SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMATIC SOILS

Rama Subbarao G.V. Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering, Va es!aram" #$$#%$, Guntur District, &.'. gv(ramasubbarao)re iffmail.com

ABSTRACT: E*pansive soils popularl+ kno!n as ,lack cotton soils in -n ia are highl+ problematic, as
the+ s!ell on imbibition of !ater an shrink on evaporation thereof. ,ecause of this alternate s!ell an shrinkage, istress is cause to the foun ations of structures lai on such soils. E*tensive research is going on to fin the solutions to black cotton soils .he present paper consists of innovative solutions along !ith conventional foun ation practices to counteract the ual problem of s!elling an shrinkage pose b+ e*pansive soils.

1 INTRODUCTION
S!elling soils of -n ia are commonl+ kno!n as black cotton soils, because of their color an their suitabilit+ for gro!ing cotton. E*pansive soil, commonl+ kno!n as black cotton soil, is one of the ma/or regional eposits in -n ia, covering an area of about 0.% lakh s1.km. E*pansive soils are problematic soils because of their inherent potential to un ergo volume changes correspon ing to changes in the moisture regime. 2hen the+ imbibe !ater uring monsoon, the+ e*pan an on evaporation there of in summer, the+ shrink. ,ecause of this alternate s!elling an shrinkage, structures foun e on them are severall+ amage . -n -n ia, black cotton soils have li1ui limit values ranging from #% to 3%%4, plasticit+ in e* ranging from $% to 5#4 an shrinkage limit from 6 to 374. .he amount of s!ell generall+ increases !ith increase in the plasticit+ in e*. .he s!elling potential epen s on the t+pe of cla+ mineral, cr+stal lattice structure, cation e*change capacit+, abilit+ of !ater absorption, ensit+ an !ater content. S!ell in the vertical irection is calle heave. &mong the illite, kaolinite an montmorillinite cla+ minerals, the montmorillinite possesses the greatest abilit+ to s!ell b+ illite. .he Kaolinite oes not s!ell. ,lack cotton soils are ver+ har in r+ state an possess high bearing capacit+. -n summer, it is ver+ common to see shrinkage cracks !ith he*agonal columnar structure, !ith vertical cracks as !i e as 3%mm e*ten ing up to a epth of 0m or more.

2 PROBLEMS WITH EXPANSIVE SOILS

.he problem is more in case of light structures, !hich cannot counteract the up!ar thrust. Roa s that pass through e*pansive soil sub"gra e are sub/ecte to heaving an shrinkage settlement of these treacherous soils. ,oth the line an unline canals are sub/ecte to the vagaries of e*pansive soils. .he unline canal slopes ero e an become soft. Canal be s heave up obstructing the functioning of the canal. .he concrete linings splinter like glass pieces on account of eleterious c+clic movement of backgroun s!elling cla+. .his results in seepage losses.

Fig.1 Crack i! "#$"ri%r &a'' ( a a r" )'$ %* )+&ar, %i' "#+a! i%!

Fig. 2 Ma2%r crack i! "#$"ri%r &a'' a$ ,%%r a!, &i!,%&

- SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMATIC SOILS

.he follo!ing conventional foun ation practices an problematic soils. innovative techni1ues can give solutions to

-.1 S)."#ca/a$i!g %r R"+'aci!g $0" E#+a! i/" S%i' .1 C) 0i%! -n this techni1ue, the e*pansive soil is replace either in part or full !ith a material that oesn8t un ergo s!ell. .he loa of the cushion provi es the loa necessar+ to counter heave.

C) 0i%!

E#+a! i/" S%i'

Fig. - S)."#ca/a$i!g %r R"+'aci!g $0" E#+a! i/" S%i' .1 C) 0i%!

