by layer to be cylindrical Using the uniaxial compression tests, the UC strengths of the
specimens with a diameter of 39.1 mm and a height of loess specimens solidified by three stabilizing agents were
80 mm according to the expected dry density and water determined. After adding three stabilizers respectively, the
content. These finished specimens were then placed in an UC strengths of the loess specimens have all been improved
open and dry room for 7 days. remarkably. With the increase of the mixing amount of
stabilizing agents, the UC strength showed an increasing
trend at different rates. When calcium lignosulfonate was
2.3 Testing Methods mixed to reach up to 5% of the mixture, the UC strength of
the solidified specimen increased to 11.8 MPa from the
Atterberg limits test, uniaxial compression test, uniaxial initial 2.12 MPa. At the same mixing ratio, the UC strengths
loading and unloading test and X-ray diffraction tests were of NaOH and Na2O nSiO2 solidified specimens were 10.2
performed to study the effects of three stabilizers (calcium and 7.3 MPa, respectively.
lignin sulfonate, NaOH, and Na2O nSiO2) on physical
and mechanical properties macroscopically and micro-
scopically. The Atterberg limits tests of loess specimens at 3.3 Energy Dissipation and Resilient Modulus
a stabilizing agent content of 3% were carried out accord-
ing to the related method (JTG E40-2007). The uniaxial Based on the hysteresis loop area of cyclic loading-
compression tests were performed on an unsaturated tri- unloading curves, the energy dissipation could be
axial apparatus of GDS to determine their strengths. The obtained. A higher value means that more damage occurs in
uniaxial cyclic loading and unloading tests were also car- the interior of the soil. After one cycle of loading-unloading,
ried out on GDS. First, they were loaded to 1 MPa (about energy dissipations were 33.30 J/m3 for unsolidified speci-
47.62% of the uniaxial compressive strength), and then men, 25.70 J/m3 for calcium lignosulfonate solidified spec-
unloaded to a stress of 0 MPa forming a loading-unloading imen, 20.95 J/m3 for Na2O nSiO2 solidified specimen and
cycle. The maximum number of cycle is six. The results of 16.15 J/m3 for NaOH solidified specimen, respectively. The
loading-unloading tests were used to analyze the stiffness internal damage of solidified soil under the condition of the
and energy dissipation of the samples. The X-ray diffrac- same axial stress was smaller than that of the solidified soil.
tion tests were carried out to qualitatively analyze the sta- The resilient modulus of each hysteresis loop of the unso-
bilization mechanisms of stabilizers by measuring phases lidified loess was greater than that of the loess solidified with
of stabilized and unstabilized specimens using the X-ray the calcium lignosulfonate but less than the loess solidified
diffractometer (XRD). by NaOH and Na2O nSiO2.
[email protected]
Mechanical Properties of Loess Treated by Calcium Lignosulfonate 289
3.4 Mineral Components solidified loess was the minimum one. Also, the stiff-
ness of the NaOH and Na2O nSiO2 solidified loess
According to the results of the XRD tests, the main mineral was greater than that of the unsolidified loess, while the
components of loess are still quartz, feldspar, calcite, and calcium lignosulfonate solidified loess was less than the
dolomite before and after adding the stabilizers. The clino- pure loess.
chlore and gaultite accounted for 9 and 11% in the untreated
loess, respectively. But they were not found in the calcium
lignosulfonate solidified loess. Calcium lignosulfonate pro-
duced a series of chemical reactions with clinochlore and References
gaultite. These reaction resulted in the increase of the con-
tents of SiO2 (quartz), CaCO3 (calcite), and CaMg (CO3)2 1. Li, G., Ma, W., Zhao, S.: Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on
(dolomite), raising the structure strength. When Na2O mechanical behavior of compacted fine-grained soil. In: Brian, M.,
nSiO2 was added into the loess, a reaction occurred and the Guy, D. (eds.) Cold Regions Engineering 2012, pp. 72–81.
American Society of Civil Engineers (2012)
quartz content increased to 73%, also raising the strength. 2. Wu, Z.: Research on loess reinforced by modification sodium
When NaOH was added, it reacted with SiO2 and Al2O3 or silicate. Lanzhou University, Lanzhou (2013)
aluminum silicate. And the solution of sodium silicate and 3. Li, G., Ma, W., Mu, Y.: Process and mechanism of impact of
sodium aluminate were formed in the loess. This reaction freezing and thawing cycle on collapse deformation of compacted
loess. China J. Highw. Transp. 24(5), 1–5 (2011)
decreased the quartz content and increased the contents of 4. Sillanpaa, M., Webber, W.: The effect of freezing-thawing and
muscovite, microcline, and other silicate minerals. wetting-drying cycles on soil aggregation. Can. J. Soil Sci. 41(2),
182–187 (1961)
5. Rober, B.: Concentrated liquid stabilizers for railroad applications.
In: Roadbed stabilization and ballast symposium. St. Louis,
4 Conclusion Missouri, USA (2000)
6. Tong, B., Li, Z.: Research progress in soil consolidator. J. Hefei
(1) The chemical reactions of calcium lignosulfonate, Teach. Coll. 27(3), 91–93 (2009)
7. Lv, Q., Wu, Z., Wang, S.: Mechanism of temperature-modification
Na2O nSiO2, NaOH with mineral components were silicification grouted loess. Rock Soil Mech. 34(5), 1293–1298
different. The first two decreased the loess plasticity, (2013)
while the last one increased it. 8. Wang, Y., Yang, Z., Chen, W.: Strength characteristics and
(2) The calcium lignosulfonate, NaOH, and Na2O nSiO2 mechanism of loess solidified with new polymer material SH.
Chin. J. Rock Mech. Eng. 24(14), 2554–2559 (2005)
all increased the UC strength significantly and improved 9. Zhang, H., Lin, C., Sheng, Y.: Experimental study of engineering
the loess engineering properties. The stabilization effect properties of loess reinforced by consoled system. Chin. J. Rock
of calcium lignosulfonate was most prominent. Mech. Eng. 34(supp. 1), 3574–3580 (2015)
(3) The internal damages of the three solidified loess under 10. Liu, S., Zhang, T., Cai, G.: Research progress of soil stabilization
with lignin from bio-energy by-products. China J. Highw.
the same axial stress was less than that of the unsolid- Transp. 27(8), 1–10 (2014)
ified loess, and the energy dissipation of the NaOH
[email protected]
Effect of Full Wrap-Around Ends
of Geotextile on the Bearing Capacity
of Sand
Safa Djeridi, Naima Benmebarek, and Sadok Benmebarek
Abstract [1–3]. In the previous works reported in the literature, the

This paper presented the results of numerical model tests geosynthetic reinforcement was used as a single or multi-
on the load-settlement of a strip footing on reinforced layer laid horizontally within the soil mass underlying the
sand bed to investigate the effect of a new practical footings. In order to investigate more powerful reinforce-
reinforcement technique using geosynthetic reinforcement techniques, a new construction technique using
ment to increase the load bearing capacity of shallow geosynthetic reinforcement with full wrap-around ends was
foundations on a sandy soil. In all previous works, the soil proposed to improve the bearing capacity of shallow foun-
reinforcement method consisted of single or multiple dations and to provide space savings for building a rein-
horizontal layer(s) placed horizontally below the footing. forced sand bed. To develop a better understanding of the
This paper aimed to present the details of numerical performance of the proposed technique, several series of
analysis of strip footing resting on a reinforced sand bed numerical models were performed using FLAC code (2007)
with horizontal layers and two horizontal layers with full to evaluate the bearing capacity of a strip footing supported
wrap-around ends of geotextile to increase the capacity of by reinforced sand with either planar layers and two fully
shallow foundations. Order to show more clearly the wrap-around ends of geosynthetic.
performance of the full wraparound ends of reinforcement
compared to that of reinforcement placed horizontally, the
effect of depth of geotextile on the increase of the bearing 2 Test Program and Description
capacity was investigated.The results indicate that the two
full wrap-around ends of the geosynthetic allowed a The geometry of the different configurations of geosynthetic
significant improvement in bearing capacity and space layers laid horizontally and horizontally with two full
savings for building a reinforced sand bed and the wrap-around ends in the sand bed is shown in Figs. 1 and 2,
proposed full wrap-around ends need less quantity of respectively. In previous studies we found the following typical
geotextile than planar geotextile placed horizontally. parameters allowing the maximum benefit of reinforcement of
strip or rectangular footing, resting on a bed of sand, reinforced
with a multiple horizontal layers of geotextile/geogrid rein-

Keywords
Geotextile Reinforced sand Strip footing forcement: (b/B = 6 [1]); (u/B = 0.25–0.5 [1]); (h/B = 0.2–0.4
Settlement Load bearing capacity [2]).
Recently, the authors have performed numerical model
tests to determine the effects of the introduction of fully
wraparound ends of reinforcement on the load-settlement
1 Introduction behavior of the reinforced soil bed [4]. These studies showed
that the introduction of fully wraparound ends reinforcement
The use of geosynthetic has revolutionized the field of requires a smaller width of the land for the construction of
ground improvement. Many researchers have studied the reinforced foundation bed, where u′/B = 0.3, b′/B = 2,
behavior of reinforced sandy soil beneath the foundations h′/B = 0.3. In view of the earlier findings, the same parameter
ratios were adopted in this study:
S. Djeridi N. Benmebarek (&) S. Benmebarek
NMISSI Laboratory, Biskra University,
BP 145 07000 Biskra, Algeria

[email protected]
292 S. Djeridi et al.
available in literature. Figure 3 shows the present results

compared to the laboratory model given by Kazi et al. [4] for
unreinforced sand and N = 4, where the geotextile width
and vertical spacing of reinforcement layers were kept
constant as 6B and 0.3B, respectively. According to this
figure, the numerical results obtained in this study seem
reasonable and agree well with experimental results of
Kazi et al. [4].
In order to show clearly the performance of the pro-
posed two full wrap-around ends of reinforcement com-
pared to that of reinforcement placed horizontally in
increasing the bearing capacity, several series of numeri-
cal model were conducted using the FLAC code. The
improvment of the load bearing capacity (q) with the
number of horizontally reinforcement layers (N = 4) and
Fig. 1 Geometry of the planar reinforced foundation bed as reported two full wrap-around ends of geotextile is shown in
in the past studies
Fig. 4. It can be seen that the two full wrap-around ends
of geotextile provide a further improvement in the
load-bearing capacity compared to the horizontally placed
reinforcing layers. Therefore, it can be seen that the per-
formance of the two full wrap-around ends of geotextile is
more effective in increasing the bearing capacity of the
footing than in planar geosynthetic reinforcements. The
results show that the proposed full wrap-around ends of
reinforcement reduces the amount of reinforcement used
and saves the land space to build a reinforced sand bed
system.
In order to determine the optimum depth of the full
wrap-around ends of geotextile, the depth of the two full
wrap-around ends of geotextile (u′) is varied between 0.1B
and 0.7B, while h′/B value is kept constant at 0.3. The
variation of load bearing capacity (q) versus settlement
curves is plotted in Fig. 5. It can be seen that the case with
u′/B = 0.2 gives highest improvement at all settlement val-
Fig. 2 Geometry of the proposed two full wrap-around ends rein- ues. Beyond u′/B = 0.2, the tests indicated that there was a
forced foundation bed
slight decrease in the load bearing capacity. Therefore the
maximum performance on bearing capacity was obtained at
• For reinforcement with planar layers: N = 4, b/B = 6, u′/B = 0.2.
u/B = 0.3, h/B = 0.3.
• For reinforcement with fully wraparound ends: N = 2,
b′/B = 2, u′/B = 0.3, h′/B = 0.3. 4 Conclusion
From the overview of the previous work and the presented

numerical analysis, the proposed two full wrap-around ends
3 Results brings additional advantages than planar geosynthetic as: an
additional improvement in the bearing capacity- high
To validate the FLAC numerical model, the effect of intro- reduction in the needed quantity of the geotextile and space
ducing four planar reinforcement layers into the soil was savings for building a reinforced sand bed system. The depth
examined and compared with both experimental data of the top layer of full wrap-around ends was found to be
[email protected]
Effect of Full Wrap-Around Ends of Geotextile … 293
Fig. 3 Comparison of Load-bearing capacity, q (KPa)

load-bearing capacity (q) versus
settlement ratio (s/B) with 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
experimental data 0
Unreinforced Sand
Renforcement plane N=4 (Present study )
5
Settlement ratio, s/B (%)

Renforcement plane N=4 (Monir Kazi et al. 2015 b )
10
15
20
25
Fig. 4 Variation of load-bearing Load-bearing capacity, q (KPa)

capacity (q) versus settlement
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
ratio (s/B)—effect of two full
0
wrap-around ends of geotextile Unreinforced Sand
Renforcement plane N=4
5
Two fully wrap-around ends of geotextile
10
15
20
25
Fig. 5 Effect of the depth of the Load-bearing capacity, q (kPa)

two full wrap-around ends of
geotextile 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
0
Unreinforced
Two fully wrap-around sand
ends of geotextile u'/B=0,1
5
u'/B=0,2
10 u'/B=0,3
u'/B=0,4
15 u'/B=0,5
u'/B=0,6
20 u'/B=0,7
25
[email protected]
294 S. Djeridi et al.
about 0.2B; while for planar reinforcement may range 2. Yetimoglu, T., Wu, J.T.H., Saglamer, A.: Bearing capacity of
between (0.3B–0.6B). rectangular footings on geogrid-reinforced sand. J. Geotech. Eng.
120(12), 2083–2099 (1994)
3. Kazi, M., Shukla, S.K., Habibi, D.: Behaviour of embedded strip
footing on sand bed reinforced with multilayer geotextile with
References wraparound ends. Int. J. Geotech. Eng. 9(5), 437–452 (2015)
4. Benmebarek, S., Djeridi, S., Benmebarek, N., Belounar, L.:
Improvement of bearing capacity of strip footing on reinforced
1. Khing, K.H., Das, B.M., Puri, V.K., Cook, E.E., Yen, S.C.: The sand. Int. J. Geotech. Eng. (1), 1–11 (2017)
bearing capacity of a strip foundation on geogrid-reinforced sand.
Geotext. Geom. 12(4), 351–361 (1993)
[email protected]
A Direct Shear Investigation
on the Determination of the Shearing
Resistance of Reinforced Soil with Waste
Rubber
Negadi Kheira and Arab Ahmed
Abstract has represented a genuine danger to ecological security and

Disposal of Waste Rubber has an enormous impact on general wellbeing endeavors lately.
improvement of Environmental performance all over the Engineers and researchers are constantly endeavoring to
World. Algeria is concerned with the problem of waste use the waste tires as a sustainable solution for civil engi-
Rubber to achieve the maximum possible benefits in both neering problems as slope stability and reduce settlement
of Economic and Environmental fields by solving this risk. Still need exist to find additional and practical methods
Issue. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in for geotechnical applications.
the use of recycled tires in civil engineering applications, A variety of civil engineering applications in Algeria
particularly in soil improvement studies as a lightweight were based on the use of the waste tires as a lightweight fill
backfill. The aim of this Study is to get a clear vision of by the technique “Pneusol”. This applications ranging from
the effect of using Rubber grains on the shear strength slope stability and earth embankments and pavements and
behavior of Chlef River’s sand. A series of direct shear retaining structures and other applications [1].
test have been prepared in laboratory using mixtures of Experimental results found by various researchers, con-
sand and rubber grains mixed randomly contained 5, 10, ducted that using rubber pieces to the soil in geotechnical
15, 20 and 30% rubber grains by weight. The direct tests applications can increasing soil strength, improve the
conducted with two relative densities of Dr = 55 and 95% deformation characteristics of the backfill, and reduces the
and all the samples were tested under confining pressure self-heating problem.
of 100 kPa. The results show that the rubber grain content Many previous researches have worked with rubber tires
influences the shear strength characteristics of as shredded or chips and they reached that we can employed
sand-rubber grain mixtures. as lightweight fill for embankment construction because of
its high strength and low unit weight. Also can give a high
shear strength and low horizontal stresses. Zornberg et al. [2]

Keywords
Shear strength Rubber grain Sand Direct shear test assessed the mechanical behavior of an experimental
Mixtures embankment fill used tire shreds and cohesive soil. The
results indicate that the embankment sections built with tire
shreds and cohesive soil showed satisfactory long-term
performances during traffic exposure. Reference [3] have
1 Introduction been used tire chips having size less than 20 mm to the
rubber–soil mixture as a replacement. They reported
It is estimated that Algeria produces over than 26,000 tons of improved frictional characteristics, increased resistance to
waste tires every year. The majority of that is presently dynamic loading and improved drainage characteristics of
landfill or stockpiled. This expends profitable landfill space the soil.
pose a real danger to the fire and give a rearing ground to In this research, we used a laboratory study involving
mosquitoes. Likewise, the expanding number of waste tires direct shear test on rubber grain with different weight con-
tents as reinforcement of Chlef sand. The objective of this
study was to investigate the effect of waste rubber grains on
the strength characteristics of the Clef sand; and the feasi-
N. Kheira (&) A. Ahmed
Hassiba Benbouali University, 02000 Chlef, Algeria
bility of utilizing waste rubber as lightweight backfill in
e-mail: [email protected] geotechnical applications.

[email protected]
296 N. Kheira and A. Ahmed
2 Experimental Devise and Test Materials 3 Experimental Results
The used experimental device in this study was a shear box 3.1 Direct Shear Tests
with 60 60 cm to perform all the direct shear tests, we
investigated ratios for rubber grains from 5, 10, 15, 20 and The variation of the shear stress with horizontal displace-
30% by weight. The mixtures were mixed carefully and they ment of rubber grains—sand mixture at 100 kPa confining
were compacted and poured steadily into three parts on the pressure for the dense state (Dr = 95%) is shown in Fig. 3. It
shear box for both relative densities (55 and 95%).the con- can be seen from this graphs that the effects of rubber grain
fining pressure was kept at 100 kPa for all the tests. contents on behavior of the mixtures is very clear in the
The sand used in the mixtures of tire shred and sand dense mixtures, a peak shear stress is observed, demon-
namely Chlef River’s sand. It is collected from the river of strating shear strength of the mixtures. The shear stress of
Chlef. Chlef city is approximately 223 km west of Algiers. the sand rubber grain mixtures still tends to increase slightly
Chlef sand is a medium sand with a rounded form (alluvial up to 20% rubber grain content. The mixtures at Dr = 95%
sand), with an average diameter of D50 = 0.612 mm. it has show a typical dense sample behavior. The clear shear stress
been classified as poorly graded sand. Rubber grains in size peak found here is similar to findings by [4], who performed
of 1–5 mm were used in this study. The coefficient of uni- laboratory triaxial tests on a mixture of 50% granular rubber
formity (Cu), coefficient of curvature (Cc), specific gravity mixed with 50% Ottawa sand by weight. They also obtained
(Gs), effective size (D10) and other engineering properties of a clear peak for shear stress versus axial strain.
the sand and rubber grains are presented in Table 1. Figure 4 shows the relationship between the shear stress
The alternative reinforcement material used in this study and horizontal displacement of sand rubber grain mixtures in
was rubber grains. Material tested several times with an the medium dense state (55%). The mixtures show typical
average value of the specific gravity was found to be about average sand behavior with no drop in post-peak strength. It
1.085, also it is to be clean and free of any Iron, Steel and illustrates the influence of rubber grain contents on the shear
rust (see Fig. 2). Other engineering properties of the two strength of the reinforced sand. It clearly shows that existing
materials are presented in Table 1. The grain size distribu- more rubber grains in the sand leads to an improvement in
tion curves of the test materials can be seen in Fig. 1. the resistance. After that, increasing rubber grain beyond
Table 1 Materials properties used in this study

Fc (%) D10 (mm) D50 (mm) GS Cu Cc emin emax
Chlef sand 0 0.220 0.612 2.665 3.258 1.315 0.573 0.924
Rubber grain 100 – – 1.085 1.136 1.0275 0.728 1.420
Fig. 1 Grain size distribution curves of Chlef sand and rubber grains
[email protected]
A Direct Shear Investigation on the Determination … 297
Fig. 2 The microscopic

observation of rubber grains
200 RGC="0%" the shear resistance of the mixtures. The increase in shear
Normal stress =100Kpa RGC="5%" strength of mixtures with increasing rubber grain content can
Dr=95% RGC="10%" be attributed to the redistribution of the samples. Hence, the
150 RGC="15%"
sand is pushed into the voids of rubber grains increasing the
Shear Stress (Kpa)
RGC="20%"
RGC="30%"
contact surface between sand particles and rubber grains.
But adding further rubber grains beyond 30% to the sand is
100
ineffective on the shear strength of rubber grain-sand mix-
tures. This is because, in shear zone, the rubber grains sur-
50 round the sand grains and tend to roll and slide over them to
make more voids. This is supported by findings of [5, 6].
0 3.1.1 Shear Strength Parameters

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Horizontal Displacement (mm) The specific gravity values of chlef-sand and rubber grains in
the dense and medium dense states have been used in this
Fig. 3 Variation of shear stress versus horizontal displacement for study to determine the void ratios of mixtures with different
rubber-sand mixtures at normal stress of 100 kPa relative densities using the following equation:
e ¼ vvoid=vsolid ð1Þ
RGC="0%"
Normal Stress=100Kpa RGC="5%" h i
vm W s
þ WRG
Dr=55% RGC="10%" Gs GRG
RGC="15%" e¼ ð2Þ
Ws þ WRG
Shear Stress (Kpa)
RGC="20%" Gs GRG
RGC="30%"
where: e is the void ratio, Vvoid is the volume of void, Vsolid
is the volume of rubber grain-sand mixture, Vm is the vol-
ume of mold, WGR is the weight of rubber grains, Ws is the
weight of sand, Gs is the specific gravity of sand, and GGR is
the specific gravity of rubber grains.
As shown in Fig. 5, the void ratios at different relative
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 densities of the mixtures of rubber grains and sand decrease
Horizontal Displacement (mm) linearly with increasing percentages of rubber grains. This
decrease up to a point where its value is the smallest; this
Fig. 4 Variation of shear stress versus horizontal displacement for
rubber-sand mixtures at normal stress of 100 kPa happens at a rubber grain content of 20% (by weight) for
which the minimum and maximum void ratio reaches the
minimum values of 0.442 and 0.775 respectively. This
10 mm horizontal displacement led to decrease almost lin- behavior can be explained based on the specific gravity Gs of
early with increasing horizontal displacement. the sand is larger than that of rubber grains. The specific
However, the rubber grains inclusion causes the shear gravity of the sand and rubber pieces is equal to 2.665 and
strength to increase gradually. Hence, it can be concluded 1.085, respectively. And then an increasing trend beyond
that the addition of rubber grains can enhance significantly 30% when the sand particles fill the voids between the
[email protected]
298 N. Kheira and A. Ahmed
1 emax filled with sand since the amount of sand is limited. This is
e(Dr=55%) similar to findings of [6–11].
e(Dr=95%) The obtained results indicate that the sand rubber grain
emin mixture effectively works as a lightweight material for
0.8
Void Ratio
geotechnical applications, such as embankments, retaining wall

backfill, and foundations [8–10]. Moreover, the use of scrap tires
0.6 in geoengineering applications solves the problem of disposal to
some extent and promotes recycling tires, which also minimizes
the requirement of other construction materials providing eco-
0.4
nomic benefits. The use of tire-derived material in geotechnical
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 applications will create a sustainable future.
Rubber Grain Content (%)
Fig. 5 Void ratios Index of the sand-rubber grain mixtures versus 4 Conclusions
rubber grain content (ϭ3 = 100 kPa)
Direct shear tests were carried out on different sand-rubber
rubber grains the void ratios of the mixtures increase, any
grain mixtures in this study, and the Shear strength charac-
further addition of rubber grains would increase the void
teristics of mixtures have been investigated in order to use
ratio of mixtures. A similar trend was also reported by [7, 8].
them for geoengineering applications as lightweight backfill
Figure 6a, b show a comparison between both medium
material. The results of this research led to the following
dense and dense state variations of the values of initial
conclusions:
friction angle (u) and apparent cohesion (c) for different
sand-rubber mixtures at medium and dense state.
– The maximum and minimum void ratios decrease with
It was observed that by adding rubber grains, from 5 to 20%
increasing rubber grain contents in mixtures, which
by weight, internal friction angle values were increased in both
indicates better compressibility behavior. The obtained
densities (55 and 95%). However, adding more rubber grains
results reveal that the sand rubber grain mixtures
leads to a decrease in the internal friction angle.
effectively works as a lightweight material for geotech-
Figure 6a, b also reveal that the cohesion at different
nical applications, such as embankments, retaining wall
relative densities of the mixtures follow an increasing trend
backfill, and foundations.
from 5 to 20% rubber grain content and then a decreasing
– The shear resistance of the mixtures increase in a regular
trend beyond 30%. It can be seen that the internal friction
manner with increasing rubber percentage up to 30% in
angle and the apparent cohesion of mixtures increase with
the mixtures.
increasing rubber grain contents for both relative densities,
– The improvement in shear strength increases with
which can be attributed to the lower specific gravity of
increasing relative density.
rubber pieces. Moreover, the interaction between sand par-
– The initial friction angle of the mixtures first increases
ticles and rubber grains leads to enhance of sand porosity.
with increasing rubber grains contents and then decreases
However, the fines found in sand in the dense state might
slightly with the addition of more rubber grains.
penetrate into the voids between rubber grains, which could
– It can be concluded that if the friction angle of the
cause an increase in the apparent cohesion. Greater
sand-rubber grains is critical, an addition of 10–20%
percentage of rubber grain is uniformly distributed in the
rubber to the sand is optimal.
mixtures resulting in more voids. These voids cannot be
Fig. 6 a Variations of internal (b) (a)

friction angle with rubber grain
content at Dr = 55%,
b Variations of internal friction
angle with rubber grain content at
Dr = 95%
[email protected]
A Direct Shear Investigation on the Determination … 299
References Wasemiller, M.A., Hoddinott, K.B. (eds.) Testing Soil Mixed with
Waste or Recycled Materials, ASTM STP 1275, pp. 299–313
(1997)
1. Belabdelouahab, F., Taki, M., Djidjeli, Z., Mahiouz, M.: Large 7. Ahmed, I., Lovell, C.: Use of rubber tires in highway construction.
scale experimentation of soil slope stability tire. In: Inter Build In: Utilization of Waste Materials in Civil Engineering Construc-
CICC-Cairo, Egypt, 21–25 June (2007) tion, ASCE, New York, N.Y., pp. 166–181 (1993)
2. Zornberg, J.G., Costa, Y.D., Vollenweider, B.: Performance of 8. Bosscher, P.J., Edill, T.B., Kuraoke, S.: Design of highway
prototype embankment built with tire shreds and nongranular soil. embankments using tire chips. J. Geotech. Geoenviromental. Eng.
Transportation Research Record 1874, National Research Council, ASCE 123(4), 297–304 (1997)
Transportation Research Board., Washington, D.C. pp. 70–77 (2004) 9. Humphrey, D.N., Sandford, T., Gribs, M., Manion, W.: Shear
3. Bosscher, P.J., Edil, T.B., Eldin, N.: Construction and performance strength and compressibility of tire chips for use as retaining wall
of shredded waste tyre test embankment, Transportation Research backfill. Transportation Research Record No. 1422, Transportation
Record No. 1345, Transportation Research Board., Washington, Research Board, Washington, D.C., pp. 29–35 (1993)
D.C., pp. 44–52 (1992) 10. Masad, E., Taha, R., Ho, C., Papagiannakis, T: Engineering
4. Edil, T.B., Bosscher, P.J.: Engineering properties of tire chips and properties of tire/soil mixture as a lightweight material. Geotech.
soil mixtures. Geotech. Test. J. 17(4), 453–464 (1994) Test. J. 19(3), 294e304 (1996)
5. Lade, P.V., Liggio, C.D., Yamamuro, J.A.: Effects of nonplastic 11. Ahmed, I.: Laboratory study on properties of rubber-soils. Ph.D.
fines on minimum and maximum void ratios of sand. Geotech. thesis, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West
Test. J. 21(4), 336–347 (1998) Lafayette (1997)
6. Humphrey, D.N., Katz, L.E., Blumenthal, M.: Water quality
effects of tire chip fill placed above the groundwater table. In:
[email protected]
Bearing Capacity Behavior of the Clay
and Sand Interface Reinforced
with Geotextiles
Said Nouri, Amar Nechnech, and Maria de Lurdes Costa Lopes
The suitability and stability of soil is usually evaluated
before its use in construction of pavement. A proper The bearing capacity has always been one of the most
analysis is necessary to ensure that public works infras- interesting topics in public works, in particular in the soil
tructures such as roads, rails, dams, etc. remain safe to foundations of pavement. In many cases of road construc-
withstand settlement and collapse. The use of geosyn- tion, low resistant soft clay layers may be encountered. To
thetic materials to improve the bearing capacity and solve the problems associated with these low bearing
settlement performance of subgrade pavement has gained capacity soil, one of the solutions is to replace some of the
attention in the field of geotechnical engineering. The soil under the soil foundations with a sand reinforced with
present study investigated the improvement in the bearing geosynthetics. The use of geosynthetics in the field of public
capacity of the clay and sand interface reinforced with works has developed rapidly in recent years. The use of
geotextile sheets placed at different depths in the sand geosynthetics enhanced the solution of a very wide range of
layer. The results show that the bearing capacity increased road problems, due firstly to their ease of implementation
significantly with the increased geotextile sheets. The and their low cost compared to the available conventional
bearing capacity for the soil increased with an average of solutions [1, 2].
53% using one geotextile sheet at interface of soils with CBR tests are also carried out by introducing geotextiles
20% depth of sand layer and the bearing capacity and geogrids in a granular soil [3–5].
increased with an average of 32% while using one The main objective of this work was to determine the
geotextile in middle of the sand layer. The penetration appropriate reinforcement mode for a layer of sand overlying
resistance and the CBR values increased when the soils soft clay, so as to increase the bearing capacity and reduce
reinforced with a one geotextile sheet. At a depth of 20%, the settlement of a foundation of pavements. The present
the penetration resistance is 98 kN and the CBR increased study investigated the bearing capacity of two layers of soil
up to 3.9% compared to the unreinforced one. (i.e., a thin sand layer underlain by clay) with varying one
geotextile sheet depth in the sand by keeping the soils

Keywords properties constant. The conclusion of these results has
Improvement Geosynthetics CBR Sand shown that the introduction of geotextile sheets significantly
Clay increases the penetration resistance and therefore the bearing
capacity and reduces the settlement of the base layer.
S. Nouri (&) 2 Materials and Experimental Program

Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef, BP 78C 02180
Ouled Fares, Chlef, Algeria
e-mail: [email protected] Sand, clay and geotextile were used for the experimental
A. Nechnech
investigations. Sand of Chlef (Algeria) is a uniform sand
University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene composed of 70% of medium sand and 30% of fine sand
of Algiers, BP 32 16111 El Alia, Bab Ezzouar, Algeria with an average particle diameter d50 = 0.55 mm, a unifor-
M. de Lurdes Costa Lopes mity coefficient Cu = 2.52 and a coefficient of curvature
University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias,
4200-465 Porto, Portugal

[email protected]
302 S. Nouri et al.
Table 1 Properties of the used geotextile

Properties Value Units
Ultimate tensile strength 12–14 kN/m
CBR 1.75 kN
Mass per unit area 155 g/m2
Thickness 1.50–1.70 mm
Strain at maximum strength 70–90 %
Cc = 1.04. The density of the solid particles is cs = 2.6 unreinforced soils and reinforced with a single layer of geo-
g/cm3. The optimal water content Wopt = 9.8%, the maxi- textile. To reinforce a sample, the geotextile was placed in a
mum dry density cdmax = 1.73 g/cm3. The clay used in this single sheet at different positions: 20, 40, 60 and 80% of the
study is a Kaolin of Jijel, its mineralogical composition is of specimen height from the top surface.
8% Quartz and 73% Kaolinite. It presents important features
d60 = 2.5 l, d40 = 1 l, d30 = 0.5 l.
A woven type polypropylene geotextile was used as 3 Results
reinforcement. Table 1 shows the properties of the geotextile
reinforcement. 3.1 Load-Penetration Behavior
A CBR test was used to show the effect of depth of geotextile
sheet on the behavior of the clay and sand interface reinforced The versus of the load-penetration curve for sand-clay and
with geotextile. A total number of 6 tests were carried out for sand-geotextile-clay is illustrated in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Curve load-penetration 100

unreinforced and reinforced soil
CBR tests
systems
Reinforced interface 0.2H
90
Reinforced Interface 0.6H
80
Unreinforced Soil
70
60
Louad (kN)
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Penetration (mm)
[email protected]
Bearing Capacity Behavior of the Clay and Sand … 303
Table 2 CBR values for different positions of geotextiles

No test Positions of geotextile CBR
1 Unreinforced 2.71
2 0.2H 3.9
3 0.4H 3.57
4 0.6H 3.52
5 0.8H 3.05
3.2 Reinforcement Ratio

5 Conclusion
Based on the reinforcement ratio [6], the results of CBR
values in different test conditions are shown in Table 2. The important results of this study are summarized below:
• The CBR value of a soil increases by 13–45% when it is

reinforced with a single sheet of geotextile. The amount
4 Discussion of improvement depends on the geotextile position.
• The force-penetration behavior of the bilayer soil under
From the force -penetration curve of Fig. 1, an increased
static load conditions is greatly improved when the
resistance to penetration is clearly observed when the bilayer
geotextile is placed at the optimum position.
sand-clay soil is reinforced by the woven geotextile con-
• The stress-strain behavior of soils under static load
nected at the interface of the sand-clay. The highest value
condition improved considerably when the geotextile
was achieved when the geotextile was placed at a depth of
was provided at an optimum position.
20% of the height of the specimen.
The bearing capacity for the soil increased with an
average of 53% using one geotextile sheet at interface of
soils with 20% depth of sand layer and the bearing capacity
References
increased with an average of 32% while using one geotextile
in the middle of sand layer. The penetration resistance and
1. Giroud, J.P., Noiray, L.: Geotextile-reinforced unpaved road design.
the CBR values increased when the soils were reinforced J. Geotech. Div. ASCE 107(GT9), 1233–1254 (1981)
with one geotextile sheet. 2. Basu, G., Roy, A.N., Bhattacharyya, S.K., Ghosh, S.K.: Construc-
From Table 2, it is noted that the reinforcement ratio is tion of unpaved rural road using jute-synthetic blended woven
higher in all the tests, which indicates that the introduction of geotextile—a case study. Geotext. Geomembr. 27, 506–512 (2009)
3. Naeini, S.A., Moayed, R.Z.: Effect of plasticity index and
the geotextile offers good resistance even to a lower pene- reinforcement on the CBR value of soft clay. Int. J. Civ. Eng. 7
tration. It is clear that a considerable increase in the CBR (2), 124–130 (2009)
value of the soil with a reinforcement of geotextile, for 4. Nair, A.M., Latha, G.M.: Bearing resistance of geosynthetic
example, in the case of unreinforced soil, the CBR value is reinforced soil-aggregate systems. Ground Improv. 164(2), 83–95
(2011)
2.71%, while with a reinforcement by geotextile the CBR 5. Kumar, P.S., Rajkumar, R.: Effect of geotextile on CBR strength of
value increased to 3.9%. The greatest increase in the CBR unpaved road with soft subgrade. Electronic J. Geotech. Eng. 13(J),
value was achieved when the geotextile sheet was placed 1355–1363 (2012)
20% below the top of the sample. 6. Koerner, R.M.: Designing with Geosynthetics, 5th edn. Prentice
Hall, New Jersey, pp. 184–186 (2005)
[email protected]
Improvement of Geotechnical Properties
of Aged Municipal Solid Wastes Using
Dredged Sand and Portland Composite
Cement
Md. Maruful Hoque, M. Tauhid Ur Rahman,

and Md. Shoriful Alam Mondal
Closed municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill site recla-
mation is an opportunity for post closure and other Many municipal solid waste landfill sites are closed in
infrastructure development in land scarce Bangladesh. Bangladesh. Due to scarcity of land near urban areas, it is
But the task is challenging due to a lot of uncertainty and highly demanded to use those sites for post closure and other
lack of study in the geotechnical properties of aged MSW. infrastructure development. With the improvement of
The test samples were prepared by mixing with a mixing geotechnical properties of aged waste, the landfill site
ratio of 4:1 of dredged sand and Portland composite reclamation can be possible easy and economical [1]. The
cement (PCC) type CEM II (Bangladesh standard unpredictable heterogeneity in waste composition; presence
BDS EN 197-1:2003) mixer with the 5, 10 and 15% of of inorganic substances like glass, metal; unpredictable dif-
dry weight of aged municipal solid waste collected from ferential settlement, high moisture content and low shear
Matuail, the largest MSW landfill site of Bangladesh. The strength etc. of landfill aged solid waste make closed landfill
unit weight varied from 6.5 to 13 kN/m3. It has been site development, a risky and challenging task [2].
showed that by increasing dredged sand-PCC mixer from The present study aimed to improve the geotechnical
0 to 15% (0–20% dredged sand), the cohesion intercept properties of aged municipal solid waste at landfill site using
increased from 9 to 35 kPa and the internal friction angle dredged river sand and Portland composite cement (PCC) in
increased from 25° to 45°. The other two important varying ratio.
geotechnical properties that are the compression and
secondary compression indices decreased from 0.35 to
0.20 and 0.060 to 0.030, respectively. By increasing the 2 Materials and Methods
additives of dredged sand and PCC, the shear strength,
compression and mechanical properties of aged MSW The aged solid waste samples were collected from the first
samples are increased substantially. sanitary landfill of Bangladesh in the Northeast of capital
Dhaka. The test samples were prepared by mixing, with a

Keywords mixing ratio of 4:1 of dredged river sand, collected from the
Dredged sand PCC Municipal solid waste nearby the river Buriganga and Portland composite cement
Ground improvement Geotechnical properties (PCC) type CEM II (Bangladesh standard BDS EN
197-1:2003) mixer, with the 5, 10 and 15% of dry weight of
aged MSW. The largest MSW particle should be 1/6th of
Md.M. Hoque (&) specimen used for geotechnical experiment which is smaller
Climate Change Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, than 9 mm. Then the soil like MSW mixer was mixed
Military Institute of Science and Technology,
Mirpur, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh
thoroughly suing a mechanical mixer. Dry mixing method
e-mail: [email protected] was applied due to the high moisture content of aged solid
M. T. U. Rahman
wastes and tendency of PCC to absorb water. The major
Department of Civil Engineering, Military Institute of Science geotechnical properties of MSW that were examined for the
and Technology, Mirpur, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh samples were waste composition, sample visual classifica-
Md.S. A. Mondal tion, sieve analysis, Atterberg’s limits, compaction, direct
Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University shear test and consolidated-drained (CD) tri-axial test.
of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh

[email protected]
306 Md.M. Hoque et al.
3 Results factor for determining the geotechnical properties of the

aged waste. The values of unit weight of the other old
The strength, compressibility and mechanical properties landfills from literature are higher due to different waste
were found from literature summarized in Table 1. The composition, geographical locations, food habits and eco-
experimental results found a substantial improvement in nomic status. By increasing the additives of dredged sand
geotechnical properties of landfill aged waste samples. and PCC, the shear strength and stiffness of MSW samples
Metal, stone, polythene, rubber, fabric and waste residues are increased. Along with the internal friction angle and
were the major components of the aged MSW samples. The cohesion intercept, the residual friction is also increased, on
unit weight varied from 6.5 to 13 kN/m3. It has been shown the contrary the residual cohesion intercept is not signifi-
that by increasing dredged sand-PCC mixer from 0 to 15% cantly changed. Due to increasing the cementing properties
(0–20% dredged sand), the cohesion intercept increased of stabilized waste samples, the brittleness increasing grad-
from 9 to 35 kPa and the internal friction angle increased ually and the peak strength also increased. As the dredged
from 25° to 45°. sand-PCC mixer addition increased the resistive capacity of
By adding 15% dredged sand-PCC mixer into the waste aged wastes increased consequently the compressive prop-
samples, the peak strength, the brittleness index and the erties decreased. The reduction of compression and sec-
Young’s modulus at failure increased from 500 to 1300 kPa, ondary compression indices due to the cementation and
0.10–0.38 and 4.5 to 30 MPa respectively, under an effective pozzolanic properties of dredged sand-PCC mixer.
confining pressure of 300 kPa. The other two important
geotechnical properties the compression and secondary
compression indices decreased from 0.35 to 0.20 and 0.060 5 Conclusion
to 0.030, respectively.
The chemical ground improvement technique was shown to
significantly increase the compressive strength, shear
4 Discussion strength properties, the brittleness and stiffness index but to
decrease the settlement property of the aged landfill
The absence of wood, paper, fiber and other organic matter municipal solid waste samples. The chemical stabilization of
indicate high waste residue. Compared to other landfill landfill municipal waste using locally available dredged sand
wastes of different countries, waste residues are much higher and PCC mixer will be useful and effective in the post
in Matuail Landfill site. The composition is an influential closure development of landfill sites. The outcomes of this
Table 1 Shear strength, compressibility and mechanical properties of MSW [1, 3–13]
Shear strength (Direct shear test) Compressibility property Triaxial test (CU)
Friction angle (°) Cohesion (kPa) Compression ratio (Cc) Friction angle Cohesion
Sowers [3] 0.1–0.41
Landva and Clark [4] 24–42 16–23 0.17–0.24
Gabr and Valero [5] 20–39 0–28 0.15–0.22 34 17
Wall and Zeiss [6] 0.21–0.25
Jones et al. [7] 31 10.5
Eid et al. [8] 35 0–50
Pelkey et al. [9] 29 0
Hossain [10] 24–32 0.16–0.25
Caicedo et al. [14] 23 78
Hossain et al. [15] 0.16–0.37
Anderson et al. [11] 0.17–0.23
Durmusoglu et al. [12] 0.13–0.23
Reddy et al. [13] 26–30 31–64 0.24–0.33 12 32
Feng et al. [2] 15.7–21.9 29.1–19.3
Pandey et al. [16] 17.5–22 27–53 7–11.5 34–46
[email protected]
Improvement of Geotechnical Properties of Aged … 307
research study may help for further foundation design cal- 9. Pelkey, S.A., Valsangkar, A.J., Landva, A.: Shear displacement
culation required in the construction of structures on closed dependent strength of municipal solid waste and its major
constituents. Geotech. Test. J. 24(4), 381–390 (2001)
landfill sites as well as its slope stability analysis. 10. Hossain, M.S.: Mechanics of compressibility and strength of solid
waste in bioreactor landfills. Dissertation, Doctor of Philosophy,
Department of Civil Engineering, North Carolina State University
References at Raleigh, USA (2002)
11. Anderson, E.O., Balanko, L.A., Lem J.M., Davis, D.H.: Field
monitoring of the compressibility of municipal solid waste and soft
1. Fatahi, B., Khabbaz, H.: J. Soils Sediments 13, 1201 (2013). alluvium. In: Proceedings 5th International Conference on Case
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0720-4 Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, New York (2004)
2. Feng, S.J., Gao, K.W., Chen, Y.X., Li, Y., Zhang, L.M., Chen, X.: 12. Durmusoglu, E., Sanchez, I.M., Corapcioglu, M.Y.: Permeability
Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste at Laogang and compression characteristics of municipal solid waste samples.
Landfill, China. Waste. Manage. (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ Environ. Geol. 50, 773–786 (2006)
j.wasman.2016.09.016 13. Reddy, K.R., Hettiarachchi, H., Parakalla, N., Gangathulasi, J.,
3. Sowers, G.F.: Settlement of waste disposal fills. In: Proceedings of Bogner, J.: Geotechnical properties of fresh municipal solid waste
8th International Conference on Soil Mechanics Foundation at Orchard Hills Landfill, USA. Waste Manage. 29(2), 952–995
Engineering, Moscow (1973) (2009)
4. Landva, A.O., Clark, J.I.: Geotechnics of waste fill. Geotechnics of 14. Caicedo, B., Yamin, L., Giraldo, E., Coronado, O.: Geomechanical
waste fills theory and practice, ASTM STP 1070. In: Landva, A., properties of municipal solid waste in Dona Juana sanitary landfill.
Knowles, G.D. (eds.) American Society for Testing and Materials. Environ. Geotech. (4th ICEG), De Mell & Almeida (des).
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp. 86–103 (1990) (2002) Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse. ISBN 90 5809 5010
5. Gabr, M.A., Valero, S.N.: Geotechnical properties of municipal 15. Hossain, M.S., Gabr, M.A., Barlaz, M.A.: Relationship of
solid waste. ASTM. Geotech. Test. J. 18(2), 241–251 (1995) compressibility parameters to municipal solid waste decomposi-
6. Wall, D.K., Zeiss, C.: Municipal landfill biodegradation and tion. J. Geotech. Geoenvironmental Eng. 129(12), 1151–1158
settlement. J. Environ. Eng. 121(3), 214–224 (1995) (2003)
7. Jones, D.R.V., Taylor, D.P., Dixon, N.: Shear strength of waste 16. Pandey, R.K.: Investigation of shear strength properties of
and its use in landfill stability. In: Proceedings of the Geoenvi- municipal solid waste and slope stability analysis. Int. J. Res
ronmental Engineering Conference, Thomas Telford, pp. 343–350 Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol. V(IX), 491–496 (2017)
(1997)
8. Eid, H.T., Stark, T.D., Evans, W.D., Sherry, P.E.: Municipal solid
waste slope failure. I: Waste and foundation soil properties.
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 126(5), 397–407 (2000)
[email protected]
Valorization of Foundry Green Sand in Road
Construction
Hadj Bekki, M. Yacine Haouachine, and Yacine Aouci
Abstract hand, they may cause a danger to the environment (con-

In foundry industry, there are two important processes tamination of air and ground water); in addition to the
used to manufacture metallic parts: in the first one, ecological risks that may occur. Therefore it is very impor-
permanent molds, typically metallic, are used to produce tant to valorize these spent sands in several other industrial
simple form of parts; and in the second, sands are used as sectors.
lost molds and cores to produce complicated forms of The largest volume of foundry sand is used in civil
parts which make their use very adaptable for large scale applications, such as embankments, landfills, concrete, clay
applications. However, the latter process generates sig- bricks and road construction [3, 4]; yet each application
nificant quantities of sand waste because only small ones requires some precautions and also contains some limitations
are recycled in factory, that is why it is very interesting to in the reuse of these SFS, mainly in their mechanical
valorize these Spent Foundry Sands (SFS) in several other properties.
industrial sectors. The objectives of the present work were In this paper, only the valorization (reuse) of the foundry
to valorize/reuse the foundry sands in road construction green sand in road bases was developed.
projects. It has been observed that the addition of
hydraulic binders, leads to a significant increase in the
CBR (California Bearing ratio) index up to 135% with the 2 Materials and Methods
addition of 2% of lime and up to 75% with the addition of
2% of cement. The base sand used in the foundry of Tiaret in Algeria was
collected from Adwan Chemicals Company located nearby
Mostaganem city.

Keywords
The clay used for molding is a bentonite which was

Spent foundry sands (SFS) Valorization
Treatment Road construction collected from the deposit of Hammam Boughrara within the
area of Maghnia city, Algéria. It is a white sodium bentonite.
After the use of sand in the foundry molding process, the
material was collected and subjected to some identification
1 Introduction tests in order to determine its classification.
Table 1 shows index characteristics of the studied mate-
The world foundry sector generates about 100 million tons rial. The Particle size distribution curve of Green foundry
of spent foundry sand (SFS) each year [1]. Although the sands is presented in Fig. 1.
sand is reused many times in the factory before the repeated Following these results and according to GTR guide [5],
exposure to the molten metal and mechanical abrasion. This the material is a Class B sand, a sand and gravel material
makes it undesirable for its use in the foundry process [2]. with fine and a subclass B6, which means that it is a sandy
In Algerian foundries, the SFS are stored continually on clay to very clayey sand. The XRD analysis reveals that the
the plant site, which poses a great problem for the company green foundry sand is mainly composed of silica (Fig. 2).
in the management of such waste material. On the other Considering that the material is a clayey soil and in order
to improve its properties for its use in the road bases, it was
preferred to treat the material with hydraulic binder, such as
H. Bekki (&) M. Y. Haouachine Y. Aouci
University of Tiaret, Zaâroura, BP 78 14000 Tiaret, Algeria
lime or cement. Seeing that there are several similarities
e-mail: [email protected] between lime and cement as stabilizers, it was important to

[email protected]
310 H. Bekki et al.
Table 1 Main index properties of waste green sand

Identification Green sand Identification Green sand
Dmax (mm) 5 CaCO3 (%) 0
% passing over sieve 80 microns (%) 21.58 ES (%) 15
Plastic index (PI) Immeasurable Specific density (g/cm3) 2.57
VBS (ml/g) 1.64 Density (g/cm3) 1.26
Cu 50 Cc 22
VBS Methylene Bleu Value (Retention); ES Equivalent sand Test
100
Green Foundry sand
90
Base sand
80
Percentage passing (%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1E-3 0.01 0.1 1 10
Particle size (mm)
Fig. 1 Particle size distribution curve of Green foundry sands
Fig. 2 XRD analysis of Green foundry sand
use both binders and compare them. In addition, the stabi- The experimental study focused on the bearing tests,
lization of the waste foundry sand with cement renders the mainly Proctor test (compaction characteristics) and Cali-
material nontoxic [6]. fornian Bearing Ratio test (CBR). The tests procedures and
[email protected]
Valorization of Foundry Green Sand in Road Construction 311
2.00
Green Sand (GS)
4 Discussion
GS + 2% lime
1.95 GS + 4% lime As can be seen in Fig. 3, it may be noted that there was a
GS + 2% Cement decrease of the dry density for green sands treated with
Dry Density (t/m3)
1.90 GS + 4% Cement
binders compared to the untreated green sand. This can be
explained by the fact that the addition of binder increases the
1.85
volume of the mixture and thus reduces the dry density after
compaction. The Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) in-
1.80
creases proportionally with the addition of the treating agent,
because the binder requires an additional amount of water
1.75
except for the green sand treated with 2% cement where the
OMC remains low.
1.70
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 According to the Fig. 4, it can be noted that the addition
Water content (%) of 2% of lime to the waste green sand, significantly affects
the behavior of the material by increasing its CBR index,
Fig. 3 Compaction curves of untreated compacted- and treated which confirms the concept of optimal dosage. Obviously,
stabilized-green sand with lime/cement the dosage to be adopted for the lime treatment has a limit,
beyond which soil characteristics will not change much or
degrade, when increasing the dosage. Such rate of lime may
the preparation of the specimens were carried out according produce an optimal flocculation of green sand particles,
to European and French test standards [7, 8]. leading to a better rearrangement of soil grains by com-
pacting at optimal water content.
The increase in CBR is due to the long-term lime effect,
3 Results in which pozzolanic reactions occur by developing com-
pounds consisting of silicates and aluminates. On the other
The results of the modified Proctor test conducted on dif- hand, cement setting is faster than lime and the hardness
ferent samples of SFS treated with lime/cement (at fre- occurs further.
quently used dosages) and the untreated samples are plotted Moreover, Nagaraj et al. [9] concluded in their study
in Fig. 3. carried out on the compressed stabilized Earth Blocks
CBR-Values of green sand waste, soil-lime and (CSEBs) that the mixture with lime and cement offers a high
soil-cement mixtures prepared at optimum water content strength in the long-term.
(OMC obtained by modified Proctor Test) and at different It can be concluded that the economic dosage to be used
compaction energy, are given in Fig. 4. for the studied material is 2% of lime, then the increase in
compaction intensity will be applied to reach the desired
CBR index; this means that the consistency of the mixture
obtained by addition of 2% of lime to the green sand is
excellent. This is due to the fact that the used green sand
240 Lime (10 Bl./L)
Cement (10 Bl./L)
waste is a clayey material which requires the addition of an
210 Lime (25 Bl./L) agent that reduces its clayey character.
Cement (25 Bl./L)
180 Lime (56 Bl./L)
CBR-Value (%)
Cement (56 Bl./L)

150
5 Conclusion
120
90 The results revealed that the green sand under study showed
60
a good aptitude for its valorization in the field of road
construction and should undergo a treatment with a
30
hydraulic binder (lime or cement). It was also found that the
0 1 2 3 4 5
green sand treated with a dosage of 2% lime provides an
Binder content (%) optimal treatment in which a CBR index is about 140
obtained at medium energy of compaction and 200 for
Fig. 4 CBR-value of untreated compacted- and treated intense energy compaction, which leads to an economic
stabilized-green sand with lime/cement solution for the industrial problem.
[email protected]
312 H. Bekki et al.
References recycling potential of SFS in clay bricks. J. Environ. Manage. 92,

994–1002 (2011)
5. AFNOR: Classification des sols - Guide de Terrassements Routiers
1. Carnin, R.L.P., Folgueras, M.V., Luvizao, R.R., Correia, S.L., da ‘GTR’ - NF P 11 300, France (1992)
Cunha, C.J., Zungan, R.S.: Use of an integrated approach to 6. Zirschky, J., Piznar, M.: Cement stabilization of foundry sands.
characterize the physicochemical properties of foundry green sands. J. Environ. Eng. 114, 715–718 (1988)
Thermochim. Acta 543, 150–155 (2012) 7. AFNOR: Indice CBR après immersion – Indice portant immédiat,
2. Dayton, E.A., Whitacre, S.D., Dungan, R.S., Basta, N.T.X.: Norme NF P94-07, France (1997)
Characterization of physical and chemical properties of spent 8. AFNOR: Essai Proctor normal – Essai Proctor modifié, Norme NF
foundry sands pertinent to beneficial use in manufactured soils. P 94-093, France (1999)
Plant Soil 329, 27–33 (2010) 9. Nagaraj, H.B., Sravan, M.V., Arun, T.G.: Role of lime with cement
3. Salokhe, E.P., Desai, D.B.: Application of foundry waste sand in in long-term strength of CSEBs. Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ. 3,
manufacture of concrete. J. Mech. Civ. Eng. (IOSR-JMCE) 43–48 54–61 (2014)
(2013)
4. Alonso-Santurde, A., Andrés, A., Viguri, J.R., Raimondo, M.,
Guarini, G., Zanelli, C., Dondi, M.: Technological behaviour and
[email protected]
Experimental and Numerical Performance
Evaluation of Cement-Calcined Kaolin-River
Sand-Clay Mixture as a Highway Material
E. Arinze Emmanuel and C. Ekeoma Emmanuel
Abstract calcined kaolin and river sand were investigated and compared
This study evaluated the performance of cement-calcined with Federal Ministry of Works FMW and AASHTO specifi-
kaolin and river sand stabilized clayey soil classified as cation. A finite element program Plaxis was used to evaluate the
A-7-6(3) used for a subbase of a flexible pavement in other performance of the flexible pavement whose subbase was the
to achieve a cost effective and environmental friendly model with the admixture combination with the best geotech-
solution to high cost construction materials. The percent- nical properties. The model was loaded with an axle load
ages of River sand and calcined kaolin used for stabilization increasing from 50 to 600 kPa and the results were compared
ranged from 0 to 20%, while the percentages of cement with the unstabilized soil. When poor soil is encountered in
were kept constant at 4 and 6%. An increase in percentage construction work, it is either excavated or stabilized. Most
of Calcined Kaolin increased the percentage of the fines, often it is not economical to excavate such poor bearing soil and
while the increase in the percentage of the River sand led to the best option left is to stabilize such soil. Several researchers
an increase in coarseness of the soil. Atterberg limits of the have worked on soil stabilization [1–10].
soil decreased with the increase in the River Sand
percentage for 4 and 6% cement, but increased with the
increase in the Calcined Kaolin. The soil OMC decreased 2 Experimental Methods
from 14.2 to 11.3% at the highest addition of the River sand
(OMK20RS) at 4% cement while it increased progressively 2.1 Experimental Materials
with the increase in the Calcined Kaolin up to 18.2%.
Displacement of the pavement was reduced by about 98.8% The materials used for this study are as follows: Soil (Clay,
when used to model subbase of pavement using Plaxis, River Sand), Cement and Calcined Kaolin.
therefore cement-calcined kaolin-River sand can be used
effectively for subbase and subgrade of a pavement. 2.1.1 Soil
Two different soil types were used for the study which are
clay and river sand. The properties of the sand are displayed

Keywords
Calcined kaolin River sand Plaxis Soil stabilization in Table 1.
Deformation
2.1.2 Cement
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) of Grade-42, was used for
1 Introduction the experiment. The physical properties of cement are listed
in Table 2.
This is a two-facet research; the first is the experimental
approach while the second is the numerical application. The 2.1.3 Calcined Kaolin
geotechnical characteristics of clay mixed with cement, The oxide composition can be seen in Table 4. While the
physical properties are presented in Table 1. According to
E. Arinze Emmanuel (&) C. Ekeoma Emmanuel ASTM C618-12 requirement for pozzolans, the combination
Department of Civil Engineering, Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 should be greater than or equal to
e-mail: [email protected] 70% (i.e. SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3; 70%). From the
C. Ekeoma Emmanuel
chemical analysis result of the Calcined Kaolin in Table 3, it
Research Student, Dundee University, Dundee, UK is remarked that the Calcined Kaolin met the specification.

