Engineering Geology - Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

S T R U C T U R A L STABILITY OF SUBSIDENT LOESS SOIL F R O M PRAHA-

DEJVICE

JAROSLAV FEDA

Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague

(Czechoslovakia)

(Received October 10, 1964)

(Resubmitted July 31, 1965)

SUMMARY

The physical properties of the loess foundation soil at Praha-Dejvice are described.
The rather complex genesis of the Pleistocene soil profile, influenced by local
factors (e.g., solifluction), causes different physical properties. The most striking
feature is the structural instability, called subsidence, of some soil samples while
others are stable.
The analysis of conditions causing subsident loes material is equally appli-
cable to soils of other origins and the problem of the so-called metastable soil
structure is formulated in more general terms. The negative dilatant structural
systems, formed by domains with a small number of grain contacts, as reflected
by the higher sensitivity of the soil, is indicated as a common reason for the meta-
stable structure.
Such a formulation of the problem of subsident soils leads to a criterion of
subsidence based upon sensitivity, which, when compared with other criteria, is
found to be satisfactory.

INTRODUCTION

There exists an important group of soils whose structure becomes unstable under
certain conditions, i.e., their behaviour undergoes a qualitative change. Since this
process affects their physical properties substantially, the investigation of the re-
levant group of soils is undoubtedly of practical importance.
The structure of these soils may be called "metastable". They are of different
composition, origin and physical properties. One of the most important varieties
of these is presented by the so-called "subsident" or metastable loess soils. While
trying to define their instability it has been possible to investigate the general

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

202 J. FEDA

reasons for the metastability of soils, as will be shown in the following paragraphs.
The author has based his considerations on the analysis of certain physical prop-
erties of loess foundation soil at Praha-Dejvice, Czechoslovakia.

SUBSIDENT LOESS SOILS AT PRAHA-DEJVICE

The investigated profile through the loess cover is shown in Fig.1 and 2. The bed-
rock of Ordovician is covered by th~ Pleistocene sediments: loess soils, calcified or
uncalcified (their thickness in the whole area ranges between 2.5 and 4.85 m),
underlain by sands and gravels of the lower Dejvice Terrace IIIa (of pre-Riss age)
after ZkRUBA (1948) (9.6-13.4 m thick). The ground-water level is at a depth of
10.7-14.3 m (ZkRUBAet al., 1959). In Fig.2 the profile through the three boreholes
of diameter 70 and 100 cm is shown. In addition to the usual characteristics, the
granulometric composition was described by the effective grain-size diameter
du. For computation of du each jar sample is supposed to consist of the grains of
one diameter du only, in such a way that the original specific surface (surface area
of 1 g of oven dried soil) of the soil is maintained.
Three loess layers could be distinguished in the loess cover. The oldest one
consists of the brown sandy loess loam, usually uncalcified, with an admixture of the
rock fragments, deposited by solifluction (shallow periglacial earth flow); the first
and second layers are typical loess of light yellowish brown colour, with consid-
erable admixture of calcium carbonate and, as a rule, with a loose and consider-
ably porous soil structure.
The upper, youngest, loess has been separated from the middle loess by a thin
layer of fine loamy gravel with prevailing flat pebbles of Bil~. Hora Cretaceous
silty sandstones (called "opuka"), see borehole C.

N 215,,

x i, ~s~

SYMBOLS." S ¥ ~ , ~ , "..
• BOREI-tOLES
= TRIAL PITS ~ A ",\/~
2t6--CONTOUR LINES OF V4 "~ 2"I6
GROUND LEVEL "I'I~v"1f v SCALE:

0 50rn
Fig.1. Lay-out of the building site (contours in m).

