Presented by :

Rami Anjalben K. 202010000101

Pandya Rucha H. 202010000114

Guided by : Prof. Trudeep Dave

▪Expansive soils or Active soils or Swelling soil
or Vertisol soil or Shrink-swell soil
▪ The moisture increase in soil may come from rain, leaks in water pipes or sanitary
sewer lines and decrease in moisture content can be caused mainly by change in
atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and periodic sun drying.
▪ These soils found in India chiefly in the states like Gujarat, MP, AP, Maharashtra and
Karnataka. Black Cotton Soil mainly used in crop production.
▪ The geotechnical behaviour of expansive clay soils is investigated by looking into
the geomorphologic, geological and climatic conditions and mineralogical
composition of the soils in the study area.
▪ Expansive soils are those containing clayey materials which shrink as
their moisture content decreases (as they dry out) and swell as their
moisture content increases (when they get wet).
▪ Consequently, expansive soils are expands (swell) when wet and
shrink when dry.
▪ Physical properties of expansive soils : ▪ Chemical properties of soil :
▪ soil texture, ▪ clay content or mineral soil particles,
▪ bulk density, ▪ cation-exchange capacity (CEC),
▪ soil porosity and ▪ soil reaction as a measure of acidity or
▪ moisture content of soils. ▪ alkalinity (pH),
▪ percent of carbonates & gypsum,
▪ amount of salinity and
▪ the amount of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR).
▪ Key Properties of Expansive soil :
▪ The swell properties were measured by free swell
tests and one-dimensional oedometer swell tests.
▪ The free swell ranged from 100% to 150% and
▪ The swell pressure was in the region of 45 kPa.
▪ The soil extents by 20-30% of original volume.
▪ This soil possess high plasticity index more than 15.
▪ Their liquid limit is more than 40.
1. Kaolinite group minerals : (kaolinite, dickite, halloysite
and nactrite),
2. Smectite : (pyrophyllite, talc, vermiculite, sauconite,
saponite, nontronite and montmorrillonite)
3. Illite group : (clay-micas)
4. Chlorite group
5. Mixedlayer phases.
▪ Crops such as cotton, millets, pulses are predominantly
grown in black soils which are having workability
limitations.
▪ To control soil loss and runoff .
▪ The prevention of gulling, this effort has concentrated
on static measures and crop residues to prevent
erosion .
▪ It enables the farmers on the black soil plains to
prevent unnecessary runoff, store soil moisture and do
away with fallow periods, and for the first time makes
double cropping possible.
▪ Engineering structures constructed on
expansive soils are subjected to highly
detrimental behavior of such soils, leading to
their damage and cracking. In that
foundation is the lowest load-bearing part of
engineering infrastructures such as building
and dams, typically below ground level.
1. Differential thermal analysis (DTA)
2. X-ray diffraction method
3. Electron microscopy

1. Free Swell test

2. Differential free Swell test
3. Swelling pressure tests :
▪ Conventional consolidation test
▪ Constant volume test
• The problems associated with expansive soil are related to bearing capacity and
cracking, breaking up of pavements, and various other building foundation problems.
• In order for expansive soil to cause foundation problems, there must be fluctuations in
the amount of moisture contained in the foundation soils.
• If the moisture content of the foundation soils can be stabilized, foundation problems
can often be avoided.
• Mechanical, Physical and Chemical Alterations are made to the soils.
• This involves excavation of expansive soil and replacement with non-expansive
material, where the depth of active zone is small and where a suitable replacement
material is available.
• Sand cushion method and Cohesive Non-Swelling (CNS) layer method are very
popular.}The problem of heave or uplift of foundations caused by expansive soils is
one of tension developed in the soil due to swelling.
1. Replacement of expansive soil ▪ Chemical Stabilization
2. Compaction control ▪ Mechanical Stabilization
3. Prewetting ▪ Fly Ash Stabilization
4. Moisture barriers ▪ Lime Stabilization
5. Soil stabilization 1.In-Place Mixing
2.Plant Mixing
3.Pressure Injection
▪ Cement stabilization
▪ Shallow foundation Isolated from
swelling soils :
▪ The granular material provided around the
foundation mitigates the effect of expansion of
the soils.
▪ Waffle slab :
▪ In this type of construction, the ribs hold the
structure load. The waffle voids allow the
expansion of soil.
▪ Drilled shaft (pier) foundation :
▪ Drilled piers are commonly used to resist
uplift forces caused by the swelling of soils.
Drilled piers when made with enlarged base
are called belled piers ,and when made
without an enlarged base are called the
straight shaft piers .
▪ Drilled pier with grade beam :
▪ Grade beams , Cast in situ as continuous
monolithic beams on top of the piles, support
the walls of the building. On expansive soils,
the beams are kept atleast 8cm clear of the
ground to accommodate Swelling / Heaving of
the soil. On non-expansive soils the grade
beams may rest on the ground.
▪ Under-reamed piles :
▪ The under reamed piles are successfully
developed by C.B.R.I. ,Roorkee, for serving as
foundation for black cotton soils, filled up
ground and other types of soil having poor
bearing capacity.
▪ The principle of this type of foundation is to
anchor the structure at a depth where ground
moment due to seasonal moisture changes in
negligible.
▪ They are bored Cast-in-situ concrete piles
having One/ More bulbs.
▪ Soil mechanic and foundation engineering by S.K Garg
▪ Geotechnical Aspects of Buildings on Expansive Soils in … - DiVA
▪ Foundation engineering by Joseph Bowels.
▪ Soil mechanics and foundation engineering by Dr.K.R.Arora.
▪ CNS-Cohesive%20Non-swelling%20Soil.PDF
▪ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ace/2019/7032087/
▪ https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?q=expansive+soil+stabilization+methods+in
+india&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart