Thehighlyvariable

JurongFormation
CFLeung
NationalUniversityofSingapore
GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY OF
SINGAPORE
(GeoSS)
Cordially invites you to

Inauguration of GeoSS
Date: Tuesday, 29 Jan 2008
Time: 6:00 8:30pm
Venue: LT1
Faculty of Engineering
National University of Singapore
Program

1815 1900 ReceptionandregistrationofGeoSSmembership

1900 1930 InaugurationofGeoSS
1930 2030 FirstGeoSSLecture
CollapseofNicollHighway aGlobalFailureattheCurvedSectionof
aCutandCoverTunnelConstruction
byProfessorKYYong

Timeflies.GeoSSisnowinits10th year.
Overtheyears
Membershipgrowsfrom100to300.
Kittygrowsfromafewthousanddollarstoover$200,000.
EventstocelebrateGeoSS10th year
Seriesoflecturesgivenbypastpresidentsandothereventsin2017.
GeoSS10Conference(30Novto1Dec2017)
Theme:ADecadeofGeotechnicalAdvances
Localandoverseasexpertswillbeinvitedtogivethestateofpractices onthe
following10topics:
Topicspecific:(1)Deepexcavations/retainingstructures,(2)Foundations,(3)
Tunnelling,(4)LandreclamationandPort,(5)Undergroundcaverns.
Crossdiscipline: (6)Siteinvestigationandgeology,(7)Finiteelementanalyses,
(8)Groundimprovement,(9)designCodesandregulations,(10)Future
geotechnicalsolutions.
GeoSS10th AGMtobeheldon1Dec2017
Outlineofthislecture
IntroductiontoJurongFormation
Pilessocketedinweaksedimentaryrocks
ThehighlyvariableJurongFormation(soilsandrocks)
Variability
Foldingandcavities
Slakingandsoftening
Seepageandpermeability
Compressibilityandconsolidation
Concludingremarks
IntroductiontoJurong
Formation
JurongFormationoccursinthesouthernandwesternpartofSingapore

NewgeologicalmapupdatedbyDSTA2009
Anotherupdatesoon?
ResidualsoilsofJurongFormation

Thesesoilsaretheweatheredresidueofsedimentaryrock.
Thechangefromsoiltorockisusuallygradual.
Weak
sedimentary
rocksare
oftenhighly
fractured
andcan
extenddown
to100m
depth
Strongsedimentaryrock

188mdepth
Unconfinedcompressivetests(left)areoftenconductedonrockcore
(minimumlengthatleast2corediameter)todetermineUnconfined
CompressiveStrengthqu.
Assedimentaryrocksarehighlyfractured,pointloadtests(top)are
oftencarriedouttodeterminetherockPointLoadIndexIs(50).
Correlationbetweenqu andIs(50)forweaksedimentaryrock

qu =6Is(50).

Notequaltothe
commonlyadopted
qu =22Is(50) for
strongrocks

AfterLeungandRadhakrishnan (1990)
 Pilessocketedinweak
sedimentaryrock
Itisgenerallynotpossibletofoundpilesonsolidsedimentaryrock
whichisusuallyatgreatdepth(often>100m).
Thepilesneedtobesocketedmanypilediametersintotheweakrock
toachievethedesiredpilecapacity!
ThiswasmyfirstresearchadventureinJurongFormation.
AlexandriaDistrict
Park(nowpartof
Mapletree
complex)
AlexandraDistripark
Instrumented
testpiles
Mostlydryholesforboredpiling
 Load (MN)
0 4 8 12 16 20
0

4
Settlement (mm)

12

16

Loadsettlementresponseisreasonablylinearuptoworkingloadof10MN

AfterRadhakrishnanandLeung(1989)
 Load (MN) Unit shaft friction (kPa)
0 5 10 15 20 0 200 400 600
0

Fill Applied load

1 2 3 4
1: 5 MN
2: 10 MN

Depth below ground level (m)

Marine clay 4
3: 15 MN
4: 20 MN
Firm
silty clay
(N = 12)
8
V. dense
clayey silt
(N = 130)
Weak
siltstone 12
(qu=3.5 MPa)

Weak Maximum
siltstone unitshaft
(qu=6.5 MPa) 1 2 3 4
16 friction
(c)
600kPa
(a) (b)
AfterRadhakrishnanandLeung(1989)
 AlexandraDistripark

Resultsshowthatalargepercentageofshaftfrictioncan
bemobilisedevenforpilesnottestedtoultimatefailure.

