Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Asce) 1090 0241 (2005) 131:6 PDF
(Asce) 1090 0241 (2005) 131:6 PDF
Abstract: Geology and related earth processes are an inherent part of civil engineering design and construction. This paper examines
eight specific examples to illustrate how geologic factors can dominate project behavior. The examples are from a spectrum of environ-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universidad Militar Nueva Granada on 02/21/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
ments associated with design and construction of roads and airfields and vary from the apparently obvious to the more subtle. Failure to
understand the geologic conditions at a site almost invariably results in unsatisfactory performance. This complex interplay between
geology and engineering is at the heart of the geotechnical profession and should be appreciated by all.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1090-0241共2005兲131:6共783兲
CE Database subject headings: Geology; Engineering profession; Design; Construction.
Introduction the human errors we make in practice and are therefore particu-
larly troubling. The number of cases examined here is limited by
Knowledge of geology and related earth processes is not an aca- space and not by availability of appropriate examples.
demic luxury for the civil engineer, but rather it is a fundamental
aspect of design and construction. All engineering projects must
ultimately be supported on natural deposits, must withstand na- Wind: Pegasus Runway, Antarctica
ture’s forces, and are often largely built of variably processed
natural materials. The importance of geology in civil engineering McMurdo Station serves as a major logistical hub for the U.S.
has been repeatedly emphasized by past eminent geotechnical Antarctic Program’s scientific research in Antarctica. Ski-
masters of the art. Although such views on the practical impor- equipped New York Air National Guard LC-130 aircraft provide
tance of geology receive wide intellectual acceptance, their actual critical aerial support from McMurdo Station to various far-flung
internalization and use in practice seems appreciably more lim- locations on the continent. They are also capable of providing
ited. aerial transport between McMurdo Station and the U.S. Antarctic
We will examine eight case studies from our experience with Center in Christchurch, New Zealand, but to do so diverts this
roads and airfields where geologic considerations had major im- scarce resource from missions in Antarctica itself. Consequently,
pact on the completed project’s performance. The term geology is wheeled military aircraft 共usually C-130 or C-141兲 are preferred
used here in its broadest sense to encompass classical geology for aerial logistical missions between McMurdo Station and
and related disciplines such as hydrology, geomorphology, and Christchurch. A sea-ice runway provides access to wheeled air-
petrology. The geologic implications in these examples were not craft from the start of the austral summer flying season in October
always recognized, and the penalty for such oversight was invari- until ice deterioration halts operation in early December. At this
ably harsh. In some cases, it seems almost incomprehensible that point, LC-130s shift to a snow airfield, Williams Field, and
the geologic implications were not recognized; in others the geo- through the early 1990s wheeled-aircraft operations had to be
logic impacts are more subtle. suspended for the duration of the austral summer.
These examples were purposely selected to encompass a broad A new airfield capable of supporting wheeled aircraft was
spectrum of geologic settings and work from different engineer- needed during this post sea-ice period, and the Ross Ice Sheet
ing organizations. In every case, the work was conducted by pro- composed of approximately 30-m 共98-ft兲 thick floating glacial ice
fessional engineers form a wide variety of private firms and gov- was a promising solution. The ice was structurally adequate, but
ernment agencies. In most cases, there were engineers from the intense 24-h duration sun during the austral summer causes
multiple firms or agencies or levels within the agencies involved surface and near-surface melting of the ice with resulting defects
in the project design, review, and construction. The oversights are that impede aircraft operation 共Blaisdell et al. 1998兲.
