Geological and Geotechnical Features of Singapore:

an Overview

J. S. Sharma, J. Chu, and J. Zhao

Abstract--The article provides an overview of the main geological formation in Singapore, including the
igneous rocks of granite and norite, the various sedimentary rocks, the Quaternary deposits and the recent
Marine Clay deposits. The geological and geotechnicalproperties of each geological material are described
and discussed. The paper attempts to provide the essential geological and geotechnical information for the
design and construction of underground structures in Singapore. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.

1. Introduction Tekong Formation soils have been mapped at a variety of

ingapore is a city state on the island of Singapore at localities around the coast and estuaries of Singapore. It is

S the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, with a total

land area of about 650 km 2. At present, the country
has a population of about 3.5 million. The city consists of a
Central Business District (CBD) at the central south, over
t e n residential new towns around the island, industrial
estates mainly at Jurong in the southwest, and a nature
reserve at Bukit Timah in the central part of the island.
The geological materials of Singapore can be broadly
divided into four maiv. types:
a) the igneous rocks consisting of the Bukit Timah
granite and the, Gornbak norite in the north and
central-north;
b) the sedimentary rocks of the Jurong Formation in the
west and southwest;
c) the Quaternary ,deposits of the Old Alluvium in the
east; and
d) recent deposits of the Kallang Formation of the allu-
vium member, t:he transitional member and marine
clay distributed throughout the island.
A simplified geolog:ical map is shown in Figure 1.
Other less common geological formations in Singapore
are the Sajahat Formation, the Tekong Formation and the
reclaimed land. The Sajahat Formation consists of well-
lithified quartzite, quartz sandstone, and argillite. Although
the Sajahat Formation on the geological map appears only
at the northeastern corner, it has been found at several
locations below the Old Alluvium. The rock was formed
during the lower Paleozoic and is the oldest rock in Singapore.
The TekongFormat;ion is a thin sequence of mainly sands
and gravels oflitteral and fluvial origin. The beach deposits
are generally very loose to occasionally medium dense, fine
to coarse brown shelly" and sometimes gravely sands. The
Present address: J. S. Shazma, J. Chu, and J. Zhao, School of Civil
and Structural Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
Nanyang Avenue, Block N1, Singapore 639798.
frequently very difficult to distinguish either lithologically
or geotechnically between littoral members of the Tekong
Formation and those of the Kallang Formation.
The reclaimed land is generally sandflll on top of the
existing geological material which, at most locations, is
marine clay. The sandfill is unconsolidated and the depth
0fthe sandfill is generally between 10 and 20 m. At Changi,
below the unconsolidated sandfill and the Marine Clay is
the cemented sand of the Old Alluvium. At Jurong, below
the sandfill and the marine clay is the bedrock of the Jurong
Formation, including the limestone.
This paper addresses primarily the engineering geology
of the Bukit Timah granite, the Jurong Formation sedimen-
tary rocks, the Old Alluvium, and the Marine clay of the
Kallang Formation.
2. The Granite and Norite Formation
During recent years, several extensive investigations
including geological mapping, seismic reflection and refrac-
tion surveys, resistivity survey, deep coring, geophysical
borehole logging and cross-hole tomography, as well as
laboratory testing have been conducted on the Bukit Timah
granite. New geological and geotechnical data and informa-
tion have been gathered, which lead to new understandings
of the geology and engineering geology of the Bukit Timah
granite (Zhao et al., 1994; Zhao, 1996).
2. I Geological Setting of the Igneous Rocks
The Bukit Timah granite and the Gombak norite under-
lies about one-third of the Singapore Island and the whole
ofPulau Ubin. These rocks have been a source of aggregates
for the past thirty years.
The Bukit Timah granite is mainly an acidic igneous
rock formed during the Triassic period and forms a batholith
at the centre of Singapore island extending some 8 km in
north to south and 7 k m east to west. Its dominant, granitic
component is grey and medium to coarse grained (2-5 mm)
and consists of cream or pale yellow feldspar (60-65%),

www.elsevier.com/locate/tust
TunneUing and UndergroundSpa~e Technology,Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 419-431, 1999
0886-7798]0W $ - see front m a t t e r © 2000 El s evi e r Science Ltd.
All r i g h t s reserved.
~ Pergamon
PII: S0866-7798(00)00005-5
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,::!'-~-"
. :..:.....
"". : ::::~ ..: .::.:-.~
i".'(-", ::."'::::i:..
Bukit Timah Granite I Gombak Norite
Jl]JJ~l Kallang Formation Sajahat Formation
[-'-'1 Jurong Formation .,- Fault
[""-IJ Old Alluyium •.*- .4-- Fold
Figure 1. Simplified geological map of Singapore (after PWD, 1976).
smoky quartz (30%), and smaller proportions of reddish-
brown biotite and dark hornblende. The pink variety of
orthoclase is also present. Accessory minerals include
apatite and zircon and occasionallyepidote. The granite in
the central Singapore includes entire suite of acidic igne-
ous rocks,ranging from granodiorite,adamellite, and true
granite. There is considerable hybridization within the
formation and there is m u c h evidence of assimilation.
The G o m b a k Norite is an association of noritic and
gabbroic reck which outcrops in a restricted area, now
extensively quarried, around Bukit Panjang and Bukit
G o m b a k in the centre of the island (Fig. 1). The rocks are
coarse-grained and plagioclase-rich,with varying amounts
of clino-and orthopyroxene minerals in intergranular tex-
ture. Although variable, overall composition ranges from
norite,through nortic gabbro to gabbro, all basic intrusive
igneous rocks COmmonly thought ofas representing slicesof
oceanic crust caught up with continental margin sediment
during subduction or continental collisionand metamorphi-
callyaltered into an ophiolitesuite. The rock also has very
high strength.
2.2 General Geo/ogica/ Property of the Igneous Rocks
The geologicaland engineering properties of the granite
and the norite can be stlmmarized as follows:
a) The weathering of the granite and the norite is very
extensive, with the depth of weathering varying be-
tween 10 to 70 m with an average of around 30 m.
b) The granite and the norite rock material has a very
high strength (average of 190 MPa).
420 TLrNNELLING AND U N D E R G R O U N D S P A C E T E C H N O L O G Y
0 10 km
knnnd ." .= : .= =- ; ; : ==
c) Faults in the granite are sub-verticalwith variable
width. Some of the faults are re-cemented by calcite
and other minerals. Water-bearing and -conducting
faults are in isolatedlocations.
d) There are generally four to five joint sets in the
granite rock masses. The dominant joint set is sub-
vertical,with strike in the directionN N W - S S E .
e) The permeability of the jointed granite rock mass is
very low with average permeability of 10-7to 10 -9m/s.
Groundwater flow isonly likelyin fractured zones and
faults.Permeability ofthe completely weathered gran-
ite and the residual soilis in the order of 10~ m/s.
Recent in-situstressmeasurements have shown that the
m i n i m u m and m a x i m u m horizontal stresses are two and
four times the verticalstress,respectively(Hefny and Zhao,
1999). The major principal stress is in the N N E - S S W
direction.The directionof the major principalstress seems
to be relatedto the tectonicactivityofthe Jurong Formation
which has been folded with strike in the N E - S W direction.
2.3 Weathering and Properties of the Weathered Granite
Field observations indicate t h a t the weathering of the
Bukit Timah granite has been rapid and is primarily due to
chemical decomposition under the humid tropical climate of
Singapore (Zhao et al., 1994). The granite is often overlain
by a thick layer of residual soil with few corestones. Weath-
ering profiles interpreted from the seismic fraction and
electrical resistivity surveys show that the depth of the
residual soil ranges from a few meters to 70 m. In most
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
 mechanical and engineering properties change significantly
at different weathering grades.

