Engineering Geology Volume 28 Issue 1-2 1990 (Doi 10.1016/0013-7952 (90) 90041-x) Jawad S. Al-Sulaimi Mohammad A. Mollah Muneer A. Matti - Geotechnical Properties of Calcrete Soil (Gatch) in Kuwait
Engineering Geology Volume 28 Issue 1-2 1990 [Doi 10.1016%2F0013-7952%2890%2990041-x] Jawad S. Al-Sulaimi; Mohammad a. Mollah; Muneer a. Matti -- Geotechnical Properties of Calcrete Soil (Gatch) in Kuwait
Engineering Geology Volume 28 Issue 1-2 1990 (Doi 10.1016/0013-7952 (90) 90041-x) Jawad S. Al-Sulaimi Mohammad A. Mollah Muneer A. Matti - Geotechnical Properties of Calcrete Soil (Gatch) in Kuwait
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands
Techni cal Not e Geot echni cal Propert i es of Cal cret e Soi l ( Gatch) in Kuwai t JAWAD S. AL-SULAIMI, MOHAMMAD A. MOLLAH and MUNEER A. MATTI Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109 - - Safat (Kuwait) Government Laboratories and Testing Station, Ministry of Public Works, P.O. Box 8, 13001 - - Safat (Kuwait) Formerly, Engineering Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. box 24885, 13109- Safat (Kuwait) (Received December 11, 1986; accepted after rewsion January 1, 1989) ABSTRACT A1-Sulaimi, J.S., Mollah, M.A. and Matti, M.A., 1989. Geotechnical properties of calcrete soil (gatch) in Kuwait. Eng. Geol., 28: 191-204. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory testing program carried out to study the geotechnical properties of gatch (calcrete soil) samples. A total of 17 samples collected from 17 different sites in Kuwait City and its suburbs were used for the study. The testing program included determination of physical, index and engineering properties of gatch samples. The sensitivity of various geotechnical properties of compacted gatch was examined by testing specimens at various moisture contents and also at different soaking periods. INTRODUCTION Ga t c h i s t he l oc a l n a me of a p a r t i a l l y c o n s o l i d a t e d s e d i me n t o f a ma s s i v e c a l c r e t e t y p e f ound i n ma n y p a r t s of Ku wa i t a t v a r i a b l e d e p t h b u t g e n e r a l l y a b o u t 2 m b e l o w t he s ur f a c e . Thi s de pos i t wh i c h c a n a t t a i n t h i c k n e s s e s o f t e n s of me t e r s , c ons i s t s b a s i c a l l y of q u a r t z s a n d s c e me n t e d p r e d o mi n a n t l y by c a r b o n a t e s ( c a l c i t e a n d / o r dol omi t e) . Si nc e 1950 a h u g e c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o g r a m h a s b e e n u n d e r wa y i n Ku wa i t , i n wh i c h g a t c h h a s b e e n us e d p r i n c i p a l l y as a s ub- ba s e ma t e r i a l f or r o a d c o n s t r u c t i o n , f or t he f o r ma t i o n o f e mb a n k me n t s a n d f or fill ma t e r i a l . Ga t c h i s al s o t he soi l on wh i c h mo s t bui l di ng f o u n d a t i o n s r es t . Co n s i d e r a b l e f i el d a n d l a b o r a t o r y wo r k h a s b e e n c a r r i e d o u t i n t he p a s t by e n g i n e e r s e n g a g e d i n s peci f i c pr oj e c t s , b u t s o f a r n o a t t e mp t h a s b e e n ma d e t o c o r r e l a t e t h e r e s u l t s of t h e s e s t udi e s s o