I N F OR

RMATIO N SHE ET VII

CHAPTE ER 6: Foun
ndations on Expansive Soils
S
1. Introoduction

Questionn 1: What causes more property daamage in thee United Staates than all the earthquakes, floodss,
tornados,, and hurricaanes combined?
Answer: Expansive soils!
Questionn 2: What causes
c moree property damage in thhe ETHIOPIIA than all the earthquaakes, floodss,
tornados,, and hurricaanes combined?
Answer: Expansivee soils?

Accordinng to a 1987 study, expaansive soils in i the United States infllict about $99 billion in damages
d per
year to buildings,
b ro
oads, airportss, pipelines, and other facilities-mor
f re than twicce the combiined damagee
from the disasters lissted above (JJones and Hooltz, 1973; Jones
J and Joones, 1987). The distribuution of thesee
damages is approxim mately as shhown in Tab ble 19.1. Maany other coountries, inccluding ETH HIOPIA, alsoo
suffer froom expansiv ve soils. Allthough it iss difficult too estimate the
t global loosses, this is i clearly ann
internatioonal problem
m.
Sometimmes the damaages from exxpansive soiils are minorr maintenannce and aesthhetic concernns, but oftenn
they are much worsee, even caussing major structural
s distress. Accoording to Hooltz and Harrt (1978), 600
percent of
o the 250,0 000 new hom mes built onn expansive soils each yeary in the United
U Statees experiencee
minor daamage and 10 0 percent exxperience siggnificant dam
mage, some beyond
b repaiir.
In spite of
o these factts, we do noot expect to see newspaaper headlinees "Expansivve Soils Waaste Billions"
and certaainly not "Exxpansive Soiil Kills Locaal Family." Expansive
E sooils are not as
a dramatic as a hurricanes
or earthqquakes and th hey cause onnly propertyy damage, noot loss of liffe. In additioon, they act more slowlyy
and the damage is spread ovver wide arreas rather than being concentrateed in a sm mall localityy.
Nevertheeless, the eco onomic loss is large andd much of itt could be avoided
a by proper
p recoggnition of thee
problem and incorp porating apppropriate preventive
p m
measures innto the dessign, constrruction, andd
maintenaance of new facilities.

Page 1 of 1

Foundatiion engineers must be aw

ware of this potential
p prooblem and bee ready to taake appropriaate action
when enccountering su
uch soils.

Instructor: Addiszemen
A T,
T
6.1 Thee Nature, Origin,
O and Occurrence
O e of Expansiive Soils

When geotechnical engineers refer to exxpansive sooils, we usuually are thhinking aboout clays orr
sedimenttary rocks derived
d from
m clays and d the volum me changes that occur as a a result of changes in n
moisturee content. This
T is the most
m common expansionn phenomenoon, and thuss is the prim mary focus of
this chappter. Clays are
a fundameentally veryy different from fr gravelss, sands, andd silts. All of the latter
consist of
o relatively inert bulky particles andd their enginneering propperties depennd primarilyy on the sizee,
shape, annd texture of
o these parrticles. In coontrast, clayss are made up of very small particcles that aree
usually plate-shaped
p d. The enginneering prooperties of clays
c are strrongly influeenced by the very smalll
size and large surface area of thhese particlles and theirr inherent electrical
e ch
harges.
6.2 Wh hat Causes Clay
C to Exppand?
Several different
d clay
y minerals occur
o in natuure, the differrences beingg defined byy their chemiical makeup
p
and struuctural conffiguration. Three of thhe most com mmon clay minerals arre kaolinitee, Illite, and d
monlmorillonite (paart of the smectite
s grooup). The diifferent chemical comppositions andd crystallinee
structures of these minerals
m give each a different suscepttibility to sw
welling, as shhown in Table 19.2.