-.1.1 Sa!, C) 0i%! M"$0%, Sat+anara+ana 93656: has suggeste that the entire epth of the e*pansive soil stratum or a part there of ma+ be remove an replace !ith a san cushion, compacte to the esire ensit+ an thickness. S!elling pressure varies inversel+ as the thickness of the san la+er an irectl+ as its ensit+. .herefore, generall+ san cushions are forme in their loosest possible state !ithout, ho!ever, violating the bearing capacit+ criterion. .he basic a vantage of the san cushion metho is its abilit+ to a apt itself to volume changes in the soil. ;o!ever, the san cushion metho has several limitations particularl+ !hen it is a opte in eep strata. <ost of the foun ation engineers often suggest some arbitrar+ thickness for the san cushion !ithout consi eration to the epth of the =one of potential volume change !hich itself is ifficult to etermine. .he high permeabilit+ of san creates con itions con ucive to eas+ ingress an accumulation of !ater from surface runoff. -.1.2 CNS La1"r M"$0%, Replacement b+ soils !ith relativel+ impervious material ma+, to a great e*tent offset the isa vantages of san cushion metho . Katti 936>?: has evelope a techni1ue !here b+ removal of about 3m of e*pansive soil an replacement b+ cohesive non"s!elling soils 9C@S: la+er beneath foun ations has +iel e satisfactor+ results. Katti has successfull+ a opte it for prevention of heave an resultant cracking of canal be s an linings an recommen s it for use in foun ations of resi ential buil ings also. &ccor ing to Katti cohesive forces of significant magnitu e are evelope !ith epth in an e*pansive soil s+stem uring saturation !hich is responsible for re ucing heave an counteracting s!elling pressure. .he behaviour is mainl+ attribute to the influence of electrical charges present on the surface of cla+ particles on the ipolar nature of !ater molecules, pro ucing absorbe !ater bon s that give rise to cohesion. <oorum is a t+pical e*ample of C@S material. .he cohesive bon s evelop aroun the particles at a faster rate than the ingress of !ater molecules into the interla+er of the e*pan ing lattices of montmorillinite, thereb+ re ucing heave. .he heave of e*pansive soil un erl+ing a C@S la+er re uces e*ponentiall+ !ith increase in thickness of the C@S la+er an attains a value of no heave aroun a epth of 3.%m..he shear strength of the un erl+ing e*pansive soil at the interface an belo! increases !ith the thickness of C@S la+er. .he ultimate bearing capacit+ after saturation at the interface an 3m belo! interface have been foun to increase compare !ith the value of e*pansive soil in !inter. .hus the e*pansive soil shoul be e*cavate up to a epth a epth of 3m belo! the footing level an replace !ith C@S la+er, compacte to mo ifie &&S;A specifications, pro/ecting up to 3m be+on the foun ations. ;o!ever, stu ies con ucte later 9Subba Rao et al., 366#: in icate that C@S Cushion !as effective in arresting heave onl+ uring the first c+cle of seasonal moisture fluctuations an , uring the subse1uent c+cles, the heave ma+ be more than that recor e b+ a black cotton soil !ithout cushion. ,esi es, soils conforming to the specifications suggeste b+ Katti 936>?: for suitabilit+ as C@S material is har to fin . -.1.- F'1 A 0 C) 0i%! Each one of the above metho s has one limitation or the other, in terms of its efficac+ or econom+. .he stu ies have been carrie out using fl+ ash as a cushioning material 9Sree Ramarao et al., $%%#:. Developments of cohesive bon s in a lime"stabili=e fl+ ash cushion, !hen stabili=e !ith lime, is e*pecte to pro uce an environment similar to the one obtaine in C@S material follo!ing saturation an conse1uentl+ arrest heave. .he results of the stu + sho!e a ne! solution to the problem heave of e*pansive soil in the form of BCl+ ash cushion metho D. -t also solves the problem of fl+ ash utili=ation an isposal to some e*tent. -f at a site containing black cotton soil, the epth of the active =one is 0m, it !oul be sufficient if 3.#m of e*pansive cla+ is remove an replace !ith fl+ ash cushion to get the heave re uce significantl+. 2ith the superstructure loa causing further re uction of heave, the amount of sub" e*cavation an replacement !ith lime stabili=e fl+ ash cushion can be further re uce .

