Geotechnical evaluation of the alluvial soils for urban land management zonation in Gharbiya governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Geological and geotechnical information from 534 borehole in-situ- and lab-based measured soil water conditions (Cl- and SO4-2 ion concentrations and depth to water), plasticity, unconfined compression, and consolidation parameters for alluvial clays have been analyzed. Multivariate factorial and clustering along with the geostatistical ordinary kriging techniques were used and evaluated in a Geographic Information systems (GIS) environment. The prime objective was to spatially model the geotechnical variability and to derive the loading factors along with recognition of the distinctive spatial geotechnical zones in terms of their likelihood of occurrence. Results have been, for the first time, presented for the alluvial soils of the Gharbiya governorate, Egypt with the principal management zones and their associated geotechnical risks in the main eight districts were characterized and evaluated for their favorability for construction. Plasticity charts indicated that the soils are...