2.4 Rock Mass Quality of the Granite

Figure 2. Typical weathering profile in the Bukit Timah
granite.
areas the range is 20 to 50 m. The granitic residual soil is
mainly sandy clayey silt. In some locations, a layer of
reddish brown sandy silty clay with a thickness of a few
meters can be found above the clayey silt indicating second-
ary weathering.
The increase of the grain size with depth indicates that
the weathering becomes less intense with depth. The re-
sidual soil also shows a steady but marked decrease in the
clay content with depth. The residual soil of the Bukit
Timah granite is generally stiff to hard, and has totally lost
its rock texture and most of its strength. In m a n y low-lying
areas, a sudden change from Grade VI to Grade III or
possibly Grade II is common, as seen in Figure 2. The
weathering profile is of the stratified type rather than the
corestone profile which is common elsewhere.
Typical properties of the weathered Bukit Timah granite
are summarised in Table 1. It should be noted that the
The assessment of the rock mass quality takes into
consideration of joint orientation and frequency, rock block
size, rock strength, in-situ stress, and groundwater condi-
tion. The assessment of the Bukit Timah granite rock mass
using the Q-system proposed by Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute (NGI) indicates that the Bukit Timah granite has
Q-vaiues generally in the range of 10-400, with the excep-
tion of a small number of weak zones. Based on a large
number of borehole, logs, statistical analysis of the rock
mass quality has been conducted. The results indicate that
about 98% of logged length of the rock mass can be classified
as good and above, and 77% of the logged length can be
classified as very good and excellently good.
It was noticed that the Q-values are slightly lower in
inclined boreholes. This is because the inclined boreholes
were designed to intersect the fault, weakness zones, and
sub-vertical joint sets. About 96% of logged length of the
rock mass can be classified as good and above from inclined
boreholes (Zhao 1996). Rock mass quality assessed by P-
wave velocities obtained through seismic refraction survey
also showed a Q-value in the order of 200.
2.5 Properties of the Bukit Timah Residual Soils
Typical variations of the densities, the water content, the
grain size distribution, the Atterberg's limits and the pen-
etration resistivity with depth obtained from a borehole is
shown in Figure 3. The plot indicates a clear decrease of the
water content and an increase of the dry density with
increasing depth. The increase of the density of the satu-
rated soil with increasing depth is not significant and is
oi~en masked by a high groundwater table. The change of
the grain size distribution with depth seems to reflect the
degree of secondary weathering. The silt and the clay
fractions of the soil are particularly affected. The clay
fraction decreases significantly with depth while the silt
content is increased. The sand fraction, in general, in-

Table 1. Properties of the weathered Bukit Timah granite.

k
Pbulk SPT RQD 1=(5o) Vp Ed (X 10"9)
Weathering Grade (g/cm ~) N-value ('/,) (MPa) (MPa) (kmls) (GPa) (ms)

Residual soil (Vl) 2.09 13 1.2 4.5 1.0"

Completely weathered (V) 2.14 33 0.9 5.4

Highly weathered (IV) 2.32 > 100 45 1.8 32 0.7 5.4 5.12

Moderately weathered (111) 2.43 83 5.6 88 4.8 33.2 1.80

Slightly weathered 2.54 96 9.9 165 5.6 56.2 1.59

Fresh granite 2.66 99 11.1 192 5.8 60.3 0.58

Note: P~,k= Bulk Density; SPT = Standard Penetration Test; RQD = Rock Quality Designation; 1°(5o) = Point Load Index;
a c = Uniaxial Compressive Strength; Vp = Velocity of Compression Wave; Ea = Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity;
k = Rock Mass Permeability