Swellingg occurs wheen water inffiltrates betw ween and witthin the clayy particles causing them
m to separatee.
Kaolinite is essentiaally non-expaansive becauuse of the prresence of sttrong hydroogen bonds that hold thee
individuaal clay particcles togetherr. Illite contaains weakerr potassium m bonds that allow limiteed expansionn
and moontomorillon nite particlles are onnly weakly linked. Thhus water can easilyy flow intoo
montomoorillonite claays and sepaarate the parrticles. Fieldd observatioons have connfirmed thatt the greatesst
problemss occur in soils
s with hiigh montom morillonite content. Seeveral other forces also act on clayy
particles,, including thhe followingg:
Surface tenssion in the menisci of water contaained betweeen the partticles (tendss to pull thee
particles togeether, compreessing the sooil).
O
Osmotic preessures (tennd to bring water in, thus pressing the partticles furtheer apart andd
exxpanding thee soil).
Pressures in entrapped
e airr bubbles (teend to expannd the soil).
E
Effective streesses due to external
e loadds (tend to coompress the soil).
L
LondonVan-D Der Waals inntermoleculaar forces (tennd to compreess the soil)..

Expansivve clays swell or shrink in

i response to t changes in these forcees. For exam mple, consideer the effects
of changges in surfacce tension and
a osmoticc forces by imagining
i m
montomorilloonite clay that is initiallyy
saturatedd, as shown in Figure 19.4a.
1 If thiis soil dries, the remainning moistuure congregaates near thee
particle interfaces,
i forming
f menniscus, as shown in Fiigure 19.4b, and the reesulting surfface tension n
Page 2 of 2

forces puull the particles closer together

t cauusing the soil to shrink. We could compare thee soil in this
stage to a compressed d spring; botth would exppand if it weere not for foorces keeping them comppressed.
The soil in Figure 19 9.4b has a great
g affinityy for water and
a will draaw in availabble water using osmosiss.
We woulld say that itt has very higgh soil suctiion at this sttage. If waterr becomes available,
a thee suction willl
Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
draw it innto the spacees between the
t particles and the soill will swell, as shown inn Figure 19.44c. Returningg
to our annalogy, the sp
pring has been released and
a perhaps is now beinng forced outtward.

6.3 Wh hat Factors Control thee Amount off Expansion n?

The portion of a so oil's potential expansioon that will actually occcur in the field depends on manyy
factors. One of thesse factors iss the percen ntage of exp pansive clayys in the sooil. For exam mple, a puree
montomoorillonite co ould swell morem than fiifteen times its original volume (deefinitely witth disastrous
results!), but clay minnerals are raarely found in such a purre form. Usuually, the exppansive clay minerals aree
mixed with
w more staable clays annd with sandds or silts. A typical "moontomorillonnite'(really a mixed soill)
would prrobably not expand more than 35 to t 50 percennt, even undder the worsst laboratoryy conditionss,
much lesss in the field
d.
There area two ty ypes of montomorill
m lonite clayy: calcium montomorillonite and sodium m
montom morillonite (aalso known as a bentonite)). The latter is much morre expansivee, but less coommon.
Two of thet most im mportant variiables to connsider are thhe initial moisture
m con
ntent and thhe surchargee
pressuree. If the soil is initially moist,
m then thhere is muchh less potentiial for additiional expanssion than if iit
were dryy. Likewise, even a moderate surchaarge pressuree restrains much m of the swell
s potential (althoughh
large loaads are typiically requirred to comppletely restrrain the soill). Figure 19.5 illustrattes a typicaal
relationshhip betweenn swell poten ntly initial moisture
m conntent, and surcharge prressure.

