Effect of Sample Disturbance on Unconfined Compression Strength of Natural Marine Clays

Quantitatively correcting the unconfined compressive strength for sample disturbance is an important research project in the practice of ocean engineering and geotechnical engineering. In this study, the specimens of undisturbed natural marine clay obtained from the same depth at the same site were deliberately disturbed to different levels. Then, the specimens with different extents of sample disturbance were trimmed for both oedometer tests and unconfined compression tests. The degree of sample disturbance SD is obtained from the oedometer test data. The relationship between the unconfined compressive strength q u and SD is studied for investigating the effect of sample disturbance on q u. It is found that the value of q u decreases linearly with the increase in SD. Then, a simple method of correcting q u for sample disturbance is proposed. Its validity is also verified through analysis of the existing published data.

On Physical and Mechanical Behavior of Natural Marine Intermediate Deposits

Coastal structures may be built on natural sedimentary intermediate grounds, which mainly consist of silty soils and fine sandy soils. In this study, extensive field and laboratory tests were performed on the natural marine intermediate deposits to demonstrate the difference in behavior between natural marine clayey soils and natural marine intermediate deposits. The natural intermediate deposits have almost the same ratios of natural water content to liquid limit as those of the soft natural marine clays, but the former have much higher in-situ strength and sensitivity than the latter. The research results indicate that grain size distributions of soils affect significantly tip resistance obtained in field cone penetration tests. The mechanical parameters of natural marine intermediate deposits are also significantly affected by sample disturbance due to their high sensitivity and relatively large permeability. Unconfined compression shear tests largely underestimate the strength of natural marine intermediate soils. The triaxial consolidated compression shear tests with simulated in-situ confined pressure give results much better than those of uncomfined compression shear tests.

Geotechnical Identification and Classification of Soils as Flexible Pavement Subgrade of the Section Fongo Tongo-Melong

The present study is inscribed within the framework of the geotechnical characterization of the soils of the Santchou plain, their classification for employment as pavement subgrade, various identification tests were carried out on the samples. The results obtained showed that with a wide range of different grain sizes, the studied soils showed low content in clay grains and dominance of either sand grains or silt grains, this can be explaining how most of these soil are poorly graded. According to the USDA textural classification, the grain size distribution of these soils makes them to be classified as Silty Loam types to Sandy Loam types. Despite of their organic matter content which is less than 10%, according to their respective methylene blue values, the soils studied along the section should be mainly loamy soil of medium plasticity to clayed soil, therefore showing a sensibility of its behavior to variation of water content. That last one is confirmed by the consistency parameters of these soils which show intermediate plasticity to highly plastic. Also, the bearing capacity proposed by these soils at their respective optimum dry densities is relatively small, although most of these experimental CBR values of the studied soils are more important than the ones prescribed by the AASHTO Classification system for A5, A6, and A7 types, and the French Highway Earthworks Manual Classifications system (GTR) for the corresponding A2 and A3 types.

Practical Engineering Behavior of Egyptian Collapsible Soils, Laboratory and <i>In-Situ</i>Experimental Study

In many sites on Egypt desert roads collapsible soils is broadly classified as a problematic soils containing silty fine sand which is cemented with low density and low degree of saturation which is susceptible to a large and sudden reduction in their volume upon inundation, with or without vibration in its stress. Four sites have been studied for new urban, roads and industry work sits, related to increase in natural water content. These soils go through radical rearrangement of their particles, causing sudden changes in the stress-deformation behavior which cause differential settlement of foundation and roads. This change in volume can lead to foundation failures and worth of damages under ground public facilities and infrastructure. In this study, the search program is developed to establish their different behavior under wetting in two phases: field and laboratory work. The obtained results are useful in mapping the trend of the factors affected in assessing soil collapsibility rate or collapse potentials which are observed in construction with volume change problems. The major factors observed are the natural structure skeleton of the soil particle and its grain size and mechanism of soil sedimentation. The field collapse potentials value assigned for these tested sites along Alexandria—Cairo desert road indicated that the field measured collapsibility potentials are smaller than those measured on the same extracted undisturbed samples in laboratory by 15%, which can be saved in coast, change in proposed collapsibility improvement method and change in select foundation type. Also, field tests evaluate the collapsibility rate with time and highlight that environmental history and natural soil structure in field are the important factors affected on these soil collapse, and also, knowledgeable by collapsible soils during wetting in these sites studied.