Location
Chicago, Illinois
Date
02 May 2013, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Abstract
The city of Hyderabad is a part of lower Indus Basin with arid-tropical climatic conditions. Geologically, the soil deposits near Hyderabad are of alluvial-loessic nature underlain by limestone beds alternating with clay layers. Groundwater is present at shallow depth which fluctuates to even shallower depths during monsoon season in the months of July and August. In recent past, large number of buildings built over shallow foundations in the city suffered structural damages of varying scale in the form of cracks and settlements. Some of these buildings were declared dangerous from safety and stability view point and got vacated by local administration. A forensic geotechnical distress evaluation was carried out to identify the causes and process of damages. The study comprised survey of structural distresses and review of original geotechnical investigation report, selected design parameters, construction materials used and quality controls implemented. Additional geotechnical field and lab investigations using conventional and geophysical techniques were carried out to characterize the existing foundation soil conditions. Presence of problematic soil layers of swelling nature were found within the zone of influence of all the damaged structures. Investigations indicate swell pressure to be the major source of distresses leading to foundation failure. Leakages of water from supply lines, sewerage pipes and fluctuating ground water table are identified as the sources of water responsible for swelling. The paper includes detailed methodology of geotechnical distress evaluation, recommendations to enhance geotechnical investigation for problematic soils and selection of appropriate design parameters. It is hoped the lessons learnt from this case history would enhance practical geotechnical engineering practices in Pakistan and elsewhere.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
7th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2013 Missouri University of Science and Technology, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Ali, Sarfraz; Khan, Abdul Qudoos; Zafar, Usman; and Shehryar, Talha Haider, "Forensic Geotechnical Distress Evaluation of Damaged Buildings in Alluvial-Loessic Soils; A Case History" (2013). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 8.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/7icchge/session08/8
Forensic Geotechnical Distress Evaluation of Damaged Buildings in Alluvial-Loessic Soils; A Case History
Chicago, Illinois
The city of Hyderabad is a part of lower Indus Basin with arid-tropical climatic conditions. Geologically, the soil deposits near Hyderabad are of alluvial-loessic nature underlain by limestone beds alternating with clay layers. Groundwater is present at shallow depth which fluctuates to even shallower depths during monsoon season in the months of July and August. In recent past, large number of buildings built over shallow foundations in the city suffered structural damages of varying scale in the form of cracks and settlements. Some of these buildings were declared dangerous from safety and stability view point and got vacated by local administration. A forensic geotechnical distress evaluation was carried out to identify the causes and process of damages. The study comprised survey of structural distresses and review of original geotechnical investigation report, selected design parameters, construction materials used and quality controls implemented. Additional geotechnical field and lab investigations using conventional and geophysical techniques were carried out to characterize the existing foundation soil conditions. Presence of problematic soil layers of swelling nature were found within the zone of influence of all the damaged structures. Investigations indicate swell pressure to be the major source of distresses leading to foundation failure. Leakages of water from supply lines, sewerage pipes and fluctuating ground water table are identified as the sources of water responsible for swelling. The paper includes detailed methodology of geotechnical distress evaluation, recommendations to enhance geotechnical investigation for problematic soils and selection of appropriate design parameters. It is hoped the lessons learnt from this case history would enhance practical geotechnical engineering practices in Pakistan and elsewhere.