AfterRadhakrishnanandLeung(1989)
Rocksocketadhesionfactor
Pileloadtestresultsrevealthatmajorityofsocket
shaftfrictioncanbemobilisedevenforpilesnot
testedtoultimatefailure.
Rocksocketadhesionfactor
=fs/qu
 0.6

Rock socket adhesion factor Field data in

Williams and Pells
sedimentary rocks
0.4
Rowe and Armitage

Rosenberg and Journeaux

0.2
Horvath and Kenny

0.0
1 10 100
Unconfined compressive strength qu (MPa)

Allpilesinstalledbychiselling. AfterLeung(1996)
Chisellingaffectssocketswithqu >5MPa
Sedimentaryrocks
Forqu <5MPa(i.e.veryweakrock)
rocksocketadhesionfactor isreasonablycloseto
theoreticalvalues.
Forqu >5MPa(i.e.weakrock&above), valueis
considerablylowerthanthetheoreticalvalues. Thisis
causedbyheavychisellingthathadsignificantly
weakenedtherock.
PSA
Building

Pileraft
foundation
Foundationlayoutandinstrumentplan
Subsurface
conditions
Thecorewallsaredesignedtotakethelateralwindload
Constructionofboredpiles
Constructionof2mthickraft
Foundationlayoutandinstrumentplan
Foundation
monitoring
throughout
superstructure
construction
Verysmallheaveoutsidecolumnarea

Verysmallsettlementundershearcoreandcolumns

AfterLeungetal.(1988)
 AfterLeungetal.(1988)

Thereisnosignificantincreaseinraftpressure,
indicatingthatmuchoftheloadsaretakenbythepiles.
AfterLeungetal.(1988)
 AfterLeungetal.(1988)

(a)Constructionload Testload
Pileraftcap&creep
Pilebehaviourunderstaticloadtestandunderlong
termworkingconditionsaremarkedlydifferent.
Thepresenceofraft,pilegroupeffectandpossibly
rockcreepwillcausethelongloadtransfertobeless
alongthepileshaft.I.e.moreloadistransferredto
thepilebase.
 Edgepile

Distributionofpileloadamongpilessupportingacolumn AfterLeungetal.(1988)

Edgepilestakeupthemostcolumnload
 Innerpile

Centrepile

AfterLeungetal.(1988)

Innerpilestakeuptheleastcolumnload
AfterLeungetal.(1988)
Summaryoffindings
Theraftbehavesasabigflexiblepilecap
Mostoftheloadstakenbypileslocatedunderthecentralcorewalls
andperipheralcolumns
Littleloadwastakenbypilesituatedbetweenthecorewallsandthe
columns
(seenexttwofiguresfordetails)
AfterLeungetal.(1988)
AfterLeungetal.(1988)
PrecastRCdrivenpiles
Casestudyonveryweaksedimentaryrock(qu ~1
MPa) [TanjongPagararea]
Pilecanbedesignedasdrivenpilesingravel/sandas
therockiscompletelyfracturedduringdriving
Unitshaftfrictioncanbequitehighwithintheshort
socketlength
Concreting
of
instrumented
pile
incasting
yard
Joiningof
pilesegments
withgroove
recessfor
cablesof
straingauges
Joiningofcablesforstraingauges
TP1

(afterLeungetal.,1991)
TP2
(afterLeungetal.,1991)
(afterLeungetal.,1991)
Unitshaftfrictioncanbehighwithintheshortsocketlengthbutadoptingsuchhighunitshaft
frictionvalueshouldbetreatedwithcaution(afterLeungetal.,1991).
 ThehighlyvariableJurong
Formation
Inmyearlydaysinvolvingrocksocketedpiles,IthoughtJurong
Formationishighlyfracturedbutnocomplexproblems.
ButIwasprovenwronginmysubsequentinvolvementwithfurther
projectsinJurongFormation.
 20.0

Variability 25.0

30.0

Thesoilprofileis 35.0

extremelyvariableas

Depth, m
theNvalues 40.0

betweenboreholes
45.0
at2mapartcanbe
widelydifferent. 50.0

55.0

StudybyProfsJChuandCFLeung 60.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

SPT N-Values
Thisexplainswhythepenetrationdepthofdrivenpilescan
varygreatlywithinashortdistanceinJurongFormation
 20.0

Insome
places, 25.0

onecan 30.0

clearly
identify
Depth, m
35.0

thatthe 40.0

soillayer
Boreholes2m
isinclined. apart.Thereis1m
45.0

differenceinsoil
layerelevation. 50.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
StudybyProfsJChuandCFLeung
SPT N-Values
Thesoilandrock
strataare
inclined.

