Geotechnical Evaluation of Miocene Expansive Shale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

摘要

Expansive shale has been found extensively in all over the world especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The ground heave resulted from shale swelling potential are considered as a multi factorial phenomenon. The Miocene Shale of Bathan Formation composes mainly of shale beds with sandy silt thinly interbedded layers which formed during several cycles of sedimentation. The swelling potentiality of expansive shale of Bathan Formation (Middle to Late Miocene) in NE Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was evaluated based on physico-chemical and mechanical measurements. Its swelling potentiality (free swelling, swelling percent and swelling pressure) has a direct relationship with clay fraction content, plasticity index (PI) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Furthermore, the clay fraction percent has a strong direct proportional relation to free swelling, plasticity index (PI) and cation exchange capacity (CEC).