as t o o b t a i n a g e n e r a l p i c t u r e o f g a t c h depos i t s . Thi s p a p e r p r e s e n t s t h e g e o t e c h n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f g a t c h e n c o u n t e r e d i n Ku wa i t Ci t y a n d i t s s ubur bs . A t o t a l o f 17 d i s t u r b e d g a t c h s a mp l e s we r e r a n d o ml y c h o s e n f r o m di f f e r e nt a r e a s f or a n i n t e n s i v e l a b o r a t o r y g e o t e c h n i c a l t e s t i ng. Th e p r o g r a m o f t e s t i n g i n c l u d e d t h e d e t e r mi n a t i o n of t h e ba s i c a n d 0013-7952/90/$03.50 1990 Elsewer Science Publishers B.V. 192 J S AL-SULAIMI ET AL st r engt h propert i es. The effect of s at ur at i on of var i ous degrees on soil propert i es was also exami ned. GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND CLIMATE Kuwai t is a smal l count r y l ocat ed in t he nor t heas t er n edge of t he Ar abi an peni nsul a, bordered by t he Ar abi an Gul f in t he east. The east er n par t of t he Ar abi an Peni nsul a, known as t he Ar abi an Shelf, consi st s of a sedi ment ar y successi on i n whi ch t he most common r ock t ypes are sandst one and car bonat e rocks (Powers et al., 1963). The ar ea of Kuwai t const i t ut es a par t of t he i nt er i or homocl i ne of t he Ar abi an Peni nsul a. The rocks exposed r ange in age from Eocene t o Recent. The Dammam Li mest one For mat i on, of Eocene Age, crops out al ong t he Ahmadi Ridge about 40 km sout h of Kuwai t Ci t y and is t he ol dest rock exposed m Kuwai t . The Dammam Li mest one is over l ai n by a sequence of t er r i genous sedi ment s t ha t r ange i n age from Mi ocene to Recent . These sedi ment s are exposed i n t he J al Az-Zor Escar pment nor t hwes t of Kuwai t City. The rock sequence of J al Az-Zor consi st s of t hr ee mai n f or mat i ons named, from bot t om t o top, Ghar, Far s and Di bdi bah (Fuchs et al., 1968). The Di bdi bah For mat i on covers most of t he nor t her n ar ea of Kuwai t and consi st s mai nl y of a fl uvi at i l e sequence of cross-bedded sands and gravel s usual l y cement ed by gypsum and carbonat es. The rest of Kuwai t is covered by ot her Quat er nar y deposits. The cl i mat e of Kuwai t is char act er i zed by a t ypi cal desert envi r onment , wi t h prol onged hot dr y summers and mi l d t o cool, r el at i vel y wet wi nt ers. Annual pan evapor at i on is about 3500 mm per year whi ch i ncr eases gr adual l y from a mi ni mum val ue of 2.1 mm/ day i n wi nt er ( Januar y) t o a maxi mum of 13 mm/ day i n summer ( June and Jul y). PETROGRAPHY OF THE GATCH A t ypi cal ful l y devel oped simple soil profile m t he st udy ar ea can be di vi ded i nt o five zones or hori zons. In descendi ng or der t hese are: (1) aeol i an soil 0.5 to 10 m t hi ck, but commonl y less t ha n 2 m; (2) up t o 3 m t hi ck of fri abl e sand wi t h powdery cal cr et e or t i ght l y cement ed cal cr et e l umps (nodules) up t o 30 cm m di amet ers; (3) massi ve cal cr et e 0.2 t o 2 m i n t hi ckness (gatch); (4) a mot t l ed cal cr et e zone up t o 2 m i n t hi ckness; and (5) unal t er ed par ent mat eri al . Det ai