FOUNDATION ENGINEERING II

Exit Exam Tutorial Class

Civil Engineering Department

Haramaya Institute of Technology
Haramaya University
By Belete T.
 Objectives of the Tutorial
 Design deep foundations such as piles, piers and
piled raft foundations.
 Design Cofferdams and Caissons.
 Understand and interpret the behavior of
expansive soils and design foundations on
expansive soils.
 Review environmental issues related to
Geotechnical Engineering.
PILE, PIERS & PILED-RAFT
FOUNDATIONS
 1. Introduction
~ for transferring building loads to underlying ground
~ mostly for weak soils or heavy loads
 When Pile Foundation is Needed?
 When top layers of soil are highly compressible for it to
support structural loads through shallow foundations.
 When rock level is shallow enough for end bearing pile
foundations provide a more economical design.
 When lateral forces are relatively prominent.
 In presence of expansive and collapsible soils at the site.
 In offshore structures
 When strong uplift forces on shallow foundations due to
shallow water table can be partly transmitted to Piles.
 For structures near flowing water (Bridge abutments, etc.)
to avoid the problems due to erosion.
Basic Design Concept
 Pile Capacity
 Pile Capacity is the maximum load which a
pile can carry without failure or excessive
settlement of the ground.
 The bearing capacity of groups of piles
subjected to vertical or vertical and lateral
loads depends upon the behavior of a single
pile.
 The bearing capacity of a single pile depends
upon:
1. Type, size and length of pile
2. Type of soil,
3. The method of installation.
 …Cont.
The bearing capacity depends primarily
on the method of installation and the type
of soil encountered.
The bearing capacity of a single pile
increases with an increase in the size and
length.
The position of the water table also affects
the bearing capacity.
 …Cont.
In order to be able to design a safe and economical pile
foundation, we have to analyze;
 The interactions between the pile and the soil,

 Establish the modes of failure and

 Estimate the settlements from soil deformation under dead

load, service load etc.
 …Cont.
The design should comply with the following
requirements.
1. It should ensure adequate safety against
failure; the factor of safety used depends on
the importance of the structure and on the
reliability of the soil parameters and the
loading systems used in the design.
2. The settlements should be compatible with
adequate behavior of the superstructure to
avoid impairing its efficiency.
Pile capacity for axial loads
The load carrying capacity of a pile is
controlled by its structural strength and
the supporting strength of the soil.
The smaller of the two is considered for
design purposes.
a. Structural capacity of piles

b. Supporting Strength of the soil

 …Cont.
a. Structural capacity of piles
 The structural capacity of a pile is its strength as a column.
 When the pile is completely embedded in soil, the
restraint offered by the soil is generally sufficient to
consider the pile as a short column (except for the case of a
long pile in very soft clay).
 Pre-cast concrete piles are adequately reinforced to
withstand handling and driving stresses.
 Cast-in-situ piles are also reinforced to increase column
strength and also to resist moment that may have
developed due to horizontal load or eccentricity of vertical
loads.
 Reinforcements are also helpful in resisting tensile stresses
that may develop due to heave resulting from driving of
adjacent piles in clay.
 …Cont.
b. Supporting Strength of the soil
There are four approaches to the computation
of pile capacity (ultimate bearing capacity of
the pile, Qu) based on the soil support;
1. By the use of static bearing capacity equations.
2. By loading tests
3. By prevailing Building Codes
4. By sounding tests
5. By dynamic pile-driving formulas
 General theory for ultimate bearing capacity

 According to Vesic (1967), only punching shear

failure occurs in deep foundations irrespective of
the density of the soil so long as the depth-width
ratio L/d is greater than 4 where L = length of
pile and d = diameter (or width of pile).
The shapes of failure surfaces at the tips of piles as
assumed by;
(a)Terzaghi, (b) Meyerhof, and (c) Vesic
…Cont.
…Cont.
…Cont.
…Cont.
…Cont.
…Cont.
 …Cont.
Cohesive Soils
For cohesive soils such as saturated clays
(normally consolidated), we have for  =
0, Nq=1 and N = 0. The ultimate base load
from is;
1) Methods to compute Bearing Capacity of pile foundation

 Static Bearing Capacity Equations (Such as; Tomlinson Solution,

Meyerhof’s equation, etc.)
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
Dynamic Methods
Pile load Tests
 2) BEARING CAPACITY OF PILES IN
GRANULAR SOILS BASED ON SPT VALUE

Meyerhof (1956) suggests the following equations for single piles in granular soils
based on SPT values.
A minimum factor of
safety of 4 is
recommended for
driven piles and 2.5
for bored piles.
3) BEARING CAPACITY OF PILES BASED ON STATIC CONE
PENETRATION TESTS(CPT)

1) Vander Veen's Method for Piles in Cohesionless Soils

 The ultimate end-bearing resistance of a pile is taken, equal to the point resistance of the
cone.