-.2 D""+ F%)!,a$i%! T"c0!i3)" -n this case, the foun ation is ma e to rest at some epth b+ passing the soil in the active =one, i.e. the =one !ithin !hich volume changes in the soil occur ue to seasonal moisture changes. -.2.1 U!,"r4R"a5", Pi'" En er"reame bore piles !ere intro uce in -n ia b+ Central ,uil ing Research -nstitute 9C.,.R.-:, Roorkee. -n -n ia, at about 0.#m belo! the groun , movements are negligible an if foun ations are anchore at that epth, the+ !ill remain stable. ,ase on this principle, un er"reame piles 9Sharma et al, 36>?: !ere a opte for foun ations in e*pansive soils in -n ia. .he bulbs are provi e generall+ in the inactive =one !here sufficient anchorage is available. .he iameter of the stem of the un er"reame pile ranges from $%"#%cms an the iameter of the bulb is normall+ $ F times the iameter of the stem. .he spacing of the bulbs, in the case of multi un er"reame pile, shoul not e*cee 3 F times the bulb iameter. .he ,ureau of -n ian Stan ar s has also brought a co e -S $633G 'art ---"36?% on un er"reamme piles. -.2.2 6ra!)'ar Pi'"4A!c0%r F%)!,a$i%! 76PAF8 S1 $"5 ,abushanker et al 936?%: have observe that un er"reame pile foun ations suffer from the ifficult+ of both formation upon !hich the !hole mechanism of anchoring epen s. 'hanikumar et al 93665: felt that the cost of un er"reame pile foun ation is more than affor able for mass"housing particularl+ for economicall+ !eaker sections an also for other light structures !here the cost of structure itself is ver+ lo!. -n this techni1ue the foun ation is anchore at the bottom a granular pile to mil steel anchor plate !ith the help of a mil steel anchor ro . .his is calle a granular pile"anchor. &s the granular pile is a particulate me ium, it cannot resist the tensile uplift force on the foun ation, an as such nee s to be mo ifie into a pile"anchor b+ the above mechanism. &s the e*pansive soil absorbs !ater, it s!ells an uplifts the foun ation. ,ut, an enormous resistance to uplift is mobili=e along the c+lin rical pileHsoil interface because of the shear parameters of the 'ile"soil -nterface, an the shear resistance augmente b+ the lateral s!elling pressure. <o el tests con ucte in the laborator+ reveale that heave an s!ell potential are enormousl+ re uce b+ the installation of granular pile anchors. .he 4 re uction !as about 6% to 6#. -t has also been observe that the strength characteristics of the ambient soil surroun ing the granular pile"anchor sho!e a large improvement an that the composite groun sho!e improve bearing capacit+. G'&C also counteracts the problem of shrinkage acting as a storage me ium.

Fig. - U!,"r4R"a55", Pi'" F%)!,a$i%!

Fig. : 6ra!)'ar Pi'"4A!c0%r F%)!,a$i%! S1 $"5

-.- C0"5ica' S$a.i'i9a$i%! Chemical stabili=ation of e*pansive soils can be a opte to alleviate the problems pose b+ these soils to civil engineering structures. Chemical stabili=ation of e*pansive cla+s consists of changing the ph+sico" chemical aroun an insi e of cla+ particles !here b+ the cla+ re1uires less !ater to satisf+ the static