Wind-driven snow became the key to the new runway loca-
1
Consulting Engineer, P.O. Box 313, Lyme, NH 03768; formerly, tion. As shown in Fig. 1, the nearby ice sheet had an accumulation
Research Civil Engineer, Engineering Research and Development Center zone where snow depth may reach 5 – 10 m 共16– 33 ft兲 and an
共ERDC兲, 72 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH 03755. ablation zone where the intense Antarctic winds sweep the ice
2
Research Civil Engineer, Engineering Research and Development sheet clear. Between these is a transition zone where snow cover
Center 共ERDC兲, 72 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH 03755. is constant but thin. This characteristic was crucial in placing the
Note. Discussion open until November 1, 2005. Separate discussions new Pegasus Runway in this transition zone. This snow initially
must be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by
was used to cover the glacial-ice runway during the most intense
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing
Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and pos- sunlight season 共December–January兲 and then stripped off to
sible publication on May 21, 2002; approved on August 10, 2004. This allow wheeled-aircraft operation at the end of the season when
paper is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental there is a major exodus of personnel and equipment before the
Engineering, Vol. 131, No. 6, June 1, 2005. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090-0241/ onset of winter. Recent tests have successfully processed and
2005/6-783–791/$25.00. compacted a thin layer of snow on the ice surface that both
able to place the concrete with a heroic effort: slump was main-
5 CH 88 69 41 26
tained at the absolute maximum allowed in the specification 关
6 CH 93 74 43 26
50 mm 共2 in.兲兴, intensive hand finishing was used behind the
Mean failure CH 81 61 49 32 paver, extensive hand repairs were needed to fix tears, voids, edge
samples
slump, and other surface defects. It was not a good job and was
Notes: Unified Soil Classification System⫽USCS; ASTM D 2487. placed only with great effort and trouble.
Gradation, ASTM D 422. Atterberg Limits, ASTM D 4318, LL= liquid
Within a year of placement, severe spalling developed along
limit; and PI= plasticity index.
two-thirds of the joints in this new pavement. Samples were re-
covered from the pavement as part of a larger study of spalling
which design was based. In situ CBR tests and dynamic cone problems on new Air Force concrete airfield pavements 共Rollings
penetrometer 共DCP兲 tests found that the actual strength was well 1998兲. The Travis AFB concrete samples were sawed and pol-
below that selected for design. All of the 10 in situ CBR tests ished for laboratory petrographic examination. Then the petrogro-
found the strength to be 4 or less. Only three of 23 DCP tests pher rinsed the sawed samples with distilled water to remove
equaled or exceeded the design CBR of 30, and 83% of the CBR sawing dust and polishing grit and set them aside to dry. A short
values estimated from DCP correlations were less than 10. time later, the petrogropher returned and observed small brownish
Clearly, the actual subgrade strength was far below the design bumps on many of the freshly cut and rinsed coarse aggregate
value. Previous pavement projects at this facility historically used surfaces of the concrete sample. Upon closer examination and
pavement design CBR values on the order of 4 or 5. testing, these brownish nodules turned out to be predominately
The local soils are formed by in situ weathering of interbedded smectite clay. Further x-ray diffraction tests revealed that smectite
cherty dolomite and sandstone. This geologic setting produces clay was present throughout the matrix of the concrete itself.
variable fine-grained, plastic soils with a significant chert gravel When this aggregate was mixed with the water and remaining
fraction. The geologic reality is that no high-strength subgrade ingredients to produce the project’s portland-cement concrete, it
soil with a design CBR of 30 can develop here, regardless of what had released smectite clay into the mixture. The impact of small
a single sample may suggest. Not recognizing such was fatal. The quantities of plastic fines on concrete mixtures is very dramatic:
soil is as nature made it. No stern commands from higher head- water demand skyrockets as workability suffers; shrinkage in-
quarters, wishful thinking by the engineer, or fulminations by the creases; the mixture becomes more sticky and prone to tearing
finance department shall ever make it otherwise. and finishing difficulties; and the expansive nature of smectite in
The project geotechnical engineer failed to adequately inves- particular can contribute to microcracking as it interacts with
tigate the site soil conditions and misjudged the soil strength. In water molecules during the life of the concrete. The problems the
this particular case, the engineer was newly graduated and work- contractor encountered placing this mixture and the subsequent
ing under the supervision of more experienced staff. Human error spalling are all consistent with plastic fines being included in the
of this type must be accepted when dealing with people and par- concrete mixture.
ticularly with newly graduated or inexperienced colleagues. A far The coarse aggregate was quarried basalt from the nearby
more damning indictment must be laid at the feet of the engineer- California Coast Mountain Range to the west of the base. This
ing management that failed to provide adequate guidance and problem was unexpected. Basalt is usually a good aggregate, and
oversight, that curtailed the geotechnical engineer’s investigation this quarry had produced concrete aggregate for the local concrete
to a single sample to hold down design costs and avoid delays, industry for many years. The contractor had also submitted qual-
and that feebly acquiesced to higher headquarter’s pressure to ity control tests showing the aggregate met the rigorous military
radically redesign the project to reduce costs without reducing the specification for aggregates for airfield concrete pavements.
