Isivili Enjiniyering  April 2010 Vol 18 No 3

Fu n
Getehn W I N N
F O R E X C E L LE
P U B L I SH
E R 2 0 0
LE N C E I N M A G A Z I N E
SH I N G A N D E D I T O R I A L
9

Engneeng
More Candida
Candidate
te
Academy news
ProFilE oF MalcolM Jaros
 2010 FiFa Wd cup 11 June – 11 Juy

Isivili Enjiniyering  April 2010 Vol 18 No 3

Focus on
Geotechnical W I N N E R 2 0 0 9
F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M A G A Z I N E
P U B L I S H I N GA N DE D I T O R I A L
COVER ARTICLE
Engineering
More Candidate
Academy news
PROFILE OF MALCOLM JAROS

     i
    t
    a
    w
     S
     i
     S

oN THE coVEr
Franki Arica, part o the JSE-listed 
Esorranki group, has again demon-
strated its skills in providing geotechni-
geotechni-
oN THE coVEr
cal engineering solutions in the marine
environment,
environment, this time in the construction Franki Arica at sea again 2
o a temporary jetty and coerdam or the
extension into the sea o Durban’s Sandile
Thusi Road stormwater outfow pipe
where Esor Arica is the main contractor  oPiNioN MarKET coNTriBUTioN
Are we jolly good Fellows? 5 Innovative soil stabilisation or road pavements 72

ProFilE
A bull terrier on a problem 6 MarKET PErsPEcTiVE
Innovation takes place at the boundaries o disciplines 79
GEoTEcHNical ENGiNEEriNG BIGEN AFRICA asks: Are G overnment’s “Breaking
Using Atterberg Limits to predict New Ground” mixed-mode settlements
Sivili Enjeneereng
the expansion o clays 12
March 2010 Vol 18 No 2

addressing the housing backlog? 81

Published by sAiCe/sAisi
Block 19, Thornhill Ofce Park,
Bekker Street, Vorna Valley, Midrand
Private Bag X200, Halway House, 1685
Collapsible soils: an overview 22
Tel 011-805-5947/48, Fax 011-805-5971 iN BriEF 83
 http://www.civils.org.za
civilinfo@saice.org.za
Penetration testing: test procedures and
Smaller wireless Pile Integrity Tester unveiled
editor
Verelene de Koker
design use in South Arica 29
vdekoker@saice.org.za Trenchless Technologies
Technologies cc scoops SAST T award
Tel 011 805 5947/8, Cell 083 378 3996
The use o soil nails and mechanically stabilised Mining alive and well says new Wits
editoriAl PANel
Marco van Dijk (chairman), Irvin Luker (vice-chairman),
 Ali Naidu (SAICE president),
president), Wally
Wally Burdzik,
Burdzik, Johan de
earth in a road embankment across talus 40 school head Ash Resources launches “new
Koker, Jerey Mahachi, Jones Moloisane, Hermien
Pieterse, Eben Rust, Michelle Theron, Marie Ashpole,
Zina Girald, Verelene de Koker (editor), Cathy van A green solution or the design and construction generation” cement extender Local retaining
der Westhuizen (editor’s assistant), Barbara Spence
(advertising), Dawie Botha (SAICE outreach)
o steep slopes and embankments 46 block assists with upgrading o inormal
 ANNuAl subsCriPtioN rAte
rAte
SA R575.00 (VAT included), International US$ 122.00 settlements City o Cape Town leads the way
 AdVertisiNg
Grouting – art or science?
science?
in service delivery Updated permeable paving
Barbara Spence, Avenue Advertising
 barbara@avenue.co.za
 barbara@avenue.co.za
Tel 011-463-7940, Fax 011-463-7939
Procedures adopted at Changuinola, Panama 54 design sotware available rom the CMA
Cell 082-881-3454

desigN ANd reProduCtioN Identifcation o voids on the N1 North

Marketing Support Services, Menlo Park, Pretoria
using ground penetrating radar 59
PriNtiNg
Ultra Litho, Johannesburg saicE aND ProFEssioNal NEWs
The South Arican Institution o Civil Engineering
accepts no responsibility or any statements made or
Lateral support or Great Westerord extensions 62 More courses rom the Candidate Academy 89
opinions expressed in this publication. Consequently
nobody connected with the publication o the magazine,
in particular the proprietors, the publishers and the Eden Island – Paradise Engineered 66 New SAICE Fellow 90
editors, will be liable or any loss or damage sustained
by any reader as a result o his or her action upon any
statement or opinion published in this magazine. Building
Building the uture with the Geotechnical Division SAICE Photo Competition 2010 91
ISSN 1021-2000

 B L I S H 
H E  R  
o SAICE – short course on problem soils 70 Diarise This 92
P  U S   
   E
    N

71
        I
      Z

I you wish to reach the top, start at the bottom 92

        A

Access to Drat South Arican Standards

       G          A
        A        S 
       M        F
     O
    N
 2010 FiFa Wd cup 11 June – 11 Juy

Isivili Enjiniyering  April 2010 Vol 18 No 3

Focus on
Geotechnical W I N N E R 2 0 0 9
F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M A G A Z I N E
P U B L I S H I N GA N DE D I T O R I A L
COVER ARTICLE
Engineering
More Candidate
Academy news
PROFILE OF MALCOLM JAROS

     i
    t
    a
    w
     S
     i
     S

oN THE coVEr
Franki Arica, part o the JSE-listed 
Esorranki group, has again demon-
strated its skills in providing geotechni-
geotechni-
oN THE coVEr
cal engineering solutions in the marine
environment,
environment, this time in the construction Franki Arica at sea again 2
o a temporary jetty and coerdam or the
extension into the sea o Durban’s Sandile
Thusi Road stormwater outfow pipe
where Esor Arica is the main contractor  oPiNioN MarKET coNTriBUTioN
Are we jolly good Fellows? 5 Innovative soil stabilisation or road pavements 72

ProFilE
A bull terrier on a problem 6 MarKET PErsPEcTiVE
Innovation takes place at the boundaries o disciplines 79
GEoTEcHNical ENGiNEEriNG BIGEN AFRICA asks: Are G overnment’s “Breaking
Using Atterberg Limits to predict New Ground” mixed-mode settlements
Sivili Enjeneereng
the expansion o clays 12
March 2010 Vol 18 No 2