Eng.Geol.,1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF LOESS SOIL 203

c B 8e
215.851f.SL. ( 22 Z'1960J ( 211t9~0 ) (2.81960)
1o0ct,,

LEGEND:
® LIO,T, RONO= LOAN ®::"., ',Ill IIl]lil
®
LO'
LOeSS-LOOSeCALClelEO
®® "'" '°'Ill
• . ' . , :'1 I
IIIIitl
( ~ LOESS LOAf-U.qCALClFIEO
:.:l ,[II I I[ll[(I
-8.25"". ""b.J I tl I I I
SANDY @ LOAIf*ORAVEL IFITM ROCK m ':° ," *.'."."
( ~ FOSSILSOIL PROFILE FRAGffENT$ (SOLIFLUCTION)
0 5m
( ~ FINE LOAMY£,RAVEL [] JAR SAifPLE SCALE;NORIZONTAL * 2'5m
(DEPOSIT OF $OLIELUCTION) VERTICAL 0

Fig.2. Profile through the foundation soils at the building site of the new Technical University in
Praha-Dejvice.

The best vertical differentiation of the loess cover can be found in the bore-
hole BG, where the upper and middle loess have been separated by a remnant of
the fossil soil profile, indicating a stratigraphical break (7,EBERA, 1953, 1964).
The composition of the loess cover is locally considerably variable. This
suggests that at the end of the sedimentation period the original loess had proba-
bly been covered periodically by the layers of loess loam, transported by solifluc-
tion from the upper parts of the slope.
From the amount of CaCO8 the degree of degradation can be estimated,
assuming that during transport the calcium carbonate has probably been lost.
From this standpoint borehole B represents the original loess profile; this profile
is strongly degraded in borehole C, whereas in borehole Bn, CaCO~ was quali-
tatively detected down to a depth of 3 m, i.e., only the lower loess layer has been
degraded. The above conclusions about the degradation of the loess cover agree
with the granulometric homogeneity of the profiles, as the effective grain diameter
proves that the profile B is much more homogeneous than profile C.
In the foundation pit A2 (Fig.l) from the depth of 2.5 m, two undisturbed
samples--60M and 2202-- of the calcified loess and one--9M--of the uncalcified
loess loam were taken. Table I summarizes their physical properties.
As Table I shows, the loess soils have the character of silty soils. The calci-
fied loess is considerably looser than the uncalcified one. Their index of colloidal
activity IA (1.1-1.2) suggests illitic clay component; all samples are unsaturated.
The compressibility of all undisturbed samples was tested in the oedometer,
with natural water content and wetted after consolidation at a pressure of 5.66

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

 TABLE I 4~
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF UNDISTURBED SAMPLES OF LOESS SOILS FROM PRAHA-DEJVICE

Sample Natural Natural Natural Plastic Liquid After oedometer com- Coefficient Effect.size Index
No. porosity water degree of limit limit pression of diameter of
no Wo saturation wp wn water degree subsidence du colloidal
CO~o) (°/o) So (°/o) (%) content of saturation R (mm) action
wF(°/o) SF (°/°) IA

9M 38.7 17.8 0.76 20.6 38.7 19.0 1.00 0.32 0.005 1.13
60M 43.5 17.0 0.60 16.0 29.4 19.2 1.00 3.52 0.0065 1.22
2202 41.6 14.8 0.56 15.5 25.7 18.0 0.98 3.44 0.0068 1.13

>
7~
STRUCTURALSTABILITYOF LOESSSOIL 205

Title OF CONSOLIDATION
0 5 10 "I5 20 2 5 DAYS

c~

..... ! _/_0.
I 'I

OEDOMETER PRESSURE 5.66 kg]cmz

Fig.3. Subsidence of loess samples in oedometer after wetting.

kg/cmL The results are presented in Fig. 3. It is clear that samples 2202 and 60M
underwent a collapse after wetting; in the following text this is termed "subsidence".
The first, larger, component of the subsidence progressed very rapidly in the course
of a few minutes, which shows that the problem may be dealt with as a stability
problem. The second component, rather small, was time-dependent.
Quantitatively, the subsidence can be described by the coefficient of subsi-
dence (see e.g., DENISOV, 1951):

h~--hw
R -- (1)
hp

which can be expressed too as:

ep--ew
R - (1')
I +ep

(hp, ep = sample height and void ratio in the oedometer after consolidation at
pressure p and before wetting; hw, ew = height and void ratio of the sample after
its wetting).
During the final stage of subsidence the samples were completely saturated
(Table I). The time-dependent component of the subsidence can therefore be
explained by Terzaghi's theory of consolidation. (TERZAGHIand FROHLICH,1936).
Further data were furnished by the oedometer tests on the undisturbed sam-
ples of calcified loess 3M from a depth of 3.5 m in the same locality (Z/,RUBA et al.,
1959). The sample was divided into two parts and the dependence of the coefficient

