Evaluation of the swelling pressure for expansive soils

Abstract

The interaction between light structures and expansive soils as mainly active clays was studied since the 1950's. The first stage in foundation design on this problematic soil is the evaluation of the swelling potential, based on which one identifies the clay's activity and its correlation with the value of the swelling pressure (ps) for the decisional support of the geotechnical design (p effective > ps). In the literature there are many formulas that can be used to predict the swelling pressure based on the correlation between various geotechnical parameters. This paper provides the swelling pressure as correlation with the consistency index (CI) and the liquid limit (LL), by linear regression of the experimental results for the 56 active clays from seven countries. Using the analytical methods, one can predict the total heave of a floor slab founded on expansive clay. The validity of the proposed correlation has been tested in the prediction of the total heave in the centre of a floor slab for a light industrial building in North-Central Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.