Problematic Soil & Rocks

Some natural soil-rock inherits weakness from the parent material such
deposits include:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Shales & Weathered rocks

Residual soils
Expansive clays
Organic soils
Karst Region
Loess
Dispersive clays
Laterite soil
Alluvial Sediments
Saline & Alkaline soil
Bentonite

Shale & Weathered Rocks

Afine-grained,sedimentaryrockcomposedofmud
flakesofclaymineralsandtinyfragmentsofother
minerals,especiallyquartzandcalcitearepresent
TypesofShales:
Soil-like Shales:Bondingmaterialiswater
Rock-like Shales:Particulatecomponentsare
cementedtogetherbycalcareous,silicious,
gypsiferous,phosphaticmaterial

Shale & Weathered Rocks

Characteristics
Porosity:352%
VoidRatio:0.03-1.07
MoistureContent:5-35%
Colour:Gray

Residual Soils
Producedbyin-situdecompositionof
underlyingrock&actionoffactorslike
microclimate,flora,fauna&geometric
formations
Breakdownisactiveinhot&humid
regionsoftropicalclimateBecause
thesearefavorableconditionsfor
chemicalweathering

Residual soils
ZonesinResidualSoils:
1. Upperlayerhighdegreeofweathering
&removalofmaterial
2. IntermediateLayersomedegreeof
weatheringintopportions
3. BottomLayerpartiallyweatheredzone
wherethereisatransitionfrom
weatheredmaterialtounweathered
parentrock

Expansive Clays
Theyexhibitgreatestvolumechangefrom
drytowetstate
Possessesaconsiderablepercentageof
montmorilloniteclay
Theydonothaveacontinuousgranular
skeleton

Expansive Clays
Expansive clays are made up of small negatively
charged particles
These clay particles attract water molecules, which are
slightly polarized
Montmorillonite clay have a very huge surface area
This results in massive change in volume

Expansive Clays

Expansive Clays Why are they

dangerous?

Expansive Clays
Mitigation Measures
Extend building foundations beneath the zone of
water content fluctuation zone
Collect surface runoff and to limit surface infiltration
during the rainy winter months
Remove expansive soil & replace it with nonexpansive fill
Application of hydrated lime

Expansive Clays
BlackCottonSoil
Foundincentral&southernIndia
Colour:Black
Exhibitsexcessiveswelling&shrinkage
Deep&widecracks
Highlyproblematicforfoundations

Organic Soils
Organicsoilsarethosewhosesolid
constituentsconsistpredominantlyof
vegetablematerinvariousstagesof
decomposition
ParentMaterial:NativeVegetation
Forminwetlands

Organic Soils
Peat

Muck

Fibrous
materialare
clearlyvisible

Plant
residuesare
fully
decomposed

Organic soils
Characteristics
SpecificGravity:1.1-2.5
pH:Acidic-4to7
Highvoidratios
Highlycompressible
DoNOTreceivepropercompaction

KarstRegion
ageologicformationshapedbythe
dissolutionofalayerorlayersofsoluble
bedrock
Mostcommonlydeveloponlimestone,
dolomite,gypsumformations
FormationofKarstregiontakes
thousandsofyears

KarstRegion
Asrainwaterfallsdown,CO2gets
dissolvedinitformingcarbonicacid

H2O+CO2H2CO3
Aswatermovesunderground,throughtiny
fracturesinthelimestonebedrocks,the
rockslowlygetsdissolvedawaybyweak
acids

KarstRegion

SinkHoleDevelopment

SinkHoleDevelopment

KarstRegion

Loess/Aeolian Deposits
Sedimentformedbytheaccumulationof
wind-blownsilt
Looselycementedbycalciumcarbonate
Foundinaridregionsanddeserts
Loessmainlyconsistsofquartz,feldspar
andmicagrains

Loess/Aeolian Deposits
Characteristics
Homogeneousandporousstructure
Avg.particlesize:2535m
Carbonates:upto15-18%
Quartzgrainsupto70%
Colour:YellowishorBrown

Loess/Aeolian Deposits

Dispersive Clays
Dispersivesoilsareusuallyfoundinflood
plainsandlakebeddeposits
Soilsoftendispersewhentheyaresodic
Thesesoilsarehighlyerodiblebecauseof
thelowinter-particleattraction

Dispersive Clays
Clayparticleshaveanegativecharge
thischargeisbalancedbypositively
chargedcations,suchasCa2+,Mg2+,K+
andNa+
DispersivesoilscontainlargeamountNa+
ionscomparedtootherions
Sotheclayparticlesarelesstightlybound
toeachotherandthesoilaggregates
easilydisperse

Dispersive Clays

Laterite Soil
Lateritesaresoiltypesrichinironand
aluminum
formedinhotandhumidtropicalareas
alllateritesoilsareredduetothe
presenceofironoxides

Laterite Soil

Alluvial Sediments
Alluvialdepositsloose,unconsolidatedsoil
orsediments,eroded,deposited,and
reshapedbywaterinsomeforminanonmarinesetting
fineparticlesofsiltandclayandlarger
particlesofsandandgravel

Alluvial Sediments

Alluvial Sediments
Colour:brownish-black
pH:Slightlyacidic
Depth:upto2-3m

Alluvial Sediments

Alkaline/Saline Soils
AlkalinesoilsaresoilswithahighpH(>9)
andapoorsoilstructureandalow
infiltrationcapacity.
FoundinNorthIndia&CentralEurope

Alkaline/Saline Soils
Causes
1.Natural:
thepresenceofsoilmineralsproducingsodium
carbonate
2. Man Made:
theapplicationofirrigationwater(surfaceor
groundwater)containingarelativelyhigh
proportionofsodiumbicarbonates

Alkaline/Saline Soils