l ed account s of t he di agenesi s and f or mt i on of t he di f f er ent cal cret e zones have been publ i shed by A1-Sulaimi (1988). The massi ve cal cr et e (gat ch) is a whi t e t o l i ght -yel l owi sh, porcel l aneous, car bonat e rock. It consi st s of var i abl y cement ed and repl aced sand part i cl es. The car bonat e i n t he massi ve cal cr et e (gat ch) r epr esent s a subst ant i al replace- ment of t he or i gi nal mat er i al . Mi ner al gr ai ns such as quar t z and fel dspar are et ched and repl aced t o var yi ng ext ent s by car bonat e. The domi nant cement i ng mat er i al is l ar gel y l ow-magnesi um cal ci t e (1-4 mol e ~/o MgCO3) and]or micro- cr yst al l i ne dol omi t e. Moder at el y coarse (up to 0.6 mm) dol omi t e usual l y occurs as subhedr al or smal l euhedr al rhombs wher eas t he l ow-magnesi um GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF CALCRETE SOIL (GATCH) IN KUWAIT I * A ... "
Fig.I. Map of Kuwait City and its suburbs showing sampling locations. pp. 193-196 KUWAIT &SUBURBS ;r C -
C a: C \1 0 m' 1MQ ... I, " II " II II ,I II I' " " GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF CALCRETE SOIL (GATCH) IN KUWAIT 197 cal ci t e oft en occur s as mi cr ospar i t e and spari t e. The car bont e f r act i on i n t he massi ve cal cr et e aver ages 60% (range 15-90~/o) wi t h t he dol omi t e cont ent aver agi ng 40% (range 5-90%). Gypsum is al so obser ved i n a few gat ch sampl es and i n some cases i t effect i vel y cement s t he assembl age as a r esul t of i nt ensi ve r epl acement of t he car bonat e. The mai n effect of t he di agenet i c pr ocesses on t hi s hori zon is an over al l decr ease i n por osi t y and effect i ve per meabi l i t y of t he gat ch zone due t o cement at i on by car bonat e (A1-Sulaimi, 1988). SAMPLING AND TESTING PROGRAM Thi s s t udy forms an i nt egr al par t of t he Kuwai t I ns t i t ut e for Sci ent i fi c Resear ch pr oj ect ent i t l ed " St udy of t he Gat ch Deposi t s i n Kuwai t Ci t y and Subur bs " (A1-Sulaimi et al., 1984). Over 200 sampl es of gat ch wer e col l ect ed from di fferent l ocat i ons of Kuwai t Ci t y and i t s subur bs t o s t udy t he geol ogi cal char act er i st i cs. Out of t hese a t ot al of s event een massi ve gat ch sampl es t a ke n from var i ous l ocat i ons (Fi g. l ) wer e made avai l abl e for geot echni cal anal ysi s. The sampl es wer e col l ect ed from dept hs r angi ng bet ween 1.0 and 6.5 m from open t est pi t s and al so dur i ng vi si t s t o var i ous cons t r uct i on si t es. Upon r ecei pt of t he sampl es i n t he soi l l abor at or y a vi sual cl assi f i cat i on was made f ol l owed by t he det er mi nat i on of t he nat ur al moi st ur e cont ent . A syst emat i c l abor at or y t est i ng pr ogr am was car r i ed out i n whi ch fi rst l y t he basi c and i ndex pr oper t i es of all t he sampl es wer e det ermi ned. The compact i on char act er i st i cs of gat ch wer e det er mi ned empl oyi ng bot h s t andar d (2.5 kg rammer) and modified (4.5 kg rammer) energi es. An i nt ensi ve t est i ng pr ogr am was under t aken t o s t udy t he s t r engt h