engleski

Use of Dilatometer in Unusual Difficult Soils – a Case Study

Dilatometer tests were performed on two construction sites in eastern Croatia in unusual soils. First site was the building on a hard loess soil that suffered from settlements caused by soil wetting. It was necessary to find out about soil stiffness in order to design soil improvement by use of jet grouting. The second site was an earth dam that had to be checked for in homogeneity in clay fill mechanical properties, in connection with rehabilitation of the dam. In both cases knowledge of soil stiffness was important, and dilatometer tests were performed in addition to other test methods (in situ and laboratory), so that comparison of evaluated value of soil modulus of vertical deformation was possible. Also, hard loess soil required dilatometer blade to be hammered in order to penetrate at certain intervals of depth, which in turn required careful and repeated reparation of the instrument. Despite these difficulties instrument worked well. Comparison of soil parameters evaluated from dilatometer measurements with parameters obtained by other in situ and laboratory tests showed that dilatometer is useful and reliable tool but needs to be checked in unusual soil conditions. Correction coefficients for evaluated soil parameters from dilatometer testing are obtained on some points and were used for improving evaluation of soil parameters on other places.

loess soil; wetting; settlement; earth dam; in homogeneity; dilatometer test

nije evidentirano