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

206 J. FEDA

./
/.
>
I
/"
\,
/ \
\ ~-PRIKLONSKM ( 1952 )
fO. Y ii//"~
\
\
\
'\
/
, I
/ /
KOLASA
• /
5 /
/ 0 t'I
•62
202

&
0
/,f
0 "I 2 3 4 5 6 ] 8 9 ~okv/M
OEDOMETER PRESSURE
Fig.4. Relationship between the coefficientof subsidence and oedometer pressure.

R on the oedometer pressure was found by compressing the first part at the natural
water content and the second part after submergence in water (Fig.4). Fig.4 also
shows analogous relationships published by KOLASA (1963) for the same Dejvice
loess from a nearby locality and by PRIKLONSKIJ (1952)• The relatively lower val-
ues of R for 3M can be explained as the effect of partial compaction of the sample
3M during sampling.

CL AY SILT SA'ND GRA VEL

9o

~- eo Iv'?.. \ ~ //

40 , ' •

22o

EO~UIVALENT PARTICLE SIZE rnn

GROUP, LSAMPLE Nos. 1,3,4,20
#.SAMPLE Nos 7, ¢~,14.15, ~6, 23
flL SAMPLE Nas. 6,12,13, 2~, 22
I~ SAMPLE Nos. 8, 9,10, "i1, "i9, 2~ 2t, 28, 29
V SAMPLE No~. ~8, 26
Fig3. Oranulometric composition of the Pleistocene sediments at Praba-Dejvice.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF LOESS SOIL 207

In an analogous manner, from the data by CASAGRANDE(1932), the results

of compression tests on undisturbed and remoulded Laurentian clay No. 56-1 l can
also be represented. Preliminary comparison of this clay with the loess suggests
that the subsidence is not a specific "loess" problem, but a general problem of
the structural stability of soils.
Further information about the soil profile investigated could be gained from
the granulometric curves. All the granulometric curves can be subdivided into
five groups (Fig.5, curves 9, 24 and 25 are of transitional types), each group having
different physical properties. Further, each group could be characterized by a single
parameter, the effective grain-size diameter (FEDA, 1962b). The groups are as
follows below.
Group 1. Typical loess with high CaCOa content, in original position, as the
granulometric curve with sharp gradation due to the aeolian transport shows. The
prevailing particle sizes (> 50 %) are in the region of the 0.005-0.05 mm in diameter
range. Plasticity index I~ of these soils is about 10 %, consistency is plastic. This
loess comprises profile B (depth 1.05-4 m) and B 8 (0.3-3 m). It is typically subsid-
ent as is proved by sample 3M (see Fig.6 for its granulometric composition).
The samples 2202 and 60M also belong to this group, for their subsidence, calcium-
carbonate content and effective grain-size diameter.
Fig.7 and 8 show the comparison of the granulometric curves of the loess
from the first group with other Czechoslovak subsident loess (Trnava, Brno) and
the subsident loess according to different authors. It is obvious that the granulo-
metric characters as well as some of their physical properties reflected in their
subsidence are rarely consistent.
The property of subsidence of the loess of the first group can be taken as an
indication of its original position. The sample 9M (and similarly jar sample l)
probably lost the property of subsidence as a result of temporary immersion in situ

% CLAY SILT SAND

foo m 3Pi r.~....-
go CUNSTA L 2,
~ oo
~ 7o
~ 6o 911 // 22o2 r UNSTAOLE)
~ 40--(STABLE) 5 ~ ' ~

o.0
.q:) '

EO,UIVALENTPARTICLESIZE /~/7/
Fig.6. Granulometric composition of the soil samples, tested in compression.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

208 J. FEDA

% CLAY SILT SAND

~00
I TRNAVA .,,~'~F'~
~--80
( MENCL,~955 )
SRAEL /5.
~ 50
C ASSlm Z /

2O .-. ;':'~'~ CKOLASA,

fgG3).