addressing the housing backlog? 81

Published by sAiCe/sAisi
Block 19, Thornhill Ofce Park,
Bekker Street, Vorna Valley, Midrand
Private Bag X200, Halway House, 1685
Collapsible soils: an overview 22
Tel 011-805-5947/48, Fax 011-805-5971 iN BriEF 83
 http://www.civils.org.za
civilinfo@saice.org.za
Penetration testing: test procedures and
Smaller wireless Pile Integrity Tester unveiled
editor
Verelene de Koker
design use in South Arica 29
vdekoker@saice.org.za Trenchless Technologies
Technologies cc scoops SAST T award
Tel 011 805 5947/8, Cell 083 378 3996
The use o soil nails and mechanically stabilised Mining alive and well says new Wits
editoriAl PANel
Marco van Dijk (chairman), Irvin Luker (vice-chairman),
 Ali Naidu (SAICE president),
president), Wally
Wally Burdzik,
Burdzik, Johan de
earth in a road embankment across talus 40 school head Ash Resources launches “new
Koker, Jerey Mahachi, Jones Moloisane, Hermien
Pieterse, Eben Rust, Michelle Theron, Marie Ashpole,
Zina Girald, Verelene de Koker (editor), Cathy van A green solution or the design and construction generation” cement extender Local retaining
der Westhuizen (editor’s assistant), Barbara Spence
(advertising), Dawie Botha (SAICE outreach)
o steep slopes and embankments 46 block assists with upgrading o inormal
 ANNuAl subsCriPtioN rAte
rAte
SA R575.00 (VAT included), International US$ 122.00 settlements City o Cape Town leads the way
 AdVertisiNg
Grouting – art or science?
science?
in service delivery Updated permeable paving
Barbara Spence, Avenue Advertising
 barbara@avenue.co.za
 barbara@avenue.co.za
Tel 011-463-7940, Fax 011-463-7939
Procedures adopted at Changuinola, Panama 54 design sotware available rom the CMA
Cell 082-881-3454

desigN ANd reProduCtioN Identifcation o voids on the N1 North

Marketing Support Services, Menlo Park, Pretoria
using ground penetrating radar 59
PriNtiNg
Ultra Litho, Johannesburg saicE aND ProFEssioNal NEWs
The South Arican Institution o Civil Engineering
accepts no responsibility or any statements made or
Lateral support or Great Westerord extensions 62 More courses rom the Candidate Academy 89
opinions expressed in this publication. Consequently
nobody connected with the publication o the magazine,
in particular the proprietors, the publishers and the Eden Island – Paradise Engineered 66 New SAICE Fellow 90
editors, will be liable or any loss or damage sustained
by any reader as a result o his or her action upon any
statement or opinion published in this magazine. Building
Building the uture with the Geotechnical Division SAICE Photo Competition 2010 91
ISSN 1021-2000

 B L I S H 
H E  R  
o SAICE – short course on problem soils 70 Diarise This 92
P  U S   
   E
    N

71
        I
      Z

I you wish to reach the top, start at the bottom 92

        A

Access to Drat South Arican Standards

       G          A
        A        S 
       M        F
     O
    N
1
ON THE COVER
Franki supports
the shtgun
While many o ts cpttrs r
t s w t cs t ptg
succssu r suts, rk
arc, prt  t JSe-std esrrk
grup, s ts t r  t grud,
succssu dvrg suts  ts
cgg vrt. S  t
cp’s st succssu ctrcts 
t st dcd r  tst t ts .
Ts prjcts cud t st-
t  udts r  spbudg
d rpr rd,  qu w d  dr
dck  t Prt  St lus  murtus;
t rs Ds mscrgs jb, s 
murtus, wc vvd jr xp-
s t t xstg brtg cts;
 t Scs t u
u Qu wr
t qu ws xtdd r t 200 
d b r t 1 800 ²; d t
ddg R213  rst-
dsgd Brt 208   t Prt   strtc  bcrt, ctv vg
Rcrds B.
S, w t c t t pg d
udt wrk r t xts
t t s  Durb’s Sd Tus
(arg) Rd strwtr utw pp
(kw s t ‘stgu pr’ bcus   dsg d cstruct bt  tprr
ts dub-brrd structur), t ws  
 surprs tt rk ws skd b
 t tdrrg  ctrctrs t
qut s t spcst subctrctr r
ts wrk. Utt t ctrct ws
wrdd t esr arc, rk’s stb-
t  t esrrk grup.
rk dd t tprr wrks d
pg 20 rs g, w t rg ut-
w ws cstructd. i t 20 rs sc
t ‘stgu’ ws rst cstructd, tr
v b sgct sd dpsts  ts
t utt  t dd  t bc. Ts
s cssttd ts xts bck t
t s, t prvt stg-up d u rtr
dg bck  t strwtr sst.
T bsc scp  wrks ws t
jtt  d crd
c rd w t  5   g
prtct w r t cstruct  
t xtdd ccrt ‘stgu’ ut.
Ts tw crtc cpts t 
w r t cstruct  t pr-
t structur, but s sur ccss
d  s wrkg vrt r t
 ctrctr.
“W  t c  t t tsk
ds’t s tt cpctd, wrkg
 t c s bvus vr s d

svr ctrs cpct t prduct
prcss d k ccurcs vr c-
gg,” ss mrc h, rk’s
Durb dvs gr.
T tprr jtt ,  k t
 ts ctrct , s 70  g d dd
t b sufct strg t supprt tw
trckd 80 t crwr crs. Ts ws
cvd b stg 28 st tub ps
 prs r t gs  c jtt sct.
“T prcss rqurs  gud r,
wc sssts wt t pstg  t
ps, d t, wt t rgt qup-
t, t r std t t rqurd
dpt,” ss h, ddg tt t
cstruct   butt t prvd
t prtct r t s d ccss
t t jtt trugut t prjct ws
cvd usg st ps.
2
h xps urtr tt st
tub ps r prps t st c
 r wrk s t v t dv-
tg  s prvdg  supprtg
br t structurs ctd  t s.
Te teporry coerd ws but
wt nterockng stee seet pes, n-
sted by usng te crnes postoned
on te jetty. Tese pes were spec-
cy procured to eet te exct spec-
ctons requred or t s job. “We
cnnot tke ny cnces, bot durng
te nucturng stge nd durng
nst ton, s te entre re ust
be be to wtstnd te uctutng
nd sgn cnt orces o te ocen,”
sys honn.
“St st p ws r t st
wd usd w t  qus, jtts,
1 View o the sheet pile
coerdam prior to closing
2 Placing o sheet pile during
the nose cone construction
dr dcks, spws d structurs k
t crd  ts prjct. T r
rtv gt d s  t d d
c b st d   wd vrt  s
cdts du t tr w dspct
crctrstcs.”
T  stp r rk  t
‘stgu’ jb s t stt  72-
13  x 450  x 450  rrcd
prcst ccrt ps, t supprt t
xtdd ccrt ut c  t
prtct s rvd.  uctur
ts ps, esr arc st up  cstg
 rd r t  st,  s tr spr tt  
3 4

The precast pile was one o the rst  tt  cst-n-stu pe woud requre,”
 piling systems to be used in southern
 Arica. There is a record o their use in
the now demolished old Putt Bridge
in Port Alred, where back in 1908 the
 precast piles were installed using a
steam-operated piling machine
suc rg ps vr  dstc wud
v b ucc.
“Tese pes ve te dvntges o  ss Cck. “it s t b  t gst
beng cst n  controed envronent
nd wy ro ny dverse condtons
wc coud be  concern or ny
cst-n-stu pes. Tey so provde
n econoc souton or tese so
condtons nd t er nstton does
not rey on te ccess requreents
expns frnk contrcts nger
mttew Cck.
T prcst p ws   t rst
pg ssts t b usd  sutr
arc . Tr s  rcrd  tr us 
t w dsd d Putt Brdg 
Prt ard, wr bck  1908 t pr-
cst ps wr std usg  st-
prtd pg c.
d t uctur  ts
ps s dvpd t  stt  t
rt prcss. “T k t succss  ts
prcss s t qut  t ccrt,”
qut d trr t ggrgts
ust s b t bst qut. i ddt,
t 28-d strgt  t ccrt s
r t 50 mP  d trr t c-
t ctt ust b t st 450 kg pr
cubc tr, wc gvs s  d  t
qutt  ct dd r t jb!”
3 The nose cone ulilling its purpose
4 The precast piles ready or installation
T prcss s st cpt, wt
 t prcst ccrt ps st t b
std. ovr, h s psd
wt w tgs v prgrssd. “W
v  xct d tvtd t w
v c g dstrtd rk’s
uqu sks  t r vrt
wr tr r uqu cgs. W
wrk fct, wt  vr g rgrd r
t st  ur ps d t pubc
t prduc, tgtr wt esr arc, 
wrd-css rsut.”
INFO
 Tammy Davies
Esorranki Ltd
011 822 3906
tdavies@esor.co.za
www.esorranki.co.za

