Fig. Less than 50 percent of these areas are underlain by soils with abundant clays of slight to moderate swelling potential. Mitigation of the swelling phenomena can be attained by using a granular layer separation between the foundation and the swelling clay. Determination of liquid and plastic limit (second revision), IS: 2720 (Part 26)-1987. This is due to the weakness of layer liaisons. Master's thesis (College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University, USA). New Delhi: BIS. Building and Road Research Institute. While soils with larger particles, like gravels or even sands, have voids large enough to allow water to drain, expansive soils contain small particles that can retain high amounts of water content. Skempton, A. W. (1953). A threshold value of the ratio Cc/Cs was identified to distinguish between expansive clay specimens and non-expansive clay specimens. [1] Soils with a high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; such soils are called vertisols. Figure 4 illustrates the occurrence of soil cracking in an expansive clay. NSE Technical Transactions 32(4):6576, Osula DOA (1991) lime modification of problem laterite. A displacement sensor enables the recording of the evolution of swelling pressure (Figure 12). Waals attraction on a water film that is mainly applicable for non-expansive soils with SSA < 150 m2=g. TABLE I. All rights reserved. Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). Beyond optimum content the strength was found to decrease for all cases. FIGURE 11. 2nd Edition. Since 1994 Mintek Resources, Inc. has provided solutions to the Environmental, Construction, Agricultural, Oil & Gas, Waste Water Treatment, Industrial markets & more. S1 expansive clay characteristics. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Al-Busoda, B. S., Abid Awn, S. H., and Obaid, H. (2017). FIGURE 1. Landscape architects can design and build on sites with expansive soil if they get the right information and engineering guidance. Clay and Marl Formation Susceptibility in Mila Province, Algeria. Expansive soils can shrink so much after swelling that deep, wide cracks are able to develop after drying and contracting. Expansive soil is a kind of soil as opposed to a condition that can be caused in soil. Plaisted, M. D., and Zornberg, J. G. (2011). There is, then, a brief bibliographic review of the damage occasioned by expansive soils, with proposed methods for their classification and methods of mitigation of the swelling phenomena. FIGURE 2. Expansive soils as used in . Second, a novel mitigation method of the swelling phenomena was validated by performing oedometer tests on expansive clay specimens preceding the measurement of swelling pressure. (A) An expansive clay sample. Whilst, in the warm season, the expansive soil shrinks, then fissures appear (Figures 3A,B) which will be filled by dust or also by plants growing in it. This continuous cycle of wet to dry soil keeps the soil in perpetual motion causing structures built on this soil to sink or rise unevenly, often requiring foundation repair. Of course, some conditions are required to cause expansion and contraction and certain conditions can exacerbate these processes and put extra strain on your property. Expansive soils alsoshrink, compress when they dry out. (A) Sand and an expansive soil S1 inside the oedometer ring. Expert Answer 100% (2 ratings) Swelling or expansive clays increase in volume, while loessial collapsing soils decrease in volume when theirmoisture content increases under constant applied stress. Holtz, R. D., Kovacs, W. D., and Sheahan, T. C. (2011). Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests were carried out for different curing periods of 0, 3, 7, 21 and 28days. The name chlorite comes from the Greek word for green, its typical color. *Note - Expansive soils are known to expand to 10% or more (and this is not uncommon). (B) A composite sample: 53% of expansive clay and 47% of granular material. 8:836277. doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2022.836277. These include: smectite, bentonite, montmorillonite, In: Proceedings of 6th regional conference Africa on Soil mechanics and foundation engineering, Durban, South Africa, Osinubi KJ, Katte VY (1997) Effect of elapsed time after mixing on grain size and plasticity characteristic, I: soil-lime mixe. (B). Non-expansive clays do exist, however. Beyond optimum content the strength was found to decrease for all cases. A deeper look at expansive soils shows that they are typically made up of more than one third fine-grained clay and at least half of that clay is capable of expanding. As an adverb cheap is cheaply. *Correspondence: Mounir Bouassida, mounir.bouassida@enit.utm.tn, Characterization of expansive soils and mitigation of swelling phenomena, View all Expansive soils can cause considerable damage to civil engineering structures and foundations. Part of Springer Nature. that will expand with changes in temperature. An explanation of such behaviour might be the friction resistance induced between the sand particles. The study focusses on comparative analysis of mechanical properties of Bentonite (expansive soil) and Kaolinite (non-expansive soil) treated with Lime and Rice Husk Ash (RHA). Compression index (Cc) and the swelling