par amet er s i nt ended for f oundat i on desi gn anal ysi s, as wel l as sui t abi l i t y of compact ed gat ch as a subgr ade mat er i al usi ng five sel ect ed samples. These t est s i ncl uded per f or mi ng di r ect shear, Cal i f or ni a bear i ng r at i o (CBR) and per meabi l i t y t est s usi ng speci mens compact ed by bot h energi es. The effect of soaki ng on s t r engt h char act er i s t i cs was st udi ed by per f or mi ng t est s at di fferent soaki ng condi t i ons. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSIONS OF TEST RESULTS Classification tests These t est s wer e per f or med accor di ng t o ASTM st andar ds, and t he r esul t s are summari zed i n Tabl e I. The grain-size anal ysi s i ndi cat es t hat sand size domi nat es t he par t i cl e composi t i on of t he gat ch, wi t h gr avel cont ent var yi ng bet ween 0 nd 4%. The per cent age of fine mat er i al s havi ng t he size of cl ay and si l t par t i cl es var i es bet ween 8 and 33%. The mean grain-size di amet er and specific gr avi t y of soi l sol i ds var y from 0.15 t o 0. 8ram and 2.63 t o 2.70, r espect i vel y. The pl ast i ci t y of t he gat ch sampl es was det er mi ned on mat er i al f r act i ons passi ng U.S. si eve size of 425 pro. Ten out of s event een sampl es wer e f ound t o be non-pl ast i c (NP), and t he r emai nder showed a l ow pl ast i ci t y i ndex (PI) T A B L E
I
P h y s : c a l
a n d
i n d e x
p r o p e r t i e s
o f
g a t c h
N o
L o c a t m n
N a t u r a l
m o i s t u r e
c o n t e n t
( % )
P a s s i n g
n o
2 0 0
U S
s t o v e
( % )
M e a n
g r a m
d i a m e t e r ,
D s 0
( m m )
L l q u : d
l l m : t
( % )
P l a s t m
h m l t
( % )
S h r i n k a g e
h m l t
( % )
S p e c i f i c
g r a v i t y
o f
s o i l
s o h d s
( V s )
C l a s s : f i c a t l o n
U m f i e d
s o i l
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
s y s t e m
G r o u p
i n d e x
s y s t e m
1
G - 1
1
6
1 1 . 9 "
0 . 7 0
2 4 . 8
2
G - 2
0
5
1 3
4
0
2 3
N P . 2
3
G - 3
1 . 5
2 4 . 3
0 . 1 8
2 8
7
4
G - 4
0
3
1 3
6
0 . 2 0
N P
5
G - 5
1
5
1 6
5
0
2 0
N P
6
G - 6
4 . 1
1 3
1
0 . 3 0
N P
7
G - 7
1
4
1 6 . 2
0
2 3
2 2
5
8
G - 8
2
7
1 4 . 8
0
5 1
2 1 . 5
9
G - 9
1
9
2 2 . 8
0 . 2 7
3 1
6
1 0
G - 1 0
1
5
8
4 * '
0
6 0
N P
1 1
G - 1 1
0
5
3 2 . 6
0 . 1 6
N P
1 2
G - 1 2
0
3
1 2 . 9
0 . 3 4
N P
1 3
G - 1 3
1
9
1 6
6
0
2 0
2 5
0
1 4
G - 1 4
6 . 7
1 4
4
0 . 3 0
N P
1 5
G - 1 5
2 . 0
2 8
6
0 . 1 7
N P
1 6
G - 1 6
3
8
1 8 . 0
0 . 2 0
N P
1 7
G - 1 7
4
1
2 9
8
0
1 7
1 9
1
2 1 . 0
N P
2 0 . 3
N P
N P
N P
1 8 . 8
1 8
1
2 2
1
N P
N P
N P
2 3
2
N P
N P
N P
1 7 1
1 9 . 0
1 6
8
1 7
1
1 9
1
1 9
4
2 0 . 4
1 6
0
1 6 . 3
1 7 . 9
1 2 . 5
1 5 . 5
2 1
1
1 2 . 7
1 8 6
1 6 . 8
1 5
7
1 5
6
2
6 5
2 . 6 6
2 . 6 9
2 6 6
2 . 6 8
2
6 3
2 . 6 5
2 . 6 0
2 . 7 0
2 . 5 8
2
7 2
2 6 6
2 . 6 5
2 . 6 3
2 . 7 0
2 . 6 7
2 . 7 0
S M
S M
S C
S M
S M
S M
S M
S M
S C
S M
S M
S M
S M
S M
S M
S M
S M
A - l - 6 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - l - 6 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 . 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
A - 2 - 4 ( 0 )
* 1 S a m p l e
c o n t a i n s
c e m e n t e d
f r a g m e n t s