 To allow for the variation of cone resistance which normally occurs, the method considers average
cone resistance over a depth equal to three times the diameter of the pile above the pile point
level and one pile diameter below point.

 Experience has shown that if a safety factor of 2.5 is applied to the ultimate end resistance as
determined from cone resistance, the pile is unlikely to settle more than 15 mm under the working
load (Tomlinson, 1986).
The equations for ultimate bearing capacity and allowable load may be written as:
The skin friction on the pile shaft in cohesionless soils is obtained from the relationships established
by Meyerhof (1956) as follows:
 For displacement piles, the ultimate skin friction, fs , is given by

 For H-section piles, the ultimate limiting skin friction is given by

Meyerhof states that for straight sided displacement piles, the ultimate unit skin friction, fs, has a
maximum value of 107 kPa and for H-sections, a maximum of 54 kPa (calculated on all faces of flanges
and web).

 The ultimate skin load

 The ultimate load capacity of a pile

 The allowable load

 Piles founded on a Rocky Bed

Qs is commonly neglected.
 Under-Reamed piles

An ‘under-reamed’ pile is one with an

enlarged base or a bulb.

The enlarged base is called as a bulb or an

under-ream.

The piles can be single or multi-under-

reamed piles.

They are cast-in-situ concrete piles.

The capacity of a pile increases as a result

of the increased base area.
*Single under-reamed piles
The load carrying capacity of a single under-reamed
pile may be obtained from the equation:
 PILE GROUP EFFICIENCY
The ultimate load of the group is generally
different from the sum of the ultimate loads of
individual piles Qu.
The factor η

is called group efficiency.

The efficiency depends on parameters

such as :
oType of soil in which the piles are embedded,
oMethod of installation of piles i.e. either driven
or cast-in-situ piles, &
oSpacing of piles.
 Pile Group Efficiency Equations
Converse – Labarre Formula (1980)

Los- Angeles Group Action

Ultimate Capacity of Group Piles in Saturated Clay
Cont.…
 Settlement of Single Pile in Cohesionless Soils

Vesic has proposed an equation for computing the settlement of a single pile

in cohesionless soil, based on experiments on test piles of different sizes

embedded in sands with different density index values.

The equation for the settlement is;

…Cont’d
 Settlement of Groups of Piles in Cohesionless Soils

Settlement of pile groups are found to be many times that of a single pile.

The ratio, Fg ,of the settlement of a pile group to that of a single pile is known
as the group settlement ratio.
 Settlement of Groups of Piles in Cohesive Soils
The total settlements of pile groups may be calculated by making use of consolidation settlement
equations.
The problem involves evaluating the increase in stress Δp beneath a pile group when the group is
subjected to a vertical load Q .
The computation of stresses depends on the type of soil through which the pile passes.
 Settlement Computations (Clay)

For normally consolidated clay,  vo '  '

e  Cc log
 vo '
 Pile Cap
A pile cap is a structure usually of reinforced concrete, which serves to
spread the vertical and horizontal loads and any overturning moment
from the superstructure to all the piles in the group.

The forces that have to be considered in the analysis and design of a

pile cap are;
a. Reaction from the piles (considered as series of concentrated loads)
b. Column loads and moments
c. Weight of the cap
d. Weight of overlaying soil, if the cap is below the ground surface.
 Analysis & Design of Pile Caps
I-Assumptions
In the design of pile caps, the following assumptions are usually made:

(i) The pile cap is perfectly rigid.

(ii) The pile heads arc hinged to the pile cap.

As a result no bending moment is transmitted from the pile cap to the

piles.

(iii) The deformations and stress distributions are considered planar.

 Cont…
II-Determination of pile reaction
For determining the pile reactions one follows the usual practice as
outlined below:
a) Concentric Axial Load
For concentric axial load P acting on the pile cap, the load in the pile
group is assumed to be distributed equally.

