An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils

Expansive soils are found in numerous regions of the world explicitly in arid and semiarid zones. These soils expand when absorbed moisture and shrink when released water. Such soil is viewed as a characteristic risk for infrastructures due to the shrink and swell behavior. These soils become more p...

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Main Authors: Bakht Zamin, Hassan Nasir, Khalid Mehmood, Qaiser Iqbal, Asim Farooq, Mohammad Tufail
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2021-01-01
Series:Advances in Civil Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8493091
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spelling doaj-ff11a0fcb4cd4d4593b851197aa2bc092021-07-26T00:33:48ZengHindawi LimitedAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80942021-01-01202110.1155/2021/8493091An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive SoilsBakht Zamin0Hassan Nasir1Khalid Mehmood2Qaiser Iqbal3Asim Farooq4Mohammad Tufail5Civil Engineering DepartmentWater and Sanitation Services (WSSP)Civil Engineering DepartmentCivil Engineering DepartmentPak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences & Technology, (PAF-IAST)Consulting EngineerExpansive soils are found in numerous regions of the world explicitly in arid and semiarid zones. These soils expand when absorbed moisture and shrink when released water. Such soil is viewed as a characteristic risk for infrastructures due to the shrink and swell behavior. These soils become more problematic when lightly or moderately loaded structures are built on them. The swelling and shrinkage in these soils chiefly happen due to the presence of montmorillonite minerals. The mineralogical and swell behavior of foundation soils is playing a vital role in the overall stability of a structure. These parameters are often ignored in the geotechnical report writing stage specifically in small projects, due to which, the durability and service life of the facilities are reduced and the maintenance cost is increased. To mitigate the potential damages in structures constructed on expansive soil, it is necessary to assess the mineralogical and swelling characteristics of expansive soil. The current study aims to determine the geotechnical, mineralogical, and swell behavior of the local expansive soils. Based on the results, the Karak soil has the highest plasticity index (PI) of 37% with a clay fraction of 28%, while the D.I. Khan soil has the least PI of 23% with a clay fraction of 17%. Similarly, Karak’s soil contained a higher percentage of montmorillonite (Rp = 8.9%). The maximum values of swell pressure, swell potential, and 1D deformation are 280 kPa, 12.5%, and 1.92 mm for the Karak soil, 6.45% 150 kPa, and 1.38 mm for D.I. Khan soil, and 10.5%, 245 kPa, and 1.64 mm for Kohat soil, respectively. This concludes that Karak’s soil has high plasticity and swell characteristics than Kohat and D.I. Khan soil. The swell characteristic of expansive soils increases with the increase in the percentage of the fine specifically the clay fraction. Furthermore, the Karak soil is more critical than Kohat and D.I. khan soil for lightly loaded structures.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8493091
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Bakht Zamin
Hassan Nasir
Khalid Mehmood
Qaiser Iqbal
Asim Farooq
Mohammad Tufail
spellingShingle Bakht Zamin
Hassan Nasir
Khalid Mehmood
Qaiser Iqbal
Asim Farooq
Mohammad Tufail
An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
Advances in Civil Engineering
author_facet Bakht Zamin
Hassan Nasir
Khalid Mehmood
Qaiser Iqbal
Asim Farooq
Mohammad Tufail
author_sort Bakht Zamin
title An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
title_short An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
title_full An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
title_fullStr An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
title_full_unstemmed An Experimental Study on the Geotechnical, Mineralogical, and Swelling Behavior of KPK Expansive Soils
title_sort experimental study on the geotechnical, mineralogical, and swelling behavior of kpk expansive soils
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Advances in Civil Engineering
issn 1687-8094
publishDate 2021-01-01
description Expansive soils are found in numerous regions of the world explicitly in arid and semiarid zones. These soils expand when absorbed moisture and shrink when released water. Such soil is viewed as a characteristic risk for infrastructures due to the shrink and swell behavior. These soils become more problematic when lightly or moderately loaded structures are built on them. The swelling and shrinkage in these soils chiefly happen due to the presence of montmorillonite minerals. The mineralogical and swell behavior of foundation soils is playing a vital role in the overall stability of a structure. These parameters are often ignored in the geotechnical report writing stage specifically in small projects, due to which, the durability and service life of the facilities are reduced and the maintenance cost is increased. To mitigate the potential damages in structures constructed on expansive soil, it is necessary to assess the mineralogical and swelling characteristics of expansive soil. The current study aims to determine the geotechnical, mineralogical, and swell behavior of the local expansive soils. Based on the results, the Karak soil has the highest plasticity index (PI) of 37% with a clay fraction of 28%, while the D.I. Khan soil has the least PI of 23% with a clay fraction of 17%. Similarly, Karak’s soil contained a higher percentage of montmorillonite (Rp = 8.9%). The maximum values of swell pressure, swell potential, and 1D deformation are 280 kPa, 12.5%, and 1.92 mm for the Karak soil, 6.45% 150 kPa, and 1.38 mm for D.I. Khan soil, and 10.5%, 245 kPa, and 1.64 mm for Kohat soil, respectively. This concludes that Karak’s soil has high plasticity and swell characteristics than Kohat and D.I. Khan soil. The swell characteristic of expansive soils increases with the increase in the percentage of the fine specifically the clay fraction. Furthermore, the Karak soil is more critical than Kohat and D.I. khan soil for lightly loaded structures.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8493091
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