scope of the work. Further investigation found the quarry’s geology was quite
Ultimately, strengthening the failed pavements would cost an- complex. Much of the basalt was of very good quality, but por-
other $9 million and delay occupation by the user for a year. tions of the deposit had been partially metamorphosed. Aggre-
Unfortunately, this scenario has close parallels to much modern gates from the partially metamorphosed basalt were much poorer
engineering work where technical issues are decided by bureau- than those from the unaffected basalt. In fact, unbeknown to the
cracy’s managers, insurers, lawyers, or accountants rather than Travis AFB project personnel during construction, another DOD
professional engineers. agency in Sacramento had extensive data showing that this quarry
was capable of producing both good and bad aggregate and that
careful testing and control of quarrying location were necessary to
Rock: Travis AFB, California reliably produce aggregate meeting military specifications for
concrete. The variability of the aggregate from this quarry was
During the spring and summer of 1991, a runway at Travis AFB not recognized by the contractor or concrete producer 共or at least
was partially reconstructed and returned to operational use in they appeared surprised and quite upset by the findings兲.
The quarry has only limited storage space, and quarrying pro- from Hawaii. The initial cost estimates for this solution greatly
ceeds sporadically at several locations and depths. The aggregate exceeded available funds.
sampled and tested by the contractor was from the quarry storage The U.S. consultant was unfamiliar with coral as a pavement
area. By the time aggregate was actually produced for the job at construction material. Even though discussion of coral in U.S.
Travis AFB some months later, it was coming from a different engineering literature is limited and dated, coral is often the only
part of the quarry than where the samples were taken earlier. available construction material in remote areas of the tropics.
There is often a lag between sampling, completion of required Coral is a relatively soft, absorptive, and highly variable material
testing, and start of production for the actual job. When dealing 共Table 2兲, but it has a long successful history of use as base and
with natural geologic materials such as aggregates, one must be subbase material for airfield pavements as well as for aggregate in
alert for changes in the geologic nature of the deposits—both asphaltic and Portland-cement concretes 共e.g., Stevens and Verall
quarried and pit-run aggregate sources—or run the risk of unex- 1988; Department of Defense 2001; Rollings et al. 2003兲. Coral
pected adverse results such as encountered here. Ascertaining sig- served this facility well, and at least one other very heavily loaded
nificant changes in the deposit is not for the layman or amateur, U.S. Air Force airfield routinely uses coral aggregate in airfield
however, and the services of a competent geologist knowledge- pavements. Since World War II, standard military airfield design
able of the local deposits and the needs of construction provide manuals have included guidance for acceptable gradations and
cheap insurance indeed. design standards for use of coral aggregate in airfield pavements
共Department of Defense 2001兲.
As one may expect of a facility built and expanded sporadi-
Nature’s Construction Materials: Military Airfield, cally over a half century, conditions and materials vary at this
Pacific Ocean airfield. Areas of the coral base material do not meet the desired
military specification. Some of the coral particles are oversized
The pavements at a remote airfield in the Pacific Ocean are sched- and some of the coral is gap-graded with an excess of sand-sized
uled for a major rehabilitation. The airfield pavements, some of particles. In situ tests conducted by military pavement evaluation
which date back to World War II, consist of crushed coral as fill, teams over the years and by the geotechnical subconsultant on
subbase, and base with an asphaltic concrete surface that uses this project found the coral base course materials fell into two
crushed coral as aggregate. The airfield has seen a number of general groups: those with CBRs above 80 and those with CBRs
cycles of structural upgrades, facility expansions, and neglect. in the range of 40–50. The first is consistent with military stan-
Today the aged, cracked, and badly oxidized asphaltic concrete dards for coral base courses while the second is representative of
surfaces require replacement. A few localized problem areas will a good-quality subbase. One must consider that the existing coral
require more extensive repair, but structurally the pavement re- bases have proven structurally adequate for the existing loading,
mains in good shape. The projected design traffic loads are com- and the most pragmatic solution is simply to replace the asphaltic
mensurate with those supported by the pavement without struc- concrete surface and leave the existing base materials alone 共al-
tural distress in the past. though this raises some liability question for the designer as some
The rehabilitation design was contracted to a U.S. mainland areas are known not to meet military specifications兲. Alterna-
engineer. The designer noted that the in situ coral did not meet the tively, one could increase the asphaltic concrete thickness in the
Federal Aviation Administration 共FAA兲 requirements for a 100 substandard coral areas to account for their lower strength. As a
CBR base course in a flexible airfield pavement. On this basis, the third alternative, one might replace the substandard areas with
initial design called for removal of the asphaltic concrete surface new base material. Regardless of which approach one might pre-
and the coral base course and replacement by a crushed stone fer, wholesale replacement of the existing coral base is not justi-
aggregate base and a new asphaltic concrete surface. The aggre- fied.
