Field Performance of a Highway Slope Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay in Mississippi

Khan,; Nobahar, Masoud; Ivoke, John

doi:10.1061/9780784483435.003

Cited by 3 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Nobahar et al and Hossain et al used a high vertical hydraulic conductivity value for the surficial soil layer at the slopes to simulate the impact of desiccation crack hydro-mechanical analysis ( 9 , 15 ). As utilized by Khan et al, the high vertical hydraulic conductivity value was adopted during this study for weathered Yazoo clay ( 20 ). For other soil layers, the vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivity values were considered the same in all directions.…”

Section: Finite Element Methods (Fem) Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The optimum moisture of 32% and maximum dry unit weight of 18 kN/m 3 (114.5 pounds per cubic foot [pcf]) were achieved according to test methods of ASTM D698 ( 19 , 20 ). Hydraulic conductivity ( k ) is a function of void ratio ©.…”

Section: Site Location and Soil Physical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, it is critical for industry practitioners to understand which specific element of their design or construction practice should be modified in light of the results of the current proposed study to achieve a longer design life or more durable infrastructure in the specified soil and climatic conditions (combination of high-expansive clay soil, high-intensity short-duration rainfall, and high seasonal variations [frequent high-low temperature or wet-dry cycles]). According to this study and the Mississippi State Study 286, two main factors, among others, in the design and construction practice need to be updated ( 20 ). The first item is the fully softened condition, which results in low shear strength of the soil, and the second item is the high vertical hydraulic conductivity, which results in more perched water zones.…”

Section: Seasonal Variation Of the Flow Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, samples that have been fully saturated and then completely dried tend to have a higher swell potential at lower applied stress because of the increased number of wetting and drying cycles. Expansive soils subjected to partial drying, on the other hand, tend to have lower swell potential at lower applied stress with an increase in wetting and drying cycles (20)(21)(22). Figure 2 shows that the wetting curves reach full saturation at the end of the wetting and drying paths.…”

Section: Site Location and Soil Physical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The regional extent of the Yazoo clay lies within the central Mississippi counties of Yazoo, Holmes, Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Scott, Newton, Smith, Jasper, and Wayne. The horizontal width of the surface outcrop varies from approximately 35 mi on the west to less than 10 mi on the east, whereas the metropolitan Jackson area is located directly on top of the Yazoo clay (20). Yazoo clay is indicated to have a very high shrink/swell potential and moisture changes result in expansive, swelling, shrinkage, and otherwise destructive behavior, causing detrimental effect on the roads, foundations, and related infrastructure in the central Mississippi region (7)(8)(9).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Numerical Investigation of Hydraulic Conductivity Variation on Highway Slopes Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay

Khan

Nobahar

Ivoke

et al. 2022

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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Expansive soils cover more than 25% of the total area of the United States and are subjected to shrink-swell behavior with moisture variation. With successive moisture and temperature variations over the seasons, the hydraulic conductivity of the expansive soil is subjected to change because of the development of shrinkage cracks which affect the vertical hydraulic conductivity, whereas the horizontal hydraulic conductivity remains negligibly constant. This affects the percolation behavior of the subgrade soil and, in turn, reduces the soil strength, as one of the major factors of slope failure. However, no study has been done on the change in the hydraulic properties of expansive soil with time and its effect on highway slopes. The current study intends to investigate the hydraulic conductivity and matric suction variation at different wet-dry cycles on highway slopes. An instantaneous profile method to investigate the changes in hydraulic conductivity during 1N to 5N wet-dry cycles was utilized. The finite element method in Plaxis was conducted to evaluate the effect of different frequencies and duration of rainfall on water intrusion, and the corresponding change in the matric suction of the highway slope. The selected rainfall pattern is evaluated at different intensities and durations of rainfall based on 100-years return periods. The flow analysis showed that the suction dropped at the highway slope with the presence of rainfall.