4 Civil Engineering | April 2010


OPINION
Are we jolly good
Few?
a Common ComPlain rsd t
vr strtgc sss  vr g-
rg sttut  t wrd s: “W
ck sttus. W r t rcgsd.”
T qust t rss: W s
sttus s prtt, d  sttus s s
prtt, w r grg prs-
ss s trgc w t cs t
crrg r rcgsg sttus tt s
b du rd?
m prcpt s tt, tug w
scrt r r sttus r ursvs, w
r  tt t t rcgs ur w
grg prsss r wt t
v cvd.
W s s w r t ppr-
prt d prct g rgt t c
ursvs egr r cgst r
cc, tug t s gr c-
cptd s crrct t ddrss pprprt
prss s Dctr r Prssr, trb
pg d rspctg tr sttus.
at SaiCe nt ofc w r
t u tg tt “Brcs d
Dvss d t subt ts r
ws”. hw d w r rt?
T arc Sct  Cv
egrs rcks tt t sud v
but 7%  tr brsp s ws.
W r t 4% – t  cprb pctur.
hs t crrg  w
sttus bc d-sd  
dr wrd  “rd-equt-
Dawie Botha
SAICE Outreach
dbotha@saice.org.za
Brtrd”, à  J-Jcqus
Russu? i bv no. ev  ts
dr wrd dc prcttrs
r usu  ddrssd s Dctr, d 
st prts  arc g rs ddrss
 tr s egr s-d-s.
But t us gt bck t SaiCe ws.
our excutv Brd s cg  ur
brs t subt ts r
ws, s tr r  dsrvg -
dvdus ut tr.  cr t sttu s
 w   cgu d pr s 
prvg, d  v b  bgt.
T dd r 2010 SaiCe w
ts s 31 Ju 2010. lt us rcg-
s ur t brs.
ad  u r  dvdu w s
t b tcd b trs, t ps
aPPly! k crg.
i ccus, t us c r -
dvur t strt  grud sw b t st
sgg ur s s egr. lt us
trduc ursvs s egr, c ur
cgus egr w w t t
 fc cpct, spc  pubc
d  tgs. it  b dfcut t rst,
but t  ssur u, t bcs tur
tr  w.
Bst wss egr, cgst
d cc Brw, St, D
d V dr mrw!
Eng Dwe Bth, Few saicE
 Lorraine Fourie
lfourie99@telkomsa.net
012 343 1434