gates for the base and the asphaltic concrete were to be barged in To be effective engineers, we must build with local materials.
Fig. 6. The Cul-de-Sac Plain and Northwest Bypass Road Fig. 7. Downstream erosion of the embankment caused by
overtopping. Note the remnant of the embankment toe still visible on
the right.
If we are too conservative, we make the project cost prohibitive,
and it remains on the drawing board. If we fail to recognize the
limitations of the local materials, we may use them in a place or year storm. After the fact, it is unclear what drainage area was
manner where their performance will be unsatisfactory. used in the hydrologic calculations. The only information avail-
able indicated that the land area bounded by the Northwest By-
pass Road on the west and by Highway One on the north and east
Man’s Mistake: Port-au-Prince, Haiti was included in the calculations 关about 26– 39 km2
共10– 15 sq mi兲兴. However, the hydrology of the Cul-de-Sac plain
A multinational humanitarian effort designed and constructed the is more complex than the designer realized.
Northwest Bypass Road that ran from near the coast at Port-au- The Cul-de-Sac Plain is possibly the most striking geologic
Prince at the foot of the southern mountain chain to its intersec- feature in Haiti. It is a major depression that extends southeast-
tion with National Highway One 共Route 1兲 near the base of the ward across the island and stretches from sea to sea on the island
mountains at the northern edge of the Cul-de-Sac Plain 共Fig. 6兲. of Hispaniola. The Cul-de-Sac Plain is roughly rectangular and
This route bypasses a much longer and very congested portion of about 30.2-km 共18.75-mi兲 long and 12.9 to 16.1-km 共8 to
the route from Port-au-Prince to the towns and villages on Haiti’s 10-mi兲 wide. The plain is a deep trough bounded by steep moun-
northern peninsula. Funding for this road project was provided by tains to the north and south and generally slopes towards the
the World Bank. Surface hydrologic evaluations were conducted north. A low north-south divide in the eastern part of the plain
by a French organization; road design was provided by a U.S. diverts a part of the drainage eastward into the lake Étang
firm in a Mid-Atlantic state; and construction was performed by Saumâtre and a larger part westward toward the sea. This lake and
U.S. Navy engineer forces. a smaller one, Trou Caïman, are both fed by precipitation. Neither
The Northwest Bypass Road consists of an asphaltic concrete lake has an outlet, except in times of high flood when both over-
surface and a granular base course on a 1.2- to 3.7-m 共4- to flow across the Cul-de-Sac Plain and into Port-au-Prince Bay. The
12-ft兲 high compacted embankment. This structure crosses almost unusual drainage of Haiti and the Cul-de-Sac Plain were de-
the entire mouth of the Cul-de-Sac Plain. Sixty-one culverts were scribed by Woodring et al. 共1924兲:
installed along the 8.8-km 共5.5-mi兲 long route to handle drainage.
“Certain areas 共of Haiti兲 have peculiar drainage, due to
Construction of the Northwest Bypass Road was complete by
geologic or climatic conditions. … Lost streams of the
July 1997. On September 22, 1998, the eye of Hurricane Georges
desert type, which disappear by evaporation or by infil-
passed over Haiti just north of the Cul-de-Sac Plain. No official
tration into alluvium, are rather common in some areas.
rainfall data are available for Haiti, but the U.S. Naval Station in
Usually they originate on mountain slopes, where rainfall
Port-au-Prince measured in excess of 250 mm 共10-in.兲 of rainfall.
is abundant, and disappear at or near the arid lowlands. …
Meteorologists’ best estimate is that Hurricane Georges was likely
examples are Rivière Blanche, which disappears on the
a 100-year storm event.
