Thematic Maps for the Variation of Bearing Capacity of Soil Using SPTs and MATLAB

Mahdi O Karkush,Ayad Al-Rumaithi,Ammar Abdul-Hassan Sheikha,Mahmood D Ahmed

doi:10.3390/geosciences10090329

Mahdi O Karkush, Ayad Al-Rumaithi + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10090329

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Journal: Geosciences	Publication Date: Aug 20, 2020
Citations: 12	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Baghdad

Abstract

The current study involves placing 135 boreholes drilled to a depth of 10 m below the existing ground level. Three standard penetration tests (SPT) are performed at depths of 1.5, 6, and 9.5 m for each borehole. To produce thematic maps with coordinates and depths for the bearing capacity variation of the soil, a numerical analysis was conducted using MATLAB software. Despite several-order interpolation polynomials being used to estimate the bearing capacity of soil, the first-order polynomial was the best among the other trials due to its simplicity and fast calculations. Additionally, the root mean squared error (RMSE) was almost the same for the all of the tried models. The results of the study can be summarized by the production of thematic maps showing the variation of the bearing capacity of the soil over the whole area of Al-Basrah city correlated with several depths. The bearing capacity of soil obtained from the suggested first-order polynomial matches well with those calculated from the results of SPTs with a deviation of ±30% at a 95% confidence interval.

Highlights

Standard penetration test (SPT) is one of the most common and widely used tests in the field around the world
The bearing capacity of soil obtained from the suggested first-order polynomial matches well with those calculated from the results of SPTs with a deviation of ±30% at a 95% confidence interval
The main objective of this study is to provide thematic maps showing the variation of bearing capacity of soil with geographic coordinates and depth

Summary

Introduction

Standard penetration test (SPT) is one of the most common and widely used tests in the field around the world. This test considered to be a powerful indicator for the geotechnical properties of soil such as density, shear strength, and compressibility of soils. The optimization of selected corrections depends mainly on the field conditions of tests, dimensions, and properties of equipment used in tests, diameter, and depth of boreholes. All these conditions should be evaluated by the geotechnical engineer [1,5]

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