Abstract
Gypsiferous soils are found in several arid regions of the world and are known to cause structural hazards due to their collapsible nature. The collapsibility of gypsiferous soils is dependent on a number of soil parameters and gypsum content is one of the key factors. Gypsum acts as a weak cementing agent in the soils. In terms of macroscale procedures for site suitability investigations, the non-destructive testing methods, using shear-wave velocity measurements, are valuable to quickly characterize the stiffness properties of the sites and subsurface soil conditions. In this study, free-free resonant column testing was used to study the shear-wave velocity patterns of reconstituted specimens of sand and gypsum under different degrees of saturation. An overall increase in stiffness was observed with decrease in degree of saturation. The rise is stiffness was attributed to a combination of cementation and matric suction processes. Cementation was observed in specimens containing gypsum. For soils with less than 30% gypsum content, matric suction was a dominant factor in increasing the stiffness of the soil and cementation effect was not very strong. For soils with gypsum content of 30% or more, an appreciable amount of cementation was observed and matric suction showed little impact. The peaks in shear-wave velocity caused by matric suction were replaced by a plateauing feature. Using the soil water characteristic curve approach, regression relationships were developed to determine the contributions of matric suction and cementation toward the change in stiffness of the soils. The results from this study can be used to predict the stiffness behavior and gypsum content of gypsiferous soils in the field.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alphen., J.G.V., Rios Romero., F.D.L.: Gypsiferous soils: notes on their characteristics and management. International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wageningen, The Netherlands (1971)
Cooper, A.H., Calow, R.C.: Avoiding Gypsum Geohazards: Guidance for Planning and Construction, British Geological Survey, Technical Report WC 98/5, Overseas Geology Series (1998)
Kalinski, M.E., Thummaluru, M.S.R.: A new free-free resonant column device for measurement of Gmax and Dmin at higher confining stresses. GTJ12187, Geotech. Testing J. 28(2), 180–187 (2005)
Fattah, M.Y., Yousif, J., Huda, N.: Long-term deformation of some gypseous soils. Eng. Technol. J. Iraq, 1461–1483 (2008)
Al-Marsoumi, A.-M., H., Kadhum, M.J., Kadhum, S.K.: Some geotechnical properties of sandy gypsiferous soils in Rumaila-Khor Al-Zubair Area, Southern Iraq. Marina Mesopotamica 23(2), 333–347 (2008)
Haeri, S.M., Hamidi, A., Tabatabaee, N.: The effect of gypsum cementation on the mechanical behavior of gravelly sands. Geotech. Testing J. (2005)
Khosravi, A., Ghayoomi, M., McCartney, J., Ko, H.: Impact of effective stress on the dynamic shear modulus of unsaturated sand. Geotech. Spec. Publ. 410–419 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1061/41095(365)38
Qian, X., Gray, D.H., Woods, R.D.: Resonant Column Tests on Partially Sands, American Society of Testing and Materials (1991)
Sawangsuriya, A., Edil, T.B., Bosscher, P.J.: Modulus-suction-moisture relationship for compacted soils in Postcompaction State. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. (2009). https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)gt.1943-5606.0000108
Rinaldi, V., Santamarina, J.: Cemented soils: small strain stiffness. Deform. Charact. Geomater. 1, 267–273 (2008)
Fredlund, D.G., Xing, A.: Equations for the soil-water characteristic curve. Can. Geotech. J. 31, 521–532 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-120
Zapata, C.: Uncertainty in soil-water-characteristic curve and impacts on unsaturated shear strength predictions (2019)
Lu, N., Likos, W.J.: Suction stress characteristic curve for unsaturated soil. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)1090-0241(2006)132:2(131)
Bhamidipati, R.A., Kalinski, M.E., Bryson, L.S.: Estimating the collapse potential of gypsum rich soils using shear-wave velocity testing. In: Proceedings: 49th Ohio River Valley Soils Seminar, pp. 31–44, Lexington, KY, USA (2018)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bhamidipati, R.A., Kalinski, M.E., Bryson, L.S. (2021). Effect of Saturation and Cementation on the Stiffness of Gypsiferous Soils. In: Patel, S., Solanki, C.H., Reddy, K.R., Shukla, S.K. (eds) Proceedings of the Indian Geotechnical Conference 2019. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 133. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6346-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6346-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-33-6345-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-33-6346-5
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)