( 1 0
2 0 % )
* 2 N p
=
n o n - p l a s t i c
GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF CALCRETE SOIL (GATCH) IN KUWAIT 199 between 2 and 10%. When plotted on t he Casagrande chart, t he gat ch samples lie at or slightly above t he A-line in t he low plasticity region. Accordingly, t he Uni t ed Soil Classification System (USCS) designation of t he gat ch is SM-SC. For road works, t he gat ch belongs to a soil group of A-2-4. The results are in full agreement with those report ed by Riedel and Simon (1973) on samples from t hree locations in Kuwai t City, and by Ismael et al. (1984) on samples from t he A1-Andalus area about 20 km southwest of Kuwai t City. The shri nkage limit (SL) whi ch is t he moisture cont ent of t he soil below which little or no volume change is to t ake place is recorded to vary from 12.5 to 21.0% with an average of 17.0%. An exami nat i on of Table I reveals t hat t he nat ur al moisture cont ent (NMC) is well below t he shri nkage limit at all locations indicating a general moisture deficiency. Upon saturation, these soils are liable to swell; this explains why gat ch soils at t he surface crack once subjected to drying. Compaction characteristics Test results summarized in Table II show t he maximum dry density t oget her with t hei r corresponding optimum moisture content. The results obtained are similar to those reported by Riedel and Simon (1973). In constructions, TABLE II Summary of r esul t s of compact i on t est s No. Locat i on 2.5 kg r ammer 4.5 kg r ammer and 305 mm drop and 457 mm drop OMC ~dm.x OMC ?din., (%) (kg/m a) (%) (kg/m 3) 1 G-1 11.0 1950 9.0 2060 2 G-2 11.0 1915 9.0 1995 3 G-3 13.0 1860 11.5 1970 4 G-4 13.0 1880 9.5 2030 5 G-5 13.0 1825 9.5 1940 6 G-6 12.5 1870 11.5 1940 7 G-7 10.5 1985 9.5 2040 8 G-8 13.0 1895 8.0 2025 9 G-9 15.0 1810 12.5 1965 10 G-10 8.5 1880 7.5 1975 11 G-11 12.5 1940 10.0 2040 12 G-12 12.0 1850 8.0 1935 13 G-13 13.0 1850 10.5 1970 14 G-14 9.5 2000 7.5 2095 15 G-15 12.0 1910 8.5 2065 16 G-16 12.5 1880 9.0 2035 17 G-17 13.0 1875 10.5 2025 Aver age 12.1 1880 9.4 2005 OMC = opt i mum moi st ur e cont ent ; ~dm.x = maxi mum dry densi t y. 200 J S AL-SULAIMI ET AL compact i on is deemed accept abl e when i n-si t u dr y densi t y exceeds 95% of t he densi t y obt ai ned i n t he l abor at or y for t he s t andar d of compact i on appl i ed. The i n-si t u dr y densi t y of gat ch shoul d be above 1900 kg/ m 3 for t he modified Pr oct or (4.5 kg r ammer ) and 1790kg/ m 3 for t he s t andar d Pr oct or (2.5 kg rammer). The densi t y of gat ch is ver y sensi t i ve t o changes i n moi s t ur e cont ent . Once t he opt i mum moi s t ur e cont ent is exceeded, t her e is a shar p decr ease i n densi t y, as t he mat er i al becomes r at her spongy and difficult t o compact . Fur t her i ncr eases i n moi st ur e cont ent will cause t he mat er i al t o flow under compac- tion. Strength characteristics The s hear s t r engt h of a soil can be used t o det er mi ne i t s ul t i mat e bear i ng capaci t y. The t est r esul t s of undr ai ned sampl es (G-l, G-2, G-5, G-8 and G-14) compact ed at opt i mum moi st ur e cont ent ar e gi ven