Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zourmpakis, A. Articles by Dixon, N. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Case study of a loess collapse field trial in Kent, SE England

^{1 1}Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK (e-mail: c.d.f.rogers@bham.ac.uk)
^{2 2}British Geological Survey, Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
^{3 3}Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough,Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK

Loess soils undergo collapse due to bond weakening under loading and, especially, wetting, and consequently constitute a major engineering geology hazard. To understand better the relationship between wetting and volume reduction in loess, a field collapse test was conducted at a ‘brickearth’ quarry, where a 5.0 x 5.0 x 1.5 m deep sample was isolated, flooded in a controlled manner and subjected to a surface stress of up to 210 kPa for 10 days. Geotechnical instrumentation, consisting of piezometers and rod extensometers, was complemented by geophysical instrumentation (resistivity arrays, shear wave transducers and a resistivity probe) to provide evidence of changes in interparticle bonding during the collapse process. Laboratory index and oedometer testing, together with SEM study of samples removed from the site, complemented the site monitoring. The field collapse test eliminated many problems associated with laboratory testing, notably small volumes of material and sample disturbance.

This paper presents the geotechnical findings on ‘large-scale’ loess performance and relates them to the results of shear wave velocity and resistivity monitoring. The different behaviour of two distinct soil strata and the importance of the degree of saturation to soil fabric changes are demonstrated. The results identify how the soil in situ and oedometer samples respond under similar applied stresses.

Key Words: collapse • engineering properties • load test • loess • settlement

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P.D. Jackson, K.J. Northmore, D.C. Entwisle, D.A. Gunn, A.E. Milodowski, D.I. Boardman, A. Zourmpakis, C.D.F. Rogers, I. Jefferson, and N. Dixon Electrical resistivity monitoring of a collapsing meta-stable soil Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, May 1, 2006; 39(2): 151 - 172. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D.A. Gunn, L.M. Nelder, P.D. Jackson, K.J. Northmore, D.C. Entwisle, A.E. Milodowski, D.I. Boardman, A. Zourmpakis, C.D. Rogers, I. Jefferson, et al. Shear wave velocity monitoring of collapsible loessic brickearth soil Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, May 1, 2006; 39(2): 173 - 188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]