* In the normally consolidated range

Volume 14, Number 4, 1999 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUND SPACETECHNOLOGY421

creases with increasing depth. The liquid limit decreases
rapidly with increasing depth, as well as the plasticity
index, while the plastic limit does not indicate conclusive
trend. Standard penetration test (SPT) results show that
the penetration resistivity increases with the depth. The
soil varies from soft at the ground surface to hard near the
weathered rock.
3. Sedimentary Rocks of the Jurong Formation
The Jurong formation covers the south, southwest and
west of Singapore with a variety of sharply folded sedimen-
tary rocks. It was deposited during late Triassic to early or
mid-Jurassic (230-180 million years ago). The formation
consists of a variety of sedimentary rocks, including con-
glomerate, sandstone, shale, mudstone, limestone and dolo-
mite. Low-grade metamorphism of the Jurong Formation
has been observed.
3. I Geological Setting of the Jurong Formation
Based on litho-stratigraphic units or facies, the Jurong
F o r m a t i o n is s u b d i v i d e d into six facies m e m b e r s :
Queenstown facies, Jong facies, Ayer Chawan facies, Rimau
facies, St. John facies, and Tengah facies (PWD 1976). The
relationship of the facies are shown in Figure 4. Although
a general temporal and spatial distribution was established
for each facies, their relationships to one another remain
unclear. Deposition was in part marine and in part terres-
trial. Alluvial, deltaic, estuarine, lagoonal and shallow shelf
sea environments have been recognized from sedimentary
Density (g/cm3) and Water Content (x 10%)
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
demtt/
0 0
~ bulk
g
2O /~water
content
25
ensity
Penetration Resistance, SPT (blowg0.3m)
5 10 15 20 25 30
0
0
5 5
20
25
30
Figure 3. Typical vertical variations of the Bukit Timah granite residual soil properties (after Zhao et al., 1994).
422 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY
and fossil evidences. The transitional nature of the deposi-
tional environments resulted in a wide variety of sedimen-
tary rock types that now constitute the Jurong Formation.
Rock types vary rapidly both vertically and laterally and all
gradations are seen from fine-grained mudstone to coarse
bouldery conglomerates. Their bulk mineral composition
includes quartz grains, clay minerals, feldspars and other
altered igneous rock minerals.
Many parts of the Jurong Formation are covered by
recent deposits of the Kallang Formation. The western part
of the sedimentary rocks is covered by a weathered layer of
a few meters to a few tens of meters, and occasionally by the
recent deposits. The Jurong Formation has been intensely
folded, with structural strike oriented NW-SE and faults
aligned parallel with or perpendicular to the strike direc-
tion. Most of the rocks of the Jurong Formation are of weak
strength and poor structure. In several locations in the
Jurong Formation sedimentary rocks, high horizontal
stresses have been noted.
A boulder bed, comprising hard sandstone boulders up to
6 m across (and sometimes larger), set in a stiff reddish
brown and grey silty sandy clay matrix, was first encoun-
tered to a depth of over 30 m during foundation excavation
for the Asia Insurance Building (Nowson, 1954). The Boul-
der Bed or Bouldery Clay, as it has come to be known, has
since been shown (Pitts, 1984; Han et al., 1993) to underlie
a large part of the Central Business District. Because of its
variable soil/rock lithology, it has caused problems for deep
excavations and foundations for multi-storey buildings. It is
nowhere exposed at the surface and its origin is unknown
Gain Size Fraction (%)
4 0 I0 20 30 40 50 60
I0
silt
g~ t5
2O
30
Atterberg' Limits and Plasticity Index (%)
I0 20 3o 4o 5o 60
I0
2o
25
plastic limit
3o
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
 MURAl
JURONG
Figure 4. Relationship of the facies in the Jurong Formation (after PWD, 1976).
though it could represent either subaerial or subaqueous
rock slide or be a result ofpost-depositional movement. The
Boulder Bed has been variously considered as part of the
Jurong Formation (Pitts, 1984) on the basis that the boul-
ders are fresh and the clay is heavily overconsolidated, and
as a Pleistocene landslide deposit derived from nearby
Jurong Formation hills (Han et al., 1996).
Fontaine and Lee (1993) reported a limestone unit, the
Pandan limestone. The Pandan limestone is fine-grained and
well lithified over the whole 200 m thickness encountered in
a borehole at Pandan Reservoir. Based on fossil evidence, the
age of the limestone is identified as Late Triassic. Subse-
quently, limestone has been discovered at several locations
such as Pasir Panjang, Tuas, Bouna Vista, Jurong Point and
Kent Ridge. Studies on these limestones were carried out
with emphasis on petrography and engineering properties
(Guo, 1998; Guo and Zhao, 1998). No further evidence of age
is available for these limestones. It is probable that all the
limestones were deposited at the same period and they form
the lower part of the Jurong Formation.
3.2 Weathering of the Jurong Sedimentary Rocks
Fresh rock is never seen in natural exposures and is only
rarely encountered in shallow man-made cuttings and exca-
vations. Due to t h e h u m i d tropical climate of Singapore, the
Jurong Formation has been subjected to intensive weather-
ing. In the weathering process, clastic rocks (typically sand-
stone) become weak, fIiable, and more porous and mudrocks
are reduced to clay of variable hardness. The mineral
composition of rocks is a key factor affecting the weathering.
The carbonate rocks have not been seen at surface. Guo
and Zhao (1998) haw.~ also observed different weathering
schemes in the carbonate rocks from borehole samples.
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
MT. FASER
ST.JOHN'S
• ISLAND
Pt,/t.~l
LEGENO
~ TF.NGAH
ST.JOHN
RIMAU
AYERCHAWAN
JONG
OUEENST~N
They proposed a weathering classification system with six
rock mass weathering stages:
• unweathered stage (stage I),
• initial weathering stage (stage II),
• intermediate weathering stage (stage III),
• late Weathering stage (stage IV),
• last weathering stage (stage V) and
• residual stage (stage VI).
According to this classification system, the limestone
rock mass at Pandan and Tuas can be classified to be
intermediate weathering rocks, while the carbonate rock
mass at Pasir Panjang may fall in the intermediate weath-
ering to last weathering stages.
Weathering profile interpreted from seismic reflection
and borehole logging records show that the depth of the
residual soils ranges from a few to 50 m. However, weath-
ering may affect the rocks to greater depths. Borehole
logging indicates that the weathering process, when as-
sisted by a well-developed system of interconnecting frac-
tures, can penetrate to depths of more than 100 m below
surface.
3.3 Engineering Properties of the Sedimentary Rocks
A general range of rock properties ofthe Jureng Formation
has been obtained by geophysical logging. Sandstone and
conglomerates are characterized with P-wave velocity rang-
ing from 1.25 to 3 kin/s, while P-wave velocity of slate and
siltstone varies between 1.25 and 2 km/s. Carbonates (includ-
ing marbles) possess relative high P-wave velocity of 2-4.5
km/s. Therefore, good quality carbonate rocks and fair to good
quality sandstone and conglomerates can be expected.
TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACETECHNOLOGY423
Table 2. Mechanical and engineering properties of teh Jurong sedimentary rocks.