[email protected]
314 E. Arinze Emmanuel and C. Ekeoma Emmanuel
Table 1 General properties of S/no Properties Clay Calcined River sand

the materials used for the study kaolin
1 Color Reddish brown Brown
2 Grain size distribution
i Percentage passing 43.5 47.3 3.03
sieve no 200
ii Uniformity coefficient – – 2.84
iii Coefficient of curvature – – 0.95
3 Atterberg limits
i Liquid limit % 41.5 38.2 –
ii Plastic limit % 20.2 – –
iii Plasticity index 21.3 – –
4 Specific gravity 2.62 2.34 2.71
5 Soil classification
i AASHTO classification A-7-6(3) – A-3(1)
ii Unified classification SC (clayey sand) – SP (Poor
system graded sand)
6 Rating as subbase Poor Excellent
material
7 Major clay mineral Illite (Inorganic clay of medium
present plasticity)
8 Compaction characteristics
i Maximum dry density 1.5 1.12 1.45
(g/ml)
ii Optimum moisture 14.2 28.6 8.1
content (%)
iii California bearing ratio 7.5 1.2 12.2
(%)
iv Unit weight (kN/m3) 13.5 9.8 21.5
9 Young’s modulus 4.5e+4 7.5e+4
(kN/m2)
Table 2 Cement properties Properties Results (%)

Al2O3 55.15
SiO2 36.92
Fe2O3 1.00
TiO2 0.70
CaO+K2O 0.35
Na2O+K2O 1.7
Loss on ignition (LOI) 4.16
Table 3 Properties of calcined Fineness Specific Standard Initial setting Final setting Soundness (cement
kaoline (Oxide compositions) gravity G consistency time (min) time (min) expansion) (mm)
(%)
2.8 3.12 35.5 140 325 2
[email protected]
Experimental and Numerical Performance Evaluation of … 315
Table 4 Stabilizer combination S/no Combination Designation

scheme
1 0%MK + 20%RS 0MK20RS
2 5%MK + 15%RS 5MK15RS
3 10%MK + 10%RS 10MK10RS
4 15%MK + 5%RS 15MK5RS
5 20%MK + 0%RS 20MK0RS
Note MK is Meta Kaolin (Calcined Kaolin) and RS River Sand
2.2 Testing Procedures The OMC of the soil decreased from 14.2 to 11.3% at
the highest addition of the River sand (OMK20RS) at 4%
2.2.1 Particle Size Distribution Test cement while it increased progressively with the increase in
The particle size distribution PSD was carried out in the Calcined Kaolin up to 18.2%. For 6% cement OMC
accordance with BS1377: Part 2:1990. The material prepa- reduced to 12.1% from 14.4%, with an increase in the
ration and test procedures were followed duly in accordance Calcined Kaolin, the OMC was reduced due to increase in
with the Bs code. The PSDs were ascertained at each com- the pozzolanic material. These increments in optimum
bination of the stabilizer. moisture content with an increase in Calcined Kaolin could
be attributed to the increased amount of water required in
2.2.2 Atterberg Limit Test the system to adequately lubricate all the particles in the
Atterberg Limits or consistency test were carried out on the soil-cement and Calcined Kaolin mixture.
stabilized and unstabilized soil specimen based on BS1377: The maximum dry density of the soil increased progres-
Part 2:1990. sively with the increase of the River sand and Calcined Kaolin.
The results of the MDD are 1.56, 1.61, 1.67, 1.5, 1.42 g/ml for
2.2.3 California Bearing Ratio CBR Test 0MK20RS, 5MK15RS, 10MK10RS, 15MK5RS and
The CBR tests on stabilized and unstabilized soil specimens 20MK0RS combinations, respectively at 4% cement. It could
were conducted in accordance with ASTM D1883-99 (2000). be seen that the MDD dry density of the soil increased pro-
gressively from 1.5 g/ml but decreased at 20MKORS due to
2.2.4 Standard Protoctor Test lower specific gravity of Calcined Kaolin [11, 12].
The standard protoctor test was carried out in line with BS The CBR values at 4% cement are 12.2, 12.6, 12.5, 10.2
1377-4:1990. and 9.8% for 0MK20RS, 5MK15RS, 10MK10RS, 15MK5RS
and 20MK0RS, respectively and 13.1, 12.8, 12.6, 11.5% and
10.3 for 6% cement. Based on IRC recommendations, the
3 Results and Discussion stabilized soil met the specification for a good subbase.
The stabilizer combination with the best strength prop-
As the percentage of Calcined Kaolin increased, the per- erties and the unstabilizer properties of the soil were also
centage of the fines increased while the increase in the used for finite element analysis using Plaxis to determine the
percentage of the River sand lead to an increase in soil deflection of the pavement under static loading condition.
coarseness making the curve move towards the right side of Various thicknesses of the layers of the flexible pavement
the Particle Size Distribution. The increase in the coarseness were used for the simulation (50, 75, 100 m for the Asphalt
of the soil particles invariable led to an improvement in the and 100, 200, 300 for the base course and subbase. The
engineering properties of the soil, since is the fine percent- Poisson’s ratio considered for the analysis was 0.4 [13–15].
ages were reduced to 35.55, 29.78, 25.4, and 18.4% for The Young’s modulus values for conventional material in
5MK15RS, 15MK5RS, 10MKRS10, 0MK20RS, respec- respective layers of haul road pavement considered were
tively, while that of 20MK0RS increased to 44%. 200, 100, 50 and 50 MPa [14]. The applied pressure on the
The Atterberg limits of the soil decreased with the road ranged from 100 kPa to 500 kPa. 10MK10RS stabilizer
increase in the River Sand percentages for 4 and 6% cement combination at 4% cement would be used for the analysis
but increased with the increase in the Calcined Kaolin. since it has better properties.
[email protected]
316 E. Arinze Emmanuel and C. Ekeoma Emmanuel
4 Conclusion 3. Amu, O.O., Salami, B.A.: Effects of common salt on some

engineering properties of egg shell stabilized lateritic soil. Asian
Res. Publishing Netw. (ARPN) J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 5(9) (2010)
The following conclusions can be drawn from this research: 4. Ayininuola, G.M., Adekitan, O.A.: Compaction characteristics of
lateritic soils stabilized with cement-calcined clay blends. J. Silic.
• The increase in the percentages of the calcined kaolin led Based Compos. Mater. (2017). http://doi.org/10.14382/epitoanyag-
jsbcm.2017.7
to the increase in the percentage fine of the clay soil
5. Bhatta, N.: Engineering properties of pond ash and pond ash sand
while the river sand increase led to the increase in the mixtures. Indian Highways 49–59 (2008)
coarseness of the clay material. 6. Hossain, K.M.A.: Stabilized soils incorporating combinations of
• The maximum dry density of the soil increased pro- rice husk ash and cement kiln dust. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 23(9), 1320
(2011)
gressively with the increase of the River sand and Cal-
7. Justice, J.M.: Evaluation of calcined kaolins for use as supple-
cined Kaolin. The result of the MDD was 1.56, 1.61, mentary cementitious materials, An unpublished M.Sc. thesis.
1.67, 1.5, 1.42 g/ml for 0MK20RS, 5MK15RS, School of Material Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of
10MK10RS, 15MK5RS and 20MK0RS combination, Technology (2005)
8. Kolovos, K.G., Asteris, P.G., Cotsovos, D.M., Badogiannis, E.,
respectively at 4% cement.
Tsivilis, S.: Mechanical properties of soilcrete mixtures modified
• The CBR values at 4% cement were 12.2, 12.6, 12.5, with calcined kaolin. Constr. Build. Mater. 47, 1026–1036 (2013).
10.2 and 9.8% for 0MK20RS, 5MK15RS, 10MK10RS, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.06.008
15MK5RS and 20MK0RS respectively and 13.1, 12.8, 9. Olonade, K.A., Jaji, M.B., Adekitan, O.A.: Experimental compar-
ison of selected pozzolanic materials. In: Proceedings of the 2nd
12.6, 11.5% and 10.3 for 6% cement. Based on IRC
International Conference on Advances in Cement and Concrete
recommendation the stabilized soil met the specification Technology in Africa, Dares Salaam, Tanzania, 27–29 Jan,
for a good subbase. pp. 309–314 (2016)
• It was observed that the increase in the load in the 10. Das, S.K., Yudhbir, Y: Geotechnical properties of low calcium and
unstabilized subbase pavement from 100 to 200 kPa led high calcium fly ash. J. Geotech. Geol. Eng. 24, 249–263 (2006)
11. Gupta, D., Kumar, A.: Performance evaluation of cement-
to an increase in the displacement of the pavement by stabilized pond ash-rice husk ash clay mixture as a highway
99.06%. construction material. J. Rock. Mech. Found. 2(3), 345–67 (2017)
12. Das, D.: Introduction to soil stabilization. (2016). Retieved from
http://www.k31.org
13. Tannant, D.D., Regensburg, B.: Guidelines for Mine Haul Road
Design, 1st edn. University of Alberta, Canada (2001)
References 14. McCarthy, M.J., Csetenyi, L.J., Sachdeva, A.., Jones, R.: Role of
fly ash in the mitigation of swelling in lime stabilized sulphate
bearing soils. In: Proceedings of World Coal Ash, USA (2009)
1. Aboubakar, M.A., Ganjian, E., Pouya, H., Akashi, A.: A study on
15. Lav, A.H., Lav., M.A., Goktepe, B.A.: Analysis and design of
the effect the addition of thermally treated Libyan natural pozzolan
a stabilized fly ash as pavement base material. Fuel 85(16),
has on the mechanical properties of ordinary Portland cement
2359–2370 (2006)
mortar. Int. J. Sci. Tech. 3(1), 79–84 (2013)
2. Alhassan, M., Mustapha, M.: Effect of rice husk ash
(RHA) on cement stabilized laterite. Leonardo Electron. J. Practices
Technol. (II), 47–58 (2007)
[email protected]
Part VIII
Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Analytical
and Numerical Modeling of Geo-Structures
[email protected]
An Analytical Model for Determining
the Natural Frequency of Retaining
Structures Including the Earth Pressures
Lyazid Guechi and Smain Belkacemi
Abstract Mononobe [14] to evaluate soil wedge created by active

The importance of the retaining structures is crucial in earth pressure behind retaining structures in both static and
geotechnical engineering and the accurate determination seismic cases. The validity of the proposed model was
of earth pressures and natural frequency is important in proven by using the results within the Scott [3] and Ghanbari
order to study the dynamic behavior of these structures. et al. [11] models.
The analytical formulae which do not consider the earth
pressures behind the retaining structure are usually used.
An analytical model for determining the natural frequency 2 Analytical Model
of retaining structures including the earth pressures by
failure wedges was proposed in the present analysis. The This work first included the active failure wedges in the
model considers the effect of Coulomb and Mononobe determination of natural frequency of retaining structures
Okabe earth pressures. The current model was validated and proposed a new model. It is possible and common to
using several analytical models reported in the literature obtain equivalent natural frequency for a backfill
of the earlier researchers. soil-retaining structure system from results of analytical
analyses assuming the system to have a single degree of
freedom. The proposed retaining structure model is illus-

Keywords
trated schematically in Fig. 1a for static case and under

Earth pressures Natural frequency Retaining struc-
tures Analytic model Failure wedge seismic pseudo static conditions, and it is defined by
(1) structure characteristics: weight per unit length ‘qstr ’,
modulus of elasticity ‘Estr ’, thickness ‘e’ and height ‘H’
(2) backfill soil characteristics: Poisson’s ratio ‘tsoil’, soil
1 Introduction friction angle ‘usoil’, Young modulus ‘Esoil’ and weight per
unit mass ‘qsoil’ and (3) seismic excitation characteristics:
An adequate determination of the natural frequency of horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations ‘ah, av’.
retaining structures plays a primordial role in the study of its In view of analytical studies, this model was designed to
dynamic behavior in earthquake prone regions. Many be as simple as possible, including Coulomb and Mononobe-
researchers have developed several methods to determine the Okabe active failure wedges. More precisely, Fig. 1b rep-
natural frequency of retaining structures [1–11]. The natural resents the dynamic equilibrium and resultant forces acting
frequency is often calculated by the elastic wave theory, on differential elements of the model. The following
based on two parameters namely the backfill height and the assumptions were adopted for this model: (1) The retaining
soil shear wave velocity. wall behaves as a flexible structure [15]; (2) the static thrust
In this research, a simple model was proposed to deter- was evaluated by Coulomb method [12]; (3) the seismic
mine the natural frequency of retaining structures. This thrust was evaluated by Mononobe-Okabe method [13, 14];
simple model estimates the natural frequency of wall-backfill (4) the inclined failure plane was modeled as a series of
soil system using the Coulomb [12] and Okabe [13], Winkler’s springs [16, 17]; (5) the natural frequency of
wall-backfill soil system was estimated by Rayleigh method;
and (6) the backfill soil was assumed dry and cohesionless.
L. Guechi (&) S. Belkacemi
Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, 16200 El-Harrache, Algeria

[email protected]
320 L. Guechi and S. Belkacemi
Fig. 1 A schematic system of retaining structures considering the active failure wedge and the dynamic equilibrium and resultant forces acting on
differential elements of the modeled system
3 Results
3.1 The First Circular Natural Frequency (x)
The first circular natural frequency (x) of the system is given

by an analytical equation; this equation takes into account
the changes in soil wedge geometry; the first circular natural
frequency (x) of the system is function of: the retaining
structure parameters, backfill soil parameters and failure
wedge behind the retaining structure.
x ¼ f ðqstr ; Estr ; e; H; qsoil ; Esoil ; tsoil ; k; a; av ; ah Þ ð1Þ

The effects of each parameter of this equation are
examined in [18].
Fig. 2 Verification and comparison of proposed models with Scott and

Ghanbari et al. models
3.2 Comparison and Verification
To verify the validity of the proposed model, the calculated the structure material and also Poisson ratio and friction
natural frequencies were compared with those reported in the angle of soil backfill were considered. Considering the earth
literature [3] and [11]. For different wall height values pressure plays an important role in determining the natural
(Fig. 2), the natural angular frequency associated with frequency of the retaining structures; each variation of the
Coulomb and Mononobe Okabe failure wedges models soil backfill and seismic accelerations changed the system
computed in the present study are located between that of and naturally the natural frequency.
Scott [3] and Ghanbari et al. [11] methods with tsoil = 0.2,
Esoil = 15 MPa, Estr = 26 GPa, qsoil = 1900 kg/m3, qstr =
2320 kg/m3, H = 7 m and ah = 0.3, av = 0.5ah. References
1. Matsuo, H., Ohara, S.: Lateral earth pressure and stability of quay
4 Conclusion walls during earthquakes. In: 2nd World Conference on Earth-
quake, Tokyo-Kyoto (1960)
2. Wood, J.H.: Earthquake induced soil pressures on structures. Ph.D.
In this research, considering the failure wedge in the soil dissertation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Cali-
backfill behind the retaining structures, the natural frequency fornia (1973)
of retaining structures was obtained. An analytical model 3. Scott, R.F.: Earthquake-induced earth pressures on retaining walls.
In: 5th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Rome
using the Coulomb and Mononobe-Okabe failure wedges, to
(1973)
determine the natural frequency of retaining structures was 4. Veletsos, A.S., Younan, A.H.: Dynamic soil pressures on rigid
developed. In addition to the consideration of horizontal and vertical walls. Int. J. Earth. Eng. Str. Dyn 23, 275–301 (1994)
vertical seismic acceleration coefficients, height and thick- 5. Ortiz, L.A., Scott, R.F., Lee, J.: Dynamic centrifuge testing of a
cantilever retaining wall. Earth. Eng. Str. Dyn. 11, 251–268 (1983)
ness of structure, Young modulus and density of the soil and
[email protected]
An Analytical Model for Determining the Natural Frequency … 321
6. Alampalli, S., Elgamal, A.W.: Dynamic response of wall backfill l’architecture. Mémoires de Mathématiques et de physique,
retaining system. Earth. Shock. Vib. 4, 251–259 (1997) Académie Royale des sciences, Paris (1776)
7. Wu, G.: Dynamic soil-structure interaction: pile foundations and 13. Okabe, S.: General theory of earth pressure. J. Japan. Soc. Civ.
retaining structures. Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Eng. 12 (1926)
Columbia, Vancouver (1994) 14. Mononobe, N.: On the determination of earth pressure during
8. Wu, G., Finn, W.D.: Seismic lateral pressures for design of rigid earthquakes. In: World Engineering Conference (1929)
walls. Can. Geotech. J. 36, 509–522 (1999) 15. Sitar, N., Wagner, N.: On seismic response of stiff and flexible
9. Hatami, K., Bathurst, R.J.: Frequency response analysis of retaining structures. In: 6th International Conference on Earth-
reinforced soil retaining walls. In: 8th Canadian Conference on quake Geotechnical Engineering, New Zealand (2015)
Earthquake Engineering, Canada (1999) 16. Winkler, E.: Die lehre von der Elasticitaet and Festigkeit.
10. Hatami, K., Bathurst, R.J.: Effect of structural design on funda- Dominicus (1867)
mental frequency of reinforced soil retaining walls. Soil Dyn. 17. Kacar, A., Tan, H.T., Kaya, M.O.: Free vibration analysis of
Earth. Eng. 19, 137–157 (2000) beams on variable Winkler elastic foundation by using the
11. Ghanbari, A., Hoomaan, E., Mojallal, M.: An analytical method differential transform method. Math. Comput. Appl. 16, 773–783
for calculating the natural frequency of retaining walls. Inter. (2011)
J. Civ. Eng. Geotech. Eng. 11(1–9), 3 (2013) 18. Guechi, L., Belkacemi, S.: Effects of soil, structure and seismic
12. Coulomb, C.: Essai sur une application des règles de Maximis & parameters on the natural frequency of retaining structures. In: the
Minimis à quelques problèmes de statique relatives à 2018 Structures Congress, Incheon (2018)
[email protected]
Modelling of Material and Geometrical
Nonlinearities of Footing by a New
Non-Linear Macro-Element
Mourad Khebizi, Hamza Guenfoud, and Mohamed Guenfoud
Abstract In this paper, we presented a simplified and reliable

This paper focused on the development of a new numerical modelling method which is able to take into
non-linear macro-element for the modelling of account the soil-foundation interaction by considering all
soil-foundation interaction. Material and geometrical nonlinearities associated with foundation uplift and soil
nonlinearities were taken into account in the present yielding. The method used a “gap” element connected in a
macro-element to examine the response of shallow series with a “non-linear link that follows Wen plasticity” [7]
foundations under monotonic and cyclic loads. An in order to form a new macro-element [5]. The horizontal
application of soil-foundation systems was studied. The behavior of the foundation is controlled by a non-linear
results obtained from this application were in very horizontal link. The soil-foundation system can be
favorable agreement with those obtained through other modelled by a single macro-element located in the footing
numerical models in the literature. center, as it can be modelled by a rigid beam resting on a set
of the vertical macro-elements according to the Winkler
approach.

Keywords

Soil-footing Interaction Macro-element
Modelling Non-linear Material Geometrical
2 Presentation of the Macro-Element
The macro-element developed in this work is a “gap” ele-

1 Introduction ment connected in a series with a non-linear link (see
Fig. 1). This macro-element is able to describe the material
The non-linear behavior of shallow foundations is a major and geometrical nonlinearities [5].
objective for civil engineering researchers. On the one hand, The “gap” element is used to simulate the footing uplift.
the nonlinearities of rigid shallow foundations are related to This element carries compression loads only; it has zero
the soil plasticity under a foundation and, on the other hand, stiffness when subjected to tension.
to the uplift of the soil-foundation interface [1, 3]. They are The non-linear link element is used to simulate the soil
not only related to the nature of the materials (soils + foun- plasticity under the foundation. The plasticity model is based
dations) [6], but also to the type of loading. The latter can be on the hysteretic behavior proposed by Wen [7].
static, cyclic, or dynamic; they cause vertical displacement, Fig 1 shows the general structure of the non-linear
horizontal displacement and rotation of the foundations [3]. macro-element. The behavior law associated with this
Foundation systems are also subject to the action of seismic macro-element is not symmetrical (see Fig. 2) and is char-
solicitations and are damaged, sometimes with very serious acterized, on one hand, by a yield load in compression Fy,
consequences for the structures [6]. and by a reduction of the recall force as the foundation is
uplifted, on the other hand. The recall force is finally
M. Khebizi (&) approaches zero.
Department of Civil Engineering, Mentouri University
of Constantine, Constantine, Algeria
M. Khebizi H. Guenfoud M. Guenfoud
Civil Engineering and Hydraulic Laboratory,
University of Guelma, Guelma, Algeria

[email protected]
324 M. Khebizi et al.
Fig. 1 General structure and F

behavior of the non-linear
macro-element [5]
F
Gap Open
aK
Fy
Elastic
Postyielding Hysteretic
Spring Spring
K K
uy u
5 sufficient, since only the translation according to the vertical

axis was possible and the foundation was considered infi-
4 nitely rigid). The elastic vertical stiffness of the
macro-element was calculated using the equation developed
Vertical load (kN)
3 by Gazetas [2].
Numerical model of Houlsby et
al. (2005)
The maximum vertical load endured by the foundation Fy
2 for a homogeneous cohesive soil is given by:
Analytical (Houlsby et al.,
2005)
1
Fy ¼ 6:06 c p D2 =4 ¼ z ð1Þ
The numerical parameters of the macro-element are pre-

0 sented in Table 1.
0 0.01 0.02 0.03
Figure 2 compares the results obtained with our
Displacement (m)
macro-element and those of Houlsby et al. [4]. It can be
Fig. 2 Vertical load-displacement curve noted that the non-linear response of the foundation descri-
bed by the macro-element is practically the same as that
described analytically and numerically by Houlsby et al. [4]
3 Applications at the time of the loading phase. Regarding the unloading
phase, we noted a discrepancy between the results, as the
In order to see if the macro-element is able to reproduce the foundation’s response described by the numerical model of
behavior of a foundation under a monotonic static vertical Houlsby et al. [4] at the time of the unloading phase after
load, we chose to model a circular footing of diameter very large displacement produces an unrealistically large
D = 1 m, resting on a layer of clay, whose parameters are uplift of the foundation, as shown in Fig. 2, where there is a
G = 200 kPa, c = 1 kPa and t = 0.5. very significant decrease of the tangent to the curve in the
Houlsby et al. [4] studied analytically and numerically the unloading phase (this is a weakness of Houlsby et al.’s
response of the same foundation. They used the approach of model).
hyper-plasticity theory in order to review the modelling Fig 2 also shows that the macro-element allows a good
potential of the global behavior of a shallow foundation by description of the material non-linearity of the foundation
adopting Winkler’s assumption of decoupled springs. during the loading phase, and the elastic behavior during
In our study, the foundation and the subjacent soil were unloading, as well followed by a good description of the
modelled with only one non-linear macro-element located in foundation uplift (geometrical non-linearity) during the
the center of the foundation on which a cyclic vertical dis- inversion of the loading sign (cancellation of the load by
placement was imposed (only one macro-element is the activation of the gap element). It can noted that during
[email protected]
Modelling of Material and Geometrical Nonlinearities … 325
Table 1 Macro-element Vertical elastic stiffness, K Yield load, Fy Ratio of post-yield, a Exponent, Exp
parameters
800 kN/m 4.7571 kN 0.001 1
this loading–unloading cycle, the two components of total References

displacement were clearly observed, namely elastic and
plastic displacements. 1. Gazetas, G.: 4th Ishihara lecture: soil-foundation-structure systems
beyond conventional seismic failure thresholds. Soil. Dyn. Earthq.
Eng. 68, 23–39 (2015)
4 Conclusion 2. Gazetas, G.: Formulae and charts for impedance functions of
surface and embedded foundations. J. Geotech. Eng. 117(9), 1363–
1381 (1991)
In this paper, we proposed a new macro-element oriented to 3. Gelagoti, F., Kourkoulis, R., Anastasopoulos, I., Gazetas, G.:
the application of earthquake engineering, it is able to Rocking-isolated frame structures: margins of safety against
describe the material nonlinearities associated with soil toppling collapse and simplified design approach. Soil. Dyn. Earthq.
Eng. 32, 87–102 (2012)
plasticity, as well as geometric nonlinearities relative to 4. Houlsby, G.T., Cassidy, M.J., Einav, I.: A generalised Winkler
foundation uplifting. A numerical application in the litera- model for the behaviour of shallow foundations. Géotechnique 55
ture was studied in order to validate the response of the (6), 449–460 (2005)
proposed macro-element under cyclic loads. According to 5. Khebizi, M., Guenfoud, H., Guenfoud, M.: Numerical modelling of
soil-foundation interaction by a new non-linear macro-element.
this application it was noted that: Geomech. Eng. 14(4), 377–386 (2018)
A good agreement exists between the results obtained 6. Khebizi, M., Guenfoud, M.: Numerical modelling of the damaging
from the proposed macro-element and those obtained from behaviour of the reinforced concrete structures by multi-layers
other numerical models in the literature. beams elements. Comput. Concr. 15(4), 547–562 (2015)
7. Wen, Y.K.: Method for random vibration of hysteretic systems.
The nonlinearities of the soil-foundation system are well J. Eng. Mech. Div. 102(EM2), 249–263 (1976)
reproduced by the present macro-element.
[email protected]
Seismic Response of Back-to-Back MSE Walls
Mohamed Djabri and Sadok Benmebarek
Abstract Although the MSEW behavior is widely studied in the

In the latest Federal Highways Administration guidelines, literature, back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth walls
back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth walls (BBMSEW) were rarely investigated. Recently, under
(BBMSEW), considered with complex geometries or self-weight, it was shown that two walls perform indepen-
significant external loads, are practical and require dently when they are far apart and interact with each other,
consideration. From these guidelines, under static condi- when they are close [2]. Furthermore, the effect of the
tion, the distance between two opposing walls, D, is a key reduction of the distance between the opposing walls on
parameter used for determining the analysis methods of internal and external stability of BBMSEW with geosyn-
BBMSEW. The existing design methodologies and thetic reinforcement and concrete panel facing under har-
numerical investigations do not provide a clear and monic cyclic was investigated and reported [3].
justified answer to how the tensile strength of reinforce- In this paper, the finite element analysis has been
ment and the external stability changes under seismic employed using PLAXIS 2D software [4] to investigate the
conditions. In this study, the height of the walls was effects of facing systems and reinforcement stiffness on the
chosen as 6 m in the two-dimensional plane, the strain dynamic behavior of a BBMSEW. Also, the influence of
finite element model was incorporated in the PLAXIS the distance between opposite walls for different walls with
software code and the base acceleration was chosen to be various component properties has been studied and
a harmonic motion. This study focused on the effects of discussed.
the distance between opposite walls, facing type and
reinforcement stiffness.
2 Numerical Modeling

Keywords
Back-to-back walls Reinforcement Seismic load 2.1 Finite Element Method and Geometry
Displacement of Investigated Model
PLAXIS code proved the ability of the finite element method

to model the BBMSEW with sufficient accuracy as well as
1 Introduction reasonable demand on quality and quantity of input whether
under static or dynamic loadings [2, 3]. In this contribution,
Several research contributions are conceived and executed to we considered a reinforced basic BBMSEW of height
improve the understanding of the effects of dynamic loading H = 6 m with the width W = 12 m, which corresponds to a
on mechanically stabilized earth walls. Many of these ratio W/H = 2.0. The distance between walls is D = 3.6 m.
studies have shown that this type of walls with granular The adopted length of the wall reinforcements was
backfill soils exhibit good performance under strong earth- L = 4.2 m (i.e., 0.7 times the height as per FHWA [3]). As
quake loading [1]. shown in Fig. 1, 8 horizontal reinforcement layers, uni-
formly spaced, were attached to a facing system. The walls
and soil regions were supported by a stiff foundation.
M. Djabri S. Benmebarek (&)

[email protected]
328 M. Djabri and S. Benmebarek
Fig. 1 The geometry of

investigated models subject cyclic
harmonic load
2.2 Materials Proprieties, Boundary Conditions boundaries conditions were specified to avoid spurious
and Cyclic Load reflection of the waves [3, 5].
The cyclic load was applied at equal time intervals of 6 s
The elasto-plastic Mohr-Coulomb model was selected to and the accelerogram obtained and given by input ASCII file
represent the soils in the physical model, which properties in PLAXIS software is shown (Fig. 2) [3].
were the same as used in several previous studies under
static and seismic loads [2, 3]. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the
material elements properties assigned to panels and modular 3 Results and Discussion
block facing, respectively. The elastic axial stiffness (EA) is
the main material property of reinforcement, whose values From the displacement perspective (Fig. 3), it can be seen that
are 20,000 and 69,000 kN/m for geogrids and metal rein- the deformations of the wall decreases significantly with the
forcements, respectively [5]. decreasing distance, D, from 3.6 to 0 m. This result is in
The interface elements were located between facing agreement with all the models after applying seismic excita-
systems and backfill soil, and between the backfill soil and tion. For example, when the modular block with stiffer rein-
reinforcement. For the Mohr-Coulomb model, the PLAXIS forcement is modeled, the maximum displacement diminishes
code suggests that in the absence of detailed information, a from 41.2 to 14.3 mm by decreasing the distance, D, from 3.6
conservative interaction factor Rinter = 0.67 should be used to 0 m (see Fig. 3b). When BBMSEW are closer, the effect of
[4]. Under self-weight, the boundary conditions were the reinforcement axial stiffness was not detectable on the wall
defined by considering total fixity for the bottom, restraining deformation mainly when using a modular block.
both vertical and horizontal movement. Only horizontal The tensile loads in reinforcements are plotted in Fig. 4. It
fixities were considered for the sides of the model so that the can be seen that the decrease of the distance to zero involves a
side boundaries were free to move vertically [2]. Further- reduction in the maximum tension load mainly when the
more, during the dynamic analyses, special absorbent concrete panel with metallic reinforcement is selected.
Table 1 Material properties of concrete panels [2, 3]

Material model Elastic stiffness (EA) Flexural rigidity (EI) Unit weight (cc) Weight of panel Poisson ratio (m)
Mohr-Coulomb 4.5 106 [kN/m] 8.438 [kN/m2/m] 24 [kN/m3] 3.6 [kN/m2/m] 0.1
Table 2 Material properties of modular block facing elements [5]

Material model Unit weight Elasticity modulus (E) Poisson ratio (m) Cohesion (C) Internal friction angle (u)
3 2 2
Mohr-Coulomb 20 [kN/m ] 30,000 [kN/m ] 0.1 200 [kN/m ] 35°
[email protected]
Seismic Response of Back-to-Back MSE Walls 329
Fig. 2 Accelerogram of cyclic loading for PGA = 0.4 g and f = 1.5 Hz used in analysis [3]
Fig. 3 Horizontal wall displacements with respect of the distance between walls at the end of the seismic excitation for granular backfill:
a concrete panel facing; b modular block facing
[email protected]
330 M. Djabri and S. Benmebarek
Fig. 4 The reinforcement tensile loads with respect of the distance between walls at the end of the seismic excitation for granular backfill:
a concrete panel facing; b modular block facing
For example, the maximal tension load in metallic rein- loads. This effect becomes minimal when the opposite
forcement decreases from 41.2 to 35.1 kN/m by decreasing walls are very close.
the distance from 3.6 to 0 m (Fig. 4a).
4 Conclusion References
The effects of the distance between BBMSEW, facing type and 1. Leshchinsky, D., Han, J.: Geosynthetic reinforced multitiered walls.
reinforcement stiffness were investigated under a harmonic J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. ASCE 130(12), 1225–1235 (2004)
motion. From this investigation, we can note the following: 2. Djabri, M., Benmebarek, S.: FEM analysis of back-to-back
geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining walls. Int. J. Geosynth.
Ground Eng. 2, 26 (2016)
• Decreasing the distance, D, to 0 m, involves a significant 3. Benmebarek, S., Djabri, M.: FE analysis of back-to-back mechan-
decrease of the wall displacement; ically stabilized earth walls under cyclic harmonic loading. Indian
• For close BBMSEW, the maximum displacement Geotech. J. 48(3), 498–509 (2018)
4. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Broere, W.: 2D PLAXIS Finite Element Code
occurred at the top of the wall. However, for wide (Version 8.0). Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands,
BBMSEW, it occurred near the base of the wall; PLAXIS bv (2006)
• When BBMSEW are closer, the reinforcement axial 5. Güler, E., Cicek, E., Demirkan, M.M.: Numerical analysis of
stiffness has no effect on the wall deformation particu- reinforced soil walls with granular and cohesive backfills under
cyclic loads. Bull. Earthq. Eng. 10, 793–811 (2012)
larly when the modular block is used;
• Using stiffer reinforcements (metallic) reduces the wall
displacement but increases the reinforcement tensile
[email protected]
Numerical Modeling and Parametric Study
of Flexible Wall Reinforced with Anchor
System
Dounia Amrani
Abstract evaluation of the conventional methods of a diaphragm wall

This study dealt with the achievement of a diaphragm with an anchoring system and compared them with Plaxis
wall anchored in deep excavations to protect and support finite element code [1, 3]. The example taken in this study
the multilayer soil structure. In this research study a case was a slope consisting of complex soils. In addition,
reference model was established then a parametric study this work included a contribution on the calculation of safety
was carried out. The final obtained model of the case and stabilization of the cut using diaphragm wall and
study was of a good approximation to the reality (the anchoring systems [1, 2, 4–7].
inclinometric data of wall displacement). In the paramet- A strong correlation between wall displacements and
ric study, several calculation parameters (discretisation bottom uplift stability was found in both field measurements.
and precisions) and geotechnical parameters (the inter- A finite element parametric study has also been studied in
face, water pressure and the anchor system) were varied many cases. More recently, a formulation in Boundary
individually and finally compared from the anchored to Elements has been used by [2, 4–7], who used the solution
the non anchored wall. It is evident from this study that obtained inside a multi-layer soil in the term of displace-
the variation of the parameters in a reasonable interval has ments of charges repartition. In this study, the 3% accuracy
considerable effects of horizontal displacement and in the Plaxis wais reduced to 1% to get 3% of the total
moments on the wall. In the end it was concluded that horizontal displacement and 10% of the moments. The
the use of numerical analysis procedures can provide variation of the different parameters (geotechnical parame-
more efficient and more economic geotechnical project ters, hydrostatic pressure) can give good results making it
design. possible to predict the affection behavior of the flexible wall
and its anchoring system.

Keywords

Numerical modelling Diaphragm wall
Anchors Multilayer soil PLAXIS code 2 Materials and Methods
The studied case in this research was a project consisting of

a flexible wall of 1.20 m of thickness and 40 m of depth
1 Introduction footed in the layer of clays in order to stabilize the exca-
vation of the 17 m wide pit. The wall was retained by two
Numerical modeling methods in geotechnical engineering anchors not-prestressed slightly inclined, after cuts of 17 m
are widely used to solve practical engineering problems, high behind the wall, the layer-by-layer backfilling proce-
with emphasis on numerical analysis of computation of dure was considered (Fig. 1).
displacements and stresses in soils and internal forces in The aim of this study was to mention the different cases
structural elements. The finite element method [1, 2] is one of stability of the wall construction system with the anchor
of the most powerful numerical methods available to solve system. Additionally, without the anchor system, and using
stability problems. This study developed a detailed the numerical modeling with the PLAXIS Code 8.2 each
construction phase of the anchored wall was analyzed.
D. Amrani (&)
Institute of Mines, University of Tebessa, Tébessa, Algeria

[email protected]
332 D. Amrani
Fig. 1 Geometrical model
• Graphical presentation of the results obtained from the

3 Results and Discussion calculus model;
• Comparing the measured displacements with those
The problem was solved in a several-stage construction obtained from the model.
sequence in the Plaxis program with an increasing com-
plexity of the anchored flexible retaining wall (Fig. 2). The calculation obtained from the proposed numerical
The obtained results in all model phases prove the pre- model of the diaphragm wall movements, indicate that all
cision of calculation in the construction steps (staged con- the displacements are generally close to the real behavior
struction); however, we can conclude that the numerical observed in situ (Fig. 4).
procedures gave an acceptable prediction of the wall
movements in the whole wall construction phases.
5 Conclusion
4 Validation Criteria The obtained results in this study depend on the parameters
used; these are; displacement and moments of the diaphragm
Forces and displacement predictions present the major wall support a multilayer soil, the effect of the different
objectives of interaction analysis of soil-structure. The above parameters; for the mesh varied from 6 and 15 nodes, the
results are presented in terms of total and horizontal dis- effect of the precision variation from 1 to 3% in the calcu-
placements; Based on the following aims we obtain the lation steps was not considered. The geotechnical parameters
validation step in this work (Fig. 3): effect may resume in the interface effects and the rigid
interface vary in 1–1.65 can provide the best significance in
• Graphical presentation of the measured real the calculation. There is a diminution in horizontal dis-
displacement; placement and in the bending moments in the case Rinter = 1,
Fig. 2 Total and horizontal displacements in the structure system
[email protected]
Numerical Modeling and Parametric Study … 333
Fig. 3 Graphical presentation of the obtained results
the center of the diaphragm wall but in the head of the wall
augmentation of horizontal displacements are observed with
variation in the bending moments. Anchor systems, when
compared to the obtained results without anchoring, have an
important and very high influence on the stability of
the diaphragm wall and the total stability of the entire
structure.
References
Fig. 4 Measured actual versus numerical results
1. Saeterbo, M.G., Nordal, S. Emdal, A.: Slope stability evaluations
using the finite element method. NGM. In: XIV Nordic Geotech-
nical Meeting, Vol. 1, pp. A49–A61 (2004)
but when Rinter= 1.65 the findings are accurate and give very 2. Kumar, N., Dey, A.: GeoInnovations. Finite Element Analysis of
close results to the real ones. Hydrostatic pressure effect can Flexible Anchored Sheet Pile Walls: Effect of Mode of Construction
resume in the diminution in the horizontal displacement to and Dewatering (2014)
[email protected]
334 D. Amrani
3. Brinkgereve, R.B.J., Vermeer, P.A.: PLAXIS Version 8 Material 6. Boone, S.J.: Design of deep excavations in urban environments.
Mode Manual. Delft University of Technology & PLAXIS BV, A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the
Pays-Bas (2003) degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Department of Civil
4. Bilgin, O.: Numerical studies of anchored sheet pile wall behavior Engineering, University of Toronto (2003)
constructed in cut and fill conditions. Comput. Geotech. 37, 399– 7. Krajewski, W., Reul, O.: Deep Excavation in Stiff Clay: Compar-
407 (2010) ison Between Numerical Analyses and In-situ-measurements,
5. Bilgin, Ö., Erten, M.B.: Analysis of anchored sheet pile wall Ottawa, Canada, 25–27 Aug (2004)
deformations. Contemporary topics in ground modification, prob-
lem soils, and geo-support (GSP 187). In: Proceedings, International
Foundation Congress & Equipment Expo (2009)
[email protected]
Reliability Analysis of Bearing Capacity
of Shallow Foundations
Faiçal Bendriss and Zamila Harichane
Abstract Reliability-based analyses are therefore more rational

This paper presents a reliability analysis of the bearing because they consider the natural (or random) uncertainty of
capacity of a shallow foundation by the FORM method each dataset. Numerous studies have been carried out on the
and Monte Carlo Simulations. A strip foundation posed reliability analysis of the bearing capacity of superficial
on a coherent soil exposed to a concentrated vertical load foundations over the last twenty years by different
was assumed. The probabilistic methods were used to researchers [5–7].
estimate the failure probability of the foundation. A nu-
merical example was conducted in order to test the
applicability of the two methods in problems dealing with 2 Probability of Failure
bearing capacity of foundations. The probability of failure
of foundations was successfully obtained with both Reliability analyses offer a rational context for capturing
methods. uncertainties in a foundation design [8]. Two variables are
commonly utilized for assessing the reliability: the reliability
index and the failure probability. Generally, a failure is given

Keywords
Reliability Bearing capacity Strip footing by a performance function g() [9]. The failure probability is
FORM Monte Carlo given as:
Z
pf ¼ Ig ð xÞfx ð xÞdx ð1Þ
gðxÞ\0
1 Introduction
where
Over the past 75 years, several theories have been proposed
1 si GðxÞ 0
to obtain the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow founda- Ið xÞ ¼ ð2Þ
tions [1–4]. The bearing capacity of a shallow foundation 0 si Gð xÞ [ 0
can be assessed by deterministic as well as stochastic
methods. Deterministically, the existing equations and dia-
grams are used to evaluate the acceptable load capacity of 3 Monte Carlo Simulations (MCS)
foundations. The safety factor used in the deterministic
approach takes into account the natural variability of statis- The Monte Carlo simulations have been successfully used in
tical uncertainty, measurement errors and analytic model engineering applications. The probability of failure can be
limitations which is a tool to limit deformations. But this written as follows:
factor does not accurately reflect random uncertainty.
1X m

pf ¼ Ig xðkÞ ð3Þ
m k¼1
where m is the number of samples.

F. Bendriss (&) Z. Harichane
Geomaterial Laboratory, University Hassiba Benbouali of Chlef,
Ouled Farès, Algeria

[email protected]
336 F. Bendriss and Z. Harichane
4 First Order Reliability Method (FORM) 100%
Probability of failure (%)

80%
The FORM method makes it possible to write the probability FORM
of failure equation in terms of a normal cumulative distri- 60%
MCS
bution function U(): 40%
pf ¼ 1 UðbÞ ¼ UðbÞ ð4Þ 20%
0%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
VerƟcal load Qv (KN/m)
Fig. 1 Probability of failure due to vertical load and random input
A strip footing of width B = 4.51 m and length L = 25 m, parameters
embedded in a soil mass at a depth Df = 1.8 m. The foun-
dation is subjected to a horizontal load Qh applied at a point
2.5 m above the base and vertical load applied to the center 6 Conclusion
with a value Qv. The unit weight of the soil equals
21 KN/m3. The input parameters c, u, Qh and Qv were The reliability analysis of bearing capacity of shallow
assumed lognormally distributed random variables with foundations was carried in this study using two different
mean values of 15; 25; 300 and 1100, respectively, and with methods: FORM and MCS. Through the treated example
coefficients of variation (Cvs) equal to 0.20; 0.10; 0.15 and consisting in varying a vertical concentrated load and taking
0.10, respectively. into account the uncertainties in the input parameters
To study the bearing capacity failure, a performance (c, u, Qh and Qv), it was found that both methods give
function (PerFunc) is defined as: similar results. Also, as the vertical load increases the failure
probability increases. However a deeper study should be
PerFunc ¼ qu q ð5Þ
carried in order to make conclusions on the design of
where foundations in media with random parameters due to
uncertainties made during measurements or due to inherent
Qv variability of soil properties.
q¼ ð6Þ
B0
1
qu ¼ cBNc Sc dc ic gc bc þ qNq Sq dq iq gq bq þ cNc Sc dc ic gc bc References
2
ð7Þ
1. Terzaghi, K.: Theoretical Soil Mechanics. Wiley, New York (1943)
In these equations, qu is the ultimate bearing capacity, 2. Meyerhof, G.G.: Some recent research on the bearing capacity of
q the applied load. Nc , Nq and Nc are the bearing capacity foundations. Can. Geotech. J. 1(1), 16 (1963)
3. Hansen, J.B.: A Revised and Extended Formula for Bearing
factors. Sc , Sq and Sc are shape factors. dc , dq and dc are Capacity. Bulletin No. 28. Danish Geotechnical Institute, Copen-
depth factors. ic , iq and ic are load inclination factors. gc , gq hagen (1970)
and gc are soil inclination factors. 4. Vesic, A.S.: Analysis of ultimate loads of shallow foundations.
J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 99(1), 45 (1973)
In a simple example, the probability of failure is obtained 5. Cherubini, C.: Reliability evaluation of shallow foundation bearing
with FORM method and Monte Carlo simulations by vary- capacity on c′, u′ soils. Can. Geotech. J. 37, 264–269 (2000)
ing the vertical load values Qv while the other input 6. Sivakumar Babu, G.L., Srivastava, A., Murthy, D.S.: Reliability
parameters vary randomly. As it may be observed in Fig. 1, analysis of the bearing capacity of a shallow foundation resting on
cohesive soil. Can. Geotech. J. 43(2), 217–223 (2006)
the two methods give similar results. The probability of 7. Belabed, L., Bencheikh, M.: Analyse semi-probabiliste de la
failure is low for relatively small vertical loads and increases capacité portante des fondations superficielles. Revue Française de
as the vertical load increases. Principally, this example was Géotechnique n° 124, 61–75 (2008)
achieved to make a comparative study between the two 8. Nadim, F.: Tools and strategies for dealing with uncertainty in
geotechnics. In: Probabilistic Methods in Geotechnical Engineering,
probabilistic methods and how to apply them in geotechnical
pp. 71–95, Italy (2007)
calculations. However several applications may be carried 9. Bucher, C.: Computational Analysis of Randomness in Structural
varying the different parameters governing the bearing Mechanics. Taylor & Francis, London (2009)
capacity and according to different models.
[email protected]
Numerical Analysis of Piled Raft Interaction
in Soft Clay
Abdelkrim Ferchat, Sadok Benmebarek, and Mohamed Nabil Houhou
Abstract interaction, and the pile-raft interaction. The interaction

The piled raft (PR) system was developed to use the effects affect the overall load response of piled raft [2]. The
load-carrying capabilities of both shallow foundations evaluation of load capacity for PR is complicated and
(rafts) and deep foundations (piles). These components requires the consideration of various design parameters, such
interact with each other through a complex soil-structure as dimensions of each foundation components, number of
interaction scheme. The interaction effects affect the piles (n), piles spacing (Sp) and soil conditions. The load
overall load response of PR. In this study, the explicit response and load carrying capacity of PR have been
finite difference code FLAC3D (Fast lagrangian Analyses investigated experimentally and analytically using different
od Continua) was used to investigate the behavior of PR methods. Cooke [3] reported an extensive series of small
subjected to vertical loading. Several foundations embed- scale model tests on UR, GP and PR of various sizes, and he
ded in soft clay were considered. The results prove that observed that the load distribution between piles in PR
even in the case of soft clay, the load-carrying capacity of depends on the number and spacing of piles. de Sanctis and
the raft and piles, when combined in a PR, becomes Mandolini [4] carried out, a parametric study, using of 3D
different from those of unpiled raft (UR) and group of FE analysis, to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of PR
piles (GP), due to the interactions between raft and piles. loaded vertically from the separate ultimate capacities of its
components. They concluded that the load capacity of PR
was influenced only by pile-raft interaction. This may be

Keywords
Piled raft Settlement Interaction Soft clay limited for PR embedded in undrained clays. Based on
FLAC3D analytical solution, Lee et al. [5] proposed a load-sharing
model for considering compaction-dependent variation in
clays. To check the validity of the proposed model, they
conducted a centrifuge test. They neglected the piled raft
1 Introduction interaction effects, where they stated that the piled raft
interaction effect is probably not very significant for clay
The piled rafts are foundations for which the piles heads are soils. But, the centrifuge test was conducted only for one
connected by a raft which is in contact with the ground given pile number and piles spacing. In 2015, Lee et al. [6]
surface between the piles and which consequently con- performed a series of 3D FE analysis to study the behavior
tributes to the distribution of loads. To this end, the PR of PR in sandy soil. They state that for sands, the effect of
system was developed to use the load-carrying capabilities piled raft interaction effect is significant.
of both components: raft foundations and deep foundations In this study, using the code FLAC3D [7], a parametric
[1]. These components interact with each other through a study has been carried out for various foundations such as
complex soil-structure interaction scheme, including the PR, GP and UR embedded in soft clay considering the full
raft-soil interaction, pile-soil interaction, pile-pile interaction between the PR components. To check the PR
interaction effect for drained soft clays conditions, various
piles numbers and piles spacings were considered.
A. Ferchat S. Benmebarek (&) M. N. Houhou


[email protected]
338 A. Ferchat et al.
2 Numerical Analysis The drained characteristics of the soft clay were adopted
from reference values as reported by Nguyen [8]. Table 1
The behavior of the PR embedded in soft clays was inves- summarizes the foundation and soft clay parameters used in
tigated by carrying out numerical analyses using FLAC3D. the analyses.
Various types of foundations were considered, including PR,
UR and GP. In order to minimize the large amount of
storage and the time required for numerical computation, 3 Computed Results
small dimensions for the foundations in this study were
considered as well as general dimensions and parameters The load–normalized settlement curves obtained from these
considered by most researchers in the literature. The PR analyses of UR, GP and PR are given in Fig. 2a for the case
modeled in this study consisted of a square raft with side Br of n = 16 and Sp = 4d. As expected the load-carrying
of 10 m and thickness of 1 m, and piles in different con- capacity of PR is higher than those of UR and GP, so that
figurations. Three cases of pile arrangements, 2 2, 3 3 installing a limited number of piles to the raft helps to avoid
and 4 4, were investigated corresponding to 4, 9 and 16 the excessive settlement and enhances the bearing capacity
piles, respectively. For each pile arrangement, four spacings of the foundation. Furthermore, the load carrying capacity
were considered: 3d, 4d, 5d and 6d where d is the pile obtained from GP was found to be higher than those
diameter. The length (L) and diameter (d) of all piles were obtained from UR until a certain settlement level, but after
12 m and 0.5, respectively. The pile head was connected this settlement range, the load-carrying capacity obtained
rigidly to the raft. The contact between the soil and pile was from UR becomes higher than that obtained from GP. It can
described as able to slip. A relatively fine mesh was used be noted that the load-carrying capacity of the piles is
near the pile–soil and raft–soil interface while a coarser mesh mobilized earlier than that of the raft due to the smaller
was used further from the piles and raft. foundation size. This result is in good agreement with those
A roller boundary was used to model zero lateral dis- in [5]. In contrast, the load–normalized settlement curves of
placement along the vertical boundaries and to allow raft component (Rpr), piles component (Ppr) in PR system
downward movement of the soil layers. Based on the pre- and PR, obtained from the present analyses are given in
liminary results obtained, the length of the continuum was Fig. 2b for the case of n = 16 and Sp = 4d. We can see that
taken as 8 B, and a depth of 2 L were assumed in this the load carrying capacity obtained from Ppr shows higher
present study, beyond which no appreciable stresses varia- values than those of Rpr for the entire settlement range
tion were observed at the boundaries. Figure 1 plots a typical considered in this study. This is due to the piles and raft
FLAC3D mesh used in this numerical analysis. Because of interaction effects.
the large amount of time required to account for material To study the effect of n and Sp on the PR performance,
nonlinearity, the settlement (S) achieved in the analyses is Fig. 3a introduces the load–settlement curves of UR, PR for
S = 40%d. different n values and for given Sp = 4d. In which we can
The soft clay behavior was assumed to be elastic perfectly see that the load-carrying capacity of piled raft increases as
plastic following the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The the number of piles increases. Similar results and trends were
raft and piles were modeled with an isotropic elastic model. observed for other cases with different Sp values. n has
Fig. 1 Mesh used in FLAC3D

simulations
[email protected]
Numerical Analysis of Piled Raft Interaction in Soft Clay 339
Table 1 Material parameters Model E (MPa) C′ (kPa) U′ (°) m ct (kN/m3)

used in this study
Foundation Elastic 30,000 – – 0.2 25
Soft clay Mohr–Coulomb 4.8 15 31 0.3 14
Fig. 2 Load–normalized
settlement curves for n = 16 and
Sp = 4d, PR, Ur and GP in
(a) and PR, Ppr and Rpr in (b)
Fig. 3 Load–norrmalized
settlement curves of UR and PR,
a Sp = 4d and n = 04, 09 and 16
piles, b n = 16 piles and Sp = 3d,
4d, 5d and 6d
significant effect on load-carrying capacity and References

load-settlement responses of PR compared with the Sp
effect. As shown in Fig. 3b, for given n = 16, increasing of 1. Davis, E.H., Poulos, H.G.: The analysis of piled raft systems. Aust.
Sp has a negligible effect on load-carrying capacity and Geotech. J. 2(1), 21–27 (1972)
load-settlement responses of PR, at least for the cases ana- 2. Horikoshi, K., Randolph, M.F.: Centrifuge modelling of piled raft
lyzed in this study. foundations on clay. Geotechnique 46(4), 741–752 (1996)
3. Cooke, R.W.: Piled raft foundations on stiff clays—a contribution to
design philosophy. Geotechnique 36(2), 169–203 (1986)
4. de Sanctis, L., Mandolini, A.: Bearing capacity of piled rafts on soft
4 Conclusions clay soils. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132(12), 1600–1610
(2006)
5. Lee, J., Donggyu, P., Kyujin, C.: Analysis of load sharing behavior
From this investigation, we can note the following: for piled rafts using normalized load response model. Comput.
Geotech. 57, 65–74 (2014)
• The load-carrying capacity of PR is higher than those of 6. Lee, J., Park, D., Park, D., Park, K.: Estimation of load-sharing
UR and GP; ratios for piled rafts in sands that includes interaction effects.
Comput. Geotech. 63, 306–314 (2015)
• The load-carrying capacities of Rpr and Ppr, when 7. Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions. ITASCA
combined into a PR, become different from those of UR Consulting Group, Inc, Minneapolis (2013)
and GP, due to the effects of PR interactions; 8. Nguyen, N.: Modélisation du comportement des fondations pro-
• The number of piles has a major influence; however, the fondes dans les argiles molles. Diss. Laboratoire Sols, Solides,
Structures-Risques, IP Grenoble (2008)
pile spacing has little effect on the load-settlement
responses of PR.
[email protected]
Multivariate Assessment of Soil—Building
Foundation Interaction Using PLAXIS
Software
Ivan A. Shibaev, Ivan E. Sas, Dmitry M. Bagriantcev,

and Oleg L. Dudchenko
Abstract The purpose of this work was the simulation of the

This paper discussed mathematical and physical simula- stress-strain state under various schemes of schematization
tions of the geological and geotechnical conditions of a and subsequent comparison of the results.
rock mass disturbed by building construction and
soil-building foundation interaction. The structural fea-
tures of the rock mass are schematized with different 2 Materials and Methods
levels of details; PLAXIS software was used to simulate
soil-building foundation interaction for different sche- The numerical simulation of the geotechnical behavior of
matic diagrams of the rock sequence. The results of the rock masses requires that the natural conditions be simplified
numerical simulations based on the different schematic so as to develop a soil model.
diagrams differ by no more than 3.6%. Due to high degree of dissimilarity, schematization of
rock masses is individual in each case.
Below are the simplified versions of the geological

Keywords
cross-section shown in Fig. 1.

Numerical simulation Stress-strain state
Soils Foundations Deformation Quaternary deposits, i.e. the uppermost technogenic
deposit (tQ) and lower deposits (aQ4) numbered 1, 2, and 3,
are represented by light-gray fine-grained loose sand with
admixture of fine gravel and pebbles in places.
1 Introduction The rock mass under study (Fig. 1) consisted of sandy
soils; it is considered heterogeneous due to its very variable
Emergency prevention is very important in the construction physical and mechanical properties (Table 1).
industry. Emergency prevention matters should be neces- The rock mass was schematized by two schematic dia-
sarily addressed at the initial stage of the design process grams (Fig. 2).
when analyzing the geotechnical conditions of a construc-
tion site [1, 2]. 1. The first diagram shows the rock mass structure in as
The problem of assessing the stress-strain state in a virgin much detail as possible: all heterogeneities are taken into
rock mass and choosing appropriate engineering solutions is account (Fig. 2a);
a very important problem [3–6]. 2. The second diagram describes the rock mass as a layered
medium with planar boundaries (Fig. 2b).
I. A. Shibaev (&) I. E. Sas D. M. Bagriantcev
O. L. Dudchenko Clearly, the schematic diagrams in Fig. 2a, b significantly
The National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”,
Leninsky Prospect 4, Moscow 119991, Russia
differ from each other in geometry.
e-mail: [email protected] The Mohr-Coulomb model was used to simulate soil
I. E. Sas
behavior. The building was modeled as follows: the foun-
e-mail: [email protected] dation was considered a plate with characteristics of B25
D. M. Bagriantcev
concrete. A distributed load of 0.15 MPa was applied to the
e-mail: [email protected] foundation. PLAXIS 2D software wais used to perform
O. L. Dudchenko
calculations.

[email protected]
342 I. A. Shibaev et al.
Fig. 1 Engineering geological

cross-section
Table 1 Physical and Soil q qd e E m C / (°) Description

mechanical properties of the type (g/cm3) (g/cm3) (MPa) (kPa)
designed soil types
tQ 1.78 1.65 0.607 32 0.3 15 33 Very fine sand
aQ4 (1) 1.89 1.51 0.801 20 0.3 5 28 Very fine sand,
water-saturated
aQ4 (2) 1.93 1.54 0.738 24.9 0.3 4 28 Water-saturated fine sand
aQ4 (3) 1.96 1.61 0.659 31.4 0.3 4 29 Water-saturated medium
sand
Fig. 2 Schematic diagrams of

the rock mass
3 Results 4 Discussion
Foundation settlement was estimated for two cases. The first It is shown that a more complicated and detailed model of
case was a detailed representation of the geological section the rock mass does not always mean a more accurate result.
(Fig. 2a), and the second one was a simplified representation This is due to the fact that a great number of factors affect the
of the rock mass as a layered medium with planar boundaries results of the numerical simulations, including the physical
inclining at certain angles (Fig. 2b). and mechanical properties of soils, the model of their
The maximum settlement of the foundation was found to behavior, etc.
be 5.4 cm when the rock mass structure is represented in Naturally, the level of detailedness of the model should
most detail. In the case of the layered medium model, be determined by accuracy requirements for settlement
the settlement is 5.6 cm. Thus, the variation in foundation prediction. Also for the simulation of the stress-strain state,
settlement is 0.2 cm. the accuracy of the results plays an important role in
[email protected]
Multivariate Assessment of Soil—Building Foundation … 343
engineering-geological studies and the use of the soils Kong: accidents related to fall of person from height. J. Eng. Des.
physico-mechanical properties values. Technol. 7, 130–142 (2009)
2. Chen, Z., Wu, Y.: Explaining the causes of construction accidents
and recommended solutions. In: Proceedings of the International
Conference on Management and Service Science, pp. 1–5 (2010)
5 Conclusions 3. Gibb, A., Hide, S., Haslam, R., Hastings, S., Suraji, A., Duff, A.:
Identifying root causes of construction accidents. J. Constr. Eng.
Manage. 127, 348–349 (2001)
Based on the above results, it may be concluded that the 4. Sas, I.E., Morozov, D.V., Morozov, N.A.: On calculation of the
simplification of the rock mass structure affects the numer- bearing capacity of self-opening ground anchors using PLAXIS 2D
ical simulations accuracy by no more than 3.6%. software package. Lect. Notes Mech. Eng. PartF 11, 104–109
(2017)
5. Melnikov, N.N., Mesyats, S.P., Ostapenko, S.P., Cherepetskaya, E.B.,
Acknowledgements This work was carried out with financial support
Shibaev, I.A., Morozov, N.A., Kravcov, A.N., Konvalinka, A.: Inves-
from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
tigation of disturbed rock zones in open-pit mine walls by seismic
in the framework of the Increase Competitiveness Program of NUST
tomography. Key Eng. Mater. 755, 147–152 (2017)
‘MISiS’ (no. K2-2017-003).
6. Pohl, C., Placzek, D.: Soil-structure-interaction of power plant
foundations—monitoring and numerical calculation of an extensive
spread foundation. In: The XVI European Conference on Soil
References Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering: Geotechnical Engineer-
ing for Infrastructure and Development
1. Wong, K., Chan, A.P., Yam, M.C., Wong, E.Y., Kenny, T., Yip, K.
K.: Findings from a research study of construction safety in Hong
[email protected]
Probability of Failure Assessment of Building
Using Traditional and Enhanced Monte Carlo
Simulation Techniques
Badreddine Chemali and Boualem Tiliouine
Abstract also to other parameters such as vibration amplitudes, nature

The main objective of this work was to evaluate the of underlying damping mechanisms … etc.
influence of the randomness of damping on the peak A wrong estimation of the damping matrix generally
response of structure under rotating machine vibrations. induces large errors on the structural response. Such prob-
Two methods: Traditional and Enhanced Monte Carlo lems were the main interest of several researches showing
Simulation techniques were used for a quantitative the importance of damping in dynamic systems for different
analysis of the failure probability for an industrial types of loading using probabilistic methods (e.g. [3, 4]).
building in the neighborhood of a resonant frequency. In this study, the applicability of a Sensitive Derivative
The results show that excellent agreement was obtained Enhanced Monte Carlo (SDEMC) method was used to
using these methods for values of covariance of damping predict probability of failure for the response of industrial
equal or less than 60%. However, for larger values, more building with uncertain damping. Failure was considered
important difference in results between both methods was when the lateral top displacement exceeds the limit level
observed for structures with light damping. Moreover, prescribed by current design codes (e.g. H/500 in accordance
computer time savings were achieved by both methods with IBC (2009) design code). The numerical results
and time domain solution strategies to evaluate sensitivity obtained by the SDEMC method were independently com-
functions for dynamic systems with large number of pared to those generated using traditional MCS technique.
degrees of freedom were discussed. The significance of random damping and its implications on
the sensitivity of maximum displacement of the industrial
building to the resonance were discussed in light of con-

Keywords
Peak response Industrial building Monte Carlo siderable ranges of coefficient of variation.
simulation Failure probability Sensitivity functions
2 Sensitivity Derivative Enhanced Monte

Carlo (SDEMC) Method
1 Introduction
For a system with multi degrees of freedom subjected to a
Problems involving vibration occur in many areas of dynamic loading F(t) that generates a displacement X(t), the
mechanical and civil engineering. Quite often, vibration is equations of motion can be written in matrix form as
not desirable and the interest lies in reducing it by dissipa- follows:
tion of vibration energy or damping. The difficulty of
€ þ ½C X_ þ ½K X ¼ FðtÞ
½M X ð1Þ
choosing an adequate damping makes the design of the
structure more complex for the engineer, due to the uncer- The damping coefficients ci are assumed lognormally
tainty generated by several parameters. [1, 2] show that the distributed with a mean value ci and standard deviation rci
damping is not only related to the physical phenomenon but total number of dampers, in the general case, is p n.
Arranging the damping coefficients in a p dimensional vector
B. Chemali (&) B. Tiliouine c ¼ ½c1 ; . . .; cn T , denoted by X0(t), the value of X when
Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, 10 Rue des Frères OUDEK, c takes on its mean value.
16200 El-Harrach, Algeria

[email protected]
346 B. Chemali and B. Tiliouine
There are several methods for dealing with the effect of 3 Numerical Example
uncertainty on the response of structures. The simplest is the
traditional MCS technique, which involves solving N deter- To illustrate the method developed previously, and quanti-
ministic problems. But this process takes a considerable time tatively demonstrate the influence of the level of uncertainty
especially for large systems. So the idea was to improve this in damping on the overall dynamic response, we suggested
method to reduce the time of convergence. In [5], the avail- the following simulation. Considering the example of an
ability of the SD is exploited to achieve variance reduction via industrial building with five stories subjected to dynamic
Sensitivity Derivative Enhanced Sampling (SDES) tech- excitation resulting from a rotating machine; with frequency
niques. SDES applied to a traditional MCS is termed as corresponding to the second resonant frequency of the
Sensitivity Derivative Enhanced Monte Carlo (SDEMC) structural system; applied at the first story. The parameters of
method. The SDEMC method employs the calculation of the structure are given in Table 1.
first-order Taylor series approximation, X(c) expanded about In this study, the mean values c of inter-story damping
the mean values of the input parameters c where the highest constants examined is equal to 197.19, 394.37, 1183.11, and
order terms were neglected in the present case. 1971.86 KN/m/s corresponding to 0.5, 1, 3 and 5% of critical
Further analysis (shown in [5]) suggests that by incor- damping, respectively. Each value of the damping constant
porating knowledge of the first order sensitivity derivatives was assigned a coefficient of variation (COV = r=c) that
evaluated at the input parameter mean values, one can varied from 20 to 80% with uniform increments of 20%.
approximate XðcÞ by applying the MCS. The resulting In Fig. 1, The SDEMC method was used to obtain the
approximation for mean of the output function X is given as standard deviation of structural response to 2nd story for
different values of the mean damping. The results show that
Xn X N
@X
FO-SDEMC ðcÞ XðcÞ þ 1
X ci;l ci
the uncertainty in damping increases the structural response.
N i¼1 l¼1 @ci It is also noted that the effects of uncertainty are more pro-
ð2Þ nounced for a light damping and a large COV variability.
In Fig. 2, the probability of failure (Pf) of structural
Introducing sensitivity derivatives response with light damping based on the exceedance of the
limit level set on the performance variable, selected here to be
nij ¼ ð@Xi =@cj Þck ¼ck for k ¼ 1. . .p the top displacement were presented for the two methods:
The sensitivity functions nij are available by differentia- SDEMC and MCS. The results show that both methods are in
good agreement up to a coefficient of variation of c less than or
tion of (1) with respect to cj as follows:
equal to 60%. It should also be mentioned that a large dis-

½M €n þ ½Cn_ þ ½K n ¼ @ ½C=@cj X_ ð3Þ persion was observed between the two methods for structure
under dynamic loading with light damping and high COV
It should be noted that the Eq. (3) is identical to the values of damping, due to the linearization technique.
equation of motion (1) with a fictitious loading It should also be noted that the effort to compute the prob-

_ Thus, to obtain the vectors nj (j = 1…p),
( @ ½C=@cj X). ability of failure of structures subjected to dynamic loading
first, we need to obtain the fictitious loading by solving using the traditional MCS method was excessive due to the
Eq. (1) after which (3) is solved, p times. Thus, the overall number of samples required to achieve the convergence of the
number of calculations consists essentially of a computer method. It this study this number was fixed to five thousand
simulation for the evaluation of the solution of (1) and the samples for traditional MCS technique while for the SDEMC
solution for nj p times. method the required number is two thousand samples.
Table 1 Data for 5 story Parameter Symbol Mean (µ)

industrial building example
Lumped mass mi 150 t
Inter-story stiffness ki 210 103 KN/m
Height of story hi 3.6 m
Amplitude of dynamic excitation F 560 KN
[email protected]
Probability of Failure Assessment of Building … 347
1.6 MCS technique and SDEMC method were used on the

1.4 maximum top displacement to calculate the probability of
1.2 failure of the building. The comparison between these
c=197,19
1
methods proved the effectiveness of the SDEMC method for
(cm)
c=394,37
COV of damping values less than or equal to 60%, with
0.8 c=1183,11
efficient computational effort to evaluate the probability of
σx
0.6 c=1971,86
failure.
0.4 Furthermore, the numerical results show the importance
0.2 of damping uncertainty for accurate estimates of dynamic
0 response under resonant conditions. It should also be noted
0 20 40 60 80
that for height variability of damping the inclusion of higher
COV of damping (%)
order terms in the statistical response model is necessary to
Fig. 1 Standard deviation of response (SDEMC) at the 2nd floor for get more accuracy.
different COV and damping values
References
0,02
1. Li, Q.S., Xiao, Y.Q., Wong, C.K., Jeary, A.P.: Field measurements
0,018
of wind effects on the tallest building in Hong Kong. Struct. Des.
0,016
Probabilty of failure
Tall Spec. Build. 12, 67–82 (2003)

0,014 2. Butterworth, J., Lee, J.H., Davidson, B.: Experimental determina-
SDEMC
0,012 tion of modal damping from full scale testing. In: 13th World
0,01 MCS Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, Canada, 2004,
0,008 Paper No 310
3. Kareem, A., Gurley, K.: Damping in structures: evaluation and
0,006
treatment of uncertainty. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 59, 131–157
0,004
(1996)
0,002 4. Tobit, J.: Evaluation of non-stationary damping characteristics of
0 structures under earthquake excitations. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn.
20 40 60 80
59(2, 3) 283–298 (1996)
COV (%)
5. Cao, Y., Hussaini, M.Y., Zang, T.A.: Exploitation of sensitivity
derivates for improving sampling methods. AIAA J. 42, 815–822
Fig. 2 Comparison Pf of top displacement between SDEMC and MCS
(2004)
of building with light damping (n = 1%)
4 Summary and Conclusion
In this study, the probability of failure of an industrial

building under resonant conditions is evaluated by consid-
ering the randomness of damping. Two methods traditional
[email protected]
Slope Stability Analysis Under External
Static Surcharge
Abstract software was used for finite element analysis which was
In the assessment of slopes, factor of safety values still successfully implemented to calculate Factor of Safety [1, 2,
remain the primary indices for determining how close or 3] for more than a decade.
far slopes are from failure. Traditional limit-equilibrium
techniques are the most commonly-used analysis meth-
ods. Recently, however, the significant computing and 2 Materials and Methods
memory resources typically available to the geotechnical
engineer, combined with low costs, have made the Finite 2.1 Slope Stability Analyses by Fem
Element Method (FEM) a powerful, viable alternative. and Boundary Conditions
This article used a finite element approach to analyze the
response of homogeneous and layered slopes. A detailed The geometric model (Fig. 1) was incorporated in the
parametric analysis was presented to study the effect of Plaxis2D. After that, the properties of soil were assigned for
surcharge (it can be an imposition of building load… etc.) the specified interface and the material model was set to be
on the stability of the slope. the Mohr–Coulomb model. The two lateral boundaries were
allowed to move only in the vertical directions (roller type:
restrained against horizontal movement) whereas the bottom

Keywords
Slope stability Surcharge Finite element method boundary was completely restrained and fully blocked from
Factor of safety Layered slope movement (Closed: restrained in both horizontal and vertical
directions).
1 Introduction 2.2 Geometry and Soil Parameters
Slope stability analysis is one of the most important areas of In this study, a slope with an inclination angle of 26.56°
interest in geotechnical engineering. The embankment slope (2/1) to the horizontal plane and a height of 50 m were
can be a failure due to its geotechnical properties, the various considered (Fig. 1). The groundwater table was assumed to
external conditions such as depth of water, seismic loads, be at the ground surface. The soil type was specified as
surcharge, etc. «Marl» of Azazga. The soil properties related to the unsat-
This paper dealt with the assessment of slope stability urated soil were taken as given by [4].
under static load taking into account a number of influencing The surface soil layer behavior was modeled as linear,
parameters such as: ground water level (GWL), slope elastic-perfectly plastic material using Mohr–Coulomb
geometry, soil properties, distance to crest…etc. The effect model and analyzed using soil parameters. The FEM anal-
of each factor was discussed in this paper. Plaxis2D 2015 ysis using Mohr-Coulomb material model requires such
parameters as modulus of elasticity, poison’s ratio, angle of
internal friction and cohesion. The properties of soil used in
the present study are presented in Table 1. Two types of
S. Merat (&) L. Djerbal R. Bahar soils were considered.
LEEGO, University of Science and Technology Houari
Boumediene, BP 32 16111 El Alia, Algiers, Algeria

[email protected]
350 S. Merat et al.
Fig. 1 Geometry of the numerical model of the considered slope in the present study
3.3 Soil Properties Effect (Cohesion and Friction

3 Results and Discussion Angle)
3.1 Ground Water Depth Effect For different values of cohesion and friction angle, a com-
parison between a model without load and a loaded one
Before applying a surcharge to the model, we tried to reveals that the surcharge decreases the stability of the slope
understand the effect of ground water level on the slope as shown in the figure below (Figs. 4 and 5). From the
stability; we decreased the ground water level by 5 m and Table 1, it can be noted that soil-1 represents high properties
we tried to find the relation between FS-GW depths. The in comparison with soil-2. This is why the slope failure
preliminary model indicated, as obvious, that the stability of (critical safety) is reached first if the layer takes the soil2
the slope is found to increase if the water table is located at properties during the application of a surcharge. The initial
deeper locations and it is linearly proportional as shown in factor of safety for soil1 (2.08) is greater than that of soil2
Fig. 2. (1.29) for initial values of cohesion and friction angle.
3.2 Ground Water Level and Surcharge Effect 3.4 Layered Slope Effect
A combined study was used to show the effect of ground From the Table 1, it is noted that soil-1 represents high
water level and surcharge on the slope stability (Fig. 3). The properties in comparison with soil-2. Consequently, the
safety factor appears to be proportional to the increase of slope failure (critical safety) is reached first if the layer takes
ground water depth and load intensity as shown in the figure soil-2 properties during the application of a surcharge.
below. It is also noted that the factor of safety is proportional However, a layered slope as shown in Fig. 6 gave a higher
to the applied surcharge where the safety factor is higher for degree of stability in comparison with a slope with only one
lower surcharge values as clearly displayed in the figure layer of soil-2.
below. Because the clayey loam layer (soil-2) is a weak soil
layer, the increase in the layer thickness in a layered slope
decreases the stability of the slope as shown in Fig. 7.
3.5 Slope Geometry Effect
3.5.1 Slope Height Effect

For the same model as shown in Fig. 1 the slope angle was
fixed (26.56°) and the slope height was varied (from 10 to
50 m) (Fig. 8).
3.5.2 Slope Angle Effect

The slope height was fixed, it took 50 m as a value and the
slope angle was varied (26,56°; 33,69°; 45°) (Fig. 9) in order
Fig. 2 Variation of factor of safety (FS) for different ground water to know the behavior of the slope for different slope angle
depth values values. The results show that the factor of safety decreased
[email protected]
Slope Stability Analysis Under External Static Surcharge 351
Fig. 3 Variation of factor of safety (FS) with surcharge (q) for different ground water depths
Fig. 4 Variation of factor of safety (FS) with and without surcharge (q) for different values of cohesion
Fig. 5 Variation of factor of

safety (FS) with and without
surcharge (q) for different values
of friction angle
gradually when the slope angle increased during load

application (Fig. 9). the distance of surcharge increased from the crest of the
slope.
3.6 Surcharge Position Effect

4 Conclusion
A slope profile with L = 80 m was used as an example to
show the effect of surcharge position from the crest on the The results analysis allows us to say that the major findings
factor of safety. The surcharge width B was fixed of the study can be stated as follows:
(B = 15 m). As shown in Fig. 8, the distance to the crest
varied linearly with factor of safety (with R2 = 0.988). • The factor of safety increases with the increase of soil
Figure 10 shows that the factor of safety increased when properties (cohesion, friction angle).
[email protected]
352 S. Merat et al.
Fig. 6 Variation of factor of safety for the different soil cases
Fig. 7 Variation of factor of safety for the different layer thicknesses
Fig. 9 Variation of factor of safety (FS) with surcharge (q) for

different slope angles
Fig. 8 Variation of factor of safety (FS) with surcharge (q) for
different slope heights
• The slope stability increases with the decrease of both
• For the range of parameters considered in the present slope angle and slope height;
study, the factor of safety of the slope decreases with the • The factor of safety of a slope with layered soil decreases
increase of surcharge; with the increase of weak soil layer thickness;
• At any surcharge, the factor of safety decreases with the • Factor of safety increases with the increase of the posi-
increase of ground water level; tion of surcharge from the crest of slope.
[email protected]
Slope Stability Analysis Under External Static Surcharge 353
Fig. 10 Study of the effect of load position. a Slope profile used for the study, b variation of factor of safety in function of distance to crest values
Table 1 Summary of soils parameters of Azazga soil layer used in the FEM
Soil layer Soil model cunsat (kN/m3) csat (kN/m3) N C (kPa) u (°) K (m/min) E′ (kPa)
−5
Soil 1 Mohr–Coulomb 18 19 0.33 165 14 Kx = 10 4 106
(Marl) Ky = 10−5
Soil 2 Mohr–Coulomb 15.8 17.8 0.33 55 15 Kx = 10−3 4.038 105
Clayey loam Ky = 10−3
References 3. Hammah, R.E., Curran, J.H., Yacoub, T.E., Corkum, B.: Stability
analysis of rock slopes using the finite element method. In:
Proceedings of the ISRM Regional Symposium EUROCK 2004 and
1. Dawson, E.M., Roth, W.H., Drescher, A.: Slope stability analysis the 53rd Geomechanics Colloquy. Salzburg, Austria (2004)
by strength reduction. Geotechnique 49(6), 835–840 (1999) 4. van Genuchten, M.T.: A closed-form equation for predicting the
2. Griffiths, D.V., Lane, P.A.: Slope stability analysis by finite hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44,
elements. Geotechnique 49(3), 387–403 (1999) 892–898 (1980)
[email protected]
Stability Analysis of Slopes Prone to Circular
Failures Using Logistic Regression
Mehmet Sari
Abstract for practical problems. Locating the critical slip surface that
The analysis of stability of slopes is a classical problem has the lowest factor of safety is an important part of ana-
for geotechnical engineers. In practice, much user friendly lyzing slope stability, and a large number of computer
software is available for proper usage. Besides additional techniques have been developed to automate as much as
techniques capable of providing information useful for possible this process.
decision-making are necessary. In this research, extensive The main objective of this study was to model some case
slope failure data collected by Sah et al. [1] were used for slopes susceptible to circular failures using slope stability
the stability analysis of slopes subjected to circular analysis software. Another objective of the study was to
failures. For the purpose, 44 separate slope models were search for proper statistical techniques for predicting slope
prepared for each slope case given in the original work. stability conditions. The aim was to find the major con-
The Slide® program produced similar safety factors for tributing elements on the occurrence of circular slope
the studied cases. Binary logistic regression analysis was failures.
applied in the study as an alternative technique to predict
stability condition of slopes. The model predicted the
stability condition of slopes with 90.9% accuracy. 2 Building Slope Models Using Slide®
Program

Keywords
In this research, slope failure data sets collected from

Limit equilibrium analysis Circular failure
Slope stability Logistic regression Slide program available literature by Sah et al. [1] were used for the sta-
bility analysis of slopes subjected to circular failures.
46 cases were reported in the study of Sah et al. [1] for
circular or near circular failures in soils or highly fractured
1 Introduction rocks. 2 cases were excluded in the current analysis due to
duplicate counting in the original study. Basic descriptive
One of the most challenging problems in geotechnical statistics for the established database by Sah et al. [1] is
design is the stability analysis of slopes. The occurrence of given in Table 1.
slope failures in an area depends on a complex interaction of In the beginning of the study, the collected data sets were
natural as well as man-made factors, such as rock and soil carefully evaluated to settle a unique threshold value of
strength, slope geometry, permeability, precipitation, pres- safety factor. It was expected that this value could suffi-
ence of old failures, proximity to streams and flood-prone ciently classify the slopes as “stable” or “failed” based on the
areas, land cover patterns, excavation of lower slopes and/or observed slope conditions. For this purpose, the mean of
increasing the load on upper slopes, alteration of surface and safety factor values given in Table 1 was chosen. It was seen
subsurface drainage, seismic events etc. [2]. Many methods that this value could reasonably classify the condition of
have been developed for analyzing slope stability. The limit slopes with 93.2% accuracy (see Fig. 1). In the original
equilibrium method is one of the most often used techniques study of Sah et al. [1], the type of limit equilibrium method
that was employed to analyze safety factors for the reported
M. Sari (&) cases was not clearly stated. For this reason, the models of
Mining Engineering Department, Aksaray University, 68100
Aksaray, Turkey
slopes studied in this paper were rebuilt in commercially
e-mail: [email protected] available software, Slide® v5.0 [3], which is a 2D limit

[email protected]
356 M. Sari
Table 1 Basic descriptive Parameter (unit) Symbol Min Max Mean Std Dev
statistics for the established
database [1] Unit weight (kN/m3) UW 12.00 28.44 20.07 3.60
Cohesion (kPa) C 0.00 150.05 21.41 32.13
Internal friction angle (deg) IFA 0.00 45.00 27.40 11.22
Slope angle (deg) SA 16.00 53.00 32.61 10.14
Slope height (m) SH 3.66 214.0 45.63 49.09
Pore water pressure ratio PWPR 0.00 0.50 0.18 0.19
Safety factor SF 0.63 2.05 1.25 0.38
seen that in general, three modelling methods calculated

safety factors for the studied cases in very similar ways.
3 Logistic Regression Analysis
In this section, the logistic regression analysis was carried

out on 44 data sets using statistical software package SPSS
16.0 [7]. The information about the logistic regression
technique can be found in many textbooks in the literature
[8–10]. The binary logistic regression is essentially an
extension of multiple regressions in situations where the
Fig. 1 Classification of the stability condition of slopes based on a dependent variable (Y) is not a continuous or quantitative
threshold safety factor parameter. It is a useful tool for analyzing data that included
categorical response variables, such as yes-no or live-die or
equilibrium slope stability program for soil and rock slopes. stable-failed, as compared to the regression of quantitative
Slide® analyzes the stability of slip surfaces using vertical data. Independent variables (Xs) may be in continuous or
slice limit equilibrium methods. Individual slip surfaces can categorical form. In the logistic regression analysis, the
be analyzed, or search methods can be applied to locate the relationship between the dependent variable and independent
critical slip surface for a given slope. In this study, three variables is assumed to be non-linear. The Logistic regres-
well-known techniques namely Bishop simplified [4], Janbu sion does not model the dependent variable directly, but it is
simplified [5] and Spencer [6] were used to locate critical rather based on the probabilities associated with the values
circle using grid search technique in the program. In total, of Xs.
132 separate safety factors were calculated by Slide® pro- In this study, the logistic regression model was developed
gram for three modeling methods as given in Fig. 2. It was with six independent variables (Xs) and one dependent
variable which is stability (Y) coded as 1 for a stable slope
and 0 for a failed one. The logistic regression equation is as
follows:
pðXÞ ¼ 1=ð1 þ exp ð0:274UW þ 0:174C þ 0:513IFA

0:521SA 0:127SH 16:386PWPRÞÞ
ð1Þ
where p(X) is probability of stability of slope, UW is unit

weight (kN/m3), C is cohesion (kPa), IFA is internal friction
angle (deg), SA is slope angle (deg), SH is slope height (m),
and PWPR is pore water pressure ratio.
Based on the logistic regression model given in Eq. (1),
the slopes stability probability can be calculated for each
case history. When the outcome of this equation is less than
Fig. 2 Comparison of observed and calculated safety factors by three 0.5, the slopes are considered ‘‘failed’’ and when the
modelling methods
[email protected]
Stability Analysis of Slopes Prone to Circular … 357
outcome is equal or more than 0.5, they are considered friction angle and unit weight, respectively. This model can
‘‘stable’’. The binary logistic regression model classified classify a slope to be stable or not with 90.9% accuracy.
whether a slope is “failed” or “stable” with a percent accu-
racy of 90.9. The Wald statistics revealed that the internal
friction angle was the most significant factor in the occur- References
rence of circular failures followed by slope angle, pore water
pressure ratio, slope height, cohesion, and unit weight, 1. Sah, N.K., Sheorey, P.R., Upadhyaya, L.N.: Maximum likelihood
respectively. estimation of slope stability. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
Geomech. Abst. 31(1), 47–53 (1994)
2. Nandi, A., Shakoor, A.: Application of logistic regression model
for slope instability prediction in Cuyahoga River Watershed,
Ohio, USA. Georisk 2(1), 16–27 (2008)
4 Conclusion 3. Slide v5.0: User Manual. Rocscience Inc., Toronto, Canada (2005)
4. Bishop, A.W.: The use of the slip circle in the stability analysis of
In this study, the data collected from available literature were slopes. Geotechnique 5(1), 7–17 (1955)
used to investigate the stability of slopes susceptible to cir- 5. Janbu, N.: Slope stability computations. Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering Report. The Technical University of
cular failures. For this purpose, a 2D limit equilibrium slope Norway, Trondheim, Norway (1968)
stability analysis program was performed to model the 6. Spencer, E.: A method of analysis of the stability of embankments
slopes based on their geotechnical properties and slope assuming parallel inter-slice forces. Geotechnique 17(1), 11–26 (1967)
geometry. It was seen that the built models produced very 7. SPSS v16.0: Statistical Analysis Software (Standard Version).
SPSS, New York (2007)
similar safety factors for the used methods. Another objec- 8. Hosmer, D.W., Lemeshow, S.: Applied Logistic Regression.
tive of the study was to obtain the most relevant parameters Wiley, New York (2000)
on the occurrence of circular failures using statistical mod- 9. Kleinbaum, D.G., Klein, M.: Logistic Regression: A Self-Learning
eling techniques. The results of logistic regression model Text. Springer, New York (2002)
10. Leech, N.L., Barrett, K.C., Morgan, G.A.: SPSS for Intermediate
explicitly showed that the most and the least significant Statistics: Use and Interpretation. Lawrence Erlbaum, New Jersey
parameters contributing to stability of slopes were internal (2005)
[email protected]
Comparative Study on the Influence
of the Variation of Initial Stress
on Slope Stability
Brahim Lafifi and Mohamed Salah Nouaouria
Abstract The calculation of the stability was achieved in two

The analysis of slope stability is one of the oldest research stages:
subjects in the geotechnical engineering field [1]. The
modelling of this stability is complex and remains a 1. Creation of the slope by one of these three methods;
significant and unfinished research topic [2, 3]. The goal 2. Calculation of the safety factor using the c-u reduction
of this work was to study the influence of the variation of method.
the initial stress field on the slope stability by the finite
element method. The stability of a slope built with respect
to three different configurations was studied through
calculation of the safety factor using the Plaxis software. 2 General Model
The first way of creating a slope consists of a progressive
loading of the slope weight by a multiplying coefficient, The analysis was carried out in the context of plane defor-
the two other methods, take into account the chronology mations [5], we considered a two-dimensional cut of the
of the events and consist of performing cut slopes or fill slope, established by a homogeneous soil of a height of
slopes. Finally a comparison was carried out between the 10 m, with a width of 60 m. The geometry and boundary
results of these studied cases. conditions of the model are given in Fig. 1.
The massif was discretized by triangular elements with 15
nodes. The behavior of this massif was modelled with the

Keywords
Slope stability Initial stress Finite element method Mohr Coulomb model. The set of parameters of the t soil is
Safety factor presented in Table 1.
2.1 Calculation Phases

1 Objective of the Study
The analysis of this model was performed in two steps:
The goal of this work was to study, by finite elements
modelling, the influence of the stress and strain state on the – The application of the soil weight in a progressive way
safety factor of a slope from purely a mechanical point of by a multiplier coefficient to simulate the effect of the
view [4]. To do so, a slope was achieved by three different gravity.
ways using PLAXIS software. The first way consisted of a – Calculation of the safety factor using the c-u reduction
progressive loading of the slope’s own weight, using a method.
multiplier coefficient [5]. The two other methods took into
account the chronology of the events and consisted of the
construction of the slope by cutting or by embankment.
3 Analysis of Results
B. Lafifi (&) M. S. Nouaouria The calculation of the safety factor gives us an average value
Laboratory LGCH, Université 8 Mai 1945 Guelma,
of Msf = 1.43 (Fig. 2).
24000 Guelma, Algeria
e-mail: lafifi[email protected]

[email protected]
360 B. Lafifi and M. S. Nouaouria
Fig. 1 Mesh and boundary conditions
Table 1 Soil parameters properties

Dry unit weight cd Cohesion c′ Friction angle u0 (°) Dilatancy angle w (°) Young’s Module Poison’s ratio m
(kN/m3) (kN/m2) (kN/m2)
17.0 1.0 34.0 0.0 60,000.0 0.30
3.2 The Slope by Embankment Modelling
In this method, we considered a layer of soil on which other

soil layers were added in order to make an embankment. The
initial conditions were fixed by the soil weight. The starting
model is represented by a rectangle with dimensions of
60 m 10 m. This backfill was achieved by adding 5 layers
of soil in 5 steps (Fig. 5).
The representation of the variation of the safety factor,
according to the height of the embankment, shows us a
decrease of its value at the beginning of the construction,
then its it tends to stabilize in the value of 1.41 at the end of
Fig. 2 Variation of the safety factor construction (Fig. 6).
3.1 The Slope by Excavation Modelling

4 Conclusion
This technique consists of an excavation of a massif of soil.
Through this work, we studied three methods of creating a
We disabled groups of elements to create an embankment.
slope using the finite element method. Then, safety factors
The starting model is represented by a rectangle of dimen-
were calculated for each case, and minimal, if not no dif-
sion 60 m 10 m and 5 layers of soil are removed in 5
ference was observed for the different modellings. In con-
steps (Fig 3).
clusion, we notice, that the way of setting up the slope does
The representation of the variation of the safety factor,
not influence the safety factor and consequently, we can
according to the height of the excavation, shows us a sudden
conclude that the so-called embankment method is already in
decrease of its value at the beginning of the excavation, then
place, and thanks to its simplicity, it seems the most suitable
its value tends to stabilize at the value of 1.42 at the end of
for studying the stability of slopes.
excavation (Fig. 4).
5 4 6 5 4 6
14 1 14 1
12 1 12 1
10 9 10 9
8 7 8 7
3 2 3 2
Y Y
Fig. 3 Construction of the embankment by excavation
[email protected]
Comparative Study on the Influence of the Variation … 361
Fig. 4 Variation of the safety factor during the excavation
5 4 5 4
13 14 13 14
11 12 11 12
9 10 9 10
7 8 7 8
6 3 2 6 3 2
Y Y
0 X 1 0 X 1
Fig. 5 Construction of the slope by embankment
Fig. 6 Variation of the safety factor during the construction of the embankment
References 3. Dawson, E.M., Roth, W.H., Drescher, A.: Slope stability analysis
by strength reduction. Geotechnique 49(6), 835–840 (1999)
4. Duncan, J.M., Wright, S.G.: Soil Strength and Slope Stability.
1. Borja, R.I., Lee, S.R, Seed, R.B.: Numerical simulation of Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, (2005). Homepage, http://www.
excavation in elastoplastic soils. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods springer.com/ASTI. Last accessed 2016/11/21
Geomech. 13(3), 231–249 (1989) 5. Griffiths, D.V., Lane, P.A.: Slope stability analysis by finite
2. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Bakker, H.L.: Non-linear finite element analysis elements. Géotechnique 49(3), 387–403 (1999)
of safety factors. In: Beer, G., Booker, J.R., Carter, J.P. (eds.)
Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, pp. 1117–
1122, Balkema, Rotterdam (1991)
[email protected]
The Applicability of the Hybrid Method
to Analyze Slope Stabilizing Contiguous
Pile Walls
Mehdi Dib, Salim Kouloughli, and Mabrouk Hecini
Abstract [4], Ashour and Ardalan [5], Kourkoulis et al. [6], Ho [7],
Reinforcing precarious slopes is a very delicate operation, Keawsawasvong and Ukritchon [8].
especially when the slope is near an urbanized area. The Kourkoulis et al. [6] proposed a new concept in the
use of contiguous pile walls can be very effective. This analysis of slope stabilizing piles which consists in a hybrid
type of reinforcement ensures that soil does not flow methodology. This concept regroups analytical approaches
between the piles. The present paper represented a in slope stability, with the three-dimensional finite element
numerical investigation regarding the applicability of numerical analysis. The philosophy of the hybrid method is
the hybrid method to analyze and design slope stabilizing firstly to analyze the slope using conventional analytical
contiguous pile walls. Both the coupled and the simplified methods like Bishop, in order to estimate the needed stabi-
models were analyzed. It was found that the simplified lizing force that piles must offer, then, secondly, to perform a
model gives close results to those given by the fully numerical simulation on a simplified numerical model to
coupled model with an error of 9.5%. The analyses of pile design the adequate reinforcing piles.
walls using the hybrid method allow researchers and The hybrid method was developed for a minimum pile
engineers to perform parametric analyses at a reduced spacing S = 2D (spacing equal twice the pile diameter),
numerical cost compared to the fully coupled numerical therefore, in the present paper, the applicability of the hybrid
analysis. method in case of contiguous pile wall was investigated.

Keywords
Contiguous pile wall Hybrid method Slope 2 Materials and Methods
In order to validate the applicability of the hybrid method to

analyze contiguous pile walls, a fully coupled slope rein-
1 Introduction forced by a contiguous pile walls was analyzed first, the
slope has an inclination of 26.5° with a pre-existing potential
Stabilizing slopes is a very sensitive operation. When the sliding interface (PEPSI) (Fig. 1a), piles are made of con-
slope is near an urbanized area, the reinforcement must be crete with a diameter D = 1.2 m. Then secondly, the sim-
efficient, and the soil must not flow between piles. Con- plified hybrid model was analyzed (Fig. 1b). The material
tiguous pile walls can be very efficient in this case, the very properties of both slope and piles are summarized in
small pile spacing ensures that soil does not flow between Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The finite element software
piles. ABAQUS was adopted, where Mohr-Coulomb failure model
Understanding the behavior of slope stabilizing piles was was implemented for soils, and piles were simulated as
undertaken by many researchers among whom we can cite: elastic.
Ito and Matsui [1], Wang et al. [2], Poulos [3], Jeong et al.
M. Dib (&) S. Kouloughli 3 Results and Discussions

Université des frères Mentouri, 25000 Constantine, Algeria
After the analysis of the coupled model, it was found that the
M. Hecini
Laboratory of Mechanical Engineering (LGM), Université de
pile head deflection after the stabilization is equal to
Biskra, 07000 Biskra, Algeria 4.38 mm. On the other hand, the analysis of the slope

[email protected]
364 M. Dib et al.
Fig. 1 The analyzed models; a the fully coupled model, b the hybrid model
Fig. 2 The analyzed models

with the soil magnitude and
lateral displacements contours;
a the fully coupled model, b the
hybrid model (Scale: 1)
[email protected]
The Applicability of the Hybrid Method to Analyze … 365
Table 1 Soil properties

Unit weight (KN/m3) Undrained shear strength Cu (KPa) Young modulus E (KPa)
Unstable part 16 72 48,000
Stable part 19.2 191 482,000
Table 2 Piles properties

Unit weight (KN/m3) Young modulus E (KPa) Poisson’s ratio
Concrete 25 25,000,000 0.2
The hybrid method can be used to analyze contiguous

pile walls, an error of 9.5% was observed compared to the
coupled model. The use of the simplified hybrid models
implies a smaller finite element model size which reduces
the simulation cost.
References
1. Ito, T., Matsui, T.: Methods to estimate lateral force acting on

stabilizing piles. Soils. Found. 15(4), 43–59 (1975)
2. Wang, M.C., Wu, A.H., Scheessele, D.J.: Stress and deformation in
single piles due to lateral movement of surrounding soils. In:
Lunggren, R. (ed.) Behavior of Deep Foundations, pp. 578–591.
Fig. 3 The resisting force (Rf) given by the simplified model with ASTM Special Technical Publication, 670, ASTM, West Con-
respect to pile head deflection (Up) shohocken (1979)
3. Poulos, H.G.: Design of reinforcing piles to increase slope stability.
Can. Geotech. J. 32(5), 808–818 (1995)
without piles using the method of slices shows that the 4. Jeong, S., Kim, B., Won, J., Lee, J.: Uncoupled analysis of
stabilizing piles in weathered slopes. Comput. Geotech. 30(8), 671–
resisting force needed to stabilize the slope was equal to 682 (2003)
410 KN. This was given by the simplified hybrid model at a 5. Ashour, M., Ardalan, H.: Analysis of pile stabilized slopes based on
pile head deflection of 4.8 mm, with an error of 9.5%. The soil–pile interaction. Comput. Geotech. 39, 85–97 (2012)
results from the analysis are plotted in Figs. 2 and 3. 6. Kourkoulis, R., Gelagoti, F., Anastasopoulos, I., Gazetas, G.:
Hybrid method for analysis and design of slope stabilizing piles.
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 138(1), 1–14 (2012)
7. Ho, I.-H.: Numerical study of slope-stabilizing piles in undrained
4 Conclusions clayey slopes with a weak thin layer. Int. J. Geomech. 06014025, 1–
12 (2014)
8. Keawsawasvong, S., Ukritchon, B.: Undrained limiting pressure
From the presented research, the following conclusions were behind soil gaps in contiguous pile walls. Comput. Geotech. 83,
reached: 152–158 (2017)
Contiguous pile walls can be very effective in slope
reinforcement and give a small pile head deflection.
[email protected]
Analysis of the Track Critical Velocity
in High-Speed Railway
Wan-Kai Zhang, Li Yuan, and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract (CA mortar). In this paper, the track critical velocity would
A model was developed for analyzing the track critical be discussed with the help of Matlab software.
velocity in this study. It is a double-beam model including
rail, rail pad, track slab and cement-asphalt mortar (CA
mortar). The model vibration differential equations were 2 Simplified Double-Beam Model
transformed by the mobile coordinate system and the
Fourier Transform. Then the numerical solution could be In this section, the slab track model for high speed railway
easily obtained based on Matlab software. The results was simplified as the double-beam model, which consists of
from this model were presented for track critical veloc- rail, rail pad, track slab and CA mortar as shown in Fig. 1.
ities at different rail pad stiffness values. According to The vibration differential equations of the model are
these results, there are several track critical velocities in given by
the track structure and the stiffness of rail pad has no 8
> @ 4 w1 @ 2 w1 @w1 @w2
obvious effect on the minimum track critical velocity >
> E I þ m þ c þ k1 ðw1 w2 Þ
>
>
1 1
@x4
1
@t2
1
@t @t
which is the most important velocity in reality. >
>
>
< ¼ F eixt dðx vtÞ
0

>

Keywords >
> @ 4 w2 @ 2 w2 @w2 @w1 @w2
>
> E2 I 2 þ m2 2 þ c2 c1
Double-beam Fourier transform Track critical >
> @x4 @t @t @t @t
velocity >
:
þ k2 w2 k1 ðw1 w2 Þ ¼ 0
ð1Þ
where w1 and w2 are the vertical deflection of the rail and

1 Introduction track slab, respectively; E1 and I1 are the elastic modulus
and horizontal inertia moment of rail, respectively; E2 and I2
With the great development of high-speed railway, the track
are the elastic modulus and horizontal inertia moment of rail,
structure dynamics have become more and more important.
respectively; m1 and m2 are the mass per unit length of the
Analytical and numerical methods have always been applied
rail and track slab, respectively; k1 and k2 are the stiffness of
in the analysis of rail vibration [1, 2]. The former is suitable
the rail pad and CA motor, respectively; c1 and c2 are the
for some simple problem through the continuous viscoelastic
damping of the rail pad and CA motor, respectively.
beam whereas the latter is highly adaptable by means of
In order to solve Eq. (1), the mobile coordinate system
various analysis software.
was adopted which means z ¼ x vt. As the load is a har-
In this paper, a double-beam model was established for
monic load about time t, we can assume the equations as
analyzing the dynamic response of the track. The model
follows.
included rail, rail pad, track slab and cement-asphalt mortar
8
< wðx; tÞ ¼ yðz; tÞ
>
W.-K. Zhang L. Yuan (&) Z.-D. Cui y1 ¼ MðzÞeixt ð2Þ
>
:
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground y2 ¼ WðzÞeixt
Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China

[email protected]
368 W.-K. Zhang et al.
Fig. 1 Double-beam model
(
Substitute Eq. (2) by Eq. (1), and then apply the Fourier y1 ðz; tÞ ¼ MðzÞeixt
Transform. So Eq. (1) can be transformed as follow. ð7Þ
y2 ðz; tÞ ¼ WðzÞeixt
8
>
> E1 I1 b4 þ m1 v2 b2 þ ð2m1 vx ic1 vÞb
>
> Equation (6) can be solved by the inverse fast Fourier
>
> þ m1 x2 þ ic1 x þ k1 M ~
>
> Transform with the help of Matlab software to get the
>
>
< þ ½ic1 v1 b ðic1 x þ k1 ÞW ~ ¼ F0 numerical solution.
ð3Þ
>
> E I b4
m v 2 2
b þ ½ 2m vx i ð c þ c Þv b
>
>
2 2

2 2 1 2

>
> ~
>
> þ m2 x2 þ iðc1 þ c2 Þx þ ðk1 þ k2 Þ W 3 Results
>
>
: ~ ¼0
þ ½ic1 v1 b ðic1 x þ k1 ÞM
The effect of the stiffness of the rail pad on the track critical
The solution of Eq. (3) is given below. velocity was investigated in this section based on the model
8 shown in Fig. 1. The calculation parameters are shown in
> ~ ¼ A
<M F0 Table 1 and results are shown in Fig. 2.
AC B2 ð4Þ Figure 2 shows that there are several track critical
>
:W~ ¼ B F0 velocities in the track structure and the minimum track
AC B2
critical velocities at different rail pad stiffness are 280, 290,
where 310 and 295 m/s, respectively.
8
>
> A ¼ E2 I2 b4 m2 v2 b2
>
>
>
> þ ½2m2 vx iðc1 þ c2 Þvb 4 Discussion
>
>
< þ m2 x2 þ iðc1 þ c2 Þx þ ðk1 þ k2 Þ
>
ð5Þ Although there are several track critical velocities in the
>
> B ¼ ic1 v1 b ðic1 x þ k1 Þ
>
> track structure, the most important velocity in reality is the
>
> C ¼ E1 I1 b4 þ m1 v2 b2 þ ð2m1 vx ic1 vÞb
>
> minimum one. From the results presented here, the conclu-
>
:
þ m1 x2 þ ic1 x þ k1 sion that can be drawn is that the rail pad stiffness has no
obvious effect on the minimum track critical velocity. The
Then Eq. (4) is transformed with the inverse Fourier minimum track critical velocity is still nearly equal to
transform. 300 m/s.
8 Z1
>
> 1
>
> MðzÞ ¼ ~
MðbÞe ibz
db
>
>
< 2p 5 Conclusion
1
ð6Þ
>
> Z1
>
> 1 ~ In this paper, an investigation on the track structure
>
: WðzÞ ¼ 2p WðbÞe ibz
> db
dynamics using a double-beam model was presented. The
1
vibration differential equations were transformed by the
So the vertical deflection can be obtained. mobile coordinate system and the Fourier Transform. And
[email protected]
Analysis of the Track Critical Velocity in High-Speed Railway 369
Table 1 Model parameters

E1I1 (MPa/m2) m1 (kg/m) k1 (MN/m2) c1 (kN s/m2) E2I2 (MPa/m2) m2 (kg/m) k2 (MN/m2) c2 (kN s/m2) x (rad/s)
66 120 25 0 40 2500 100 0 0
50
100
200
0.00080 0.0025
rail rail
track slab track slab
0.00064 0.0020
deflection (m)
deflection (m)
0.00048 0.0015
0.00032 0.0010
0.00016 0.0005
0.00000 0.0000
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
velocity (m/s) velocity (m/s)
(a) k1 = 25MN/m 2 (b) k1 = 50MN/m 2
0.0025 0.0060
rail rail
track slab track slab
0.0020 0.0048
deflection (m)
deflection (m)
0.0015 0.0036
0.0010 0.0024
0.0005 0.0012
0.0000 0.0000
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
velocity (m/s) velocity (m/s)
(c) k1 = 100MN/m 2 (d) k1 = 200MN/m 2
Fig. 2 Track critical velocity at different rail pad stiffness values
then with the help of Matlab software, the numerical solution References
could be easily obtained.
Based on the example results, the conclusion that can be 1. Sheng, X., Jones, C.J.C., Thompson, D.J.: A theoretical model for
drawn is that the stiffness of rail pad has no obvious effect on ground vibration from trains generated by vertical track irregular-
the minimum track critical velocity. ities. J. Sound Vib. 272(3), 937–965 (2004)
2. Sheng, X., Jones, C.J.C., Thompson, D.J.: A theoretical study on
the influence of the track on train-induced ground vibration.
Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D J. Sound. Vib. 272(3), 909–936 (2004)
[email protected]
Flow Filling of a Closed, Circular and Almost
Horizontal Pipe
Wahiba Mokrane and Ahmed Kettab
Abstract values. This field of hydraulic situation has been treated

When a water supply hydraulic project is achieved, through several approaches and methods. Cunge and Weg-
particular attention must be given to the filling process of ner [1] used the Preissman slot approach and neglected the
a discharge pipe. Transient phenomena will take place air phase. Dong [2] considered both the pipe elasticity and
and the air phase may become an obstacle. In this work, the water compressibility but did not take into account the
we studied the filling of a closed circular pipe with a weak air phase. Gomez and Achiaga [3] estimated air volume as
slope. So, we counted the filling time for three various one percent of the flow in their study. Kerger [4] attracted
discharges. We determined the flow type while taking in the attention to use a negative slot approach to simulate the
accounts the air and water phases. From our observation depressurized flow.
of the flow behaviour, we deduced that the flow is On the other hand, in their work, Wright and Vsconcelos
configured as a smooth stratified for the first and second [5] showed that a rapidly filling would not be described by a
tests. But for a higher value of the discharge speed, we stratified flow.
visualized a wavy flow, with simple and elongated Thus, we can deduce that this phenomenon remains a
bubbles. This was observed until the complete pressur- difficult problem. We believe that experimental testing is the
izing of the pipe. In this experimental case, air was most appropriate way to understand the phenomenon and
completely removed, argued by our weak values of the help practitioners. Our present work aims to study experi-
flow discharge and the pipe size. mentally the filling of a transparent circular pipe for three
flow discharges values.

