Characterization of Northwest Sinai Clay Based on Field Testing and Hydraulic Properties, A Case Study

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive case study focusing on a project located in northwest Sinai. The area under consideration is renowned for its deep soft clay deposits, posing significant challenges for construction and geotechnical engineering. The study draws attention to improving Northwest Sinai clay through the utilization of prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) associated with preloading, enabling successful construction, and mitigating potential geotechnical risks. In principle, the PVD accelerates the consolidation process of the clay layer. This consolidation process always relies mainly on the hydraulic properties of the soil; hence, a proper estimation of these properties should precede the design of the soil improvement system using PVD and preloading. This research aims to present the characterization of the natural soil layers in terms of soil types, strength, deformation parameters, and hydraulic characteristics obtained from field boreholes and CPTu. Numerical analysis was carried out to assess the estimation and refinement of the soil layers by comparing predictions with settlement measurements for a trial embankment. The findings of the case study are discussed drawing attention to the significance of the proper estimation of the hydraulic properties of the soil layers in the optimization and effectiveness of the design of PVD.