i n Tabl e III. Resul t s showed t hat soaki ng for 24 and 96 h has l i t t l e effect on s hear st r engt h. The angl e of i nt er nal f r i ct i on (~b) r emai ned unchanged af t er soaki ng for sampl es compact ed by 4.5 kg r ammer and for sampl es compact ed by 2.5 kg r ammer i t decr eased by 1 onl y, whi ch is i nsi gni f i cant in pr act i cal engi neer i ng work. I ncr easi ng t he compact i on effort caused an i ncr ease of 3 t o 4 in t he val ue of , whi ch i ndi cat es i mpr ovement i n t he s hear s t r engt h of pr oper l y compact ed soils. The cohesi on (c) val ues wer e ver y smal l and r anged from 0 t o 16 kN/ m: for l ow compact i on ener gy and from 0 t o 28 kN/ m 2 for hi gher compact i on energy. It is i nt er est i ng t o not e an i ncr eas e i n t he val ue of c wi t h soaki ng. Thi s coul d be due t o t he wet t i ng effect of t he finer f r act i ons of t he gat ch whi ch al so caused t he mat er i al t o swell. Californm bearing ratio (CBR) The CBR t est s wer e per f or med on five sel ect ed gat ch sampl es (G-l, G-2, G-5, G-8 and G-14) pr epar ed at opt i mum moi st ur e cont ent (OMC). The t est r esul t s ar e summar i zed m Tabl e IV. The aver age CBR val ue r anges from 4% t o 32% for uns oaked speci mens compact ed wi t h 2.5 kg r ammer whi l e t he s oaked CBR val ues for si mi l ar speci mens r anged from 4% t o 28%. Thi s i ndi cat es t hat t her e is a sl i ght decr ease i n s t r engt h due t o soaki ng but not so si gni fi cant . However , i ncr easi ng t he compact i ve effect r esul t ed i n 300% i ncr ease i n CBR val ue and t hi s expl ai ns why compact i on has t o be cont rol l ed. The swel l i ng of t he gat ch was al so i nvest i gat ed. It was f ound t hat t he val ues r anged from 0 t o 0.26%, and t hat swel l i ng decr eased wi t h i ncr easi ng compac- t i on. Thi s i l l ust r at es t hat i f a s at i s f act or y compact i on cannot be guar ant eed, t he gat ch is uns ui t abl e unl ess i t s pr oper t i es ar e i mpr oved by means ot her t han compact i on al one. The gat ch is r epor t ed t o be ver y sensi t i ve t o changes i n t he moi st ur e cont ent ( Bi ssada and Qabazar d, 1974). Accor di ngl y, t est s wer e car r i ed out i n whi ch t he mol di ng moi s t ur e cont ent at t he t i me of compact i on was var i ed from 4 t o 16%. T A B L E
I I I
S h e a r
s t r e n g t h
p a r a m e t e r s . 1
t ~
S a m p l e
U n s o a k e d
p e a k
u l t i m a t e
2 4
h
s o a k e d
p e a k
u l t i m a t e
9 6 h
s o a k e d
p e a k
u l t i m a t e
c
~
c
~
c
~
c
~
c
~
c
( k N / m
2 )
( d e g r . )
( k N / m
2 )
( d e g r . )
( k N / m 2 )
( d e g r . )
( k N / m
2 )
( d e g r . )
( k N / m
2 )
( d e g r . )
( k N / m
2 )
( d e g r . )
U s i n g
2 . 5
k g
r a m m e r :
G - 1
1 0
3 8 . 7
0
3 2 . 6
1 0
3 8 . 7
G - 2
0
4 0 . 4
0
3 1 . 8
1 6
3 8 . 7
G - 5
6
4 0 . 5
0
3 2 . 0
8
4 0 . 0
G - 8
1 4
3 8 . 7
0
3 2 . 0
1 6
3 7 . 8
G - 1 4
0
4 0 . 0
0
3 3 . 3
8
3 9 . 8
A v e r a g e
1 2
3 9 . 7
0
3 2 . 3
1 2
3 9 . 0
0
3 2 . 0
8
3 8 . 6
0
3 2 . 3
8
3 8 . 7
0
3 1 . 6
1 2
3 9 . 8
0
3 2 . O
1 6
3 7 . 8
0
3 4 . 3
- -
- -
0
3 2 . 4
1 1
3 8 . 7
0
3 3 . 5
8
4 2 . 8
0
3 4 . 9
1 4