Keywords
Filling Discharges Bubbles Pressurizing
Air 2 Materials and Methods
To visualize and follow the flow steps of the pipe filling, we

used experimental tests. Our set up consists of a plexiglass
1 Introduction pipe supplied with water by a pump. The pipe is of 0.05 m
diameter, three meters in length and 0.005 m thickness.
The filling process includes a free surface flow, a transition, A valve was placed on each side of this pipe. An electro-
a full section no pressurized and a pressurized two-phase magnetic flow meter was used to measure the discharge.
flow. Filling a pipe implies removing the air. But frequently, We carried out three test series for different values of the
during this operation air seems to be an obstacle. Flow may flow discharge measured at the upstream of the experimental
take different configurations depending on the discharge pipe. These values are respectively 0.43, 0.56, and 1.44 in
liters per seconds. For each test, the upstream valve was
W. Mokrane (&) completely opened and the downstream valve was partially
Research Laboratory of Water Sciences-LRS-EAU, National closed. Piezometers tubes, installed at four positions allowed
Polytechnic School, 10 Av. Hacene-badi, BP182 16200 us to measure the pressure values for the first and the second
El-Harrach, Algiers, Algeria
tests. But manometers were used for the third test.
W. Mokrane A. Kettab
Department of Urban Hydraulic, Research Laboratory of MVRE,
National High School of Hydraulic, BP31 Blida, Algeria

[email protected]
372 W. Mokrane and A. Kettab
3 Results 3.3 Results for the Third Test
3.1 Results of the First Test For a discharge of 1.44 L per second and for the four
positions of the pipe, the pressures filling are shown on the
For a discharge of 0.43 L per second and for the four following Fig. 3.
positions of the pipe, the filling pressures are shown on the
following Fig. 1.
4 Discussion
3.2 Results for the Second Test The experimental results presented in the first figure allow
deducing that the filling time was 19 min but we noticed that
For a discharge of 0.56 L per second and for the four at the fourth position, free surface flow occurred for few
positions of the pipe, the filling pressures are given on the seconds then it became rapidly pressurized with about five
following Fig. 2. times the pipe diameter value pressure. The flow at the other
20
x1=0.09m
x2=1.09m
pressure(centimeters)
15 x3=2.09m
x4=2.96m
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
time(minutes)
Fig. 1 Pressure evolution at the four positions for the first test
30
x1=0.09m
25
x2=1.09m
pressure(centimeters)
x3=2.09m
20 x4=2.96m
15
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time(minutes)
Fig. 2 Pressure evolution, at the four positions and for the second test
[email protected]
Flow Filling of a Closed, Circular and Almost Horizontal Pipe 373
1200
x1=0.09m
pressure(centimeters) 1000 x2=1.09m
x3=2.09m
800 x4=2.96m
600
400
200
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
time(minutes)
Fig. 3 Pressure evolution, at the four positions for the third test
positions passed from free surface to a full section not than one liter per minute the water–air flow is stratified and
pressurized and finally became pressurized when pressure pressure reached five times the internal pipe diameter. But
exceeds the pipe diameter. The filling time, for the second for a value of more than one liter per minute the water-air
test was 10 min. We observed the same flow filling steps as flow is wavy, bubbly and not stratified. In this case, pressure
those noted for the first test. The water–air flow configura- is hundreds times the pipe diameter.
tion detected was the stratified one. Thus, we conclude that the discharge pipe filling must be
For the third test, the filling time was 9 min. The pipe was carried out with weak flows values. This will protect pipes
rapidly pressurized; we did not detect the full no pressurized against air bubbles erosion, air obstacle and overpressure.
section. The flow water-air is configured as wavy, with
elongated bubbles and with bubbles before the total pres-
surizing. In this case pressure rose to two hundred and References
twenty times of the pipe diameter value. When Gomez and
Achiaga [3] reached a value of twenty-five of their pipe 1. Cunge, J.A., Wegner, M.: Integration numérique des équation de
diameter which is nine times bigger than ours. In the third Barré Saint venant par un schéma implicite de différences finies.
test the water-air flow could not be stratified. This is in Houille Blanche 1, 33–39 (1964)
2. Dong, N.T.: Sur une methode numérique de calcul des écoulements
agreement with the results of Wright and Vasconcelos [5]. nonpermanents soit à surface libre, soit en charge, soit partiellement
à surface libre et partiellement en charge. Houille Blanche 2, 149–
158 (1990)
5 Conclusion 3. Gomez, M., Achiaga, V.: Mixed flow modeling by pressure fronts
from upstream and downstream extremes. Urban drainage model-
ing, World water and environmental resources, congress, pp. 461–
Filling a discharge pipe must be performed while avoiding 470. SASCE, Florida, USA (2001)
important pressures which may induce considerable pipe 4. Kerger, F., et al.: An exact Riemann solver and a Godunov scheme
damage. Also, all of the air must be removed. In this for simulating highly transient mixed flows. J. Comput. Appl. Math.
235, 2030–2040 (2011)
background, we carried out experimental tests for three 5. Wright, S., Vasconcelos, J.: Geysering in rapidly filling storm water
different discharges on a transparent pipe. For values less tunnels. J. Hydraul. Eng. 132(6), 555–562 (2011)
[email protected]
Part IX
Geohazards: Assessments of Mass Movement
Based Geohazards
[email protected]
Assessment of Geological Hazards Along
Alagaba Highway-Red Sea State, Sudan
Esamaldeen Ali and El-Khider Rahamt Allah
Khartoum-Portsudan national highway represents the
economic and commercial highway that link Sudan Generally, the highway systems along the mountain areas
capital with main cities in eastern Sudan such as Suakin, may suffer from unstable slopes that pose risks on a daily
Bashair and Digna harbors. The highway crosses the Red basis to the traveling public, transportation infrastructure and
Sea Hills through high ridge mountains of Alagaba environment. These may not be considered hazardous unless
region. The highway consists of two roads: old and rocks enter the roadway [1, 3, 4]. However, rock falls and
new road that are constructed in different time. Some debris flows represent one of the main natural geological
geo-hazards such as rock falls, debris flows and rock hazards along highways in mountain areas.
failures represent the main natural geological hazards For instance, in Sudan region Khartoum-Port-Sudan
along the new road in compare with old road. However, express road represents the main highway passing the Red
the properties of rock mass discontinuities play an Sea Hills. This road links capital of Sudan “Khartoum
important role in the behavior of rock slope stability. City” with Port-Sudan port passing through eastern cities
This study is aimed to assess the geological hazards, such as Suakin, Bashair and Digna harbors (Fig. 1a). This
probability of failure, and suggest suitable treatments of road was constructed in 1979 by a Germen Company
unstable rocks to mitigate the road from hazardous called STRAPAC. At that time this was the only highway
phenomena. This study is mainly based on geological path across Alagaba ridge with two lines. Alagaba area,
observations and structural measurements. Field observa- which is a part of the Red Sea hills, is about 780 m height
tions as well as kinematic analyses show that rock fall and from the sea level (Fig. 1b). During the last years the
debris flow can occur. In addition, toppling and wedge Sudan government organized the construction of a new
failures can probably happen. Based on the data analysis road in the present place through the Sudanese Company to
some suitable reinforcements (e.g. benches, catch fences reduce accidents and traffic. The new road of Alagaba
and meshes) are recommended in the location of highway extends about 25 km passing through a major
hazardous sites to prevent the road against from rock Khor, while old road extends about 18 km. However, some
falls, debris flows and failures. geo-hazards are observed along the new road in compare
with old road. In fact, the nature and properties of rock

Keywords mass discontinuities (e.g. orientation, spacing, roughness,
Alagaba highway Sudan Rock fall Slope failure infilling materials, persistency, joint set, block size and
Kinematic analysis degree of weathering) all together play an important role in
the behavior of rock mass strength and controlling rock
slope stability [5–8].
However, since its construction, there was no available
detailed geotechnical investigation along Alagaba new road.
Therefore, this study aims to assess the geological hazards,
probability of failure, and suggest suitable treatments of
E. Ali (&) E.-K.R. Allah unstable rocks to mitigate the road from hazardous phe-
Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals, Al-Neelain University, nomenon. However, characterization of rock discontinuities
Khartoum, Sudan represents main factors controlling rock slope stability.

[email protected]
378 E. Ali and E.-K. R. Allah
Fig. 1 a Location map of Alagaba highway, Red Sea Hills, Sudan and b Digital elevation model show the elevation contrast and general
topography features of the study area
of the study area. They form high rugged topography with

2 Materials and Methods deep narrow gorges. The rocks consist of meta-volcanics,
meta-sediments and volcano-clastic tuffs. They are moder-
In order to accomplish this research, comprehensive ately sheared, folded and cutting by quartz veins and dykes
geotechnical and structural information are considered along with varies composition. The above units are intruded by
Alagaba new road. In this study Digital Elevation Model variety of foliated syn to late orogenic and post orogenic
(DEM) with 90 m resolution was also used to identify the igneous intrusions.
variations in elevations main streams and gullies. Geologi- For easy site investigation, the two slopes sides of the
cal survey, which spends about ten days, were mainly road are divided into seven localities (Table 1) show general
aimed to collect geological and structural measurements of characterizations of rock mass discontinuities along Alagaba
discontinuity planes (e.g.: joints, faults and shears) and their new highway that were conducted during site investigation.
trends in order to identify the Kinematic analysis of rock The different rock falls, debris flow and potential rock failure
slope along the new road. A suitable number of represen- are well observed along Alagaba new road (Plates 1 and 2).
tative rock samples were collected for laboratory tests and The absence of shoulders and catchment benches play
petrographical investigations. The Schmidt hummer against protection of the road from reaches the rock falls
“L-type” was used to determine the preliminary rock (Plate 2a). There are no obstruction, traffic signs, ditch and
strength. fences to protect the cars and auto-trucks from fell down
(Plate 3b). Also, many accidents were occurred due to the
dangerous road curvatures and higher elevation (Plate 3c).
3 Geotechnical Site Investigation In addition, the unsuitable method of excavation leads to the
irregularity face as a result of poor blasting technique.
Generally, the geotechnical site investigation started with In this study Kinematic analysis which is a graphical
lithological discrimination along the new road. However, representation was applied, that is required to identify pos-
based on the field investigation coupled by the regional sible modes of slope failure and establish full engineering
geology of the Red Sea Hills, the litho-stratigraphic of characterizations of slope design. Rock Slope failures can be
Alagaba area is characterized by green schist to low classified into four categories based on the geometrical,
amphibolite facies of metavolcano-sedimentary sequences, mechanical nature of the discontinuity and the conditions of
which represent the most abundant litho-stratigraphic suite the rock masses, plane, wedge, toppling and circular failure.
[email protected]
Assessment of Geological Hazards Along Alagaba Highway-Red … 379
Table 1 Characterizations of rock mass discontinuities along the new road

Location 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Persistency (m) 3.7 3.9 4.3 4.9 3.3 3.5 4.2
The average of persistence = 3–10 m (medium persistence)
Aperture (mm) 2 21 5.5 15.5 1 8.5 7
Aperture is ranging from open (0.5–2.5 mm) to very widely open (1–10 cm)
Joint spacing (cm) 47 41 74 61 53 41 68
Orientation (°) Many joint sets have different directions (North, NE, NW, NNE and NNW)
Joint Roughness Coefficient “JRC” [2] Range from smooth surface to very rough surface
Weathering degree According to the classification of weathering scheme the rock masses are classified into
slightly weathered, moderately weathered, highly weathered and completely weathered
Infilling materials Calcite, epidote and quartz, gypsum, chlorite, talc, graphite and serpentine, in-active
clay, swelling clay and cohesion less materials such as sand. Clean discontinuities
without filling materials or coatings are also identified
(a) (b) (c)

D E C
Rock fall
Proposed to fall
screes
Screes
Plate 1 Different types of rock falls along Alagaba new road. a Debris flow; b Rock falls
(a) (b) (c)

A D Proposed of wedge failure
Scar of plane failure
Plate 2 Different types of slope failures along Alagaba new road. a Plane failure; b Wedge failure; c Toppling failure
(a) (b) (c)

D Absence of benches, shoulders,
obstructions, fences & traffic signs G
Ditch in new road
Plate 3 a The absences of benches, shoulders, obstructions, fences and traffic signs; b Ditch in the new road, c Dangerous curvatures of the new
road
[email protected]
380 E. Ali and E.-K. R. Allah
4 Conclusion and Recommendations To establish full engineering characterizations of slope

design, this study recommended that support systems are
In Sudan region Khartoum-Port-Sudan express road repre- required depending on the type of rock failure and possible
sents the main highway passing through eastern cities of Red instability. Also, because the road is cutting across many
Sea Hills such as Suakin, Bashair and Digna harbors. How- Khors, it must be redesigned and such that catch fences get
ever, potentially unstable slopes present hazards and pose constructed and benches and meshes get installed especially
risks to traveling public transportation and infrastructure, in deep slopes.
which are observed along the new road in compare with old
road. The degree and nature of the rock fall hazard depends on
the characteristics of the rock mass discontinuities. This study References
is aimed to assess the geological hazards, probability offailure,
and suggest suitable treatments of unstable rocks to mitigate 1. Ahmed, M.Y., Norbert, H.M.: Slope stability hazard assessment and
the road from hazardous phenomenon. The discontinuity mitigation methodology along eastern desert Aswan-Cairo highway,
Egypt. JKAU Earth Sci. 20(2), 161–181 (2008) (A.D./1430 A.H.)
properties (e.g. orientation, spacing, roughness, infilling
2. Barton, N., Choubey, V.: The shear strength of rock joints in theory
materials, persistency, joint set, block size and degree of and practice. Rock. Mech. 10, 1–54 (1977)
weathering) all together are effecting rock mass strength and 3. Chau, K.T., Wong, R.H.C., Liu, J., Lee, C.F.: Rock fall hazard
controlling rock stability. Based on the detailed site investi- analysis for Hong Kong based on rock fall inventory. Rock. Mech.
Rock. Eng. 36(5), 383–408 (2003)
gation this study noted that rock falls and debris flows repre-
4. Chau, K.T., Sze, Y.L., Fung, M.K., Wong, W.Y., Fong, E.L., Chan,
sent one of the main natural geological hazards along road. L.C.P.: Landslide hazard analysis for Hong Kong using landslide
Also, there are no obstruction, traffic signs, ditch and fences to inventory and GIS. Comput. Geosci. 30, 429–443 (2004)
protect the cars and auto-trucks from fell down. In addition, 5. Farmer, I.W.: Rock testing: deficiencies and selection. In: Geome-
rock discontinuities characterizations pose high risks along the chanics, vol. 91, pp. 3–7. Balkema, Rotterdam (1992)
6. Hoek, E.: Rock mechanics laboratory testing in the context of a
new road. In this study, kinematic analysis was also applied, in consulting engineering organization. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
order to identify the possible modes of rock slope failure. Geomech. 14, 93–101 (1977)
However, the study concluded that three types of slope failure 7. ISRM.: Basic geotechnical description of rock masses (BGD). Int.
potentiality are resulted which represent the main hazards J. Rock. Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. 18, 85–11 (1981)
8. ISRM.: Suggested methods for determining point load strength. Int.
along the road. J. Rock. Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. 22, 53–60 (1985)
[email protected]
Mining Geohazards at the Perimeter
of the Amyntaio Open Pit Coal Mine,
West Macedonia, Greece
Constantinos Loupasakis
Land subsidence phenomena affecting the plain area
surrounding the open pit as well as large landslides Within the current study the surrounding plane of the
affecting the open cast slopes are listed among the mining Amyntaio opencast coal mine was investigated. The deep
induced catastrophic geo-hazards affecting the perimeter wells draining network for the protection of the slopes
of mines. These large scale geo-hazards are related to drained the surrounding area forming an extensive depres-
both hydro–geological and geotechnical parameters and sion cone all around the mine. The land subsidence phe-
they cause unrevoked damage. In the present study the nomena, extending to 1–3 km around the mine, have been
investigated site is the area extending at the perimeter of subjected to detailed investigations by numerous past studies
the Amyntaio opencast coal mine at Florina Prefecture, [1–6]. Beside the land subsidence phenomena, a massive
Northern Greece. The overexploitation of the aquifers for landslide occurred at the working slopes of the mine on June
the dewatering of the slopes turned the mine to a large 10th, 2017. The current research aimed to correlate the
diameter well. The surface deformations caused by the geological, hydrogeological and geotechnical factors driving
land subsidence phenomenon extends 1–3 km around the the mechanism of both phenomena.
mine affecting Anargiroi and Valtonera villages. Further-
more, on June 10th, 2017, a massive landslide, of
approximately 80 million cubic meters, occurred at the 2 Geological, Geotechnical
working slopes of the mine, burrying 25 million tons of and Hydrogeological Setting
lignite, resulting in severe damage to large number of
mining equipment and causing the evacuation of the The Florina-Ptolemaida basin is occupied by crystalline-
nearby Anargyroi village. Apart from presenting the two schist bedrock covered by Neogene and Quaternary deposits.
catastrophic events, the current research aimed to corre- The Neogene deposits are divided in three series. The lower
late the geological, hydrogeological and geotechnical and upper series consist of fine grained deposits, sandy clays
factors affecting both phenomena and outlining their to marls, and they surround the lignite deposits constituting
mechanisms. the middle series. These formations are interrupted by
pre-existing sheared zones and intercalated by low strength

Keywords clay layers [7]. The Quaternary depositions are divided, from
Mining hazards Subsidence Landslide bottom to top, to [8]: (A) The Proastion Formation, con-
Opencast mines sisting of alternating loose sand to clayey sand and con-
glomerate with red clay. (B) The Perdikas Formation,
consisting mainly of intercalations of fine sand with alter-
nating layers of sandy clays, clays and marls. This relatively
loose and compressible formation is mainly susceptible to
the manifestation of land subsidence phenomena [3].
(C) The Anargiri Formation, including clayey sand or thin
C. Loupasakis (&)
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National
sand interrupted by clay layers or lenses with angular frag-
Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, ments. Within the mine slopes, several faults have been
157 80 Athens, Greece identified, some of them active (Vegoritida and Anargiroi

[email protected]
382 C. Loupasakis
fault), presenting NE-SW and secondarily NW-SE to Besides the semi-confined aquifers, into the underlay
NNW-SSE striking directions [1]. bedrock formations a karstic aquifer extends, developing
In the wider study area, the Quaternary deposits host high piezometric loads. By evaluating the provided data [9],
semi-confined aquifers. The systematic exploitation of the it is practically clear that those loads get transferred by
aquifers started taking place after the redistribution of the land, means of the coarse grain layers of the lower Neogene series
in 1974. The excavation of the mine, in 1989, changed radi- close to the excavation floor. Obviously, the combination of
cally the setting of the aquifers, as large quantities of water the high piezometric loads with the occurrence of the
pumped out from the slope protection wells, combined with pre-existing sheared zone generates negative slope stability
the ground water inflows into the opencast, turned the mine to conditions.
a large diameter well. The above described mechanism is also
enchased by the operation of the farmers’ irrigation wells.
The influence of the mining activity on the aquifers 3 The Mining Induced Geo Catastrophic
piezometry can be easily evaluated by comparing the dia- Events
chronic changes of the spatial distribution of the isopiezo-
metric contour lines [3, 4, 9]. By means of this comparison, it is The land subsidence deformations occurred initially at the
clear that the depression cone at the west of the mine extends Anargiri village, at 2001, and until 2006 the phenomenon
until the Chimaditida Lake and at the northwest until the affected the entire study area. The strike direction of the
Valtonera village [3, 4, 10]. Also, the maximum drawdown of surface raptures is parallel to that of the main tectonic lines
the piezometric surface, next to the mine, is more than 60 m. of NE-SW to ENE-WSW directions (Fig. 1). Also, the
Fig. 1 Spatial distribution of the surface ruptures at the perimeter of the Amyntaio open cast mine. A Anargiroi village, B Valtonera village and
C Fanos village [3, 5]
[email protected]
Mining Geohazards at the Perimeter of the Amyntaio Open Pit … 383
Fig. 2 The June 10th, 2017 massive slope failure at the Amyntaio open pit coal mine
differential vertical displacements identified along the sur-

face raptures are inversely proportional to the distance from 4 Discussion—Conclusion
the mine.
The strict confinement of all the tension cracks within the Considering the above described mechanisms it is clear that
limits of the depression cone connects them directly with the the occurring catastrophic events were driven by contradic-
overexploitation of the aquifers. Also their gradual debili- tive casual factors. The dewatering of the slopes triggers the
tation in relation to the distance from the mine and their land subsidence phenomena while the attenuation of the
continuous aseismic slip do not allow any correlation with draining reduces the safety factor of the slopes.
seismic activity.
The massive landslide affected the entire, 200 m high,
working slope of the mine (Fig. 2). The occurrence of the
References
pre-existing sheared zones within the Neogene formations, the
extensive faults intersecting the site and the high piezometric
loads underneath the floor of the open pit are the main natural 1. Loupasakis, C.: Study of the geotechnical conditions of the
Amintaio coalmine slopes close to the Anargiri village, Aetos
preparatory casual factors of the landslide. On the other hand, Municipality, Florina Prefecture, Greece, Unpublished technical
the partial failure of the dewatering system eliminating the report, I.G.M.E, Athens (2006)
pore pressures established by the semi-confined aquifer and 2. Loupasakis, C.: Geotechnical study in the Anargiroi village, Aetos
the geometry of the slopes, are the main man made triggering Municipality, Florina Prefecture, Greece. Unpublished technical
report, I.G.M.E., Athens (2010)
casual factors. All the above described factors were adequately 3. Loupasakis, C., Angelitsa, V., Rozos, D., Spanou, N.: Mining
studied but their coaction was not properly evaluated. geohazards—land subsidence caused by the dewatering of
[email protected]
384 C. Loupasakis
opencast coal mines: the case study of the Amyntaio coal mine, 7. Leonardos, M., Terezopoulos, N., Rim slope failure mechanism in
Florina, Greece. Nat Hazards 70, 675–691 (2014) the Greek deep lignite mines—a case study. Mining Technol
4. Tzampoglou, P., Loupasakis, C.: New data regarding the (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall.: Sect. A) 112:197–204 (2003). https://
ground water level changes at the Amyntaio basin-Florina doi.org/10.1179/037178403225001656
Prefecture, Greece. In: Proceedings of the 14th International 8. Koukouzas, C., Kotis, Th., Ploumidis, M., Metaxas, A.: Coal
Congress of the Geological Society of Greece, Thessaloniki, exploration of Anargiri–Amynteon area, Mineral deposit research
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, No. 2, pp. 1006– No. 9, pp. 1–69, I.G.M.E., Athens (1979)
1015 (2016) 9. Dimitrakopoulos, D.: Hydrogeological conditioning of Amyndeon
5. Tzampoglou, P., Loupasakis, C.: Mining geohazards susceptibility mine. Problems during exploitation and overcoming them. Ph.D.
and risk mapping: the case of the Amyntaio open-pit coal Thesis, NTUA—School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering,
mine, West Macedonia, Greece. Environ Earth Sci 76, 542 (2017) NTUA, Athens, p. 202 (2001)
6. Tzampoglou, P., Loupasakis, C.: Evaluating geological and 10. Dimitrakopoulos, D., Koumantakis, I.: Hydrodynamic regime of
geotechnical data for the study of land subsidence phenomena at Amynteon basin. Influence of open lignite mines. In: Proceedings
the perimeter of the Amyntaio coalmine, Greece. Int J Min Sci of the 11th International Hydrogeological Congress of Greece,
Technol (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.11.002 Athens, No. 2, pp. 101–112 (2017)
[email protected]
Geomorphic Mapping Reveals ~NW-SE
Extension in NW Himalaya
Afroz Ahmad Shah, Adi Ameza Binti Mohd Addly,

and Mohammad Iskandar Bin Abdul Samat
The work presented here shows new mapping of an array
of *NE-SW trending normal faults in NW Himalaya. The occurrence of normal faulting parallel to the regional
This is achieved by geomorphic mapping of tectonic convergence vector orientation in convergent tectonic setting
landforms using a variety of freely available satellite is not very common, however, normal faulting oblique to
images that include Google maps, global earth, and global regional convergence is widespread [2]. This paper reported
multi-resolution topography. The geomorphic mapping is for the first time the large scale normal faulting north of the
performed by tracing of active fault ruptures, faulted Kashmir basin in NW Himalaya, and these faults are ori-
glacial landforms, fault scarps, topographic breaks, entated—oblique to the regional convergence of India and
deflected drainages, triangular facets, ridge axes offset, Eurasia plates (Fig. 1). These faults are mapped on freely
and broken Holocene to Recent sedimentary deposits. available Google satellite data, and are supported with
The results show that the faults are dominantly trending geologic, seismological, geodetic, and previously published
*NE-SW with a few *NNW-SSE. The faulting is structural maps (e.g. [4, 5]). The new geomorphic mapping
widespread and extends for >140 km. These faults (see below) adds data to the existing literature about the
suggest *NW-SE extension on a regional scale, and tectonics of NW Himalaya. The previous knowledge about
the tectonic transport is—orthogonal to the regional the tectonics of Kashmir Himalaya largely suggests reverse
convergence between India and Southern Tibet. The faulting south of the Kashmir basin. The Kashmir basin sits
faults are active and the entire region is undergoing on top of the actively growing reverse fault systems, and this
regional *NW-SE extension, and therefore, a new makes it a classic example of a piggyback basin [1]. The
tectonic model is proposed for the formation of these basin was formed during the deformation that involved
faults, which are interpreted to have formed syntectonic underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere along the active
with the regional convergence of the plates in collision, Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) below the Tibetan Plateau
and could potentially host medium to large magnitude [8]. It was formed *4 Ma ago during the subsiding phase of
earthquakes in the near future. The expected earthquake the Himalayan orogeny [1]. The previously mapped regional
focal mechanism “beach ball” on each fault is estimated, geological structures show a consistent pattern that largely
which suggests what type of earthquake is possible on the reflects their direct association with the regional convergence
newly mapped faults. The new tectonic interpretation of that is portrayed through the orientation pattern and slip on
the region supports the observed seismicity, and corre- geological structures that are mapped in the region.
lates with the available geodetic and geologic data. The actively growing MHT reaches the surface as Main
Frontal Thrust (MFT), onto which most of the regional faults

Keywords root. It is estimated that *50% of regional convergence is
Kashmir basin fault Active fault Normal fault absorbed on the MFT and the rest on the interior faults. The
Extension occurrence of active thrust faults in Kashmir basin [4, 5]
largely reflects ongoing deformation away from the frontal
portions of the Himalaya, and the new mapping that shows
A. A. Shah (&) A. A. B. M. Addly M. I. B. A. Samat normal faulting north of Kashmir basin is important to
Department of Physical and Geological Sciences, Universiti understand the dynamic nature of brittle deformation in NW
Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Himalaya (Fig. 1).

[email protected]
386 A. A. Shah et al.
Fig. 1 a Shows the significant

earthquakes plotted on the
satellite image of Himalaya
(colored dots). Some of the major
active faults are shown as red
lines. The polygonal region is the
study area. b Shows the available
data on moment tensor solutions
plotted on satellite data. The
various types of earthquakes are
highlighted. The small green
circles are earthquake
hypocenters
indicate *SW tectonic transport [5]. The major faults that

2 Tectonic Settings were mapped previously show a progressive and sequential
tectonic origin, and largely indicate younging towards
The study area lies to the north of relatively well studied south-southwest. These are formed as a result of progressive
Kashmir basin which is formed *4.0 Ma ago during the deformation that involves underthrusting of the Indian
subsiding phase of the Himalayan orogeny [1]. The Kashmir lithosphere along the active Main Himalayan Thrust
basin was later raised by the actively growing faults that (MHT) below the Tibetan Plateau [8]. The surficial expres-
delineate it from the southwest. These faults show a con- sion of MHT is Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), which is
sistent younging towards the Himalayan frontal zone and exposed at certain portions of the Himalayan arc, and is
[email protected]
Geomorphic Mapping Reveals *NW-SE Extension in NW Himalaya 387
mostly conceived or blind (Fig. 1). The regional faults (e.g. 4 Results, Interpretation and Discussion
MCT, MBT) root on this fault, and some are still actively
moving, and transporting rocks to upper crustal levels. 4.1 ~NW-SE Directed Regional Extension
However, there are a number of regional faults that transport
material orthogonal to the regional convergence (*NW and The clear evidence of extensive normal faulting (Fig. 2)
*SE), and such faults have been mapped in Tibet and south above Kashmir basin (Fig. 1) suggests the widespread
of Karakorum fault (KF), and none in the north of Kashmir transitional tectonics in the region. The figure on the left
basin. Therefore, as shown below, a number of tectonically shows an example of regional normal faulting in the study
active normal faults exist in the region. area and the mapped faults trend *NE-SW, which is obli-
que to the regional India-Eurasia convergence. This is sim-
ilar to what Tibet is witnessing today [2]. The mapped
3 Methodology normal faults lie west of the major dextral strike-slip fault
system, the Karakoram fault (KF), and suggests the need to
Google satellite data allow mapping of large and small scale understand the cause of extension in the region. The rela-
map large and small scale geological structures, and partic- tively well studied KF is a large scale dextral strike-slip fault
ularly in regions that are politically controversial or physi- system that houses a range of extensional basins throughout
cally inaccessible [4]. This study uses Google terrain mode its length which is *750 km from the Pamirs in the NW to
that offers online contour viewing, and high quality freely the Kailas region of SW Tibet in the SE. The Tibetan plateau
accessible data that makes mapping doable on a regional is located to the east of Karakoram fault, and this region is
scale. Previously, several works have used a range of known for the large scale extension along conjugate
satellite data to map active landforms (e.g. [3, 4, 6]). strike-slip faults that transport rocks from *NW to *SE
When satellite image interpretations are coupled with along well established larger scale strike-slip fault systems
geologic, seismologic, geodetic, and previously mapped [7]. The cause of eastward extension of Tibetan Plateau
structural data it becomes a vigorous methodology for remains a controversial topic (e.g. [7]). A larger number of
mapping of tectonic landforms. This approach has been studies show extension as a result of gravitational collapse
adapted below to map the geomorphic expression of faulting [6] and outward spreading of the plateau, and some argue an
where topographic breaks, deflected drainages, oblique convergence along the arcuate plate boundary, while
deflected/broken ridge axes, incision and erosion patterns, others show the role of mantle upwelling [7]. The region
surface ruptures, fault scarps, uplifted/tilted Quaternary to west to KF is generally considered to show a dominant
Recent landforms are mapped. The geomorphic mapping is *S-SW directed tectonic transport via reverse faulting and
supported by seismological, geological, and geodetic data. *NW-SE trending folds that form most of the Himalayan
The slip on mapped faults is interpreted through the use of fold-thrust belt (Fig. 1). The present study however shows
available focal mechanisms that is also used to create a set of that *NW-SE directed crustal extension is actively taking
possible fault plane solutions on each new fault that is place in Kashmir Himalaya as well. The mapped *NE-SW
mapped. The expected fault plane solutions are created in a trending normal faults are mostly related to the regional
freely available structural geology software known as *NW-SE directed convergence that involves underthrusting
FaultKin 7, by Prof. Rick Allmendinger: http://www.geo. of the Indian lithosphere along the active Main Himalayan
cornell.edu/geology/faculty/RWA/programs/faultkin.html. Thrust (MHT) below the Tibetan Plateau [8]. Their
[email protected]
388 A. A. Shah et al.
Fig. 2 Shows example of normal

faulting where faults cut through
the young glacial landforms. The
un-interpreted image (a) is
interpreted (b) where a range of
active geomorphic features are
also shown. It highlights
triangular facets, faulted glacial
landforms, topographic breaks,
and wineglass canyons. The
cartoons (c) show the landforms
before and after the faulting, and
the expected fault plane solution
of a future earthquake on the
mapped faults (dark region shows
compressional quadrant and light
region shows extensional
quadrant). Color filled circles
show earthquake hypocenters
[email protected]
Geomorphic Mapping Reveals *NW-SE Extension in NW Himalaya 389
occurrence throughout the northern portions of the Kashmir 3. Sieh, K., Natawidjaja, D.: Neotectonics of the Sumatran fault,
Himalaya reflects the overall *NW-SE directed extension Indonesia. J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 105(B12), 28295–28326
(2000)
in the region. 4. Shah, A.A.: Earthquake geology of Kashmir Basin and its
implications for future large earthquakes. Int. J. Earth Sci. 102(7),
Acknowledgements Authors are very grateful to three anonymous 1957–1966 (2013)
reviewers for improving the quality of the manuscript. The financial 5. Shah, A.A., Malik, J.N.: Four major unknown active faults
help from the National Geographic Society is highly appreciated. identified, using satellite data, in India and Pakistan portions of
NW Himalaya. Nat. Hazards 88(3), 1845–1865 (2017)
6. Tapponnier, P., Molnar, P.: Active faulting and tectonics in China.
J. Geophys. Res. 82(20), 2905–2930 (1977)
References 7. Yin, A.: Mode of Cenozoic east–west extension in Tibet suggesting
a common origin of rifts in Asia during the Indo-Asian collision.
1. Burbank, D.W., Johnson, G.D.: The late Cenozoic chronologic and J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 105, 21745–21759 (2000)
stratigraphic development of the Kashmir intermontane basin, 8. Zhao, L.S., Xie, J.: Lateral variations in compressional velocities
northwestern Himalaya. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. beneath the Tibetan Plateau from Pn traveltime tomography.
43(3–4), 205–235 (1983) Geophys. J. Int. 115(3), 1070–1084 (1993)
2. McCaffrey, R., Nabelek, J.: Role of oblique convergence in the
active deformation of the Himalayas and southern Tibet plateau.
Geology 26, 691–694 (1998)
[email protected]
Contribution of Morpho-Tectonic Analysis
in the Study of Spatio-Temporal Evolution
of Land Movements in North-West Tunisia:
Example of Balta and Dir El Kef
Radhia Mansour, Mourad El Koundi, Nassira Zouaoui,

and Abdessallem El Ghali
Abstract development of landslides, most often affecting the clay

Gravitational ground movements are a natural event that layers outcropping on steep slopes and in the vicinity of
causes the degradation of the environment and bores the faults and fractures showing fairly high densities.
socio-economic development of a population. To study In this study we focused on the role of each of the three
this phenomenon, we adopted a multidisciplinary carto- parameters (lithology, geomorphology and tectonic) and
graphic approach involving the determining factors of the their impact on the initiation and the spatio-temporal evo-
spatio-temporal appearance and evolution of these grav- lution of landslides in two geographically distinct areas. The
itational movements. Active faults (seismic genesis), soft first is located in the Kef region, on the western slope of Dir
lithology, steep slopes and rainfall are the relevant El Kef and the second in the Balta region, on the northern
parameters, the combination of which allowed us to edge of the plain of Bou Salem also called “plain of the
highlight the hazard map of the landslide in northwestern middle Mejrada”.
Tunisia. On the bioclimatic plan, these two study sites belong
roughly to the same domain. The statistical study of annual,
monthly and daily rainfall over the last decades allowed us

Keywords
Morpho-tectonics GIS Spatio-temporal analysis to evaluate the degree of impact of this factor on the onset
Land movements and evolution of landslides in the two localities.

1 Introduction
The present study dealt with the numerical mapping of the
In recent years, the new perspectives of risk prevention ground movement hazard in the north-west of Tunisia, in
research have focused on gravity movements that are cap- particular in the region of Kef and that of Bou Salem, both
able of (1) provoking major human and structural disasters, belonging to the most watered bioclimatic field of the
(2) silting hydraulic structures at a rapid rate and (3) degrade country.
the natural environment especially on the slopes of deep The adopted approach to achieve the goal consists in
incised valleys. evaluating the ground movement hazard based on the char-
In Tunisia, this phenomenon of ground instability is very acterization of the lithological and morpho-structural factors
developed in the north-west sector known for its very con- determining the instability of the land in the two localities
trasting lithology, rugged morphology and rather complex belonging to two distinct geological and structural domains.
tectonic structures. The interaction of these three parameters To do this, the basic data and their analysis results are
on certain slopes is a catalyst for the initiation and hierarchical by theme and organized according to a flowchart
(Fig. 1). The combination of the resulting analytical maps
has led to the development of several thematic maps whose
R. Mansour (&) N. Zouaoui A. El Ghali successive crossings have led to a map of the “landslide”
Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Carthage University,
Tunis, Tunisia
hazard synthesis in the two sectors [1–3].
M. El Koundi
Mining National Office, Tunis, Tunisia

[email protected]
392 R. Mansour et al.
Fig. 1 Methodologic flowchart adopted
The interaction of the different triggers, added to the

3 Results and Discussion irregularity of the rainfall and its torrential nature destabi-
lized some sectors and reactivated others that were already
On the lithological plan, the potential lands of landslides are unstable or have undergone previous shifts.
mainly due to the soft and clay-like geological outcrops From the study of the slip cases presented in this work, it
capped by hard limestone slabs on the backs of the cliffs is clear that the onset of the ground movements and their
affected by fairly intense brittle deformations. The irregular evolution in time and space result from the conjunction of
rainfall and its torrential nature have only aggravated the several factors dependent on each other but numerically
situation on the slopes [4]. dissociable. The maps derived from them are obtained by
In general, the areas affected by the movements of land photo-interpretation, satellite image processing and verified
are mountainous regions with steep slopes of which the areas by direct observations on the ground (ground truth). The
of Kef and Balta are part. However, comparing the slopes selective map combination (weighted or linear) of elemen-
relative to the two sites, balta slip is characterized by a much tary geological, morphometric, tectonic, climatic, hydrolog-
steeper slope and therefore has a much longer movement ical maps …) highlights the possibility of assessing the
arrow downstream of the watershed. Thus, the factor “slope” susceptibility of terrains to mass movements and allows the
plays a decisive role in the length of the trajectory of the elaboration of landslides hazard maps.
movement of the slipped mass.
As for the factor “fracturing”, its importance is especially
marked by the limestone slabs capping the clay masses. In 4 Conclusion
fact, the deepest and highest density fractures characterize the
most pronounced landslides and the longest ridge ledges and The various operations of compilation and combination of
the deepest sliding planes, such as Balta. This can be the basic numerical data with spatial reference: lithological,
explained by reaching the roof of the clay layer (sliding seat) morphometrical, tectonic and rainfall, organized according
by a large amount of vertical and lateral infiltration water to the flowchart presented in this study, allowed the elabo-
through the fractures and karsts affecting the limestone bar ration of the landslides hazard map in several areas of
capping the clay mass, causing thus its supersaturation and its northern Tunisia, particularly Dir el Kef and Balta. On the
change towards a more fluid and less resistant physical state. other hand, this study highlighted an important interaction
[email protected]
Contribution of Morpho-Tectonic Analysis … 393
between several natural factors whose tectonic relationship— 2. Mebarka, T.: Determining the role of lineaments in underground
topographic slope—lithological nature, seem to be the most hydrodynamics using Landsat 7 ETM + data, case of the Chott El
Gharbi Basin (western Algeria). Arab. J. (2018)
determining for the triggering and evolution of landslides 3. Amin, B.: Application of advanced spaceborne thermal emission
during rainy seasons. and reflection radiometer (ASTER) data in geological mapping. Int.
J. Phys. Sci. (2011)
4. El Aroui, O.: Contribution to the geomorphological study and
mapping of the ground movements on the slopes of the valleys of
References the exotic rivers of Kroumirie (northern Tunisia). Thesis (2015)
1. Gyozo, J.: Terrain Modelling with GIS for Tectonic Geomorphol-

ogy. Geocentrum, Uppsala (2004)
[email protected]
Mapping Geological Risk in Urban Areas
(by the Example of Moscow, Russia)
Irina Kozliakova and Olga Eremina
Abstract particular object in the form of possible absolute or relative

The geological risk of economic losses was qualitatively economic losses [1]. This definition suggests that risk is a
assessed for Moscow, Russia, proceeding from the function of the hazard impact value and the vulnerability of
comprehensive consideration of geohazards and the an urban environment. Researchers involved in risk assess-
vulnerability of urban environment. The map of ment in urban areas agree that the combination of geo-hazard
geo-ecological conditions was built based on assessing maps with the maps of urban environment vulnerability is
karst, suffosion, waterlogging and landslide hazards in the most promising approach to the geo-risk assessment in
Moscow; and the schematic map of geological risk (scale cities [2]. Qualitative grading and building risk maps for the
1: 50,000) was compiled for the Moscow territory, existing urban infrastructure should be performed at the
representing risk as an integral parameter of probable early stage of urban planning. Mapping risk is aimed at
damage caused by geo-hazards and the anthropogenic outlining areas, for which special requirements should be set
load on the urban territory. The mapping procedure on the engineering survey, and constraints should be
included four steps: grading and mapping exogenous imposed on urban development. The aim of this study was to
geo-hazards; grading and mapping the urban environment develop the procedure of qualitative geo-risk assessment and
vulnerability; distinguishing risk categories; and compil- mapping in Moscow.
ing the resultant risk map. This qualitative approach
provides reliable and sufficient data permitting urban
planners to optimize investments in Moscow city 2 Procedure of Qualitative Geo-risk
development. Assessment in Moscow
The investigation procedure included the following steps:

Keywords
(1) ranking and mapping exogenous geological processes

Exogenous geological processes Geo-hazards
Risk analysis Urban areas Urban environment (EGPs) according to their hazard degree; (2) ranking and
vulnerability mapping vulnerability of urban environment to EGPs (the
urban environment here is taken to mean the city territory
with buildings and on-surface engineering facilities);
(3) distinguishing risk categories according to hazardous
1 Introduction geological processes affecting the city territory and surface
urban infrastructure; and (4) compiling the risk map by
Transition from evaluation and mapping of exogenous superposition of the integral map of EGPs hazard and the
geological hazards to risk assessment is a serious task map of urban environment vulnerability (Fig. 1).
of urban geology for ensuring sustainable development of
cities. Geological risk is usually defined as a measure of
geological hazard or a number of hazards determined for a 3 Results
Moscow is located within the Eastern European platform;

I. Kozliakova O. Eremina (&) and its geological structure is formed by sedimentary strata
Sergeev Institute of Environmental Geosciences, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Ulansky Lane 13, 101000 Moscow, Russia
of Meso-Cenozoic age. Landslides, karst collapses, suffosion
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ground subsidence and waterlogging are the most hazardous

[email protected]
396 I. Kozliakova and O. Eremina
For a small-scaled study, the vulnerability of urban envi-

ronment is controlled by density of engineering structures
and buildings distribution, which may be obtained from the
functional zoning of the city. The functional zoning of
Moscow territory includes 5 types of functional zones, and
we assumed that the density of territory building-up with
on-surface engineering structures increases in the row:
recreational—transport—industrial—public—residential
zones. By combining the map of geo-ecological conditions
and the zones of urban environment vulnerability we come
up with the qualitative (schematic) assessment of geological
risk.
The geological risk level in the city territory is obtained
from superposition of the geo-ecological conditions map
Fig. 1 Algorithm of assessing geological risk in Moscow (hazardous EGP assessment) and the functional zoning of
the territory. Five risk categories were distinguished
according to the level of possible loss caused by the mani-
EGPs to urban infrastructure. These EGPs were ranked festation of individual EGPs or their combinations: no risk—
according to their hazard degree and the hazard maps were low risk—moderate risk—high risk—very high risk (Fig. 2).
built at scale 1:50,000 for each EGP. Superposition of these The risk increases with intensifying geological hazards
maps resulted in the integral assessment of geo-ecological and increasing density of building-up in the area (Fig. 3).
conditions of Moscow. Five categories of geo-ecological Eventually, a schematic map of geological risk in Mos-
conditions were distinguished ranging from favorable to cow was compiled at scale 1: 50,000, which shows the risk
very unfavorable categories depending on the EGP combi- as a comparative integral characteristics of the probable
nation and possible adverse consequences to engineering damage caused by the geological hazards as well as the level
structures. The resultant map of the geo-ecological condi- and type of the technogenic load of the territory. This map
tions of Moscow (based on the EGP assessment) was built shows that the areas of high and very high risk (that should
using this ranking [3]. be of particular attention for the authorities) occupy 14%; the
The urban environment is taken to mean here the city areas of moderate risk—46%; and the areas of low risk—
territory with buildings and on-surface engineering facilities. 40% of Moscow territory.
Fig. 2 The content of geological

risk categories for Moscow area
[email protected]
Mapping Geological Risk in Urban Areas … 397
early stage of investigation, this risk analysis should consist

in zoning territory by the risk level. The qualitative risk
assessment permits us to distinguish the city areas, in which
the constraints should be imposed on urban development due
to a high risk of damage for the existing facilities.
Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Russian Science

Foundation, project no. 16-17-00125.
References
Fig. 3 Legend to the schematic map of geological risk in Moscow
1. Ragozin, A.L. (ed.): Natural hazards of Russia. Assess. Manage.
Nat. Risks, 320 p. (2003) (in Russian) (Topical vol., Moscow,
KRUK)
4 Conclusion 2. Clayton, C.R.I.: Urban site investigation. In: Culshaw, M.G.,
Reeves, H.J., Jefferson, I., Spink, T.W. (eds.) Engineering Geology
for Tomorrow’s Cities, vol. 22, pp. 15–141. Geological Society,
The performed studies in the assessment and mapping of Engineering Geology Special Publication, London (2009)
geological risk in Moscow prove that risk-analysis according 3. Kutepov, V.M., Anisimova, N.G., Eremina, O.N., Kozhevnikova, I.A.,
to integral consideration of geo-hazards and vulnerability of Kozliakova, I.A.: Hazardous geological processes and geoecological
urban environment is an adequate and promising tool for the state in Moscow. In: Proceedings of the 2nd Scientific and Practical
All-Russia Conference on Ecological and Geological Problems in
qualitative assessment of possible economic losses from Urbanized Territories, pp. 194–196. Yekaterniburg (2009) (in Russian)
EGPs manifestation in urban area. For the city territory at the
[email protected]
Numerical Simulation of Land Subsidence
Caused by Both Dewatering and Recharging
Xu-Bing Xu and Zhen-Dong Cui
Abstract the recharge effect [3, 4]. The recharge of phreatic aquifer
The groundwater recharge was conducted to prevent land was carried out in the actual projects of Hangzhou, and
subsidence in many major cities such as Beijing, Shang- successfully controlled the settlement of buildings [5]. In
hai and Tianjin in China. Specifically, the use of Shanghai, the multi-circulation pressure test was carried out
recharging to prevent ground subsidence in foundation with different recharge amounts, different recharge times,
pit projects has become a popular technique. In this paper, natural recharge and pressure recharge [6].
the numerical simulation was used to study the influence Although recharging is widely used in engineering
of the distance between the recharging well and the examples, few people have studied the effect of the distance
dewatering well on the land subsidence. The results show between the recharging well and the pumping well on set-
that the appropriate distance between the recharging well tlement. In this paper, the numerical simulation method was
and the dewatering one is favorable to prevent used to study the effect of distance between the recharging
subsidence. wells and the pumping ones on land subsidence under 2D
conditions.

Keywords
Land subsidence Numerical simulation
Dewatering Groundwater recharge 2 Methods
In the numerical simulation, the set parameters were used to

obtain the effect radius R of single-well pumping, and the
1 Introduction recharge wells were arranged at R/3, R/2, 2R/3 and R in
models, respectively. When calculating the influence radius
In the last century, Powrie and Roberts studied the engi- R of a single well with stable groundwater seepage in a
neering example of using an aquifer recharge in the pit to phreatic aquifer, the influence radius R can be calculated
limit the depth of the water level outside the pit caused by according to this formula in the absence of experimental
the precipitation in the pit. The results show that the recharge conditions:
method can effectively prevent the ground settlement in the pffiffiffiffiffiffi
foundation pit projects [1]. Phien-wej et al. carried out R ¼ 2sw kH ð1Þ
on-site recharge test and soil deformation monitoring, and where R is influence radius of the dewatering well (m); sw is
the results showed that recharging could cause the aquifer difference between the static water level and the dynamic
and its weak system to rebound [2]. Scanlon et al. conducted water level (m); k is the permeability coefficient of the
comparison and research on the recharge technology. The aquifer (m=d); H is the thickness of phreatic water
results of the study showed that appropriate recharging aquifer (m).
techniques can increase the recharge rate and better improve
The permeability coefficient is 1:29 102 m/d and the
H is 100 m. In model 1, sw is 80 m. So the influence radius
X.-B. Xu Z.-D. Cui (&)
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground
R, can be calculated as:
Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
University of Mining and Technology, 221116 Xuzhou, Jiangsu, R ¼ 2 80 1:29 102 100 ¼ 180:93 m

[email protected]
400 X.-B. Xu and Z.-D. Cui
According to the above calculation, the distance between 0.60

the recharge well and the dewatering well in the model No recharge
2–5 are L2 = R/3 = 60 m, L3 = R/2 = 90 m, L4 = 2R/ 0.50 60 m
3 = 120 m, L5 = R = 180 m, the location of the recharging 90 m
120 m
wells are shown in Fig. 1. 0.40 180 m
Settlement (m)
0.30
3 Results
0.20
Figure 1 is the settlement cloud picture, it can be seen that
the closer the distance between the recharge well and the 0.10
pumping well is, the more effective to prevent the devel-
opment radius of the dewatering well from developing out- 0.00
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
ward. In model-2, it can be seen that when the recharge well
is close to the dewatering well, the influence radius of the Distance (m)
pump well will continue to expand beyond the recharging Fig. 2 Different recharge distance settlement distributions
well. It is not difficult to imagine that the closer the distance
to the pumping well is, the stronger its influence is. If the
recharge well is too close to the pumping well, the recharge indicates that the settlement of the ground can be prevented
part will not be enough to make up for the amount of well in the protection range of the recharge well.
extracted water, and the influence radius will continue to
expand outward. In model-3 and model-4, it can be seen that
when the recharging well is set in a suitable position, the 4 Discussion
influence radius can be effectively prevented from expanding
outward. In model-5 we find that the recharging well has The reasonable position of the recharge well in the dewa-
little effect when it is set remotely. The same conclusions can tering of the foundation pit projects has a positive effect on
be drawn about Fig. 2. preventing the ground subsidence. In the actual project, the
Figure 3 shows that with the development of pumping combination of water-resisting curtain and recharge well can
time at 20 m, the settlement curves are largely consistent, and be used to avoid the harm to the important buildings. This
the settlement rate is becoming slower and slower with the paper discussed the dewatering and recharging simulation of
development of time, which indicates that the development of the phreatic layer. In the process of recharging prone to
settlement near the pumping well is basically not affected by blockage makes it difficult to continue recharging, in the
the remote recharge. Compared to Fig. 4, at 80 m the set- actual project the main and auxiliary wells recharge method
tlement can be clearly found that when the location of the is often used to solve the plugging problem.
recharge well is 60 m, the settlement is obviously less than In many recharge systems, dual-use equipment for the
that of the recharge well at 90, 120 and 180 m, which dewatering and recharging is often used, and an intelligent
Fig. 1 Settlement cloud picture

under different recharging wells
[email protected]
Numerical Simulation of Land Subsidence … 401
0.60 5 Conclusion
No recharge
0.50 60 m The numerical simulation was conducted to study the effect
90 m of different recharge distances on land subsidence during
120 m
0.40 180 m
recharging. The main obtained conclusions are as follows.
Settlement (m)
(1) When the dewatering well is close to the recharging

0.30
well, the influence radius R of the pumping well will
continue to expand beyond the recharging well.
0.20
(2) The closer the distance between the dewatering well
and the recharging one is, the more favorable it is to
0.10 prevent ground settlement. When the distance of the
recharging well exceeds the dewatering influence
0.00 radius, it will have little effect on preventing the land
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
subsidence. The reasonable position of the recharging
Elapsed (day) well should be at a distance from the pumping well
Fig. 3 Settlement at 20 m
Within R/2.
Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D

References
1. Powrie, W., Roberts, T.O.L.: Case history of a dewatering and

recharge system in chalk. Géotechnique 45(4), 599–609 (1995)
2. Phien-wej, N., Giao, P.H., Nutalaya, P.: Field experiment of
artificial recharge through a well with reference to land subsidence
control. Eng. Geol. 50(1/2), 187–201 (1998)
3. Scanlon, B.R., Healy, R.W., Cook, P.G.: Choosing appropriate
techniques for quantifying groundwater recharge. Hydrogel 10, 18–
39 (2002)
4. Scanlon, B.R., Keese, K.E., Flint, A.L., Flint, L.E., Gaye, C.B.,
Edmunds, M.W., Simmers, I.: Global synthesis of groundwater
recharge in semiarid and arid regions. Hydrol. Process. 20, 3335–
3370 (2006)
Fig. 4 Settlement at 80 m 5. Yu, J.L., Gong, X.N.: Study on the design and the application of the
groundwater recharge system in excavation. J. Build. Struct. 22(5),
70–74 (2001)
equipment can be used to effectively control the recharging 6. Wang, J.X., Wu, Y.B., Zhang, X.S.: Field experiments and
process. At present, although recharge has received more numerical simulations of confined aquifer response to multi-cycle
and more attention, there is still a lack of theoretical research recharge–recovery process through a well. J. Hydrol. 464/465,
on recharge. How to efficiently and reasonably perform 328–343 (2012)
recharge should be further investigated.
[email protected]
Displacement Distribution Caused
by Pumping from the Aquifer in Soil
Wen-Hao Guo, Zhen-Dong Cui, and Zhen Li
Abstract mulative multi-layered settlement is not equal to the land

A new phenomenon that the accumulative multi-layered subsidence, and some strata are not compressed but expan-
settlement is not equal to the land subsidence was sive. Some researchers considered that the phenomenon
discovered during the engineering dewatering. Displace- could be explained by the combination of high-lower seep-
ment distribution induced by pumping from the confined age characters, dewatering in deep confined aquifer-inversed
aquifer was investigated using axisymmetric consolida- rebound of overlaying strata, consolidation from
tion of multi-layered soils based on the theory of Biot’s deep-coordination of deformation and gradual boundary [3].
consolidation. The variations of the displacement showed Other investigators deemed that the soil-arch effect caused
tensile and shear deformations that appeared in the the phenomenon [4]. Nevertheless, there was lack of the
overlying aquitard when pumping from the confined computing method that can reflect the phenomenon. In this
aquifer. The tensile deformation decreased with the paper, the soil deformation of different depths induced by the
increasing distance away from the pumping well. The pumping from the confined aquifer was calculated utilizing
shear deformation first increased and then decreased with the method based on the theory of Biot’s consolidation with
the growing distance away from the pumping well. anisotropic permeability.