Cul-de-Sac Plain, and, to some extent at least, Grande
The Northwest Bypass Road acted as a massive dam for the
Rivière du Cul-de-Sac 共the Rivière Grise兲. These streams
hurricane flood waters. Water ponded behind the embankment
flow through to the sea, however, in time of flood.”
and then overtopped the roadway scouring away up to half the
downstream embankment 共Fig. 7兲. Mud lines on upstream build- The Northwest Bypass Road crossed and blocked the mouth of
ings corroborated residents’ statements that flood waters were up the Cul-de-Sac Plain. This is the major outflow and drainage of
to 1.9-m 共6.25-ft兲 deep and that adults had to hold children on this region and the surrounding mountains, and during times of
their shoulders to keep them above the flood water. Residents also flood, the drainage area encompasses lakes and rivers that would
reported water flowed over the embankment with depths of not normally flow to the sea via the mouth of the Cul-de-Sac
150– 450 mm 共6 – 18 in.兲, and the overtopping lasted 1 – 24 h de- Plain. When Hurricane Georges arrived, the Northwest Bypass
pending on location. Road became a dam. Furthermore, on this Carribean Island hur-
The existing culverts were sized and spaced based on a 10- ricanes are a fact of life. Consequently, assessment of the impact
seated slides. Some older borings in the area suggest some slides
are more than 20-m 共65-ft兲 deep. There were also a number of
shallow slumps within the soil mantle and rock falls.
Fig. 8. Example of a slide along Honda Ridge Road Honda Ridge Road has had a long history of slope stability
problems. It was realigned to avoid recurrent slide problems in
1985 and patching and several massive retaining walls were tried
of the road should have included flood waters from hurricanes. in some areas to control local sliding problems with mixed suc-
One must also question the wisdom of using a 10-year storm cess. The unusually heavy rains of the 1997–1998 winter certainly
intensity for storm-water control design when the Northwest By- reactivated slides and triggered new ones, but it was the continu-
pass Road location blocking the mouth of the Cul-de-Sac Plain ation of a longstanding problem.
has such a major impact on drainage during floods. Such a design This region has steep terrain, unfavorable bedding and fault-
storm is often used for low-volume rural roads in the U.S., but ing, and weak rock formations that naturally lead to some slides,
Florida which has rainfall more akin to the Carribean routinely particularly during the rainy season. When the relatively massive
uses 25-year design storms for roads and highways and 50-year Honda Ridge Road was cut into the terrain steepening slopes,
storms for major routes or ones that will be used during evacua- overloading tenuous slopes with fill, blocking drainage, it exacer-
tions. bated the already marginal natural state to one where sliding be-
This laudable humanitarian project foundered for several rea- came prevalent along the route. Fig. 9 shows an example from
sons including 共1兲 failure to recognize the true drainage area that one slide where fill from the road provides the impetus for slid-
was being blocked by the road; 共2兲 failure to appreciate how the ing.
drainage area expanded during flood events; 共3兲 failure to design El Niňo provided an initial popular scapegoat for the problems
for tropical storms; 共4兲 use of inappropriate design storm intensi- on Honda Ridge Road but is not the real problem. Poorly planned
ties; and 共5兲 poor communication and interaction between the construction of Honda Ridge Road without adequate recognition
disparate parties funding, designing, and building the project. of its adverse impact on the marginally stable landscape is the
true cause of the problems. El Niňo was merely a catalyst for
these slide problems that were simply one more round in a long
Man’s Impact: Vandenberg AFB, California and continuing history of problems.