Page 3 of 3

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
This relaationship dem monstrates why
w pavemeents and slaabs-on-grade are so susceptible to damage d fromm
expansivve soils (see Table
T 19.1). They providde such a sm mall surchargge load that there
t is littlee to resist thee
soil expaansion. Howeever, it also demonstratees how even a modest increase in surrcharge, suchh as 300 mm m
(12 in) orr so of sub base,
b significcantly decreaases the poteential heave.
Remoldiing a soil in nto a compaccted fill mayy make it moore expansivve (O'Neill and a Poormooayed, 1980)),
probablyy because th his process breaks
b up cementation
c n in the soill and produces high neegative poree
water prressures thatt later dissippate. Many other factorrs also affecct the expannsive properrties of fillss,
especiallyy the meth hods used to t compact the fill a(kkneading veersus static) and the ass-compacted d
moisturee content an nd dry unit weight
w (Seedd and Chen)
Figure 19.6 illustrattes how com mpacting a soil wet off the optim mum moistu ure contentt reduces its
potential for expansion. It also illustrates that t compaccting the soiil to a loweer dry unit weight alsoo
reduces its swell po otential (althhough this also will haave detrimental effects,, such as reeduced sheaar
strength and
a increaseed compressiibility).
Althoughh laboratory tests are useeful, they maym not accuurately predicct the behavvior of expannsive soils inn
the field.. This is parttly because the
t soil in thhe lab is gennerally inun ndated with h water, wheereas the soiil
in the fieeld may havee only limiteed access to water. Thee flow of watter into a soiil in the fieldd depends onn
many facctors, includiing the following:
T supply of
The o water (deppends on raiinfall, irrigattion, and surrface drainagge).
E
Evaporation n and transpiration (depends on climate c and vegetation;; large treess can extracct
laarge quantities of water from
f the soill through theeir roots).
T presencee of fissures in the soil (water
The ( will flow
f throughh the fissuress much more easily thann
thhrough the sooil).
T presence of sand or gravel
The g lensess (helps wateer penetrate the
t soil).
T soil's affiinity for watter (its suctioon).
The
Because of these facttors, Jones and a Jones (19987) suggestted that soilss in the fieldd typically sw well betweenn
10 and 808 percent of o the total possible
p sweell.

Page 4 of 4

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
6.4 Occurrence of Expansive Clays
Chemical weathering of materials such as feldspars, micas, and lime stones can form clay minerals. The
particular mineral formed depends on the makeup of the parent rock, topography, climate, neighboring
vegetation, duration of weathering, and other factors.
Montomorillonite clays often form as a result of the weathering of ferromagnesian minerals, calcic
feldspars, and volcanic materials. They are most likely to form in an alkaline environment with a
supply of magnesium ions and a lack of leaching. Such conditions would most likely be present in semi-
arid regions. Bentonite (sodium montomorillonite) is formed by chemical weathering of volcanic ash.
Figure 19.7 shows the approximate geographical distribution of major montomorillonite deposits in the
United States.
Expansive clays are also common in the Canadian Prairie Provinces, Israel, South Africa, Australia,
Morocco, India, Sudan, Peru, Spain, and many other places in the world such as Ethiopia.
6.5 Influence of Climate on Expansion Potential
As discussed earlier, any expansive soil could potentially shrink and swell, but in practice this occurs
only if its moisture content changes. The likelihood of such changes depends on the balance between
water entering a soil (such as by precipitation or irrigation) and water leaving the soil (often by
evaporation and transpiration).
In humid climates, the soil is moist or wet and tends to remain so throughout the year. This is because
the periods of greatest evaporation and transpiration (the summer months) also coincide with the greatest
rainfall. Because the variations in moisture content are small, very little shrinkage or swelling will
occur. However, some problems have been reported during periods of extended drought when the soil
dries and shrinks (Hodgkinson, 1986; Sowers and Kennedy, 1967).
Most of the problems with expansive soils occur in arid, semi-arid, and monsoonal areas because the
seasonal distribution of precipitation and evaporation/transpiration causes wide fluctuations in the soil's
moisture content. Most of the precipitation in arid and semi-arid areas occurs during the winter and
spring when evaporation and transpiration rates are low. Thus, the moisture content of the soil increases.
Then, during the summer, precipitation is minimal and evaporation/transpiration is greatest, so the soil
dries.
Thus, the soil expands in the winter and shrinks in the summer. The climate in Los Angeles, shown in
Figure 19.9a, displays this pattern.
A useful measure of precipitation and evaporation/transpiration as it affects expansive soil problems is
the Thornthwaite Moisture Index (TMI) (Thornthwaite, 1948). This index is a function of the difference
between the mean annual precipitation and the amount of water that could be returned to the atmosphere
by evaporation and transpiration.
A positive value indicates a net surplus of soil moisture whereas a negative value indicates a net deficit.
Using this index, Thornthwaite classified climates as shown in Table 19.3.
Because expansive soils are most troublesome in areas where there the moisture content varies during
the year and this is most likely to occur in arid climates, regions with the lowest TMI values should have
the greatest potential for problems. Researchers have observed that expansive soils are most prone to
cause problems in areas where the TMI is no greater than +20. However, this is not an absolute upper
limit. For example, some expansive soil problems have occurred in Alabama and Mississippi (TMI =
40).
Page 5 of 5