Keywords
Vertical displacement Horizontal displacement 2 Methods
Anisotropic permeability Multi-layered soils
By using the Laplace-Hankel transforms, Li and Cui [5] get
the exact expression of stresses, displacements, excess pore
pressure and vertical seepage velocity from the axisymmetric
1 Introduction Biot’s consolidation governing equations with anisotropic
permeability. Equations (1) and (2) are defined to establish a
Soil deformation, including the horizontal displacement and relationship among stresses, displacements, excess pore
the vertical one, often leads to the failure of buildings and pressure and seepage velocity, which are vectors made of
infrastructure. Many methods, such as the theory of elastic A1 A6 .
layered system [1], the Mindlin displacement solution and
^ z; sÞ ¼ ½^
Uðn; ur1 ðn; z; sÞ; r p0 ðn; z; sÞT
^z0 ðn; z; sÞ; ^ ð1Þ
the method based on Cosserat mechanics [2] have been used
to calculate deformations. The land subsidence can be pre-
^ z; sÞ ¼ r
Cðn; ^rz1 ðn; z; sÞ; ^ ^0 ðn; z; sÞ T
uz0 ðn; z; sÞ; V ð2Þ
dicted approximately using the above methods. However, a
new phenomenon was discovered in Shanghai [3] and
where, u ^r1 ðn; z; sÞ is the horizontal displacement; r ^z0 ðn; z; sÞ
Tianjin [4] during the engineering dewatering. The accu-
is the vertical stress; ^ p0 ðn; z; sÞ is the pore pressure;
^rz1 ðn; z; sÞ is the horizontal stress; ^
r uz0 ðn; z; sÞ is the vertical
displacement; V ^0 ðn; z; sÞ is the vertical seepage velocity; s is
W.-H. Guo Z.-D. Cui (&) Z. Li
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground the Laplace transform variable; n is the Hankel transform
Engineering, School of Mechan-ics and Civil Engineering, China variable. These six factors are listed in Appendix.
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, People’s The impact of pumping can be defined through Eq. (3)
Republic of China

[email protected]
404 W.-H. Guo et al.
0
Tðn; z; sÞ ¼ ½Q2 ðn; DH; sÞ; Q3 ðn; DH; sÞ; Q1 ðn; DH; sÞT
ð3Þ 2
where, Q is the water flow velocity; Q1 ðn; DH; sÞ, 4

Q2 ðn; DH; sÞ and Q3 ðn; DH; sÞ are factors influenced by Q;
DH is the thickness of the confined aquifer. 6
Depth (m)
The relationship can be expressed through Eqs. (4) and
8
(5) which are matrices made of A1 A6 .
10 FCCJ1 (calculation)
^ 0; sÞ
Uðn; Tðn; DH; sÞ
^ H; sÞ þ FCCJ2 (calculation)
Uðn; Tðn; DH; sÞ 12 FCCJ3 (calculation)
¼ R ½ A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 T ð4Þ FCCJ4 (calculation)
FCCJ1 (monitoring)
14 FCCJ2 (monitoring)
^ 0; sÞ
Cðn; T FCCJ3 (monitoring)
^ H; sÞ ¼ S ½ A1
Cðn;
A2 A3 A4 A5 A6
16
FCCJ4 (monitoring)
-9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
ð5Þ
Subsidence (mm)
Substituting Eq. (5) with Eq. (4)
Fig. 1 Comparison of the calculation with the in-site monitoring

^ 0; sÞ
Uðn; Tðn; DH; sÞ ^ 0; sÞ
Cðn;
^ H; sÞ þ ¼ U ^ H; sÞ ð6Þ
Uðn; Tðn; DH; sÞ Cðn; (FCCJ4) away from the pumping well. Comparing the
results with the in-site monitoring data in Fig. 1, the vertical
where U ¼ R S1 , U is the stiffness matrix.
displacement calculated by this method is close to the
Based on continuity condition, the global stiffness matrix
monitoring data near the pumping well. Thus, the method
of multi-layered soils can be obtained in the form of Eq. (7)
can be used to predict the soil deformation.
shown below.
2 3 2 3 2 ^ 0; sÞ 3
^ 0; sÞ
Uðn; U1 Cðn;
6 0 7 6 7 ^ H1 ; sÞ 7
6 Cðn;
6 7 6 7 6 7
6 .. 7 6 U2 7 6 .. 7
6 . 7 6 7 6 . 7
6 7 6 .. 7 6 7
6 Tðn; DHj ; sÞ 7 6 . 7 6 ^
Cðn; H ; sÞ 7
6 7¼ 6 7 6 j1 7 ð7Þ
6 T(n; DHj ; sÞ 7 6 .. 7 6 Cðn;
^ Hj ; sÞ 7
6 7 6 . 7 6 7
6 .. 7 6 7 6 .. 7
6 . 7 6 Uðn1Þ 7 6 . 7
6 7 4 5 6 7
4 0 5 ^ Hn1 ; sÞ 5
4 Cðn;
^ Hn ; sÞ
Uðn; Un ð3n þ 3Þð3n þ 3Þ Cðn;
^ Hn ; sÞ
3.2 The Displacement of Different Depths

3 Results
Figure 2a shows the variations of the vertical displacement
3.1 Reliability of the Method of different depths with the distance away from the pumping
well. Within 10 m away from the pumping well, the vertical
A series of monitoring points of settlement were placed at displacement of 13 m away from the ground is the biggest,
2 m (FCCJ1), 5 m (FCCJ2), 21 m (FCCJ3), and 30 m and the surficial vertical displacement is the smallest. When
[email protected]
Displacement Distribution Caused … 405
the distance exceeds 10 m, the vertical displacement of 16 m The first graph in Fig. 3 illustrates the variations of the
away from the ground becomes the minimum. Figure 2b horizontal displacement at different depths with the
illustrates the variations of the vertical displacement with the increasing distance away from the pumping well. When the
depth the different increasing distances away from the distance away from the pumping well exceeds 40 m, the
pumping well. When the distance away from the pumping horizontal displacement decreases with the increasing depth.
well grows, the vertical displacement decreases at all depths, The second graph in Fig. 3 shows the variations of the
and the difference of the different depths also decreases. The horizontal displacement with the increasing depth at different
tensile deformation decreases with the increasing distance distances away from the pumping well. The variations of the
away from the pumping well. horizontal displacement at 0 and 16 m away from the ground
0 0
L=1m
L=5m
-1
-0.5
2 L=20m
The vertical displacement (mm)
L=100m
4 L=300m
-1.0
-2
L=600m
6
-1.5
-3 H=0m
H=5m
H=10m
Depth (m)
H=13m
H=16m
Tensile deformation
-2.0
-4
120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260
The distance away from the pumping well (m)
280 300
8
-5.0
-5 -5.5
10
-6.0
H=0m 12
-6 -6.5
-7.0
H=5m
H=0m
H=5m H=10m 14
-7 -7.5 H=10m
H=13m
H=16m H=13m
-8.0
H=16m
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
The distance away from the pumping well (m) 16
-8 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
The distance away from the pumping well (m)
(b) The vertical displacement of different
(a) The vertical displacement of different depths
distance away from the pumping well
Fig. 2 Results of the vertical displacement
0.00 0
C D B A
2
The horizontal displacement (mm)
H=0m
-0.25 H=5m
H=10m 4
H=16m E
-0.50
-0.4
H=0m 6
The horizontal displacement (mm)
Depth (m)
H=5m
-0.6 H=10m
-0.75 H=16m
8
-0.8
-1.00 -1.0 10
-1.2
12 L=1m
L=5m
-1.25 -1.4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
L=30m
The distance away from the pumping well (m) 14 L=100m
L=600m
-1.50
16
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
-1.6 -1.4 -1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0
The distance away from the pumping well (m) The horizontal displacement (mm)
(a)The horizontal displacement of different depths (b)The horizontal displacement of different

distances away from the pumping well
Fig. 3 Horizontal displacement results
[email protected]
406 W.-H. Guo et al.
are different. At the different distances, the maximum of the ^0 ¼ nkz enz þ nkz enz qkz eqz þ qkz A4 eqz
V
horizontal displacement is at different depth.
^rz1 ¼ ðGu znð1 þ Gu MuÞÞenz A1
r
2qnGeqz
4 Discussion ðGu znð1 þ Gu MuÞÞenz A2 þ A3
Mðq2 n2 Þ
2qnGeqz
The method cannot reflect the influence of no pumping time A4 2enz GnA5 þ 2enz GnA6
which has an effect on seepage and consolidation. By con- Mðq2 n2 Þ
sidering no pumping time, we can deeply analyze the con-
solidation behaviors of layered soils. ^z0 ¼ð1 þ Mu znð1 þ Gu MuÞÞenz A1
r
ð1 Mu znð1 þ Gu MuÞÞenz A2
5 Conclusion 2n2 Geqz 2n2 Geqz
þ 2
A3 þ A4 2enz GnA5
Mðq2 n Þ Mðq2 n2 Þ
Tensile and shear deformations appear in the overlying 2enz GnA6 þ Q3 ðn; DH; sÞ
aquitard when pumping from the confined aquifer. The
tensile deformation decreases with the increasing distance where, G is the shear modulus; M ¼ 2gG; q2 ¼ an2 þ cw s
Mkz
away from the pumping well. The shear deformation first
increases and then decreases with the increasing distance
away from the pumping well.
References
Acknowledgements This work was funded by National Key R&D
Program of China (2016YFC0600903). 1. Cui, Z.D., Jia, Y.J., Yuan, L.: Distribution law of soil deformation
caused by decompression of confined water. Environ. Earth Sci. 75
(18), 1281 (2016)
2. Budhu, M., Adiyaman, I.B.: Mechanics of land subsidence due to
Appendix groundwater pumping. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 34
(14), 1459–1478 (2010)
3. Wang, J., Wu, L., Zhu, Y., Tang, Y., Yang, P., Lou, R.: Mechanism
of dewatering-induced ground subsidence in deep subway station
pit and calculation method. Chin. J. Rock Mech. Eng. 28(5), 1010–
^p0 ¼ A1 enz þ A2 enz þ A3 eqz þ A4 eqz Q1 ðn; DH; sÞ 1019 (2009)
4. Zheng, G., Zeng, C., Diao, Y., Xue, X.: Test and numerical research
1 ðM GÞu nz 1 ðM GÞu nz on wall deflections induced by pre-excavation dewatering. Comput.
ûr1 ¼ ze A1 ze A2
2G 2G Geotech. 62, 244–256 (2014)
neqz neqz 5. Li, Z., Cui, Z.D.: Axisymmetric consolidation of saturated
þ 2
A3 þ A4 multi-layered soils with anisotropic permeability due to well
Mðq2 þ n Þ Mðq2 þ n2 Þ pumping. Comput. Geotech. 92, 229–239 (2017)
þ enz A5 þ enz A6 Q2 ðn; DH; sÞ
1 Gu Mu þ znð1 þ Gu MuÞ nz

ûz0 ¼ e A1
2Gn
Gu þ Mu 1 þ znð1 þ Gu MuÞ nz
þ e A2
2Gn
qz qz
qe qe
2
A3 þ A4 þ enz A5 enz A6
2
Mðq n Þ Mðq2 n2 Þ
[email protected]
Observations on Failure Behavior of Cut
Slopes in Chalky Limestone, Case Studies
in RUS Formation
Abdullah Kallash and Hernan Vigil
Abstract stone, the hydrogeological conditions and the possible trig-

The Lusail Plaza project CP7B is one of the mega gering factors [1].
infrastructure projects in the state of Qatar, located in the
center of the new Lusail City north of Doha, straight on
the coast line. Achieving the project required the
2 The Geological, Geotechnical
construction of an open pit excavation with variable
and Hydrogeological Conditions
depths between 10 and 30 m. The construction of the cut
slopes revealed a limestone member RUS formation
The geological units in the cross section in the Lusail area
underlain by a Simsima Limestone layer at a depth of
can be divided as follows: Weathered Simsima Limestone
about 12 m below ground level. The RUS formation
(WSL) was found at the top, followed by a layer of Simsima
consisted of chalky limestone mixed with clay. During
Limestone (SL). The SL is followed by Midra shale (MS).
the site construction, several local failures were observed
The RUS formation is normally found below the MS at
in the RUS formation. In this paper, the failure behavior
depths of between −12 and −15 m QND (Fig. 1a). In most
of cut slopes in the RUS formation was evaluated.
cases, the Midra shale and the Simsima limestone were
missing, so the weathered Simsima limestone is followed

Keywords directly by the RUS formation (Fig. 1b). The RUS formation
Slope stability RUS formation Clay-stone is described as weak, to very weak chalky limestone mixed
Failure behavior Stand-up time Qatar with layers of clay stone and inclusions based on BS
5930:1999. The strength of the rock changed between a 1
and 6 MPa.
Due to the location—adjacent to the sea shore—a high
1 Introduction groundwater level of +1 m QND must always be taken into
consideration. This will produce a hydraulic gradient of up
The enabling works for the CP7B project involved the to 30 vertical meters with a significant hydrostatic pressure
excavation of an open cut, of approximately 30 m below on the cut slopes. To deal with the related risks a complex
ground level (mbgl), with a volume of excavated material up drainage system was designed to maintain dry cut slopes
to 6 million m3. The top level of the excavation lies at until the end of the construction work.
−0.5 m Qatar National Datum (m QND). The deepest point
of the excavation lies at −29. 5 m QND.
During the construction of the cut slopes the failure
behavior of the RUS was observed. This behavior was 3 Examples of Failure Events and Failure
evaluated, taking into account the stand-up time of clay Mechanisms
There were several forms of failure observed. The inclination

of the constructed slopes was designed to be in the range of
A. Kallash (&)
DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm, Stuttgart, Germany
1:7 to 1:10. Under this design criterion, the stand-up time of
e-mail: [email protected] these slopes varied between a few hours and several months.
H. Vigil
The observed stand-up time depends on the water content of
QDSBG Lusail CP07B Project, Doha, Qatar the slope. So, slopes under dry conditions have longer

[email protected]
408 A. Kallash and H. Vigil
Fig. 1 The geological profile at

Lusail area, a with all members,
b RUS formation directly
followed by the weathered
Simsima limestone
stand-up time in comparison with slopes under wet condi- 3.2 Case 2, Failures Occurring During
tions. Accordingly, the support and protection measures the Installation of Protection Measures
varied from maintaining dry conditions for free standing
slopes, up to the use of reinforced shotcrete. The failures in the second case took place during the
installation of the slope support measures. Figure 3a shows
an example of this type of failure. The failure occurred in
3.1 Case 1, Failures in the Unsupported Chalky the weak chalky limestone after a sudden rise of the
Limestone hydrostatic pressure due to a breakdown of the dewatering
pump adjacent to the location, causing the slope to topple
The slope failures in the first case occurred in cut slopes with down. The failure surface shows striking horizontal fine
a stand-up time ranging from a few weeks to several months. joints (Fig. 3a, b).
The main factor affecting the stand-up time was the amount At the time of the failure, the support measures were
of claystone inclusions in the cut slope. The presence of almost completed with the exception of the designed
claystone as an impermeable layer, forms areas of hydro- draining system. The raised water behind the shotcrete wall
static pressure on the contact surfaces between the claystone created high hydrostatic pressure and pushed the shotcrete
and the limestone. shale with rock mass behind it to fall down in a successive
Figure 2 shows examples of failures where hydrostatic way. The rock mass fell down until an arch effect was
pressure along the contact area rose rapidly in the horizontal formed. A post simulation of the collapse event proved that
joints between the limestone and the claystone, subsequently the leak of weep holes was the main preparation factor for
triggering the failure below the claystone. The thin layer of the failure. Figure 3b shows similar failure mechanism due
claystone had, as per its nature a short stand-up time, and to non-functionality of the weep holes.
was unable to bear the high water pressure and collapsed Another example of this type of failure occurred in the
immediately. Successive failures in the chalky limestone very weak chalky limestone, with high amounts of claystone
were stopped due to the formation of the arching effect. inclusions as shown in Fig. 4. It was observed that the
Fig. 2 Examples of failures in

the unsupported RUS formation
below the claystone layer
[email protected]
Observations on Failure Behavior … 409
Fig. 3 Examples of failures

occurring during the installation
of support measures
support elements in the lower stage, a big block of rock

became loose and fell down. A main preparation factor for
this type of failure was the dynamic loads, resulting from the
drilling activities for the installation of the nailing system.
4 Conclusion
The behavior of the failures in the RUS formation depends

on certain factors such as the layering of claystone, or the
distribution of the joints in the rock matrix. During the
construction of the slopes, there were two main causes that
triggered the failures: the raising of hydrostatic pressure and
dynamic loading. In comparison to cut slopes in chalky
limestone (RUS) with reduced inclination, the observed
stand-up time of the above mentioned cases is much shorter.
By controlling these two factors it is possible to improve
the stand-up time of the cut slopes under the designated
Fig. 4 Collapses occurred below the installed support measures conditions.
stand-up time of such type of rock was at the limit of

4 weeks under the design boundaries. Accordingly, it was Reference
necessary to expedite the installation of the designed support
measures. The installation of the support measures was 1. Popescu, M.E.: landslide causal factors and landslide remediatial
progressing in stages, parallel to the installation of the slope options. In: Slope Stability and Safety of Infra-Structures. Citeseer
(2002)
draining system. However, during the installation of the
[email protected]
The Landslide of Agrigento Hill (Sicily, Italy)
Liguori Vincenzo
This paper illustrated the geological, morphological and
hydrogeological studies performed for the analysis and Sicily is a region rich in archaeological and historical sites
monitoring of the landslide involving the northern side of and any of them are human heritage. In some cases, these
the hill of Agrigento (335 m a.s.l.) on which the ancient areas are in high landform relief with young weak rocks. As
Cathedral was built during the 11th Century. The hill is results of the erosive processes and low resistance of the
made of a typical Plio-Pleistocene transgressive succes- rocks, these areas are susceptible to landslides.
sion made of clays (M. Narbone formation), calcarenites, In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the
sands and clayey soils (Agrigento formation). The area typology of landslide processes affecting a slope in the
has been unstable since 1315, involving both the Agrigento town (37° 18′N–13° 34′E in central southern
little-welded, very porous and fractured calcarenitic Sicily) and in particular, the northern slopes leading down
sections (E-W) from Pleistocene and the clay layers from the St. Gerlando Cathedral which since 1951 has
interstratified within these sections. Since 1924, from time elevated to the status of minor basilica. Figure 1 shows the
to time, various typologies of disruption have occurred: Agrigento cathedral location and its position in relation to
falls, flows and more complex phenomena. Fractures of Sicily.
the calcarenitic sections of the hill, pointed out by Since 2005 the landslide of Agrigento hill has been
Grappelli’s studies in 1966, have reactivated from March investigated and monitored by means of geomorphological
7, 2005 and until now, thus triggering movements of investigation, geological and geophysical surveys, hydro-
the side of the hill and damages to the infrastructures. The geological tests, geotechnical analysis and structural studies.
landslide movement is very slow and it is located in the Though the available data are numerous, no unique geo-
slope mainly from the bottom of the hill to XXV Aprile logical and nor a kinematic model of the landslide has been
Street. The re-activation of the existing discontinuity achieved so far.
represents the rotational sliding surface that passes along The objective of this paper was to establish a relationship
the sub-vertical crack and through the cracked calcaren- between historical and recent data, trying to provide a geo-
ites, the silty sands and the altered light-brown clays. The logical model and describing the landslide in accordance to
rotational sliding appears to be the main reason for new update of the Varnes classification [1].
anomalous behavior of the ground Cathedral system and The Agrigento area is located in central-southern Sicily at
probably the heavy rainfalls, from September 2004 to the edge of the Maghreb-Apennine thrust belt and it is
February 2005, could have caused the movement. characterized by a geological setting strictly influenced by
geodynamic evolution. Along the Maghreb-Apennine thrust

Keywords front, the Gela Nappe forms a large arcuate salient and, in
Landslide Cathedral Agrigento the area of Agrigento, has a NW-SE structural trend. The
tectonic setting of the basin is characterized by large open
folds (1–3 km amplitude and 5–10 km half wavelength
across the general strike [2]. These structures characterize
L. Vincenzo (&)
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Aerospaziale dei Materiali the geologic-structural layout on the surface, and are kine-
(DICAM), Scuola Politecnica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, matically associated with the development of south-verging
Viale Delle Scienze, Edificio 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy blind-thrust [3].

[email protected]
412 L. Vincenzo
Fig. 1 Location of the Agrigento

Cathedral and localization of the
landslide in the northern side of
the hill
The Agrigento hill is part of a 20°-south sloping mono-

cline. This peculiar morphological condition depends on the 2 Materials and Methods
geological conditions of the area as well as on the strati-
graphic contact between the Mt. Narbone and Agrigento The main slope of the landslide can be easily identified in the
formations (Fig. 2). areas of the Archiepiscopal Palace, the Cathedral and the
Diocesan Museum, in correspondence to the old superficial
crack.
The instability in this area is mainly generated by the
geo-structural setting of a fragile lithotype (calcarenite)
overlapping a plastic lithotype (sandy clay, silts and marly
sands). Such instability is accelerated by the kind of layout
of these lithologies, arranged along a regular, large and
asymmetric syncline fold limb with variable inclination
between 20° and 40°.
2.1 Detail Geology and Stratigraphy
After a proper homogenization and analysis of the data

collected from the several surveys carried out from 1966
until now, the detailed stratigraphy of the northern side of
the hill was reconstructed. In this way, a unique reference
stratigraphic sequence was created including: (a) from the
building’s floor to −5 m depth, fill material; (b) from −5 to
−10 m, porous organogenic yellow-to-reddish calcarenite,
sometimes characterized by a bit cementation; (c) from −10
to −30 m, light brown clayey sands, sandy clays, sometimes
turning into light brown clays with chalk crystals (altered
clays), with fossils; (d) from −30 to −60 m pale-yellow
porous organogenic calcarenites, cemented but crumbly,
turning in the lowest area into porous reddish calcarenites
with fossils (bio-calcarenites); (e) from −60 to −70 m grey
Fig. 2 Stratigraphic column of the northern side of the Agrigento hill clayey clays of Mount Narbone formation (Fig. 3).
[email protected]
The Landslide of Agrigento Hill … 413
Fig. 3 Geological map and

stratigraphy of the Cathedral area
with the lacalization of main test
hole. 1 backfill; 2 rotational slide
zone; 3 earth flow zone; 4
calcarenite layer II—CL2; 5
grey-light blue clays; 6
calcarenite layer I—CL1; 7
Monte Narbone formation
Geotechnical parameters of the foundation soil clays. The instability of the zone 2, on the other hand, is not
limited to CL2 calcarenite layer but also to CL1 calcarenite
The geotechnical properties of the lithologies of the hill layer and the Mt. Narbone formation. In this instance, the
has been analyzed. landslide starts with a rotational slide but then evolves into
The calcarenites rocks (CL2 and CL1) have: an earth-flow landslide in the downstream area [1].
porosity (n): 0.36–0.46%; specific weight (cs): 26.9– As far as the progressive kinematic evolution of the slope
27.4 kN/m3; saturated unit weight (csat): 18.8–20.6 kN/m3; is concerned, the clays located beneath the upper calcarenite
uniaxial strength (rf): 1.1–4.6 MPa; coefficient of perme- layer should play a paramount role. These clays have been,
ability (k): 10–2—10–4 cm/s and Young modulus (E′): in fact, subjected to such flows that involved the calcarenitic
300–700 MPa. blocks upstream. Such instabilities, together with causing
The relevant inclinometer readings, observed between cracks in the buildings of Duomo Street, have also caused
June 2011 and December 2012, indicate different shear the collapse of large calcarenitic blocks that reached the area
surface localized at depths between 10 and 30 m. of XXV Aprile Street. The sub-vertical and inclined cracks
in the historical building showed a rotational movement with
failure in the Northern edge of the hill. The structures crack
3 Results monitoring highlighted that the rotational movement (North
direction) is dominant compared with the failure.
The geo-morphological aspects characterizing the northern
side of the hill include: (a) “creep” type superficial phe-
nomena affecting the clays of Mt. Narbone formation; 4 Discussion and Conclusion
(b) morphological relicts from complex gravitational phe-
nomena produced by suspected rock collapses involving the The paper analyzed the historical and recent data on the
edge of the side of the hill; (c) slow shifts of the calcarenitic Agrigento landslide. Indeed the hill landslide, active since
slope’s edge, enhanced by different-size crack systems and 1315, in the time has damaged a few structures as the
residual recesses detecting the preferential directions St. Gerlando Cathedral. The hill slope, weakly inclined, is
alongside which such movements can originate. The com- susceptible to different landslide phenomena, but one of
bination of all this evidence leads to the hypothesis of the them determined the damage of the cultural heritage. The
existence of a 10–20 m-deep phenomenon with a numerous landslides, nowadays stabilized or quiescent, that
rotational-slide of movement which was activated during a have affected the side of the hill, have left both cracks in the
massive weather event such as that of the March 2005. The calcarenites and cracks in the historical monuments
landslide area can be divided into two zones: (1) Museum (Cathedral, Archiepiscopal palace, etc.). All the research
and the Cathedral’s staircase; (2) St. Gerlando Cathedral. carried out from 1966 to 2012 allowed the detection of the
The instability of the first zone is caused by a rotational-slide rotational slide affecting the slope and the ecclesiastic
movement and is limited to the edge of CL2 calcarenite complex, with a sliding surface that goes from the ground to
layer, involving a thick debris layer standing on the sandy about −15 m deep (variable from area to area according to
[email protected]
414 L. Vincenzo
the lithology and the alteration status). The kinematic the hill and of Cathedral, confirming a real aggravation of
movement has not been identified nor postulated up to now, the local instability worsening the risk scenario.
and consequently the attempts to stabilize the Cathedral were Geological and geotechnical investigations permitted to
unfounded. The landslide movement is very slow and it is identify a rather large sliding mechanism involving the
localized in the slope mainly from the bottom of the hill to North aisle of the Cathedral as well as long adjacent stret-
XXV Aprile Street. The re-activation of the existing dis- ches of the edge of the slope. It is now evident that the
continuity represents the rotational sliding surface that pas- preservation of the Cathedral to reduce hazard and risk for
ses along the sub-vertical crack and through the cracked this cultural heritage, requires the stabilization of the slope as
calcarenites, the silty sands and the altered light-brown a priority.
clays. The rotational sliding appears to be the main reason
for the anomalous behavior of the ground Cathedral system
and probably the heavy rainfalls, from September 2004 to References
February 2005, could have caused the movement. The
rotational sliding movement involves the northern slope until 1. Hungr, O., Leroueil, S.: Picarelli L The Varnes classification of
the CL1 calcarenite edge. landslide types, an update. Landslides 11(2), 167–194 (2014)
The two detected collapsing areas subjected to different 2. Grasso, M., Miuccio, G., Maniscalco, R., Garofalo, P., La Manna, F.,
Stareilia, R.: Plio-Pleistocene structural evolution of the western
and not-necessarily-simultaneous shifts. Today the northern margin of the Hyblean plateau and the Maghrebian foredeep, SE
slope, under the CL1 calcarenite layer, until XXV Aprile Sicily: Implications for the deformational history of the Gela nappe.
street, even if its morphology is ascribable to ancient land- Ann. Tecton. 9, 7–21 (1995)
slides (creep, earthflow, collapses etc.) as quoted by several 3. Grasso, M., Lickorish, W.H., Diliberto, E., Geremia, F.,
Maniscalco, R., Maugeri, S., Rapisarda, F., Pappalardo, G.: Carta
authors, is to be considered quiescent. In conclusion, the geologica della struttura a pieghe di Licata (Sicilia
main success of this work consisted in detecting a centro-meridionale), scale, vol. 1: p. 50.000, S.EL.CA., Florence
well-defined deformation pattern both of the northern-side of (1997)
[email protected]
ROAD Slope Instabilities in Schist Massifs:
Case of the National Road Linking
Marrakech to Ouarzazate (Morocco)
Abdeltif Bouchehma, Azzouz Kchikach, Imad Kadiri, Hamid Essaidi,

Mohammed Himmi, Khalil Bizani, and Hammou Mansouri
The national road RN9 connecting Marrakech and
Ouarzazate is located in a mountainous area with steep The national road RN9 connecting Marrakech and Ouarza-
slopes. Several instabilities are recorded along this road zate is the only link with the southeastern part of Morocco. It
including the Tishka massif which rises to 2300 m. These crosses the High Atlas chain and is characterized by sharp
instabilities often hinder the road operation especially turns at steep slopes, especially in the Tishka massif which
during periods of poor weather conditions. A geological rises to 2300 m altitude (Fig. 1). Many serious traffic acci-
and geotechnical study made it possible to better under- dents have been recorded in recent decades, forcing the
stand the origin of the instabilities in the Tishka massif. authorities to implement redevelopment and widening
The monitoring of these instabilities by a series of works. This paper dealt with slope instabilities study in the
inclinometers showed significant displacements Tishka schist massif carried out within the abovementioned
(18 mm/month) to 5 and 15 m of depth. This study works. After the geological and geotechnical investigations,
showed that the instabilities are the result of benches slips core drillings, pressuremeter tests and inclinometers mea-
according to fractures plans and schistosity or sometimes surements, we analyzed the unstable slope strengthening
linked to a regional fault mapped for the first time in this solutions proposed from both stability and cost points of
study. A geotechnical model was developed and inte- view. The solution chosen for each studied slope was
grated in the Plaxis software to discuss and validate the assessed by a digital simulation! [1].
different slopes strengthening solutions.

Keywords 2 Unstable Slopes Geological
Road slopes Instability Schist massif and Geotechnical Investigations
Strengthening Tishka Morocco and Strengthening Solutions
The Tishka pass is part of the Hercynian High Atlas Moun-

tains. In this region, the RN9 is located on altered schist
soils [2]. A mapping and structural study of the Tishkaa area
was performed during the months of May and June 2017
extended by looking into several cored and destructive dril-
A. Bouchehma (&) A. Kchikach I. Kadiri lings results showing instability signs (Fig. 2). The rocks
Cadi Ayyad University, B.P. 511, 40000 Marrakesh, Morocco
mechanical quality was assessed by pressuremeter tests at
different depth levels. Figure 2 shows an investigation results
H. Essaidi
Ministry of Equipment and Transport, RN9 Construction Site,
example. Inclinometers measured land masses movements
40000 Marrakesh, Morocco between November 2016 and November 2017. Some records
M. Himmi K. Bizani
are very important especially in sub-surface of altered schists.
Ministry of Equipment and Transport, Regional Office These movements affect the road pavement as shown in
of Marrakech-Safi, 40000 Marrakesh, Morocco Fig. 1c. Two solutions can be adopted to address excessive
H. Mansouri displacements: If the healthy schist is less than 10 m in
Public Laboratory of Tests and Studies, CES, Km7, depth with low displacements, we suggest a nailing slope
El Jadida Road, Casablanca, Morocco

[email protected]
416 A. Bouchehma et al.
Fig. 1 Study area location.

a Identified fault producing
landslides examples b slope
instability signs examples.
c Location of the slope presented
in Fig. 2
stabilization, otherwise, we adopt an underground piles road (EM < 20 MPa) at less than 10 m depths. These values
stabilization combined with nailing. increase beyond this depth. This confirms roughly the
lithological descriptions made above. These low values are
assigned to the altered rocks.
3 Results and Discussion Most inclinometers reveal significant displacements from
5 to 15 m depths. Sliding surfaces are likely to be affected by
3.1 Geotechnical Model Template of Unstable lithological contacts between weathered pelites and schist
Slopes and between altered and unaltered schists. All the incli-
nometers were sheared certifying the sliding activity at
Geological mapping revealed two lithological parts: a speeds around 17–18 mm/month.
schisto-sandstone formation topped by green pelites with
highly weathered outcrops. The weathered layer thickness
may exceed 5 m. Almost all drillings show the same litho- 3.2 Modeling and Assessing the Strengthening
logical succession of highly weathered pelites with tuffa- Models
ceous surface resting either on a healthy schist directly or on
a green altered layer before reaching the black healthy one Two slope instability cases were identified. The first one is
(Fig. 2b) [1]. about shallow healthy schist. Its stability analysis using the
The massif structural survey helped identify faults and Plaxis software shows that a nailing system with tie-rods is a
fractures partly affecting instabilities. Figure 1 highlights the suitable solution (Fig. 2c). Their orientations are perpen-
most important ones. The structural measurements projected dicular to directions and dips of fractures and schistosities.
in wulf canvas using SteoriWin software show the principal The second case is about deeper healthy schist level
directions, which are N25 for faults and fractures and N160 exceeding 10 m where stability can be ensured by a road
for schistosity [3]. Pressuremeter tests revealed low pressure carried on piles in its transversal and longitudinal directions
limits (PL < 3 MPa) and low pressurometric modulus (Fig. 2d).
[email protected]
ROAD Slope Instabilities in Schist … 417
Fig. 2 a Core drillings and

pressiometer tests locations.
b Geotechnical model, profile
correlation 2. c Sol. 1: Nailing
stabilization. d Sol. 2: Piles
stabilization
during this study (see Fig. 1). The developed geotechnical

4 Conclusion model made it possible to choose the right strengthening
solutions. Nails and tie-rods stabilization would minimize
The investigations carried out in the Tishka massif helped displacements within slopes. Underground piles stabiliza-
define the used geotechnical model. The instabilities tion prevents disorders within road pavements. However, to
recorded are essentially linked to sliding benches according prevent piles downstream slope displacements, the combi-
to fracture and stability plans. Major landslides are most nation of the two solutions is required for an overall sta-
likely due to weathered schist contact with healthy schist. bility. This variant is being assessed and will be detailed in
Some landslides are linked to a regional fault mapped the draft article.
[email protected]
418 A. Bouchehma et al.
References the Anti-Atlas (Morocco) during Pan-African times with the

emphasis on inversion tectonics and metallogenic activity at the
Precambrian-Cambrian transition. Precambr. Res. 140, 157–182
1. Engineering firms «LPEE & CID» : Execution design study related (2005)
to the RN9 service improvement from kilometric point 278 to 349, 3. Rafiee, A., Radjaï, F.: Contribution to fractured rock stability study:
Ouarzazate, 52 p. Unpublished Report (2014) characterization of in-situ fracturing, geostatistics and mechanics of
2. Gasquet, D., Levresse, G., Cheilletz, A., Azizi-Samir, M.R., discrete media. School of Mines of Alès (2008)
Mouttaqi, A.: Contribution to a geodynamic reconstruction of
[email protected]
Rainfall Effect on Slope Stability
Using Numerical Analysis
Abstract time periods of a rainfall event of Azazga city. Factor of

Rainfall-induced slope failure is a major geotechnical safety (FS) has been commonly used to quantitatively assess
disaster and has been frequently reported in many regions the stability of a slope. It is used as an index to determine
worldwide. This work aimed to study the rainfall how close or far away a slope is from failure. The analyses
(climate) influence on slope stability. The climate is were performed employing two-dimensional finite element
represented by precipitations rate, precipitation duration models using the code (PLAXIS2D).
and the stability of this unsaturated slope in natural terrain
was evaluated based on a key indicator which is “safety
factor”. The finite elements software (PLAXIS2D) was 2 Materials and Methods
used to analyze the stability of the slope. The factors of
safety were evaluated by means of fully coupled 2.1 Numerical Simulation and Models for Slope
flow-deformation analyses and then compared with the Stability Analysis
various controlling factors: rainfall intensity, rainfall
duration, angles and heights of slopes, soil characteristics Researchers as Gasmo, Tsaparas and Rahardjo have per-
and hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The results were formed numerical analyses of rainfall-induced slope failure
discussed in this paper and led to confirm the relationship to study the effects of antecedent rainfall and parameters
existing between landslide and climate effects considered controlling slope instability [2]. Recent developments in
in this analysis. In fact, this relation is observed for most analyses of slope instabilities under rainfall conditions using
part of the north Algerian instabilities. the limit equilibrium method and coupled with hydro-
mechanical modeling are given in some software (such as:
Plaxis, Geo-Slope, ABAQUS…etc.).

Keywords
Slope failure Rainfall intensity Numerical
simulation Factor of safety
2.2 Coupled Hydro-mechanical Analysis
The coupled analysis robustly integrates the above two

1 Introduction computation procedures together; the soil hydraulic and
mechanical responses were calculated simultaneously in the
Slope failure is attributed to many factors including rainfall, coupled analysis. Oh and Lu commented that the coupled
earthquake shaking, snow melting, temperature changes, analysis could lead to a more accurate assessment of slope
volcanic activity, various human actions and weak soil stability under rainfall conditions [1].
layers. Rainfall-induced slope failure is a major geotechnical
disaster and has been frequently reported in many regions
worldwide [1]). The main objective of this study was then to 2.3 Geometry and Soil Parameters
estimate the factor of safety of the slope after predefined
In this study, a slope with an inclination angle of 26,56°
S. Merat (&) L. Djerbal R. Bahar (2:1) to the horizontal plane and a height of 50 m was
University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene,
considered (Fig. 1). The groundwater table is assumed to be
BP. 32 El Alia, 16111 Algiers (Leego), Algeria
e-mail: [email protected] at 10 m elevation from the lower ground surface. The soil

[email protected]
420 S. Merat et al.
established by applying the soil self-weight during the

first calculation phase and solving for equilibrium (Yang
et al. 2016).
The standard fixities were applied as the mechanical
boundary. The two lateral boundaries were allowed to move
only in the vertical directions whereas the bottom boundary
was restrained and fully blocked from movement (Fig. 2b).
Fig. 1 Geometry of the slope model and initial ground water level Controlling factors for rainfall-induced landslides
type was specified as «Clayey Loam» of Azazga. The soil The analysis of seepage and infiltration in an unsaturated soil
properties related to the unsaturated soil were taken as given and slope stability can be readily performed using available
by van Genuchten [3, 4]. The different values of soil computer programs. However, the results are sometimes
parameters used for the surface layer are recapitulated in difficult to interpret, because the analysis involves many
Table 1. parameters related to soil properties, slope geometry,
The surface soil layer behavior was modeled as linear, groundwater condition, initial conditions and rainfall char-
elastic-perfectly plastic material by using the Mohr–Cou- acteristics. Slopes with a high slope angle, a high slope
lomb model and analyzed using soil parameters given by height and a shallow initial depth of groundwater table form
undrained tests. The effect of soil dilatancy was not con- the worst combination of factors for failure, and are more
sidered in the simulation because the soil dilation angle w, likely to fail as a result of rainfall [7]. The main objective of
was negligible based on the empirical relationship w = many research studies was to separate the influence of the
− 30° [1]. So for Undrained (A), it is recommended to use various factors, and determine the controlling parameters [8].
w = 0 (material models manual, Plaxis2D 2016) [6]. According to Rahardjo et al. [7], the slope geometry and
the initial water table determine the initial safety factor, and
the actual failure conditions are much affected by rainfall
2.4 Initial and Boundary Conditions characteristics and properties of the soils in the slope.
Therefore attention should be paid to soil properties and
The initial stress within the soil body of the slope was rainfall characteristics when dealing with rainfall-induced
generated using the PLAXIS2D gravity loading function for slope failures. In this study, the influence of each controlling
non-horizontal surfaces. For gravity loading it was factor on the slope during a rainfall was dealt with to
Table 1 Summary of soil parameters of Azazga surface soil layer used in the FEM [5]
Soil layer Soil model Drainage cunsat csat m’ C′ u′ K (m/min) E′ (Kpa)
type (kN/m3) (kN/m3) (kpa) (°)
Clayey Mohr-Coulomb Undrained 15,8 17,8 0,33 55 15 Kx = 10−3 4,038 *
Loam A Ky = 10−3 105
m′: Poisson ratio, C′: Cohesion, u′: Friction angle, Kx and Ky: Horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity respectively, E′: Young modulus
Fig. 2 Slope model used in the analysis a—Finite element method based computational model. b Hydraulic and mechanical boundary conditions
of the slope model
[email protected]
Rainfall Effect on Slope Stability Using … 421
Fig. 3 Variation of monthly and maximal daily rainfall for the rainy year [9]
understand the mechanism of failure and the response of the considerable effect. A slope with a high slope angle and
slope [8]. height represents an unfavorable case (Fig. 8). The factor of
safety (FoS) and total displacement (Utot) are linearly corre-
lated with the cumulative rainfall intensity (see Figs. 5 and 6).
2.5 Analysis of Rainfall Data
Figure 3 shows the monthly variation of rainfall of the rainy 3.1 Controlling Factors Effect on the Slope
year. The average annual rainfall is characterized by a value
of 973 mm with a standard deviation equal to 232,8 mm. 3.1.1 Soil Properties Effect
The average daily rainfall data were used as input to the Different values of cohesion and friction angle parameters
model. Rainfall data were obtained from ANRH for the were used as soil properties to analyze the slope stability
Azazga School station (the station coordinates X:649,25; (Fig. 4). The results show that the factor of safety increased
Y: 383,9; Z: 430). gradually with the increase of both cohesion and friction
The rainfall intensity of the rainy year from January to angle. For a friction angle equals to 10°, the factor of safety
December with an accumulated rainfall amount equal to decreased gradually from 1,11 to 1 (with total cumulative
1577,7 mm was applied on the slope model. The FoS vari- rainfall = 972 mm) until the rainfall stops at the beginning
ation with time due to rainfall conditions can be obtained. of June and the slope failure was reached, then it remained
constant during the next months of the year.
A slope with poor soil mechanical properties (C′ and u′)
3 Results and Discussion is very susceptible to reach the failure phenomenon during
rainfall as shown in Fig. 4 and it gave a considerable dis-
A number of influencing parameters on slope stability were placement (1,349 m).
taken account using series of coupled hydro-mechanical finite For the previous slope model mentioned above in (Fig. 1)
element analyses. Each of the studied parameters gave a with Azazga surface soil properties as a witness case, the
Fig. 4 Effect of soil properties

on variation of factor of safety
with time: a—soil cohesion b—
friction angle
[email protected]
422 S. Merat et al.
Fig. 5 Variation of total

displacement and factor of safety
for the adopted Model: a—Utot
and FoS versus time, b—FoS
versus cumulative rainfall,
c—Utot versus cumulative
rainfall, d—FoS versus Utot
factor of safety decreased gradually with time as cumulative safety remains constant with the rainfall until the third month
rainfall increased; on the other hand, the total displacement (March) and thereafter, the factor of safety rapidly decreased
of the corresponding slope increased (the order of a few then seemed to stabilize with time. The factor of safety
millimeters) (Fig. 5a). The results confirm that the factor of tended to decrease gradually with the increase in the slope
safety (FoS) and the total displacement (Utot) are linearly angle as shown in Fig. 8a. The critical value of factor of
correlated with the cumulative rainfall intensity (Figs. 5b safety equals to 1,18 for slope angle (b = 26,56°). For a
and 5c) and they are also correlated among them as shown in slope angle equals to 20°, different heights (35, 40, 45 m)
(Fig. 5d). So the cumulative rainfall effect is a very impor- were used to analyze the slope stability. The factor of safety
tant factor for a landslide occurrence. seemed to decrease with the increasing slope height. For a
The variations of total displacement and factor of safety 35 m height, the slope was still stable during the rainfall
were analyzed for the critical case shown in Fig. 5, for a soil event (the minimum Fos obtained is equal to 1,5). For the
with u′ = 10°. The linear correlation was also confirmed other slope heights (40 and 45 m), Fos suddenly decreases
(Fig. 6). from 1,86 to 1,45 and 1,77 to 1,39 respectively) (see Fig. 8b)
The total displacement in this case at the end of calcu-
lation (derived after the coupled analysis) was considerable 3.1.3 Factor of Safety for Various Hydraulic
(1,349 m) in comparison with the previous case (the order of Conductivity Values
a few millimeters) (Fig. 7). Various permeability values were used as input for hydraulic
parameters of the soil with the same rainfall conditions.
3.1.2 Factor of Safety for Various Slope Angle Figure 9 illustrates the variation of the calculated FoS with
(Tan b) and Slope Heights respect to time for different coefficients of permeability
The properties of the slope itself such as the geometry (slope values considered in this study.
angle and slope height) are the internal factors for the rainfall The FoS decreased faster with a highest hydraulic con-
intensity values of the rainy year of Azazga city, the factor of ductivity (e.g. K = 10−3 m/min and 1,4 * 10−3) due to the
Fig. 6 Variation of total displacement and factor of safety: a—Utot versus cumulative rainfall, b—FoS versus cumulative rainfall
[email protected]
Rainfall Effect on Slope Stability Using … 423
Fig. 7 Total displacement at the end of a rainfall event (Utot = 1,349 m)
Fig. 8 Variation of safety factor in function of: a—slope angle, b—slope height
maximum reduction of the factor of safety (Fig. 9). In fact,

the results in Fig. 9 illustrate that an increase in coefficient of
permeability will shorten the time period for slope failure to
occur during rainfall event.
4 Conclusion
Fig. 9 Factor of safety for various hydraulic conductivity values
In this study, numerical analyses were carried out to observe
the variations of factor of safety under a rainfall event based
higher infiltration ability. For K = 1,4 * 10−3 m/min, the on real monitoring data from the study area. The conclusions
FoS decreased rapidly from 1,43 and reached a critical value can be summarized as follows:
(1,18) after 4 months with an accumulated rainfall intensity
of 860 mm. In contrast, when the soil has a poor hydraulic • A slope with the highest soil properties (cohesion and fric-
conductivity (e.g. K = 10−4 m/min), the FoS seemed to tion angle) represents a stable state during a rainfall event;
decrease slowly with time and took a long period of time to • During a rainfall event, the factor of safety seemed to
reach the lowest value. Rahardjo et al. [7] suggested that decrease gradually while the total displacement tended to
the threshold rainfall intensity can be determined by the increase;
[email protected]
424 S. Merat et al.
• The factor of safety decreased continually with the 3. Sun, D.M., Zang, Y.G., Semprich, S.: Effects of airflow induced by
increase of the height and slope angles. Slopes with a rainfall infiltration on unsaturated soil slope stability. Transp Porous
Med 107, 821–841 (2015)
high slope angle and height constitute the worst combi- 4. Huat, B.B.K., Ali, F.H., Rajoo, R.S.K.: Stability analysis and
nation of factors for failure; stability chart for unsaturated residual soil slope. Am. J. Environ.
• In the less permeable soil, the effects of the rainfall on Sci 2(4) (2006 ISSN 1553-345X), 154–160 (2006)
slope stability threshold are delayed. In contrast, a high 5. Djerbal, L., Alimrina, N., Melbouci, B., Bahar, R.: Mapping and
management of landslide risk in the city of Azazga (Algeria).
hydraulic conductivity value in soil plays an important Landslide Science for a Safer Geo-environment. Springer Interna-
role in accelerating the infiltration process and allows the tional Publishing, Heidelberg, pp. 463–468 (2014)
slope failure to occur by reaching rapidly its lowest value. 6. Plaxis: Internal Report, Groundwater Flow, Fully Coupled Flow
Deformation and Undrained Analysis in Plaxis 2D and 3D. Vahid
Galavi (2010)
7. Rahardjo, H., Ong, T.H., Rezaur, R.B., Leong, E. C.: Factors
controlling instability of homogeneous soil slopes under rainfall.
References J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. © Asce, 1532–1543 (2007)
8. Zhang, L.L., Zhang, J., Zhang, L. M., Tang, W.H.: Stability analysis
of rainfall induced slope failure: a review. In: Geotechnical
1. Yang, K.H., Uzuoka, R., Thuo, J.N., Lin, G.L., Nakai, Y.: Coupled Engineering Volume 164 Issue GE5, Proceedings of the Institution
hydro-mechanical analysis of two unstable unsaturated slopes of Civil Engineers, pp. 299–316 (2011)
subject to rainfall infiltration. Eng. Geol. 18 pages (2017) 9. ANRH: Données pluviométriques de la station Azazga école,
2. Ering, P., Babu, G.L.S.: Probabilistic back analysis of rainfall Tizi-ouzou. Agence Nationale des Ressources Hydriques, Algérie
induced landslide-a case study of Malin landslide, India, Elsevier. (2011)
Eng. Geol. 208, 154–164 (2016)
[email protected]
Temporal Characteristics of the Rainfall
Induced Landslides in the Chinese Loess
Plateau (China)
Aidi Huo, Jianbing Peng, Yuxiang Cheng, Xiaolu Zheng,

and Yiran Wen
Prior to assessing the temporal characteristics of the
rainfall-induced landslides in Chinese Loess Plateau The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is the major strategic area
(CLP), it is fundamental to establish a detailed landslide of Chinese western development. The CLP covers
inventory map. This study documented rainfall data from one-twentieth of the Chinese land area and represents
2000 to 2015 period and mapped rainfall distribution in one-fifth of the national agricultural land; more than 700
the CLP on the basis of yearly, monthly, and the daily important cities and towns are located in the CLP with
precipitation data from 57 rain gauging stations. one-sixth of the Chinese population. The CLP is also a major
Geo-statistical analysis and Geographic Information Sys- base for the development of natural gas, petroleum, and coal
tem (GIS) techniques combined with information on resources in China [1]. The main linear projects such as
geological disaster within the region were used to study high-speed railways, oil and gas transmission lines,
the temporal characteristics and trend variations of rainfall expressways, and power transmission lines cross the CLP [1,
and geological disasters distribution in the region. The 2]. Energy and mineral resource development, major lifeline
results indicated that a positive relationship existed engineering, and urban construction have to deal with loess
between geological disaster and the average annual and loess-related geo-hazards, which further aggravates
rainfall, with zonality in the loess gullies, hills (Mao), major geo-hazard (i.e., landsides) development on the
and ridges (Liang); Based on the field investigations, the CLP. Therefore, the frangibility of the geo-logical environ-
main factors affecting loess landslide distribution and ment of the CLP, the intensity of human activities, and the
development, such as geomorphic conditions, vegetation development of landsides hazards, are related to each other
cover, soil erosion modulus, rainfall, and climate were and affect the CLP development [3].
considered. The lag effect of landside disasters after On the basis of a large number of field investigations,
raining is particularly obvious over the time. These results comprehensive loess land-slide data caused by rainfall, and
provide a useful reference for the study of the mechanism an examination of the geological conditions of regional
of water-induced loess landslides. constructions in the CLP, it was recognized that the scientific
analysis of the relationship between rainfall and the occur-

Keywords rence of landside disasters is particularly important [2, 4].

