Abstract
In the Tebessa area, the nature of geological formations in the subsurface is influenced considerably the superstructures built on them by the shrink-swell phenomenon. In many places this phenomenon has caused severe damage to dwellings, roads, and sewage networks. Cracks on all walls, staircases widening, disturbed windows and doors can be observed in many constructions throughout the area of study. The problem is worsening as urbanization is more and more extended to less adequate places. The phenomenon of swelling in soils is affected by many parameters such as the initial state of hydration, the percent of the fine fraction, and the stress history expressed in terms of the soil density and the preconsolidation state. In this research work, we expect to obtain a reliable model from the use of the dimensional analysis technique to predict the swelling pressure generated by the clayey soil in this area. The derivation of the dimensionless number was carried out by introducing a maximum number of parameters (independent or dependent), which are likely to affect the behavior of the clayey soil of the region. Statistical analysis tools were introduced as a simple technique in order to take into account the combined effects of the different soil properties on swelling behavior and deal with the models of swelling pressure. In the selection of independent variables, regression analyses were carried out, and a multicollinearity problem was considered. Hence, two independent variables were found to have a strong correlation with the swelling pressure. When extending to multiple regression analyses, regressors were added to obtain the final model. The present models show better results when compared with previous models cited in the literature. The model obtained using dimensional analysis fits better Tebessa’s soil conditions and will do so for all soil conditions, as it can easily be applied to any soil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adem HH, Vanapalli SK (2014) Elasticity moduli of expansive soils from dimensional analysis. Geotech Res 1(2):60–72
Brackley I J A (1983) An empirical equation for the prediction of clay heave. Proceedings of the 7th Asian regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, vol. 1, pp. 8–14
Buckingham E (1914) On physically similar systems: illustrating the use of dimensional analysis. Phys Rev 4:345–376
Bultel F (2001) Prise en compte du gonflement des terrains pour le dimensionnement des revêtements des tunnels: Thèse de Doctorat, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris (France), p. 290
Butterfield R (1999) Dimensional analysis for geotechnical engineers. Geotechnique 49 3:357–366
Buzzi O (2010) On the use of dimensional analysis to predict swelling strain. Eng Geol 116:149–156
Buzzi O, Giacomini A, Fityus S (2010) Towards a dimensionless description of soil swelling behaviour. Géotechnique. doi:10.1680/geot.7.00194
Chen FH (1975) Foundations on expansive soils, Developments on geotechnical engineering 12. Elsevier Scientific Co., Amsterdam
Christodoulias J (2015) Engineering properties and shrinkage limit of swelling soils in greece. J Earth Sci Clim Change 6:279. doi:10.4172/2157-7617.1000279
Daksanamurthy V, Raman V (1973) A simple method of identifying an expansive soil. Soil Found Jpn Soc Soil Mech Found Eng 13(1):97–104
Das SK, Samui P, Sabat AK, Sitharam TG (2010) Prediction of swelling pressure of soil using artificial intelligence techniques. Environ Earth Sci 61:393–403
Didier G, Lareal P, Gielly J (1973) Prévision du potentiel et de la pression de gonflement des sols. Comptes rendus du congrès de mécanique des sols et des travaux de fondations 2–3:67–72
EL-Sohby M, Mazen O, Aboushook M (2005) Advancement in oedometer testing of unsaturated soils, Advanced Experimental Unsaturated Soil Mechanics- Tarantino, Romero Cui (eds). Taylor & Francis Group, London. ISBN 0415 383374
Erguler ZA, Ulusay E (2003) A simple test and predictive models for assessing swell potential of Ankara (Turkey) clay. Eng Geol 67:331–352
Erzin Y (2007) Artificial neural networks approach for swell pressure versus soil suction behavior. Can Geotech J 44(10):1215–1223
Erzin Y, Gunes N (2013) The unique relationship between swell percent and swell pressure of compacted clays. Bull Eng Geol Environ 72:71–80
