Collapsible Soils in Geotechnical Engineering

Theory, Characterization, and Design Innovations
1. Auflage 2027
ISBN: 978-1-041-34593-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 728 Seiten, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm

Collapsible Soils in Geotechnical Engineering: Theory, Characterization, and Design Innovations provide an advanced reference for understanding, investigating, predicting, and managing wetting-induced collapse in metastable, generally unsaturated natural soils and engineered fills. It links deposit genesis, fabric, mineralogy, and major deposit families, including loess, gypseous, saline, calcareous, residual, volcanic, alluvial, colluvial, and anthropogenic fills, to unsaturated hydro-mechanical behavior. Field investigation, laboratory testing, classification, parameter selection, and uncertainty are integrated with analytical, constitutive, numerical, probabilistic, and data-driven methods for predicting collapse settlement and supporting defensible engineering decisions.

Practice-oriented chapters cover foundation and structural design; earthworks, transportation systems, buried assets, and water infrastructure; ground improvement and stabilization; construction control; monitoring and early warning; and life-cycle asset management. Mitigation options are evaluated in relation to wetting source, treatment depth, constructability, acceptance criteria, durability, cost, carbon, and residual risk. Comparative case histories and forensic lessons are linked with standards, specifications, contracts, governance, climate resilience, sustainability, and emerging technologies to show how solutions should be selected, verified, and managed under realistic project conditions.

Written for BSc, MSc, and PhD students, researchers, consulting engineers, designers, contractors, owners, regulators, and geotechnical risk specialists, the book serves as both an advanced academic text and a practical project reference. It guides readers from early recognition and ground-model development through investigation, characterization, prediction, design, treatment selection, construction verification, monitoring, and long-term performance management.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, Professional Practice & Development, and Professional Reference

Autoren/Hrsg.