index (Cs) are determined from an oedometer test during which the tested soil specimen is permanently submerged, hence full saturation condition applies for the tested soil specimen during loading and unloading steps. Due to the externally applied stress and the capillary tension in the soil water, an equilibrium can be reached in the internal electrochemical system (Sahin, 2011). Hence, the Tunisian Ministry of Equipment, building and infrastructures have made it a priority of special attention when designing foundations on expansive clays. Determination of liquid and plastic limit (second revision), IS: 2720 (Part 26)-1987. Another example of a non-swelling clay mineral is chlorite. Expansive clays have an expanding crystal lattice in a 2:1 ratio; however, there are 2:1 non-expansive clays. New York: Elsevier Publisher B.V. Chen, F. H. (1965). Another very common sign of expansive soil heave is cracking and lifting of the floor slab of a two-car garage. Lahmadi, A., Titoum, M., and Bakir, N. (2013). This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. Innov. Why? It indicates the capacity of the soil. (2015). From current oedometer test results carried out on expansive and non-expansive clays, the ratio of compression index (Cc) by the swelling index (Cs) was determined. FIGURE 5. Characterization of Expansive Soil for Retaining wall Design. The mitigation solution reduced the swelling effect by placing a compacted granular layer as an interface between the expansive clay and the foundation. Clay particles are plate-shaped, having a negative charge on their surface in presence of the interstitial water solution and water molecules. Swelling Behavior of Soils, in Proceedings of the Golden Jubilee Indian Geotechnical Conference, Kochi, 229232. Advances in Computer Methods and Geomechanics pp 553563Cite as, Part of the Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering book series (LNCE,volume 55). To take full and optimal advantage of the ideal Smart Cities, improvements are required to mitigate or adapt to this type of soil. (B) Free swellTime curve of case 2 (47% Sand +47% S1) under 0.25kPa. TABLE 2. How To Identify Expansive Soils. Found. Two cored specimens extracted at ENIT, Tunis El Manar University, Tunisia. Bouassida, M., Ben Ouezdou, M., and Trabelsi, H. (2006). To prevent the occurrence of the swelling phenomenon, the peripheral drainage trench revealed a suitable method to control water evacuation away from structural elements in contact with these problematic clays. Then, in colder areas of the great USA, frost can expand water by a whopping 9%! (2017). - 45.55.186.116. Inexpensive adjective. Cas pathologiques de deux btiments lENIT. When adding water to expansive clays, their molecules are drawn into the space between the clay particles (Figure 2). remains constant. When they take on water, they increase in volume. Expansive soils have to be considered during the engineering process before construction of buildings, pavements, electrical pylons, pipelines, or other projects can begin. Boscardin and Cording (1989) proposed a classification based on structural damages, more precisely on the width of cracks. Tuesday, January 23, 2018 An Overview Expansive soils, also known as soils with high shrink-swell potential, are common in various geographic regions, especially the central portion of North America. is that extensive is in the nature of an extent, wide, widespread while expansive is able to be expanded. Res. Every year they cause billions of dollars in damage. Even though irrigation is expensive, the cost is small compared to repairing a cracked foundation. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Photo. J. Geotech. 28 (6), 805813. (2019). Testing of Expansive Clays in a Centrifuge Permeameter, in Pan-Am CGS Geotechnical Conference. Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Department of Transportation. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Holtz, W. G., and Gibbs, H. J. Expansive soils will also shrink when they dry out. Journal of Research and Reviews in applied Science 1:209217, Dash SK, Hussain M (2012) Lime Stabilization of Soils: Reappraisal. The addition of mixed material in the form of Bledug Kuwu mud with a percentage of 5%, 10% and 15% and vermiculite of 4% for all variants reduced the PI value. of expansive soils can be found in all of the soil categories shown on this In: Proceedings of 6th regional conference Africa on Soil mechanics and foundation engineering, Durban, South Africa, Osinubi KJ, Katte VY (1997) Effect of elapsed time after mixing on grain size and plasticity characteristic, I: soil-lime mixe. 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. Taki, K., Bhattacharya, P. (2020). Table 1 details those data as determined from oedometer tests preceded by the measurement of the swell pressure. Summary of shrink-swell phenomenon. Kaling Taki . J Eng Geol 42(1996):223237, CrossRef Meanwhile, there is a high probability of cracks appearance in the soil. Whilst when the Cc/Cs<10, one should consider calculating the swelling pressure. FIGURE 7. Proc. Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering. Mater. Expansive soils are present throughout the world and are known in every US state. During time, the swelling rate decreases; in fact, in the intervals time (0; 2000s); (2000; 4,500s); (4,500; 5,000s); (5,000; 6,000s), the swelling rates are equal to 22.4nm/s, 38.5nm/s, 17.1nm/s, 36nm/s and 15nm/s, respectively. FIGURE 3. TABLE 1. Every year they cause billions of dollars in damage. Building damage: Note displaced bricks and inward deflection of foundation. Hobart king, "Expansive Soil and Expansive Clay: The hidden force behind basement and foundation problems". Much of the world has at least some documentation of expansive soils. Cement and Lime Stabilization of Compacted Expansive Clay, in Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering ICGE13, Tunisia, 369377. 115 (1), 121. First, the article suggests a new approach for characterizing expansive soils from oedometer test results and, second, the mitigation of swelling phenomenon by using a granular material, as an interface tested in a laboratory, for reducing the swelling pressure on foundations. The first type of characterization considers the knowledge of expansive soils mineralogy, such as X-ray diffraction analysis (Athmania et al., 2010) or differential thermal analysis, dye adsorption, chemical analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Expansive Soils are soils that have the ability to shrink and/or swell, and thus change in volume, in relation to changes in their moisture content. The result of expansive soils could be settling, cracked, sloped or deflected foundations, displaced bricks, cracked asphalt or concrete roads, driveways and sidewalks or cracks in floors, walls or ceilings. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. J Eng Geol 17(27):139140, Fattah MY, Rahil FH, Al-Soudany KYH (2013) Improvement of clayey soil using rice husk ash. J Geotech Test 28(3):240246, Greaves HM (1996) An introduction to lime stabilization. Not expensive; cheap. Int J Earth Sci Eng 4(6):4245, Al-Mukhtar M, Khattab S, Alcover JF (2012) Microstructure and geotechnical properties of limetreated expansive clayey soil. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Common Methods of Hazardous Waste Disposal The proper management of hazardous waste, including What is an Expansive (Shrink-Swell) Soil? Damages in retaining walls at the National Engineering School of Tunis (Manigniavy, 2021). Use of Liquid Limit for Characterisation of Expansive Soil Sites. The linear shrinkage test was conducted on elongated clayey soil samples to measure shrinkage deformation when the samples were placed in a brass mould and dried in an oven for 24 hours at a . Nelson, J. D., Chao, K. C., Overton, D. D., and Nelson, E. J. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Geology for Engineers and Environmental Scientists. The chemical composition of its inner layers prevents water from entering its structure. This water movement generates pressure and, consequently, induces the swelling of the clay (Sahin, 2011). Learn more about our Innovation Center. Second, the drainage role is facilitated by the high permeability of the granular material. Expansive soils are those which are made of certain kinds of earth. Click to Enlarge. Expansive Soils and Practice in Foundation Engineering, in Louisiana Transportation Conference, Baton Rouge. 3 Articles, Proceeding of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company Inc, Concluding Proceedings Engineering Effects of Moisture Change in Soils, International Research and Engineering Conference on Expansive Clay Soils. Since expansive soils are present in all 50 states, it is not possible to simply avoid expansive soils. In contrast, the title of emperor is usually conferred by way of hereditary succession, though in some . This swelling difference may be . The swelling phenomenon of soil occurs progressively and depends on the soil saturation and its clay structure (Medjnoun et al., 2014). For lightweight aggregate product, see. Station, Vicksburg, MS. Report No. A Quarter Century of Geotechnical Research - Chapter 4: Soil and Rock Behavior. 4th Indian reprint, Pearson Education, Delhi, Fang HY (1991) Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold Publishing Company, Ola SA (1975) Stabilization of Nigeria lateritic soils with cement, bitumen and lime. 1 (1). 586, 012012. doi:10.1088/1757-899x/586/1/012012, Sridharan, A., and Prakash, K. (2016). T. Am. Cracked foundations, floors, and basement walls are typical types of damage done by swelling soils. Less than 50% of these areas are underlain by soils with clays of high swelling potential. Mahamedi, A., and Khemissa, M. (2013). To analyze the effect of the granular for mitigating the swelling pressure, two oedometer tests were performed on a pure clay specimen. When cations migrate, the interlayer is shifted because of the weak liaisons between the clay particles (Figure 2B). The usefulness fluctuations occur) is small and where a suitable replacement material is available. Influence of Soil Suction on Swelling Pressure of Bentonite-Sand Mixtures. The oedometer cell is filled to ensure saturation and to compensate for the amount of absorbed water. Three (03) main factors control the triggering of swelling phenomenon and related damages on structures (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981): the presence of montmorillonite, with natural water content close to the soils plastic limit, and a water source near a potential expansive soil. J Mater Civil Eng 19(3):242248, Neville AM, Brooks JJ (2004) Concrete technology. Is sand an expansive soil? Required fields are marked *. Illite is also a non-expansive clay that is often used in ceramics. When treating soils with a lime-based reagent, the potential of the shrink / swell cycle is reduced, extending the life span of your pavement or building structure. map. Well, the answer has to do, at least to some degree, with the topic of expansive soils. (1956). Moving soil exerts tremendous pressure on paving, footings, and foundations. (Check out our5 Types of Residential Foundations Popular in America: A Brief Foundational Overview. The second factor overcoming the swelling behaviour is the migration of cations. Expansive soils shrink and swell in response to soil moisture levels. J. in expansive soil as is illustrated in Fig. After fitting, non-soil pixels (marked in a . Expansive soil or clay is considered to be one of the more problematic soils and it causes damage to various civil engineering structures because of its swelling and shrinking potential when it comes into contact with water. Sci. The Use of Piers to Prevent the Uplifting of Lightly Loaded Structure Founded on Expansive Soil, in Concluding Proceedings Engineering Effects of Moisture Change in Soils, International Research and Engineering Conference on Expansive Clay Soils. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 1/4 of all homes in the United States have some damage caused by expansive soils. Have you ever wondered why the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans? Inexpensive. (2019). Expansion and contraction with changes in moisture content limit expansive soils engineering uses without some sort of modification. As adjectives the difference between inexpensive and cheap is that inexpensive is low in price while cheap is low and/or reduced in price. Elarabi, H. (2010). Some expansive minerals present in soils can expand as much as 30 percent! Justin joins the Dalinghaus Construction family with a significant background in logistics and project management. Advances in Computer Methods and Geomechanics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0886-8_45, Shipping restrictions may apply, check to see if you are impacted, Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. In the three last decades, the repair of several constructions was affected by extreme damage attributed to the swelling phenomena (Bouassida et al., 2006). Therefore, the suggested method of classification is applicable both for expansive and non-expansive soils. Second, the implementation of a scaled test model might lead to a better assessment of the use of a granular layer to mitigate the swelling effect. on Lime Stabilization, Thomas Telford, London, pp 512, IS: 2720 (Part 10)-1973. See our article: Homeowners Insurance and Geologic Hazards. Waterproof barriers, proper surface grading and other water flow controls such as rain gutters and French drains can be used to control water penetration. Such a decision needs a research program that aims to characterize expansive clays suitably and to formulate countermeasures and construction methods to help civil engineers by conducting safe designs and for the execution of foundations on this problematic type of soil. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IIT Kharagpur. Cc:Compression index; Cs: Swelling index; : unit mass; : stress; f: final applied stress level; s: swelling pressure; :deformation; l: thickness of the expansive clay; l: upward swelling displacement; HG: thickness of granular material layer; HS: thickness of expansive clay layer; D: dimension; ENIT: National Engineering School of Tunis; UTM: University of Tunis El Manar. Data insufficient to indicate the clay content or the swelling potential of soils. The cost of repairing these damages is quite high (Osman and Charlie, 1983; Nuhfer, 1994; Azam et al., 2013). It is both common and growing in incidence. Simply put, expansive soils contract and are very hard when dry, then expand and are sticky when wet. Experimental Study on the Swelling Behavior of Expansive Soil Reinforced with Coir Geotextile, in Proceedings of the Indian Geotechnical Conference 2019: IGC 2019, Volume 4. doi:10.1007/978-981-33-6564_11. Chen, F. H. (1975). Indian Standard IS:1498 (1970). (archaic) Not expensive; inexpensive. Expansive soils swell when exposed to large amounts of water and shrink when the water evaporates. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall, 590. Foundations on Expansive Soils. Copyright 2022 Bouassida, Manigniavy, Azaiez and Bouassida. CE32 No.3. Two cored samples, noted S1 and S2 (Figure 10; Table 4), have been extracted at the site of the National Engineering School of Tunis at a depth of 0.6 m (Figures 3A,B). In: Prashant, A., Sachan, A., Desai, C. (eds) Advances in Computer Methods and Geomechanics . Expansive soils are having inherent property of shrinking when it is dried and swelling when water is absorbed. While many types of clays expand when they come in contact with water, not all do. Deformation in case 1: (1) = l(1) / l(1) = 0.54 / 19 = 0.028. Tiwari, N., Saytam, N., and Patva, J. doi:10.1061/taceat.0007325. University of Khartoum, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Proceedings of the Indian Geotechnical Conference 2019: IGC 2019, Volume 4, This article is part of the Research Topic, https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.836277. It is not meant to be used as a property evaluation tool. An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering. This shrinkage canremovestructural support from a home or structure and result in damaging subsidence. The plumb-bob reveals 9 inches of inward displacement. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs. Kim, H-K., Shin, H., and Kang, Y-T. (2013). Symp. The majority of the time, the expansive soil is going to put undue stress on your foundation, whether it be slab on grade, raised, basement, post-tension, or pier & beam. CP.3/83. Civan, F. (2016). Other key factors include initial water content, void ratio, plasticity index and density. The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. Documented evidence of the existence of and difficult engineering problems associated with expansive clays and loessial soils is world-wide. Expansive soils are comprised primarily of minerals (incredibly fine particles) with little to no organic material and are thus incredibly viscous, proving difficult to drain. Eng. Documented evidence of the existence of and difficult engineering problems associat View the full answer Previous question Next question (A) Free swellTime curve of case 1 (only expansive clay) under 0.25kPa. When they take on water, they increase in volume. Shrinking-swelling of clay under the Effect of Hydric Cycles. Expansive soils behave differently from other normal soils due to their tendency to swell and shrink. In this study, two distinct oedometer tests are proposed: only with expansive clay sample (Figure 9A), with expansive clays sample plus a granular layer (Figure 9B). In case of Lime the reduction in strength may be due to formation of the silica gel or excess Lime content beyond the optimum content may act as a lubricating agent between two-soil particle and reducing the shear resistance. BM: principal investigator; S.A. Manigniavy: PhD fellow D. Azaiez: Ph D fellow Y. Bouassida: co supervisor of PhD fellow. Expansive clay is a clay soil that is prone to large volume changes (swelling and shrinking) that are directly related to changes in water content. Over 50% of these areas are underlain by soils with abundant clays of high swelling potential. The more water they absorb, the more their volume increases. Swelling or expansive clays increase in volume, while loessial collapsing soils decrease in volume when theirmoisture content increases under constant applied stress. The liquid limit and plastic limits were determined as per IS: 2720 (part 5)-1985 [].The pH for both the soils provided in Table 1 has been found out as per IS: 2720 (part 26)-1987 [].The plasticity index is accounted as the numerical difference between . The properties for the two types of soils have been given in Table 1. Expansive soils have the ability to drastically swell based on the amount of expansive minerals and moisture that is present in the soil. However, a number of clay minerals are expansive. Annual damages associated with expansive soils regularly cost property owners more than tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes combined! This method of characterization is in accordance with Chen (1988) who stated the swell potential is low when the swell pressure is lower than 50kPa. The swelling phenomenon in expansive clays is complex and arises from an electrochemical process. The gap between those existing approaches appears in the absence of comparison between those methods. Expansive soils behave differently from other normal soils due to their tendency to swell and shrink. Herrin M, Mitchell H (1961) Lime-soil mixtures. moisture content changes. The molecules of water are polar, and are attracted to the surface of the clay particles. (2021), the high cost associated with maintenance and repairing is comparable to other sources of damage (subsidence, inadmissible settlement, etc). Expansive soil is generally a clay that is inherently susceptible to swelling and shrinking due to its chemical composition. This change in volume is not stable, resulting in pressure that can be detrimental to construction projects. NSE Technical Transactions 32(4):6576, Osula DOA (1991) lime modification of problem laterite. In most areas, where soils are produced "in situ," this method of assignment was reasonable. When using expansive soils as a part of your sub-base, for example under a road or building pad, it is imperative that you modify the soil in order to substantially reduce the shrink /swell potential, therefore giving your base a longer life span. Even though expansive soils cause enormous amounts of damage, most people have never heard of them. Keywords: expansive clay, characterization, granular material, swelling pressure, mitigation, oedometer test, compression index, swelling index, Citation: Bouassida M, Manigniavy SA, Azaiez D and Bouassida Y (2022) New Approach for Characterization and Mitigation of the Swelling Phenomenon. In this regard, several contributions have been published (Hussain and Dash, 2011; Plaisted and Zornberg, 2011; Gueddouda et al., 2013; Aniculaesi and Lungu, 2019).