-'~ CAFTER KRUGLOV,DENISOV,t95~) - -

O I f i i

EQUIVALENT PARTICLE SIZE q')/7,

Fig.7. Granulometric composition of subsident loess soils.

% CLAY SIL T SAND F-~I- ,

t00
i ARGENTINE ~ ~ I" ~ - - - i
90 - - -- ( eOLOGNESI-MORET T - O , ~ : ~ "J'~['_~ . 1 " r ~ ~ 1 / .' I
~-- 8o i
70
I
' 7~Y..VL, Z ' Y - / 1 2 ANO..'.'I I ~ -
t '.........I f~Ir I . "~I ~ BUERRUM-KRINGSTAD-KUMMENEJE "lgG'/)
(CLEVENGER/956~"/~ ~,~,, RANGE OF/O-SOIL'~/ II
' 50
I ROUMAN#A ~ i~ I)" / / (DOLTZ- HILF,, 196f ) I '1' I
~ 40 .CeeLES.ST~NCULESCU I~J.~: ~ . ~ / 7 . / / Vi~ll .11__ l I~SAND-FIG U

2O

ca
EO.UIVALENT PARTICLE SIZE mm
Fig.8. Granulometric composition of subsident soils of different origin.
and stands between the in situ and redeposited loess (see its higher clay content,
Fig.6).
Group 2. This group is formed by uncalcified loess loam, redeposited as a
rule, as the milder inclination of the granulometric curve suggests. The transport due
to solifluction was not too distant and did not alter its properties substantially,
with the exception of subsidence only, which disappeared. The transport stands
therefore for a special form of diagenesis.
The soils of this group are often interlayered with the typical solifluction de-
posits of the third group, proving their close relation to the process of solifluction.
The soil profile is therefore rather irregular and the effective grain-size diameter
is considerably variable. Typical of this group is the profile C (depths 1-4 m),
B 6 (3-4.5 m) and the base of profile B (4-4.25 m).

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF LOESS SOIL 209

Group 3. It consists of typical colluvial deposits of solifluction with rather

imperfectly graded and angular material, which is present in all three boreholes.
Group 4. This group is formed by the sharply graded fluvial sediments of
coarse sand with gravelly admixture. The material is slightly clayey and bears the
character of the Pleistocene terrace sediments of the River Vltava crossing the city
of Prague (ZARUBA, 1948).
Group 5. It consists of terrace gravels in layers, usually intermingled only
with the sediments of the fourth group. This indicates the non-uniformity of the
sedimentation conditions, as suggested by the transitional types No.9 and No.25.
The zone of transition between loess soils, solifluction deposits and terrace
sands and gravels is usually sharp (see differences in du and w in B and C).
From the occurrence, extent and thickness of the soils of the first three
groups, it can be concluded that the genesis of the profile investigated was consid-
erably influenced by local factors. It is obvious that the process of formation of
the loess covers, their degeneration, transport and mixing with foreign material
due to solifluction (Bilfi Hora sandstones, Ordovician quartzites, e.g., jar sample
21) were several times repeated and considerably complex. The results of the
geological and soil-mechanics investigations are therefore in complete agreement.
The above detailed analysis of the investigated soil profile showed the main
factors, causing the structural metastability of loess and can form a basis for the
more general interpretation of the phenomenon of subsidence, as a feature of
metastable structure, as will be shown in the next section.

