Abstract
Worldwide, the cost to construction related to swelling clay soils is greater than the damage caused by floods, landslides and earthquakes together. They have been called “a hidden disaster”. In this paper, the origin, mineralogy and physical and engineering properties of some swelling soils from the Strymi area of the Rhodope plain, Thrace, Northern Greece, are examined. These soils were found to have over 50% of expansive lattice minerals (smectite, vermiculite, illite and interlayered swelling minerals). Remoulded samples were found to have high plasticity and CEC with volume changes of 4–30% and swelling pressures 160 to 950 kPa. Undisturbed samples had volume changes of 2–3% and swelling pressures of 40 to 110 kPa. Some specific construction techniques like replacement of the natural soil, use of geogrid and intense drainage systems were used for the foundation and the cut slopes of “the New Egnatia Highway” on these soils.
Résumé
À l’échelle mondiale, les surcoûts de construction sur sols gonflants sont plus importants que les dommages résultant des inondations, des glissements de terrain et des séismes réunis. Ils ont été dénommés des «sinistres cachés». Dans cet article, l’origine, la minéralogie et les propriétés physiques et géotechniques de quelques sols gonflants de la région de Strymi dans la plaine de Rhodope, dans la région de Thrace au nord de la Grèce, sont étudiées. Il apparaît que ces sols contiennent plus de 50% de phyllosilicates gonflants (smectite, vermiculite, illite et minéraux interstratifiés gonflants). Des échantillons remaniés présentaient une forte plasticité et une forte CEC avec des changements de volume de 4 à 30% et des pressions de gonflement de 160 à 950 kPa. Des échantillons intacts présentaient des changements de volume de 2 à 3% et des pressions de gonflement de 40 à 110 kPa. Des techniques de construction spécifiques, telles que le remplacement du sol naturel, l’utilisation de géotextiles et la mise en oeuvre de systèmes de drainage ont été développées pour la plateforme et les déblais de l’autoroute de New Egnatia.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the help given by the New Egnatia Highway Construction Company for sampling the soils and permitting access to their data files. Thanks are also extended to the staff of the Laboratory of Mineralogy and Petrology, the Laboratory of Soil Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, for the help given for the XRD and the CEC analysis of the soils, and to the staff of the Laboratories of the Geotechnical Section of the Civil Engineering Department of the Democritous University of Thrace for doing the geotechnical tests.
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Xeidakis, G., Koudoumakis, P. & Tsirambides, A. Road construction on swelling soils: the case of Strymi Soils, Rhodope, Thrace, Northern Greece. Bull Eng Geol Environ 63, 93–101 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-003-0214-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-003-0214-5