PROFILE

a bu tee
1
on a problem sHarPENiNG THE FacUlTiEs
mc’s pwrs  cctrt wr
dvpd t sc  Buw,  wt
ws t Sutr Rds, wr 
xcd  sw g. “W  u’r
spdg urs vr d wt ur d
udr wtr u r cusd   tg
. T dwsd  cpttv sw-
g s tt t s  vr tsc sprt,”
 ss. h ws sctd r t Sr R
Wsk’s drt t, prtcptg
 t brst-strk vt, but  tr
cc ccdt wc dgd s sp,
ctv sd s swg crr.
o sg s scg mc
t wtd t bc  ctrc
gr, but t t Uvrst  
Rds d nsd d d t r
grg. Wt s grdprts vg
 Jsburg, t ws cvt r
 t st wt t w ttdg t
A career that saw Malcolm Jaros leave his geotechnical footprint on five Uvrst  t Wtwtrsrd, wr
continents was rightfully acclaimed on home soil recently. Not only was  rd r  BSc cv grg
dgr  1964.
he lauded the winner of SAICE’s Geotechnical Medal in 2009, he also lk s  studts  s r
received GIGSA’s (Geotextile Interest Group of South Africa) biennial award mc ws sprd b Pr Jgs,
d s trst  gtcc g-
for technical excellence in the same year. What contributed in no small rg grw std udr t gud-
c  s tr. Bcus  wrkd
way to success is his ability to focus totally and passionately on the issue
u-t vr trt r, t tk 
at hand – “I’m a bull terrier on a problem,” he says. This skill has a flipside: sv rs t cpt t ur-r
dgr curs. “i dd’t cr wt kd  
a certain vulnerability when it comes to socialising. “I’m what you might
wrk i dd s g s t pd gd ,
call socially challenged,” he admits ruefully. In conversation, Lorraine d t gst pd jb  t st  
 utsd rs ws s  cputr pr-
Fourie found Malcolm abounding with enthusiasm about his work and
grr, wc ws qut  v tg
the eventful course that his life, with his wife Paula at his side, has taken  ts ds.”
 W  grdutd  d  dgr cptd  mSc (s c cs)
 grg s w  s xprc s dgr r ld Uvrst
 crc cputr prgrr. tgtr wt  dp  udt
h tugt ts wud c  usu grg r ipr Cg.
w  ppd r  jb t ov arup & as t Jrs’ prpsd rtur t Sut
Prtrs. “i ts ds vr w g- arc ccdd wt t 1976 Swt
rg csutts d cputrs d rts, mc ws rd  xtdd
arup srd  wt tr tr rs st  ld. Brg tr tw s
 Jsburg.” hwvr, s bss cdr  d,  tkd t vr wt
ws  t p tt u cud t b Pu, w s  Brts ctz br 
bt; t ws tr t  r t tr, hg Kg. T jt dcs ws t r-
s mc ws t  pptd s tur t Sut arc. “i just cud’t std
 cputr prgrr, sttg up t d  vg  suc  w-rdrd
t dt prcssg sst r Cvb. sct; i wud v dd  brd.
“arup ws t wrkg  t C rt arc, spc Sut a rc, s wr
Ctr d t dd t prcssg tgs r ppg,” ss wt c-
 s tst rsuts t b uttd,”   vct.
xps.
2
FailUrE NoT ParT oF His lEXicoN
as  gr--trg wt arup,
mc rst xprcd t prbs
 dsgg udts r structurs
 udrd grud,  tpc tt 
ws t rvst tr dc ds tr r t
Gutr prjct. hs rst sgct
prjct ws t ppct  t
et ass t dsg t dck 1 Malcolm Jaros receives SAICE’s Geotechnical
sbs d br gs r t pr  brdgs Medal at the Geotechnical Division’s AGM
tt crr t  n2 rw vr t in November 2009 rom Dawie Botha,
Kwmsu-Durb r . “at t t SAICE Executive Director at the time
t wr t st cut skwd dcks 2 With a Czechoslovakian ather and
ttptd  Sut arc – t g a Kenyan-born British mother, Malcolm
 trsct btw t trw Jaros turned out proudly South Arican
d t r w s 23. i d’t tk i 3 Malcolm’s son Adrian (let), daughter-
r udrstd t w sgct in-law Venus, and Malcolm and his wie Paula
tt ws. nw, tr t v std holding Muin, their Yorkshire terrier
tr r 40 rs, t c  vr
usu r rbuttg scptcs w wt t 3
kw w  ud cc s tcg
structur grg,” mc, ws
spcst d s s structur trc-
t, ss wt qut rt.
 grdut trg prgr
cutd wt  30 -t stt 
t cp’s ld c. Gg
brd wt  wr s w Pu,
w  d rrd  1968, d
t-t-d d adr ws sstr
ld ws br  w ts tr t
rrvd  egd. r, mc
gd xprc  t dsg d
cstruct  pd udts,
dp bsts, rtg ws,
udrpg d tug, w
s cputr prgrg xprc
prvd vub  t prcssg  
dt r t hg Kg ss trst
r sst. ‘Wrkg s butt ’
bcus t  ws ut kb,  s
 EVEr BroaDENiNG THE scoPE
Bck  Jsburg mc vd
t arup’s gtcc grg
dvs wr  dd st vstgts
d dsgd vrus pd udts
d tr supprt ssts. atug 
d spt s t ts  1971 wt
Bs Rd s prt   xcg pr-
gr t g  ctrctg xprc,
mc t  dd bttr sgt t
t ctrctg busss, spcc 
rt t pg d gtccs. “S i
 jd mclr & egr P g  t u-
drstdg tt t wud b r tw rs
.” h t,   wt s rg 
tt, ssug t r  ssct 
t w-rd Wbr & n csu-
tc, wt w  std ut 1983.
mc ctus: “i t rjd
arup w d s vr trstg
prjcts udr w  nt. T Kg
Sk arprt (rd t bv tt t’s 
 just b cptd), t nks abrt
lutu spt, s t s w kw, d
t rdvpt  t Pus C
s t opr Ttr wr cgg
prspcts. T bst xcvt  t
In the early '80s Malcolm rejoined  Pus, t t t, ws t bggst d
 Arup "who had some very interesting dpst  t Durb CBD, gg dw
6  bw s v, d w rvus s-
 projects under way in Natal. The King urd wtr vs d grud vts
Shaka Airport (hard to believe that  tr trugut cstruct.” as cr-
u trd r v rs ws t stt-
it’s only just been completed), the t  t 27-str Bcrt hd
i, t tst budg cstructd 
Nkosi Albert Luthuli hospital, as it is
stur Durb rbur dpsts wtut
now known, and the redevelopment  t bt  pd udts. T rsuts
wr wrtt up wt dts  t ud-
o the Playhouse Cinema as the
t dsg   ppr tt rd ,
Opera Theatre were challenging tgtr wt Gr Pt, Gv Br
d C mcm, t Jgs awrd r
 prospects. The basement excavation
t bst tcc pubct  1988.
o the Playhouse, at the time, was the Sttt surts  tr
structurs cudd t rt-supprtd
biggest and deepest in the Durban gt-str budgs  t Stv Bk
CBD, going down 6 m below sea cpus  t Br r wc mc
d b,  s ds t mclr & egr,
level, and we nervously measured  t st vstgt ctrctr. T -
water levels and ground movements stt, prtct d rdg  ts
trg ssts grt cd
there throughout construction.” Also cdc  t dsg tds usd d
careully monitored or ive years ts xprc tr prvd vub 
prjcts suc s t hg Kg rprt
was the settlement o the 27-storey  rct d t udts  t
Beachront Holiday Inn, the tallest  rc r t mss mbd stdu.
W arup dcdd t cs dw
building constructed on estuarine ts Durb fc mc std  w t
Durban harbour deposits without the t cp, cutg wk r
svr ts btw Durb d t
beneit o piled oundations Jsburg d fc. “W dd’t wt
t dsrupt t cdr’s g-sc du-
ct. Bsds, w’d rd vd r
t  dz ts  ur rrg d
wt Durb t pc wr w’d vd
gst w wtd t k t ur .”
l mr,  mr Spc
Js (mSJ), tks up t xt squc
 vts  mc’s : “at t t
mSJ ws st  dgg  t csutg
dustr, but w d b gv  rg
