University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Engineering

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
Faculty Of Engineering
Department Of Civil Engineering
GEOTECHNOLOGY- CE404
PRESENTATION BY GROUP 1
Question
For the following types of soils: collapsible soils, soft clays, dispersive soils and
dolomites.
 Discuss the nature of the engineering problem
 Evaluation and prediction (testing)
 Engineering solutions.
1. Collapsible soils
 Collapsible soils are also known as metastable soils.

 They are unsaturated soils that undergo a large volume change upon saturation.
 The sudden and usually large volume change could cause considerable structural
damage.
 The greatest problems with collapsible soils arise when the existence and extent of the
collapse potential are not recognized prior to construction.
 Therefore, the identification of collapsible soils and estimation of the collapse
potential are major components in appropriate engineering for these moisture
-sensitive soil sites.
Evaluation and prediction
a). Geological Reconnaissance

 Geologic and geomorphologic information can be helpful in anticipating collapsible soil
deposits.
 Geotechnical and geological engineers know from experience that alluvial and colluvial
deposits in arid regions are likely to exhibit some collapse potential.
b). Indirect Correlations

 Qualitative and semi -quantitative correlations between collapse potential and various
index properties have been developed and reported.
 Low initial density is of course a fair indicator of collapse potential, but some soils with
moderately high density have also exhibited significant collapse. Another index property,
which relates closely to density, is the water content at saturation.
 When the water content corresponding to full saturation significantly exceeds the liquid
limit, substantial collapse potential is indicated.
Evaluation and prediction cont’d
c). Laboratory Testing
 The one -dimensional response -to -wetting test, performed using conventional
consolidation equipment, represents the most used laboratory collapse test.
 A specimen, at in - situ moisture content, is first subjected to a total stress
corresponding to that anticipated for the field conditions.
 Then, with the total load in place, the specimen is given free access to water, and the
collapse settlement is observed.
 The advantage of this simple laboratory test is that the test interpretation is simplified
due to the relatively uniform stress state within the specimen, so that reasonable stress
-strain relationships can be developed for estimating collapse settlements.
Evaluation and prediction cont’d
d). Field Testing

 Field tests are frequently used to help identify and characterize collapsible soil deposits.
 Field tests normally consist of some type of plate load test, wherein water is introduced to
the loaded soil.
 The disadvantages of conventional field collapse tests include non -uniform stress state within
the region of soil contributing to settlement, and the corresponding difficulty in obtaining
stress -strain relationships.
 It is typically only the load and displacement relationship that is obtained for the field
collapse test.
 Advantages of field collapse tests include minimization of sample disturbance, typically
larger volume of soil tested, and attainment of a degree of wetting that is likely to be similar
to the prototype.
Engineering solutions
The choice of a foundation system depends on whether the foundation will be

exposed to wetting or not.
a) If the expected depth of wetting is about 150 to 200 cm below the ground surface, then,
the soil may be moistened and re-compacted with heavy rollers, or compacted with
heavy tamping such as deep dynamic compaction, wherein a heavy weight repeatedly
dropped upon the ground.
b) Alternatively, if conditions are favourable, the foundation trenches could be flooded
with solutions of:
•sodium silicate and
•calcium chloride , to stabilize the soil chemically.
The soil will behave like a soft sandstone and resist collapse upon saturation. This
method is successful only if the solutions can penetrate to the desired depth.
Engineering solutions cont…
c). Another method used for dry collapsible soils and for wet collapsible soils that are likely
to
 compress under the added weight of the structure to be built is to:
 Inject carbon dioxide into the treated stratum to
 remove any water present.
 Inject sodium silicate grout.
d). When a soil stratum is susceptible to wetting to a depth of about 10.0 m, there are
several techniques that may be used to cause the collapse of the soil before foundations are
constructed:
Engineering solutions cont…
1). Vibroflotation: used successfully in free-draining soils (granular).
2). Ponding, flooding an area by building low dikes around the site.
 However, some additional settlement of the soil may occur after the foundations are
built.
 If precollapsing the soil is not practical, the foundations must be extended below the
zone of possible wetting, which may require drilled shafts or other type of deep piles.
 However, their design must take into consideration the effect of negative skin
friction resulting from the collapse of the soil structure around them, and the
associated settlement of the critical soil zone when wetted.

University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Engineering

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Engineering

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Engineering

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

 Collapsible soils are also known as metastable soils.

a). Geological Reconnaissance

b). Indirect Correlations

d). Field Testing

The choice of a foundation system depends on whether the foundation will be

1). Vibroflotation: used successfully in free-draining soils (granular).

You might also like