Instructor: Addiszemen T,
6.6 Dep pth of the Active
A Zone
In its nattural state, th
he moisture content of a soil fluctuaates more neear the grounnd surface thhan at depthh.
This is because th hese upperr soils resppond more rapidly too variationss in precippitation andd
evaporatiion/transpiraation.
An important criterio on when evaaluating expaansive soils problems
p is the depth of the active zone, whichh
is the grreatest depth h of moistu ure content fluctuation ns (see Figurre 19.11). Presumably, the moisturee
content is reasonably y constant beelow that deppth, so no exxpansion occcurs there. Frrom Figure 19.9, the soiil
moisture content in Los Angeles varies draamatically frrom summerr to winter, so we woulld expect thee
active zoone there to extend
e muchh deeper thann in Willardd, where the moisture content is less variable. As
a result, expansive
e sooils should be
b more of a problem in LosL Angeless (and they' are!).
a

Clays thaat are heavilly fissured will

w typicallyy have deepeer active zonnes because the fissures transmit thee
water to greater deppths. For exaample, field studies connducted in Colorado
C inddicate the acctive zone inn
some loccations may extend
e as deeep as 16 m (50 ft) beloww the groundd surface (H
Holtz, 1969).
The deptth of the acctive zone at a a given siite is difficuult to determ
mine, and thhis is a major source of
uncertainnty in heave analyses.

6.7 Inffluence of Human

H Activvities
Engineerrs also need to t consider howh human activities, esspecially new w constructioon, change the
t moisture
conditionns at a particcular site. Foor example:
R
Removal of vegetation
v brrings an end to transpirattion.
Placement off slab-on-grade floors, paavements, orr other imperrvious materrials on the ground g stopss
both evaporattion and the direct infiltrration of rainn water.
Irrrigation of landscaping
l introduces much
m more water
w into thhe ground. Inn southern California.
Some have esstimated thatt irrigation inn residentiall areas is the equivalent of o raising the annual
prrecipitation from a naturral 375 mm ( IS in) to ann inflated 1500 mm (60 in) i or more.
Placement off aggressive trees t or heatted buildingss can enhancce desiccatioon.
These chhanges are difficult
d to quantify,
q buut the net efffect in arid and semi-aarid areas is normally too
increase the moisturre content under u structtures. This results in morem swelliing and more structuraal
damage.
Page 6 of 6

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
6.8 Ideentifying, Teesting, and Evaluating
E Expansive Soils
When woorking in an area where expansive sooils can causse problems,, geotechnical engineerss must have a
systematic method off identifyingg, testing, and evaluating the swelling potentiial of troubllesome soilss.
mate goal is to determinne which preeventive desiign measurees, if any, are needed to successfullyy
The ultim
completee a proposed project.

An experrienced geotechnical enggineer is usuually able to visually

v idenntify potentially expansive soils.
To be exppansive,
1. A soiil must havee significantt clay conten nt,
2. Probaably falling within the unified
u symbbols CL or CH C (althouggh some ML L, MH, and SC S soils alsoo
can be
b expansivee).
3. A dryy expansivee soil will offten have fisssures, slickkenside, or shattering,
s all of whichh are signs of
previious swellingg and shrinkking. When dry, these soilss usuallyy have crackks at the groound surfacee.
Howeever, any su uch visual ideentification is only a firsst step; we must
m obtain morem inform
mation beforee
Page 7 of 7

we caan develop specific

s desiggn recommeendations.

