Characterisation of Geotechnical Properties of Residual Tropical Soils Used for Road Infrastructure: French Guiana Experience
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Materials Preparation
2.2.2. Macroscopic Characterisation of Soils
2.2.3. Microscopic Characterisation of Soils
- X-ray fluorescence
- Environmental scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis
- Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-MIR)
3. Results
3.1. Soil GTR Classification
3.1.1. Particle Size Distribution Curve
3.1.2. Atterberg Limits and Methylene Blue Values
3.1.3. GTR Classification
3.2. Soil Compaction
3.3. Unconfined Compressive Strength
3.4. Laser Particle Size Analysis and Specific Surface
3.5. Soils Quality
3.6. Chemical Analysis Results
3.6.1. BE42 Soil
3.6.2. Cabalé Soil
3.6.3. Morne Coco Soil
3.6.4. MTI Soil
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Site (Figure 1 and Figure 2) | Soil Designation | Coordinates |
---|---|---|
1 | MTI | 5.375194° N–54.065806° W |
2 | BE42 | 4.770611° N–52.435111° W |
3 | Cabalé | 4.8265° N–52.339694° W |
4 | Morne Coco | 4.8955° N–52.291306° W |
BE42 | Cabalé | Morne Coco | MTI | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Liquid Limit, wL | 55 | 55 | 32 | ND * |
Plastic Limit, wP | 38 | 35 | 26 | ND * |
Plasticity Index, PI | 17 | 20 | 6 | ND * |
MBV (g/100 g) | 0.53 | 0.31 | 0.09 | 0.02 |
Soil | Classification GTR | Use |
---|---|---|
BE42 and Cabalé | A2 | Depending on their water content, they can be used as fill (A2m/A2s) or not (A2Th/A2Ts). |
Morne Coco | B5 | If the soil is very wet or very dry, it is difficult to use as fill because it is prone to cushioning. If the soil is dry or moderately wet, it is very difficult to compact and sensitive to water. |
MTI | D2 | Soil that can cause traffic problems. Needs compaction to be less erodible. |
Properties | BE42 | Cabalé | Morne Coco |
---|---|---|---|
Maximum dry density for standard Proctor test (g/m3) | 1.48 | 1.58 | 1.70 |
Optimum moisture content (OMC) for standard Proctor test (%) | 27.0 | 27.0 | 20.1 |
Maximum dry density of modified Proctor test (g/m3) | 1.65 | 1.63 | 1.91 |
Optimum moisture content (OMC) for modified Proctor test (%) | 19.3 | 24.5 | 14 |
Compaction improvement with modified energy | 11% | 3% | 12% |
Absolute density (Mg/m3) | 2.66 | 2.85 | 2.79 |
Test | BE42 | Cabalé | Morne Coco | MTI |
---|---|---|---|---|
Proportion of soil fines < 80 µm (%) | 88 | 51 | 35 | 3.3 |
Median particle diameter < 80 µm (µm) | 16.7 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 14.4 |
Clay content < 2 µm (%) | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3 | 1.45 |
Specific surface (m2/g) * | 14.2 | 36.3 | 12.2 | 0.09 |
Soil | Organic Matter Content (%) | pH | CEC (meq/100 g) | Base Saturation (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2O | KCl | ||||
BE42 | 9.2 | 4.90 | 4.18 | 2.49 | 6.4 |
Cabalé | 12 | 5.2 | 5.05 | 1.93 | 21.2 |
Morne Coco | 11.3 | 4.95 | 5.37 | 0.48 | 15.4 |
MTI | 0.1 | 5.49 | 4.97 | 0.24 | 37.3 |
O (%) | Si (%) | Al (%) | Fe (%) | Ti (%) | K (%) | S (%) | Ca (%) | Traces (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BE42 | 55 | 18.7 | 17.5 | 7.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | ||
Cabalé | 53.1 | 13 | 16.8 | 15.2 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | ||
Morne Coco | 56.4 | 14.7 | 18.3 | 8.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
MTI | 53.7 | 45.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
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Nait-Rabah, O.; Germain, F.; Estevez, Y.; Guiraud, J.; Medjigbodo, G.; Dias, D.; Maalouf, C. Characterisation of Geotechnical Properties of Residual Tropical Soils Used for Road Infrastructure: French Guiana Experience. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 7943. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137943
Nait-Rabah O, Germain F, Estevez Y, Guiraud J, Medjigbodo G, Dias D, Maalouf C. Characterisation of Geotechnical Properties of Residual Tropical Soils Used for Road Infrastructure: French Guiana Experience. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(13):7943. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137943
Chicago/Turabian StyleNait-Rabah, Ouahcène, Flavio Germain, Yannick Estevez, James Guiraud, Gildas Medjigbodo, Daniel Dias, and Chadi Maalouf. 2023. "Characterisation of Geotechnical Properties of Residual Tropical Soils Used for Road Infrastructure: French Guiana Experience" Applied Sciences 13, no. 13: 7943. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137943