Hence the force on each pile would be given by;

P
Pn 
n
 Cont…
b) Eccentric Load
For eccentric loading conditions, i.e. pile cap loaded with force P and
moment M, one uses the flexural formula in which planar stress
distribution is assumed:
 Tension Piles/Uplift Piles
The equation for the uplift force Pul may be written as

A safety factor of 3 is normally assumed for calculating the safe uplift

load for both piles in clay and sand.
 Tension Pile in Clay & Sand
Clay

The chart gives the relationship

between α and cu based on pull
out test results as collected by
Sowa (1970).

Sand
Poulos and Davis (1980) suggest that the skin friction of upward loading in sand
may be taken as two-thirds of the calculated shaft resistance for downward loading.
 Tension Capacity of Pile Groups
Clay
The equation for the total uplift capacity Pu
of the group may be expressed by

Sand
A spread of load of 1 H:4V from the pile group
base to the ground surface may be taken as the
volume of the soil to be lifted by the pile group
(Tomlinson, 1977).
For simplicity in calculation, the weight of the
pile embedded in the ground is assumed to be
equal to that of the volume of soil it displaces.
If the pile group is partly or fully submerged, the
submerged weight of soil below the water table has
to be taken.
 NEGATIVE FRICTION
It is a downward drag force exerted on a pile surrounding it.
It exists under the following conditions, among others:
1-If the fill material is loose cohesionless soil,
2-when fill is placed over peat or a soft clay stratum, &
3-by lowering the ground water which increases the effective stress
causing consolidation of the soil with resultant settlement.
 Cont…

Negative friction must be allowed when considering the factor of

safety on the ultimate carrying capacity of a pile.

The factor of safety, Fs, where negative friction is likely to occur

may be written as
Negative Friction on a Single Pile
 Negative Friction on Pile Groups

When a group of piles passes through a compressible fill, the negative

friction, Fn , on the group is the maximum of the following:
 Cont…

When the fill is underlain by a compressible stratum, the total negative

friction may be taken the maximum of the following:
 LATERALLY LOADED VERTICAL PILES
Piles that are used under tall chimneys, television towers, high rise
buildings, high retaining walls, offshore structures, etc. are normally
subjected to high lateral loads.
 These piles or pile groups should resist not only vertical movements
but also lateral movements.
The requirements for a satisfactory foundation are;

1. The vertical settlement or the horizontal movement should not exceed

an acceptable maximum value,

2. There must not be failure by yield of the surrounding soil or the pile
material.
 Cont…

 Vertical piles are used in foundations to take normally vertical loads

and small lateral loads.

 When the horizontal load per pile exceeds the value suitable for
vertical piles, batter piles (inclined piles ) are used in combination
with vertical piles.
 BROMS' SOLUTIONS FOR LATERALLY LOADED PILES
Broms‘ solutions for laterally loaded piles deal with the following:

1.Lateral deflections of piles at ground level at working loads, &

2.Ultimate lateral resistance of piles under lateral loads.

Broms provided solutions for both short and long piles installed in
cohesive and cohesionless soils.

He considered piles fixed or free to rotate at the head.

 2) Drilled Pier
• The subject matter of this chapter, belong to the same category as pile foundations.

• No sharp deviations can be made between piers and piles because both of them serve
similar purpose.

• The distinctions are based on the method of installation.

• A pile is installed by driving, whereas a pier is installed by excavating.

• Drilled piers are commonly used to resist uplift forces caused by the swelling of soils.

• The principle of drilled pier is to provide a relatively inexpensive way of transferring the
structural loads down to stable material or to a stable zone where moisture changes are
improbable.
Cont…
Equations for uplift force Qup;
Equations for uplift force Qup; Based on Undrained Cohesive
Strength of Soil

According to Chen (1988);

 Equations for Resisting force QR;

For a given shaft diameter, d; the above equations help to determine the
length of pier in stable zone. The one that gives the maximum length L2,
that should be used as L2 in the design.
 *Belled Piers …cont

• Piers with a belled bottom are used when large uplift forces have to be resisted.

• The Uplift Force of belled pier is estimated by the procedure same as that of the procedure
explained for straight shaft.

