2014/04/04

University of Pretoria
GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND
MATERIALS
SGM210
22 April 2014

COLLAPSIBLESOILS

ThankstoMr KenSchwartz

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COLLAPSIBLESOILS
Soilthatcanwithstandrelativelylarge
imposedstresseswithsmallsettlementsat
lowinsitumoisturecontent.
Exhibitsadecreaseinvolumeandassociated
settlementwithnoincreaseinappliedstressif
wettingupoccurs
Thechangeinvolumeisassociatedwith
changeinsoilstructure

COLLAPSESETTLEMENT

Additionalsettlementthatoccursduetothe
wettingupofapartiallysaturatedsoilwhich
hasacollapsiblefabric

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COLLAPSE SETTLEMENT

Thebasicconceptofadditionalsettlementduetocollapseofsoilfabric

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CONDITIONSFORCOLLAPSETOOCCUR
1. Thesoilmusthaveacollapsiblefabric.
Mayoccurinanyopentexturedsilty orsandysoilwithalowdensity.
Transportedsoils
Quartzrichrockssuchasgranite orfelspathic sandstone have
undergonechemicalweatheringtoproduceleachedresidualsoils.

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CONDITIONSFORCOLLAPSETOOCCUR

2.Thesoilmustbepartiallysaturated
Criticalvalueofdegreeofsaturationabove
whichcollapsewillnotoccur
Collapsesettlementwillnotoccurinsoils
whicharebelowthewatertable

CONDITIONSFORCOLLAPSETOOCCUR

3.Theremustbeanincreaseinmoisture
content.
Thisisthemaintriggeringmechanism.

Rateofcollapseisdependentonrateof
increaseinmoisturecontent

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CONDITIONSFORCOLLAPSETOOCCUR
4.Theincreaseinappliedstressmustbegreaterthan
theoverburdenpressure.

Becausethenaturalgroundwasstable
regardlessoftheinsitumoisturecontent
Maynotbetrueinaridareaswhichhardly
evergetrain.

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BUILDINGS
Collapsesettlementcantakeplacemanyyears
afterconstruction.
Settlementoflargemagnitudecanoccureven
underlightlyloadedstructures.
Collapsesettlementisgenerallylocalized
(differentialsettlement)

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ROADS,AIRFIELDS,RAILWAYS
Collapseofsubgrade
Vibration(dynamicforces)maybesufficientto
causecollapse
Negativebulkingfactorincuttofill

Low density = danger

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EARTHDAMS,RESERVOIRS

EARTHDAMS,RESERVOIRS
Constructionproblemsduetonegative
bulking
Leakagethroughthewallduetodamagefrom
collapsesettlement
Overtoppingofthewall

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DISTRIBUTION
Transportedsoils
Soilswhichhavebeenmovedbyanatural
agency(water,wind,gravity).
Residualsoils
Soilsdevelopedbyweatheringprocesses

TRANSPORTEDSOILS
Hillwash
Soilsofmixedorigin
Aeolian
Gulleywash

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RESIDUALSOILS
N.B. GRANITESOFTHEBASEMENTCOMPLEX
Johannesburg/Pretoriagraniteinlier

Tzaneen
WhiteRiver
Nelspruit
Mbabane

OTHERRESIDUALSOILS
Rustenburg

Very loose silty fine sand

Witbank

Silty sand

Limpopo Province

Deeply weathered layer of

clayey silt with a low density

Stellenbosch
Constantia

Clayey silt with a low density

Cape Granite Suite

Residual sandstone

Mpumalanga

Silty sand

Gauteng
West Rand

Loose clayey ad sandy silt with a

low density
Heave/collapse behaviour

Kwazulu Natal coast

Mozambique coast

Red or orange silty sand

Residual quartzite
Magaliesburg quartzite
Pretoria Group.