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
The nextt stage of thee process-deetermining thhe degree off expansivenness-is more difficult. A wide varietyy
of testingg and evaluaation methodds have beenn proposed, but none off them is unniversally or even widelyy
accepted. Engineers who work inn certain geoographical areas a often use similar teechniques, which
w may bee
quite diffferent from those
t used ellsewhere. Thhis lack of coonsistency continues
c to be a stumbliing block.
We can classify
c thesse methods into
i three groups.
g
1 The first
f group coonsists of puurely qualitaative methodds that classiify the expannsiveness of the soil withh
termss such as "lo ow," "mediium or "higgh" and forrm the basiss for empirically based d preventivee
meassures.
2 The second gro oup includess semi quaantitative methods. Theey generate numerical results, buut
enginneers consid der them to beb an index of expansivveness, not a fundamental physical propertyy.
The implication
i here
h is that thhe design methods
m will also
a be emp pirically based.
3 The final group includes methodsm that provide qu uantitative results
r thatt are measu urements of
fundamental ph hysical prop perties and become thhe basis for a rational or semi rattional designn
proceedure.
6.8.1 Qualitative
Q Evaluations
E
This cateegory of evaluations is usually bassed on corrrelations wiith common n soil tests, such as thee
Atterbergg limits or thet percent colloids. Suuch correlattions are appproximate, but they caan be usefull,
especiallyy for preliminary evaluaations.
The U.S.. Bureau of Reclamation
R n developed the correlatiions in Tablee 19.5. An enngineer coulld use any or
all of thhem to classsify the sweelling potenntial of a sooil, but the plasticity index i and liquid limiit
correlatioons are probably the mosst reliable. Montomorillo
M onite particles are generally smaller than Illite or
kaolinite, so expansiiveness rougghly correlattes with the percent collloids. Enginneers rarely perform thee
shrinkagee limit test, and
a some haave questioneed the validiity of its corrrelation withh expansivenness.
Chen (19988) proposeed the correelations in Table
T 19.6 based
b on his experience in the Rockky Mountainn
area.

Page 8 of 8

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
6.8.2 Semi quantittative Evalu uations
a) Load ded Swell Teests
The mosst common semi quantiitative methhod of descrribing expannsive soils is in terms of its swelll
potential, which eng gineers usuallly measure in some kinnd of loaded d swell test. Unfortunateely, these aree
very ambbiguous term ms because thhere are manny different definitions of o swell poteential and ann even wider
range off test methods. Loaded swell tests usually utillize a lateraally confinedd cylindricaal sample, as
shown inn Figure 19..12. The inittially dry saample is loaded with a surchargee, and then soaked. Thee
sample swells
s verticcally, and thhis displacem ment divideed by the innitial heightt is the sweell potentiall,
usually expressed
e as a percentagge.
This metthodology is attractive because
b it meeasures the desired
d characteristics directly, is reelatively easyy
to perforrm, and does not requirre exotic tesst equipmentt (the test can be performed in a conventiona c al
consolidometer). However,
H because there is no univversally acccepted standdard test proocedure, thee
specifics of the test vary
v and ressults from diifferent testss are not alwways comparrable. The tyypical ranges
of test criteria are as follows:
Sample size: What is its diameter
d andd height? Tyypically, the sample is 500 to 112 mm m (2.0-4.5
innches) in diaameter and 12 to 37 mm m (0.5-1.5 incches) tall. Laarger diametter samples are
a less
suusceptible too side frictionn and thereffore tend to swell
s more.
M
Method of prreparation: Is the sample undisturb bed or remoolded? If it isi undisturbeed, how was
itt sampled annd prepared? If it is remoolded, how was w it compaacted, to whaat density an nd moisturee
coontent, and what
w curing,, if any, was allowed?
Innitial moistu ure content: What is thee moisture content at thee beginning of o the test? Some
S
possibilities include:
o In-situ moisture content
o Optim mum moistu ure content
o Air drried moistu ure content, other optionns are also poossible.

Page 9 of 9

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
 Surcharge lo oad: How larrge is the suurcharge loadd? It is usuall between 2.9 and 71.8 kPak (60-15000
lbb/ft-). Somee engineers prefer to usse a surcharrge equal too the in-situu or anticipated as-buillt
ovverburden sttress.
D
Duration: Ex xpansive soiils do not sw well immediaately upon appplication of water. It taakes time for
thhe water to seep
s into thee soil. This raaises the queestion of how
w long to alllow the test to
t run. Somee
enngineers con nduct the teest for a sppecified timee (i.e. 24 hr)h whereas others conttinue until a
sppecified ratee of expansioon is reached (such as no n more thann 0.03 mm/hhr). The latteer could takee
seeveral days in
i some soilss.

Snethen (1984) sugg gested the foollowing deffinition of potential

p swell:
Potentiaal swell is th he equilibriuum vertical volume
v channge or deforrmation fromm an odomeeter-type tesst
(i.e., totaal lateral con
nfinement), expressed
e ass a percent of
o original height,
h of ann undisturbeed specimen n
from its natural watter content and densityy to a state of o saturationn under an applied loaad equivalennt
to the in--situ overbu urden pressu ure.