Firoozi, Ali Akbar

Firoozi, Ali Asghar

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Baukonstruktion, Baufachmaterialien
• Technische Wissenschaften Sonstige Technologien | Angewandte Technik Bergbau, Hüttenwesen
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Boden- und Felsmechanik, Geotechnik
• Technische Wissenschaften Maschinenbau | Werkstoffkunde Produktionstechnik Fertigungstechnik
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umwelttechnik
• Technische Wissenschaften Umwelttechnik | Umwelttechnologie Umwelttechnik
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Industrial Engineering
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technik: Allgemeines
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Bauingenieurwesen
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Technische Dynamik (Modalanalyse), Erdbebensicherheit
• Technische Wissenschaften Maschinenbau | Werkstoffkunde Technische Mechanik | Werkstoffkunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1. Engineering Context, Terminology, and Global Occurrence. 1.1 Purpose, scope, and limits of the book. 1.2 Definitions: collapse, collapse potential, hydrocollapse, and metastability. 1.3 Distinguishing collapse from consolidation, shrinkage, swelling, liquefaction, piping, suffusion, and dissolution-related settlement. 1.4 Global occurrence and principal deposit families. 1.5 Natural and anthropogenic wetting triggers. 1.6 Infrastructure failure modes and consequence categories. 1.7 Collapsible-soil risk across the asset life cycle. 1.8 Book framework, decision pathway, terminology, and notation. Chapter 2. Genesis, Depositional Environments, Fabric, and Mineralogy. 2.1 Formation of open, weakly bonded, metastable soil structures. 2.2 Aeolian deposits and loess systems. 2.3 Alluvial, colluvial, residual, and reworked deposits. 2.4 Volcanic, gypseous, saline, and calcareous collapsible soils. 2.5 Anthropogenic fills and poorly controlled earthworks. 2.6 Particle arrangement, bonding agents, pore architecture, and cementation. 2.7 Mineralogical, geochemical, and microstructural characterization methods. 2.8 Scale effects and structure-property relationships. 2.9 From geological model to expected engineering behavior. Chapter 3. Unsaturated Soil Mechanics and Hydro-Mechanical Collapse. 3.1 Stress-state variables and effective-stress concepts for unsaturated soils. 3.2 Matric suction, osmotic effects, and degree of saturation. 3.3 Soil-water retention behavior and hydraulic hysteresis. 3.4 Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and wetting-front migration. 3.5 Stress paths, wetting paths, and collapse initiation. 3.6 Bond degradation, particle rearrangement, and collapse progression. 3.7 Influence of density, stress history, anisotropy, wetting rate, and pore-fluid chemistry. 3.8 Cyclic wetting-drying, repeated loading, creep, and delayed collapse. 3.9 Energy-based and multiscale interpretations. 3.10 A unified hydro-mechanical conceptual model for engineering practice. Chapter 4. Desk Study, Terrain Evaluation, Remote Sensing, and Ground Models. 4.1 Project objectives, consequence classification, and risk framing. 4.2 Desk-study sources, archival records, and evidence quality. 4.3 Regional geology, geomorphology, and depositional setting. 4.4 Climate, hydrology, drainage, irrigation, leakage, and anthropogenic water sources. 4.5 Remote sensing, terrain models, GIS, and inventory development. 4.6 Preliminary susceptibility mapping and zoning. 4.7 Conceptual site model and initial collapse scenarios. 4.8 Staged investigation planning and decision gates. 4.9 Uncertainty register and data-gap management. Chapter 5. Field Investigation, Sampling, In-Situ Testing, and Geophysics. 5.1 Investigation layout, depth, spacing, and adaptive sequencing. 5.2 Boreholes, trial pits, trenches, and exposure logging. 5.3 Sampling strategy and preservation of structure, moisture, and soluble constituents. 5.4 Field moisture, density, suction, and index measurements. 5.5 SPT, CPT/CPTu, DMT, pressuremeter, and dynamic probing. 5.6 Plate-load, field collapse, inundation, and infiltration testing. 5.7 Seismic, electrical, electromagnetic, and other geophysical methods. 5.8 Hydrogeological observations and wetting-source characterization. 5.9 Field quality control, traceability, safety, and data limitations. 5.10 Preliminary parameter derivation and investigation reporting. Chapter 6. Laboratory Testing and Advanced Characterization. 6.1 Laboratory program design, sample condition, and specimen preparation. 6.2 Index properties, density, fabric indicators, and screening tests. 6.3 Single-oedometer and double-oedometer collapse tests. 6.4 Stress-level selection, inundation protocol, and result interpretation. 6.5 Suction-controlled oedometer and triaxial testing. 6.6 Soil-water retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. 6.7 Wetting rate, wetting path, temperature, and pore-fluid chemistry. 