Residual felsite
Rooiberg Group
Bushveld Complex

Residual basalt
Soutpansberg Group

Residual granite

Ecca Group
Karoo Sequence

Residual Diabase
Sill intrusive into shale of the
Pretoria Group

Residual Calcarenite
Berea Formation

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POTENTIALLYCOLLAPSIBLEUNLESSPROVEN
OTHERWISE

HILLWASH
AEOLIAN
SOILSOFMIXEDORIGIN
RESIDUALGRANITE
BEREARED

FIELDIDENTIFICATION
Correctinterpretationofthesoilprofile
Moisturecontent
Looseoropenfabric
Origin
Crackinganddistortionofexistingbuildings

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LABORATORYTESTING
Indexpropertytests
Thedoubleoedometertest
Thesingleoedometertest
Thecollapsepotentialtest.

DOUBLEOEDOMETERTEST
Thenormallyconsolidatedcase

Outside scope of course

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DOUBLEOEDOMETERTEST
Theoverconsolidatedcase

Outside scope of course

THESINGLEOEDOMETERTEST

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THECOLLAPSEPOTENTIALTEST

THECOLLAPSEPOTENTIALTEST
(howbigisyourproblem?)
Collapse potential

Severity of the problem

0% to 1%

No problem

1% to 5%

Moderate trouble

5% to 10%

Trouble

10% to 20%

Severe trouble

>20%

Very severe trouble

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INSITUTESTS
Directmeasurementofcollapse
Anymeasurementofsoilstiffnessneedsto
provideacomparisonofstiffnessatinsitu
moisturecontentandinasaturatedcondition:
Platebearingtest

PLATEBEARINGTEST

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PLATEBEARINGTESTRESULT

INSITUTESTS
Indirectmeasurementofthepotentialof
collapse:
Measurementofinsitudensity
Thelowerthedensity,thehigherthepotential
collapse

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ENGINEERINGSOLUTIONS
(whatcanwedoman?)
Precludethetriggeringmechanism
Designforcollapsesettlement
Piledandpierfoundations
Improvementbydensification

DESIGNFORCOLLAPSE

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PILEDANDPIERFOUNDATIONS
Transferloadsthrough thecollapsiblesoils

Shallowprofile:Piers
Deepprofile:Piles
Negativeskinfriction???(Downdragalongpileshafts
assoilscollapse.)

PILEDANDPIERFOUNDATIONS
Foundingwithin thecollapsiblesoilprofile
Assesstheriskofanincreaseinsoilmoisturecontent
atdepth
Designforthelowermodulusvalueifthereisan
increaseinmoisturecontent.
Theadvantagesofadrivencastinsitupile

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Adrivencastinsitupile

IMPROVEMENTBYDENSIFICATION
Removalandrecompaction

Depth
Degreeofcompaction
Sitecontrol
Sitedrainage

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SURFACEROLLING
IMPACTROLLER

EFFECTOFIMPACTROLLINGONDENSITY

(DENSITY)

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EFFECTOFIMPACTROLLINGPENETROMETERRESULT

SURFACEROLLING
VIBRATINGROLLER
Improvementupto1,1m
Waterrequiredtobreakdownbonds
Ifwaterisnotavailablethenmechanical
breakdownisanalternative

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DYNAMICCOMPACTION

DYNAMICCOMPACTION
INSA

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DYNAMICCOMPACTION
INSA

RAPIDIMPACTCOMPACTION

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OTHERSOLUTIONS
Precollapse
Compactiongrouting
Chemicalgrouting

HOUSES
NHBRC(forinterestonly)
Class

Settlement

Design

<5mm

Normal

C1

5mm to 10mm

Modified normal with low

bearing pressures
Compaction below
individual footings
Soil raft
Deep strip footings

C2

>10mm

Compaction below
individual footings
Soil raft
Deep strip footings
Cellular raft
Piled or pier foundations

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STATEOFTHEART
THETOOLSAREAVALIABLE
Identifycollapsiblesoils
Predictthebehaviour
Providesolutions

PROBLEMSSTILLOCCUR!!!!
Butwhy?
Constructionwascarriedoutbeforethe
collapsephenomenonwasidentified
Nogeotechnicalinvestigationwascarriedout
Theinvestigationdidnotcorrectlyidentify
potentiallycollapsiblesoils
Therecommendationsgivenhavebeen
ignored

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