Geotechnical and Geological Engineering

, Volume 32, Issue 3, pp 637–656 | Cite as

Performance of Foundations in Sabkha Soil: Numerical Investigation

Original paper
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Abstract

Sabkha or salt flat soil is one of the most unpredictable and potentially dangerous soils in the Middle East. This soil covers a large and strategically important area of the Arabian Gulf coast, as it contains the world biggest oil reserve and a number of petrochemical plants are either have been built or are scheduled to be built in this area. The performance of shallow and deep foundations in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia’s sabkha soil is investigated numerically using the finite element method. The parameters used to simulate this soil in the numerical models were based on a large number of laboratory tests to determine the shear strength and stiffness parameters of the sabkha soil. In addition, the characteristics of the interface between the foundation and soil used in the numerical model were established from shear box tests that were conducted to evaluate the concrete-sabkha soil interface properties. The developed numerical model was calibrated/verified using the results of full-scale pile load testing program from an ongoing project to further enhance the accuracy of the results. A parametric study was then conducted using the verified model to establish the performance characteristics of foundations constructed in sabkha soil and provide guidelines for their design.

Keywords

Sabkha Bearing capacity Shear strength Interface characteristics Finite element Flood sabkha 

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and generosity of King Saud University- Department of Civil Engineering for supporting this research and allowing for the use of the soil lab at the university during the testing program for sabkha soil.

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringThe University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
  2. 2.Department of Civil EngineeringKing Saud UniversityRiyadhSaudi Arabia

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