METASTABLE SOIL STRUCTURES

There are two main conditions for the subsidence, as can be seen from the above
analysis.
Firstly (internal condition) the soil has to be suffÉciently porous. The critical
porosity is roughly no> 40 ~ (Table I).
Secondly (external condition) the load must be sufficiently high, to cause
the structural collapse at the wetting of the soil (see Fig.4).
The second condition is valid only for partially saturated soils and even for
them, with higher loads the collapse will take place without wetting, as can be
seen from Fig.4. The first condition is more general and common for all metastable
soil structures, as can be seen when analysing the following examples.
JENN1N~S and KNIGHT (1957) described some wind-blown subsident sands.
The phenomenon of subsidence was shown by soils of alluvial origin as well as
by colluvial soils (the D and E soils, respectively, of HOLTZand HILF, 1961) and even
by soils of residual origin. The subsidence of granite residuum in South Africa has
been described by BRINK and KANTEY (1961). This subsidence has been created
by heavy rainfall and good drainage, causing, according to the authors, the leaching
of the colloidal components of the decomposed rock.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

210 J. FEDA

The present author himself had the opportunity to record the subsidence of
residual soils originated from decomposed gneiss in North India (FEDA, 1962a)
under similar conditions as above. The coefficient of subsidence at p = 3 kg/cm2
amounted to 6 ~.
The instability of the soil structure after wetting in all these cases has been
revealed and it is similar to the case of loess. The natural degree of saturation So
has always been considerably smaller than 1 (about 0.5-0.6). The same pheno-
menon of subsidence should doubtless be observed for normal loading conditions
only (without wetting), as mentioned previously.
The structural strength of soils, whose break-up causes the subsidence, may
be defined in soil mechanics in one respect by the sensitivity of soils, i.e., the ratio
of the strengths of undisturbed and remoulded samples of the sameporosityand
water content as in the undisturbed state. Highly sensitive soils may therefore be
structurally unstable soils. It is worth-while to mention the fact that over-consolidated
clays are non-sensitive, while normally consolidated clays usually exhibit sensitivi-
ties in the range of 2-4 or even more (SKEMPTONand BISHOP, 1954). The lower
porosity of over-consolidated soils accounts for their insensitivity.
The most sensitive, i.e., the most structurally unstable soils are quick clays.
These are illitic clays with low plasticity index (Ip -- 10-15~), whose typical
feature is the natural water content, which is higher than their liquid limit (ROSEN-
QVIST, 1953).
Although the subsidence of loess soils differs in other ways from the lique-
faction of quick clays, high porosity and low plasticity index values are typically
common for both types of structurally unstable soils. These types differ in their de-
grees of saturation: quick clays are saturated, while subsident soils are unsatu-
rated.
The different genesis of subsident soils indicates that the process of the origin
of metastable structures can be different, yet maintaining the principal condition
that the final product is highly porous.
The limiting porosity, which is necessary for the development of the subsid-
ent structure, stands very close to the maximum porosity no = 47.6 ~o of loosely
deposited spheres (cubic packing) with each sphere having six contacts with its
neighbouring spheres. Since even with sands the structure is not homogeneous
through the whole m a s s (KOLBUSZEWSKI and FREDERICK, 1963), one has to envis-
age some groups of grains (domains) with less than six contacts, i.e., with macro-
pores, as actually observed with loess. The stability of structure under normal
conditions has to be ensured in such circumstances by strengthening the contact
bonds. For silty material, typical for subsident soils, the clay fraction evidently
furnishes the necessary glue. They can be called binary metastable systems, being
composed of silty and clayey fractions.
The subsidence and generally the structural metastability depends therefore
predominantly (when porosity is sufficiently high) on the mutual relation between

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL STABILITYOF' LOESSSOIL 21 1

the solid (clayey) and liquid (aqueous) phases. This can be proved for quick clays
too.
The above hypothesis will be illustrated in more detail for subsident loess
soils. The failure conditions for such sediments are first of all the failure conditions
of the clayey glue. The behaviour of the clayey glue in contact with water depends
on several factors, firstly on its water content. Natural clays with water contents
lower than their shrinkage limit, i.e., approximately Wo<15 %, distintegrate. At
higher water content either the disintegration (or dissolving) of the sample takes
place or the sample remains almost intact, depending on the structure of the clay
(i.e., its mineralogical composition and the chemistry of the exchange complex),
as revealed by the author's tests (Fig.9; FEDA, 1964).
Disintegration of the relatively dry clay can be explained in the following
way: water penetrating from outside into the interior of the clay causes local swel-
ling pressures, resulting in additional shearing stresses and subsequent disinte-
gration. It is analogous to the adsorption effect, which reduces the strength of all
solid materials, if the intensity of the inter-phase phenomena on the contacts of
solid and liquid phases is sufficient (REBINDER,1958).
From Fig.10 it is evident that the subsidence increases with the increase of
inter-phase phenomena. A similar view could be derived from the author's test,
presented in Fig.11; in the inertial CC14 medium the clayey powder behaved as
sand, but the water transformed it into a cohesive soil (FEDA, 1960).
For higher water contents the above observation explains some controversial

