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Naeini S. A., Ziaie Moayed R., Allahyari F.;
Department of Civil Engineering, Imam Khomeini
International University,
Received: 22 Nov 2012 Revised 10 March 2013
Abstract
One of the most important engineering challenges in the design of
structure, is the reaction of soil in contact with structure. In
engineering design of structures, the subsoil can be simulated by a
much simpler system called subgrade reaction model. In order to
evaluate the in situ modulus of the clayey deposits of the Qazvin
alluvium, the results of a large number of in situ tests carried out by
many researchers were analyzed. Vertical plate load tests, standard
penetration tests and test pit exploration were conducted on over 170
different locations. The results of the plate load and standard
penetration tests are analyzed and discussed. The correlation between
subgrade reaction modulus (Ks), modulus of elasticity (Es) and
corrected standard penetration test blow counts (N) are presented for
clayey deposits of the Qazvin alluvium. Results show that there is a
significant correlation between subgrade reaction modulus (Ks) and
SPT blow counts.
Introduction
One of the most important engineering challenges in the design of
structures underlying soils is the reaction of soil in contact with
structure. Mechanical behavior of soil is very complex. Because soil is
naturally non-linear, anisotropic and heterogeneous and its deformation
is depended on the stresses that are applied to soil. Hence, in
engineering works, for design of the structure, instead of modeling the
subsoil in all its complexity, it can be replaced by a much simpler
system called a subgrade reaction model.
2. Modulus of elasticity, Es
The modulus of elasticity (Es) of a soil is a soil parameter that is
commonly used in the estimation of settlement. Es like Ks can be
estimated from many field and laboratory tests results, empirical
equation and tabulated values. Many researchers have proposed some
empirical equation for calculation Es. Bowles [10] proposed some
empirical correlation that may be used to estimate Es from soil
parameter like undrained shear strength (su) and cone penetration test
results. For example, the correlations between Es and su for normally
consolidated sensitive clay is:
Es= (200 to 500) su (6)
2026 Journal of Engineering Geology, Vol.8, No.1, Spring 2014
identifying the profile of the land in these projects are important. This
part of the Qazvin alluvium primarily has fine grained aggregate.
Conducted studies indicate that the physical and mechanical
characteristics of the southern alluvium of the Qazvin city are
considerably uniform. For this reason, the results of the study in some
parts of this alluvium are extensible to other areas. Because of the
widespread use of the standard penetration test in geotechnical
projects across Qazvin city, providing these relationships would be
very useful to calculate Ks and Es based on SPT results.
Experimental Program
The experimental programs consisted of field and laboratory tests.
The field studies included test pit exploration, plate load test and
standard penetration test (SPT). The grain size distribution and
Atterberg limits are part of laboratory tests.
The pit exploration include in-place weight and moisture content
tests and are conducted according to ASTM D 2167-94 [17] and ASTM
D 2216-98[18], respectively. The standard penetration test (SPT) is
performed according to ASTM D 1586-08a [19], in a machine
borehole, near the location of each plate load test, at the same site. The
SPT values for each borehole are obtained at the same depth as the
plate load test is done. The number of blow count (N), is measured for
300mm penetration into the soil. Various factors affect the corrected
number of SPT blow counts. The SPT results should be corrected. For
this purpose, the National Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research (NCEER) procedure (Youd [20]) were used in this study.
The grain size distribution and Atterberg limits which are part of
laboratory test are conducted according to ASTM D 422-63 [21] and D
4318-00 [22], respectively.
The plate load test that is carried out for each borehole is based on
ASTM D 1194 [23]. In this test, the plate is placed at the center of the
borehole, and then load is applied to the plate in steps equal to about
20-25% of the estimated ultimate load by means of a jack. During
each loading step the settlement of the plate is observed on dial
gauges. At each step of loading, the load is allowed to elapse at least 1
Subgrade Reaction Modulus (Ks) of Clayey Soils Based on Field Tests 2031
hour. The test will continue until failure, or until the plate has settled
by at least 25mm.
N
Figure 11. Comparison between Ks equation of Qazvin alluvium with
other correlations
Conclusions
In this paper, the relationship between subgrade reaction modulus,
modulus of elasticity and corrected standard penetration test blow
count (N) is presented for southern part of Qazvin alluvium which
mainly consistes of clayey soils with low plasticity. The following
conclusions may be drawn from the obtained results.
