Singularities of Geotechnical Properties of Complex Soils in Seismic Regions
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 7
Abstract
Volcanic activity results in a wide range of soil types with very unusual characteristics, the most remarkable of which are volcanic ash clays containing the clay minerals allophane and imogolite. In addition to these soils, volcanic activity often produces the special environmental conditions that result in the formation of diatomaceous soils, namely, water rich in dissolved silica. These soils consist of individual particles containing intraparticle voids filled with water, resulting in a very unique porous particle morphology that is quite different than stereotypical sedimentary soils. This paper presents a series of careful laboratory tests on samples of both materials found in Chile. These tests demonstrate that soils weathered from volcanic ash develop yield pressures that are similar to the preconsolidation pressure of sedimentary soils. This type of soil also shows a dramatic change in properties due to drying. In addition, diatomaceous soils and those containing allophane have very low densities, in spite of which they develop remarkably high shear strength. The need for their properties to be properly understood and taken into account in geotechnical design, especially seismic design, is emphasized, since the location of these soils generally coincides with earthquake activity, which, like volcanic activity, arises from tectonic plate interaction.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writer wants to thank the very important and constructive comments made by Dr. L. Wesley from University of Auckland, New Zealand. The graduate student, Mr. Marcelo Paredes, carried out the tests on allophanes, and the undergraduate student, Miss Alejandra Sanchez of University of Chile, performed the tests on diatoms; their enormous effort is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Antonides, L. E. (1997). “Diatomite.” United States geological survey, mineral year book 1997, 24.1–24.6.
Barron, J. A. (1987). “Diatomite-environmental and geologic factors affecting its distribution.” Siliceous sedimentary rock-hosted ores and petroleum, J. R. Hein, ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 164–178.
Bertrand, S., et al. (2003). “Holocene sedimentation in Icalma and Puyehue lakes (Southern Chile): Instantaneous vs continuous records.” X Chilean Geological Congress, Concepción.
Besoain, E. (1985). Volcanic soils of Chile, J. Tosso, ed., Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Chile (in Spanish).
Bjerrum, L., and Simons, N. E. (1960). “Comparison of shear strength characteristics of normally consolidated clays.” No. 35, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute Publication, 13–22.
Brownlee, C., and Taylor, A. R. (2002). “Algal calcification and silification.” Encyclopedia of life science, MacMillan Publishing Group, ⟨www.els.net⟩.
Collins, K., and McGown, A. (1974). “The form and function of microfabric features in a variety of natural soils.” Geotechnique, 24(2), 223–254.
Cradwick, P. D. G., Farmer, V. C., Russel, J. D., Masson, C. R., Wada, K., and Yoshinaga, N. (1972). “Imogolite, a hydrated aluminium silicate of tubular structure.” Nature (London), Phys. Sci., 240, 187–189.
Delage, P., and Lefebvre, G. (1984). “Study of the structure of a sensitive Champlain clay and of its evolution during consolidation.” Can. Geotech. J., 21(1), 21–35.
Diaz-Rodriguez, J. A., Lozano-Santa Cruz, R., Davila-Alcocer, V. M., Vallejo, E., and Giron, P. (1998). “Physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of Mexico City sediments: A geotechnical perspective.” Can. Geotech. J., 35, 600–610.
Duncan, J. M., and Seed, H. B. (1966). “Anisotropy and stress reorientation in clay.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 92(5), 21–50.
Dyvik, R., and Madshus, C. (1985). “Lab measurements of using bender elements.” Proc., ASCE Annual Conv. on Advances in the Art of Testing Soils under Cyclic Conditions, 186–196.
Kenney, T. C. (1959). “Discussion of ‘Geotechnical properties of glacial lake clays,’ by T. H. Wu.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 85(3), 67–79.
Khilnani, K., and Capik, M. L. (1989). “Diatomaceous soils: A new approach.” Civ. Eng. (N.Y.), 59(2), 68–70.
Kirkgard, M. M., and Lade, P. V. (1991). “Anisotropy of normally consolidated San Francisco Bay Mud.” Geotech. Test. J., 14(3), 231–246.
Locat, J., and Tanaka, H. (2001). “A new class of soils: Fossiliferous soils?” Proc., Fifteenth Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 3, 2295–2300.