f
/

3- BENTONITE _ /"
.4 % w .10.5 % .F'~
~o.o
to

/[2- Ao
_/_ cLAY.-9.0 %Z7
/
-i
Z5-

il-KAOLINITIC CLA~'/ 1 .,,,..._ 2-w=31.3%

5.o /t
•
~/" .
_
/
f "K _;
/" A ~
~
z5 // / -
! -q- LL
5

Fig.9. Behaviour of clays (unconfined swelling; sample thickness 4 cm, dia 6.7 cm) submerged in
water according to their water contents and mineralogical composition.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

212 J. FEDA

l
_

GOLDSTEIN-GOLDBERG ,~.
( 1958 )~.~.
WL'2 5/~~tz'1~ DENISOV-
RELTOV ( 1961 )

E5 yl i 'c 29

i
Q:
O.
50 100 If 0
DIELECTRIC CONSTANT
Fig. 10. Dependence of the intensity of subsidence upon the dielectric constant of the liquid phase.

data in the literature (CLEVENGER,1956; HOLTZ and HILF, 1961; LARIONOV,1963)

about the influence of the clay mineralogy on the subsidence.
More general than the above features of the binary metastable systems, where
the incomplete saturation is important, is the mechanism of the structural collapse.
Since the structural collapse is a consequence of the loss of the shearing strength,
the volume strains of the medium should be described in terms of positive and nega-
tive dilatancy. These volume strains are typical for sheared soils.

g/c l
20(

o CLAY POWDER-WATER
• CLAY POWDER-CCI4
.-~ FINE SAND-WATER
~00 ---i(- FINE SAND- CCl4

~-~ ÷ -~
0
0 10 20 30 ,;o 50 ~o-%
EI2UIVALENT WATER CONTENT
Fig.ll. Relationship between the tensile strength and the polar properties of the liquid phase.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF LOESS SOIL 213

k.,q/cm2 NORMAL STRESS 3kc//crn2

CO

0 4 8 12 16 20 24, 28 %
t2LI~AD ~"rDAIhl

L.,)

C~

L,U

Fig.12. Dilatancy of a sand sample (for granulometric composition see Fig.5 and 8), tested in
shear box apparatus (shear strain as percentage of the sample thickness 2.5 cm; dimensions of
the shear box 8.4 x 8.4 cm).

Fig.12 presents results of a shearing test on granular media (for granulomet-

ric composition see Fig.5 and 8), accompanied by volume strains (called dilatancy),
positive for dense and negative for loose sands. Negative dilatancy is also typi-
cal for normally consolidated clays and for quick clays (BJERRUM, 1961), i.e., for
all sensitive and structurally unstable systems, as a consequence of their high poro-
sities. Fig.12 shows that the negative dilatancy (sometimes called contractancy)
took place for no>40~, that is the same figure as the critical porosity causing
subsidence of the investigated loess samples from Praha-Dejvice. The behaviour of
negatively dilatant fine sands agrees very well with the behaviour of quick clays, as
established by BJERRUM(1961). It was observed that at the moment of their shear
failure a structural collapse took place, for their coefficient of pore pressure A
(after SKEMPTON, 1954) increased up to +2.7 and the effective angle of internal fric-
tion ~v' dropped to 11 o (BJERRUMet al., 1961), corresponding to the results of field
measurements of ~v' for quick clays (BJERRUM, 1961). The rapid drop of ~v'for fine

