| dc.description.abstract | In order to effectively use the mechanical parameters of a soil as a tool in soil mechanics, insight about basic properties is necessary. Index properties of soil, such as the water content and the plasticity index influence the mechanical behavior. Thus, awareness about how various properties correlate is an asset which is valuable when making predictions about soil behavior, as well as in validating results of soil tests. The topic of this thesis is correlations between soil properties, with a focus on Norwegian clay. The mechanical parameters have been limited to basic strength, stiffness and compressibility properties.
This thesis starts out by defining basic soil properties. Formation of soil by weathering is covered, along with clay mineralogy. The mineral structure of some of the most common clay minerals, as well as some defining characteristics that they possess is discussed. Basic soil properties and mineralogy is then tied up to mechanical properties of the soil.
The correlations between the soil parameters that are discussed is based on literature as well as analyzes of data from GEODIP s high quality database for clay materials (SP8). Comparing correlations found in literature with correlations from SP8 provide insight in the mechanical behavior that can be expected for Norwegian soil. It is clear that the water content is especially influential of the mechanical behavior. Results indicate that stiffness and compressibility properties of Norwegian soil is less dependent on plasticity than suggested by theory. This is likely a result of Norwegian soil having a generally low plasticity. | |