o c (MPa)
Rock Type Range Average E,, (GPa) (;t,,= (MPa) vp (kmls)

Conglomerate 32-102 52 33 9.5 1.2-3

Sandstone 35-137 68 57 12.4 1.25-3

Siltstone 21-53 34 38 7.2 1.25-2

Slaty shale/phyllite 41 41 39 - 1/25-2

Limestone/marble 45-162 88 98 13.4 2-4.5

Note: Gc = Uniaxial Compressive Strength; E,~o = Average Young' s Modulus; (;t,v9 = Average Brazil Tensile Strength;
Vp = Velocity of Compression Wave

Rock strength of the Jurong Formation has been largely
affected by the weathering. This is clearly demonstrated by
point load strength index of the rocks. Slightly weathered
to fresh conglomerates, sandstones, and siltstones fall in
the strong to very strong strength range (I~50~=3-12 MPa)
and the highly to moderately weathered varieties fall in the
weak to moderately strong strength range (I~5o~ = 0.1-3
MPa). Slightly weathered to fresh slates and phyllitic slates
are typically moderately weak to moderately strong (I (sg)=
0.3-6 MPa) and the highly to moderately weathered variet-
ies are very weak to weak (I~50) < 0.1-0.3 MPa). Slightly
weathered to fresh carbonate rocks exhibit a strength range
of strong to very strong (I~50) = 3-12 MPa), while highly to
moderately weathered varieties exhibit a strength range of
weak to moderate strong (I ..... = 0.1-3 MPa).
Strength and deformati'~n' characteristics of the fresh
Jurong sedimentary rocks have been determined through
laboratory tests and are summarised in Table 2. The con-
glomerates, sandstones, siltstones, slates and phyllitic slates,
and limestones, when fresh, are generally strong. It implies
Table 3. Engineering properties of residual soils of the
Jurong Formation.
Property Range
Natural Water Content (w), in % 15 to 45
Bulk Density (Pb,~k)' in g/cm s 1.8 to 2.2
Specific Gravity (G,) 2.6 to 2.75
Liquid Limit (w,), in % 28 to 60
Plastic Limit (wp), in % 14 to 36
that the stabilityof underground excavation in those rocks
will generally be structural rather than stress controlled.
The rock mass properties,in term ofP-wave velocities,ofthe
sedimentary rocks are also included in Table 2.
Through a extensive geological investigation and from
17 deep boreholes spread in the Jurong Formation, the rock
mass quality ofthe Jurong sedimentary formation has been
assessed (Zhao et al.,1999). Assessment with the Q-system
shows that about 47% of the logged rock cores are rated as
fair(Q = 4-10) to good (Q = 10-40) or very good (Q = 40-100)
quality rocks. Good quality rocks are represented by lime-
stones (e.g.,at Pandan) and by conglomerates and sand-
stones (e.g.,at the N T U campus, at Labrador Park), while
fairquality rocks are widely distributed in the Jurong area.
Poor quality (Q < 4) rocks are mostly mudrocks or highly
faulted rocks.
3.4 Geotechnical Properties of Residual Soils of the Jurong
Formation
Residual soils formed from the Jurong Formation are
mostly cohesive, and their consistency is generally stiffto
hard. They mainly consist of interbedded layers of clayey
siltand sandy clay of medium plasticityand clayey to silty
sand. Primary constituent minerals are kaolinite,mica and
quartz (Yong et al., 1985). These soils are heterogeneous
and highly variable mainly due to the variability of the
parent rock, its high fracture frequency and thin bedding.
The engineering properties of these soilshave not been
studied in detail yet. Their engineering behaviour is pre-
dominantly that of a clay despite being composed largely of
sand and siltsized particles.Table 3 gives the physical and
mechanical properties of these soils.These properties have
been obtained from a large number of tests conducted on
residual soils at the N T U campus (Rahardjo et al., 1995;
Zhu, 1999).

Permeability (k), in m/s t 10-6 to 10-g 3.4.2 Atterberg limits

From Table 3, it can be seen that the liquid limit for
Compression Index (Cc) 0.1 to 0.6 Jurong Formation residual softsranges from 28 to 60% and
the plasticlimit ranges from 14 to 36%. Figure 5 shows the
Cohesion (c'), in kPa * 0 to 40 results ofAtterberg Limit testsforthese soilssuperimposed
on the Casagrande's plasticity chart. It can be seen that
Angle of Internal Friction (¢'), in ° * 24 to 40 most ofthe test points plotwithin the envelope for kaolinite
(Grim, 1962), thus confirming the observations by Yong et
Soils tested at both saturated and unsaturated states. al. (1985) that the predominant clay mineral in these soils
is kaolinite.

424 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACETECHNOLOGY Volume 14, Number 4, 1999