Ferber V, Auriol JC, Cui YJ, Magnan JP (2009) On the swelling potential of compacted high plasticity clays. Eng Geol J 104–3:200–210
Gray CW, Allbrook R (2002) Relationships between shrinkage indices and soil properties in some New Zealand soils. Geoderma 108(3–4):287–299
Guiras-Skandaji H (1996) Déformabilité des sols argileux non saturés: etude experimentale et application à la modélisation, Thèse de doctorat, Institut national Polytechnique de Lorraine, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Géologie, Nancy, France, p 315
Holtz WG, Gibbs HJ (1956) Engineering properties of expansive clays. Trans ASCE 121:641–677
Jr Hair J F, Anderson RE, Tatham RL, Black WC (1995) Multivariate data analysis, 3rd edn. Macmillan, New York
Kariuki PC, Van der Meer FD (2004) A unified swelling potential index for expansive soils. Eng Geol 72(1–2):1–8
Komornik A, David D (1969) Prediction of swelling pressure of clays. Proc ASCE J Soil Mech Found Div 95(SM1):209–225
Lambe TW, Whitman RV (1959) The role of effective stress in the behavior of expansive soils. Q Colo School Mines 54(4):33–66
Magnan D (1993) Caractérisation in situ des sols gonflants: l’essai Expansol. Thèse de doctorat, Université J. Fourier, Grenoble (France), p 190
Marquardt DW (1970) Generalized inverses, ridge regression, biased linear estimation, and nonlinear estimation. Technometrics 12:591–612
McCormack DE, Wilding LP (1975) Soil properties influencing swelling in Canfield and Geeburg soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 39:496–502
Montgomery DC (2013) Introduction to statistical quality control, 7th edn. John Wiley & Son’s Inc., New York
Nagaraj T S, Srinivasa M B R (1983) An approach for prediction of swelling soil behaviour. In: Proceedings of the 7th Asian regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, vol. 1, pp. 52–55
Nayak NV, Christensen R (1974) Swelling characteristics of compacted expansive soils. J clays clay miner 19(4):251–261
Ofer Z, Blight G (1985) Measurement of swelling pressure in the laboratory and in situ. Trans Res Rec No 1032:15–22
Ranganatham B V, Satyanarayana B (1965) A rational method of predicting swelling potential for compacted expansive clays. In: Proceedings of 6th International Conference Social Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Canada, Vol. 1, pp. 92–96
Rogerson PA (2001) Statistical methods for geography. Sage, London
Seed MB, Woodward RJ, Lundgren R (1962) Prediction of swelling potential of compacted soils. J Soil Mech Found Eng ASCE 85:86–128
Siboyabasore PS (2006) Beitrag zur Berechnung Von Hebungene quellfahiger Boden: Bodenmechanik und Grundbau, Bergische Universitat Weppurtal, N° 30, March 2006
Skempton A W (1953) The colloidal activity of clays. In: Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Zurich, Vol. 1, 57–61
Sowers GF, Kennedy CM (1967) High volume change clays of the South-Eastern coastal plain: Proc.3rd Pan Am. Conf. Soil Mechanics Foundation Engng, Caracas, Venezuela pp. 99–120
Thomas PJ, Baker JC, Zelazny LW (2000) An expansive soil index for predicting shrink-swell potential. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:268–274
Van Der Merwe DH (1964) The Prediction of heave from the Plasticity Index and percentage Clay Fraction of Soils. Civ Eng S Africa 6(6):103–107
Vanapalli SK, Tu H, Oh WT (2014) Soil-water characteristic curve based methods for predicting the swelling pressure and ground heave in expansive soils. Keynote Address, Indian Geotechnical Conference, IGC-2014, Kakinada, India
Vijayvergiya VN, Ghazzaly G (1973) Prediction of swelling potential for natural clays. In: Proceedings, 3rd International Conference on Expansive Soil, Haifa, vol. I, pp. 227–236
Yilmaz I (2006) Indirect estimation of the swelling percent and a new classification of soils depending on liquid limit and cation exchange capacity. Eng Geol 85:295–301
Acknowledgements
This funding was supported by University of Badji Mokhtar Annaba.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berrah, Y., Boumezbeur, A., Kherici, N. et al. Application of dimensional analysis and regression tools to estimate swell pressure of expansive soil in Tebessa (Algeria). Bull Eng Geol Environ 77, 1155–1165 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0973-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0973-4