Fig. 9. Cross section of fill triggering a slide on Honda Ridge Road 共based on unpublished files of 30th Civil Engineering Squadron,
Vandenberg AFB, field work by Geofon, Inc., NBS Lowry, Inc., and S/G Testing Laboratories兲
was being replaced. The pavement concrete to be recycled ent. In heaved areas, cores crumbled when extracted from the
showed no sulfate related distress and all available information core barrel, and the concrete fragments were often soft,
indicates it was made with Type V sulfate-resistant cement. The moist, and could be easily broken or deformed with finger
recycled concrete was crushed to meet a well-graded base-course pressure. Examination of recovered concrete stockpiles that
gradation specification 共GW-GM by the USCS兲, and all facilities had not been used found no gypsum, ettringite, or thauma-
in GAF1 had between 0.6 and 1.5 m 共2 and 5 ft兲 of recycled site. This gypsum cementing the GAF 1 recycled concrete fill
concrete as fill beneath them. must have been deposited during or after placement or both.
Differential heaving began appearing in scattered locations 2. Soil contamination: If the recovered concrete was contami-
throughout the GAF1 project. Heaving effects were observed as nated with soil, clay minerals in the soil could potentially
displaced sidewalk slabs, buckled asphaltic concrete pavement, provide chemically active alumina to participate in the
stuck doors, cracks in masonry walls, and differential elevation ettringite formation 共Rollings et al. 1999兲. Discussions with
between adjacent structures founded on recycled concrete fill and inspectors and contractor personnel found there had been
those founded on native subgrade or other fill. Expansion within some initial problems with soil contamination. The contrac-
the recycled concrete layer caused rippling of the ribbed mat tor had taken steps to control this as it was causing problems
foundation slab of the maintenance hangar and led to problems with keeping the fines within specification limits. No evi-
coring through the recycled concrete layer as the recycled con- dence was found suggesting any particular problem with soil
crete material squeezed into the core holes. Inspections carried contamination.
out in March and July of 2000, April 2002, and July 2004 found 3. Thaumasite: Much of the expansion may be driven by for-
the magnitude and extent of heaving were steadily increasing. mation of thaumasite. Since thaumasite formation is not lim-
Microscopy and x-ray diffraction of samples recovered from ited by the availability of alumina, sulfate resistant cements
the recycled concrete conclusively identified ettringite and thau- would be of no protection. While thaumasite has seldom
masite in the material. These calcium-sulfate-aluminate com- been identified as the primary cause of distress 共Taylor 1997;
pounds are expansive and are indicative of sulfate attack. Con- Thaumasite Expert Group 1999兲, conditions for thaumasite
ventional sulfate resistant cements 共Type II and the more resistant formation in the recycled concrete base and fill at Holloman
Type V兲 achieve their protection against sulfate attack by lowered AFB were unusually favorable 共e.g., high humidity and cool
alumina content in the cement composition. Without alumina, the temperatures under the paved surface, ample sulfates, and
expansive ettringite and thaumasite will not form. older carbonated portland-cement concrete fragments兲.
There appear to be three possible explanations why a recycled We tend to treat our geotechnical materials as inert. In actual
concrete made originally with sulfate-resistant cements and that fact, there can be some very complex interactions and changes in
suffered no ill effects for the previous 40 years might undergo these materials that vary from beneficial to innocuous to highly
sulfate attack when recycled as fill. destructive. Sulfates are often associated with arid or semiarid
1. Severe exposure conditions: Conditions as fill and base regions. Our personal experiences have included dealing with
course were more conducive to sulfate attack than when the these in New Mexico, Texas, and the Middle East where such
concrete was intact pavement on the surface. Water is needed conditions prevail. However, we have also encountered problems
for the sulfate attack to occur, and more water accumulates in with sulfate attack from industrial cinders in Ohio, clay in Mis-
the underground recycled fill than was available when it was sissippi, coal stockpile leachate in Virginia, and well water used
surface pavement. When crushed, the recycled concrete is far for soil compaction in coastal Georgia. Consequently, one must
more permeable than when it existed as concrete pavement. remain alert to nature’s surprises.
The sulfate exposure level in the fill is very severe. In cases
where heaving was not apparent, cores taken from the
recycled concrete were intact as though the recycled concrete Conclusions
had recemented itself. Chemical analysis revealed that the
cementing agent was gypsum. Ettringite and thaumasite were The preceding examples illustrate the impact of geology on a
found in these cores even though heaving was not yet appar- spectrum of engineering projects. As civil engineers, we are in-