A geophysical survey including electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), induced polarization (IP), and seismic refraction (SR) was carried out to estimate peatland thickness in Beaufort District, Eastern Malaysia. Peatlands are important natural carbon storage and play a key role in the global carbon cycle. The ERT and IP studies were performed along three profiles over different peat thicknesses using Schlumberger configuration. The SR survey was carried out using vertical geophones along the same profiles. The peat soil material was characterized by low seismic velocity and high resistivity. Our results show that ERT and IP methods were able to clearly detect the interface between the peat soil and marine clay underneath. These layers differ greatly in geoelectrical characteristics showing clear contrast, thus enabling the delineation of peat soil stratigraphy, while the SR image obtained was not able to determine the base of the peat soil layer as the stiffness difference on the transition layer was very small. Overall, it was concluded that the ERT and IP method offer a useful alternative in delineating the peat soil stratigraphy. The combined application of ERT and IP method with the conventional boring method meets the demand for large volume peat stratigraphy mapping, which, moreover, has various ecological conditions and undulating strata.
Malaysia covers about 2.6 million hectares of tropical peat deposits as shown in Fig. 1, where the accumulation and formation are favorable compared to the other tropics [1]. In term of country land area, Malaysia was ranked 10th in the world with 8% [2]. Among these land, 6,300 hectares are found in Muar, Batu Pahat and Pontian in West Johor. Peat in the district of Pontian, have been developed to agricultural for oil palm, pineapple and other food crops [3]. Geotechnically, peat are classified as highly organic soil that having more than 75 % of organic content which represent a problematic and poor quality of soil due to limited compressibility index [4]. Peat classification is important as they are weaker than inorganic soil that subsequently lead to instability and long term settlement when subjected to load [5]. Sugarcane industries contribute to 1.9 billion tons of by-products where one metric ton of sugarcane creates 280kg bagasse [6]. The utilization of sugarcane bagasse that were mainly utilized as to fuel sugar mill leave the bagasse ash as Abstract: Malaysia are covered approximately 2.6 million hectare of peat and facing serious geotechnical problems to develop infrastructure on peatland area. This study is to observe the basic geotechnical properties, strength and compressibility behavior of Pontian peat that stabilized by cement (OPC) and sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA). The whole laboratory test standards and regulation that had been used in this study was adopted from American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and British standards (BS). In order to understand an improvement of peat stabilization, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and 1D-Oedometer consolidation test were conducted on untreated and stabilized peat. The results show that Pontian peat can be considered as hemic peat with average acidic. It was observed that the treated peat with 5% of SCBA (PCB5) has the highest UCS of 190 kPa and was discovered to be equivalent to PC specimen. There was a noteworthy decrease of void ratio, e for optimum PCB and PC mixtures as compared to untreated peat. The value of Cc and Cα was quite low at small effective stresses, however it improved after beyond preconsolidation pressure, σ'c. Compared to untreated Pontian peat which contributed the ratio of Cα/Cc about 0.056, stabilized peat for PC and PCB5 gave better ratio with 0.0316 and 0.0273 respectively. Results shows that the treated peat Cα/Cc ratios were drop dramatically from untreated peat which is representing the stabilized mixture can efficiently reduce the secondary compression.
Abstract. Civil engineers of today are continuously challenged by innovative projects that push further the knowledge boundaries with conceptual and/or ingenious solutions leading to the realization of that once was considered impossible in the realms of geotechnology. Some of the forward developments rely on empirical methods embedded within soft soil technology and the spectral realms of engineering in its entirety. Empiricisms unlike folklore are not always shrouded in mysticism but can find scientific reasoning to justify them being adopted in design and tangible construction projects. This lecture therefore is an outline exposition of how empiricism has been integrally embedded in total empirical beginnings in the evolution of soft soil technology from the Renaissance time, through the developments of soil mechanics in the 19th century which in turn has paved the way to the rise of computational soil mechanics. Developments in computational soil mechanics has always embraced and are founded on a wide backdrop of empirical geoenvironment simulations. However, it is imperative that a competent geotechnical engineer needs postgraduate training combined with empiricism that is based on years of wellwinnowed practical experience to fathom the diverseness and complexity of nature. However, experience being regarded more highly than expertise can, perhaps inadvertently, inhibit development and innovation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.