Expansive Soil Properties in a Semi-Arid Region

The expansive soils in semi-arid regions are of great concern to design and geotechnical engineers. Range and variations of geotechnical properties of soils are very useful for appropriate design. Saudi Arabia; a semi arid region attracted the attention of researchers and practicing engineers over the last three decades following the rapid urbanizations in different parts of the country. Advanced testing equipments were made available for this study. The research group conducted joint visits with high officials from different municipality authorities to survey the problem and study the extent of damage to various structures. The areas visited included Al Ghatt, Al Zulfi, Al Hofuf, Um Al Sahik, Al Qatif, Tabuk, Tayma and Al Qaleeba. Single and two storey buildings, boundary walls, pavements and asphalt roads suffered significant damage in many parts of the visited locations. This paper presents the outcome of survey and a general review of previous works carried out for swelling clays in Saudi Arabia. Engineering properties for typical soil formation are presented.

並列關鍵字

Clay ； cracks ； damage ； expansive soil ； light structures ； Saudi Arabia

國際替代計量

全文下載

主題瀏覽