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Sinkholes’ Detection in a Residential Area in the State of Kuwait

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An Erratum to this article was published on 21 December 2012

Abstract

Several sinkholes occurred in an urbanized development in Kuwait. To identify the causes and determine treatment measures, the properties of the deep sub-soil and bedrock were investigated through a detailed multi-discipline research program consisted of topographic, geological/geotechnical, and geophysical investigations. The results revealed that the geological profile was made of 35–40 m thick sandy overburden soil overlying unconformable Karst limestone bedrock. The cause of these sinkholes was attributed to the collapse of the roof of the Karst cavities and the subsequent raveling of the overburden soil cover. Accordingly, treatment measures were designed and successfully applied which included cavity filling with a sand-cement grout mix and also fracture filling with a cement grout.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infrastructure Risk and Reliability Program, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, SAFAT, 13109, Kuwait

    Hasan Kamal

  2. Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Kuwait University, P. O. Box 5969, SAFAT, 13109, Kuwait

    Waleed Abdullah

Authors
  1. Hasan Kamal
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  2. Waleed Abdullah
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Correspondence to Hasan Kamal.

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Kamal, H., Abdullah, W. Sinkholes’ Detection in a Residential Area in the State of Kuwait. Arab J Sci Eng 38, 549–561 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-012-0334-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-012-0334-y

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