4 2 . 0
0
3 3 . 7
1 2
4 4 . 4
0
3 2 . 7
- -
4 0 . 9
0
3 3 . 7
- -
- -
0
3 3 . 7
1 6
4 2 . 5
U s i n g
4 . 5
k g
r a m m e r :
G - 1
8
4 3 . 3
0
G - 2
1 0
4 2 . 8
0
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202 TABLE IV Re s u l t s of CBR t e s t s . 1 J S AL-SULAIM[ ET ~L Sa mp l e Un s o a k e d , 24 h s o a k e d 96 h s o a k e d CBR (%, a v e r a g e of CBR (%, s we l h n g CBR ( %, 2 t e s t s ) a v e r a g e of ( %) a v e r a g e of 2 t e s t s ) 2 t e s t s ) s we l l i ng (%) Us i n g s t a n d a r d r a mme r (2 5 kg) G-1 8 6 0 6 0 15 G-2 32 28 0 11 28 0 07 G-5 30 25 0 02 25 0 04 G-8 5 5 0 04 6 0 07 G-14 26 19 0 11 20 0 11 Us i n g h e a v mr r a mme r (4 5 kg) G-1 58 25 0 02 22 0 0 G-2 57 61 0 03 62 0 0 G-5 66 52 0 09 54 0 16 G-8 93 50 0 11 43 0 20 G-14 56 51 0 07 41 0 02 * 1Spe c i me ns c o mp a c t e d a t o p t i mu m mo i s t u r e c o n t e n t t o ma x i mu m dr y d e n s i t y These tests were carried out usi ng 4.5 kg rammer on 2 sel ected samples (G-5 and G-8) onl y and the s oaki ng condi t i ons were vari ed as usual. The resul t of the test cont ai ns whol l y the findings of Bi ssada and Qabazard (1974). Permeability tests Per meabi l i t y t est s wer e conduct ed usi ng five sel ect ed sampl es (G-l, G-2, G-5, G-8 and G-14). The speci mens wer e pr epar ed by compact i ng at OMC by bot h energi es. The t est s wer e conduct ed usi ng t he fal l i ng head met hod. The r esul t s ar e summar i zed i n Tabl e V. The per meabi l i t y coeffi ci ent (k) TABLE V Re s u l t s of p e r me a b l h t y t e s t s .1 Sa mp l e P e r me a b l h t y ( m/ s, 10- 1 ) 2 5 k g r a mme r 4.5 k g r a mme r G-1 80 22 G-2 420 305 G-5 3400 740 G-8 4 6 0 6 G-14 34 6. 30 * 1Spe c i me n c o mp a c t e d a t OMC t o ydma x G E O T E C H N I C A L PROPERTIES O F C A L C R E T E SOIL ( GATCH) IN K U W A I T 2 03 var i es bet ween 4.6 and 3400"10 -1 m/ s for speci mens compact ed by 2. 5kg rammer, and 0.6 and 740"10 -1 m/s for speci mens by 4. 5kg rammer. Thi s i ndi cat es a five-fold decr ease i n t he per meabi l i t y fi gures j us t by i ncr easi ng t he compact i ve effort. The aver age per meabi l i t y coeffi ci ent of Uni t ed St at es Bur eau of Recl amat i on (USBR, 1977) for si l t y and cl ay sands var i es from 720 t o 480. 10 -1 m/s and t he soi l s ar e descr i bed as: (1) i mper vi ous when k is < 100.10 -1 m/s; (2) semi -i mpervi ous when k is 100 t o < 1000"10 -1 m/s; (3) pr evi ous when k is > 1000-10-10 m]s. Accor di ngl y, gat ch soi l s ar e consi der ed as i mpervi ous, compar i ng t he fi gures wi t h t he except i on of t hose from G-2 and G-5 ar eas wher e t he gat ch is semi -i mpervi ous. Thi s i mpl i es t hat t he use of gat ch r equi r es pr oper dr ai nage ar r angement s when used as fill mat eri al . CONCLUSIONS (1) Massi ve gat ch is pr edomi nant l y sandy wi t h t he per cent age of mat er i al finer t ha n 75 tan r angi ng from 8% t o 3 3 . I t is ei t her non- pl ast i c or has a l ow pl ast i ci t y i ndex, and can be cl assi fi ed as SM-SC i n t he Uni fi ed Cl assi fi cat i on or A-2(0) i n t he AASHTO cl assi fi cat i on. Thi s makes i t sui t abl e for use