 80
70
5o
~ 40
~ 30
20
,,opoforkao ,nit ° )
10
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Liquid Limit (wL)
Figure 5. Atterberg Limits for Jurong Formation residual soils plotted on
Casagrande's plasticity chart (after Zhu, 1999).
3.4.3 Permeability
The range of perraeability for the Jurong Formation
residual softs is given in Table 3. However, there is a large
variation in the values of permeability of these residual softs
obtained by various researchers. Yong et al. (1985) suggest
a value of the order of' 10 ~ m/s, whereas Morton and Sayer
(1985) propose a value of the order of 10 -9m/s. Most recently,
Zhu (1999) has found the permeability value between 10-7to
10.9 rills based on large number of laboratory permeability
tests and oedometer tests conducted on undisturbed samples
obtained from the NIE construction site. It has also been
reported that the permeability of these soils decrease sig-
nificantly with an increase in the matric suction in an
unsaturated condition (Leong and Rahardjo, 1995).
3.4.4 Mechanical properties
The mechanical properties of the Jurong Formation
residual soils are given in Table 3. These soils have low
compressibility (C c between 0.1 and 0.6, Table 3), and, as
with granitic residual soils, they become stiffer with depth.
Because of a relatively high clay content and the coating of
clay around sand and silt particles, these soils behave like
overconsolidated clays with respect to both the strength and
compressibility characteristics.
Figure 6 shows a variation of over-consolidation ratio
(OCR) with depth obtained from oedometer tests on undis-
turbed samples obtained from the NTU site (Zhu, 1999). It
is clear from Figure 6 that the Jurong Formation residual
soils are moderately overconsolidated in the top 6 to 8 m.
This may be the result of surface erosion combined with
fluctuations in the ground water table.
The range value of cohesion (c') and angle of internal
friction (~') for these soils, obtained from either the Consoli-
dated Undrained (CU) or the Consolidated Drained (CD)
triaxial tests, are given in Table 3. Generally, c' varies from
10 to 40 kPa, and ~' varies from 25 to 38 °. Based on the
results of in-situ Iowa Borehole Shear Tests results, Zhu
(1999) has obtained c' in the range of 10 to 30 k P a and ¢' in
the range of 24 to 40 ° .
4. The Old Alluvium
Sediments of a young geological age occupy a large
proportion of the total surface area of the main island of
Singapore. These sediments cover probably in excess of
half, including virtuallly the whole of eastern one-third of
the island (Pitts, 1983). The oldest of the drift deposits is
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
locally called the Old Alluvium. It is an
extension of a deposit found in southern
Johore in Malaysia and exists as an
extensive sheet in the offshore zone to
the east of Singapore (Fig. 1). An area of
approximately 12 k m 2 of the Old Allu-
vium exists in the northwestern part of
Singapore, but the main area is in the
east, where it occurs as a virtually unin-
A-L!no , terrupted sheet either at the surface or
lying beneath younger deposits.
The m a x i m u m recorded thickness of
the Old Alluvium is 195 m, although it
may be even thicker (Pitts, 1984). It has
been recorded to exist at a depth ofl50 m
below surface, where it lies directly on a
quartz sandstone of the Sajahat Forma-
tion that has been contact metamor-
80 90 100 phosed (PWD, 1976). Its age is probably
Plio-Pleistocene, and its formation may
be related to downfaulted area (Burton,
1964). It is about 2 million to 7 million
years old. Its form indicates the exist-
ence of an old alluvial succession of a
major braided river system (Gupta et al.,
• .1980). The Old Alluvium is economically
very important for Singapore. It is one of the major sources
of sand required for the construction industry. In the past,
it has also provided granular fill for some of the major land
reclamation projects in the country (Tan et al., 1980).
4.1 Composition of the Old Alluvium
The Old Alluvium consists mainly of medium dense to
very dense, semi-indurated, clayey quartzo-feldspathic
coarse sand and fine gravel with cross bedding, scour
marks, coarser gravel stringers and lenses of silt and clay
(Pitts, 1984). Deeper beds of the formation contain finer
grains. Most of the feldspar is almost completely broken
down into kaolin down to depths of about 8 m. The pebbles
found in the Old Alluvium are mainly of quartz. They tend
to be more angular. Pebbles of chert, rhyolite and argillite
are also found but these are often sub-rounded to rounded.
The cementing agent is a matrix of silt and clay particles.
OCR
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 I I l I I
2
4
6
8
10 ~
12
14
16
18
20
Figure 6. The variation of OCR with depth for Jurong
Formation residual soils at NTU site (after Zhu, 1999).
TU~ELLn~G ANDUNDERGROUNDSPACE.TECHNOLOGY425
 Table 4. Classification of the Old Alluvium, based on S P T values (after Li, 1999).
Zone OA1
Approximate Depth (m) 0.6 to 8 m
SPT Below Count (N) < 25
Colour Yellowish, reddish or greyish
brown
Composition Clayey and silty sand, clayey silt
Loose to medium dense for
Consistency sands; medium stiff to very stiff
for clays
4.2 Weathering of the Old Alluvium
Burton (1964) has classified the Old Alluvium layer into
three zones: weathered zone, mottled zone and the un-
weathered or intact zone on the basis of the extent of
weathering. The upper part of the formation (weathered
zone), located at 0.6 to 3 m below surface, is almost com-
pletely weathered and is stained with oxides of iron. This
zone is usually reddish-yellow or brownish-yellow and the
texture is usually sandy clay or clayey sand. In this zone, the
ferro-magnesian minerals have been almost completely
destroyed, the feldspars have been altered to kaolin and the
quartz has probably undergone some solution.
The weathered zone may pass fairly abruptly into a zone
of partial staining or mottling where the white, cream or
pale grey fresh material is variegated by red, pink, brown,
purple or yellow patches t h a t are normally associated with
a fluctuating water table. In extreme cases, this mottled
zone may be up to 5 m thick. The degree of kaolinization of
feldspar is much less than that in the weathered zone.
Normally, the mottled zone merges into the intact or un-
weathered zone but the passage m a y be interrupted by thin
beds of clays and silts at various depths.
The above classification is sufficient from a geological
point of view. However, for geotechnical use, the classifica-
tion proposed by Li (1999) appears to be more appropriate.
He examined site investigation results from past two years
and proposed the division of the entire Old Alluvium layer
into three zones on the basis of the blow count (N) measured
in a standard penetration test (SPT). Table 4 shows his
classification. Li's classification has been adopted in this
paper for presenting the geotechnical properties of the Old
Alluvium.
4.3 Geotechnical Properties of the Old Alluvium
A comprehensive description of geotechnicai properties
of the Old Alluvium was presented by Tan et al. (1980).
However, their results have now become more or less
outdated. In this paper, the geotechnical properties have
been derived from the vast amount of fairly recent site
investigation data. As mentioned above, the classification
proposed by Li (1999) will be used in presenting these
properties. It is worth pointing out that only the mean
values of all the parameters are provided. For certain
parameters, the data contained significant scatter and the
reader is advised to exercise caution when using such data.
4.3.1 Index properties
Table 5 shows the s u m m a r y of index properties for the
three zones of the Old Alluvium. It can be seen from Table
5 that there is a decrease in the water content (w) with
426 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY
OA2 OA3
8 to 13 m 13 m and below
26- 100 > 100
Yellowish brown to light grey or Light grey to greenish
greenish grey grey
Clayey and silty sand Clayey and silty sand
Mediumdense to very dense for Very dense to
sands; very stiff to hard for clays moderately strong
depth. This may be due to frequent ingress of rainwater in
the zone of aeration, located mainly in the OA1 zone. The
bulk unit weight (7) does not vary significantly with depth
and has an average value of 20.5 kN/m 3. The dry density,
however, does show an increase with depth, indicating an
increasing amount of confinement for deeper layers. The
variation in specific gravity (G) with depth is insignificant,
with an average value of 2.65.
4.3.2 Atterberg limits
The Atterberg limits for the three zones of the Old
Alluvium are given in Table 5. These results show consider-
able scatter and should be used with caution. Average liquid
limit values are lower for deeper layers. However, the
average plastic limit values show no significant variation
with depth. Plasticity Index for deeper layers is lower. This
indicates a lower proportion of fine-grained particles. When
the results of the Atterberg limit tests are plotted on the
plasticity chart, most of the points corresponding to OA1
and OA2 zones plot above or on the A-line. Only zone OA3
shows a higher percentage of points plotting below the A-
line. This is a clear indication that there is more clay than
silt in the Old Alluvium. Previously, it was commonly
thought that silt constitutes most of the fines in the Old
Alluvium.
4.3.3 Undrained Shear Strength
The undrained shear strength ( s ) values obtained from
a large number of unconsolidated undrained (UU) triaxial
tests are presented in Table 6, which shows the variation of
s with water content (w). It can be seen t h a t s values are
u . u
smaller for h]gher water content. When correlated with the
decreasing water content with depth, it implies that s
generally increases with depth. It should be noted that it is
generally very difficult to obtain representative undis-
turbed samples of the Old Alluvium, and therefore there is
a significant degree ofuncertaintyin the laboratory results.
4.3.4 Effective stress parameters (c' and ~')
The effective stress parameters--cohesion (c') and angle
of internal friction (¢')--were obtained from a large number
of consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial tests. These two
parameters for the three zones of the Old Alluvium are
given in Table 5. It can be seen t h a t ¢' does not vary
significantly with depth and its value is within the range of
35 to 36.5 °. However, c' shows an increase with depth. The
OA1 zone has practically no cohesion, whereas OA3 zone
has relatively high cohesion. This is obviously attributed to
the cementation of particles due to high overburden pres-
sure and aging experienced by the OA3 zone.
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
Table 5. Geotechnical properties of the Old Alluvium.