As expected, Ks and Es increase as the SPT values increases. The
following equations are presented for correlation between Ks, Es
and N values in the southern part of Qazvin alluvium.
Ks = 0.96N
Subgrade Reaction Modulus (Ks) of Clayey Soils Based on Field Tests 2041
Es = 0.264 N
Suggested correlation for Qazvin alluvium for Es is between
correlations proposed by Behpoor and Ghahramani [16] and
Bowles [10].
The obtained result of Qazvin alluvium for Ks in the lower N
values are in accordance with NAVFAC [13], but in greater N
values is less. However, the general behaviors are identical.
The proposed correlation for Ks by Scott [11] for sandy soils is
upper than obtained results of Qazvin alluvium. Qazvin alluvium
mainly is CL and has lower strength than sandy soils. For this
reason obtained results of Qazvin alluvium lie beneath the Scott
correlation.
The obtained correlation for coefficient of subgrade reaction, Ks,
in Qazvin alluvium is between results obtained by Behpoor and
Ghahramani [16] and Bowles [10]. This indicates the accuracy of
the obtained results for Qazvin alluvium
The proposed relationship is applicable only for calculation the
Ks for small plates (with the side dimension, B=0.3m), and the
values would have to be modified for size effects before they
could be applicable to general foundation problems.
From the correlation between Ks and N for southern part of
Qazvin alluvium (Ks= 0.96N), it can be said that the subgrade
reaction modulus for this region which is consisted of clayey soils
with low plasticity is almost equal to the number of blow counts.
2042 Journal of Engineering Geology, Vol.8, No.1, Spring 2014
Acknowldegments
The authors wish to appreciate the Soil Mechanic Laboratory and
the Deputy of Research and Technology of Imam Khomeini
International University for their great cooperation during the
completion of this research.
References
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and fixity)", Dominicus,Prague (1867).
2. Terzaghi K. V., "Evaluation of coefficient of subgrade reaction",
Geotechnique, 5 (4) (1955) 297-326.
3. Biot M. A., "Bending of infinite beams on an elastic foundation",
Journal of Applied Mechanics, 59 (1937) A1-A7.
4. Vesic A. S., "Bending of beams resting on isotropic solids", Journal
of the engineering Mechanics division, ASCE, 87(EM2) (1961) 35-53.
5. Horvath J. S., "Subgrade Models for Soil-Structure Interaction
Analysis", Journal of Foundation Engineering on Current
Principles of Practice Proceeding, ASCE, 20 (1989) 599-612.
6. Daloglu A. T., Vallabhan C. V. G., "Values of k for Slab on
Winkler Foundation, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenviron-
mental Engineering", ASCE (2000) 463-471.
7. Dutta S. C., Roy R. A., "Critical Review on Idealization and
Modeling for Interaction among Soil Foundation-Structure System",
Computers and Structures, 80 (2002) 1579-1594.
8. Nascimento V., Simoe A., "Relation between CBR and Modulus of
Strength, Proceeding 4th International Conference on Soil
Mechanic and Foundation Engineering", London (1957) 166-168.
Subgrade Reaction Modulus (Ks) of Clayey Soils Based on Field Tests 2043
Sit Depths(m USCS (N1)6 Ks Es(MN/m2 Site Depths(m USCS (N1)6 Ks Es(MN/m2
e ) classificatio 0 (MN/m3) ) No ) classificatio 0 (MN/m3 )
No.
77 2 n
CL 18 22 6.01 10 6 n
CL 25 )23 6.28
78 10 CL 15 20 5.46 6
10 2 CH 38 27 7.38
79 12 CL 36 37 10.11 7
10 2 CL 49 43 11.74
80 10 CL 20 25 6.83 8
10 4 CL 48 42 11.47
81 8 CL 19 23 6.28 9
11 6 CL 38 43 11.74
82 4 CL 20 22 6.01 0
11 2 CL 46 39 10.65
83 10 CL 42 33 9.01 1
11 4 CL 37 40 10.92
84 12 CL 21 26 7.10 2
11 8 CL 48 41 11.20
85 12 CL 32 31 8.47 3
11 8 CL 22 27 7.38
86 2 CL 32 34 9.29 4
11 10 CL 22 26 7.10
87 10 CL 43 47 12.84 5
11 2 CL 43 35 9.56
6