Besidesthe
traditional
sandstone,
siltstoneand
mudstoneof
JurongFormation,
takenoteof
presenceoftuff
andlimestone.

AfterKisoJibanSI
report.
Consistent
with
observed
rock
outcropat
NUS
Effectsofjointorientation
Unlikegranitewhichisstrongwhereunfavourableorientationofthe
jointscouldaffecttherockstability,theeffectsofjointorientationon
therockstabilityismuchlessonweakandveryweaksedimentary
rocksastheyarealreadyhighlyfracturedtostartwith.
Foldingandcavities
 FoldinginJurong
Formationcanbeso
severethattheless
competentsoilsgobelow
competentsoils/rocksat
somelocations.

Singhal & Gupta (2010)

GeologyofSingapore(DSTA,2009)
Limestonecavities
Limestonewithcavitieshavebeendetectedinmanylocationsin
JurongFormationforthepast2decades
Theconcretevolumeforboredpilesismuchlargerthanthebored
pileopeningvolumeinsomecases
Siteinvestigationssofarestablishthatthecavitiesareusuallyslender
(butcurrenttechnologycannotaccuratelydeterminethe3
dimensioinalcavityextent)
Chemicaltestsarenowoftenusedtoconfirmthepresenceof
limestone
Tomographyto
detectlimestone
cavity.

Ascavitiesin
Singaporeareusually
narrow,such
techniquehasgreat
difficulties.
Boreholecameratodetectcavities

Weak
zones or
cavities
(void or in-
filled)

Good rock with some

fractures at the lower part
Casestudy1
AlargenumberofprecastRCpileswereinstalledataTuassite
Allpileshavebeendriventosetwithpilespenetratedtohardsoil
withNvalueabout70
Fourultimatepileloadtestsconductedatsite
Twopilespassed
Twopilesplungedatslightlyover2timesworkingload
Drivenpileplungedataroundslightlyover2timesworkingloadduringultimateloadtest
 SPT
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
0

BH32
Boreholemadeafterstaticload
10
testshowsthattherearevery
Hypothetic profile without
underlying weak layer weaksoil(duetofoldingof
JurongFormation)belowpile
20
base.
Depth below ground level (m)

30
FEManalyses:
1. Confirmspilewouldplunge
40 duetounderlyingweaksoil.
2. Iftheunderlyingweaksoil
50
hasaminimumNvalueof
over30,thepilewouldnot
plunge.Thisexplainswhy
60
sometestpilesdidnot
plunge.
70
Pilegroupstresszone

Thestresszoneatthebaseofalarge
pilegroupmayextenddeeper.If
thereisaweakersoillayerwithinthe
stresszone,thepilegroupbase
resistancemaybereducedand/or
severesettlementofthepilegroup.

Henceonemustalsocheckagainst
pilegroupeffect! Sideview
Casestudy2
Gravitycaissonwharfstructureforcontainerports
Discussions
Whatifthereareweakzonesorcavitiesintheinsituhardstratum?
Sayatshallowdepthbelowthesandkey
Atmiddepthbelowthesandkey
Atgreatdepthbelowthesandkey
Thepresentstateoftechnologycouldnotprovideamoreprecisesize
andextentofcavitieswhicharetypicallyslenderinSingapore.
Slakingandsoftening
RocksandsoilsofJurongFormation
 PhotofromInternet

Slakedurabilitytestisoneofthemethodstoevaluatesoilandrockslaking
 Minimal
slaking

Slightslaking
rock

rock Widerangeofslaking

Soilswilldefinitelyslakewithtime

AfterLeungandRadhakrishnan (1990)
Degreeofsaturation

Unsaturatedsoilsampleontheleftslakesveryfast.
Saturatedsoilsampleontherighttakesamuchlongertimetoslake.

StudybyProfsJChuandCFLeung
Dryunitweight
Soilwithlowdryunitweight(e.g.<14kN/m3)isfoundtobe
susceptibletoslakingandsoftening.
Thisislogicalasalowdryunitweightimpliesthatthesoilhasnothing
muchwithinitssolid.