i n r oad subgr ades. The aver age shr i nkage l i mi t is 17~/o, whi ch is consi der abl y abvoe t he nat ur al moi st ur e cont ent . Thi s is cri t i cal , becaus e i t means t hat t he soi l s ar e l i abl e t o swel l when s at ur at ed and t o cr ack when dry, and sui t abl e dr ai nage ar r angement s must be made t o ensur e t hei r st abi l i t y. (2) The aver age val ues of t he Cal i f or ni a bear i ng r at i o (CBR) f or uns oaked sampl es r anged from 5~/o t o 3 2 ~ when compact ed at OMC usi ng l ow energy; t he same sampl es compact ed at hi gher ener gy gave a CBR val ue bet ween 56% and 93/0. Thi s i ndi cat es t hat cer t ai n t ypes of massi ve gat ch can be used as sub- base or even as a base cour se for r oad const r uct i on. Soaki ng of gat ch sampl es compact ed at t hei r opt i mum moi st ur e cont ent has l i t t l e effect on t he CBR val ue. The CBR val ue is ver y sensi t i ve t o t he moi st ur e cont ent of t he gat ch at t he t i me of compact i on, and t hi s will di ct at e t he need for good qual i t y cont r ol dur i ng compact i on. (3) The cohesi on of gat ch is ver y l ow and at t i mes negl i gi bl e, whi l e on t he ot her hand t he angl e of f r i ct i on has been f ound t o i mpr ove consi der abl y wi t h pr oper compact i on. The per meabi l i t y is consi st ent l y low; t he massi ve gat ch i n t he s t udy ar ea is ei t her i mper vi ous or semi -i mpervi ous. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The aut hor s expr ess t hei r gr at i t ude t o Dr. Abdul maj i d J er agh, Head of t he Gover nment Labor at or i es and Test i ng St at i on for al l owi ng t o use t he soil l abor at or y. Thanks ar e al so due t o Dr. Hamed Saeedy of Kuwai t I ns t i t ut e for Sci ent i fi c Res ear ch for r evi ew and usef ul comment s on t he manuscr i pt . The KI SR pr oj ect EES-46 st af f ar e acknowl edged for field and l abor at or y assist- ance. 204 J s AL-SULAIMI ET AL REFERENCES A1-Sulalml, J , 1988. Calcrete and near surface geology of Kuwait City and suburbs, Arabian Gulf Sediment. Geol., 54: 331-345. A1-Sulaimi, J., El-Sayed, M.I., Youash, Y, Matt1, M., Akber, A., Mollah, M.A., Salman, A.S and Mukhopadhyay, A., 1984 Study of the Gatch Deposits m Kuwait City and Suburbs KISR 1399, Kuwait Institute for Scientffic Research, Kuwait (Unpublished) Blssada, A.F. and Qabazard, J , 1974. Low cost road pavement situation in Kuwait. Arab Engineers Federation Conference, Kuwait. Fuchs, F., Gattmger, T.E. and Holzer, H.F., 1968. Exploratory Text to the Synoptic Geologic Map of Kuwmt Geol. Surv. Austria, Vmnna Ismael, N.F., A1-Khalidl, O. and Abdul-Hadl, S., 1984. Sub-soils Condition m A1-Andalus Area Research Report, Government Laboratories and Testing Station, MPW, Kuwait (Unpubhshed). Poers, R.W., Ramlres, L. F, Redmond, C.D. and Elberg, E.L., 1963. Geology of the Arabian Peninsula; sedimentary geology of Saudl Arabia. Geol Surv Prof. Pap. 560-D Rmdel, G. and Simon, A.B., 1973. Geotechmcal properties of Kuwait "gat ch" and their improve- ment. Eng. Geol , 7. 155-165 Umt ed States Bureau of Reclamation, 1977. Design of Small Dams. Washington, D. C, rev 2nd ed.