Geological hazards Precipitation Temporal Therefore, this paper studied the relationship between the
variation Trend change Chinese Loess Plateau temporal characteristics of rainfall and the mechanism of
landslide development in the CLP. Based on the compre-
A. Huo X. Zheng Y. Wen hensive analysis, we found that the hydrogeological struc-
Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects ture and the rainfall were the internal and external factors to
in Arid Region (Chang’an University), Ministry of Education,
Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China induce the landslide disaster, respectively.
A. Huo X. Zheng Y. Wen
School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Chang’an
University, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China
J. Peng (&) Y. Cheng
College of Geology Engineering and Geometrics, Chang’an
University, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

[email protected]
426 A. Huo et al.
2 Materials and Methods Administration (NOAA) and NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center (GFC) to provide estimates and archives on land
2.1 Study Area surface conditions and fluxes [5]. The processed GLDAS
data were accessed online (http://grace.jpl.nasa.gov), using
The CPL is located in the middle and upper reaches of the the services of the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Infor-
Yellow River, covering an area of 630,000 km2 (Fig. 1), mation Services Center. The GLDAS information used in
latitude 33°43′–41°16′, longitude 100°54′–114°33′, which is this study was based on satellite, land surface model, and
an important water inflow and main sandy area in the Yellow ground observation data [6]. The GLDAS dataset obtained
River. The CLP is the largest loess sedimentary area in the with the Noah model includes precipitation, air temperature,
world, and its terrain is complex, with horizontal and vertical and soil moisture variables. The spatial resolution of the data
gully extending about 1300 km from east to west and about is 1.0° 1.0°, and the time resolution is monthly from 2000
700 km from north to south, and broken ground. The area to 2015 [7–9]. Meanwhile, the reference monthly rainfall
covers most of Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces, all of Shanxi values were obtained from 57 meteorological stands (sta-
Province, and parts of three others (Henan, Qinghai, and tions) in the CLP. Geo-statistical analysis and GIS tech-
Ningxia), among the southern Yinshan Mountain, northern niques were used to achieve the temporal characteristics and
Qinling Mountain, eastern Riyue-Helan Mountain, and trend variation research.
western Taihang Mountain. The elevation of the plateau is
between 1000 and 1600 m, and the surface is covered by
continuous loess on hills, basins, and alluvial plains, with an 3 Results
average thickness in the range from 50 to 80 m, exceeding in
some area 100 m, and reaching nearly 200 m in the Dongzhi There is an obvious regularity of the rainfall temporal dis-
and the Luocuan plateaus. The loess has been geologically tribution characteristic of monthly changes in the CLP. The
transported from the northwestern Gobi Desert by the wind distribution of monthly rainfall time obviously corresponds
and has accumulated on the CLP since the beginning of the with Gaussian distribution. In general, the rainfall gradually
Quaternary Period. Huangling County is a typical repre- increases after January and reached the peak in July, August,
sentative area in the CLP. The geological hazard data of and September. After September, the rainfall gradually
Huangling County were obtained from the detailed investi- decreases (Fig. 2). There is a trend of overall southward
gation report of geological disasters in Yan’an City, Shaanxi movement in the semi-arid and semi-humid areas.
Province in the CLP. Figure 3 shows the monthly geological hazard and
monthly average rainfall in the central CLP of Huangling
County. It can be seen that the monthly rainfall is similar to
2.2 Data Used and Methodology the annual one; both are closely related to the number of
geological disasters. With the increasing frequency of
The Global Land Data Assimilations Systems (GLDAS) was monthly rainfall, the monthly frequency of geological dis-
jointly developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric asters also increases, the basic trend is generally the same.
200 30
Monthly average rainfall in
Frequency of geological disasters/numbers
180 CLP
Monthly average rainfall/mm
25 25
160 23
Monthly average rainfall in
140 Huangling County 21
20
120 Frequency of geological 17
100 disasters 15
80 12
10
60
7
40
5 5
20 3
2
1 1 1
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Fig. 2 The relationship between frequency of landslide disasters and

Fig. 1 Geographical position, meteorological stations and climate the monthly average rainfall in Huangling County and CLP (2000–
regions of the CLP 2015, Source GLDAS)
[email protected]
Temporal Characteristics of the Rainfall Induced Landslides … 427
and the average annual rainfall are positively correlated. In

addition to rainfall, the geomorphic structure, stratigraphic
lithology, slope structure, and human activities are also
important influence factors for the temporal distribution of
geological disasters. (3) According to the hydrogeological
characteristics of the CLP. The rainfall-induced landslide
mechanism can be summarized as follows: rainfall promotes
the increase of shear stress on of glide plane of a slope and
the decrease of shear strength in the landslide body.
Acknowledgements This study was supported by the following

grants: National Natural Science Foundation of China: (Grant No:
41672255, 41302250, 41402255, 41790444, and 41877232)
Fig. 3 The combined rainfall distribution-landslide map. (Rainfall:

2000–2015, Source GLDAS; Landslides data: the detailed investigation
report of geological disasters in CLP) References
1. Peng, J.-B., et al.: The critical issues and creative concept in

Disasters were divided into 7 zones (I–VII) according to
mitigation research of loess geological hazards. J. Eng. Geol. 22(4),
densities. Compared to the annual rainfall, monthly rainfall 684–691 (2014). (in Chinese with English abstract)
has a more obvious lag, that is, the increasing in rainfall in 2. Zhu, Y., Zhou, B.: Characteristics of Quaternary phreatic water
the month, not only with the increasing frequency geological system in Longdong Loess Plateau. People’s Yellow River 33(10),
disasters in the month, but also significant increase in the 51–53 (2011)
3. Xu, L., et al.: Landslides in a Loess platform, North-West China.
frequency of geological disasters next month. This lag effect Landslides 11(6), 993–1005 (2014)
is particularly evident, especially in the 6–9 months with 4. Xu, X.-Z., et al.: Landslides on the Loess Plateau of China: a latest
more rainfall. statistics together with a close look. Nat. Hazards 86(3), 1393–1403
(2017)
5. Anderson, J., et al.: The data assimilation research testbed: a
community facility. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90(9), 1283–1296
4 Conclusion (2009)
6. Rodell, M., et al.: The global land data assimilation system. Bull.
This study investigated the temporal characteristics of the Am. Meteorol. Soc. 85(3), 381–394 (2004)
7. Huo, A.-D., et al.: Groundwater storage and depletion trends in the
rainfall-induced landslides in the CLP. Our results revealed Loess areas of China. Environ. Earth Sci. 75(16), 1167 (2016)
that: 8. Huo, A.-D., et al.: Simulation modeling for water governance in
(1) The annual rainfall in the CLP shows a faster basins based on surface water and groundwater. Agric. Water
decreasing trend. However, the occurrence frequency of Manage. 174, 22–29 (2016)
9. Cui, Y.-F., Nouri, A., Chan, D., Rahmati, E.: A new approach to the
geological disasters in the CLP has not been reduced due to DEM simulation of sand production. J. Petrol. Sci. Eng. 147, 56–67
the increasing frequency of extreme weather and heavy rains (2016)
because of global climate change. (2) The geological disaster
[email protected]
Tempo-Spatial Distribution and Triggering
Mechanism of Loess Landslide: A Case Study
from South Jingyang Platform, Shaanxi
Zhao Duan, Wen-chieh Cheng, Jianbing Peng, and Wei Chen
Abstract while variation of phreatic surface was categorized as the

Landslide hazard is often seen in the boundary of loess external factors [2–4]. South Jingyang platform, Shaanxi
platforms in northwest China. There are more than 60 Province, is deemed as one of the typical distress areas in
loess landslides recorded in Jingyang platform in the past northwest China. Although there have been 62 extensive
five decades. Two types of the loess landslide, which are loess landslides recorded in the south Jingyang platform
flowslide and slide, have been categorized. In this study, a since its agricultural irrigation began in 1976, the
statistical analysis to characterize the loess landslides was tempo-spatial distribution and triggering mechanism of the
conducted. Additionally, a series of constant shear loess landslides are still not clear.
drained (CSD) triaxial tests were undertaken to reveal The objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize the
the triggering mechanism of the loess landslides. The loess landslides by means of the field geological and topo-
irrigation-water infiltration and sequence and rule of loess graphical investigations and statistical analysis, (2) to reveal
landslide play a crucial role in triggering the loess the triggering mechanism of the loess landslide by inter-
landslides. These results provide the insights into the preting the results of CSD triaxial tests, and (3) to summa-
countermeasures recommended to resist the loess land- rize the countermeasures against loess landslide hazard.
slide hazard, thereby reduce the potential of loess
landslide in the future.
2 Geology and Loess Landslides of South
Jingyang Platform

Keywords
Loess landslide Jingyang platform Irrigation-water
infiltration Tempo-spatial distribution Since the contacting bodies of the Wei River fault started to
slide relative to one another and consistent erosion activities
associated with Jing River promoted plateau topography, the
above factors could be considered to be major contributors
1 Introduction to the loess landslides. Figure 1 shows the locations of the
loess landslides that are categorized into two types, loess
Due to some internal and external factors, the Loess Plateau flowslide and loess slide. All the landslides happened in the
is prone to the landslide hazard [1]. Degradation of loess and peripheral areas of the south Jingyang platform clarify the
plateau topography were categorized as the internal factors, statement above. Two geological boreholes located around
Jiangliu indicate that the water contents vary from 10 to 25%
Z. Duan W. Chen
and increase with the increasing depth. The higher water
College of Geology and Environment, Xi’an University of Science contents of loess deeper are due to the fact that the fractures
and Technology, Xi’an, 710054, China and fissures of loess body provide additional seepage paths
W. Cheng (&) to the loess deeper to promote the irrigation-water
School of Civil Engineering, Institute of Tunnel and Underground infiltration.
Structure Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and
Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China
J. Peng
School of Geology Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an
University, Xi’an, 710054, China

[email protected]
430 Z. Duan et al.
Fig. 1 Geological profile and

plan view of the study area
loess slides it could attain a value about two times the slope
3 Analysis and Discussion height. Figure 3 shows the relationship between the tan/a
and the volume of loess landslide for the south Jingyang
3.1 Statistical Analysis platform. As can be seen, the accumulative sliding volume to
differentiate the two types of loess landslides was evaluated
The statistical results indicate that the relationship between to be approximately 100 * 150 103 m3 according to the
the tan/a and the number of loess landslide followed a landslide influence extents. No any clear relationship
bell-shaped curve where mostly the loess flowslides and loess between the number of loess landslides and the tan/a value
slides were ended up with the tan/a value being equal to 0.25 has been revealed.
and 0.45, respectively, as shown in Fig. 2. In other words, the It can be seen from Fig. 1 that the loess landslides pre-
horizontal runout distance for the loess flowslides could sented a cluster feature. In the case the loess body of both
reach a value four times the slope height, whereas for the sides has already slid down, the loess body left in between is
more easily to slide down due to an inability of mobilizing
the side resistance resulting from the normal contacts given
by the loess body of both sides, during sliding phase.
3.2 Analysis for Triggering Mechanism of Loess

Landslide
The constant shear drained (CSD) triaxial test was employed

to investigate the behavior of loess subjected to the rising
phreatic surface induced by the irrigation-water infiltration.
The cylindrical specimens 39.1 mm in diameter and 80 mm
in height were prepared. The CSD tests were performed at
three stress levels of the specimens retrieved at 6, 12, and
24 m depths below the platform surface, respectively. CO2
was introduced in saturation phase to displace air from the
specimens allowing for back pressure saturation to be per-
formed. The specimens were then sheared in a drained
Fig. 2 Relationship between the number of loess landslides and the
tan/a value condition along a constant deviatoric stress path by
[email protected]
Tempo-Spatial Distribution and Triggering Mechanism of Loess … 431
The triggering mechanism of the loess landslides may be

interpreted from the results of the CSD tests that the sudden
collapse of the saturated loess due to the rising phreatic
surface leads a downward movement of the slope producing
a larger undrained loading on the saturated loess at the toe of
the slope. Thus, a loess landslide is likely to be triggered as
subjected to the generation of excess porewater pressure in a
further sliding phase [5–10].
4 Conclusion
This paper presented investigation results of 62 loess land-

slides in the south Jingyang platform. Based on the analysis
results, the following conclusions can be drawn:
Fig. 3 Relationship between the tan/a value and the volume of
landslide deposit V
(1) The irrigation-water infiltration and sequence and rule
of loess landslide seemed to be the major contributor to
increasing the back pressure u at a rate of 1 kPa/hr. Figure 4 the loess landslides in the south Jingyang platform.
shows the results of CSD tests. The axial strain and volu- (2) The sudden collapse of loess induced by the rising
metric strain showed a small change during a steady phreatic surface led to a downward movement of the
reduction in the effective mean stress p’ while the deviatoric slope and the subsequent landslide of loess as subjected
stress remained constant. This may be ascribed to the to the generation of excess porewater pressure in further
internal particle structural effects of loess. When the back sliding phase.
pressure u was increased to a value where the axial strain (3) Fieldworks to stabilize the toe of loess slope due to the
and volumetric strain showed a substantial change and the consistent erosion activities and regional irrigation
soil stress approached the critical state, the specimen col- rather than irrigation over the whole area may reduce
lapsed suddenly. At that time, the ratio of the back pressure the potential of loess landslide hazards. Additionally,
u to the cell pressure r3′ reached a value of 0.7 more efforts to enhance the resistance of loess against
Fig. 4 Results of constant shear

drained (CSD) triaxial tests: a ea
versus p′, b ev versus p′, c q′
versus p′, and d ea versus u/r3
[email protected]
432 Z. Duan et al.
the seepage force should be made to avoid triggering a 5. Cheng, W.C., Ni, J.C., Cheng, Y.H.: Alternative shoring for
loess landslide. mitigation of pier-foundation excavation disturbance to an existing
freeway. J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 31 (5), 04017072 (2017)
6. Cheng, W.C., Song, Z.P., Tian, W., Wang, Z.F.: Shield tunnel
uplift and deformation characterisation: A case study from
Zhengzhou metro. Tunn. Undergr. Space Technol. 79 (83–95),
References (2018)
7. Cheng, W.C., Ni, J.C., Shen, J.S., Wang, Z.F.: Modeling of
permeation and fracturing grouting in sand: Laboratory investiga-
1. Derbyshire, E.: Geological hazards in loess terrain, with particular tions. J. Test. Eval. 46 (5), 20170170 (2018)
reference to the loess regions of China. Earth Sci. Rev. 54, 231– 8. Liu, X., Zheng, X., Cheng, W.C., Kong, Q., Wang, J.: The shear
260 (2001) strength of the nature loess joint: A case study in shaanxi province.
2. Zhang, M.S., Liu, J.: Controlling factors of loess landslides in J. Test. Eval. 47 (3), 20170759 (2018)
western China. Environ. Earth Sci. 59, 1671–1680 (2010) 9. Wang, Z.F., Cheng, W.C., Wang, Y.Q., Du, J.Q.: Simple method
3. Wang, J.J., Liang, Y., Zhang, H., Wu, Y., Lin, X.: A loess to predict settlement of composite foundation under embankment.
landslide induced by excavation and rainfall. Landslides 11, 141– Int. J. Geomech. 18 (12), 04018158 (2018)
152 (2014) 10. Cheng, W.C., Ni, J.C., Arulrajah, A., Huang, H.W.: A simple
4. Peng, J.B., Fan, Z.J., Wu, D., Zhuang, J.Q., Dai, F.C., Chen, W. approach for characterising tunnel bore conditions based upon
W., Zhao, C.: Heavy rainfall triggered loess-mudstone landslide pipe-jacking data. Tunn. Undergr. Space Technol. 71 (494-504),
and subsequent debris flow in Tianshui, China. Eng. Geol. 186, (2018)
79–90 (2015)
[email protected]
Landslides in the Mila Basin-AGIS Approach
Nadira Bounemeur, Riad Benzaid, and Souad Atoub
Abstract landslides, collapse of roads and natural cavities can be

The study area is part of the Rhumel-Kebir watershed observed in some areas (Fig. 1).
which belongs to the northern zone of the Neogene This work is also based on various cartographic docu-
Constantine-Mila post-nappe basin (Northeast Algeria). ments such as, topographic maps of the study area at the
In this zone, the phenomenon of landslides manifests in scale of 1:50,000 and geological maps at 1:50,000 scale.
detrital formations of the Mio-Pliocene and seriously These data will be supplemented by GPS measurements and
threatens homes and basic infrastructure. The main observations on the field. The software Arc Gis10.2.2, Map
objective of our work was to contribute to the knowledge Info and Global Mapper 17.0 were used as part of image
of the probable causes of these landslides. All these processing and geo-referencing of data [3].
ground movements are becoming more and more impor-
tant with the abundance of rainfall. However, tectonics
and lithology are two predisposing factors that play an 2 Results and Discussions
important role in their evolution. These factors are
precursors of instability that decision-makers have to 2.1 Slope Map and Hydrographic Network
take into account when implementing any development
project. Through this work we hope to contribute to the The geometric parameters of the slopes were derived from a
mapping of areas at risk of landslide in the Mila basin. digital terrain model. Two geometric parameters were used
The maps produced will be of major importance for in the model: the slope and the hydrographic network
decision support in future development programs. (Figs. 2 and 3). Slope is one of the most important factors in
the genesis of landslides [3]. Thus the hydrological study
passes mainly, by the treatment of hydro-climatic measures

Keywords
Watershed Landslides Lithology Tectonics making it possible to establish the water balance and con-
GIS sequently to understand the mechanisms of the circulation
and the infiltration of waters inducing the instability of the
grounds.
According to the precipitation histogram results (Fig. 4),
1 Introduction the rainiest season is winter while the driest season is sum-
mer. Thus, almost half of the rain received in the study area
The basin of Mila, located northwest of the city of Con- occurs in winter, where the potential for risk of instability
stantine, extends west to the border of the region of Setif. increases considerably during this period, since the feeding
The areas subject to land movements are mainly the Tell of rivers and groundwater by precipitation is important in
Atlas [1, 2], which includes the Mila basin, due to the winter.
existence of highly contrasted reliefs, friable geological
formations (clays, flyschs, marls, etc.) and severe climatic
conditions. In such geological and climatic conditions 2.2 The Lineaments
N. Bounemeur (&) R. Benzaid S. Atoub The lineaments (Fig. 5) correspond to morphological struc-
Laboratoire de Génie Géologique, Université Mohammed Seddik
Benyahia-Jijel, B.P. 98, Cité Ouled Issa, 18000 Jijel, Algeria
tures as well as elements of structural origin, visible lines
e-mail: [email protected] and fractures or zones of breaches of faults [4].

[email protected]
434 N. Bounemeur et al.
Fig. 1 Examples of landslides in the Mila Basin (Northeast Algeria)
Fig. 2 Map of slopes in the Mila Basin
The results obtained at the study site (6° 12′ 44.31″ E) at 3 Conclusion
(36° 26′ 50.66″ N) demonstrate a high sensitivity to the
water of the clay-marly layer, affected by the landslides. For The study site is mainly characterized by heterogeneous
the sake of prevention and forecasting, it is imperative to detrital formations, mainly clay-marl, combined with other
undertake a thorough investigation of the phenomenon and factors favoring mudslides. The factors generating the
to ensure a rigorous monitoring of all vulnerable sites. For ground movements are diverse. We believe that in our case
some landslides, a system of drainage and capture of water study, the geological nature of the formations characterizing
sources or simply reforestation can prevent landslides and the Mila Basin and the climatic conditions are the main
improve the stabilization of unstable slopes. causes of most of the landslides encountered. Nevertheless,
[email protected]
Landslides in the Mila Basin-AGIS Approach 435
Fig. 3 Hydrographic network map
Fig. 4 Histogram of average seasonal precipitation (1990–2003, ANRH-Constantine)
[email protected]
436 N. Bounemeur et al.
Fig. 5 The lineaments map in

the Mila basin (Northeast Algeria)
anthropogenic actions are often the catalyst or the accelerator 2. Atmania, D.: Clay mineralogy and shrinkage-swelling phe-
of these landslides. nomenonin the Mila basin (North Constantinois). Thesis in Science,
Constantine 1 University (Algeria), 172p (2010)
3. Bennia, A., Saad, A.Z., Mesbah, C.: 1/50.000 geological hazard
mapping from high resolution satellite imagery(ALSAT-2A) and
References geographic information systems (SIG): the case of the pilot area of
Bejaia. Geogr. Sci. Bull. N° 30, 7P (53–59)
4. Belabbas, S.: Inventory and characteristics of active accidents
1. Marmi, R., Kacimi, M., Boularak, M.: Land movements in the Mila (impact on seismicity of the Constantine Region), Magister thesis,
(Nord-EastAlgeria)- impact on infrastructure. Revista de geomor- Ferhat Abbas-Sétif University (Algeria), 120p (2012)
fologie 10, 51–56 (2008)
[email protected]
Landslide Distribution Analysis
and Susceptibility Mapping: A Case Study
from Haveli District, Pakistan
Muhammad Basharat, Rizwan Yousaf, and Muhammad Tayyib Riaz
Landslide is a frequent and recurrent phenomenon in the
northern mountainous terrain of Pakistan and Kashmir Landslides are not only dangerous to human life and prop-
region. Where fatalities and severe economic losses occur erty, but also cause the blockage of routine movement of
along with the long time blockage of transport lines. The passengers and freight traffic. The Himalayan mountain belt
primary purpose of this research was to establish primary was revealed to be susceptible to landslides due to its
data and information about landslide occurrence in this topography, fragile geology, climate and large tectonic
area. For this purpose, interpretation of SPOT-5 satellite activities. It has been assessed that 30% of the world mass
images and field investigations were carried out to movements occur in these Himalayan series. Hence, land-
develop a landslide inventory of the region. A total 534 slides are very common and frequent phenomenon
landslides were identified and subsequently verified throughout the mountainous area of northern Pakistan,
through field visits in a 540 km2 area. A Digital Elevation causing damage to roads, buildings, pipelines, and disrupt-
Model (DEM) of 12.5 m resolution was used to derive ing the movements of the local people.
topographic factors such as slope, aspect, curvature The landslides hazard depends on various factors like
elevation and drainage in ArcGIS 10.1. Land cover map lithology, slope gradient, morphology of the area, land use,
was generated using Landsat 8 imageries and processed in rainfall that causes landslide vulnerability and the drainage
ENVI 5.3 software. After that, overlaying the landslide of the area as well. The hilly zones are prone to slope fail-
inventory map on these causative factor maps, landslide ures. One of the most important triggering factors of land-
distributions were assessed in each class of causative slides in the mountainous areas is earthquakes. For instance,
factors. Landslide concentration was significantly found 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and 2005 Kashmir earthquake
to be very high in slope gradient of more than 60° (3.84), have induced thousands of landslides in huge zones [1, 2, 4].
followed by water bodies class of land cover (3.35), and The death toll of 26,000 people was reported directly or
the road network (3.07). The landslide susceptibility map indirectly associated with the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
was developed using weight of evidence method to rank induced landslides [3]. Due to adverse effects of mass
the region in low, moderate, high and very high movements on these socio-economic values, a scientific
susceptibility zones. This map could be helpful for investigative approach is the need of the time to minimize
planners to develop a safe hazard plan of the region. these natural hazards by effectively investigating the geo-
logical and topographical conditions.

Keywords In order to minimize the damage due to the mass

Landslide distribution Himalayas Landslide movement in the future, this study has focused on producing
susceptibility Weight of evidence GIS based landslide distribution and susceptibility maps and
analysis with respect to many geological and topographical
factors for Haveli district. This study is the first attempt in
the evaluation of landslide susceptibility of the study area
and will contribute as a primary database to the future
M. Basharat (&) R. Yousaf M. T. Riaz landslide research in this area. As a result, it will be helpful
Institute of Geology, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, for planners and other concerned authorities to mitigate the
Muzaffarabad, 13100, Pakistan landslide hazards in the region.

[email protected]
438 M. Basharat et al.
2 Materials and Methods 3.2 Landslide Susceptibility Mapping
The methodological steps adopted in this research are shown The main objective of this study was to produce a landslide
in Fig. 1. To generate landslide susceptibility map, all cau- susceptibility map. This study made use of data-driven
sative factors and these factor maps were rasterized and approach weight of evidence (WofE). Data driven models
weights of each class of causative factors were calculated were easily applied where many landslide locations or
using ArcSDM (Spatial data modular) an extension of occurrences were known and sufficient data existed from
ArcGIS (Fig. 1). which related evidence could be drawn. Using cumulative
area posterior probability curve (CAPP) the whole study area
was classified into four susceptibility zones as shown in
3 Results Fig. 3. Accuracy of landslide susceptibility map was also
analyzed using prediction rate curve (PRC) and 76% accu-
3.1 Spatial Distribution Analysis racy was achieved.
After establishing a brief landslide inventory by field visits

and satellite imageries, the analysis of these landslide 4 Conclusion
occurrences was carried out by different causative factors
including geological and topographic factors with the aid of This research work applied landslide spatial distribution
distribution maps. The study area comprises mainly debris analysis to assess landslide characteristics for Haveli district,
slides, followed by rock slide, rock fall and debris fall. Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. A landslide concentra-
The analysis of landslide distribution is shown in Fig. 2. tion value of 3.84 was found in slope class of above 60°.
The results indicate that slope greater than 60° has the Elevation range of 1500–2000 m contained the majority of
highest landslide concentration as compared to all other total landslides i.e. 33.7%. And elevation class of 1000–
slope classes. Elevation class 1500–2000 m, east facing 1500 m had high LC value of 1.66. Land cover classes of
slope, near water bodies, Paleocene/Eocene rock units, water bodies and barren land had very high LC values, 3.35
within 500 m distance to fault classes have maximum con- and 3.10 respectively. And urban land had an LC value 1.79.
centration of landslides as compared to all the other classes First 100 m buffer zone around the road network had about
of rasters. 41.02 percent of the total landslide and LC value was also
Fig. 1 Flow diagram of the

research work
[email protected]
Landslide Distribution Analysis and Susceptibility … 439
Fig. 2 Spatial distribution analysis of landslides
[email protected]
440 M. Basharat et al.
Fig. 3 Landslide susceptibility map of the study area
significantly high (3.07) in this zone. First 100 m buffer zone 2. Owen, L.A., Kamp, U., Khattak, G.A., Harp, E.L., Keefer, D.K.,
around drainage held 35.76% of the total landslides and Bauer, M.A.: Landslides triggered by the 8 October 2005 Kashmir
earthquake. Geomorphology 94, 1–9 (2008)
landside concentration was also high (2.07) in this zone. 3. Petley, D., S. Dunning, Rosser, N., Kausar, A.B.: Incipient
The landslide concentration varied among different lithologi- landslides in the Jhelum Valley, Pakistan following the 8th October
cal units. However, landslide concentration is high in Qua- 2005 earthquake. Disaster mitigation of rock flows, slope failures
ternary alluvium. Landslide frequency and LC values are a bit and landslides by Universal Academy Press, pp. 1–9 (2006)
4. Sato, P.H., Hasegawa, H., Fujiwara, S., Tobita, M., Koarai, M.,
higher in east direction as compared to other orientations. Une, H., Iwahashi, J.: Interpretation of landslide distribution
triggered by the 2005 Northern Pakistan earthquake using SPOT
5 imagery. Landslide 4, 113–122 (2007)
References
1. Basharat, M., Rohan, J., Baig, M.S., Khan, M.R.: Spatial distribu-
tion analysis of mass movement triggered by Kashmir earthquake
2005 in the NE Himalayas of Pakistan. Geomorphology 206,
203–214 (2014)
[email protected]
Debris Flow Susceptibility Assessment
at a Regional Scale Based on Flow-R
Model (China)
Yinping Nie and Xiuzhen Li
Abstract fact, the susceptibility class is unequal in different parts of a

After determining the thresholds value of sources iden- gully. Flow-R model is based on empirical and physical
tification and the parameters of propagation, the Flow-R models. This is a method that can assess the susceptibility of
was used to simulate the potential hazard range of Bayi different parts of a debris flow gully. Therefore, it is of great
Gully debris flow. Then the simulation results were practical significance to use the Flow-R to evaluate the
evaluated using the confusion matrix. Finally, the regional susceptibility of Bayi Gully debris flow. The loca-
susceptibility of Bayi gully debris flow was assessed. tion of the study area and the field investigation pictures are
The results show: (1) The small catchment channels at the shown in Fig. 1.
top of the gullies provide rich sources for debris flow,
(2) The sensitive areas are distributed roughly within the
range of 40 m on both sides of channels and account for 2 Flow-R Model
20.06% of the study area, (3) The very high areas are
distributed in the center of the channels and account for Flow-R based on GIS platform mainly consists two parts:
50.38% of the sensitive areas. The susceptibility gradu- the identification of the source areas and the assessment of
ally decreases from the center of the channel to both the propagation. The source areas identification is the pro-
sides. cess of identifying these grids that simultaneously satisfy all
source areas threshold conditions. The assessment of the
propagation includes: (1) flow direction algorithms and

Keywords
Debris flow Susceptibility assessment persistence functions for the spreading assessment, and

Confusion matrix Flow-R Bayi gully (2) implemented algorithms for the run-out distance assess-
ment. This model is described in detail by Horton et al. [1].
There are three outputs of Flow-R (Fig. 2).
1 Introduction
3 Susceptibility Assessment of Debris Flow
Located in the meizoseismal areas hit by the China
Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, frequent mountain 3.1 Parameters Selection
hazards occurred in Bayi Gully and caused great harm to the
safety of the people’s lives and property. Over only four The required parameters of the Flow-R can be divided into
years (2008–2011), five large-scale debris flows struck this two classes: source identification thresholds and propagation
area. At present, most evaluation methods are usually a parameters. 10 10 m DEM, flow accumulation, slope,
debris flow gully corresponding to a susceptibility class. In lithology and plan curvature were selected as sensitive fac-
tors to identify the sources areas. By comparing the river
Y. Nie X. Li (&) network extracted from different drainage area thresholds,
Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese 0.01 km2 was finally selected as the upslope contributing
Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
area. For slope threshold, 15° is the general value recom-
mended by Horton et al., while 25° is the empirical value of
Y. Nie
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Bayi Gully 15° with a higher efficiency of confusion matrix
Beijing, 100049, China was selected as the slope threshold. The Controlling

[email protected]
442 Y. Nie and X. Li
Fig. 1 a The location of Bayi Gully; b full view of the debris flow in Bayi Gully; c loose deposits in the gully
Fig. 2 Flow chart of main processes within Flow-R
persistence function was the only variable to simulate the channels integrally changes from high to low, and (3) the
local area, and the cosines method with highest accuracy was susceptibility gradually decreases from the center of the
selected to simulate Bayi Gully. Other parameters are shown channel to both sides.
in Table 1. The simulation results were evaluated by the confusion
matrix (Fig. 4; Table 2) [2]. Affected by factors such as
vegetation and weathering, the historical debris flow paths
3.2 Debris Flow Simulation, Assessment don not really reflect the hazard ranges of actual debris flow,
and Susceptibility Assessment Results so the statistics of the confusion matrix cannot be completely
accurate and it might be generally higher.
The simulation results of Flow-R are shown in Fig. 3. This The results of susceptibility assessment are shown in
figure reveals that: (1) the source areas are distributed in the Table 3 and Fig. 5. The debris flow susceptibility in different
gullies, (2) the energy from the sub-channels to the main parts of the gully is different. And the susceptive areas
Table 1 Parameters table

Source identification thresholds Propagation parameters (SFLM)
Flow accumulation Slope Plan curvature Travel angle Maximum velocity
−1
0.01 km 2
15° −2/100 m 7° 16 m/s
[email protected]
Debris Flow Susceptibility Assessment at a Regional … 443
Fig. 3 a Sources areas map;

b Energy map; c The sensitive
areas map
a b c
Fig. 4 a Bayi Gully Google

earth satellite image (recording
date 2011.4.26); b Historical
debris flow paths extracted from
Google earth satellite image;
c Overlay analysis of sensitive
areas and historical debris flow
paths
a b c
Table 2 The evaluation results Efficiency Positive prediction power Sensitivity

of the confusion matrix
84.18% 47.99% 62.83%
Table 3 Susceptibility Susceptibility class Low Moderate High Very high

assessment results
Flow-R values 0.0003–0.004 0.004–0.032 0.032–0.11 0.11–1
The ratio in sensitive area (%) 16.00 18.27 15.35 50.38
The ratio in study area (%) 3.21 3.66 3.08 10.10
controlled by topography and landform are obviously dis- the sources of debris flow, which should be considered, too.
tributed along the channels. Analyzing the spatial distribu- These problems need to be solved in future studies.
tion characteristics of debris flow has given significance for
debris flow prevention and control decision.
The model does not consider the influence of inducing 4 Conclusion
factors such as rainfall and earthquake. In addition, the loose
materials on the slope outside the channel can also become Our main conclusions can be stated as follows:
[email protected]
444 Y. Nie and X. Li
(a) (b)
Fig. 5 a The susceptibility zoning map of Bayi Gully debris flow, b the 40m distribution map of Bayi Gully debris flow
(1) The debris flow source areas are distributed in the References
gullies. Most of them are distributed in the slope range from
20° to 50° and the elevation range from 1400 to 1600 m, 1. Horton, P., Jaboyedoff, M., Rudaz, B., et al.: Flow-R, a model for
(2) the entire sensitive areas are distributed roughly within susceptibility mapping of debris flows and other gravitational
the range of 40 m on both sides of channels and divided into hazards at a regional scale. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 13(4),
four classes: very high, high, moderate and low. In addition, 869–885 (2013)
2. Park, D.W., Lee, S.R., Vasu, N.N., et al.: Coupled model for
the entire sensitive areas account for 20.06% of the study simulation of landslides and debris flows at local scale. Nat. Hazards
area, (3) the evaluation results of the confusion matrix show 81(3), 1653–1682 (2016)
that efficiency is 84.18%, the positive prediction power is
47.99%, and the sensitivity is 62.83%. The simulation can
basically reflect the sensitive characteristics of Bayi gully
debris flow.
[email protected]
Vegetation Dynamics on Clay Landslides
After Bioengineering Works: Three Case
Studies in North Apennines, Italy
Donatella Pavanelli, Antea Gennari, Lorenzo Sulpizi,

and Claudio Cavazza
Landslides in Italy and especially in the Emilia Romagna
region represent a characteristic component of the Apen- In the Emilia-Romagna Region (northern Italy), over 32,000
nines landscape, characterized by predominantly argilla- landslides bodies were identified. The high number of large
ceous lithology of sedimentary origin. The total landslide and periodically reactivated landslides depends primarily on
area in Emilia Romagna is about 2717 km2, there are geological causes and the rock mass lithology. Landslide
about 758 km2 of active landslides, mainly found on reactivation generally occurs following periods of intense
agricultural land. The paper examined three representative and/or prolonged precipitation events; it has been demon-
landslides of the Emilia Apennines (province of strated that another triggering cause may consist in snow
Bologna), characterized by anthropogenic abandonment melting. The paper examines three representative clayey
during the last 70 years. The three case studies, landslides of the Emilia Apennines located in the Reno River
Vimignano, Marano and Ca′ dei Ricci landslides, are Mountain Basin (RMB). Their similar lithological and cli-
located in the Reno River Mountain Basin and are united matic features have probably caused the recurring and
by lithological and climatic features that have caused the simultaneous land movements that occurred in the ′90 s.
recurring and simultaneous land movements that occurred Since then several works have been made in order to control
in the ′90 s. The study analyzed the effectiveness and the mass movement dynamics and secure the rivers, the road
status of stabilization and bioengineering intervention network and nearby villages and towns. Most of the control
about 15–20 years after their execution and the ability of works dealt with bioengineering practices: palisades piles,
the natural vegetation to colonize and grow on the geotextiles, seedings, surface flow control works and drai-
landslides in the calanchive basins (badlands) after nage ditches. The lithological and climatic characteristics of
stabilization, despite the unfavorable climatic and edaphic the median Apennine are quite challenging for the survival
conditions. We also determined the standing vegetation of bioengineering works, especially for the living materials
which developed on the landslides on field sites. used. The main causes of the said issue are the clayey
substrate and the rainy winter and the dry summer, which

Keywords cause runoff. According with Giupponi et al. [1] measuring

Bioengineering Vegetation dynamics Landslides the success of bioengineering works shows problems similar
Badlands Italy to those that affect the evaluation of the success of envi-
ronmental restoration intervention: there are still great diffi-
culties in identifying valid evaluation criteria. The aims of
the present study were: (1) to analyze the effectiveness and
D. Pavanelli (&) status of stabilization and bioengineering works 10–20 years
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences,
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy after their achievement, and (2) to evaluate the ability of the
e-mail: [email protected] spontaneous species to colonize and grow in the degraded
A. Gennari L. Sulpizi soil upon completion of the bioengineering works.
School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine,
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
C. Cavazza
Reno Catchment Authority, Emilia-Romagna Region,
Bologna, Italy

[email protected]
446 D. Pavanelli et al.
2 Materials and Methods software with satellite images and aerial photographs and
identify plant species in transects on the landslides. The
The three landslides are located in the northern Apennines, monitoring required the use of the following digital
about 30 km south of Bologna, on the eastern slope of the ortophotos: 1954 IGM-GAI b/n aerial photo, AIMA 1996
Reno River Valley (Fig. 1). The RMB area is 1061 km2 with and AGEA 2003, 2008, 2011, TeA 2014 and Quickbird
outlet at Casalecchio di Reno and its mean riverflow is 2017. The vegetation was classified considering these cate-
26 m3/s . The highest and mean altitudes of the catchment are gories: forest/scrublands, herbaceous, ground-rocks. The
1945 m a.s.l. and 639 m a.s.l., respectively. The relatively transects (Fig. 2) were identified in a similar position in each
easily erodible clayey rocks of the study area of RMB rep- landslide body.
resents the intact Ligurian nappe and its wedge-top catchment
deposits collectively referred to as Epiligurian rocks. The
impermeable and erodible lithology and the heavy rainfall 3 Results
causing runoff, soil erosion and landslides easily start in
badlands (Calanchi). The Reno catchment falls within the The works made at the foot of the landslides responded
Apennine climatic zone, characterized by two periods of positively to the stresses of the slope, the structural state is
maximum rainfall, in autumn and spring, and one period of discrete, while the response of the live material was more
minimum in summer. problematic. The use of willow cuttings in the bioengi-
The yearly average rainfall is 1307 mm yr−1 [2]. The neering works has led to some problems of environmental
mean temperature is 12.4 °C . The three landslides exam- adaptation that penalized their development. Willows often
ined, classified as complex landslides, and located in bad- have good results during the first two, three years of planting
lands areas (Calanchi basin) were : Vimignano (L1), Marano but on longer periods suffer lack of water.
(L2) and Ca’ dei Ricci (L3). The activity of the landslides is The spontaneous vegetation dynamic shows a reduction of
known since 1948 (L1) and 1900 (L2, L3), when they the bare soil /rock outcropping (clays) of about 25% for L1 and
moved damming part of the Reno (L2, L3) and Limentra L2 landslides. The wood-shrubs vegetation remains almost
(L1) Rivers. The landslides slope is about 20 and 22% for L2 unchanged after the landslide settlement. With regard to the
and L3 respectively, and 31% for L1, with the surface area herbaceous vegetation, there is an increase from 5% to 22% of
of 65,000 m2 (L1), 70,000 m2 (L2) and 130,000 m2 for the the surface of the L1 and from 37% to 48% of landslide L2
L3 landslide. The methodology applied to the three case area. A separate case is the L3 landslide which had a high grass
studies in the Bologna Apennines is meant to evaluate the cover (40–43%) and around 50% of the wood-shrubs vege-
effectiveness of bioengineering works with focus on the tation, from the beginning of the observations, so it remained
plant species involved and their dynamic. In addition to that, almost unchanged after the landslide settlement (Fig. 3).
it focused on the identification of the responses of the slope Pioneer species native to environments with xerothermic
and the ground to the techniques and of the works them- affinity, such as those detected thanks to the transects: black-
selves over time, in terms of maintenance requirement and thorn (Prunus spinosa), rose hip (Rosa canina), juniper
vitality of the plant material used. The methodology used in (Juniperus communis), Spanish broom (Spartium junceum),
order to evaluate the reestablishment of vegetation in the flowering ash (Fraxinus ornus), seaberry (Hippophae
landslide areas, consisted in the integration of the ArcGIS rhamnoides).
Fig. 1 Reno mountain basin

(south Bologna) and the image
with landslides (Google hearth) Landslides
[email protected]
Vegetation Dynamics on Clay Landslides After Bioengineering … 447
Fig. 2 Marano landslide (L2) and Regional Geomorphologic map. Right: transect on the landslide foot
Fig. 3 The spontaneous vegetation dynamic (% area) of the landslides, after bioengineering works (* Based on satellite images)
shrubs can be used in arid slopes characterized by cold

4 Discussion winters and hot summers and can give better results
compared to willows, in these mountainous area. The L3
This study aimed to be a contribution to the possibilities landslide has a high grass cover and around 50% of the
of improving the performance and durability of natural- wood-shrub vegetation from the beginning of the obser-
istic engineering intervention in extreme conditions, in vations; such behavior can be explained by the type of
particular: the clay lithology, the high slopes and the stabilization intervention carried out, which did not
critical climatic events that are increasing due to climate include the reshaping of the soil slope.
change (cold winters and warm, arid summers). Con-
cerning the structural part of the interventions the survey
confirmed the good results and durability of the materials. 5 Conclusions
The survey showed that the actual vegetation, after 10–
20 years from works, was not related to the planted spe- According to these results, Bochet [3] concluded that
cies in the bioengineering works. Willow cuttings in the understanding the fate of seeds in overland flow is also a
bioengineering works has led to some problems of envi- critical issue for the successful restoration of severely eroded
ronmental adaptation that penalized their development In slopes. In conclusion, an interdisciplinary approach involv-
this case the action of planted species has been limited to ing scientists from different fields related to plants, soil,
the years after the works. The spontaneous plants colo- geomorphology, hydrology, ecological restoration and
nized the landslide, out-competing the planted ones. At modelling should broaden our understanding of seed fate in
present, the majority of the plant species has spread from overland flow as well as its ecogeomorphological conse-
the nearby areas, and is mainly composed of pioneer quences in vegetation structure and function to help fill the
species typical of the secondary successions. The typical aforementioned gaps [3].
[email protected]
448 D. Pavanelli et al.
References Italy. In: CLEAN - Soil, Air, Water, WILEY-VCH GmbH&Co.

Germany (2013)
3. Bochet, E.: The fate of seeds in the soil: a review of the influence of
1. Giupponi, L., Bischetti, G.B., Giorgi, A.: A proposal for assessing overland flow on seed removal and its consequences for the
the success of soil bioengineering work by analysing vegetation: vegetation of arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems. SOIL 1,
results of two case studies in the Italian Alps. Landscape Ecol. Eng. 131–146 (2015)
13, 305–318 (2017)
2. Pavanelli, D., Capra, A.: Climate change and human impacts on
hydroclimatic variability in the Reno River catchment, Northern
[email protected]
Training of Sensors for Early Warning
System of Rainfall-Induced Landslides
Naresh Mali, Pratik Chaturvedi, Varun Dutt, and Venkata Uday Kala
Landslides have been a major issue in the Himalayan
region where slopes are cut and reformed for construction In Himalayan region of India; slope failures predominantly
practices for infrastructure development, deforestation, occur during or immediately after rainfall [1–4], which leads
and many other human activities. In lieu of the mitigation to increase in piezometer levels such as rainwater infiltration,
measure for rainfall-induced landslides to improve the thereby, triggering slope failures. Several mitigation tech-
factor of safety against failure, several warning techniques niques have been proposed in order to decrease the effect
have been suggested. However, they are quite expensive, due to landslides. However, where the slopes are steep and
resulting in an only limited application for infinite slopes. extend to greater heights, most of these may be neither
In lieu of the existing conditions, early warning systems applicable nor economical. In such situations, the early
(EWS) for detecting slope failure using the sensors have warning systems for detecting slope failure using the sensors
been found to be handy to control the fatality of the have been found to be handy to control the fatality of the
disaster. But, the various sensors have been used for these disaster. But these warning systems employing various
warning systems are not unique. Hence, they need to be sensors are not unique. Hence, efforts have been made to
trained for each type of soil and other favorable train the sensors for each type of soil and other conditions to
conditions. For the proposed study, Micro-Electro- retrieve the data from the field. During the course of the
Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based sensors have been study, the multi-disciplinary involvement for bringing out
used to predict the slope failures under rainfall conditions the sensors, assembly, applications, calibration, testing,
at controlled laboratory scale prototype and to perform a placing, data retrieving and model-based predictions were
series of flume tests in order to develop the threshold for developed [1, 3, 4].
moisture levels and movement that can trigger the slope In the proposed study, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sys-
failure. tems (MEMS) based sensors were used to predict the slope
failures under rainfall conditions at controlled laboratory

Keywords scale prototype and to perform flume tests in order to
Slope-instability Flume test Sensors develop the threshold for moisture levels and movement that
Early warning system can trigger a slope failure.
2 Materials and Methodology
Most of the slope failures in and around Mandi region of

N. Mali (&) V. U. Kala
School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi,
Himachal Pradesh are shallow failures. The index properties
Kamand Campus, Mandi, 175005, Himachal Pradesh, India of soil (Table 1) were determined (IS-2720). The present
e-mail: [email protected] methodology developed by performing flume tests (Fig. 1.)
P. Chaturvedi considering various conditions such as dry state and also by
Scientist ‘D’ with DTRL, DRDO, New Delhi, India increasing the amount of moisture levels [1, 3, 4] within the
V. Dutt slope. However, while performing the tests, the amount of
School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute moisture content, displacement, acceleration and velocity
of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005, India

[email protected]
450 N. Mali et al.
Table 1 Physical properties of Symbol Description Value

sand
Gs Specific gravity 2.62
% Gravel size 4
% Sand size 49
% Silt size 44
% Clay size 3
USCS Soil Classification SP (poorly graded sand)
C (kPa) Cohesion 5
U Angle of internal friction 28°
Fig. 1 Line diagram of

experimental setup (Not to scale)
were monitored using sensors and identifying the response Tilt sensor: Tilt sensors are devices that produce an
of soil slope failure. Based on the experimental threshold electrical signal, which varies with angular movement.
sensors data, the SMS alert will be generated. These sensors are used to measure slope and tilt within a
limited range of motion. They are usually made by a cavity
and a conductive free mass inside, such as a blob of mercury
3 Results and Discussion or rolling ball. One end of the cavity has two conductive
elements (poles). When the sensor is oriented so that its end
Tri-axial accelerometer: It is capable of measuring accel- is downwards, the mass rolls onto the poles and shorts them,
eration forces (static and dynamic) by providing simulta- acting as a switch.
neous measurements in three orthogonal directions x, y and
z. Thus, the sensor could be used for the analysis of dif-
ferent vibrations experienced by a structure. This sensor 3.1 Soil Moisture Sensor
expends two capacitors formed by a moveable plate held
between two fixed plates. Under zero net force, the two For sensing the soil-moisture content in percentage, we used
capacitors are equal but a change in force causes the YL-69 module (Fig. 2a). Analog readings for soil-moisture
moveable plate to shift closer to one of the fixed plates, sensors in dry and completely wet states were 395 (0%
increasing the capacitance. moisture) and 1022 (100% moisture), respectively. To rep-
Soil-moisture sensor: It is usually used to detect the soil resent the analog values from the soil-moisture sensor in
humidity. When the soil is wet, the output voltage decreases percentage, and hence the moisture percentage was calcu-
but it increases when the soil is dry. lated by the following equation.
Force sensor: It is a piezo-resistive conductive polymer,
1022 Analog value
which changes resistance in a predictable manner following Moisture Percentage ¼ 100 ð1Þ
application of force to its surface. Like all resistive sensors, 1022 395
this requires a relatively simple interface and can operate The results depicted that, based on the performing of
satisfactorily in moderately hostile environments. flume tests, initially the tests were conducted for more than
[email protected]
Training of Sensors for Early Warning System of … 451
16
15
14 22
ax2
13 20
18 ay2
12
az2
Moisture Content (%)
11 16
14
Accleration (m/s2)
10
9 12
8 10
7 8
6 6
5 4
4 2
3 0
Tests condcucted for less than critical angle
2 Tests condcuted for more than critical angle
-2
1 -4
0 -6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 6 0 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (min) Timer (min)
(a) Plot showing the moisture levels with (b) Plot showing acceleration (m/s2) with respect
respect to time period to time period
Fig. 2 a Plot showing the moisture levels with respect to time period. b Plot showing acceleration (m/s2) with respect to time period
the critical angle the failure is observed at around 12% logged onto an in-house developed web server http://www.
moisture contents whereas, the tests conducted for less than landslidemonitoring.esy.es/ with the help of GSM Module.
the 17% moisture levels. According to [1, 3, 4], moisture After the successful reception of the data from soil
content after reaching the threshold value causes the failure moisture sensors and accelerometer sensors, the landslide
of the slope leading to debris flow. probability was computed with the weights assigned to
The failure of slope also depends upon several factors individual sensor values. When the probability value crosses
such as soil type, angle of inclination, ramp surface texture a prefixed threshold (in this study, 85), an alert would be
and others. triggered to the registered users.
3.3 Experiences During the Training Sensors

3.2 Accelerometer While Performing the Tests
For the determination of acceleration, GY-61 accelerometer 1. Soil moisture sensor needs to be calibrated frequently for
module was employed. It measures the tri-axial accelerations calculating the soil-moisture percentage.
in three orthogonal axes (Fig. 2b). This accelerometer is 2. The probes of the soil moisture sensor are at a distance of
capable of measuring acceleration in the range of ± 3 g 37 mm apart, hence the resistance will be created at the
(where, g = 9.81 m/s2), in each of the three orthogonal axes. probe, but not in the gap.
For the accelerometer placed at the top and base of the pipe, 3. Calibration should be achieved before placing these
ax, ay, and az refers to the axis perpendicular to the base of sensors in the soil at the time of testing.
the ramp (pointing upwards), along the width of the ramp 4. Calibration values may not be the same for all the sensors
(from right to left), and sloping at an angle with the soil 5. Flex sensors should be supported to avoid getting
away from the ramp (h is the angle of the ramp with hori- detached from the one end of the node.
zontal), respectively. Based on the predefined threshold 6. Any change in voltage would affect the tilt sensor.
values, the modules outputs LOW, otherwise, it outputs
HIGH. The threshold value for the digital signal can be
adjusted using the built-in potentiometer. The integration of
different sensors to a microcontroller and then the micro- 4 Conclusion
controller’s connection to an Internet cloud was carried out.
The microcontroller receives data from sensors and it is Early Warning System (EWS) architecture is in place for the
connected to a GSM modem for transmitting the sensors’ people to be alerted about the oncoming disaster. The
readings to the web server. The values from sensors were threshold values are evaluated from the analysis of logged
[email protected]
452 N. Mali et al.
soil-moisture and soil-movement values, by performing the References

set of flume tests on the ramp. Once the soil-moisture or
soil-movement thresholds are reached, the above-mentioned 1. Huang, C.-C., Lo, C.-L., Jangand, J.-S., Hwu, L.-K.: Internal soil
alert generation unit generates landslide alerts. As soon as moisture response to rainfall-induced slope failures and debris
any activity in the area under surveillance of sensors crosses discharge. Eng. Geol. 101, 134–145 (2008)
2. Fell, R.: Landslide risk assessment and acceptable risk. Can.
a pre-determined limit, an alert would be triggered to inform
Geotech. J. 31, 261–272 (1994)
the concerned people to take necessary steps. Hence, as soon 3. Lourenco, S.D.N., Sassa, K., Fukuoka, H.: Failure process and
as any value of the database crosses the threshold level, an hydrologic response of a two layer physical model: implications for
alert is sent via an SMS. rainfall-induced landslides. Geomorphology 73, 115 – 130 (2006)
4. Wu, L.Z., Huang, R.Q., Xu, Q., Zhang, L.M., Li, H.L.: Analysis of
physical testing of rainfall-induced soil slope failures. J. Environ.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the State Earth Sci. 73(12), 8519–8531 (2014)
Council for Science, Technology & Environment, Himachal
Pradesh, India, for providing the financial support to pursue this study.
[email protected]
A Photogrammetric Surface Comparison
for a Dam Reservoir in a Landslide—Prone
Area in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey
Sultan Kocaman, Eray Sevgen, and Candan Gokceoglu
Abstract high costs. Digital elevation models (DEMs) are often used
The purpose of the study was to analyze the slope for the determination of morphological features and land-
deformations of a dam reservoir by comparing digital slides. Monitoring slope deformations is also possible by
elevation models (DEMs) produced before and after data analyzing the obtained DEMs at different times.
sets. The DEMs were generated automatically from large Conventionally, DEMs have been mostly generated by
format aerial images acquired in 2012 and Gokturk-2 terrestrial surveys, manual contour measurements in aerial
satellite images acquired in 2018. Both DEMs were stereo images and digitizing contour lines in existing maps.
compared and analyzed to obtain slope deformations. The With these methods, DEMs can be obtained with low den-
results showed that the reservoir waters affected the sity and mainly comprise the terrain elevation. With the
slopes and some displacements were seen clearly in development of new image acquisition and multi-image
northeast slopes of the reservoir. The slope deformations matching techniques, digital surface models (DSMs) and
can be monitored accurately with the proposed approach, digital terrain models (DTMs) can be produced in large areas
with a note on the ground resolution of the images, which with higher density, accuracy and reliability. Especially with
affected the accuracy and the density of the DEMs the help of dense information, the terrain characteristics can
directly. The methodology provided promising results for be modeled better. Data collection devices vary from air-
automatic, low-cost and practical monitoring for slope borne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to optical
deformations in large mountainous regions. imaging cameras operating on satellite and airborne plat-
forms. In this study, a multi sensor approach was used to
obtain DSMs and DTMs at different times to monitor slope

Keywords
Landslide Dam Photogrammetric surface analyses deformations by comparing DEMs.
Digital surface model Digital terrain model Landslides are one of the major problems in dams and
their reservoirs. Dam sites are often selected in deep valleys
having steep slopes. Such sites are generally prone to
landsliding and dam reservoirs even cause their occurrence
1 Introduction due to increasing pore water pressure and decreasing shear
strength parameters. In this study, we proposed a surface
Slope deformations in landslide-prone areas are often mon- comparison approach for monitoring the slope deformations
itored using in situ equipment, such as inclinometers, and/or in a dam reservoir constructed in a mountainous area with
conventional surveys. However, the use of these methods are very steep slopes. Additionally, the selected area has very
limited in case of very steep topography and can only be complex geological and tectonic characteristics with high
used in relatively small areas due to operational reasons and seismicity. The area is located in Bingol Province, Eastern
Anatolia, Turkey. An overview of the study area is
provided in Fig. 1. The methodology described here is
S. Kocaman E. Sevgen suitable for the selected area because the conventional
Geomatics Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, methods are not applicable due to access limitations and
Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
study area size.
C. Gokceoglu (&)
Geological Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty,
Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey

[email protected]
454 S. Kocaman et al.
Fig. 1 The location of the study

area and colored altitude map
generated from the stereo
Gokturk-2 satellite images
acquired in April 2018
landslides are the highly jointed and weathered rock masses,

2 General Characteristics of the Study Area young and steep topography. The large earthquakes and toe
incision are the main triggers of the landslides in the study
Turkey is an orogenic collage created by some collided area. A real extensions of the landslides are large, and depths
continental fragments and the remnants of oceanic envi- of failure surfaces are high. The general failure mechanisms
ronments separating them [1]. Consequently, the complex of the landslides are circular, and typical hummocky
geology of Turkey results in faulting, folding, shear zones, topography can be observed easily in the field (Fig. 3).
high horizontal stresses and tectonized rock masses. When considering these adverse conditions, the landslides
According to Turkey’s Landslide Inventory Map, the should be monitored carefully for the economic life time of
study area has some large – very large active and inactive the dam and the safety of properties in close vicinity of the
landslides (Fig. 2). The main conditioning factors of these reservoir. However, it is impossible to monitor such a large
area by conventional methods.
3 Data, Methods and Results
Aerial photographs with 45 cm ground resolution were

taken by using Ultracam Eagle camera by the General
Command of Mapping in 2012. A total of 34 images were
provided together with camera calibration and exterior ori-
entation parameters for this study. A dense point cloud was
produced by multi-image matching (matching at every 2
pixels) and a ground filtering was applied to generate a DTM
by removing trees and buildings. In addition to the DSM and
DTM, an orthomosaic was also generated from this dataset.
On the other hand, stereo Gokturk-2 images with 2.5 m
spatial resolution (panchromatic band) of the area were
ordered and acquired in April 2018 to model the terrain
surface after the reservoir was filled by water in February
2018. The difference in the water level can be observed in
Fig. 4. Gokturk-2 images were oriented by using control
Fig. 2 Landslide inventory map with inactive (yellow) and active points extracted from the aerial orthophotos and the DSM.
(red) landslides [2] After the orientation, a DSM was also generated from the
[email protected]
A Photogrammetric Surface Comparison for a Dam Reservoir … 455
Fig. 3 A general view of a large landslide in the study area (typical hummocks are seen clearly)
Fig. 4 Aerial orthophoto from 2012 (left) and one Gokturk-2 panchromatic image from 2018 (right). The triangles in the images denote the
location of the dam
Gokturk-2 images. Subsequent comparisons between the terms of elevation differences between the reference and
aerial and Gokturk-2 DSMs were performed using the open search surfaces. Color coded residual maps are provided in
source CloudCompare [3, 4]. The residuals were analyzed in Fig. 5.
[email protected]
456 S. Kocaman et al.
Fig. 5 The residuals after the

comparison of aerial DTM from
2012 and Gokturk-2 DSM from
2018 (before and after filling the
dam reservoir)
References
4 Conclusion
1. Okay, A.I., Tüysüz, O.: Tethyan sutures of northern Turkey. In:
In the present study, a practical and comprehensive method- Durand, B., Jolivet, L., Horváth, F., Séranne, M. (eds.) The
ology was introduced for detecting slope deformations in a Mediterranean Basins: Tertiary extension within the Alpine orogen,
dam reservoir constructed in a landslide—prone area. The pp. 475–515. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 156
(1999)
comparison showed that the reservoir waters affected the
2. Turkey General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration:
slopes and some displacements were seen clearly in northeast http://yerbilimleri.mta.gov.tr/anasayfa.aspx. Retrieved 30 Apr 2018
slopes of the reservoir. Depending on the ground resolution of 3. CloudCompare: http://www.danielgm.net/cc/. Retrieved 30 Apr
images, the slope deformations can be monitored accurately. 2018
4. Kocaman, S., Ural, S., Karakas, G., Bakici, S.: 3D Processing of
The further steps of the study include validation of the
Gokturk-2 imagery. In: 38th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing,
approach introduced here by comparing previous data sets New Delhi, India, 23–27 Oct 2017
and improving of the Gokturk-2 DSM by manual editing.
Additionally, field checks will be conducted to assess the
methodology.
[email protected]
Part X
Geohazards: Characterization and Impacts
of Different Geohazards
[email protected]
Evaluation of Natural Radioactivity
Levels of Pre-Cambrian Basement
Rocks from the South-Western Margin
of Arabian-Nubian Shield, Sudan
Mohammed Abdallsamed, Mushaal Salih, and Asim El Mansour
ABSTRACT Chernobyl accident, aiming to produce radiation map for the

This study aimed to investigate the activity concentration country to be used as a reference in case of any radiological
levels of 238U and 40K for the basement rocks using in situ accident of global dimension (e.g., [3, 4]). However, the
gamma-ray spectrometry to set a base data to be used as a current study assessed for the first time the natural back-
reference in case of any radiological accident. In average, ground radioactivity levels of 238U and 40K from Basement
the activity concentration levels of 40K are 1226 Bg\kg rocks. It is hoped that the information obtained will allow for
and 860 Bq\kg in migmatite gneisses and micaschist, the construction of a radiation map of the State which pro-
respectively. The higher levels in the migmatite gneisses vides a useful reference for the natural background
are due to high concentration of feldspar minerals. These radioactivity levels.
average values are either analogous or higher than the
standard concentration levels of continental crust. The
activity concentration levels of 238U from migmatite 2 Geological Features
gneisses show an average value of 42.4. The micaschist
displays an average value of 45.6 Bq\kg. These values are The selected study area is situated in Sheakan locality, North
greatly elevated than the average values recorded from Kordofan State in central Sudan. It’s characterized by a
basement rocks worldwide. semi-desert type of climate. Geologically, the area is formed
of a part of the Pre-Cambrian Basement rocks complex of
North Kordofan. This complex is characterized by the

