Laboratory and In-situ Characterization of Diatomaceous Soil with Implications for Geotechnical Design

Details

• Creators:
  Wang, Jiayao, ; Evans, T Matthew ; Moug, Diane
• Corporate Creators:
  Oregon Department of Transportation. Research Section
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Soil chemistry
  • Piles (Supports)
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Highway design
  • Mapping
  • Methodology
  • Road construction
  • Soil deposits
  • Standards
  • Diatomaceous soil
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-OR-RD-25-02
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Oregon ; United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Oregon Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Diatomaceous soil contains large amounts of fossilized diatoms and is known to have non-textbook, often contradictory, properties: high natural water content, high liquid limit, and high compressibility, but also high shear strength. Diatomaceous deposits intersect existing and potential Oregon Department of Transportation project sites in central, eastern, and southern Oregon. This report presents results from in-situ and laboratory tests on diatomaceous soils from four such sites: Wickiup Junction, Ady Canal, Moore Park, and Pine Cone Drive. Empirical correlations across properties were developed and in-situ tests synthesized with laboratory results. Test results were used to calibrate a critical state-type constitutive model to describe mechanical behavior. The Imperial College Pile method was modified to successfully predict pile capacity as measured with a dynamic load test.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/81940/dot_81940_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 61.11 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c50e54bd129916797d0cce168ec93e94f4a4d64702bf58a0a042da1714d4a1deae9f2013851ad145677e0fd26bfb990804b44b85eee1502f2f61db926834589c