• The resisting force equation for the pier in the stable zone may be written as (O’ Neill, 1988)
…Cont
Belled Piers Capacity …Cont

For a given shaft diameter, d; and base diameter, db, the above equations
help to determine the length of pier in stable zone (L2). The one that gives
the maximum length L2, that should be used as L2 in the design.
Grade Beam and Pier System (Chen, 1988)
 3) Pile-Raft Foundation
 A piled raft foundation in the past few
years, there has been on increasing
recognition that that the use of piles to
reduce raft settlement and differential
settlement.

 The total load coming from the

superstructure is partly carried by the
raft through contact with soil and the
remaining load is carried by piles
Fig.1. Piled raft foundation
through skin friction and base bearing.
 …Cont’d
 Such piled raft foundations on thick clay deposit have been found
successful in many places.
 In conventional piled foundation it is assumed that the raft does not
carry any load even if raft is in contact with ground.
 Also in conventional piled foundation, as the contribution of raft is
ignored, long piles are provided which extends up to the deep strata.
 On the other hand, if only raft has to carry the total load coming from
the superstructure, very thick raft is needed which increase the cost of
the foundation.
 1.3 Favourable and unfavourable circumstances for piled rafts

 The most effective application of piled rafts occurs when the raft can provide adequate load
capacity, but the settlement and/ or differential settlements of the raft alone exceed the
allowable values.
 Poulos (1991) has examined a number of idealised soil profiles, and has found that the
following situations may be favourable:
(a) soil profiles consisting of relatively stiff clays
(b) soil profiles consisting of relatively dense sands.

In both circumstances, the raft can provide a significant proportion of the required load capacity
and stiffness, with the piles acting to `boost' the performance of the foundation, rather than
providing the major means of support.
 …Cont’d

Conversely, there are some situations that are unfavourable, including:

(a) soil profiles containing soft clays near the surface

(b) soil profiles containing loose sands near the surface

(c) soil profiles that contain soft compressible layers at relatively shallow depths

(d) soil profiles that are likely to undergo consolidation settlements

(e) soil profiles that are likely to undergo swelling movements due to external
causes.
COFFERDAMS AND CAISSONS
 Introduction
 Many building sites extend to the edges of the property lines.
 Under these circumstances, the sides of the excavation have to be made vertical
and must usually be supported by bracings to avoid failure.

 To avoid considerable settlement or bearing

capacity failure of nearby structure.
 To prevent water seepage into excavation
 To prevent cave‐in of the earth and
 To protect the adjacent areas against
subsidence and lateral movement of the
subsoil
 Apparent Pressure Diagrams
 The pattern of deformation differs so greatly from that required for Rankine's state
that the distribution of earth pressure associated with retaining walls is not a
satisfactory basis for design.
 Peck (1969) presented pressure distribution diagrams on braced cuts. These
diagrams are based on a wealth of information collected by actual measurements in
the field.

 Assumptions:
 Peck (1969) after a great deal of study of actual pressure measurements on braced cuts used for
subways, he presented pressure distribution diagrams on braced cuts.
 DESIGN OF VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF A BRACED CUT COFFERDAM
Struts
 Should have a minimum vertical spacing of about 9 ft (2.75 m) or more.
 Actually horizontal columns subject to bending
 The load carrying capacity of columns depends on the slenderness ratio.
 The slenderness ratio can be reduced by providing vertical and horizontal supports at
intermediate points
 For wide cuts, splicing the struts may be necessary.
 For braced cuts in clayey soils, the depth of the first strut below the ground surface should
be less than the depth of tensile crack, Zc.
 Cuts in Stratified Soils
 It is very rare to find uniform deposits of sand or clay to a
great depth. Many times layers of sand and clays overlying
one another the other are found in nature.
 When layers of sand and soft clay are encountered, the
pressure distribution shown in Fig(d) may be used if the
unconfined compressive strength qu is substituted by the
average qu and the unit weight of soils by the average
value (Peck, 1969).
 Stability of Braced Cuts in Saturated Clay
A braced-cut may fail as a unit due to unbalanced external forces or heaving of the bottom of the
excavation.
 If the external forces acting on opposite sides of the braced cut are unequal, the stability of the
entire system has to be analyzed. If soil on one side of a braced cut is removed due to some unnatural
forces the stability of the system will be impaired.
However, we are concerned here about the stability of the bottom of the cut. Two cases may arise.
They are
1. Heaving in clay soil &
2. Heaving in cohesionless soil
 Heaving in Clay Soil
The danger of heaving is greater if the bottom of the cut is soft clay. Even in a soft clay bottom, two types of failure are
possible. They are

Case 1: When the clay below the cut is homogeneous at least up to a depth equal 0.7 B where B is the width of the cut.