Zone OA1 OA2 OA3

Water Content (w), in % 22 18.2 16.3

Bulk Unit Weight (g), in kN/m 3 20.3 20.7 20.3

Dry Unit Weight (gd), in kN/m 3 16.6 17.6 17.8

Specific Gravity (G,) 2.65 2.64 2.64

Liquid Limit (w,), in % 55 49 38

Plastic Limit (We), in % 23 20 19

Plasticity Index (PI), in % 32 28 19

Average Undrained Shear Strength (s), in kPa 100 195 362

Cohesion(c') in kPa 1.9 8.4 30.3

Angle of Internal Friction (~')in o 36.1 35.9 35.0

Horizontal Permeability (kh), in x 10"8 m/s 18.8 6.4 3.4

Compression Index (C¢) 0.2 0.1 0.07

Recompression Index (Cr) 0.025 0.02 0.015

4.3.5 Compressibility 5. Marine Clay of the Kallang Formation

The overconsolidation ratio (OCR) for the Old Alluvium
layer is generally found to be less than 2, indicating that it
is lightly overconsolidated. The value of compression index
(Cc) is in the range of 0.05 to 0.25 and shows a decreasing
trend with depth as seen from Table 5. Similarly, the
recompression index (C r) also shows a decreasing trend with
depth, typically lying within the range of 0.005 to 0.05.
4.3.6 Permeability
The horizontal permeability of the Old Alluvium was
obtained from the results of several in situ falling head
permeability tests. Table 5 gives average horizontal perme-
ability values for the three zones. One would have expected
a drop in permeability with an increasing clay and silt
fraction, but this is not the case for the Old Alluvium. The
reason for lower permeability for the OA3 zone, despite it
having the least amom~t of fines, is probably the relatively
high degree of cementation, resulting in discontinuous
voids. There is not enough data to ascertain the magnitude
of vertical permeability', but it is likely to be smaller than the
horizontal permeability by a factor of 2 to 5.
4.3.7 Deformation characteristics
An attempt was made to obtain values for the E J s ratio
for the Old Alluvium by examining the results of several
pressuremeter tests. These values show significant scatter
(minimum 40 to m a x i m u m 400). An average value of 170
was obtained for this ratio.
Soft and recent deposits of the Ka]lang Formation in
Singapore are found in all her river valleys, river mouths
and coastal environments (Fig. 1). These soft soils cover
about 20-30% of Singapore's total land surface. The marine
clay and the peaty soil form the two most distinctive soft
deposits in the Kallang Formation. Soft marine clays are
often encountered in the downtown and the Central Busi-
ness District, the eastern part of Singapore, and along the
coastal area where m a n y infrastructures have been built or
will be built in near future. Typical examples are the land
reclamation projects at Changi for the Changi Airport
extension, the constructions of the new Northeast MRTline,
arid the new container port at Pasir Panjang. As such, the
properties of marine clays are of most interest and have
been studied in the past by a number of researchers (e.g.,
Tan and Lee, 1977; Tan, 1983; Choa et al., 1997; Chu and
Choa, 1997 and Bo et al., 1998a and 1998b). In this section,
some of the geological features and the geotechnical proper-
ties of the Singapore marine clay are summarised based on
the published data such as these cited above.
5.1 Geological Background
The soft soils in Singapore are grouped into the Kallang
Formation, the Tekong Formation and the Huat Choe
Formation (PWD, 1976; Tan, 1983). The Kallang Forma-
tion is much more widespread than the other two. It is
found in river valleys, river mouths and along the coast,
and consists of recent estuarine, alluvial, littoral and

Table 6. Variation of Undrained Shear Strength with water content for the Old Alluvium.