imbalance an making it ifficult for !ater that moves into an out of the s+stem. .he most common chemical a mi*tures use in soil stabili=ation are lime an cement. Lime stabili=ation has been use successfull+ on ma/or pro/ects to minimi=e s!elling of the e*pansive soil Generall+, 0 to ?4 b+ !eight h+ rate lime is a e to the top several inches of the soil 9Iohn et al:. Lime continues to be !i el+ use a itive for mo ification of e*pansive cla+s in vie! of its cost"effectiveness although its limite success in man+ instances. Lime is sparingl+ soluble in e*change reactions are less. Curther, the lime iffusion into soil either from lime piles or lime slurr+ pressure in/ection is har l+ 0? to #%mm in 3 to 7 +ears unless e*tensive fissure an crack s+stem is present. .he h+ ration of 'ortlan cement is a comple* po==olanic reaction that pro uces a variet+ of ifferent compoun s an gels. .he results of mi*ing cement !ith cla+ soil are similar to that of lime. -t re uces li1ui limit, the plastic in e* an the potential of volume change, it increases the shrinkage limit an shear strength. Cor highl+ plastic cla+ it is not effective like lime in stabili=ation. & ition of $ to 54 cement content can pro uce a soil that acts as a semi rigi slab 9Iohn:. Some investigators have trie an succee e in minimi=ing the s!elling of e*pansive soil using chemicals like calcium chlori e 9CaCl$:, calcium sulfate 9CaSo7:, potassium chlori e 9Kcl:, aluminum chlori e 9&lCl0:, etc. -.: S$a.i'i9a$i%! .1 I!,) $ria' Wa $" Cl+ ash is !aste material pro ucing ue to burning of coal for thermal po!er in ustries. -t is an ha=or ous material causing environmental egra ation. Cl+ ash is a e to soils treate !ith lime to increase the po==olanic reaction an improve the gra ation of granular soils. .he po==olanic activit+ of silt soils has been improve b+ using a lime"fl+ ash ratio of 3G$. Li1ui limit ecreases an plastic limit increases !ith increase in the percentage of fl+ ash. Generall+ the plasticit+ in e* re uces b+ about #%4 !hen $%4 of fl+ ash a e 9Iain et al $%%3:. .he optimum moisture content ecreases an ma*imum r+ unit !eight increase !ith increase in fl+ ash content. 2hen the nonHplastic fl+ ash particles are a e to the e*pansive cla+ the !ater content re1uire for the reorientation of the particles !ill be less 9'an ian et al., $%%7:. .he resistance to particle movement is re uce !ith increase in percentage fl+ ash. .here !ill be consi erable resistance to movement of particles over one another uring the process of compaction !hen cla+ content is more. ;ence more amount of !ater is re1uire for the orientation of the particles an conse1uentl+ for increase in r+ ensit+. & ition of non"plastic fl+ ash materials alters this state of lo! egree of orientation of soil particles. ;ence !ith increase in percent fl+ ash higher r+ unit !eight is attaine b+ the composite soil even at lo! !ater content. Etili=ation of in ustrial !astes like fl+ ash, 1uarr+ ust, silica fume, copper slag, tanner+ slu ge, etc. in the geotechnical engineering fiel !ill solve the problem of isposal of these !astes. E*tensive research is carrie an carr+ing b+ the geotechnical investigators to re uce the s!elling of e*pansive soils b+ using in ustrial !astes. -.; S$a.i'i9a$i%! .1 R"i!*%rc"5"!$ Esing fibers like /ute fabrics, coir ropes, rubber tire chips, !aste plastics, etc can successfull+ stabili=e the e*pansive soils. .he !ork reporte b+ Rai R. &l"Amari an Caris I. ;amo i sho!e the feasibilit+ of using tensile geogri for the purpose of controlling the s!ell of plastic soils. S!elling tests using an enlarge oe ometer reveale promising results. .he reinforcements !ere c+lin rical geogri of var+ing stiffness values embe e in cla+s of ifferent plasticit+ in ices. .he re uction in s!ell increase !ith increasing the geogri stiffness, apparentl+ ue to a strong Jinterference8 bon restricting the relative movement bet!een cla+ an the gri . & footings mo el test confirme the effectiveness of the propose techni1ue.