Keywords
existence of high-grade metamorphic rocks of amphibolite

In situ gamma-ray spectrometry Natural radioactivity
Basement rocks North kordofan state facies as the most interesting features and associated
Sudan superficial deposits. The metamorphic rocks are composed
of migmatite gneisses (constitutes most of the basement
complex in Sudan), micaschist, quartzite and amphibolite
[5–7] (Fig 1).
1 Introduction
Natural radioactive geological materials are the most 3 Sampling and Measurements
important sources of the activity concentration levels in the
environment. In the past years, a great deal of research has Sampling areas were chosen on the basis of field work. Two
been achieved in many countries to evaluate the hazards localities (Jebel Kordofan and Jebel Abu Uroag) were cho-
linked to the natural radioactive materials (NRM) [1, 2, 9]. sen, and a total of 9 rock samples were collected from
In Sudan, a lot of research has been carried out for occur- migmatite gneisses and micaschist. The activity concentra-
rences of natural radioactive materials (NRM) on the diverse tion of 238U and 40K of metamorphic rocks samples were
environmental radioactivity since late 1980, just after measured using gamma-ray spectrometry system equipped
with high purity germanium detectors (HPG), assuming that
the activities of 214Bi and 214Pb in equilibrium with their
M. Abdallsamed (&) M. Salih A. El Mansour parents represent the 238U activity. 238U was determined
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science,
University of Kordofan, B160, 51111 Elobeid, Sudan
using photo peak of 214Bi (19.9 min half-life) (609 keV) and
214
e-mail: [email protected] Pb (28.8 min half-life) (352 keV). 40K was determined

[email protected]
460 M. Abdallsamed et al.
Fig. 1 Location map of the

study area
directly by (1461 keV). The certified reference material with an average value of 860 Bq\kg in micaschist. The
supplied by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) average value of migmatite gneisses is clearly higher than
was used as a quality control sample and the results show the activity concentration levels of continental crust average
good agreement between measured and certified values with (i.e. 850 Bg\kg), while the average value of micaschist is
a relative determined error of < 1%. within the range [8], which implies that study area falls
within the range of normal background radiation. The higher
activities for 40K noted in samples migmatite gneisses can be
4 Results and Discussion explained in relation to mineralogical compositions.,
40
4.1 K Activity Concentration Levels
238
4.2 U Activity Concentration Levels
40
The measured activity concentration levels of K ranged
from 278 to 2389 Bg\kg with average values of 1226 Bg\kg The activity concentration levels of 238U from migmatite
in migmatite gneisses and about 631 Bq\kg to 1315 Bq\g gneisses ranged from 6.24 to 84.5 Bg\kg with an average
[email protected]
Evaluation of Natural Radioactivity Levels of Pre-Cambrian … 461
value of 42.4. The corresponding values were 30.3 Bq\kg to 2. El-Mageed, A.I., El-Kamel, A.H., Abbady, A., Harb, S., Youssef,
65.9 Bq\kg with an average value of 45.6 Bq\kg in micas- A.M.M., Saleh, I.I.: Assessment of natural and anthropogenic
radioactivity levels in rocks and soils in the environments of Juban
chist. These values are much higher than the worldwide town in Yemen Radiation. Phys. Chem. 80(2011), 710–715 (2011)
average reported, which is 25 Bq/kg [9]. However, no effect 3. Sam, A.K., Holm, E.: The natural radioactivity in phosphate
of radioactivity levels on the environment and human health deposits from Sudan. Sci. Total Environ., 162, 173Ð178 (1995)
in the study area was remarked. 4. Sam, A.K., et al.: Assessment of terrestrial gamma radiation in
Sudan. Radiat. Prot. Dosimetry. 71, 141–145 (1997)
5. Vail, J.R.: Outline of The Geological of The Nuba Mountains and
Vicinity. Southern Kordofan Province, Sudan (1973)
5 Conclusion 6. Vail, J.R.: Outline of the geology and mineral deposit of the
democratic Republic of the Sudan and adjacent areas. Overseas
Geology and Mineral Resources, 49 (1978)
In situ measurements carried out in typical rocks showed that 7. IFAD: Re-Appraisal Report, vol. II. Annexes, Elobeid, Sudan
the activity concentration of 40 K measured from migmatite (1999)
gneisses is clearly higher than the activity concentration 8. Eisenbud, M., Gesell, T.: Environmental Radioactivity from
levels of the average continental crust, while the micaschist Natural, Industrial and Military Sources, pp. 134–200. Acad.press,
SanDiego, CApp (1997)
displays an average value comparable to the continental 9. UNSCEAR: Source and affects of ionizing radiation. Report to
crust. 238U displays much higher values than the average General Assembly with Scientific Annexes, United Nations, New
values reported in different rocks worldwide. York.Mukhtar, A. (2003): Environmental Study for Radionuclides
at Miri Lake. Ph.D. Thesis, Faculty of Science, Department of
Physics, University of Khartoum (2000)
Acknowledgements The authors wish to express their deep appreci-
ation and gratitude to the team of SAEC for analyzing the collected
samples.
References
1. UNSCEAR: Source and affects of ionizing radiation. Report to

General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes, United Nations,
New York (1993)
[email protected]
Temporal Shallow Water Tidal Analysis
at Sharm Obhur, the Red Sea
V. R. Shamji
Abstract investigations have more significance in the field of aca-

The shallow water tidal variation in the Sharm obhur demic research and developments. The historical data blank
plays temporally more dynamic and more active role in in this region was also one of the limitations for the present
the physical and biological processes. Comprehensive investigations. The study aimed to carry out shallow water
studies on the shallow water tidal analysis were carried tidal constituents analysis and its applications.
out at the Sharm obhur with one complete data in 2013
using different data analysis techniques. The harmonic
analysis technique IOS was used for deriving shallow 2 Methodology
water tidal constituents and temporal analyses were also
carried out. The selective amplification was identified for The Red sea is a typical of a micro-tidal tropical environ-
the shallow water constituents, Zo and the same sample ment. The data were collected near the maritime college,
was analyzed seasonally along with other important Sharm Obhur, Jeddah. The study area is located north of
shallow water tidal constituents like MSf, M2, K1 and N2 Jeddah and is approximately 10 km long 500 m wide [4].
etc. The study reveals that tidal range in the Sharm obhur Sharm obhur is shallow with irregular topography and the
is mainly shaped by the shallow water constituent Z0, can average depth is 30 m [5]. The Sharm Obhur inlet is pro-
be used for the long-term sea level variation study in this tected with coralline limestone [6]. The tide gauge station is
Red Sea region. located at 21° 42′ 33′′N 39° 5′ 45′′E. The data were collected
along with the other atmospheric parameters. The raw data
were in simple water pressure data. The data were processed

Keywords
and used for analysis. The harmonic analysis were carried

Shallow water tidal constituents Harmonic analysis
IOS method Sea-level out with the processed data to extract major tidal constituents
and IOS method (Institute of Ocean Sciences) used for
deriving tidal constituents including 45 astronomical main
constituents and 24 shallow water constituents.
1 Introduction
A detailed tidal analysis study in the Red sea is lacking [1– 3 Results
3]. Most of the studies in the red sea focus on mean sea level
changes and local tide characteristics. This may be due to The IOS method was adopted to derive 45 astronomical
different factors like spatial unavailability of data over the main constituents and 24 shallow water constituents
Red sea coast and lack of historical data resources. The tidal including major and minor constituents. The derived tidal
analysis and study in the Jeddah has more practical impor- constituents can be used for tidal predictions and hindcast.
tance. The temperature and salinity variation during low and The different techniques adopted for the derivation of major
high tide time at sharm obhur is the evidence of the influence and minor constituents were discussed in the following
of tidal activity in the Sharm obhur [4]. The present sections.
V. R. Shamji (&)
Faculty of Maritime, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia

[email protected]
464 V. R. Shamji
3.1 IOS Method downstream areas. The other constituents M2, K1 and N2
also show a seasonal variation in amplitudes (Fig. 2). The
The field data during the year 2013 was used to calculate analysis also shows the least importance of the major
major tidal constituents via the IOS method. The shallow semidiurnal constituents S2, K2 and major diurnal con-
water constituent Z0 is the dominant component among the stituents O1 and P1 respectively in the Sharm obhur. Most of
resolved 30 tidal constituents and it shows selective ampli- the constituents show different phases except the Z0 (Fig. 2).
fication in this region. The Z0 is associated with mean sea Msf also shows seasonal variations in the phase. The major
level variation and used for sea level variation study. The semi diurnal components, M2 and N2 show the same trend in
study shows that, among the derived tidal constituents Z0, phase variation throughout the year. The meteorological
MSf, M2, K1 and N2 are the most prominent components. factors affect the seasonal variations of the major semi
The seasonal variations of constituents are given in Fig. 1. diurnal and diurnal components in the Sharm obhur.
The predominant shallow water constituents Z0 and MSf
show selective amplifications compared to other con-
stituents. The Z0 shows more amplifications than other 3.2 Shallow Water Constituent and Sea-Level
prominent constituent MSf, but a maximum amplification Change Study
during February, November and December 2013 and shows
less amplification during June to September, i.e., during the The study shows well-defined prominent shallow water con-
summer seasons. Hence the amplifications of Z0 is related to stituent Z0 at the study area. The shallow water constituents Z0
seasonal change and other environmental forces. The other is related to mean sea level variation and can be used for sea
significant constituent MSf also shows seasonal variations in level variation studies in the Red Sea. The studies conducted by
the amplifications with fortnightly periodicity. Even though Ahmad and Sultan [8], Sultan et al. [9, 10], and Maghrabi [11]
the Msf tidal motions are relatively weak (*1 cm at most show sea level displaying more variations during the summer in
coastal locations, [7], it is considered the most important central Red sea. The wind stress component in the long-shore
constituent in the shallow water areas. The Msf is very weak has a more significant role than cross-shore stress for sea level
during summer and shows much amplification during April. variations during the summer [12]. The study shows that among
The spatial study of Msf over Sharm obhur helps to identify the constituents, Z0 and MSf components exhibit more selective
the variation of amplifications in the upstream and amplifications. The tidal amplification in the Sharm obhur
Fig. 1 Monthly distributions of

tidal constituents at Sharm obhur
during the year 2013
[email protected]
Temporal Shallow Water Tidal Analysis … 465
Fig. 2 Distributions of phases of

constituents at Sharm obhur
during the year 2013
mainly shaped by the shallow water constituent Z0 and the same 2. Saad, M.A.: Seasonal flucuation of mean sea level at Jizan, Red
can be used for long-term sea level change study. Sea. J. Coast. Res. 13, 1166–1172 (1997)
3. Monismith, S.G., Genin, A.: Tides and sea level in the Gulf of
Aqaba (Eilat). J. Geophys. Res. 109, C04015 (2004)
4. Al-Barakati, Alaa, M.A.:Water exchange of Sharm Obhur, Jeddah,
Red Sea. JKAU: Mar. Sci. 20, 49–58 (2009 A.D. / 1430 A.H.)
4 Conclusions (2009a)
5. Behairy, A.K.A., Al-Kholy, A.A., Hashem, M.T., El-Sayed, K.H.:
Preliminary study on the geology and fisheries of the coastal area
This paper discussed the tidal analysis and predictions at between Jeddah and Yanbu. J. Fac. Mar. Sci. 2, 1–47 (1983)
Sharm Obhur using the tidal analysis technique. The tidal 6. Basham, A.S., El-Shater, A.: Textural and mineralogical charac-
constituents were derived using different techniques and the teristics of the surficial sediments of Sharm Obhur, Red Sea coast
of Saudi Arabia. JKAU: Mar. Sci. 5, 51–7l (1994)
derivations of shallow water tidal constituents have more
7. Woodworth, P.L., Blackman, D.L., Pugh, D.T., Vassie, J.M.: On
practical importance. The Z0 and MSf are mainly shaping the role of diurnal tides in contributing to asymmetries in tidal
the tidal range in the Sharm obhur and the constituent Zo can probability distribution functions in areas of predominantly
be used for the long-term sea level change study in the Red semi-diurnal tide. Estuar. Coast. Shelf. Sci. 64, 235–240 (2005)
8. Ahmad, F., Sultan, S.A.R.: Tidal and sea level changes at Jeddah,
Sea. The derived tidal constituents have more significance
Red Sea. Pak. J. Mar. Sci. 2(2), 77–84 (1993)
for tidal predictions and hindcast in the region. 9. Sultan, S.A.R., Ahmad, F., El-Hassan, A.: Seasonal variations of
the sea level in the central part of the Red Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf
Sci 40, 1–8 (1995b)
10. Sultan, S.A.R., Ahmad, F., Elghribi, N.M.: Sea level variability in
References the Red Sea. Oceanol. Acta 18(2), 607–615 (1995a)
11. Maghrabi, S.O.: Variations of Mean Sea Level in the Red Sea.
Master Thesis. King Abdulaziz University. 98 p (2003)
1. Madah, F., Mayerle, R., Bruss, G., Bento, J.: Characteristics of 12. Zubier, M.: Sea level variations at Jeddah, Eastern Coast of the
tides in the red sea region, a numerical model study. Open. J. Mar. Red Sea. JKAU: Mar. Sci. 21(2), 73–86 (2010 A.D. / 1431 A.H.)
Sci. 5, 193–209 (2015). https://doi.org/10.4236/ojms.2015.52016 (2010). https://doi.org/10.4197/mar2.1-2.6
[email protected]
Sinkhole Morphologies
from Photogrammetry and Distinct Element
Modeling—An Example from the Dead Sea
Djamil Al-Halbouni, Eoghan P. Holohan, Hussam Alrshdan,

Ali Sawarieh, and Torsten Dahm
Sinkholes are a high impact natural hazard common in
karstic rocks worldwide. They show different morpholo- Sinkholes are a common natural hazard in karst areas
gies depending on formation mechanisms and involved worldwide [1]. In geologic materials rich in evaporite or
geologic materials. We performed high-resolution carbonate minerals, voids are likely to form in the under-
photogrammetric analysis at the sinkhole site of Ghor ground by chemical (i.e. dissolution) and physical removal
Al-Haditha, Jordan, and Distinct Element Modeling to of subsurface materials [1]. Dependent on the material types
investigate such morphological differences for two char- involved, sinkholes form either by sudden collapse of the
acteristic sinkhole types common at the Dead Sea. By overburden, or by continuous and relatively slow subsidence
geomechanical modelling we proved that a low-strength and sinking of the overburden into the voids or by a mixture
cover material promotes wide and flat sinkholes as of both [2, 3].
observed in the former Dead Sea lakebed. A high- Over the last three decades, related to the lowering of the
strength cover material favours narrow and deep sink- Dead Sea level, the numbers of sinkholes at the Dead Sea have
holes as observed in the alluvial fans of the former Dead been increasing [4]. A pronounced sinkhole area lies at the SE
Sea shorelines. The combination of both field measure- border of the Dead Sea, near the alluvial fan area of Ghor
ments and numerical simulation improved our conceptual Al-Haditha (Fig. 1), with more than 1000 sinkholes recorded
understanding of sinkhole formation important for assess- so far. This intense appearance of sinkholes has been related
ment of this natural hazard. to the dissolution of evaporite minerals (halides, carbonates,
and sulphates) in subsurface deposits of the Dead Sea [4].

Keywords Physical erosion by ground water of the weak mud-flat and
Sinkholes Dead Sea Distinct element modeling alluvial fan sediments has also been invoked [2, 5].
Natural hazard Photogrammetry In this paper, we outline the main sinkhole morphologies
revealed by a photogrammetric survey conducted in 2014.
We present numerical models of sinkhole formation that
relate differences in morphology and collapse style to vari-
ation in material strength.

D. Al-Halbouni (&) T. Dahm 2.1 Close-Range Photogrammetry
Helmholtz Centre, German Research Centre for Geosciences
(GFZ), Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: [email protected] In 2014, a 16 MP camera fitted to a helium filled balloon was
E. P. Holohan used to record images of the Ghor Al-Haditha sinkhole area
UCD School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, from an average altitude of ca. 100 m above ground (Fig. 1).
Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland Over 60 ground control points were measured with
H. Alrshdan A. Sawarieh a dual-frequency GPS recorder. Using the structure-from-
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mahmoud Al Moussa motion technique in close-range photogrammetry [6] and
Abaidat Street, Amman, 140027, Jordan

[email protected]
468 D. Al-Halbouni et al.
Fig. 1 Location of the sinkhole area of Ghor Al-Haditha in Jordan. c a large depression zone formed by cumulative and nested sinkhole
a Digital globe satellite image from 2014 of the Dead Sea region. collapses in the alluvial fan area; d a typical sinkhole in the mud-flat
b Pleiades satellite image from 2015 of the part of the sinkhole area area, the former Dead Sea lake-bed; and e the equipment used for the
photogrammetrically surveyed in 2014. Yellow lines are a geophysical helium balloon survey
profiles conducted simultaneously in 2014 (cf. [5]). Photos show:
GIS software, a high resolution and high accuracy Digital sediments (alluvium) with a mud interlayer. The micro-
Surface Model (DSM) and an Orthophoto of the area have properties were translated by simulated compression and
been assembled and analysed [2]. tension tests on samples of the materials into classical
bulk rock macro-properties (Table 1, [10]).
2.2 Distinct Element Modeling and Rock

Parameter Calibration 3 Results
The Distinct Element Method (DEM) [7, 8] was used for 2D 3.1 Photogrammetric Analysis
mechanical simulations of sinkhole formation with the
commercially available software PFC5. Here, disk shaped Figure 2 shows representative topographic cross-sections for
particles interact via a linear elastic force-displacement law sinkholes, sinkhole clusters and streams in the alluvial fan
and the Newton/Euler laws of motion. Beam-like elastic and the mud-flat. The sinkhole depth to diameter (De/Di)
parallel bonds between particles break when their strength is ratios are significantly different in each material type, being
exceeded, leading to fracturing within a bonded particle lower in the mud-flat clay/silt (De/Di * 0.13) and higher in
assembly. This intrinsic formation of cracks and fractures the alluvial sand/gravel (De/Di * 0.39).
enables simulating even large strain deformations, the main
advantage towards classical FEM methods [9].
The model dimensions are H W = 400 400 m with 3.2 Distinct Element Models
uniformly distributed particles of a mean radius of 0.32 m.
For simulation of sinkhole formation, a growing void area Figure 3 shows modelled void space growth stages for the
within the assembly simulated by constant particle removal two investigated materials: low strength “mud” and high
was implemented. It produces realistic material failure and strength “alluvium” with a mud interlayer, cf. Table 1. The
overburden collapse under gravitational loading [10]. Two weaker mud-flat end-member shows significant early surface
different material assemblies were tested, low-strength subsidence before continuously sagging to form a sinkhole
limestone-carbonates (mud) and high strength sandy-gravel of De/Di * 0.21. The stronger alluvium end-member shows
[email protected]
Sinkhole Morphologies from Photogrammetry and Distinct … 469
Table 1 DEM Micro- and Property/material Mud Alluvium

Macroproperties derived by
simulated rock tests based on a Youngs’ Modulus E [MPa] 100 200
Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion Parallel bond tensile strength Pbt [MPa] 0.1 0.5
Parallel bond cohesion Pbc [MPa] 0.5 0.02
Parallel bond friction angle / [°] 2.4 34
Density q [kg/m3] 2715 2750
Particle packing porosity n 0.2 0.2
Bulk modulus E [MPa] 84 174
Bulk Poisson ratio m 0.2 0.31
Bulk unconfined compressive strength UCS [MPa] 0.25 0.5
Bulk tensile strength T [MPa] 0.2 0.24
Bulk friction angle / [°] 6 22
Bulk density q [kg/m3] 2145 2200
Fig. 2 Topography of sinkholes

at Ghor Al-Haditha. a and d are
orthophotos overlain on a hill
shaded DSM of 2014 with 3 m
topographic contours and marked
topographic profiles for:
b mud-flat stream channel, c and
individual sinkhole, e alluvium
aligned sinkhole cluster and
f individual sinkhole
[email protected]
470 D. Al-Halbouni et al.
Fig. 3 End-members of DEM sinkhole development for setups a (“mud”) and b (“alluvium”). Colour scale shows vertical displacement (Uy). T/D
is the ratio of overburden thickness to void diameter, it the iteration number (*time)
an initially stable void space with little surface subsidence observed in the former Dead Sea lakebed. A high-strength
before suddenly collapsing to form a sinkhole of material favours narrow and deep sinkholes as observed in
De/Di * 0.4. the alluvial fans of the former Dead Sea shorelines. The
analysis of numerical models provide important information
about the sinkhole phenomena, complementary to field
4 Discussion measurements, and are important for the assessment of this
hazard.
From the photogrammetric analysis, we observed a clear
difference in the morphology of sinkholes formed in mud or
in alluvial overburden (cf. [2]). From DEM geomechanical References
modelling, similar variation in morphological characteristics
can be found, and the collapse process of the sinkholes is 1. Waltham, A.C., Fookes, P.G.: Engineering classification of karst
also different in such materials. A brittle failure occurs in the ground conditions. Q. J. Eng. Geol. Hydrogeol. 3(1), 1–20 (2005).
alluvial sediments, while a rather brittle-ductile failure https://doi.org/10.1144/1470-9236/2002-33
2. Al-Halbouni, D., Holohan, L., Saberi, Eoghan P., Alrshdan, H.,
occurs in the mud-flat sediments. We can therefore deduce Sawarieh, A., Closson, D., Walter, T.R., Dahm, T.: Sinkholes,
that the mechanical strength of the cavity overburden subsidence and subrosion on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea
strongly controls the sinkhole morphology and collapse as revealed by a close-range photogrammetric survey. Geomor-
process. This behaviour enables statements about the sink- phology 285, 305–324 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.
2017.02.006
hole hazard estimation. A substantial but continuous subsi- 3. Gutierréz, F., Parise, M., De Waele, J., Jourde, H.: A review on
dence can happen in the mud-flat sinkhole end-member, natural and human-induced geohazards and impacts in karst.
merging into a sagging type style. A rather slight subsidence Earth-Sci. Rev. 138, 61–88 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
may be detectable by e.g. remote sensing techniques before a earscirev.2014.08.002
4. Abelson, M., Yechieli, Y., Baer, G., Lapid, G., Behar, N., Calvo,
sudden and most hazardous collapse in alluvial fan sink- R., Rosensaft, M.: Natural versus human control on subsurface salt
holes. Also, recognizable cracks may appear at the subsur- dissolution and development of thousands of sinkholes along the
face and strongly disturbed subsurface layers may be Dead Sea coast. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 122(6), 1262–1277
detectable by shallow geophysical methods [5]. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004219
5. Polom, U., Alrshdan, H., Al-Halbouni, D., Dahm, T., Sawarieh,
A., Atallah, M. Y., Krawczyk, C. M.: Shear wave reflection
seismics yields subsurface dissolution and subrosion patterns:
5 Conclusions application to the Ghor Al-Haditha sinkhole site, Dead Sea,
Jordan. Solid Earth, 9 (Environmental changes and hazards in the
Dead Sea region), 1079–1098 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-
Geomechanical modelling by the Distinct Element method 1079-2018.
successfully reproduced sinkhole morphologies measured by 6. Luhmann, T., Robson, S., Kyle, S., Boehm, J.: Close-range
a photogrammetric survey at Ghor Al-Haditha in Jordan. Photogrammetry and 3D Imaging, 2nd edn., Walter De Gruyter
(2014)
The mechanical strength of the materials involved in the 7. Potyondy, D.O., Cundall, P.A.: A bonded-particle model for rock.
collapse process is a key parameter in sinkhole morphology. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 41(8), 1329–1364 (2004). https://doi.
Low-strength material promotes wide and flat sinkholes as org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2004.09.011
[email protected]
Sinkhole Morphologies from Photogrammetry and Distinct … 471
8. Schöpfer, M.P.J., Childs, C.: Walsh, W: Two-dimensional distinct 10. Al-Halbouni, D., Holohan, E. P., Taheri, A., Schöpfer, M. P. J.,
element modeling of the structure and growth of normal faults in Emam, S., Dahm, T.: Geomechanical modelling of sinkhole
multilayer sequences: 1. Model calibration, boundary conditions, development using distinct elements: Model verification for a
and selected results. J. Geophys. Res. 112(B10), B10401 (2007). single void space and application to the Dead Sea area. Solid Earth
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jb004902 Discuss (2018), in review. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2018-62.
9. Jing, L., Stephansson, O.: Fundamentals of Discrete Element
Methods for Rock Engineering, Elsevier, (2007)
[email protected]
An Assessment of Sensitivity
to Desertification in Western High
Atlas of Morocco: An Application
to Ain Asmama Site
Adnane Labbaci, Belkacem Kabbachi, Abdelkarim Ezaidi,

and James Thorne

Abstract Keywords
In Morocco, desertification affects large areas, and has Morocco Desertification MEDALUS
become more pronounced as conditions become more Vulnerability SBEI of Ain Asmama
arid with increasingly a long drought, and on poor soils,
highly vulnerable to erosion. In addition, the precarious
living conditions of rural populations grows to overuse
natural resources to meet their growing needs, which 1 Introduction
amplifies further environmental degradation [1]. Con-
cerning this big Site of Biological and Ecological Interest Desertification is the result of land degradation in arid,
(SBEI) (West of Morocco), its bioecological qualities semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is mainly due to
especially its very specific and original flora has attracted human activities and climatic variations [4]. The methodol-
naturalists over a long time. This region seems to be still ogy adopted in this study is based on the MEDALUS
relatively preserved despite the erosion and anthropogenic approach. This approach was adapted by the OSS (Sahara
advanced threats. This article presented a study under- and Sahel Observatory) within the framework of the
taken to map the sensitivity of Ain Asmama’s SBEI to DISMED (Desertification Information System to support
desertification via MEDALUS (Mediterranean Desertifi- National Action Programs in the Mediterranean) project [5]
cation and Land Use) method [2]: This approach is based and used in the countries of the North Africa and Egypt for
on a classification system developed in the parametric mapping sensitivity to desertification. To contribute to this
algorithm. It is worth noting that the sensitivity of soils to objective, this study was undertaken to map the sensitivity of
desertification depends on the quality of soil [3], climate, Ain Asmama’s SBEI to desertification via four layers: cli-
vegetation and management system. More than 90% of mate, soil, vegetation and management quality. Each of them
the territory has a medium climate quality. More than was determined by a specific methodology. The objective
63% are arid. The vegetal cover has a high quality to was to build a GIS model to define the critical area of
protect against desertification. 77% of the site’s area desertification impact. To develop each factor will help to
represents a low fire risk. More than 14% of soils have a understand all factors’ impact and then would help in
soft parental material. More than 70% have a high slope combating the impacts of those drivers
degree. In conclusion, the largest part of Ain Asmama is
very vulnerable to desertification.
A. Labbaci (&) Between 9.03° and 9.33° longitude East and between 30.74°
High Commission on Water Forests and Combating and 31° North, the SBEI of Ain Asmama occupies an area of
Desertification, Quartier Administratif, Challah Rabat, Morocco approximately 23,564 ha in Northwestern Morocco. It is an
important site of biological values, landscape, aesthetics and
B. Kabbachi A. Ezaidi culture. Its rugged environments, reliefs and powerful varied
Faculty of Sciences of Ibn Zohr, Geology Department,
Geomaterials Laboratory, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco vegetation, dense, continuous and well preserved, offer a
wide variety of habitats and ecosystems important for
J. Thorne
Environmental Science and Policy Department, maintaining wildlife communities against desertification.
University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA Morocco has signed the CCD (Convention Combating

[email protected]
474 A. Labbaci et al.
Desertification) and developed a national program to combat

desertification. The sensitivity of Ain Asmama area to
desertification was determined by mapping the quality of 2.4 Management Quality
soil, climate, vegetation and management system.
To map the management quality index (MQI), we have used
two indexes: The management quality index (MQI) was
2.1 Soil Quality assessed as the product of land use intensity and poverty
index using the following algorithm:
The soil quality was determined using the map of parental
materials, texture, depth and slope. To make those maps, it MQI ¼ ðLUIi PiÞ1=2
was necessary to synthesize most part of the geological and
pedology studies undertaken all over the SBEI area. Each
soil was affected by an index calculated using the formula:
3 Results
1=4
SQI ¼ ðPMi Di Ti SiÞ
3.1 Soil Quality Index (SQI)
where:
According to the used criteria, about 1% of the territory of
PMi Parent Material index,
Ain Asmama’s SBEI is slightly sensitive to desertification.
Di Depth index,
More than 36% has high sensitivity (index > 1.45). This
Ti Texture index,
means that about all soils of the Ain Asmama’s SBEI soils
Si Slope index
are vulnerable to desertification, even the other factors,
vegetal cover, climate and management, are also favorable.
2.2 Vegetal Quality

3.2 Vegetal Quality Index (VQI)
Vegetation is at the same time the expression and the index of
the natural balance of the ecosystems. In fact, the vegetal Relying on the obtained results, the zones with low and
cover is the first component enduring anthropogenic impacts medium quality represent respectively 22 and 78%.
and its state is related to the process of natural degradation:
desertification. It shows indications related to: Resistance to
drought, Fire risk and ability to protect, Protection to erosion; 3.3 Climate Quality Index (CQI)
and Plant cover. The vegetal quality index is a combination
of four other indexes: Fire risk FRi, Resistance to drought The climate quality index is a combination of the three cited
RDi, Protection against erosion PEi, Plant cover PCi: indexes, aridity, rainfall and aspect. Contrary to two previ-
ously calculated indices, we notice that zones with medium
VQI ¼ ðFRi RDi PEi PCiÞ1=4 climate quality are dominant (91%) followed by the range
with good quality zone (8.14%), while zones with low cli-
mate quality represent only 1.14%. In other words, the SBEI
of Ain Asmama has an arid to semi-arid climate convenient
2.3 Climate Quality
to the desertification.
The climate can be considered as the major cause of land
degradation. In fact, soil erosion can be due to heavy and
3.4 Management Quality Index (MQI)
concentrated rainfall in space and time, affecting primarily
the vegetal cover.
The management quality index (MQI) was assessed as the
The map of climate quality was produced on the basis of
product of land use intensity and poverty index. The MQI
the aridity index, rainfall and aspect. The data (P mm,
index so established shows that the majority of the SBEI
Aridity, Aspect) of eight stations were used. The climate
(78%) present a medium quality of management. On the
quality index is a combination of the three cited indexes,
other hand, the low management range is represented with
aridity, rainfall and aspect:
22% of site area in particular because of the intensification of
the agricultural practices and the pressure of the population
CQI ¼ ðAi Ri AsiÞ1=3
on natural resources.
[email protected]
An Assessment of Sensitivity to Desertification in Western … 475
3.5 Sensitivity Desertification Index (SDI) well as (4) those extracting and assessing methods of real
desertification information are in need for improvement.
The Sensitivity Desertification Index (SDI) is determined by
the intersection of the multiplicative maps according to the
following equation: 5 Conclusion
SDI ¼ ðSQI VQI CQI MQIÞ1=4 The methodology used to develop the sensitivity desertifi-
cation map is based on the collection of a considerable
In addition to this phenomenon, especially in mountain-
amount of textual and graphical information. A coherence
ous areas, erosion is still an important factor of degradation,
scale through a spatial geo-referenced allowed to use the
particularly in areas where the vegetation has undergone
data within a GIS. The interpretation of satellite imagery and
significant degradation due to the combined impact of a
ground truth collection helped complete the available spatial
harsh climate and samples as well as for grazing for the
and thematic data, especially the cover land. The result of the
various needs of the rural population, including fuel wood
sensitivity map of desertification has shown two main areas
and firewood.
classified into sensitive and very sensitive areas to
Desertification.
4 Discussion
References
Desertification is one of the most serious environmental and
socioeconomic problems in Morocco. Monitoring and
1. Ghanam, M.: La désertification au Maroc-Quelle stratégie de lutte.
assessing desertification has been a key and an extremely
In: 2nd FIG Regional Conference Marrakech, Morocco, pp. 2–5,
important task, for combating desertification in threatened December 2003
areas to evaluate the impacts and provide the best indicators 2. Kosmas, C., Kirkby, M.J., Geeson, N.: The Medalus Project:
for decision makers to improve projects impacts in terms of Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use: Manual on Key
Indicators of Desertification and Mapping Environmentally Sensi-
sustainability. Using GIS and Remote Sensing has become
tive Areas to Desertification; Directorate-General Science, Research
an important data source and technology to have a big pic- and Development (1999)
ture of the phenomenon. In this article, we tried to use 3. Badraoui, M., Stitou, M.: Status of soil survey and soil information
several keys to understand the desertification issue and its system in Morocco. Options Mediterr. Ser. B 34, 193–204 (2001)
impacts. However, some problems were met including: 4. Johnson, P.-M., Mayrand, K., Paquin, M.: Governing Global
Desertification: Linking Environmental Degradation, Poverty and
(1) the reference scale of each parameter usually related to Participation. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. (2006)
the data and its availability, (2) impact of each factor, we had 5. Brandt, J., Geeson, N.: Desertification information system to
to use mathematical models to evaluate the weight of each support National Action Programmes in the Mediterranean
parameter in the equation, (3) underemphasized temporal (DISMED). DIS4ME, Desertification Indicator System for Mediter-
ranean Europe. Eur. Environ. Agency (2005)
and spatial scales of desertification and the scale effect, as
[email protected]
Erosion Sensitivity Mapping Using GIS-Based
Multicriteria Analysis – Case Study
of the Semiarid Macta Watershed,
North-West of Algeria
Mohammed Amine Hamadouche, Fatima Zohra Daikh,

Mohammed Chrair, Djamel Anteur, Youcef Fekir, and Miloud Driss

Abstract Keywords

The exponential rise in the natural risk related to the soil Soil erosion GIS Multicriteria analysis
erosion and important impacts on the human activities Semiarid Macta watershed Algeria
threatening the biological richness of different regions in
Macta watershed located at the northwest of Algeria. This
serious and complex situation has been an environmental
concern in Algeria. Soil erosion is mainly due to a 1 Introduction
combination of factors such as climate (rainfall), topog-
raphy, vegetation cover, type of soil and land use Algeria is among the most erodible regions in the world [1].
(agricultural activities). The study aimed to develop a Rain affects 28% of the land in northern Algeria and go in
methodological approach, based on the combined use of the form of runoff, which is the main factor of water erosion
geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing and [2, 3]. However, the Tellian steep mountains are the most
multicriteria analysis method (MCA), dedicated to the affected with a rate of 45% representing 12 million hectares.
soil erosion sensitivity mapping. The different factors are The Macta watershed represents a specific ecosystem on the
involved in a geographical database as layers in order to western coast of Algeria by its geographic situation and the
make it easier to implement the decision aid dataset such richness of its biodiversity. However, it is highly threatened
as alternatives and criteria. The obtained results show that by the different manmade activities. Since 2001, the Macta
the most threatened areas by the soil erosion phenomena watershed has been classified as wetland to be protected in
are situated, in general, in the south and the east. Areas of the frame of the Ramsar convention [4].
high vulnerability correspond to some sub-watershed with The integration of Multicriteria Decision Analysis
different degrees, i.e., Mezoua, Taria, Mekerra, and approaches (MCDA) in a Geographical Information System
Fergoug. (GIS) provides a powerful spatial decision support system,
which offers the opportunity to efficiently map the sensitivity
of soil to erosion risks by taking into account its different
factors. Because of their spatial aggregation functions,
MCDA methods can facilitate decision making in situations
M. A. Hamadouche (&) M. Chrair Y. Fekir where multiple decision-makers preferences are to be con-
Laboratory of Research on Geomatic, Ecology and Environment,
University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria sidered and multiple conflicting criteria (risk factors) are to
e-mail: [email protected] be explicitly evaluated [5].
F. Z. Daikh
University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria
D. Anteur 2 Materials and Methods
Laboratory of Water and Environment, University of Saida,
Saida, Algeria 2.1 Study Area
M. Driss
Laboratory of Sciences and Water Techniques, University The study area is located in Mascara state of Algeria (see
Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria Fig. 1). Particularly, Macta watershed located in north-
http://www.univ-mascara.dz/fst/index.php/fr/
recherchescientifique/laboratoires-de-recherche/ western Algeria (Mascara state) between 34° 18′ N to
2-non-categorise/54-labolste 35° 54′ N Latitude (length approximately 166.76 km) and

[email protected]
478 M. A. Hamadouche et al.
Fig. 1 Presentation of the study area
1° 12′ W to 0° 34′ E Longitude (width approximately cultural data. The integration of remote sensing data within a
159.59 km) thereby covering a total geographical area of GIS has a significant potential in regional applications for
approximately 260,000 hectares. This study area is charac- the management of a big set of data. Various researchers
terized by its important agricultural production. It also worldwide use these tools today. Some of these applications
includes the plain of Ghriss town, which covers an agri- include the location of new features such as archaeological
cultural area of more than 72,000 hectares. sites, road network, automated extraction of hydrology net-
work, slope and aspect maps, land use and land cover.
2.2 GIS-Based Evaluation and Soil Erosion Risks

2.3 GIS-Based Evaluation and Multicriteria
The capabilities of GIS in handling spatial aspects to analyze Analysis
and map the eventual risk of soil erosion have boosted its use
in the criteria-based evaluation for the determination of Spatial decisions problems are referred to as heterogeneous
exposed areas to soil erosion phenomena. This is because systems, which interact with many different factors. Control-
most of the criteria (risk factors that promote soil erosion) ling the complexity of these problems requires the use of
are spatial data. GIS can be used for areas measurement, methods, techniques and powerful analysis tools, which must
testing different theoretical assumptions and developing not only manage but also analyze different spatial data [6].
useful models in order to find new resources based on sta- GIS is often recognized as a spatial decision support system,
tistical analysis of the relationship with environmental and but it lacks the mechanisms of integrating the decision
[email protected]
Erosion Sensitivity Mapping Using GIS-Based Multicriteria … 479
makers’ preferences to make a choice in a context of objective 3 Results

evaluation and conflicting criteria [7]. These restrictions, in
terms of decision-maker preferences modeling like the dif- The methodology developed in this study uses qualitative
ferent thresholds of preference and selection procedures mean rules, assessments, and a hierarchy of parameters in rela-
that the scope of GIS as a tool for spatial decision support is tionship with water erosion: land cover, land use, topogra-
currently limited. Multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) is suit- phy, climate conditions, and type of soil. The set of data
able for structuring decision problems, designing, evaluating, were integrated in a GIS as layers (vector and raster). All
and prioritized alternative decisions. It is also appropriate to preferences of the decision process were implemented on the
the decision-making processes related to the choice situation GIS as layers and attributes tables according to their types.
where points of views are often contradictory. Therefore, The combination of these maps following the multicri-
GIS-based Multicriteria analysis method constitutes a pow- teria decision process, has allowed producing of thematic
erful way to develop spatial decision support system. map which presents the different categories land fragility
Fig. 2 Fragility to water erosion

map
[email protected]
480 M. A. Hamadouche et al.
(see Fig. 2). It includes four classes: very fragile, fragile, water erosion constitutes an efficient and fast way to evaluate
moderately fragile and little fragile. Then an important area and combat soil degradation. The final product of this work
of Macta watershed is exposed to the erosion risk. is a decision support map for forest managers presenting the
priority intervention zones in Macta watershed.
4 Discussion
References
The obtained results show that dominant classes of fragility
to erosion correspond to low and middle levels. These areas 1. Probst, J.L., Suchet, P.A.: Fluvial suspended sediment transport
correspond to areas of low to medium slopes. Consequently, and mechanical erosion in the Maghreb (North Africa). J. Sci.
we have to retain that the sensitivity to water erosion of the Hydro. 37(6), 621–636 (1992)
2. Banasik, K., Górski, D., Popek, Z., Hejduk, I.: Estimating the
study area is strongly in relationship with the degree of annual sediment yield of a small agricultural catchment in central
slope, the vegetation cover density and the type of soil, in Poland. In: Erosion and Sediment Yields in the Changing Environ-
addition to the human action caused by agricultural practices ment. Proceedings of the Chengdu Symposium. IAHS Publ. 356,
which have already impacted the fragility of these lands. pp. 267–275 Oct. 2012
3. Benchetrit, M.: L’érosion actuelle et ses conséquences sur
l’aménagement de l’Algérie, p. 216. PUF, Paris (1972)
4. Ghodbani, T., Amokrane, K.: La zone humide de la Macta: un
5 Conclusion espace à protéger sur le littoral ouest de l’Algérie. Physio-Géo [En
ligne], vol. 7, mis en ligne le 02 mars 2013, consulté le 01 mai 2018.
(2013) URL: http://journals.openedition.org/physio-geo/3228;
Water erosion presents a great challenge to preserve the https://doi.org/10.4000/physio-geo.3228
environment and the surface water resources. Mapping the 5. Hamadouche, M.A., Mederbal, K., Larid, L., Regagba, Z., Fekir,
vulnerable area to erosion, enables reducing and limiting Y., Anteur, D.: “GIS-based multicriteria analysis: an approach to
the consequences of this phenomenon. In this paper, we have select priority areas for preservation in the Ahaggar National Park.
Algeria. Arab. J. Geosci. 7, 419 (2014)
contributed to map the water erosion fragility of a large
6. Hamadouche, M.A., Mederbal, K., Khaldi, A., Fekir, Y., Anteur,
semi-arid basin of Macta in the northwest of Algeria. In this D., Driss, M., Oulha, R.: Gomatic tools and multicriteria analysis
study, multi-criteria methods integrated into GIS tools were for managing and conserving the biodiversity of the national park of
shown to play an important role in the detection of high ahaggar (algeria). Oral presentation at the 1st First International
Geomatics Symposium in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah (2011)
vulnerability areas to water erosion. Indeed, this allows the
7. Molines, N., Chevalier, JJ,: Système d’information géographique et
determination of causes in favor of increasing the water analyse multicritère – une association novatrice au service du
erosion risk for specific areas. processus d’évaluation des grandes infrastructures linéaires. Centre
The analysis of the maps obtained under GIS environ- de Recherche sur l’environne-ment et l’aménagement (CRENAM.)
Saint-Etienne le Centre de Recherche en Géomatique Université
ment for different parameters shows that the areas with a
Laval, pp. 195–211 (2002)
high vulnerability to erosion are located in the north east and
some are in the south of the watershed. Mapping the risk of
[email protected]
Experimental Investigation of Several
Different Types of Soil Erosion Protection
Systems
Hossein Moayedi, Ramli Nazir, Loke Kok Foong,

Mansour Mosallanezhad, and Biswajeet Pradhan
Most unprotected slopes face stability problems due to
erosion. Generally, an unstable slope issue arises when Most slope failures are commonly related to the rainfall and
erosion begins on its surface. Several erosion protection seepage processes. The situation is a triggering factor that
methods provide a solution to protect the slope surface by even leads to the slope failure. Various types of soil char-
dividing a large slope area into many small cells, hence acteristics, slope formations, slope drainage systems, and
increasing the stiffness of the soil surface. In this research, types of constructions with future developments are con-
a total of 964 tests were performed on unconfined slopes sidered as main causes of soil erosion [1, 2]. The protection
and slopes with three types of confinement systems materials are very well known in the soil erosion treatment
varying in three different sizes. The experiments were systems. This has become more popular worldwide, as is
conducted based on various rainfall intensities, rainfall evidenced by the increasing amount of research [3–5].
durations, and slope angles. Furthermore, the experimen- A cellular protection system is the first stage of prevention.
tal results for the unconfined and confined slopes were The standard design of cellular protection systems could
compared to indicate the effectiveness of the soil reduce costs in remedying slopes failure.
confinement system. The confined slope showed signif- Slopes with different lengths, inclinations, and soil
icantly lower soil loss compared to the unconfined slope. properties can be protected against erosion by choosing a
Additionally, the results revealed that the triangular type suitable kind of soil confinement [6]. In terms of slope
was the most effective confinement system, as the lowest failure rehabilitation applications, this type of system is still
soil loss mass was recorded. In general, the introduced in its infancy stage. Besides providing slope stability, an
erosion protection system shows a promising way of attractive feature of different types of soil confinement sys-
preventing slope failure due to erosion at an early stage. tems means they enable the visible surface to remain natural
and green. The main objective of the present research was to

Keywords study various types of fine soils and their vulnerability to soil
Soil protection Erosion Pollution prevention erosion hazards. Furthermore, the influence of slope angle
Sediments Sustainability and rainfall characteristics, that could significantly increase
H. Moayedi (&) the rate of soil erosion, were assessed on the soil erosion.
Centre of Tropical Geoengineering (Geotropik), School of Civil Through a small scale laboratory model, different types of
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi confinement systems were introduced to reduce the erosion
Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia rate and the results were compared to find the most appli-
cable confinement type. Finally, the performance of the soil
R. Nazir L. K. Foong confinement systems for a selected site was evaluated in
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Centre of Tropical Geoengineering,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia comparison to slopes without any confinement system.
M. Mosallanezhad
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shiraz
University, Shiraz, Iran
B. Pradhan
Faculty of Engineering and IT, School of Systems, Management
and Leadership, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW,
Australia

[email protected]
482 H. Moayedi et al.
2 Materials and Methods induce a higher gravitational force when soil particles break
up, while prolonged rainfall saturates the soil. The broken up
Three clayey soil samples were collected from a particular soil particles at the top of the slope will move downwards
site located at Johor Bahru, in Peninsular Malaysia. All of and push the adjacent soil particles. This is an early process
the used soils in the small scale modeling were obtained of surface erosion. The retrogressive process occurs via a
from a mixture of three collected soil samples. The depth of transportation element such as water. Besides, a steeper
the confinements was constant at 10 mm throughout the slope reduces the internal frictional force between the soil
experimental test. Small confinement models with different particles. It is important to note that, the initial amount of
confinement sizes of 50, 100, and 150 mm width were water splashing on the surface of the soil will break up the
used. A 10 mm thickness also was selected for the con- soil particles. An increase in the amount of water flowing on
finement according the scaling selected for the laboratory the surface will transport the soil particles to the bottom of
model. the slope. As the slope becomes steeper, the soil particles
The soils were placed inside the confinement while the will be transported faster due to the effect of gravity, as
cellular confinement installed in different slope angles of mentioned before. The results illustrated the influence of
30°, 40°, 50°, and 60°. As mentioned earlier, each type of slope angle on slope confinement systems of 50, 100, and
confinement was made up of three sizes i.e., 50, 100, and 150 mm embedded. In all of the three soil confinement
150 mm with a thickness of 10 mm. Series 1, 2, and 3 were systems, the soil loss mass increased with an increment in
then subdivided into 12 sub-series to explore the effect of the slope angle. The variation of soil loss mass also appeared
various values of rainfall intensity (20–75 mm/h), slope to increase with increments of the slope angle with respect to
angle (30°–60°), and rainfall duration. Table 1 summarizes the confinement size. For the confinement size of 50 mm
the 964 laboratory tests performed in this study. and slope angles of 30°–60°, the soil loss mass increases,
gradually. The maximum soil loss mass increased with
increments of confinement size. The maximum soil losses
3 Results for the slope angle of 60°, rainfall duration of 60 min, and
rainfall intensity of 75 mm/h with the triangular confinement
The rate of soil erosion obtained in a non-confined system systems of 50, 100, and 150 mm were 40.9, 68.5, and
can summarized as follows: the soil loss mass increases with 97.5 g, respectively. In particular, smaller soil loss masses
(i) steeper slopes, (ii) higher rainfall intensities, and were observed for smaller confinement sizes, lower slope
(iii) prolonged rainfall duration. The steeper slope will angles, and lower rainfall durations.
Table 1 Summary of laboratory Confinement size (mm) Slope angle Type of confinement and number of tests
experiments for every test series
Degree WCF CF TF SF
Non-confinement 30 24 – – –
40 24 – – –
50 24 – – –
60 24 – – –
50 30 – 24 24 24
40 – 24 24 24
50 – 24 24 24
60 – 24 24 24
100 30 – 24 24 24
40 – 24 24 24
50 – 24 24 24
60 – 24 24 24
150 30 – 24 24 24
40 – 24 24 24
50 – 24 24 24
60 – 24 24 24
Sub-total 96 288 292 288
[email protected]
Experimental Investigation of Several Different Types … 483
In the cases of a confined slope, the results of soil erosion 100, and 150 mm showed that they had a similar trend to the
for various slope angles, confinement systems, rainfall unconfined slope. The confined and unconfined slopes were
intensity, and durations (10–60 min) are as follows. For the compared. It was observed that the slope angle (i.e., for
same slope angle condition of 60°, a confinement size of slopes between 30 and 60 angle, the soil loss mass was
100 mm, a rainfall duration of 60 min, and rainfall intensity differed up to 300%) and rainfall intensity (i.e., up to 9 times
of 75 mm/h, the soil loss masses for the triangular (TF), more when rainfall intensity changed from 20 to 75 mm/h)
circular (CF), and rectangular confinement systems of a certain amount make a significant contribution toward
(SQF) were 68.5, 81.9, and 87.35 g, respectively. As the increased soil loss. The soil confinement system largely
triangular-shaped confinement systems (TF) had the lowest reduced the rate of erosion, allowing the slope stability
soil loss mass followed by the circular- and rectangular- rehabilitation. In this regard, the slope can be permanently
shaped confinement systems. protected by the soil confinement system. It was found that a
The results unveiled the variation of soil loss mass versus smaller confinement element will apply smaller forces to
slope angles of 30–60° for three types and sizes of con- resist the detachment of the soil particles. The relationship of
finements. The soil loss mass of the unconfined slope is soil loss mass with slope angle and rainfall intensity proved
much higher than that of the confined slopes. The soil loss that the triangular shape presented less soil loss than the
mass under the conditions of a slope angle of 60°, rainfall circular and square shapes.
intensity of 75 mm/h, and rainfall duration of 60 min for the
unconfined slopes and the 50 mm-sized triangular, circular,
and rectangular confinements were 961.7, 40.9, 46.2, and References
54.8 g, respectively. For example in a slope angle equal to
60°, the rainfall intensity is 75 mm/h and 60 min rainfall 1. Haghighi, I., Chevalier, C., Duc, M., Guédon, S., Reiffsteck, P.:
duration time. Different confinement type specimens such as Improvement of hole erosion test and results on reference soils.
WCF-LAB, CF-50-LAB, CF-100-LAB, CF-150-LAB, J. Geotech. and Geoenviron. Eng. 139, 330–339 (2013)
2. Pradhan, B., Chaudhari, A., Adinarayana, J., Buchroithner, M.F.:
SQF-50-LAB, SQF-100-LAB, SQF-150-LAB, TF-50-LAB, Soil erosion assessment and its correlation with landslide events
TF-100-LAB, and TF-150-LAB results in 961.7, 46.23, using remote sensing data and GIS: a case study at Penang Island
81.89, 111.7, 54.84, 87.36, 125.8, 40.86, 68.49, and 97.51 g Malaysia. Environ. Monit. Assess. 184, 715–727 (2012)
soil loss mass, respectively. Consequently, a huge difference 3. Blaikie, P: The Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing
Countries. Routledge, (2016)
between the unconfined and confined slopes was found. The 4. Nazir, R., Ghareh, S., Mosallanezhad, M., Moayedi, H.: The
difference increases largely with the increment of the slope influence of rainfall intensity on soil loss mass from cellular
angle. This finding confirmed that the confinement system is confined slopes. Meas. 81, 13–25 (2016)
effective for the slope angles tested in this research. 5. Posthumus, H., Deeks, L.K., Rickson, R.J., Quinton, J.N.: Costs
and benefits of erosion control measures in the UK. Soil Use
Manage. 31, 16–33 (2015)
6. Nazir R., Moayedi, H.: Soil mass loss reduction during rainfalls by
4 Conclusion reinforcing the slopes with the surficial confinement: World
academy of science, engineering and technology. International
Journal of Environmental, Ecological, Geomatics, Earth Science
The effectiveness of soil confinement systems was deter- and Engineering. 8(6), 331–334 (2014)
mined by performing small scale model tests in the labora-
tory. The tests on the slope confinements with sizes of 50,
[email protected]
Land Use Sensitivity Map for Impact of Land
Management on Extreme Flood Events
at the Northeast Coast of Peninsular
(Malaysia)
Nader Saadatkhah, Jafar Rahnamarad, Shattri Mansor,

Zailani Khuzaimah, Arnis Asmat, Nor Aizam Adnan,
and Siti Noradzah Adam
Abstract infiltration rate and consequent modifications in the

In the recent decades, the alteration in the land cover has discharge volume involving hourly rainfall occurrences
had severe hydrological effects disturbing the flood over the last ten days of December 2014. The implemen-
occurrences at the east coast of the peninsular Malaysia. tation of the HGGRF model revealed that the modifica-
The Kelantan River (KR) basin has been extremely tions in land cover brought about substantial alterations in
influenced because of the quick variations in the usage of hydrological response to surface water.
land between 1984 and 2013, due to deforestation and the

conversion of the agricultural area. The purpose of the Keywords
current study was to evaluate the influence of deforesta- Flood occurrence Kelantan river basin
tion and the potential impact of agricultural area trans- HGGRF model
formation on the hydrological functions such as surface
water, lost water, and soil moisture on the KR basin. The
Hydrological and Geotechnical Grid-based Regional
Flood Model (HGGRF) was exploited to calculate the 1 Introduction
Alterations in land cover/land use (LULC) by deforestation,

population upsurge and agricultural growth in the last few
N. Saadatkhah J. Rahnamarad (&) decades was investigated as the prevailing case of aug-
Department of Geology, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad mented flood occurrence by Fritsch [3], De Roo et al. [1],
University, Zahedan, Iran and Saadatkhah et al. [5]. The evaluation of the effect of
e-mail: [email protected] changes in LULC on flood occurrences showed that several
N. Saadatkhah types of land cover and land use have momentous functions
e-mail: [email protected] and effects on water resources, runoff generation and flood
S. Mansor Z. Khuzaimah S. N. Adam [1, 5, 6].
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The KR basin, at the east coast of the peninsular
Geospatial Information Science Research Centre (GISRC),
University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Malaysia, is among those areas that are liable to floods. This
e-mail: [email protected] area is subjected to the intense and prolonged monsoon
Z. Khuzaimah rainfall under tropical climates. The land cover alterations
e-mail: [email protected] led to higher runoff volume and peak flow by uncontrolled
S. N. Adam deforestation in KR basin throughout the preceding thirty
e-mail: [email protected] years [2]. The target of current research was to reduce the
A. Asmat risk of flooding in the river catchment areas, by assessing the
Faculty of Applied Sciences, School of Chemistry and effect of LULC changes (such as deforestation and urban-
Environmental Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), ization) on increased rate of flood at the KR basin using
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia hydrological regional modeling of rainfall-induced runoff
occurrence that were used to calculate rate of infiltration, and
N. A. Adnan succeeding variations in the discharge volume.
Centre of Studies Surveying Science and Geomatics, Universiti
Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