Range of water content (%) 10- 15 15- 20 20- 25 25- 30

Undrained Shear Strength (s), in kPa 295 195 110 80

Volume 14, Number 4, 1999 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACETECHNOLOGY427

 marine deposits. The texture and the origin of the soils are
varied and they have been deposited since the Riss-Wiirm
interglacial period about 120,000 years ago. Loose beach
sands and peaty clays are characteristically found along
the coasts and mangrove environments. Similar soils with
obviously the same origin but older in age occur as valley
fills in river valleys, where they are interbedded with loose
sand and soft clays of fluvial and marine origin.
The soft clay is the most distinctive and well-known of
the soils in Singapore. It is widely known as the Singapore
Marine Clay. The Tekong Formation is recognised at Pulau
Tekong and Pulau Tekong Kechil where it forms flat and
wide terraces that are 3.6 m to 5.5 m high around these
inlands. Such terraces are also found along Sungei
Serangoon and Sungei Seletar in northwest Singapore and
Sungei Kranji and Sungei Pandan in the southwest. The
formation consists typically of loose, fine, brown sand. The
soils of the Tekong Formation look like present day sand
banks, but they were probably deposited 6000-7000 years
ago when the sea level stood at about 6 m higher than
today's level. The H u a t Cheo Formation is recognised only
in clay pits for pottery works, 1.5 k m north of the H u a t
Choe Village in Jurong (next to the Nanyang Technical
University campus)• This formation has not been studied
for engineering purpose due to its limited extent.
The Singapore marine clay consists of an Upper Member
and a Lower Member, separated by a so-called intermediate
layer which is a weathered crust of the lower layer. The
Upper Member had been deposited during a period that
stretched from100,000 years ago (when the sea level began
to rise progressively from -120 m) to about 5000 years ago
(when the sea level reached a climatic optimum at +2 m).
The Lower Member lies unconformably on the valley floors
and could have been deposited 120,000 year ago when the
sea level stood between +2 m and +10 m. The intermediate
layer is the uppermost 1-m to 2.5-m layer of the Lower
Member. It has a stiffconsistency. This layer was probably
formed due to the effects of desiccation and weathering
when the sea level dropped to -120 m during the Wiirm
glacial period that followed the Riss-Wtirm interglacial
period.
5.2 Basic Physical Properties
The marine clay of the Kallang Formation is essentially
a kaolinite-rich clay with moderate contents of montmoril-
lonite and illite. Its structure may be described as floccu-
lated. The clay does not show much evidence of open or
metastable structure as observed for the marine clay in
Norway. The Singapore marine clay contains almost all
fine-grained (less than 0.075 ram) particles with a clay
fraction (less than 0.001 ram) of around 50%• The upper
marine clay often contains shells or organic maters, and the
organic content ranges from 2% to 4%. On the plasticity
chart, both the Upper and Lower Members can be classified
as CH soil. The sensitivity of the clays, inferred from field
vane shear test results, is between 2 and 4.
The bulk unit weight of the upper marine clay varies
from 13 to 20 kN/m 3, depending on the water content and
organic content. The bulk unit weight of the lower marine
clay is relatively higher because of lower in water content.
For practical purposes, the bulk unit weight for both upper
and marine clay can be taken as 16 kN/m 3. The specific
gravity ranges from 2.6 to 2.7 Mg/m a.
A typical soil profile and properties of the marine clay are
given in Figure 7, which shows the range of liquid limit,
plastic limit, plasticity index, and the natural water content
for both the upper and lower marine clays. The natural
water content of the upper marine clay can be as high as
100%, but is typically close to the liquid limit and can vary
over a relatively large range of 65-90%. The water content
of the lower marine clay is less and does not vary much
428 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACE TECHNOLOGY
compared with that of the upper marine clay and ranges
from 50 to 65%. The ranges of index properties are shown
in Table 7.
5.3 Compressibility and Consolidation Properties
5.3.1 Compressibility
Both the upper and lower marine clays are lightly over
consolidated with OCR ranges from 1.5 to 2, excluding the
top most few meters of upper marine clay, where the OCR
could be larger due to the weathering and other effects. The
variation with depth of the effective overburden stress and
preconsolidation pressure are plotted in Figure 7.
The variation of compression index, Co, as determined by
conventional oedometer tests,with depth as shown in Fig-
ure 7• For the upper marine clay, the C ranges from 0.6 to
• c
1.5.The value islarger at the top layer and tends to decrease
with depth. For the lower marine clay, the Co varies within
the range of 0.6 to 1.0 and is smaller at the top of the layer
due to the effectsof desiccation and weathering. The recom-
pression index, Cr, lies between 0.08 to 0.16 for the upper
marine clay and 0.14 to 0.2 for the lower marine clay. Ifthe
secondary compression isto be taken into consideration, the
coefficient of secondary compression, C, can be taken as a
ratio to the compression index, C / C c.~he ratio is in the
range of 0.016 to 0.028 for the upper marine clay and is 0.02
to 0.028 for the lower marine clay.
5.3.2 Permeability and consolidation properties
.The permeability in the vertical direction, k, as deter-
. , • • v
mined indirectly from oedometer tests, Is m the range of
10 I° to 10 -9m/s. The permeability in the horizontal direc-
tion, l~, has also been measured by laboratory Rowe cell
tests and in-situ piezocone ( C P T U ) or self-boring
pressuremeter (SBPM) tests. The k h value ranges from
10 "I°to 10 ~ m/s and is approximately two times larger than
k. Generally, both k v and k h decrease with depth and m a y
be correlated with the change in void ratio, Ae, by the
relationship C k = Ae/Alog k, where C~ is the permeability
change index (C k = 0.3%) and k is the permeability (kv or kh).
The coefficientof consolidation in the vertical direction,
%, can be determined using oedometer tests. As vertical
drains are often used for soil improvement and land recla-
mation projects,the coefficientof consolidation in the hori-
zontal direction, cv,is also determined using either labora-
tory Rowe celltests or in-situ C P T U or S B P M tests.It must
be pointed out the neither cv nor ch are constant as assumed
in the consolidation theory, but vary with O C R or the
consolidation stress. Generally, the % or ch values decrease
considerably with decreasing OCR. Therefore, the O C R
needs to be specified together with the cv or ch values.
Within the normally consolidation range, the cv value as
determined by the oedometer tests is in the range of 0•5 to
1.0 mVyr for the upper marine clay and 0.8 to 1.5 m2/yr for
the lower marine clay. The ch values are normally two to
three times larger than the cv values.
5.4 Shear Strength Properties
5.4.1 Undrained shearing strength
An undrained shear strength profile as determined by
the field vane shear (FV) tests is presented in Figure 7. It
can be seen from Figure 7 that the undrained shear strength
for the upper marine clay is in the range of 10 to 30 kPa, and
for the lower marine clay is in the range of 30 to 60 kPa. The
undrained sheared strength measured from the unconfined
compression (UC) or the unconsolidated undrained (UU)
triaxial tests are lower compared with that by the field vane
shear tests. This could be due to the effect of sample
disturbances that are particularly significant for UC and
UU tests.
Volume 14, Number 4, 1999
tD