-.< H%ri9%!$a' M%i $)r" Barri"r ;ori=ontal moisture barriers can be installe aroun buil ings in the form of membranes or paving, both fle*ible an rigi . ;ori=ontal barriers are meant to prevent e*cessive intake of moisture. Consi erable success has been achieve !ith asphaltic membranes"catal+ticall+ blo!n asphalt membranes or prefabricate sheets. &sphalt membranes can be use to cover the surface of e*pansive soils so that non" e*pansive fill can be place on top of the membranes. .his minimi=es infiltration of surface !ater into the un er slab soils. -.= V"r$ica' M%i $)r" Barri"r Vertical moisture barriers using concrete or an+ other impervious material aroun the perimeter of the buil ing, to cut off the source of !ater, can be ver+ useful in minimi=ing seasonal r+ing an shrinkage of the perimeter foun ation soils an also in maintaining long term uniform moisture con itions beneath covere areas. Vertical moisture barriers shoul be provi e to a epth greater than the epth of seasonal moisture changes.

: CONCLUSION
& e1uate geotechnical investigations are in ispensable for the characteri=ation of problematic soils. ,+ evaluating the properties of e*pansive soils accuratel+, it is feasible to choose the proper techni1ue !ith utmost constriction 1ualit+.

REFERENCES
Katti, &.R an Katti, R.K 93665:, B'roce ure for esign an construction of shallo! foun ations in e*pansive cla+e+ soils !ith C@S an <S< technolog+D, Seminar on partially saturated soils and expansive soils, -GS, Kakina a Chapter, pp. # " 37. Katti, R.K. 936>?:, BSearch for solutions for problems in ,lack cotton soilsD, Indian Geotechnical Conference (IGC) -197 , @e! Delhi. 'hani Kumar, ,.R an Sree Ramarao, &. 93665:, BGranular pile anchors in e*pansive soilsD, !roc. "ational Seminar on partially Saturated Soils and #xpansive Soils , -GS Kakina a Chapter, -n ia, pp. 3#" $$. Rai R. &l"Amari an Caris I. ;amo i 93663:, BS!elling Resistant Geogri K& ne! approach for the treatment of e*pansive soilsD, Geotextiles and Geomem$ranes, Volume 3%, -ssue 7, pp. $6#"03> Sat+anara+ana, ,. 93656:, B,ehaviour of e*pansive soil treate or cushione !ith san D, !roceedin%s of &nd "ational Conference on #xpansive soils, 'exas, pp.0%?"035. Sharma, Iain an 'rakash 936>?:, B(and $oo) on *nder-reamed and +ored Compaction !ile ,oundation D, C,R-, Roorke.

Subba Rao, C. an Ghosh.& 9366#:, B<ultifacts of fl+ ash as construction material B, 'rocee ings @ational Conference on Civil Engineering <aterials an Structures, ;+ eraba . Subba Rao, K.S., Siva 'ullaiah '.V. an Gurumurth+, I.V 9366#:, BC+clic s!ell shrink behaviour of C@S cushione e*pansive soil B, 3%th &sian Regional Conference, ,eiging, Vol.3 pp.35#"35?. Sree Ramarao, &. et al. 9$%%0:, BEse of Cement"Stabili=e Cl+ &sh Cushion in minimi=ing s!ell of E*pansive cla+sD, IGC-&--./ nt, Roorkee, Vol.$, pp. 7##"7#?. Iohn D. @elson an Debora I. <iller, B#xpansive Soils0 !ro$lems and !ractice in ,oundation and !avement #n%ineerin%D, 2ile+ 'ublications, Cebruar+ 366>. Sabat, &. k., ,ahera, S. @., Dash S. K. 9$%%#:, BEffect of fl+ ash"marble po! er on engineering properties of an e*pansive soilD, 'rocee ings of -GC"$%%#, pp. $56"$>$. Stalin V. K., Da+akar. ' 9$%%0:, BStabili=ation of problematic soils using silica fume an tennar+ slu geD, -GC"$%%0, Roorkee, pp. 073"077. Stalin V. K., Sathish Kumar. L 9$%%5:, BSustainable evelopment of problematic soils using soli !asteD, Emerging .echnologies in Civil Engineering"$%%5, SRKR Engineering College, ,imavaram, pp. 073"077.