Case 2: When a hard stratum is met within a depth equal to 0.7 B.

Case 1: Formation of Full Plastic Failure Zone Below the
Bottom of Cut
Case 2: When the Formation of Full Plastic Zone is Restricted by the
Presence of a Hard Layer
If a hard layer is located at a depth D below the
bottom of the cut (which is less than 0.75), the
failure of the bottom occurs as shown in the fig. The
width of the strip which can sink is also equal to D.
 Piping Failures in Sandy Cuts
Piping is a phenomenon of water rushing up through
pipe-shaped channels due to large upward seepage
pressure.
When piping takes place, the weight of the soil is
counteracted by the upward hydraulic pressure and as
such there is no contact pressure between the grains at
the bottom of the excavation.
Therefore, it offers no lateral support to the sheet
piling and as a result the sheet piling may collapse.
Further the soil will become very loose and may not
have any bearing power. It is therefore, essential to
avoid piping.
 Piping Failures in Sandy Cuts … Cont’d
Sheet piling is used for cuts in sand and the excavation must be dewatered by pumping
from the bottom of the excavation.
Sufficient penetration below the bottom of the cut must be provided to reduce the amount
of seepage and to avoid the danger of piping.
Foundations of Expansive Soils
 Introduction
 Expansive soils are a worldwide problem.
 The estimated damage to buildings, roads, and other structures built on expansive
soils, for example, exceeds 15 billion dollars in the US annually.
 Such soils are considered natural hazards that pose challenges to civil engineers,
construction firms, and owners.
 In some underdeveloped countries, buildings were constructed without any knowledge
of the presence of expansive soils.
 This was in part due to a lack of historical evidence.
 With the rapid development in urban infrastructure, expansive soil problems have
become more evident.
 There is therefore a need to address the problems associated with these soils.
 Cont…
 Expansive soils occur in many parts of the world but particularly in arid and semi-arid
regions.

 In these regions, evaporation rates are higher than the annual rainfall so that there is
almost always a moisture deficiency in the soil.

 The addition of water will cause ground heave in soils possessing swelling potential.

 Semi-arid regions are characterized by short periods of rainfall followed by long

periods of drought causing cyclic swelling and shrinking phenomena.

 The ground heave that results from soil swelling potential is a multi-factorial
phenomenon that involves a combination of the type of material, type and amount of
clay minerals, micro fabric, initial moisture content, and initial dry density.
 Cont…
 Expansive soils in many parts of the world pose a significant hazard to foundations for light
buildings.

 Swelling clays derived from residual soils can exert uplift pressures of as much as 260kN/m2
(kPa), which can do considerable damage to lightly-loaded wood-frame structures.

 Insurance companies pay out millions of dollars yearly to repair homes distressed by
expansive soils.

 The problems associated with expansive soils were not recognized in Ethiopia for many
years for the obvious reason that most of the modern small masonry or brick houses built were
located on sites that did not cause foundation problems.

 In the last thirty years, however, residential buildings were erected in areas where expansive
soils are predominant.
 Cont…

 In the field, expansive clay soils can be easily recognized in the dry season by the
deep cracks, in roughly polygonal patterns, in the ground surface (see Fig. 2).

 The zone of seasonal moisture content fluctuation can extend from three to forty feet
deep (see Fig. 3).

 This creates cyclic shrink/swell behavior in the upper portion of the soil column, and
cracks can extend to much greater depths than imagined by most engineers.
Cont…
Moisture Variation with Depth
Clay with Shrinkage Cracks Black Color Clay
 Mineral Composition of Expansive Soils
The parent materials of expansive soils may be classified into two groups.

 The first group comprises basic igneous rocks such as basalt, dolerite sills and dykes,
gabbros. etc., where feldspar and pyroxene minerals of the parent rocks decompose to
form montmorillonite, the predominant mineral of expansive soil and other secondary
minerals.

 The second group comprises sedimentary rocks that contain montmorillonite, and
break down physically to form expansive soils.

There are indications that confirm that the expansive soils of Ethiopia are derived from
both groups.
 Cont…
 It is a known fact that the three most important groups of clay minerals are
montmorillonite, illite, and kaolinite, which are crystalline hydrous alumino-silicates.