tr supprt prjct r t t
Durb Ct egrs’ dprtt.
g dcdd vurb d dg
supprt, i cd mc, w t w,
up t t, i’d d  br ctct.
Wtut stt  sd, ‘Brg t ’, r
stg t tt ct. it ws t strt
  trust g wrkg rtsp wt
  w t  xps st,
tgrt d ddct cpssd 
prsss. i tk mc kd us,
r  jd mSJ s  drctr  1989.”
DisTaNT HoriZoNs BEcKoN
W,  1994,  ttrctv jb r r
t dvpt t  t w Ck
lp Kk rprt  hg Kg c s
w, mc cud’t rsst. “nt 
ws t  tstc prjct, but t cdr
wr b w kg w vs r t-
svs w r . it ws s r
Pu  rtur t r brtpc wr r
prts d b sttd wt t Brts
r,”  ss. Wt t ws  tr-
t ctrct xtdd t tw rs d
vtu tr. mc ws vvd
  ctrg d surg st-
tt  t rct r t rprt
t sur tt t ruws wud b
st d t w cssd d
tt t wud r  srv cb c-
dt r t st sv rs br vg
t udrg jr tc. ”Ts ws 
w tcc r r , but i jd t
s.”
Durg tr hg Kg st t
cup d t pprtut t vst
austr  svr ccss. Brsb
ws t  ct tt d udd Pu d
s ws t gg t t t cc pss b
br tr ctrct xprd. o gt
mc,  rturg  r fc,
rcvd  p ssg sg: “yu’v
gt t c t Brsb; tr’s  jb r
 u r wt C Gtccs.” “S,
tug t p ws t rtur t Sut
arc,  t spur  t t w
dcdd t g t austr. T rd 
 tw-r ctrct d i guss t t bck
 ur ds tr ws t d  strtg
 4 sudrstdgs d wrk wud sz
 w    Brsb.” atr  r,
mc d d ug  austr.
C suggstd tt  tk s v,
v  k t t stut bck  Sut
arc d t k   dcs. “i
dd tt, d i rsd tt ts ws wr
 rt .” h w bck t d   
s rsgt d rturd t Durb
 Ju 1999. T st Pu, wvr,
sd, “W’r r   tw-r vs, s i’
vg  tw rs’ wrt”, d std 
t t d  ’99.
FoUNT oF EXPEriENcE oN HoME soil
mc rjd mSJ s prcp g-
tcc gr  t udrstdg
tt  wud b pd strct  
csutg cpct wtut  g-
r rspsbts. “i c bck t t
tck  trsrt  Sut arc
d i dd’t v  cu wt Bee ws
but. at tt stg i just wtd t d 
tcc jb.” l mr ss  t
t rs t wrkd tgtr: “ d
g mc wud sr s s
rsrvr  kwdg wt s cgus
d p t sp d grw t prctc.”
Ts vst xprc c t t rscu
w  ws cd up t brk  gj
 t Gutr prjct. mc gvs t
bckgrud: “o cg t ssu  tkg
t rw  trug Sk V,
t sk r rt  Ctur, t
prdt rc grs w rpr-
std t ctrctr sw t s just tr
rsk gt prb, wrs Sut
arc grs tdd t ctr  tr
prs xprcs  t csqucs
  sk cps. T rsk t d
b vr w rsrcd d qutd,
but t  dts  w t d wt t
d’t b u rsvd.
“Sw i ud s   pst
btw t ctrctr d t supr-
vsg grs, but gd t s bt
sds  t rgut d dvpd 
sut tt ws ccptb t  prts.
Rrcg wt gtxt sts t -
bkt  wc t trck wud ru
– tr dc cpct  t udr-
g grud – wud w t ccrt
U-b t supprt t r- vr t
dgr r  ts rg  dsg r,
tt s, s  prptu brdg crss
 ptt sk.” Ts put rd
mc t GiGSa wrd  2009.
“ s xtt  vvt 
Sk V ws t g   t
tgs tt i’d rt   crr: s
structur trct, s btw t
U-b d t grud; grud trt-
t, s  t prcss  dc c-
pct; d sttt ctr, wc i’d
dd xtsv  hg Kg.”
Urvg dsputs s t
u r t mc. h rcs w
 d t srt ut psss  hg
Kg. “Wt austrs, arcs,
Cds, pp r t d ir
Curt cutrs, wstrsd hg
Kg Cs, d Cs,
 wrkg  t prjct udr
Brts ctr, t ws  crdb
cpx cutur xtur. T
dvrs bckgruds, stdrds, d
ws  dg tgs t cusd
up. But  u wtd t gt tgs wg
g u d t gt  Sut arc 
tr. Sut arcs just v t sprt,
t ‘br k ‘ p’ tttud.”
coNTriBUTiNG To HiGHEr lEarNiNG
i apr 2008 mc xcgd t c-
sutg busss r cd. “cc
i w t d t quvt  t hg
Kg d Gutr prjcts g – s i
dd t d w cgs. Trug
 vvt wt t Uvrst  
KwZuu-nt (UKZn), s prt-t
xtr xr  gtcc -
grg sc t r ‘90s, i d s
t grppg wt t trsrt
prcss. But i s sw tt t d 
dt p d wr wrkg twrds 
g t k t wrk. i wtd t b prt  
tt p bcus t ws  w pprtut
t k  uc r gu d s t-
sg ctrbut t wt i rsw 
 utur s  csutg gr.”
W mc jd t UKZn cv
grg dprtt   12-t
tprr ctrct  dt b-
c vvd  pg t dprtt
ddrss eCSa’s rqurts  trs  
t Wsgt accrd, wc surs
tt Sut arc grg dgrs
r rcgsd vrss. “W wr 
 t rst grg dprtts t
 Sut arc uvrst t gt  u
v-r ucdt ccrdtt
r eCSa r dstrtg cpc
wt tr rct trsrd utc
rqurts.” mc w b vvd
u-t r t xt tr rs d 
ps t v s ctrct xtdd t
sx rs. “lk Pr K Kgt i c s
s vvd w bd rtrt.
Br i strt dg w, w w v
rvgrtd t pstgrdut curss
d rsrc ctvt tt r t  sst
cpts   uvrst.”
o  t sx dctr cddts w
rd t UKZn’s pstgrdut sc
 cv grg s mc. “ qup
 bttr i v t g trug t prcss
s d rcrut str’s studts t
grt rsrc ts.” T t  s
dctr tss ts r t Gutr
prjct. “i cud’t just d s stud 
s dspsst subjct – i’  -
ctv w i’ psst vvd,
wc s wt ppd  t Sk V
prb. i bv tt t sut w
prducd ws t rgt , but bcus t
ws t rst  ts kd tr r ts  
t trtc bckgrud tt i  d Designing or contractors requires a very special breed o engineer and 
t b xprd. m rsrc s drctd t
w t prv t trg prcss t Malcolm has all the credentials. The challenge he aced was to transer 
urtr rduc  rsdu rsk tt  b the 100 MN horizontal thrust exerted at the north end o the arch
rt  t sut.”
through 20 m o saturated sediments to the weak Cretaceous mudstones
GEoTEcHNical iMPriNT – 2010 aND BEYoND below, with post-construction delections o less than 20 mm. With
i s ds wt ov ar up, mc
dd dsg wrk r wt ws t his characteristic tenacity, Malcolm designed a 42 m x 7 m diaphragm
rkp d tr, w  ws wt wall ‘box’, the sides o which acted as deep shear walls. This was one
mSJ, r esr w dvpd t t
prst-d esr-rk.  st o the irst major geotechnical designs in South Arica to be carried out 
rct d g-pr prduct  ts
according to the Eurocodes, involving both limit equilibrium analysis and 
rutu  cbrt s t t mss
mbd stdu  Durb wr esr three-dimension numerical modelling. Its successul implementation,
ws wrdd t ctrct r t u-
with little over hal o the permitted movement being measured, was
dts r t r-supprt rc  t
bss  mc’s dsg. suicient to win the SAICE Award or Technical Excellence in 2009
Ptr D, s   dpdt udtr,
ws b t gv t Gr dsgrs   5
t rc t ssurc tt tr sdr
cstruct wud t b dstrssd 
 w b udt vt. Ptr
ss  mc’s dsg: “Dsgg
r ctrctrs rqurs  vr spc
brd  gr d mc s 
t crdts. T cg  cd
ws t trsr t 100 mn rzt
trust xrtd t t rt d  t rc
trug 20   sturtd sdts t
t wk Crtcus udsts bw,
wt pst-cstruct dcts  
ss t 20 . Wt s crctrstc
tct, mc dsgd  42  x 7 
dprg w ‘bx’, t sds  wc
ctd s dp sr ws. Ts ws 
 t rst jr gtcc dsgs 
Sut arc t b crrd ut ccrdg
t t eurcds, vvg bt t
qubru ss d tr-ds
urc dg. its succssu -
ptt, wt tt vr   t
prttd vt bg surd, 6
ws sufct t w t SaiCe awrd r
cc excc  2009.”
Judgg r s tst cvts,
mc s  vr g w r dg
ut  t gtcc sc. h s, t
qut l mr, “  r  s-
ss, d  gd xp t w.”