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Section: Finite Element Methods (Fem) Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Site Location and Soil Physical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seasonal Variation Of the Flow Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Site Location and Soil Physical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical Investigation of Hydraulic Conductivity Variation on Highway Slopes Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay

Khan

Nobahar

Ivoke

et al. 2022

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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Impact of Vetiver Plantation on Unsaturated Soil Behavior and Stability of Highway Slope

Rahman,

Chakraborty,

Khan

et al. 2024

Geosciences

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Due to cyclic wetting and drying, the hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated soil is impacted significantly. In order to assess the soil strength parameters, knowing the unsaturated behavior is important. Soil moisture content is an important parameter that can define the shear strength of the soil. Most of the highway slopes of Mississippi are built on highly expansive clay. During summer, the evaporation of moisture in the soil leads to shrinkage and the formation of desiccation cracks, while during rainfall, the soil swells due to the infiltration of water. In addition to this, the rainwater gets trapped in these cracks and creates perched conditions, leading to the increased moisture content and reduced shear strength of slope soil. The increased precipitation due to climate change is causing failure conditions on many highway slopes of Mississippi. Vetiver, a perennial grass, can be a transformative solution to reduce the highway slope failure challenges of highly plastic clay. The grass has deep and fibrous roots, which provide additional shear strength to the soil. The root can uptake a significant amount of water from the soil, keeping the moisture balance of the slope. The objective of the current study is to assess the changes in moisture contents of a highway slope in Mississippi after the Vetiver plantation. Monitoring equipment, such as rain gauges and moisture sensors, were installed to monitor the rainfall of the area and the moisture content of the soil. The data showed that the moisture content conditions were improved with the aging of the grass. The light detection and ranging (LiDAR) analysis was performed to validate the field data obtained from different sensors, and it was found that there was no significant slope movement after the Vetiver plantation. The study proves the performance of the Vetiver grass in improving the unsaturated soil behavior and stability of highway slopes built on highly expansive clay.

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Development of Soil Moisture Content and Soil Matric Suction Model Based on Field Instrumentation and Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) for Highway Slopes Constructed on High Expansive Clay Soil

et al. 2022

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In highway slopes (HWS) constructed on high expansive clay soil (HECS), in situ moisture variation is an environmentally driven variable that can significantly impact the safety of the constructed soil. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) is a non-destructive method with a considerable potential for subsurface soil moisture mapping, which can be correlated with volumetric soil moisture content (VSMC) and soil matric suction (SMS) of HECS to remarkably enhance the evaluation of the performance of the HWS. However, limited datasets are available to evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of the available correlative field-based models for the HECS under various field conditions. The objective of the current study is to develop a field-based model of VSMC and SMS using real-time field monitoring and ERI data. Six HWS located in the Jackson metro area in Mississippi (MS), USA were considered as reference slopes in this study. Comprehensive field instrumentation was executed at the six HWS to monitor the VSMC, SMS and rainfall intensity. The sensors were installed at the crest, middle and toe of the slope. The 2D ERI test was conducted using a dipole–dipole array with multiple electrodes at 5 ft (1.5 m) spacing. The ERI survey was conducted at the crest and middle of the six HWS to image the continuous soil subsurface profile in terms of moisture variation. The developed models indicated a good agreement between instrumented and ERI data. The developed models will facilitate the estimation of VSMC and SMS variations and aid in performance monitoring of the HWS built on HECS such as Yazoo clay.

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Field Performance of a Highway Slope Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay in Mississippi

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Numerical Investigation of Hydraulic Conductivity Variation on Highway Slopes Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay

Numerical Investigation of Hydraulic Conductivity Variation on Highway Slopes Made of Expansive Yazoo Clay

Impact of Vetiver Plantation on Unsaturated Soil Behavior and Stability of Highway Slope

Development of Soil Moisture Content and Soil Matric Suction Model Based on Field Instrumentation and Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) for Highway Slopes Constructed on High Expansive Clay Soil

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