 Of these groups, it is the clay mineral montmorillonite that presents most of the
foundation problems.

 Essentially, montmorillonite (also called the smectite group) is a three-layered

mineral having a single octahedral alumina sheet sandwiched between two silica
sheets.

 The units are stacked one above the other like leaves of a book.

 The bonds are comparatively weak, and water can enter between the sheets causing
them to expand readily.
 Cont…

 When water is removed from the boundary, the sheets contract.

 Thus soil containing substantial amounts of montmorillonite will exhibit high shrinkage
and swelling characteristics.

 Experience shows that swelling problems arise when soils contain more than 20%
montmorillonite mineral.

 The expansive clay soils prevalent in Ethiopia are either black (black cotton soil) or
dark grey.
 Methods of Identifying Expansive soils
 When expansive soils are exposed to change in moisture or in load equilibrium
any structure build on them will be subject to additional stresses and strains.

 Specially damaging is due to the uplift pressure which will subject the buildings
to either uniform but in most cases to differential uplift.

 The additional stresses and strains are often manifested as cracks on buildings,
roads and pavements.

 Light structures are the most exposed to damage as they do not have the
necessary counter weight to contain the uplift pressure .

 Heavy buildings tend to exert more counter pressure, however this depends on
the foundation contact area with the expansive soil.
 In buildings cracks due to expansive soils are often manifested as:
In floors often basement and ground floors;
 Bulging of floors
 loss of skin friction of piers
 Lift of floor slabs
 Cracks occurring parallel to walls
 Deterioration of floors with cracks
 In rare cases movement of frames is noticed
In walls;
 Vertical and diagonal cracks
 Horizontal separation
 Breaking of glasses in windows and doors
 Stacking of doors and windows
 Cracks in interior walls as a result of uplift pressure
 Physical Properties of Expansive Soils

 Expansive soils can be classified on the basis of certain inherent characteristics of the
soil.

 It is first necessary to understand certain basic parameters used in the classification.

Swelling Potential;
 Swelling potential is defined as the percentage of swell of a laterally confined sample
in an oedometer test which is soaked under a surcharge load of 7 kPa (1 lb/in2) after
being compacted to maximum dry density at optimum moisture content according to
the AASHTO compaction test.
 Cont…
Swelling Pressure;
 The swelling pressure is defined as the pressure required for preventing
volume expansion in soil in contact with water.

 It should be noted here that the swelling pressure measured in a laboratory

oedometer is different from that in the field.

 The actual field swelling pressure is always less than the one measured in the
laboratory.
 Cont…
Free Swell;
 Free swell Sf, is defined as,

 According to Holtz and Gibbs (1956), 10 cm3 (Vi) of dry soil passing thorough a No. 40
sieve is poured into a 100 cm3 graduated cylinder filled with water.

 The volume of settled soil is measured after 24 hours which gives the value of Vf.
 Cont…

 Bentonite-clay is supposed to have a free swell value ranging from 1200 to 2000
percent.

 The free swell value increases with plasticity index.

 Holtz and Gibbs suggested that soils having a free-swell value as low as 100
percent can cause considerable damage to lightly loaded structures and soils
heaving a free swell value below 50 percent seldom exhibit appreciable volume
change even under light loadings.

 The swelling tendencies of expansive soils are quantified by the swell potential
and swelling pressure parameters.
 Cont…

 These expansive soil parameters can be directly estimated in the laboratory from special
oedometer tests and the differential free swell test.

 Apart from these direct tests, soil mechanics practice for determining the engineering
characteristics of expansive soils is usually based on the Atterberg Limits, sometimes in
conjunction with grain size analysis.

 However, swell potentials based on index properties are in far excess of the oedometer
swell potentials.

 The soil properties, external pressure, and wetting–drying process affect the swell
potential and swell pressure of expansive soils.
Evaluation of The Swelling Potential of Expansive Soils by
Single Index Method (Chen, 1988)

 Simple soil property tests can be used for the evaluation of the swelling
potential of expansive soils (Chen, 1988).

 Such tests are easy to perform and should be used as routine tests in the
investigation of building sites in those areas having expansive soil.

 These tests are;

a) Atterberg limits tests

b) Linear shrinkage tests

c) Free swell tests

d) Colloid content tests

 Foundation Failure Due to Expansive Soils

The most obvious way in which expansive soils can damage

foundations is by uplift as they swell with moisture increases.