)EPTH BELOW SOIL DESCRIPTION WATER CON:rENT FIELD VANE SHEAR STRENGTH COMPRESSION INDEX PRECONSOLIDATION PRESSURE
SEABED ( m ) / ~,~ kN!m2 I.,,.---, ,..L,,_,,
't"t
i-= ) 50 100 0 10 20 30 40 SO 60 0 0.$ t l.S 0 100 200 300 400
CD SEABED -4.38 m CD " • oli
-" 2

5OFT GREY MARINE CLAY

EE .
'~I q-P REE,'OiSH SILTY CLAY
I-e--.-i I,
)

I, ;OFT TO FIRM GREY ORGANIC MARINE CLAY .•

: : I
)
I,
: 3 i
'IRM TO STIFF GREY SILTYCLAY
1.
~RM TO STIFF BROWNISH GREY SILTY CLAY

|TIFF TO VERY STIFF ORGANIC SILTY CLAY Effective

3verburden
~ressure b
tERY STIFF GREY SILTY CLAY

)ENSE.FINE TO COARSE
~RAVELLY SAND I 0 I
PL M/C LL
P5-45

Figure 7. Typical soil profile and geotechnical properties of the marine clay of the Kallang Formation (after Choa, 1995).
Table 7. Range of index properties for Singapore Marine Clay.
Plasticity Index,
Member Liquid Limit, % Plastic Limit, %
Upper 70- 90 25- 30
Lower 70- 85 25- 30
It is necessary to point out that the undrained shear
strength is not a basic soil parameter, but varies with
factors such as the stress path, stress history, the principal
stress direction, and the shearing mode. Therefore, the
undrained shear strength determined by different tests can
be different. To evaluate the effect of different factors on the
undrained shear strength measurement, different types of
laboratory and in situ tests need to be conducted. These
include one-dimensionally (K0) consolidated undrained
triaxial compression and extension tests, K 0 consolidated
undrained shear tests, FV, CPTU, flat dilatometer (DMT),
and SBPM tests. For a particular case, the sJ~'0 values
determined by different tests for a lower marine clay 23 m
below the seabed are as follows:
• 0.35 by FVT'
* 0.32 by isotropically consolidated undrained (CIU)
test'
• 0.29 by CKoUC' and
• 0.22 by UU test.
Normally, the range ofsu/~' 0values is between 0.2 and
0.4 for the upper marine clay, and between 0.25 and 0.4 for
the lower marine clay. The higher value may have reflected
the effect of OCR. It should be pointed out that as the
undrained shear strength increases with the effective
overburden stress, it will be affected by the ground water
level.
The undrained shear modulus, Eu, is normally taken
from an EJs u ratio ranging from 170 to 300 as measured
from UU tests. However, considerably higher values could
be obtained if the effect of sample disturbances could be
reduced and the accuracy in small strain measurement
could be improved.
5.4.2 Effective Stress Shear Strength Parameters
Consolidated drained (CD) tests or consolidated
undrained (CU) triaxial tests with pore water pressure
measurement are normally used to determine the effective
stress shear strength parameters, c' and ¢'. Unless the
overconsolidation effect is significant, the effective cohe-
sion, c', can normally be ignored. The friction angle, ¢', is
normally in the range of 20 ° to 27.5 ° for the upper marine
clay and 22 ° to 25 ° for the lower marine clay.
6. Concluding Remarks
The North East Line MRT tunnels and the Deep Tunnel
Sewerage System, as outlined by Hulme and Burchell
(1999), are constructed in the Marine Clay, the residual
soils of the Jurong Sedimentary rocks and the granitic
rocks, the Old Alluvium, as well as in various sedimentary
rocks and in the granite, and often in the mixed ground
conditions. These ground conditions pose different prob-
lems and, indeed, different challenges to be faced by the
engineers. The rapid variation in geological conditions and
geotechnical properties in both the horizontal and the
vertical directions implies that the engineers must have full
understanding of the ground conditions and the change of
such conditions during and after construction, within the
whole project zone.
430 ~LLINO ANDUNDERGROUNDSPACETECHNOLOGY
Attempts have been made to update
the geological and geotechnical proper-
ties of major geological formations of
% Singapore using the results of a fairly
recent soil investigation program. The
50- 60 values for these properties show a con-
siderable amount of scatter, indicating
45- 50 the heterogeneous nature of the forma-
tions. Nevertheless, it is felt that the
findings do represent an improvement
in our knowledge of these formations. In
the near future, more data is expected which should reduce
the amount of scatter and help in obtaining better correla-
tion between various parameters.
7. References
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