Snethen also suggestted that the applied loadd should connsider any applied
a exterrnal loads, such
s as thosee
from fouundations. Ussing Snethenn's test criterria, we couldd classify thee expansivenness of the sooil, as shownn
in Table 19.7.

b) Expaansion Index
x Test

The expaansion indeex test [AST TM D4829] (lCBO, 19997; Andersoon and Lade, 1981) is an a attempt too
standarddize the load ded swell teest. In this teest a soil sam
mple is remoolded into a standard 1002-mm (4.011
in) diam
meter, 25-mm m (1 in) tall ring at a deegree of satu uration of about
a 50 perrcent. A surrcharge load
d
2
of 6.9 kP
Pa (1lb/in ) is applied, and
a then th he sample is saturated and a allowed d to stand until
u the ratee
of swelliing reachess a certain value or 24 2 hours, whichever
w i longer. The
is T amountt of swell is
expressedd in terms off the expansiion index, orr El, which isi defined ass follows:
Page 10 of 10

Table 199.8 gives the interpretatioon of El testt results. If the

t El variess with depthh, the test prrocedure alsoo
includes a series of weighting
w facctors that em
mphasize thee shallow soiils and deem mphasize the deeper soilss.
Althoughh this concep pt is sound in
i principle, the stated factors
fa implyy an active zone
z depth ofo only 1.2 m
(4 ft), whhich is far too shallow. Therefore,
T it may be bestt to ignore thhis portion off the test proocedure.

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
Because the expansion index tesst is conductted on a rem
molded sam
mple, it may mask certaiin soil fabricc
effects thhat may be present in thee field.

c) Corrrelations
Several researchers have deveeloped emppirical correelations bettween swelll potentiall and basicc
engineeriing propertiies. Vijayveergiya and Ghazzaly (1973)
( deveeloped relationships for undisturbedd
soils, as shown in Figure 19.113. They usse moisture content, liqquid limit, and a dry unit weight as
independdent variablees and definee the swell potential
p at a surcharge load of 9.6 kPa (200 lbb/ft2) and ann
initial mooisture conteent equal to the
t in-situ moisture
m conntent.

d) Expaansion Presssure Tests

As discuussed earlierr in this chaapter, the suurcharge pressure
p afffects the sw
welling of a soil. Higher
pressuress provide more
m restrainnt, and a ceertain pressuure, called the expanssion pressurre, or swelll
pressuree, preveents all sweell. Some enngineers eleect to measuure , and use it as a measure of
expansivveness.
Engineerrs can measu ure the expannsion pressuure at the endd of a loadedd swell test by
b simply inncreasing thee
normal looad in increm
ments until the
t sample reeturns to its original voluume, as show wn in Figuree 19.14.

Another method is to o use a moddified consollidometer thhat allows non vertical sttrain, as show
wn in Figuree
19.15. The
T first method tends to produce larger swellling pressuure. Howeveer, neither teest preciselyy
duplicatees the actual sequence off loading andd wetting in the field.

Some enngineers beliieve the exp pansion pressure is inddependent off the initial moisture coontent, initiaal
degree of saturation,, and strata thickness off the soil annd varies onnly with the dry unit weight
w and is
thereforee a fundameental physiccal propertyy of an exp pansive soil (Chen, 1988). Others disagree
d withh
this evaluuation and cllaim that it varies.
v

When teesting undissturbed sam mples, Chen n (1988) recoommends deefining the swelling
s preessure as thaat
required to keep the soil at its inn-situ dry unnit weight. He
H also recom
mmends testting remoldeed samples aat
100 percent relative compaction and defininng the swellinng pressure as that requuired to mainntain this dryy
unit weigght.
Page 11 of 11

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
6.8.3 Quantitative
Q e Evaluationns
There is increasing emphasis
e onn developingg more ratioonal analysiss techniquess to deal witth expansivee
soils probblems, a con
ncept discusssed later in this chapterr. These meethods requirre tests that evaluate thee
soil on a more fund damental baasis. This appproach hass not yet beeen developped in detail and is noot
commonlly used in prractice. How
wever, it will probably beecome muchh more dominnant in the future.
fu