MacKenzie, K. J. D., Bowden, M. E., Brown, I. W. M., and Meinhold, R. H. (1989). “Structure and thermal transformations of imogolite studies by and high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance.” Clays Clay Miner., 37(4), 317–324.
Mesri, G., Rokshar, A., and Bohar, B. F. (1975). “Composition and compressibility of typical samples of Mexico City clay.” Geotechnique, 25, 527–574.
Mitchell, J. K., and Soga, K. (2005). Fundamentals of soil behavior, 3rd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Moyle, P. R., and Dolley, T. P. (2003). “With or without salt—A comparison of marine and continental-lacustrine diatomite deposits.” Bulletin No. 2209-D, Contributions to Industrial-Minerals Research, U.S. Geological Survey, available online at ⟨http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2209-d/⟩.
Nagao, N., Toda, T., Takahashi, K., Hamasaki, K., Kikuchi, T., and Taguchi, S. (2001). “High ash content in net-plankton samples from shallow coastal water: Possible source of error in dry weight measurement of zooplankton biomass.” J. Oceanogr., 57, 105–107.
Paredes, M. (2005). “Geotechnical behavior of volcanic ash soils.” MS thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Chile (in Spanish).
Seed, H. B. (1983). “Earthquake-resistance design of earth dams.” Proc., Seismic Design of Embankments and Caverns, ASCE, New York, 41–64.
Seed, R. B., and Harder, L. F. (1990). “SPT-based analysis of cyclic pore water pressure generation and undrained residual strength.” Proc., H. Bolton Seed Memorial Symp., BiTech Publishers, Ltd., Vancouver, Canada, 351–376.
Shiwakoti, D., Tanaka, H., Tanaka, M., and Locat, J. (2002). “Influence of diatom microfossils on engineering properties of soils.” Soils Found., 42(3), 1—17.
Stokoe, K. H., and Lodde, P. F. (1978). “Dynamic response of San Francisco Bay mud.” Proc., Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics, Vol. 2, ASCE, New York, 940–959.
Tanaka, H., and Locat, J. (1999). “A microstructural investigation of Osaka Bay clay: The impact of microfossils on its mechanical behavior.” Can. Geotech. J., 36, 493–508.
Verdugo, R. (1992). “Discussion of ‘The critical state of sands.’” Geotechnique, 42(4), 655–658.
Volpi, V., Camerlenghi, A., Hillenbrand, C., Rebesco, M., and Ivaldi, R. (2003). “Effect of biogenic silica on sediment compaction and slope stability on the Pacific margin of the Antarctic Peninsula.” Basin Res., 15, 339–363.
Wada, K. (1989). “Chapter 21: Allophane and imogolite.” Minerals in soil environments, SSSA Book Series No. 1, G. B. Dixon, S. B. Weed, eds., Madison, Wis., 1051–1087.
Wada, S., and Wada, K. (1977). “Density and structure of allophane.” Clay Miner., 12, 289–297.
Wallace, K. B. (1973). “Structural behaviour of residual soils of the continually wet highlands of Papua, New Guinea.” Geotechnique, 23(2), 204–218.
Watabe, Y., Tsuchida, T., and Adachi, K. (2002). “Undrained shear strength of pleistocene clay in Osaka Bay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 128(3), 216–226.
Wesley, L. D. (1973). “Some basic engineering properties of halloysite and allophane clays in Java, Indonesia.” Geotechnique, 23(4), 471–494.
Wesley, L. D. (1990). “Influence of structure and composition on residual soils.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 116(4), 589–603.
Wesley, L. D. (1994). “The use of consolidometer tests to estimate settlement in residual soils.” Proc., XIII ICSMFE, Vol. 2, 929–934.
Wesley, L. D. (2002). “Geotechnical characterization and behaviour of allophane clays.” Proc., Int. Workshop on Characterisation and Engineering Properties of Natural Soils, Vol. 2, 1379–1399.
Zeevaert, L. (1991). “Seismosoil dynamic of foundations in Mexico City earthquake, September 19, 1985 the twenty-third Karl Terzaghi lecture.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 117(3), 376–428.
Zhang, G., Germaine, J. T., Whittle, A. J., and Ladd, C. C. (2004). “Soil structure of a highly weathered old alluvium.” Geotechnique, 54(7), 453–466.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 7 • July 2008
Pages: 982 - 991
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 26, 2005
Accepted: Aug 24, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.