4 The team employed by Esor to

design the Moses Mabhida stadium arch
oundations - rom let: Pieter Boorsma, Lionel
Moore, Mark R ichter, Peter Day, Malcolm
Jaros, and Arthur Field (Director, Esor)
(Photo Tony Smith – copyright protected)
5 and 6 The Moses Mabhida
stadium with arch intact
(Photos Tony Smith – copyright protected)
 Prof Dereck Sparks
Emeritus Associate Professor
of Foundations and Soil Mechanics
University of Cape Town
sparksd@mweb.co.za
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Ung attebeg lmt t pedt
 This article describes a method for predicting
the expansion of clay which is supported by
measurements on a wide variety of clays. If a
small building load is applied to a clay in an arid
region and the clay is subsequently soaked with
water, this building load will not prevent the clay
from swelling. But if the same clay is subjected to
the same building load in a wetter climate and is
subsequently soaked to the same condition, then the
new building can settle. Calculations are provided to
demonstrate this phenomenon. The article contains
simplified extracts from a paper describing the
wider general topic of modelling of clays (Sparks
2010). The method described here shows that only
two equations (namely Eqs (8) and (9)) are required
to estimate the expansion of a wet ted clay
iNTroDUcTioN
T vu cgs  cs du t cgs  wtr ctt
r cs rtd t t udg d rdg curvs  
c subjctd t strpc dg (.g. strpc dg c b
cusd b t c prssur ppd t  jcktd s sp  
trx c).
isoTroPic coNsoliDaTioN
gur 1 ustrts  sturtd c sp wc s drg (t t t-
spr)   brtr. T pr wtr prssur s  vu u kP
wc s gtv (wt rspct t t tsprc dtu).
at ts stg t s prtt t udrstd crt prcps
rtg t t rzg ctv st rss qut r  sturtd
s (eq 1):
t strss p = ctv strss p’ + pr prssur u (1)
i eq (1) w v tw drt pts.
W c xprss t tt strss p d t pr prssur u
bt wt rspct t vcu s t dtu, r w c xprss t
tt strss p d t pr prssur u wt rspct t tsprc
prssur. T vu  t ctv strss p’ w b dtc 
bt ssts. W usu prr t xprss t tt strss p d
t pr prssur u wt rspct t tsprc prssur (.. t
pr prssur u s qu t zr t t v   wtr tb).
i druc pp ssts subjctd t g sucts, t wtr
w cvtt (.. vpur bubbs r d grw) bcus uds-
svd r cus xst  t wtr d ts r t uc r
t rt  vpur bubbs. hwvr,  cs t pr wtr
s bsrbd t t c prtcs s sprt wtr cus d
tr r usu  udssvd r uc  t pr wtr. r ts
rs t pr wtr  cs c b subjctd t vr g tss
wtut t rt  vpur cvts. i ct Dx (1909) ud
tt wtr c wtstd ts strsss  vr 160 tsprs
(16 000 kP)  tr r  udssvd r uc  t wtr.
i gur 1 t tt strss s zr trugut t drg
prcss  t sturtd c.
i t tt strss p s zr  eq (1), t t ctv strss p’
s pstv d s qu t (-u). T ctv strss p’ crss ts
the expnn f y
pstv vu s t sp drs ut, d ts cuss t sp
t dcrs  tt vu. T utr prrs t c ts c-
tv strss u*, c  gur 1 u* s qu t (-u). i gur 1 t
r-wtr scus surc cts   sr  s t t rubbr
br wc surruds t s sp  gur 2 .
i w cprss t sturtd c  gur 2 g  vrg
cprss pt w t ppd rzt strss s qu t
t vrtc ctv strss, t w wud xpct t strpc
cprss curv t b dtc t tt ud r t c  gur
1 (vd rt vrsus vrg ctv strss wt t sp).
But  w ws t stt t vd rt w t rzt
strss s t qu t t vrtc strss   gur 2, t w rst
d t d t vrg ctv strss  gur 2 wc s qu
t p’ = (p’ v + p’  + p’ )/3. W c w tr t strpc cprs-
s curv btd r gur 1 wt ts vrg vu  p’ (r
gur 2), d c bt  rsb pprxt r t
 vd rt  t s  gur 2 .
sUPErPosiTioN oF sUcTioN
aND EXTErNal aPPliED sTrEssEs
a sp ctd t s dpt  t s cud b subjctd
t  pr wtr suct (-u) s  gur 1 d s t psd
strsss’ v d ’  (s  gur 2) wc r cusd b t wgt  
t vrburd r b strsss r  udt bv ts sp.
T ct  u d t ct du t t ppd strsss r
bt ctv prssurs, d c b ddd tgtr.
T cbd vrg ctv strss  t sp du t
bt cuss s u*  eq (2).
1 Saturated clay sample permitted to dry out to the
atmosphere in the soil laboratory (isotropic consolidation)
2 Drained sample in rubber jacket in triaxial cell
u* = (u du t pr wtr) + (p’ v + p’  + p’ )/3 (2)
i t s sp s b   cprssv (ctv) pt, t
p’  = K.p’ v wr p’ v = ctv strss  t vrtc drct
(.g. du t vrburd).
T utr usu u ss K = 0,4.
hwvr,  t s s b   swg (pssv) pt,
t p’  = Kp.p’ v
T utr uss Kp = (2 + 200/p’ v ) wr p’ v = vrtc ppd
ctv strss (kP), but t xu vu r K p s tk s 6.
T utr ccpts tt K p c v b s g s 10. i st
stcs, tr s tt drc  t swrs   vu  6 r
 vu  10 s usd.
W t s sp s brugt t t brtr, t s
kw tt t w t r t xpd du t t rs  t prs-
surs p’ v d p’ . i t sp s dd ccss t r wtr,
t t s suggstd tt t vrg ctv strss  t s
σ’v
1 2
.Pore σ’
h
Pressure
u (-ve)
 sp s ucgd d st  r s s u* (gv b eq (2)).
i tr wrds, t vu  u*  t brtr st rts
t r  u* s  t d. a cpt  ts r
cuds t psd ctv strsss p’ v d p’  wc ctd
 t d.

aN ElEMENTarY EXPlaNaTioN oF HEaVE

Csdr  s sp wc s t t stt X  t  BD 
gur 3.
i t ctv strss s rducd, t t sp w sw
r stt X twrds t stt D. Sr,  t pr wtr
prssur u bcs r pstv, t s sp w xpd
r t stt X twrds D  t s  BD.
T qudt dx, li, ws dd b Skpt d Bsp
3 4 (1950) s:
A A Liquid Limit
0,301
Straight Line li = (w% – Pl%)/(ll% – Pl%) (3)
    )
    I
    L
    %    + D
   w
   t
   n D
    1
    (
   g
X nt tt li s  r uct  w%. it s trr s t us
   e
   t B
   n X    o
    L
li g t vrtc xs  gur 3 std  w%.
   o
    C
   r
B E
   e
   t 0
Plastic Limiit i rdr t d cs vr  rg rg  qud ts d
   a
    W pstc ts, t utr s trducd  prtr R (Sprks
C
C 2010,  prss ) wr:

6,3 kPa u*=R x 8,9 kPa

Log u* (kPa) lg R = (Gs.Pi%)/{0,918 (ll% -5,7)} (4)
Log u*( kPa)

