The physical properties of soil can affect the stability of construction. In particular, soil swelling potential (a term which includes swelling/shrinking) is often overlooked as a natural hazard. Similar to risk assessment for other hazards, assessing risk for soil swelling can be defined as the product of the probability of the hazard and the value of property subjected to the hazard. This research utilizes past engineering and geological assessments of soil swelling potential, along with economic data from the U.S. Census, to assess the risk for soil swelling at the census-block level in Louisiana, a U.S. state with a relatively dense population that is vulnerable to expansive soils. Results suggest that the coastal parts of the state face the highest risk, particularly in the areas of greater population concentrations, but that all developed parts of the state have some risk. The annual historical property loss, per capita property loss, and per building property loss are all concentrated in southeastern Louisiana and extreme southwestern Louisiana, but the concentration of wealth in cities increases the historical property loss in most of the urban areas. Projections of loss by 2050 show a similar pattern, but with increased per building loss in and around a swath of cities across southwestern and south-central Louisiana. These results may assist engineers, architects, and developers as they strive to enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructure to the multitude of environmental hazards in Louisiana.

/pdf/property-risk-assessment-for-expansive-soils-in-louisiana-2tlqy5iu2l.pdf

Property Risk Assessment for Expansive Soils in Louisiana

Granular pile anchor (GPA) is an innovative technique to resist pullout and uplift loads. In a (GPA) system, the footing is tied by a steel rod passes through the granular pile and connected to an anchor plate located at the bottom of the granular pile. In this study, a series of experimental tests have been performed on an individual and groups of GPAs that are installed in very soft clay with undrained shear strength cu 6 GPA.

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Pullout Resistance of a Single and Group of Granular Pile Anchor (GPA) in Soft Soils

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/713/1/012050/pdf

Finite Element Modeling of Innovative Shallow Raft Foundation with Granular Pile Anchor System for Expansive Clays

Expansive soils are found in typical areas in the world especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The problems associated with this type of soil drive geotechnical engineers to invent new technologies as remediation’s such as physical and chemical treatments. Innovative foundation techniques were also suggested for remedying the swell-shrink problems of the expansive soil. The granular pile anchor (GPA) is relatively a more favorable technique indebted to its cost-effective, easy and fast to assemble and most importantly was found to be more efficient in remedying the expansive soil. Despite the extensive studies on the expansive soil remedies, yet the granular pile anchor system requires more comprehensive and in-depth investigations. This study is aimed at developing a model with granular piles of various length and diameter extended to the stable zone to investigate the heave and uplift pressure in the expansive soil. For this purpose, experimental and numerical analysis were conducted in a small and in a full scale model respectively. A significant improvement was attained in heave reduction and an increment of uplift capacity. The findings also show that heave decreased significantly when the length and diameter of the GPA increases while the uplift capacity increased. However, it was noted that the extension of length to the stable zone resulted in insignificant changes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the maximum length of 6 m is the ideal length for GPA with different diameters according to foundations design requirement for this particular type of soil.

/pdf/foundation-failures-mitigation-under-expansive-clay-by-using-14ht9owyfw.pdf

Ehab Hamad Sfoog

Papers

Finite Element Modeling of Innovative Shallow Raft Foundation with Granular Pile Anchor System for Expansive Clays

Foundation Failures Mitigation under Expansive Clay by Using Granular Pile Anchor System