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

 214 J. FEDA

sand was observed at porosities n o = 44--45 ~ . Values of the same order, 99' = 10-
11 o, were measured by JENNINGS and KNIGHT (1957) on subsident aeolian sands
too, which indicates the generality of the observed phenomenon for metastable
structures.
The measurement of the pore pressure coefficient A in saturated normally
consolidated clays indicates that even in this case there may exist a range of stress
for which A > 1 and the structure becomes unstable. Similar conclusions could be
drawn from the measurement of the pore pressure parameter Z in partially satu-
rated soils (JENNINGSand BURLAND, 1962).
The description of negatively dilatant unstable structural systems indicates
that their instability is caused by their high initial porosity, between 40 and 45 ~ .
This range corresponds very well with the usual limits for subsident loess. It can be
concluded that at the first stage of subsidence the disruption of the contact bonds
takes place, causing the soil to be subject to negative dilatancy in subsequent
stages. The rapid first stage is typical for subsident soils, in contrast to quick
clays, where a similar change in contact bonds requires many years.
Negative dilatant soils deform due to their compression only (without lateral
defnrmation of the soil mass). This is typical for the first immediate component

216
J. FEDA

200
100 ,,.,-
50
/
20
~_. 1 0

~ 2-

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 t.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

LIQUIDITY INDE,Y IL
Fig.13. Relationship between the liquidity index IL and sensitivity St of clays (after SKEMPTON
and NORTHEY,1952).

Then, based on eq.4, a subsidence index KL may be defined:

(wo/So)-w~,
KL=- (6)
6,
Using Table I and Fig.13, Table II can be compiled.
TABLE II

SUBSIDENCE INDEX AND SENSITIVITY (BASED ON SKEMPTON-NORTHEY'S RELATIONSHIP) OF UNDIS-

TURBED LOESS SAMPLES FROM TABLE
STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF LOESS SOIL 215

CRITERION FOR SUBSIDENCE DANGER

It is of interest to use the previous analysis for establishing a criterion for subsi-
dence danger. Usually the criterion formulated by DENISOV (1951, 1963) is used in
the form:

eL
K = - < 1 (2)
eo

where eL - - W L " Gs; WL .... liquid limit, Gs = specific gravity of grains, eL void
=

ratio at the liquid limit, eo = natural void ratio. This criterion indicates a struc-
tural collapse with soils, whose natural porosity is so high, that after complete
saturation the water content would be higher than the liquid limit. It was success-
fully used by HOLTZ and HILF (1961) for subsident soils, genetically and granulo-
metrically very variable, and agrees very well with the data typical for quick clays
(completely saturated in contrast), where Wo> WL. For highly subsident soils K =
0.5-0.75, while K ~ 1 for nonsubsident loams and K = 1.5-2.0 for soils older than
Quaternary clays (DENISOV, 1951). The criterion 2 accounts only for the influence of
porosity. Therefore the following criterion, proposed by PRIKLONSKIJ (1952),
represents some improvement:

WL-- Wo
Kd -- < +0.5 (3)

with Ka<O for highly subsident soils, Ka> +0.5 for nonsubsident soils and Ka
> + 1 for swelling soils. Analogous to the parameter Ka is the liquidity index:

Wo-- Wp
IL - - (4)
Ip

The relation between the liquidity index 1L and sensitivity St of clays has been
empirically established by SKEMPTONand NORTHEY(1952) and is shown in Fig. 13.
With increasing porosity of the saturated soil the liquidity index increases and so does
the sensitivity. If Wo> WL, then IL> 1 and the criteria 2 and 3 indicate highly subsid-
ent soil; for this case the sensitivity St> 8.7 (Fig.13). Sensitivity therefore increases
in the same manner as the subsidence, as indicated by the previous criteria. That
affirms the generality of the former considerations and forms the correct classi-
fication of subsident soils as sensitive, i.e., soils with metastable structure.
For unsaturated soils, one can use the relation:

So" eo = Wo . Gs (5)
(So, eo, Wo -- natural degree of saturation, void ratio and water content, respectively;
Gs = specific gravity).

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

216 J. FEDA

200-
I00
r.~ 50 / __
20

-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 l.O 1.2 1.4 1.6 "1.8 2.0

LIt2UIDITY INDEX IL
Fig.13. Relationship between the liquidity index Iz and sensitivity St of clays (after SKEMPTON
and NORrnEY, 1952).

