Ground Improvement Using Dynamic Compaction in Sabkha Deposit

Abstract

The sabkha soil spreads extensively in the Arabian Gulf Coast region. Sabkha is known as a geotechnically problematic soil because of its loose density, soft consistency, high salinity and water content, and occurrence of fine sands and clays. It is generally highly compressible and requires ground improvement for highway and railway construction. The purpose of this study is to provide a guideline for dynamic compaction to improve the bearing capacity of the coastal sabkha deposit. The ground behavior during dynamic compaction was evaluated for various compaction energy conditions using numerical analysis, and field dynamic compaction tests were also performed and compared with the numerical analysis results. It was found that the bearing capacity of sabkha deposit can be effectively improved by dynamic compaction. However, care must be taken to ensure that excessive porewater pressure is sufficiently dissipated during the application of dynamic compaction because the permeability is pretty low due to the high salt content in groundwater in the sabkha area.