Swelling soils lift up and crack lightly-loaded, continuous strip

footings, and frequently cause distress in floor slabs.

Because of the different building loads on different portions of a

structure's foundation, the resultant uplift will vary in different areas.
 Cont…

 As shown in Fig. 8, the exterior corners of a uniformly-loaded rectangular

slab foundation will only exert about one-fourth of the normal pressure on a
swelling soil of that exerted at the central portion of the slab.

 As a result, the corners tend to be lifted up relative to the central portion.

 This phenomenon can be exacerbated by moisture differentials within soils at

the edge of the slab.

 Such differential movement of the foundation can also cause distress to the
framing of a structure.
Figure 8: A rectangular slab, uniformly loaded, will tend to lift up in the corners
because there is less confinement.
 Cont…
Figure 9: Damage to home supported on shallow piers.
(1) At the beginning of the rainy season, the piers are
still supported by friction with the soil. When it
begins to rain, water enters deep into the soil through
the cracks.
(2) After 5 to 10 large storms, the soil swells, lifting the
house and piers.
(3) In the dry season, the groundwater table falls and the
soil dries and contracts.
 As tension cracks grow around the pier, the skin
friction is reduced and the effective stress of the soil
increases (due to drying).
 When the building load exceeds the remaining skin
friction or the effective stress of the soil increases to
an all-time high, adhesion is broken by this straining,
and the pier sinks.
 Solutions:

 Replacing the expansion soil under the foundation, if it is

shallow to ground surface.

 Changing the nature of the expansive soil, stabilizing the soil.

 Strengthening the structures to withstand heave, constructing

structures that are flexible enough to withstand the differential
soil heave without failure, or constructing isolated deep
foundations below the depth of the active zone.
 Methods of preventing of Heave damage
Moisture Control  Intercept the gravity flow
1.1 Moisture Barriers of free water

A. Horizontal moisture Barriers  Lower the ground water

 Concrete aprons 1.3 Surface drainage

 Stone paving( tight joint)
 Impervious soil layers
B. Vertical moisture barriers
 Concrete walls
 Impervious soil layers
1.2 Sub-surface drainage
2. Soil Stabilization
2.1 Pre-wetting
2.2 Compaction control
2.3 Soil Replacement
2.4 Chemical Stabilization
a. Lime stabilization
b. Cement Stabilization
c. Chemical treatment
 Cont.…
3. Structural measures
3.1 Appropriate Foundations
Footing Foundations
 Footing to be placed in stable zone
 Dead load pressure more than swelling pressure
Mat Foundation
 It may be successful to use mat foundation in moderately swell soils.

Drilled Pier Foundation

 Enlarged base

 Under reamed piles may be used

 Piers should be placed in stable zone and dead load pressure should be more than uplift pressure

 Tension due to uplift should be controlled

Figure. Foundation Types Used in Expansive Soils (Jones & Jefferson, 2012)
 Pavement and Expansive Soils
Pavements are vulnerable to expansive soil damage because of their relative lightweight
nature extended over a relatively large area.

Damage to pavements on expansive soil comes in four major forms:

 Severe unevenness along significant lengths:- cracks may or may not be visible
(particularly important for airport runways),

 Longitudinal cracking,

 Lateral cracking developed from significant localized deformations, and

 Localized pavement failure associated with disintegration of the surface (Jones &
Jefferson, 2012).
 Cont..
Pavement designs are considered based on either flexible or rigid pavement systems
(Nelson & Miller, 1992).
However, whenever we want to assume the effect of the expansive soil, a number of issues
should be considered:
 Choose an alternative route and avoid path on expansive soil,
 Remove and replace expansive soil with a non-expansive alternative,
 Design for a low strength and allow regular maintenance,
 Physically modify expansive soils through disturbance and re-compaction,
 Stabilization through chemical additives, such a lime treatment, and
 Control water content changes although very difficult over the life of a pavement
(Jones & Jefferson, 2012).
Review of Environmental Issues
Related to Geotechnics
 1. INTRODUCTION
 Environmental Geotechnics contributes in an interdisciplinary context
and in the early stage of a normal civil engineering project.

 It aims at identifying possible effects induced by the project and

pointing out ways and means to avoid, compensate or limit negative
environmental impact.

 The main objective of environmental geotechnics is “creation of better

environment”, “prevention of environmental risks to human activities”
and “prevention of dangers on human life caused by natural hazards”
 From the perspective of Geotechnical Engineering, a geotechnical
engineer whose primary responsibility is the design and construction of
foundations may be considered to be a "foundation engineer".

 In a similar manner, a geotechnical engineer whose primary responsibility

pertains to design and construction of clay liners and covers for waste
disposal may be associated with the sub-discipline of "Environmental
Geotechnics".

 While each individual within Geotechnical Engineering is a geotechnical

engineer and, therefore, is educated to some minimum level in the
The Geotechnical Sub-
essential subjects associated within Geotechnical Engineering (e.g., soil Disciplines
mechanics and soil behavior, foundations).

 Therefore, from the perspective of Geotechnical Engineering, the sub-

discipline of Geotechnical Engineering whose primary focus relates to
environmental issues can be referred to as "Environmental Geotechnics”.
• Geotechnical Engineering is falling under the limited group of professions, which to the high extent
are able to react not only on classical construction problems but also to new society demands,
namely with respect to:
• Protection against natural hazards – first of all against floods, landslides and earthquakes;
• Energy savings – especially with respect of Geothermal energy, as with high potential energy
(from large depth) or with low potential energy in the forms of earth aerial heat exchanger,
systems utilizing heat pumps or systems utilizing heat reversible pumps either for heating or for
cooling with help of energy piles or diaphragm walls;
• Raw materials savings – with high potential for waste and recycled material utilization,
especially for large volume waste as e.g. ash, slag, construction and demolition waste etc;
• Protection of greenfields – as GE is playing significant role in the field of “Construction on
brownfields”;
• Environmental protection in general – e.g. from the view of safe deposition of waste (landfills,
tailing dams, spoil heaps, underground repositories) or with respect to remediation of old
ecological burdens – decontamination of subsoil
ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL GEOTECHNICS IN;
1. BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT
Very often the whole process of the brownfields redevelopment can be divided into the following
individual steps, (e.g. Vaníček and Valenta 2009):
• Site location identification,
• First phase of investigation,
• Preliminary economic analysis,
• Second phase of investigation
• Detailed site analysis
• Project of site development and methods of financing & feasibility study
• Project and completion of site remediation
• Project and completion of construction of new development (including foundation engineering, reuse of
old foundations)..
• The properties of the brownfields ground is usually affected by previous man made activity.
• These changes have character of physical, chemical or biological change.
• Owing to biological degradation some problems with gas (mostly with methane) are expected.
• However in most cases the subsoil remediation is connected with;
 Physical improvement of the subsoil quality, with porosity decrease;
 Chemical improvement.
2. UTILIZATION OF LARGE VOLUME WASTE
• Human activities produce a huge amount of different waste.
• Therefore the most important aim is to decrease the volume of such waste.
• Nevertheless for remaining waste the strategy should be defined and more efficient way is connected with
reutilization of this waste.
• Geotechnical engineering has a great chance to reuse large volume waste as:
• Construction – demolition waste – old bricks, concrete, ceramics, old asphalt pavement, gravel ballast
• Industrial waste – ash, dross, slag;
• Mining waste – overlaying soils, waste rock, quarry waste, residues after washing clay
3. THE UTILIZATION OF THE SURFACE OF THE MINING SPOIL HEAPS FOR NEW
CONSTRUCTION
• For classical objects founded on the spoil heaps surface the following approaches are applied:
 Postponing the new construction – however sometimes this condition is unacceptable;
 Using some methods of deep foundations like piles – but solution can be limited by height of fill,
by economical reasons and a negative skin friction should be taken into account;
 Pre-consolidation with additional load which has to be removed after a certain time – very
problematic as it is connected with huge volume of additional fill and with time needed for which
this additional loading have to be applied.
 Special technical solution is applied for engineering services as electricity, gas, sewage…,
 Rectification can be applied e.g. for railway tracks, pipelines
4. MANAGEMENT OF SANITARY LANDFILL;
 Ground water contamination
 Effects on soils and plant growth
 Toxicity to fish and aquatic organisms
Provide mechanisms to obviate or minimize sanitary landfill leachate migration and
allow its collection, monitoring and subsequent treatments by using;
• Flexible Geomembrane Liners &
• Impermeable clay liners
Thank you!!