Page 12 of 12

Instructorr: Addiszemeen T,
6.8.3.1 Variation of Swell with Normal Stress
The swell potential varies with the normal stress acting on the soil. Shallow, lightly loaded soils will
swell more than those that are deeper and more heavily loaded. Therefore, any rational method must
consider this relationship.
One way to assess this relationship is to obtain undisturbed soil samples at various depths and perform
a loaded swell test on each. The constant volume swell (CVS) test (Johnson and Stroman, 1976) is one
such test. The procedure is generally as follows· and as shown in Figure 19.16:
1. Place an undisturbed soil sample in a consolidometer and apply a normal load equal to the in-
situ overburden stress.
2. Inundate the sample and begin increasing the normal load in increments as necessary to restrain
any swelling. Continue until the swelling pressure is fully developed.
3. Unload the soil in increments to obtain the swell curve. Continue until the load is less than the
in-situ overburden stress.

Another similar procedure is the modified swell overburden (MSO) test (Johnson and Stroman, 1976),
which follows and is shown in Figure 19.17:
1. Place an undisturbed soil sample in a consolidometer and apply a normal load equal to the
design overburden stress (i.e., the stress at the sample location after the foundation is in place)
2. Inundate the sample and allow it to swell under the design overburden stress.
3. After the swelling is complete, load the sample in increments until the soil returns to its original
volume. The pressure that corresponds to the original volume is the swelling pressure.
4. Unload the sample in increments to a stress less than the in-situ overburden.

Johnson and Stroman (1976) recommend the MSO test when the design overburden pressures are
known in advance and the CVS test when they are not known in advance.
The strain measured in these tests is the potential swell strain. for each normal stress. Note that
the test results are expressed in terms of total stress not effective stress, thus, this information
will be used in a total stress analysis, not an effective stress analysis.

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Instructor: Addiszemen T,
Wetting Processes
The swell strain that occurs in the field is not necessarily equal to that measured in the laboratory
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because the soil in the field may not become completely saturated. The ratio of the actual swell strain to
the potential swell strain is the welting coefficient, If the soil remains at its in-situ moisture content,
then 0; if it becomes completely saturated, 1.

Instructor: Addiszemen T,
Chen (1988) suggests that is approximately proportional to the change in the degree of saturation.
Thus:

For example, if the soil in the field is initially at a degree of saturation of 40 percent, and is wetted until
it reaches 5 = 80 percent, then = (0.80 - 0.40)/ (1 - 0.40) = 0.67. In other words, the swelling in the
field will be only 67 percent of that in the lab.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to predict the degree of saturation that will occur in the field. It
depends on many factors. Including the following:
The rate and duration of water inflow (wetting) and outflow (evaporation and
transpiration).
The rate at which water flows through the soil.
Stratification of the soil.

Flow in unsaturated soils is driven by soil suction, not by conventional hydraulic heads, so some
engineers have attempted to use measurements of soil suction to predict the degree and depth of wetting.
See Nelson and Miller (1992) for more details.
6.8.4 Estimating Potential Heave
The current state-of-practice in most areas is to move directly from laboratory test results to the
recommended design measures with no quantitative analyses to connect the two. Such leaps are possible
only when the engineer is able to rely on local experience obtained from trial-and-error. For example,
we may know that in a certain geologic formation, slab-on-grade floors have performed adequately only
if the expansion index is less than some certain value. If the El at a new project site in that formation is
less than the specified value, then the engineer will recommend using a slab-on-grade floor; if not, then
some other floor must be used.
This kind of methodology implicitly incorporates such factors as climate, depth of the active zone,
hydraulic conductivity (especially the presence of fissures), and structural tolerance of differential
heave, so they are limited only to the geologic formations, geographic areas and types of structures that
correspond to those from which the method was derived. They generally work well as long as these
restrictions are observed, but can be disastrous when extrapolated to new conditions.
We would prefer to have a more rational method of designing structures to resist the effects of expansive
soils; one that explicitly considers these factors. Ideally, such a method would predict potential heave
and differential heave. Just as engineers design spread footings based on their potential for settlement, it
would be reasonable to design structures on expansive soils based on the potential for heave.
Laboratory Testing
Heave analyses are normally based on laboratory swell tests, such as the MSO or CVS tests described
earlier. Conduct these tests on undisturbed samples from different depths within the active zone to
establish the expansive properties of each stratum. Typically, the moisture content of the soil at the
beginning of each test is equal to the in-situ moisture content. Thus, the laboratory tests represent the
Page 15 of 15