StudybyProfsJChuandCFLeung
Soiltype
Althoughsomesoilshavehighertendencytoslake,itisnotdefinite
thatthesesoilswillslake.

Althoughsomesoilshaverelativelylowtendencytoslake,itisnot
definitethatthesesoilswillnotslake.

Thustheparametersofdegreeofsaturationandlowdryunitweight
arebetterindicators.

StudybyProfsJChuandCFLeung
SeepageandPermeability
Laboratory
permeabilitytests
usuallyproducetoo
lowcoefficientof
permeabilityasthe
bestpart(core)of
therock/soilis
tested.Hence
resultsaregenerally
notreliable.
 Fieldpermeabilitytests
arepreferred.

However,duetohigh
variabilityofJurong
Formation:
1. Moretestsareneeded.
2. Testsshouldbe
conductedinlocations
withmorefractures.

IllustrationfromInternet
Thevariablecoefficientofpermeabilityexplainswhy
tunnelinginJurongFormationcanbeerratic.
3.5

3.0 HBF SB Drive

HBF NB Drive
2.5 CNT SB Drive
Relative Volume loss (%)

CNT NB Drive
2.0
Performance of
1.5 tunneling is more
erratic in Jurong
1.0 (afterNickShirlaw)
Formation
0.5

0.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Face Pressure/Overburden
 Studyby
NTUon
JurongIsland
underground
cavern
AfterXu
etal. revealslarge
(2015) variationof
permeability
ofJurong
Formation
AfterXu
etal.
(2015)
Deepexcavationandshaftconstructionin
JurongFormation
WaterknowshowtofinditswaythroughtheweakestpartsofJurong
Formationwiththehighestpermeability.
Itishenceadvisabletohavethe retainingwallpenetratingbeyond
thehighlyfracturedrocks. Onceseverewaterinflowoccurs,itisvery
hardtostopitandtotakeremedialaction.
ThedrainagepaththroughJurongFormationisfasterthoughnot
reachingdoubledrainagestatebutcouldbeconsiderablyfaster
thanonewaydrainage statenormallyadoptedindesigninvolving
consolidationsettlementanalyses.
Compressibilityand
consolidation
Scenario1:WeakSoilsbelowHardSoils
Stiff/hardsoilstoweakrocks
WeaksoilwithNvalueabout2 Aboveall,weneedtoknowhe
Stiff/hardsoilstoweakrocks
Theweaksoilcannotbeimprovedby
PVDwhichcannotpenetratethrough
thetophardlayer.
1. Howdoweimprovetheweaksoil?
2. Whatwouldbeultimatesettlement
andrateofsettlementoftheweak
soilunderloading?Doestheload
reachtheweaklayer?
compressibilityandconsolidation
characteristicsoftheweaksoil.
Scenario2:Deephardresidualsoils(canbe
downto100mdepth)
Insomeprojects,thereisalimiting
remaininggroundsettlementrequirement
underworkingconditionafterconstructionis
Stiffsoil(N<50) completed.

1. Wouldthehardsoilssettle?
2. Ifyes,howlongwouldittake?
Hardsoil(N=50)
Again,oneneedstoknowthecompressibility
andconsolidationcharacteristicsofthehard
soils.
Veryhardsoil(N=100)
Wesley(2016)proposedthatforresidual
soils,itmaybebettertoemploytheeP
curveratherthanthetraditionalelogP
Weaksoil curve.
Concludingremarks
Jurongformationishighlyvariablewithrapidchangesinalldirections
withinashortdistance.Thisisduetothecomplexgeology.
PilessocketedinJurongformationrequireslongsocketlengthdueto
higherfracturestatetillgreatdepth.
Weaksoilsmaybepresentbelowstiffsoilsduetofolding.Thiscanpose
greatchallengestofoundationandgravitycaissonwharfdesignand
construction.
Bettertechnologyisrequiredtoevaluatethesizeandextentoflimestone
cavity.
Thecoefficientofpermeabilitycanvarygreatlyandtheeffectivecoefficient
ofpermeabilitycanbehigh.Assuchwaterseepagecanbeproblematic.
Retainingwallandshaftneedtopenetratebeyondthehighlyfractured
layer.
Thankyouforyourattention.