Assessment of the Swelling Pressure of the Green Clay of Tangier (Morocco) Compared with the Soil-Moisture Conditions

Abstract

The swelling phenomenon appears seriously when changing the soil-moisture conditions. The swelling pressure induced by the expansive soil can causes unfavourable problems or instability for the civil structures. So, understanding the soil behavior is considered a valuable work for engineers and consultants in the geotechnical and civil engineering sectors. In reality, the assessment of the swelling pressure of expansive soil depends, first of all, of test conditions related to the change of soil-moisture, as it happens, the influence of the combination "loading-start wetting" and also the unloading process after saturation. To this end, we establish an experimental study on the green clay of Tangier to evaluate the swelling pressure by using oedometer apparatus. Secondly, attention is bore to the combination "initial water content-dry density", another factor related to the change of the soil-moisture, to show the influence of initial state condition on the swelling pressure.

Study of the degradation of the geometry of the railway between the pk 80 and 105 at the plateau of Settat (Morocco)

“…Les photos la figure 12.A illustrent les fissures au niveau des constructions situées à 100 de la voie ferrée dans le secteur d'étude et la figure 12.B représente les fissures et glissement de la chaussée de la route nationale n° 9 reliant Settat à Marrakech à 1 Km environ de la voie ferrée. Les problèmes dus aux mouvements des terrains suite à des cycles de retrait-gonflement, reconnues comme un risque naturel coûteux, sont présents partout dans le monde [29], l'abondance de ce sol expansif à l'échelle mondiale a généré trop d'efforts pour mieux comprendre leur comportement [30][31] et d'éviter toutes catastrophes qui peuvent survenir [32]. Ils sont associés à des situations déficientes en eau et dépend d'un ensemble de propriétés mécaniques et physicochimiques des matériaux [33,34,35].…”

Introduction of inclined open channels for the control of surface runoff of slopes in road structures

“…The green clays taken were kept in their natural state as best as possible, and a paraffin shell served as hygrometric insulation allowing minimal alteration and accidental water content variation [18].…”

“…Our test plot is characterized by a thrust with an average density on the samples of 1.74 t/m 3 in the Gzenaya region [18]. It can be considered that the flow does not allow the transport of solid grains beyond a ditch filling greater than half of its section.…”

“…Minimum spacing necessary for the channels to allow them to ensure a correct drainage according to the fixed collection ditch area was evaluated on 7 different soils: two samples of the clays of the Tangier region including Gzenaya [18], Gharb tirs [21], Loukoss tirs [19], Doukkala tirs [22], and two soils collected from the Lemhaya area near Fès [23], as well as the Ifrane region.…”

Introduction of inclined open channels for the control of surface runoff of slopes in road structures

“…Soils concerned by the study were taken from sites near the commune of Gzenaya in the Tanger-Assilah province. The green clays taken were kept in their natural state as best as possible, and a paraffin shell served as hygrometric insulation allowing minimal alteration and accidental water content variation [18].…”