T vu  lg R s usu pprxt 2 r  c, d

5 c R s pprxt qu t 100. hwvr, r s cs R
wD D c b s w s 45 r s g s 180. T Sprks 2010 ppr s
X trducs t prtr lg (1 + li) r t vrtc xs s 
wX
    f
gur 4. T us  lg(1 + li) tks t ccut t curvtur
   o B
   e
   u
 t  aBC  gur 3.
    l
   t    a
   n    v at s stg  t pst t c  ws prcprssd
   e  .    y
   t
   n
    l     b
    l C t t stt B g t cprss curv r a t B 
   o    e    d
    C    w    e
   s    n gur 3. s c cc ur du t dscct r  xtr
   r     f     i
   e
   t    o   m     D
   a    t    r
    i    e    t
    W    m
   t    a dg (.g. wgt   c st). rtr t v u  u*
    i    e     *
    L    D   u u* X ws rducd b wttg  t s p r b rduct  t
xtr ppd dg. hc t stt  t c vd
1 kPa 10 u* D 100 kPa 1 000 kPa 10 000 kPa
Log u*
r stt B t ts prst stt t X.
a gr wud k t kw w uc urtr t c
sp c xpd. i tr wrds, wt s t sw wc cr-
6 rspds t t rduct  u*, .g. du t wttg (r stt X
Liquid Limit t stt D  gur 5).
T gr ust dtr t wg:
1) T sp  t  BD. Ts s s t stbs.
2) T pst  t pt X, .. t suct u* x d t wtr
    t
    n
    e
ctt w x.
    t
    n Plastic Limiit 3) T  suct u* d t t stt D. Ts s rtv s t
    o
     C
    r stt.
    e
    t D1
    a X1 T bv wud prt us t drw t dgr d  BD 
     W
gur 5 r ts c sp.
D2 Wilting Limit

X2 3 ABC is the isotropic consolidation curve – the sample

Shrinkage Limit precompressed to B can swell along BD and point X can
be the present state o the sample prior to swell
4 Log (1+LI) replaces w%. T his plot gives straight lines. R is dened in the text
5  This is an enlargement o a portion o Figure 4. This
gure is important to understand the swelling process
6 Note that the slope o the swelling curve is the same at X 1 and X2,
u* D1 Log u*
hence the same equation (Eq (8)) can be used on either swelling curve
 T  cg  t bv st s t stt t suct
u*x prr t t wttg  t sp. o td t d ts s
t pc Wt’s n 42 tr ppr  drct ctct wt t
st s sp    r-tgt btt r tw wks. msurg
t wtr ctt  t tr ppr ds t  stt  t
trc suct  t s. hwvr, tr pprxt tr-
tv tds xst r sttg t suct prr t wttg.
assu tt t wtr ctt w x%  t s t  stt X
 t rbud curv s kw, d s t suct u* x (kP).
T utr suggsts (Sprks 2010 ) tt t curv BD  gur 5
c b dscrbd b eqs (5) d (6):
ur tr sw (suc s t stt D). Ts s   crrct ccpt.
a “ t  sw”  s t  prprt  t c. Csdr sps
 c wc r ctd t drt dpts wt t s . T
cg prssurs d sucts tt xst  ts sps
w vr wt dpt. T sp tt s swg g t 
X1 t D1  gur 6 w sw up t stt D1, d t pst  
pt D1 s dtrd b t vu  t quvt suct
u* (.. t ctv strss) wc xsts t stt D 1. T t  
sw t stt D1 s t  prprt  t  c, but s dtrd
b t vu  u* D1 wc xsts t stt D1 (s ccutd b
usg eq (2)).

w% = w x% + {C.Pi%/(a.lg R)}.(lg u*x – lg u*)
lg u* = lg u* x – {a.lg R/(C.Pi%)}.(w% – w x%)
r spct w  us
C = 1,6 d a = 6
r eq (5) t c b s tt t cg  wtr ctt
durg t sw s gv b eq (8):
(5) coMParisoN BETWEEN THEorY aND PracTicE
b 1 sws  cprs btw surd sw prctg
(6) (s surd b Scrr 2008), d t vus ccutd b
usg eqs (8) d (9). it ss tt Scrr prttd t s-
ps t dr  t brtr   rtc dr tspr s
(7) tt t sps bc drr t t srkg t. h s
t pubsd t dr wtr ctts  ts sps. hwvr,
t s kw tt t tt vu  c sp w crs
w t wtr ctt crss bv t srkg t.

wc% = 0, 266 {Pi%/(lg R)}.(lg u* – lg u*  )
wr
u* = quvt suct prr t wttg (kP) d
u*  = quvt suct tr wttg (kP). (S eq (2).)
T rg wtr ctt w %  t s prr t wttg s
kw. hc  c wrk ut t prctg sw pr ut
gt  s b usg eq (9):
 wc% (r eq (8))
(s  prctg) = (1/G ) + (w %/100)
1+ s 
wr Gs = 2,7 (pprx)
 ccut t xps  eqs (8) d (9) r usd.
T spct  ts td s ustrtd b t ct tt
eq (8) pps t  strtg pt suc s X 1 r X2  gur 6,
d t pps t   stt suc s D 1 d D2  gur 6.
i t pst, svr rsrcrs v sugt  “t   = 0,266 {37/lg(269)}.(lg 4 935 – lg 43,3)
sw ”,  t wtr ctts bv wc tr s 
(8) EXaMPlE 1 – UsiNG scHrEiNEr’s claY (sa-13)
Scrr’s tsts wr prrd  s sps wc wr -
t prt  sturtd. as  rst pprxt,  t bsc  
tr rt,  c us t srkg t wtr ctt
s t wtr ctt r wc  vu crss w ccur.
T wtr ctt t t srkg t ws srtd t eq (11)
(s appdx)  rdr t stt t strtg suct u* t t
srkg t. r xp, r sp Sa-13, t suct prr
t wttg t t srkg t (10%) s 4 935 kP.
Scrr sttd tt t vrtc strss t t d  t wt-
(9) tg prcss ws qu t  vrtc dg  15 kP d tt
t sp ws dd s tt t pr prssur u ws w zr.
Usg eq (2), t quvt vu  u* t t d  t swg
prcss c b sttd (t  vu  u* s 43,3 kP).
accrdg t eq (8):
wc% = 0, 266 {Pi%/(lg R)}.(lg u*– lg u*  )
= 8,33%

Table 1 Comparison between measured swell (Schreiner) and Eqs (8) and (9)