[email protected]
486 N. Saadatkhah et al.
2 Materials and Methods under progress (e.g., urban areas). Figure 2 showed the
sensitive level of land use sensitivity map divided into equal
This paper studied the implementation of the HGGRF model classes based on the overall number of classes i.e., critically
as explained by Shattri et al. [6] accompanying evident sensitive, very high, high, moderate, low and very low level.
techniques and tools for flood management considering land In this regard, forest transformation into less canopy cov-
cover and its modifications in the KR basin. The complete erage areas (e.g., rubber, diverse horticulture areas and palm
research flow diagram is given in Fig. 1. oil) results in high to extremely high level of runoff occur-
The Richards equation has been exploited, as also rences in the examined area. Furthermore, the runoff and
reported by Lawrence and Chase [4], in the enhanced model destructive debris flow were instigated by the blending of the
to explain unsaturated vertical flow in response to the transformation of forests into agricultural plantations in thin
infiltration/loss of water over the ground surface accompa- granitic soils, extreme rainfall, and destruction of natural
nying the rainfall interception loss approach and precipita- forest cover (manmade).
tion distribution data relating to experimental equation.
Keeping in mind the hydrological and geotechnical charac-
teristics of the examined area, the improved model was 4 Conclusion
performed by exploiting both GIS framework system and
Microsoft Excel®. The existing model was implemented The current study targeted the evaluation of the land cover
relying on the three key constituents namely rainfall infil- effect on the runoff processing with the help of HGGRF
tration analysis, runoff simulation model and rainfall inter- modeling during rainfall occurrences and alleviation plan
ception loss model. through the recent 30 years in KR basin. Through the out-
comes of this study, the subsequent conclusions could be
deduced:
• Land cover alterations instigated substantial dissimilari-
According to Shattri et al. [6], the 69.96% of total Kelantan ties in hydrological response to surface water by the
state area (956,139.9 ha) consists of forests and jungle implementation of HGGRF model. The rising runoff
reserves. Moreover, most of the agricultural area volume at KR basin mainly depends on the transforma-
(395,156.8 ha) is situated in the upstream of Kelantan river tion of forests into agricultural land (rubber and
basin, which covers an area of 26.32% of Kelantan area, mixed-agriculture), as well as on urbanization and
23.27% of the area (349,365.4 ha) is enclosed by palm oil deforestation.
and rubber, whereas only 1.60% (14,616.5 ha) consists of • Deforestation and transformation of forests into agricul-
urban and development area. During 1984 and 2002, there tural land brought about upsurges in flood volume because
was an increased conversion of forests into less canopy of evapotranspiration capacity and lower interception loss.
coverage areas that decelerated between 2002 and 2013. Conversely, urban development areas lead to a superior
Accordingly, the crucial runoff occurrences were princi- impervious ground surface resulting in surplus runoff
pally dispersed over the unoccupied areas and the areas volume owing to the lower rate of infiltration.
Fig. 1 Overall framework
[email protected]
Land Use Sensitivity Map for Impact of Land Management on … 487
Fig. 2 Land use sensitivity map
• Forests act as an important factor in regulating water flow, was predicted in case forests are substituted by distinctive
consequently reducing the runoff volume in the examined land cover varieties, for example, agricultural land and
area. On the other hand, an escalated flood magnitude development area, due to the reduced loss/infiltration.
[email protected]
488 N. Saadatkhah et al.
References 4. Lawrence, P.J., Chase, T.N.: Representing a new MODIS consistent

land surface in the Community Land Model (CLM3.0). Journal of
Geophys. Res.-Biogeosciences, vol. 112(G1) (2007)
1. De Roo, A., Schmuck, G., Perdigao, V., Thielen, J.: The influence 5. Saadatkhah, N., Tehrani, M.H., Shattri, M., Zailani, Kh, Kassim, A.,
of historic land-use changes and future planned land-use scenarios Saadatkhah, R.: Impact assessment of land cover changes on the
on floods in the Oder catchment. Phys. Chem. Earth, Parts A/B/C, runoff changes on the extreme flood events in the Kelantan River
vol. 20, pp. 1291–1300 (2003) basin. Arab. J. Geosci. 9, 687 (2016)
2. Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID): Annual flood report of 6. Shattri, M., Saadatkhah, N., Zailani, Kh., Arnis, A., Noraizam, A.
DID for Peninsular Malaysia. Unpublished report, Kuala Lumpur and Noradzah, A: Regional modelling of rainfall-induced runoff
(2004) using hydrological model by incorporating plant cover effects: case
3. Fritsch, U.: Entwicklung von Landnutzungsszenarien fur die study in Kelantan, Malaysia. Nat. Hazards, (2018) https://doi.org/
okologische Modellierung. Brandenburgische Umweltberichte 12, 10.1007/s11069-018-3322-z
pp. 1–132. (2002) Downloadable on: http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/
volltexte/2005/398/pdf/vol12.pdf
[email protected]
Influence of Anthropogenic Activity
on the Development and Spreading of Flood
Hazardous Events in Madeira Island
(Portugal)
Davide Baioni
Over the last few decades, the island of Madeira has
become an important offshore tourism and business The island of Madeira is part of an archipelago of volcanic
centre, with a rapid economic and demographic develop- origin situated in the Atlantic Ocean (from 32° 23′ N to
ment that have caused changes to the landscape due to 33° 07′ N and from 16° 15′ W to 17° 15′ W) approximately
human activity. In Madeira’s recent history, there has 900 km south-west of Portugal and 700 km west of the coast
been an increase over time in the frequency of occurrence of Morocco.
of damaging flood events. As a result, the costs of Madeira is part of Portugal but it is an autonomous region
restoration work due to damage caused by flood events with its own government that can freely deliberate and
have become a larger and larger component of Madeira’s regulate many aspects of its own territory. It has a resident
annual budget. Flood phenomena on Madeira deserve population of approximately 245.000 people concentrated
particular attention because they represent the most almost exclusively in the coastal areas, dominantly on the
serious hazard to human life, property, and the natural southern side of the island where the majority of the
environment and its important heritage value. The work important cities lie and in which the most important part of
reported in this paper involved the analysis of historical the economic life of Madeira is located.
data regarding damaging flood events on Madeira in Madeira in the last decades has been turned into an
particular for the period from 1941 to 1991, together with important off-shore tourism-business centre making a rapid
data on geological characteristics, topographic features, economic growth. The desire to increase tourism business
and climate, and from field observations. This analysis produced important human development activity which in
showed that the increase in the number of damaging flood turn led to an explosion of building in a very short period of
events recorded on Madeira Island, especially in recent time.
times, seems to be mostly related to human activity, Human activity due to urban growth because of the lack
specifically to economic development and population of suitable space made profound changes to the existing
growth, rather than to natural factors. morphology. In Madeira’s recent history there is an increase
over time in the occurrence of flood hazardous events [1, 2]

Keywords and there is a clear increase in the costs of restoration work,
Madeira Island Human activity Flood events protection measures and damage caused by flood phenom-
Hazards ena that have progressively become a growing feature in the
public economy of Madeira.
Flood phenomena in Madeira deserve particular attention
because they represent the main and the most serious hazard
for human life, property and the natural system and its
important heritage [3, 4].
D. Baioni (&)
Urbino University, Campus Scientifico Sogesta, 61029 Uribino,
Italy

[email protected]
490 D. Baioni
2 Data and Methods mouths of the rivers and led to the occupation of the flood
plains areas of the main rivers [3]. Urban growth also made
In this work a detailed analysis of flood hazardous phe- changes in the fluvial morphology by narrowing the original
nomena was carried out through the study of historical data riverbeds, reducing the original section (Fig. 2), shaping the
about flood damaging events that occurred in Madeira dur- original routes, altering the length and reducing the bed
ing the period 1941–1991, to determine their distribution in roughness, increasing the flow velocity. Moreover, the
space and time, as well as possible variations in frequency expansion of cities and the construction of related infras-
and the recent evolutionary trend [2]. tructures has increased impermeable surfaces raising the
In the data recorded, supplied by the archive of the runoff coefficient, leading to a more rapid concentration of
regional institutions of Madeira, numerous attributes are runoff with a consequent increase in the magnitude of flash
often described for each individual event surveyed, such as floods.
the type of event, the location, the date, the meteorological
conditions previous to the event described, as well as the
effects on the population and on structures. The available 4 Discussion
information provides an excellent description of each indi-
vidual event. The results of this study highlight that there is a geographical
Historical records analysis has been integrated with correspondence between the incidence of hazardous
geological characteristics, topographic features, precipitation flood events and human activity within the territory of
data and field investigations. In particular, the analysis of the Madeira.
evolutionary trends of rainfall and flood events was carried The increase in flood events mainly occurs in the areas
out with the aim of checking if the climatic factor is the only related to human activity and there seems to be no spatial
or main cause of the increase in the frequency of flood events and temporal relationship between hazardous flood events
encountered in Madeira. and rainfall.
The increasing in Madeira of damaging flood events
seems to be related mainly to the rapid increase in the
3 Results exposure and vulnerability as a consequence of the modifi-
cations on the territory caused by the human activity due to
The flood damaging events recorded all over the island the rapid economic and demographic development.
during the period 1941–1991 indicate that (i) they are mainly
flash floods; (ii) there is an increase in frequency over time;
(iii) the areas with the higher number of events are those 5 Conclusion
drainage basins where the main urban centres are located;
(iv) there is a completely different incidence to flooding Comparative analyses of all the data highlight positive ter-
which is a countertendency as regards the climatic condi- ritorial and timing relationship between anthropogenic
tions and the rainfall data of the different areas of Madeira. opera, land-use change and flood events.
Rainfall records of the period 1941–1991 show no The study carried out in this paper shows that the increase
increase over time in the annual values, and no increase of and the growing-up trend in the recent time of hazardous
the number of high-intensity rainfall events (Fig. 1). flood events in Madeira island are highly related to human
A detailed field investigation has observed that urban activity and to the environmental modifications, rather than
development caused the reduction and occupation of the to changes in climatic conditions.
[email protected]
Influence of Anthropogenic Activity on the Development … 491
Fig. 1 Rainfall recorded in Santa Catarina for the period 1941–1991; 100 mm.; e months with rainfall over 200 mm.; f months with rainfall
a annual values; b total values for the period October–April for each over 300 mm
year; c months with rainfall over 50 mm.; d months with rainfall over
[email protected]
492 D. Baioni
Fig. 2 Example of changes in the fluvial morphology by narrowing the original riverbeds, and reducing the original section of the “Ribeira de
Santa Luzia” river within Funchal city
References synoptic analysis and extreme rainfall assessment. Nat. Hazards

Earth Syst. Sci. 12(3), 715–730 (2012)
3. Almeida, A.B., et al.: Risk assessment of flash floods in Madeira
1. Rodrigues, D., Ayala-Carcedo, F.: Georisk: a natural hazard Island. Funchal Secretaria Regional do Equipamento Social e
database of historic events in Madeira Island. 25th General Transportes (2010)
Assembly EGS, Nice, vol. 286 (2000) 4. Fernandes, F.: Built heritage and flash floods: biking trails and
2. Fragoso, M., Trigo, R.M., Pinto, J.G., Lopes, S., Lopes, A., tourism on Madeira Island. J. Heritage Tourism 11(1), 88–95 (2016)
Ulbrich, S., Magro, C.: The 20 February 2010 Madeira flash-floods:
[email protected]
Towards Development of Risk-Based, Soil
and Groundwater Screening Values
(Threshold Values) for Petroleum
Hydrocarbon (PHC) in Libya and Tunisia
by Considering Climate and Regional
“Geographical” Factors
Salahadein Ahmed Alzien, Roger Brewer, Olfa Ben Said,

and Rafig Azzam

Abstract Keywords

Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination (PHC) is a wide- Risk assessment Screening values Contaminated
spread environmental problem that can be found in many land Climate conditions Libya Tunisia
countries. Several contaminated land management USA
approaches have been developed so far, all of which
include some form of site investigation, risk assessment
and remediation processes. Most of these approaches are
often based on risk-based land management concepts. 1 Introduction
Most countries have a common framework for a risk
assessment procedure for contaminated sites which Screening Values (SVs) or Soil Screening Levels (SSLs) are
endanger human health, involve ecological risk, and risks generic quality standards accepted in many countries for the
to water resources and construction materials. Usually, management of contaminated land. They are commonly
risk assessment of contaminated land is triggered by presented as concentration thresholds of contaminants in soil
suspicious soil or groundwater contamination which is above which certain actions strongly recommended and
identified by Screening Values (SVs) approach. SVs completed (e.g., milligrams of chemical per kilograms of soil
specify generic quality standards for contaminated land. in dry weight, mg/kg). When SVs are exceeded, the actions
The application of SVs varies from adjusting long-term to be taken depend on national regulatory frameworks and
quality objectives, through making further investigations, vary from the need for further investigations to the need for
to applying remedial actions. SVs derivation methods remedial actions [2]. The Soil Screening Guidance: User’s
have scientific, geographical, socio-cultural, regulatory Guide [7] focuses on the application of a simple, site-specific
and political categories. They therefore differ from approach by providing a step-by-step methodology for cal-
country to country. However, a “one-size-fits-all” culating site-specific SSLs and planning the necessary
approach is often adopted and a single SV might be sampling to apply them for future residential use [7, 8].
applied to all areas within a country. In this paper, the Figure 1 shows the scope of the risk management concept at
authors demonstrated how differences in climatic and a contaminated land, with a spectrum of soil contamination
environmental conditions within a country may require concentrations that range between the below levels (Fig. 1)
the use of region-specific SVs. Here, Exposure SVs for with no harm to human health, is considered and levels of
PHC in Libya and Tunisia were used. very high contamination concentrations that need remedial
action are set.
S. A. Alzien (&) R. Azzam Recommended, potential pathways of exposure to pol-
Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH lutants in the soil include direct and indirect exposure via
Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52064 Aachen, Germany
incidental ingestion of soil, dermal absorption and inhalation
of volatiles and fugitive dust. This paper focused on the
R. Brewer
Hawaii Department of Health, 2385 Waimano Home Road,
development of screening levels or SVs to address these
Uluakupu Building 4, Pearl City, HI 96782, USA exposure risks. [1] discuss the influence of climate-based,
O. Ben Said
regional factors on the development of SVs for vapor
Environment Biomonitoring Laboratory LBE, Faculty of intrusion. The USEPA document also provides guidance for
Sciences, Bizerte, Tunisia

[email protected]
494 S. A. Alzien et al.
Hydrological characteristics such as rainfall, infiltration rate

and groundwater flow rate and soil characteristics such as
organic carbon content and permeability are common fac-
tors considered for site-specific development of SVs. Con-
sideration of a broader spectrum of meteorological data and
the resulting effects on key parameters of the SVs models,
in particular the Volatilization Factor (VF) for emissions of
Fig. 1 Conceptual risk management spectrum for contaminated soil vapors from PHC-contaminated soil and the Particulate
[7] Emission Factor (PEF) for non-volatile chemicals in dust.
the ingestion of contaminated groundwater caused by Affect of Climate on SV Volatilization Factor and Partic-
migration of chemicals through the soil to an underlying ulate Emission Factor:
potable aquifer and ingestion of homegrown product that has Climate is one of the important exposure variables.
been contaminated via the uptake of chemicals from the soil. The PEF (m3/kg), was used to address intake from
Although potentially important, climate-specific factors inhalation of contaminated soil-derived particulates. Cli-
associated with these exposure pathways are beyond the mate conditions in Libya and Tunisia and the USA are
scope of this paper. almost similar. Climate zones for Libya and Tunisia are
summarized in Fig. 2. The Köppen climate classification
[3, http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/shifts.htm, 6] was
2 Selection of Screening Values employed to identify countries with similar climatic con-
(SVs) for “Libya and Tunisia” ditions to Libya and review methods applied in those areas
from International Approaches Screening for use is these countries. This suggests that the same
Approach climatic condition parameters and model algorithms as for
those areas of the USA can be applied to similar areas of
Screening values developed in the United States (US) typi- Libya and Tunisia.
cally include future residential land use assumptions and A principal factor used for deriving both of PEF and VF
related exposure scenarios. The USEPA Soil Screening is the air dispersion factor (Q/C). This is defined as the
Guidance (SSG) introduces a framework for screening inverse of the mean dust or vapor concentration at the center
contaminated soils and developing SVs [7]. Generic soil of a 0.5 acre square source (g/m2 s per kg/m3).
SVs are calculated by using a conservative hypothesis, and
they are, therefore, less robust compared to SVs based on
site-specific characteristics. Site-specific or even 3 Results
region-specific SVs are calculated with the same equations
used for the generic SVs. However, the site-specific cal- Table 1 describes the Q/C value for Las Vegas-Nevada,
culations are more representative and applicable, because Phoenix-Arizona, Albuquerque-New Mexico (Climatic Zone
hydrological, soil, and meteorological data are used. III) and Los Angeles (Climatic Zone II) presented in
Fig. 2 Climate conditions in the USA, Libya and Tunisia [5]
[email protected]
Towards Development of Risk-Based, Soil and Groundwater … 495
Table 1 Recommended Q/C values for calculation PEF and VF for Libya and Tunisia
Climate Zone Correlative US Region Selected Q/C Value Calculated PEF Calculated VF
(g/m2-s per kg/m3) (m3/kg) (m3/kg)
LY TU LY TU LY TU
Mediterranean “Csa” Los Angeles, CA 68.82 68.82 5.5575*109 X Y
Steppe-Hot “Bsh” Phoenix, AZ 64.06 64.06 5.1715*109 X Y
Desert “Bwh” Las Vegas, NV 95.51 95.51 7.7128*109 X Y
Steppe-Cold “Bsk” Albuquerque, NM – 84.18 – 6.7979*10 9
– Y
X,Y: These calculated values depend on the chemical and site specific properties
Appendix E of the USEPA SSL guidance [8]. They were matter are very important parameters particularly regarding
selected for application to Libya and Tunisia. These were their significant effects on the volatilization factor and
then used to calculate PEF and VF values for the different therefore have a significant influence on outdoor environment.
climate regions of Libya and Tunisia. These values can
subsequently be used to develop generic or site-specific SVs
for these individual regions. References
1. Brewer, R., Nagashima, J., Rigby, M., Schmidt, M., O’Neill, H.:
4 Discussion Estimation of Generic Subslab Attenuation Factors for Vapor
Intrusion Investigations. Groundwater Monit. Rem. 34(4), 79–92
(2014). https://doi.org/10.1111/gwmr.12086
Soil characteristics are also important parameters which 2. Carlon, C.: Derivation methods of soil screening values in europe.
include soil texture, dry soil bulk density, moisture content, A review and evaluation of national procedures towards harmon-
organic carbon, PH, moisture retention exponent, saturated isation. Eur. Comm., Jt. Res. Centre, Ispra, EUR 22805-EN, 306 pp
hydraulic conductivity, and average moisture content. (2007)
3. Chen, D., Chen, H.W.: Using the Köppen classification to quantify
Another significant parameter, which reflects the geograph- climate variation and change: An example for 1901–2010. Environ.
ical characteristics, is the meteorological data where the air Dev. 6, 69–79 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2013.03.007
dispersion factor (Q/C) is a site-specific value reflecting the 4. http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/shifts.htm. World Maps of
corresponding area (temperature, wind). Köppen-Geiger climate classification
5. Köppen-Geiger. Main Köppen-Geiger Climate Classes for US
countie (2006)
6. Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., Rubel, F.: World Map of
5 Conclusion the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorol. Z. 15(3),
259–263 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130
7. USEPA. Soil screening guidance: technical background document
Climatic conditions and contaminant properties (physio- (1996)
chemical constants), such as vapor pressure, Henry’s law 8. USEPA. Supplemental guidance for developing soil screening
constant, solubility in soil water, solubility in soil organic levels for Superfund sites (2002)
[email protected]
Understanding Preparedness Insufficiency
in the Context of DRRM: A Case Study
in Malinao, Albay, Philippines
Ana Marie R. Abante
Abstract flood hazards it shall be used as escape routes to the three

This paper presents a preparedness insufficiency concep- evacuation centers as the case of Malinao. It is critical to
tual model relative to the actual land utilization and Malinaons as the altogether utilizing the downstream or
location information relating the DRE raster surface after flood plain areas for agricultural use mixed with dwelling
interpolation of points using an inverse distance weighted and other socioeconomic land uses. The third stage of
technique inferring preparedness insufficiency. With receptiveness is the preparedness [13–18] to which it
ArcGIS Geostatistical Analytical Tool, this study brings emphasizes the need for a safe, comfortable and accessible
out about 259.87 hectares of land utilized for economic, evacuation centers to ensure the zero-casualty strategy of the
social, institutional, housing and critical infrastructure Malinaons or Albayanos [3]. In this stage, local resiliency
needs sensitive spatial planning and appropriate risk action plan where the responsibilities and accountabilities on
reduction activities to achieve the preparedness suffi- a share reduction environment among the disaster reduction
ciency level or balanced physical developments in managers in Albay are in place [3]. The responsiveness [19–
Malinao. This study infer risk reduction changing needs 21] composes of the disaster and post disaster phase wherein
add up to disasters likely to happen happen again and the disaster phase is caring about the emergency response
again. plan as well as the public safety of the people. The work was
designed to analyze preparedness insufficiencies occurring
barangays of Malinao. Multiple hazards, landscape condi-

Keywords
tion, physical features and land use of the municipality were

Preparedness insufficiency Risk reduction
GIS DRE processed and converted into attributes of point feature
distributed 2-km apart within the entire municipality. The
attribution was used to analyze polygon objects featuring the
estimated disaster risk per land use along with location
1 Introduction information using Inverse distance weighted (IDW) tech-
nique to understand preparedness insufficiency concept
Prevention [1–7] is the 1st level of receptiveness where risk model that is exactly right for Malinao remained vulnerable
is always expected headed for corrective measures and to changes. The term ‘Preparedness Sufficiency’ is defined
continual improvement to reduce undesired effects of climate as the conceptual border between receptiveness and
changes such as stronger typhoons carrying more rainwater responsiveness in the context of DRRM. In contrast, ‘Pre-
transporting lahar, sand, soils from Mayon Volcano, Mt. paredness Insufficiency’ is the conceptual space setting the
Masaraga and Mt. Malinao triggers Quinali ‘B’ river bank people or critical infrastructure unprotected, unsafe,
erosions and overflows submerging the alluvial flats mostly uncomfortable because of not meeting the appropriate spatial
utilized for rice production in Malinao [1, 7, 8]. Next is plans or risk reduction actions and programs of the
mitigation [5, 9–12] taking in the improvement of existing government.
irrigation canals into flood control structures to which it shall
also serve as farm-to-market roads and when prompt with
1.1 Preparedness Insufficiency Benchmarking
A. M. R. Abante (&)
Bicol University, Legazpi City, 4500, Philippines
The Preparedness Insufficiency Benchmark in this study
e-mail: [email protected] attempt to provide a basis for the five circumspectial stages,

[email protected]
498 A. M. R. Abante
these are: (i) state of alertness, (ii) state of emergency, This study comprises 5 descriptions of location quotients
(iii) state of calamity, (iv) disaster phase and (iv) post dis- pertaining to the DRE [1], these are: (i) 5/5 or 1.0 Location
aster phase. The researcher tried to analyze the borderline Quotients (LQ) in which the immediate information needs
between receptiveness and responsiveness in relation with should be initiated in re-development spatial planning to
extrinsic hazards that happen again and again in the study provide significant information on space allocation such as
area. By pairing the stages of DRRM with the Circum- permanent safe relocation sites, potential safe settlements
spectial Stages, the study disclose the ‘state of calamity’- sites, and so on obligatory in revising development and
‘preparedness’ isometric pair define the line for ‘prepared- rehabilitation plans to implement adequate action for desired
ness sufficiency’ and space for ‘preparedness insufficiency’. re-development; (ii) 4/4 LQ wherein the urgent information
Figure 1 illustrates the adjustment from the Disaster Risk needs should be initiated in Emergency Response Plans to
Estimate (DRE) [1] to DRE* [2] to put in matrix form the provides a clear communication relative to safe emergency
five DRRM cycle: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, routes, safe evacuation sites, safe pre-positioned food,
response and recovery stages paired with the 5 stages of medicines and emergency response resources, safe location
DRRM with the circumspectial stages. of incident command center, responders and rescuers, and so
This matrix was arranged to make simpler analyzing the on. The National Government thru Office of the Civil
interconnectivity of elements and sub-elements of risk. The Defense in cases where 2 or more regions are affected;
black line denotes the ‘Line for preparedness sufficiency. (iii) 3/3 LQ wherein the direct information needs should be
[22–29] By pairing the stages of DRRM with the Circum- initiated in a DRRM Plan wherein spatial planning on safe
spectial Stages, the study discloses the ‘state of calamity’- and accessible evacuation routes, safe and sufficient evacu-
‘preparedness’ isometric pair define the ‘Borderline for ation sites, evacuation protocols for zero casualty strategy of
Preparedness Sufficiency’ and ‘space for preparedness Albay, moderate to very high vulnerability and exposure
insufficiency’. The ‘Borderline for Preparedness Sufficiency’ register, GIS database, and so on are necessary in local
refers to the black line bordering the receptiveness and action planning; (iv) 2/2 LQ wherein the high priority
responsiveness occurring right after the state of emergency information needs should be initiated in a comprehensive
and before the state of calamity having and RLQ equal to 1.0 development and investment plan resource needs on miti-
as shown in Fig. 2. The ‘Space for Preparedness Insuffi- gation phase; and (v) 1/1 LQ wherein the pressing infor-
ciency’ refers to the space generated as black borderline mation needs should be initiated in a land use plan and
moving downward to the left direction before it passes over zoning ordinance as mandatory spatial planning tool to
the disaster stage. provide information such as space allocation for permanent
CIRCUMSPECTIAL STAGES
Responsiveness Receptiveness
Post Disaster Disaster State of State of State of
DISASTER RISK ESTIMATES Phase Phase Calamity Emergency Alertness
(DRE) Unaffordable
Vulnerable Far-flung
Multi- Exposed land for
to Multi- Evacuation
Hazards Location Resettlement
hazards Shelter
Projects
Receptiveness
Prevention Unsuitable LU 125 & above 64 27 8 1.0 (Bal.)
Mitigation Unsafe 15.63 8 3.36 1.0 (Bal.) 0.13

DRRM STAGES
Preparedness Uncomfortable 4.63 2.37 1.0 (Bal.) 0.3 0.04
Emergency
Insensitive
Response &
Responsiveness
Actions/ 1.95 1.0 (Bal.) 0.42 0.13 0.02

Public
Spatial Plans
Safety
Repetitive
Recovery Evacuation 1.0 (Bal.) 0.51 0.22 0.08 0.01
Exercises
Fig. 1 Disaster risk estimates (DRE*) matrix
[email protected]
Understanding Preparedness Insufficiency in the Context … 499
Fig. 2 Preparedness
insufficiency model
relocation sites & safe housing sites, internal-external access (iii) housing and residential area with an aggregated land
road, policy on protection, production, infrastructure and area of 154.90 Hectares; and (iv) Institutional and critical
settlements, and so on. [1, 2]. infrastructures with an aggregated land area of 89.867,194
hectares. To further understand preparedness insufficiency in
the Malinao, the DRE Map overlaid with the proposed land
2 Discussion use plan to visualize where receptiveness along with
responsiveness needs lies in the study area. The DRE for
With ArcGIS geostatistical analyst tool, it was possible to Malinao in 2018 is 119.04 location quotient denoting the
generate the desired output as shown in Fig. 2 to demon- following: (i) RLQ is between 119.04 fall within 64
strate the input point data that were distributed 2 km apart but <125; (ii) Level of Significance is between 95%
(within the 11,338.53 Hectares total land area of Malinao) to but <99% level of Significance; (iii) Significance Rendering
interpolate the raster Multi-hazard levels surface generated is Risk is High to very High; (iv) Implication may be
from these points using an inverse distance weighted catastrophic, environmental damaging, and economic activ-
(IDW) technique tool. ity disruption; and (v) Mitigation is obligatory, production is
Then the values of the multi-hazard raster surface were allowed but must protect environmental critical areas, and
used to calculate the DRE level along with the following permanent relocation is obligatory for the people are lives in
assumption: (i) vulnerability (human) [1, 2] used value equal a no-dwelling-zone. With the DRE tool and by setting aside
to 3 denoting the class of the municipality; (ii) exposure [1, the swaying intervention needs and temporal data the
2] take values multi-hazard values intersecting the surface resulting 119.04 RLQ in the Municipality of Malinao, Albay
with settlements or urban use areas; (iii) preparedness take for the year 2018 infer an enormous gap in DRRM. Keeping
the values 3 denoting a fair DRRM Plan was prepared in the people safe and comfortable, a balanced physical space
harmony with the approved Comprehensive Land Use Plan for development in harmony with the environment requires
and Zoning Ordinance was approved though it is hard to to eliminate if not reduce the 119.04 RLQ or 11,904% to 1.0
monitor the implementation since the publication of the said or 100% (Balance state of line between receptiveness and
ordinance; and the competency [20, 21, 24] and coping responsiveness infer sense of balance reckoning prepared-
capacity [24, 30, 31] values equal to 3 to signify the 3rd ness sufficiency) by applying this risk location quotient as a
Class Municipality. With the Abante DRE formula written multiplicative factor while allowing land development but
Multi hazard Vulnerability Exposure maintaining the mandatory zero-casualty strategy of the
as Preparedness x Competency x CopingCapacity , wherein the attribu-
tions of the risk elements were calculated and the result Province of Albay. As the neutrality at different pairs of
presented display the 5 DRE levels. The Preparedness [23] DRRM-CIRCUMSPECTIAL Stages hinged at 1.0 RLQ,
for this work match up the 5 stages of DRRM, in which it with the 119.04 RLQ for locality remained at the circlet of
resembles where the needs to achieve preparedness suffi- disaster phase and/or emergency response and public safety.
ciency. The desired output on preparedness insufficiency per The gap (see Fig. 2) is nearing the 125 RLQ pointing
land use as presented below comprise the lack of prevention towards the post-disaster and/or recovery phase to which it
and mitigation measure to protect the following: (i) eco- implies the following: disaster is always imminent; catas-
nomic sector utilized for commercial, industrial and other trophic and environmental damaging; and economic activity
mixed uses with an aggregated land area of 7.2 hectares; disruption. Table 1 is the attribute table of the polygon
(ii) social facilities constructed within 7.89 hectares of land; objects featuring the DRE levels by land use along with
[email protected]
500 A. M. R. Abante
Table 1 Preparedness insufficiency Model

Preparedness assessment Land use per barangays Exposed DRRM enhancement
result areas needs
(Hectares)
5— Insufficient Economic activities such as commerce and industries located 1.96 Full Recovery
in 7 Barangays of Malinao
4–5—Somewhat Social Facilities such as schools, religious sites, recreational 7.83 Emergency, Response &
insufficient to Insufficient areas, parks, cemetery and protective services located in 7 Recovery
Barangays of Malinao
4–5—Somewhat Institutional Use distributed in the municipalities 1.00 Emergency, Response &
insufficient to Insufficient Recovery
1–3—Somewhat sufficient Residential in Burabod and Estancia. 2 out 3 temporary 1.44 Protection and Land reservation
to sufficient evacuation shelters are in these 2 barangays
4—Somewhat insufficient Residential Areas across 13 Barangays of Malinao 37.43 Allocation of Suitable, safe,
comfortable, accessible
Housing/Residential areas
5—insufficient Residential areas in 19 Barangays of Malinao 103.02 Relocation to Suitable, safe,
comfortable, accessible sites
2–5—somewhat sufficient Utilities connecting all barangays by land and 87.11 Mainstreaming DRRM into
to insufficient communication facilities and other infrastructures Spatial and development plans
location information. The DRE levels present raster surface reoccurrences of multiple hazards prompting the
after interpolation of points using an inverse distance non-conforming utilization of every hectare of land.
weighted (IDW) technique inferring preparedness Accordingly, the temporality of nature and the changing
insufficiency. needs in DRRM convey an imaginary space (denoting the
gap called preparedness insufficiency) between receptiveness
and responsiveness. In contrast, risk reduction is pictured as
3 Conclusions trimming the topological space (polygon features) until a
borderline (denoting preparedness sufficiency) is pulled off.
The imaginary space for ‘preparedness insufficiency’
remained pressing consequences in Malinaons, to which it is
undeniably logical to changing intervention needs and cor-
References
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with the physical environment. While this imaginary space
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denotes unsafe and uncomfortable place to live, socio eco- 123 (2018)
nomic infrastructure at risk, and environment critical areas 2. Abante, A.M.R.: Bicol University Completed Research Study
remained likely to changes such as river morphological entitled “Risk Modeling: A Case Study of Malinao, Albay,
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3. Daep, C.D.: Bicol University Graduate School Unpublished
overflows submerging the ecological buffers and adjacent Dissertation entitled “The Implementation of the Disaster Risk
settlements or communities or urban areas attributable to Reduction Management Program in the Province of Albay” (2011)
reoccurrences of severe rainfall and stronger typhoons the 4. Tabayag, S.G.: Disaster risk reduction through land use planning
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[Philippines]. J. ISSAAS [Int. Soc. Southeast Asian Agric. Sci.]
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11,904% need multiplicative factor for intervention to Dissertation entitled “Flood Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation
Program Implementation in Quinali ‘A’ River System” (2006)
become stable. The standby Calamity and Quick
6. Candelaria, A.P., Revale, I.F.H.: Scaling up coastal resource
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[email protected]
Transposition of the Genius Paraseismic
Knowledge at Elements of Architectural
Design; Case of Algerian Architects
Mohamed Benabdelfattah and Youcef Kehila
Since 1954, the code for earthquake-resistant design was
one of the priorities of the public authorities in order to Several analyses approaches were adopted in order to pro-
take into account the seismic risks. The earthquake- pose a mechanism which is able to find ways to overcome
resistant rules have steadily evolved (AS, PS 69, RPA the constraints when providing the necessary knowledge and
1983, RPA 1988, RPA 1999, RPA 2003). In fact those skills. The needs analysis method is one of these approaches,
rules do not dictate any architectural prerequisites. All which seems to be similar to the act of architectural design
they offer is just literary guidelines answering the [1]. Indeed, it can be used as an assistant tool for architec-
question: «what is it to be done?». But they do not tural specific purposes. It can be used to assist the architect
answer the esthetic question: «how to do it?». The aim of during the architectural earthquake-resistant design since he
this study was to establish a methodological framework usually lacks the knowledge and information of such
that enables the transposition of the genius earthquake- problems.
resistant knowledge in architecture at elements of design In the Algerian context, the earthquake-resistant rules are
for the project. In this work, usage needs assessment evolving constantly, yet despite this the buildings conceived
method is recommended to assist the architect in the with regard to old rules can demonstrate a high degree of
earthquake-resistant design project. This last consists in vulnerability if compared to those which comply with the
applying a model of seismic vulnerability assessment recent rules [2]. In fact, those rules do not dictate any archi-
throughout the different design stages of the architectural tectural prerequisites answering the semantic questions [3].
project. The Validation of utilized tool was achieved to The lesson brought by the last seismic events demonstrates
check its practical, economic and creative benefits in that a building can be earthquake-resistant only if it is the
terms of exchanging information and seismic vulnerabil- product of a close cooperation between an architect and a civil
ity assessment during the early stages of architectural engineer as of the early phases of the design. However, in the
design. Algerian case neither cooperation is provided nor device tools
are used by architects during the earthquake designing process

Keywords [4]. For this reason, a reasoned and adopted
Design process Paraseismic design Needs analysis earthquake-resistant design strategy is highly required.
Vulnerability index Algerian context In this paper, mixing fuzzy case based reasoning to the
seismic vulnerability index was proposed. The ultimate aim
of this contribution was to set a cornerstone of Algerian
earthquake-resistant BIM software to be used during the
different schematic design phases of an architectural project.
M. Benabdelfattah (&) Y. Kehila

2 Methods
Laboratoire LAE, Ecole polytéchnique d’architecture et
d’urbanisme EPAU d’Alger, Oued Smar, Algeria This contribution targeted the Algerian architects, which was
e-mail: [email protected] made up of 7808 physical persons registered in the national
M. Benabdelfattah table of the Architects [5]. Their geographic distribution
Université Africaine Ahmed Draia, Adrar, Algeria

[email protected]
504 M. Benabdelfattah and Y. Kehila
regarding province seismicity is concentrated at 70.02% in and structures with regard to the current standards. They
the areas of high seismicity. intervene only on stages where the architectural party is
In our case, the term needs analysis refers to the process already established. This habit frequently leads to a contra-
of identifying the different aims and objectives of particular dictory situation between the two project parts; the archi-
learners from tracking a specific support or training. Three tectural and the structural one, as confirmed by Mr.
different types of needs were identified: present situation Slimani Y., a civil engineer in APC Adrar: «…We intervene
analysis (it means what the people concerned know in terms after the achievement of the architectural designing phase».
of the subject field), target situation analysis (what they The practice in common way allows a kind of reconcil-
ought to achieve by support using or taking the course), and iation between the architect and the technical designer. The
learning needs analysis (the preferable and effective methods two actors can proceed with a common and simultaneous
of achieving the objective, in other terms bridging the gap design of the form which allows a great creativity and a
between the two stages) (Fig. 1). larger territory of exploration by mixing both know-hows.
The validation was achieved through the comparison The current architectural practices which separate between
between the achieved results and those obtained by experts the architectural design and the technical phase make us as
of National Centre for Applied Research on Earthquake insurance agents of the project stability. As a result, they
Engineering CGS-Algeria (referenced results of a seismic have only one limited and focused intervention but very
vulnerability index method obtained by experts in the field). essential for the project as it is mentioned by Mr. Foudou A.,
This step was carried out by comparing the assessment civil engineer in an architectural office: «…the tight coop-
results obtained by the seismic vulnerability index method eration with the architect allows a great architectural
and those obtained through the proposed fuzzy inference freedom and the project is more interesting…»; as also
system. The seismic vulnerability analysis of these buildings confirmed by Bekraui K. (a civil engineer, Assistant Pro-
was carried out by a classification method called “Vulnera- fessor at African university of Adrar, Algeria) «…When the
bility index method’’ (Iv). It indicates the state of the work is done independently, the architect sometimes gets
structure before and after the occurrence of the seismic stuck because the structural provisions must be validated
event. The Iv represents the balanced sum of the numerical from the technical point of view…».
values expressing the seismic quality of the structural and
nonstructural elements [6].
4 Conclusions
3 Results and Discussion To assist the architect in his/her architectural

earthquake-resistant design, a fuzzy case based reasoning
Among the collected remarks, it was noticed that there are combined with the seismic vulnerability index was pro-
two attitudes the two main actors of the architectural posed. The ultimate aim of this contribution was to set a
earthquake-resistant design can adopt: cornerstone of Algerian earthquake-resistant BIM software
The practice in series: In which engineers intervene as to be used during the different schematic design phases of an
amenders, being satisfied to check the feasibility of forms architectural project. It allows a kind of reconciliation
between the objective and the subjective design parts in
order to facilitate the exchange of communication between
the different actors, and hence ensure a tight collaboration,
which is a fundamental principle in the earthquake-resistant
design.
Desired Encouraging precisions are noted from the obtained
situation results, which indicate an excellent correlation between the
designed procedure and referenced results, considering the
predefined attributes. The obtained results were in confor-
mity with the those obtained by experts of National Centre
for Applied Research on Earthquake Engineering
CGS-Algeria, and the registered comments in the report of
Present the samples projects. Proposal tool can be considered as a
situation
tool of dialogue and decision-making aid during the devel-
opment process of the architectural project, and even a tool
Fig. 1 Definition of a need of communication with the common public.
[email protected]
Transposition of the Genius Paraseismic Knowledge at … 505
References 3. Abdelkrim, Y.: La sismicité de la région Nord Algérienne.

Presented at Rencontre Nationale Sur la Révision des Règles
Parasismiques Algériennes RPA, CRAAG, Alger, 10 Oct 2010
1. Benabdelfattah, M., Kehila, Y., Makhloufi, A.: Meeting paraseismic 4. Benabdelfattah, M., Kehila, Y., Makhloufi, A., Bouhania, B.:
knowledge needs of Algerian architects. In: Kallel, A., Ksibi, M., Towards an Algerian earthquake-resistant BIM software used
Ben Dhia, H., Khélifi, N. (eds) Recent Advances in Environmental during the very early schematic design phase of an architectural
Science from the Euro-Mediterranean and Surrounding Regions. project. In: IEEE—The 4th International Conference on Optimiza-
EMCEI 2017. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation tion and Applications (ICOA 2018), Morocco (2018)
(IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development). 5. CNOA, Conseil National de l’Ordre des Architectes: Tableau
Springer, Cham (2018) national des architectes. CNOA., Algiers, Algeria (2017)
2. Guide de la conception parasismique des bâtiments, Association 6. Abed, H., Rezoug, N.: Intégration de la logique floue dans le
Française de Génie Parasismique, AFPS, publié avec le soutien du raisonnement à base de cas: application dans le domaine du
Ministère de l’Ecologie et du Développement Durable (MEDD/ bâtiment, Online. (2009) http://www.univ-msila.dz/ar/wp-content/
DPPR/ SDPRM). (2002). ISBN n° 2-911709-13-6 uploads/2009/12/STIC09/articles/paper_65-1.pdf
[email protected]
Protecting Heritage Structures Against
Liquefaction: Recent Developments
Amir Tophel and G. V. Ramana
Abstract the cyclic strength of the soil due to the build-up of excess
The occurrence of liquefaction of loose, saturated and pore pressure by rapid vibration caused by the earthquake.
cohesionless soils during major earthquakes is a reason- Some case histories from different parts of the world are
ably common problem and has a more significant covered in [3–6]. The conventional techniques to increase
potential for destruction. Landmark research regarding the liquefaction resistance of soil include desaturation of soil
the prevention of liquefaction using traditional techniques using air injection and biogas generation, strengthening the
such as air injection, biogas generation, soil densification soil using soil densification, electro-osmosis, mixing stabil-
and other procedures are well documented. These tech- ising agents like lime, cement and materials like tire-chips
niques are energy consumptive and ecologically destruc- [7–11]. These techniques, however, are expensive, can only
tive. However, for protecting the heritage structures, a be implemented before the construction of any structure, and
non-destructive method should be used to preserve the are destructive if they are used below an existing structure.
already existing structures. One of the recent research Methods which use air and gas injection to mitigate the
interests is using a novel technique called Microbially liquefaction have a short-term effect and thus have a sig-
Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) to prevent lique- nificant drawback with their implementation [12, 13]. A re-
faction. This test is not only non-destructive but also cent interdisciplinary biogeochemical technique called
green and has long-term effects overcoming all the MICP has the potential to overcome all the drawbacks and
limitations of the conventional practices. An attempt limitations these conventional techniques have.
was made to compile the ongoing research for liquefac-
tion resistance using MICP.
2 Methodology

Keywords
Liquefaction Earthquake Densification MICP is a well-established biochemical method where cal-
Non-destructive MICP cium carbonate (calcite) is formed as a consequence of
microbial metabolic activity. This calcite is produced using
two methods; (a) by ureolysis using ureolytic bacteria and
(b) using denitrification. The calcium carbonate increases the
1 Introduction strength and stiffness of the soil [14] and thus increases the
liquefaction resistance of the soil.
Heritage structures according to UNESCO [1], are the
memories of the golden historical era of over a thousand
years. They should be protected and preserved, and the 2.1 MICP by Ureolysis
legacy should be passed on to future generations. Lique-
faction is known to cause catastrophic damage to the her- In this method, the calcite precipitation takes place by con-
itage structures [2]. In simple terms, liquefaction is a verting urea into ammonium and carbonate. Bacteria such as
phenomenon in which the cyclic stress on the soil exceeds Bacillus Sphaericus and Bacillus Pasteurii are some exam-
ples of ureolytic bacteria. This method consists of two
chemical reactions:
A. Tophel (&) G. V. Ramana
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi, India

[email protected]
508 A. Tophel and G. V. Ramana
The Hydrolysis of Urea to carbonate ion: The monuments are not built on the same type of soil
everywhere, to see the effect of different ground conditions such
CO ðNH2 Þ2 þ 4H2 O ! CO2 þ
3 þ 2NH4 þ 2H2 O ð1Þ as confining pressure, saturation, researchers have tried to
account for these factors in their studies. Simatupang et al. [17]
Precipitation of calcite in the presence of calcium ions.
conducted an undrained cyclic shear test with samples at dif-
Ca þ 2 þ CO2
3 $ CaCO3 ð2Þ ferent saturation degrees during curing and reported that sig-
nificant amelioration against liquefaction took place mainly at a
low saturation degree. Xiao et al. [18] experimented on a series
of undrained cyclic triaxial tests to investigate liquefaction
2.2 MICP by Denitrification potential of treated and untreated calcareous sand. The test
results were; (a) a decrease in the liquefaction resistance was
Microbial denitrification of nitrate using denitrifying bacteria reported with an increase in confining pressure for both clean
produces carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas, which in turn and bio-cemented specimens as shown in Fig. 1b and (b) the
uses organic compounds, calcium salts of fatty acids as an number of cycles to liquefaction increased with increasing
electron donor and carbon source, to produce calcium cementation content and showed that MICP-treatment could
carbonate. significantly reduce liquefaction potential.
Both of the above methods of producing MICP have an
equal potential for liquefaction remediation.
3 Conclusion
2.3 Liquefaction Prevention Using MICP Liquefaction due to earthquakes has occurred long before
human development and will continue to occur in future. Pro-
Researchers found a new novel, environment-friendly tech- tection of heritage structures against this phenomenon has
nique to remediate the soil against liquefaction. Cyclic tests become one of the major concerns for today’s generation. The
were preferred to study the behaviour of liquefaction under conventional techniques for liquefaction remediation are exor-
earthquake load. Montoya et al. [15] carried out centrifuge bitantly expensive, have a short-term effect and are destructive.
tests to compare the liquefaction resistance of cemented and To mitigate a land with the already existing structures, we would
untreated sand and found that the cyclic stress ratio was want a process which has a long-term mitigation effect and is
smaller in case of untreated sand showing more excellent non-destructive. The soil stabilised using MICP is now a
resistance to liquefaction as shown in Fig. 1a. O’Donnell well-established technique which takes care of all the drawbacks
et al. [16] tested on semi-stagnant and continuous-flow soil that the conventional techniques had. MICP is gaining popu-
columns and showed that even 0.4% of CaCO3 precipitation larity as it is an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution for
could increase the cyclic shear resistance of the sand. mitigating the liquefaction potential over a large area.
Fig. 1 a, b Cyclic stress ratio

versus no. of cycles to achieve
liquefaction for cemented and
untreated sand [modified after 15,
18]
[email protected]
Protecting Heritage Structures Against Liquefaction … 509
References on evaluation of liquefaction resistance of soils. J. Geotech.

Geoenvironmental Eng. 127(10), 817–833 (2001)
11. Okamura, M., Ishihara, M., Tamura, K.: Degree of saturation and
1. UNESCO Homepage. https://whc.unesco.org/en/about/. Last liquefaction resistances of sand improved with sand compaction
accessed 28 Apr 2018 pile. J. Geol. Geoenviron. Eng. 132(2), 258–264 (2006)
2. Lo, R.C., Wang, Y.: Lessons learned from recent earthquakes— 12. Kavazanjian, E., O’Donnell, S.T.: Mitigation of earthquake-
geoscience and geotechnical perspectives. Adv. Geotech. Earthq. induced liquefaction via microbial denitrification: a two-phase
Eng. Liq. Seism. Saf. Dams Monum. InTech, 1–43 (2011) process. Ifcee GSP 256, 2286–2295 (2015)
3. Berardi, R., Margottini, C., Molin, D., Parisi, A.: Soil liquefaction: 13. O’Donnell, S.T., Rittmann, B.E., Kavazanjian, E.: MIDP: lique-
case histories in Italy. Tectonophysics 193(1–3), 141–164 (1991) faction mitigation via microbial denitrification as a two-stage
4. K. Wakamatsu.: Liquefaction history, 416–1997, in Japan. In: 12th process. I: desaturation. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143(12),
World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, pp. 1–8 (1997) 4017094 (2017)
5. Huang, Y., Yu, M.: Review of soil liquefaction characteristics 14. DeJong, J.T., Mortensen, B.M., Martinez, B.C., Nelson, D.C.:
during major earthquakes of the twenty-first century. Nat. Hazards Bio-mediated soil improvement. Ecol. Eng. 36(2), 197–210 (2010)
65(3), 2375–2384 (2013) 15. Montoya, B., DeJong, J., Boulanger, R.: Dynamic response of
6. Idriss, I.M., Boulanger, R.W.: Soil liquefaction during earth- liquefiable sand improved by microbial-induced calcite precipita-
quakes. Earthq. Eng. Res. Inst. 136(6), 755 (2008) tion. Géotech. 470(4), 302–312 (2013)
7. Hazarika, H., Hyodo, M., Yasuhara, K.: Investigation of tire chips 16. O’Donnell, S.T., Kavazanjian, E., Rittmann, B.E.: MIDP: lique-
sand mixtures as preventive measure against liquefaction. Gr. faction mitigation via microbial denitrification as a two-stage
Improv. Geosynth. GSP 207, 338–345 (2010) process. II: MICP. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143(12), 4017095
8. He, J., Chu, J., Ivanov, V.: Mitigation of liquefaction of saturated (2017)
sand using biogas. Géotechnique 63(4), 267–275 (2013) 17. Simatupang, M., Okamura, M.: Liquefaction resistance of sand
9. Seed, R.B., Cetin, K.O., Moss, R.E.S., Kammerer, A.M., Wu, J., remediated with carbonate precipitation at different degrees of
Pestana, J.M., Riemer, M.F., Sancio, R.B., Bray, J.D., Kayen, R.E., saturation during curing. Soils Found. 57(4), 619–631 (2017)
Faris, A.: Recent advances in soil liquefaction engineering : a 18. Xiao, P., Liu, H., Xiao, Y., Stuedlein, A.W., Evans, T.M.:
unified and consistent framework. In: Report no.EERC 2003-06, Liquefaction resistance of bio-cemented calcareous sand. Soil
Earthquake Engineering Research Center, pp. 1–72 (2003) Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 107, 9–19 (2018)
10. Youd, T.L., Idriss, I.M.: Liquefaction resistance of soils: summary
report from the 1996 NCEER and 1998 NCEER/NSF workshops
[email protected]

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Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation

IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development

Amjad Kallel · Zeynal Abiddin Erguler · Zhen-Dong Cui · Ali Karrech

Recent Advances in Geo-

Editorial Board Members

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15883

ISSN 2522-8714 ISSN 2522-8722 (electronic)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018958941

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Sfax, Tunisia Amjad Kallel

• Track 1. Climate, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironmental changes

Volume 1. Patterns and Mechanisms of Climate, Paleoclimate, and Paleoenvironmental

Zhihua Zhang (AJGS Editor): Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Volume 2. Advances in Remote Sensing and Geo Informatics Applications

Hesham M. El-Askary (Guest Editor): Schmid College of Science and Technology at

Volume 3. Recent Advances in Geo-Environmental Engineering, Geomechanics and

Amjad Kallel (AJGS Editor): ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia

Volume 4. Exploring the Nexus of Geoecology, Geography, Geoarcheology and

Haroun Chenchouni (AJGS Editor): University of Tebessa, Algeria

Volume 5. On Signiﬁcant Applications of Geophysical Methods

Narasimman Sundararajan (AJGS Editor): Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Volume 6. Advances in Sustainable and Environmental Hydrology, Hydrogeology,

Helder I. Chaminé (AJGS Editor): School of Engineering—ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto,

Volume 7. Petrogenesis and Exploration of the Earth’s Interior

Domenico Doronzo (AJGS Editor): Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientiﬁcas, Spain

Volume 8. Advances in Petroleum Engineering and Petroleum Geochemistry

Volume 9. Paleobiodiversity and Tectono-sedimentary Records in the Mediterranean

Mabrouk Boughdiri (AJGS Editor): University of Carthage, Amilcar, Tunisia

Volume 10. The Structural Geology Contribution to the Africa-Eurasia Geology:

Federico Rossetti (Guest Editor): Università Roma Tre, Roma, Italy

Scientiﬁc Committee Chair

Walter D. Mooney: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS,

Local Organization Chair

Essam Heggy: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS,

Domenico Doronzo: Associate Editor/Assistant Editor of

English Language Advisory Committee

Abdelmajid Dammak: ENIS, University of Sfax, Tunisia

Mohamed Sahbi Moalla: Coordinator of AJGS, ISET, Univer-

Part II Geo-Environmental Engineering: Identiﬁcation and Assessment

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Sediment of the Bizerte

Part III Geo-Environmental Engineering: Remediation

Heated Blends of Phosphate Sludge: Thermal Transformation

Part IV Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Characterization of Geomaterials

Strength Estimation of Evaporitic Rocks Using Different Testing Methods . . . . . . 157

Part V Geomechanics and Geotechnics: The Behavior of Soils

Evaluation of Some Part of Lagos (Nigeria) Wetland for Liquefaction

Part VI Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Recent Studies on Expansive Soils

Part VII Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Improvement of Physical

Mechanical Properties of Loess Treated by Calcium Lignosulfonate . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Part VIII Geomechanics and Geotechnics: Analytical and Numerical

Stability Analysis of Slopes Prone to Circular Failures

Part IX Geohazards: Assessments of Mass Movement Based Geohazards

Rainfall Effect on Slope Stability Using Numerical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Part X Geohazards: Characterization and Impacts of Different Geohazards

Land Use Sensitivity Map for Impact of Land Management on Extreme

Dr. Amjad Kallel is an Associate Professor of Environ-

Dr. Zeynal Abiddin Erguler is a Full Professor at Geolog-

Prof. Dr. Zhen-Dong Cui is the Dean of Institute of

(indexed by SCI) have been published in Engineering Geol-

Assoc./Prof. Ali Karrech has a Multidisciplinary B.Sc. in