6.8 Mineralogical, geochemical, microstructural, and pore-size analyses. 6.9 Repeatability, sample disturbance, scale effects, and interlaboratory variation. 6.10 Standards, test reporting, and a tiered testing matrix. 6.11 Worked laboratory interpretation and diagnostic examples. Chapter 7. Evaluation, Classification, Parameter Selection, and Uncertainty. 7.1 Terminology and classification systems. 7.2 Screening indices, empirical criteria, and applicability limits. 7.3 Collapse magnitude, severity, and consequence-based categories. 7.4 Spatial variability, heterogeneity, and scale of observation. 7.5 Statistical summaries and representative or characteristic values. 7.6 Measurement uncertainty, bias, correlation, and model-form error. 7.7 Geotechnical units, design profiles, and wetting scenarios. 7.8 Parameter selection for analytical and numerical models. 7.9 Investigation sufficiency, residual uncertainty, and reporting checklist. Chapter 8. Analytical, Empirical, and Constitutive Modeling. 8.1 Modeling objectives, idealizations, and required outputs. 8.2 Classical empirical and semi-empirical correlations. 8.3 Layer-by-layer collapse-settlement calculations. 8.4 Wetting-depth and stress-increase scenarios. 8.5 Constitutive requirements for collapsible unsaturated soils. 8.6 Elastoplastic unsaturated-soil frameworks. 8.7 Bonding, destructuration, anisotropy, and hardening formulations. 8.8 Parameter calibration, identifiability, and data requirements. 8.9 Model selection, validation, and limits of applicability. 8.10 Worked analytical and constitutive examples. Chapter 9. Numerical Simulation and Coupled Hydro-Mechanical Analysis. 9.1 Numerical strategy, dimensionality, and problem idealization. 9.2 Governing hydraulic and mechanical equations. 9.3 Finite-element, finite-difference, discrete-element, and hybrid approaches. 9.4 Hydro-mechanical coupling and wetting boundary conditions. 9.5 Initial conditions, staged construction, and trigger scenarios. 9.6 Mesh, time-step, and domain sensitivity. 9.7 Constitutive implementation and parameter transfer from tests. 9.8 Verification, calibration, validation, and uncertainty analysis. 9.9 Applications to foundations, embankments, pavements, pipelines, and water infrastructure. 9.10 Model review, documentation, and reproducibility checklist. Chapter 10. Probabilistic Assessment, Reliability, and Data-Driven Prediction. 10.1 Aleatory variability, epistemic uncertainty, and model uncertainty. 10.2 Reliability-based assessment and limit-state formulation. 10.3 Spatial random fields and correlated ground properties. 10.4 Bayesian updating with investigation and monitoring evidence. 10.5 Sensitivity analysis and value-of-information methods. 10.6 Data curation, feature engineering, leakage prevention, and dataset shift. 10.7 Machine-learning models and performance metrics. 10.8 Explainability, uncertainty quantification, and out-of-domain detection. 10.9 Physics-informed and hybrid mechanistic-data-driven models. 10.10 Decision support, governance, reproducibility, and ethical use. Chapter 11. Foundation and Structural Design on Collapsible Soils. 11.1 Design basis, limit states, performance criteria, and tolerable movement. 11.2 Source-path-receptor model for water ingress. 11.3 Shallow footings and strip foundations. 11.4 Rafts, stiffened mats, and cellular foundation systems. 11.5 Deep foundations, piled rafts, downdrag, and negative skin friction. 11.6 Load transfer, settlement compatibility, and soil-structure interaction. 11.7 Structural articulation, movement joints, and service connections. 11.8 Drainage, moisture barriers, leak control, and site grading. 11.9 Construction sequencing and temporary-condition risks. 11.10 Worked design examples and design-review checklist. Chapter 12. Earthworks, Transportation, Buried Assets, and Water Infrastructure. 12.1 Earthworks, cut-fill transitions, and engineered fills. 12.2 Highways, pavements, and airfield infrastructure. 12.3 Railways and high-speed transport corridors. 12.4 Embankments, cuttings, and slope-related interactions. 12.5 Pipelines, buried utilities, culverts, and lifelines. 12.6 Canals, reservoirs, dams, and water-retaining infrastructure. 12.7 Industrial facilities and energy infrastructure. 12.8 Differential movement, joints, interfaces, and serviceability. 12.9 Performance specifications, construction quality, resilience, and remediation. Chapter 13. Ground Improvement and Stabilization. 13.1 Treatment objectives, constraints, and selection framework. 13.2 Avoidance, excavation and replacement, prewetting, and surcharge. 13.3 Compaction, dynamic compaction, impact compaction, and vibro methods. 13.4 Lime, cement, pozzolanic, polymeric, and chemical stabilization. 13.5 Permeation, compaction, fracture, and jet grouting. 13.6 Deep mixing, stone columns, rigid inclusions, and load-transfer platforms. 13.7 Geosynthetics, soil reinforcement, and confinement. 13.8 Bio-mediated, recycled, and low-carbon stabilization approaches. 13.9 Field trials, treatment depth, acceptance criteria, and QA/QC. 13.10 Durability, wetting resistance, environmental compatibility, and service life. 13.11 Cost, carbon, constructability, and risk-based option selection. Chapter 14. Construction Control, Monitoring, Early Warning, and Asset Management. 14.1 Observational method, control plans, hold points, and acceptance records. 14.2 Instrumentation objectives, layout, baseline, and redundancy. 14.3 Settlement, displacement, tilt, cracking, and structural response. 14.4 Moisture, suction, pore pressure, leakage, and wetting-front monitoring. 14.5 Geodetic methods, remote sensing, InSAR, and ground-based imaging. 14.6 Data quality, environmental compensation, and false-alarm control. 14.7 Trigger-action-response plans and early-warning architecture. 14.8 Digital twins, forecasting, and predictive maintenance. 14.9 Forensic investigation, intervention, and remediation. 14.10 Life-cycle asset management and monitoring close-out. Chapter 15. Comparative Case Histories and Forensic Lessons. 15.1 Case-selection criteria, evidence grading, and reporting template. 15.2 Loess and aeolian-soil case histories. 15.3 Gypseous, saline, and calcareous-soil cases. 15.4 Residual, volcanic, alluvial, and colluvial cases. 15.5 Anthropogenic fill and rapidly urbanizing-area cases. 15.6 Buildings and foundation systems. 15.7 Transportation, lifeline, and water-infrastructure cases. 15.8 Successful treatment, verification, and monitoring cases. 15.9 Failure-chain and root-cause analysis. 15.10 Cross-case synthesis, transferability, and limits of generalization. Chapter 16. Codes, Standards, Specifications, Contracts, and Governance. 16.1 Hierarchy and authority of standards, codes, guidance, and project specifications. 16.2 Currency review of laboratory and field-test standards. 16.3 Regional code approaches and limits of direct comparison. 16.4 Performance-based specifications and acceptance criteria. 16.5 Factual, interpretive, design, and baseline geotechnical reports. 16.6 Ground-risk allocation and geotechnical baseline principles. 16.7 Contracts, changes, claims, records, and dispute avoidance. 16.8 Professional responsibility, ethics, and independent review. 16.9 Planning, zoning, disclosure, and regulatory governance. 16.10 Procurement and project-assurance checklists. Chapter 17. Sustainability, Climate Resilience, Emerging Technologies, and Research Agenda. 17.1 Hydroclimatic change, extreme events, and altered wetting regimes. 17.2 Climate-adaptive design and water-management strategies. 17.3 Life-cycle assessment, carbon, resource efficiency, and circular materials. 17.4 Long-term durability and unintended environmental consequences. 17.5 Sensor networks, digital twins, automation, and AI frontiers. 17.6 Multiscale and multiphysics modeling priorities. 17.7 Open datasets, benchmark problems, and interlaboratory studies. 17.8 Research gaps, validation standards, and reproducibility. 17.9 Education, professional capacity building, and regional knowledge transfer. 17.10 Implementation roadmap and concluding decision framework.

Über Autor(innen)

Ali Akbar Firoozi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Botswana. He holds a PhD in Civil and Structural Engineering from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), specializing in geotechnical engineering. His academic and professional work encompasses problematic soils, soil stabilization, sustainable construction materials, geotechnical modeling, infrastructure monitoring, and resilient built environments. His career combines university teaching, postgraduate supervision, research, scholarly publishing, peer review, and professional consulting. He has contributed to engineering design, project management, infrastructure assessment, and the translation of laboratory and numerical evidence into practical decisions. A recurring focus of his work is the responsible integration of established geotechnical principles with advanced materials, sensing technologies, computational methods, and sustainability objectives.

Ali Asghar Firoozi is a civil engineer and researcher who holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). His scholarly work spans geotechnical engineering, soil stabilization, foundation engineering, advanced construction materials, infrastructure sustainability, and the application of emerging computational technologies in civil engineering. He has contributed to peer-reviewed research and coauthored scholarly books and technical studies addressing the performance, resilience, and sustainability of civil infrastructure. His work emphasizes the connection between material and soil characterization, mechanistic understanding, transparent modeling, construction verification, and the management of uncertainty in engineering decisions.