Compressibility characteristics of sabkha complex

Abstract EN

Sabkha soils are coastal and inland saline sediments of arid climates, commonly occurring in Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Geotechnical properties of a typical sabkha formation from the west coast of Saudi Arabia are studied through extensive field and laboratory investigation.

The settlement characteristics are determined in the laboratory using consolidation tests on undisturbed samples and are substantiated in the field through an instrumented test embankment.

Analysis based on laboratory evaluated parameters highly overestimates the in situ settlement-time behavior ; however, close agreement between observed and predicted behavior is obtained when field parameters are used.

Statistical analysis has been performed for the purpose of correlating the laboratory compression index, Cc, of undisturbed sabkha soil with some physical soil properties.

It is found that the relationship between the Ce and the physical properties can be described by a linear and nonlinear set of empirical equations using the natural moisture content, the in situ void ratio, or the reciprocal the dry density, and nonlinear equations correlating the compression index with each one of the aforementioned property and the plasticity index.

However, the equation relating the compression index to the natural moisture content and the plasticity index in a nonlinear manner may be considered the best to represent the relationship, as reflected by its near ideal statistical test values.