Then, based on eq.4, a subsidence index KL may be defined:

(wo/So)-W~
KL -- (6)

Using Table I and Fig. 13, Table It can be compiled.

TABLE II

SUBSIDENCE INDEX AND SENSITIVITY (BASED ON SKEMPTON-NORTHEY'S RELATIONSHIP) OF UNDIS-

TURBED LOESS SAMPLES FROM TABLE I

Sample No. KL St

9M 0.15 1.2
60M O.93 7.6
2202 1.07 8.9

Table II shows that the difference between the sensitivities of subsident and
nonsubsident soils are substantial and the proposed criterion (eq.6) useful. If the
natural dispersion of the data in Fig.13 is accounted for, then forwo -- wz, St
ranges between 6.5 and 15.6.
Based on the general concept of subsident soils as structural unstable and on
the condition of instability wo >- WL, which is valid for quick clays too, the author
proposes the term "subsident" for soils with S o < l (approximately 0.6) and:
(wo/So)-Wp
KL -- - - >0.85 (7)

It is to be expected, for such soils, that St> 6.5. Normally consolidated clays, which
are not subsident, usually have St_<4, overeonsolidated clays have St = 1. They
both follow therefore the proposed criterion.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

STRUCTURAL S T A B I L I T Y O F LOESS S O I L 217

The criterion 7, based on the sensitivity of soils, can be compared with the
criterion of subsidence:

eo--eL
_>--0.1 (8)
l+eo

(eo = natural void ratio, eL = void ratio at the liquid limit), which was proposed
in the SN i P II-B (1962). The criterion 8 is valid for the degree of saturation So <-
0.6. The application of this criterion for investigated soils (Table l i d is also suc-
cessful.

TABLE III

THE SOVIET BUILDING CODE CRITERION AS APPLIED TO THE SOILS FROM TABLE I

eo--eL
Sample No.
1+eo

9M --0.85
60M --0.07
2202 +0.05

The criterion 8 can be compared with the criterion 7. It can be transformed

into:

(wo/So)-W~ O.l(1/G,+wo/So)
...... _>l- (9)
Ip Ip
The right side of eq.9 can be roughly evaluated (for Gs = 2.7; Ip = 0.2; Wo ---- 0.15;
So = 0.6) as 1--0.3 = 0.7. The criterion 8 gives then:

KL->0.7 (10)
which is somewhat conservative, as from Fig.13 "subsident" soils would be indi-
cated the soils with sensitivity of St_>4, which can be found with normally conso-
lidated clays. The criterion 7 therefore appears to be more realistic.

CONCLUSIONS

(1) The subsidence of loess soil, studied in a Prague locality, is an indicator

of the genetic process of the investigated Pleistocene deposits.
(2) In the above locality only loess with porosity no>40% and containing
CaCO3 was subsident.

Eng. Geol., 1(3) (1966) 201-219

218 J. FEDA

(3) T h e subsident loess a n d o t h e r subsident soils o f different origins f o r m one

p a r t o f the g r o u p o f soils with m e t a s t a b l e structure. This g r o u p includes two types
o f soils, a c c o r d i n g to the n a t u r a l degree o f s a t u r a t i o n So: ( a ) S o < 1 (approx. 0.6),
s u b s i d e n t soils, a n d (b) So = 1, quick clays. Other types o f soils m a y exhibit the
m e t a s t a b l e structure in m o r e r e d u c e d scale.
(4) Structurally unstable soils can be m o d e l l e d in the l a b o r a t o r y as negative
d i l a t a n t systems.
(5) A s criteria o f structural instability, the liquidity index IL (if So = 1) o r
the subsidence index KL (if S o ~ 1), given b y eq.7 a n d d e d u c e d f r o m the f o r m e r can
be used, b a s e d on the relationship suggested b y SKEMPTON a n d NORTHEY (1952)
(Fig.13).
(6) Soils with So< 1 ( a p p r o x . 0.6) a n d K L > 0 . 8 5 m a y be i n d i c a t e d as subsident.

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