swelling that would occur if the soil becomes wetter than the in-situ moisture. Sometimes, engineers will
first dry the samples to lower moisture content, thus modeling a worse condition.
Because the laboratory swell tests are laterally confined, they model a field condition in which the swell
occurs only in the vertical direction. This may be a suitable model when the ground surface is level, but

Instructor: Addiszemen T,
a poor one when it is sloped or when a retaining wall is present. In the latter cases, the horizontal swell
is often very important.
In the field, some of the swell may be consumed by the tilling of fissures in the clay. This is not
reflected in the laboratory tests because the samples normally will not include fissures. However, this
error should be small and conservative and thus can be ignored.
Analysis
The heave caused by soil expansion is;

We implement this analysis as follows:

Step 1:
Divide the active zone of soil beneath the foundation into layers in a fashion similar to that used for
settlement analyses. These layers should be relatively thin near the bottom of the footing (perhaps 1ft or
0.25 m thick) and become thicker with depth. The bottom of the last layer should coincide with the
bottom of the active zone.
Step 2:
Compute the vertical total stress, at the midpoint of each layer. This stress should be the sum of the
geostatic and induced stresses (i.e., it must consider both the weight of the soil and load from the
footing.
Step 3:
Using the results of the laboratory swell tests, compute the potential swell strain, , at the midpoint of
each layer.
Step 4:
Determine the initial profile of degree of saturation vs. depth. This would normally be based on the
results of moisture content tests from soil samples recovered from an exploratory boring.
Step 5:
Estimate the final profile of degree of saturation vs. depth. As discussed earlier, this profile is difficult to
predict. It is the greatest source of uncertainty in the analysis. Techniques for developing this profile
include the following;
Option 1 Use empirical estimates based on observations of past projects. Studies of the
equilibrium moisture conditions under covered areas, including buildings and pavements,
suggest that the final moisture content is usually in the range of 1.1 to 1.3 times the plastic limit.
Option 2
Assume that the soil becomes saturated, but the pore water pressure above the original ground
water table remains equal to zero. This assumption is common for many foundation engineering
problems and may be appropriate for many expansive soils problems, especially if extra water,
such as that from irrigation or poor surface drainage, might enter the soil.
Option 3
Assume that a suction profile will develop such that a negative hydrostatic head is present. This
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scenario is based on a soil suction that diminishes with depth at the rate of 9.8 kPa of depth (62.4
lb/ft per foot of depth).
Option 4
Assume S = 100% at the ground surface and tapers to the natural S at the bottom of the active
zone.
Instructor: Addiszemen T,
Step 6:
Compute the heave for each layer and sum them using Equation 19.3
For additional information on heave estimates, see McDowell (1956), Lambe and Whitman (1959),
Richards (1967), Lytton and Watt (1970), Johnson and Stroman (1976), Snethen (1980). Mitchell and
Avalle (1984), and Nelson and Miller (1992).

6.8.5 Differential Heave

Just as differential settlements often control the design of normal building foundations. Differential
heaves control the design of foundations on expansive soils. The differential heave can range from zero
to the total heave, but is typically between one-quarter and one-half of the total heave (John son and
Stroman. 1976). The greatest differential heaves are most likely to occur when swelling is due to such
extraneous influences as broken water lines, poor surface drainage or aggressive tree roots. Soil profiles
with numerous fissures are also more likely to have higher differential heaves because of their higher
hydraulic conductivity.
Donaldson (1973) recommended designing for the following heave factors (where heave factor =
differential heave/total heave):
Profile with high hydraulic conductivity (i.e., fissures) in upper 3 m (10ft)
Without extraneous influences 0.50
With extraneous influences 0.75
Profile with low hydraulic conductivity in upper 3 m (10 ft)
Without extraneous influences 0.25
With extraneous influences 0.40

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Instructor: Addiszemen T,