Expansive soil in Al-Qatif Area

Abstract EN

This paper presents documented evidence of the existence of expansive clay in the Al-Qatif area in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and a description of the problem associated with it.

A site investigation was conducted to obtain undisturbed clay samples.

Laboratory tests were used to determine geotechnical properties and mineralogical composition.

Atterberg limit, natural water content, density, and the clay fraction indicate that the swelling potential of soil is high.

X-ray diffraction and the scanning electron microscope analysis showed that Al-Qatif soil contains montmorillonite clay minerals with flaky flocculated particles.

The swelling pressure and percentage of swell were obtained by direct measurement, which was achieved by using the conventional one-dimensional consolidometer.

The results indicate that Al-Qatif clays can be characterized as highly expansive.