FOUNDATIONS ON EXPANSIVE SOILS

FOUNDATIONS ON EXPANSIVE SOILS

ABSTRACT

Soils that undergo considerable volume changes due to seasonal moisture variation are known as swelling or Expansive soils and or traditionally known as Black cotton soils. Structures located in expansive soil region suffer from severe structural damage with floor and wallcracking if appropriate measures are not adopted. Several foundation techniques have been developed to provide a safe and stable structure on Black cotton soils and India is on the forefront of these technological developments.Each foundation technique gives best results under specific conditions and have some limitations under other conditions. The paper aims to make a review of foundation techniques on Black cotton soils along with their merits and limitations to serve as a guide for the practicing civil engineer. This paper gives the method of identifying Black cotton soils,. The behaviour of the Black cotton soil is then briefly considered. This paper also covers the various foundation practices in expansive soils and remedial measures to floor sinking laid on expansive soil. The Engineering problems on Black cotton soils are highlighted. Foundation techniques on Black cotton soils have been considered under the following classes.