STATISTICAL METHOD FOR ESTIMATING SELECTED GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF QUATERNARY SEDIMENT

Abstract

Quaternary sediments have characteristics that distinguish them from older soils. In engineering practice, these sediments are of particular interest to engineering geologists and geotechnical engineers because many engineering constructions have to be founded on, or in, them. This paper describes a method for rapidly estimating selected geotechnical properties of some Quaternary soil from the Mesopotamian Plain using statistical correlation equations. The paper explored an expedient statistical method to estimate some geotechnical properties (including total and dry unit weights, void ratio, porosity, Atterberg limits, and compression index) rapidly without running time-consuming and expensive laboratory tests. It was found that the selected properties showed a relatively moderate to high correlation with independent properties. Both the unit weight and void ratio depicted a high correlation with initial water content. while a moderate correlation existed between compression index and initial water content. Also, the plasticity index has a strong correlation with liquid limit values. The results of this study accord an additional usage as facultative engineering tools for geotechnical engineers to utilize for any preliminary engineering design.