SOIL LL% PI% SL% R Measured Calculated

e/(1+eo) Equation (9)
SA-1 39% 23% 15% 113 6,0% 7,6%
SA-2 47 33 8 224 20 18,4
SA-7 62 42 13 178 20 20,1
SA-13 50 37 10 269 16 17,7
ER-2 45 32 16 144 10 8,2
ER-3 49 32 16 91 15 17,7
KE-1 125 74 13 57 85 64,6
KE-2 70 43 11 80 33 30,3
KE-4 84 42 25 42 19 23,2
KE-5 39 17 23 23 1,5 2,1
KE-6 67 28 20 21 32 28,4
SU-2 69 33 10 38,4 55 54,3
Usg eq (9) d  t wtr ctt  ts cs  srkg
t (10%), t swg prcss s btd s ws:
 wc% (r eq (8)) 8,33
(s  prctg) =
(1/Gs) + (w%/100)
=
(1/2,7 + 10/100)
1+
= 17,7%
(s sw  t st cu  b 1)
o  t cs  t Scrr sps ust t xps
prcss b strtd r t srkg t wtr ctt. T
strtg suct u* s pprxt 700 kP r st ss 
Sut arc, but  st cst cts t vu  t s-
trpc ctv strss suct u* prr t wttg c b s w s
120 kP.
coMMENT oN TaBlE 1
T utr ws surprsd t t tt Scrr surd  pr-
ctg sw pr ut gt  s s 55% r sp SU-2. T
utr s vr s  s wc s  vrg vu r t
qud t (69%), d wc s  sw s rg s 55%.
 scd surprs ws t  d tt t s d
(eqs (8) d (9)) prvdd  s r  swr ( 54, 3%).
 ccuts r sp SU-2 suggstd urstc
g vus  suct u*  t t  dr s .  prvt
“cvtt”  t wtr, t s pssb tt Scrr 
v usd d-rd wtr wc ctd  udssvd
r uc (prps t wtr ws bd d  wd t c
dt br us, r  nd d-rtr ws usd). s
bsrvt suggsts tt d-rd wtr sud b usd   
c dg xprts.
Scrr s surd  prctg sw  85% r sp
Ke-1. Prps ts ws r  s wr t xcssv sw s
cusd b  cc cg  drts t gpsu-tp -
trs. eqs (8) d (9) w t pp t s  wc xps s
cusd b cc cgs.
EsTiMaTiNG iNiTial sUcTioN
i prctc t d sps r usu sturtd (S r=100%).
Prr t wttg, t strtg suct u* s pprxt 700
t 800 kP t  dpt  1   s-rd cdts (s d
surts b d Bruj (1965)). i cts suc s Cp w
d Durb tt v  u r wc xcds t
u vprt, t strtg vu  t strpc c-
tv strss suct u* w  dpd  t pst  t vrg
wtr tb trug t sss, d t suct u* c b s
w s 120 kP t  dpt  1,4  bw t s sur c. i
ts cts t c w usu dsp  ss cgs 
wtr ctt bw ts dpt  1,4 . a c wc wud b
rgrdd s g xpsv  ctd   rd rg gt
xpd  sg t  t uppr tr  t s pr 
st cst  rgs (s wrkd xp 2).
T wtg pt  pts usu ccurs t 1 500 kP. i  t ccrt sb s:
grsss r grwg  t c t t suct u* ust b ss
t 1 500 kP. i   rd rg   stu suct u*  1 000
kP prr t wttg cud b usd r v ccuts r
cprg drt cs. T  skd vu  t suct
u* t  dpt  0,5  bw t tur s surc cud b 43
t 70 kP ( tr s  budg d).
T tr ppr td s  sutb td r surg
t t suct u* prr t t wttg  t c. i t
bsc  suc surts t ss tt 1 000 kP sud b
usd r  c r  s-rd rg (s xp 2 bw).
EXaMPlE 2 – coMPariNG ariD aND WETTEr rEGioNs
it s usu t cpr t xps  t s c    rd
rg d   wttr rg.
T cs c s t odrstprt C usd b mtjs
(1992).
T prtcurs rtg t t c r s ws:
lqud t ll% = 89%, pst cty ndex Pi% = 57% nd
Gs = 2,7. assue tt te so s octed 1,5  beow te
ground. Te topso (0,5 ) w be excvted, nd  con-
crete sb w be constructed over ts oundng dept. Te
 vert c  od ng ro ts g t st ructu re w  be 50 k P on
ts so. at soe stge  burst wter ppe w resut n te
oodng o t e cy. Te nt  wter content o te cy n
te rd regon s 22%. T e nt w ter content o te cy n
te wetter cte s 25%. fnd t e n percentge eve o 
te cy octed 1  beow te concrete sb (.e. 1,5  beow
orgn ground eve).
mtd  ccut:
eq (4) prvds t vu  lg R.
lg R = (Gs.Pi%)/{0,918 (ll% – 5,7)}
= 2,7 x 57/(0,918 x 83,3)
= 2,0126
hc t ctr R = 102,9.
) F the d egn:
(From an equivalent suction u* of 1 000 kPa to a fully soaked 
condition)
assu tt t pr suct u  t s (t  dpt  1 )
prr t wttg s 1 00 0 kP.
o  ws t dd t xtr ctv strsss cusd
b t s s -wgt  t vrburd t ts v u.
hwvr, s dctd  rr t tr ppr td
wud sur t trc suct   rcvrd dsturbd
sp, d t t ss tt t trc suct w st
ct  cpt du t  prvus cts, cudg
t ct  t s -wgt  t vrburd. i  cs ,
t c b rgud t t t ct  t s s -wgt s
s cprd t t strtg vu  1 000 kP, wc
 ts  s  rug ssupt. hwvr,  ust t -
gct t s s-wgt ct w ccutg t 
quvt strpc ctv strss suct u*  .
at t d  t cstruct d wttg prcss, t vu
 u* s ccutd b usg eq (2) s ws:
T vrtc strss ctg  t s t  dpt  1  bw
 vrtc strss = 50 kP + 1 x 20
= 70 kP
(usg 20 kn/2 r s s-wgt bw t sb).
Bcus  t swg prcss t s cssr t us t pssv
cfct Kp  eq (2). T pssv prssur ctr s Kp = (2 +
200/70) = 4,86 (k, s ts s ss t 6).
r eq (2) w bt:

u* = (0 du t u) + 70 (1 + 4,86 + 4,86)/3 = 250 kP

eq (8) s usd t d t cg  wtr ctt (  w%):

wc% = 0, 266 {Pi%/(lg R)}.(lg u* – lg u*  )

= 0,266 {57/2,0126}.(lg 1 000 – lg 250)
= 4,536%

T t wtr ctt ws 22% prr t wttg, c usg

eq (9) t wg s ud:

 wc% (r eq (8)) 4,536

(s  prctg) = = 1 / 2,7 + 22/100
1+ (1/Gs) + (w%/100)

= 7,6%

Prctg sw = 4,536/(1/2,7 + 22/100) = 7,6%

Ts ust b utpd b t vrtc tckss (c)  t s

r t wc ts c sp rrs  rdr t d t ctu
v ( c) cusd b ts r. T ctrbut ( c) r
c r bw t udt ust b ddd  rdr t st-
t t  v ( c)  t ccrt udt.

b) F the wette egn:

(From suction u* due to water table 2 m below the soil to soaked 
condition)
Prr t cstruct, t vrtc strss t  dpt  1,5 
ws 1,5 x 20 = 30 kP.
i w ssu tt ts s gt v drd ut sgt prr
t cstruct, t t s k tt t rzt strss sud
b ccutd b usg t ctv ctr K a wc w b ssud
t b 0,4.
assu tt rg t wtr tb s 2  bw t s
surc (.. 0,5  bw t pst  ts s sp).
Usg eq (2), t t quvt strpc ctv strss
suct u*t s
In practice the eld samples are usually saturated (Sr=100%).
u*t = (0,5 x 10) + 30 (1 + 0,4 + 0,4)/3 Prior to wetting, the starting suction u* is approximately 
= 23 kP
700 to 800 kPa at a depth o 1 m in semi-arid conditions
r t xt stp, ssu tt t vu  u*  w st b t (see eld measurements by de Bruijn (1965)). In cities such
s s r t rd rg bv.
as Cape Town and Durban that have an annual rainall 
wc% s ccutd r eq (8): which exceeds the annual evaporation, the starting value
wc% = 0, 266 {Pi%/(lg R)}.(lg u* – lg u*  ) o the isotropic efective stress suction u* will depend on the
= 0,266 {57/2,0126}.(lg 23 – lg 250)  position o the average water table through the seasons,
= – 7,8% (.. sttt)
and the suction u* can be as low as 120 kPa at a depth
appg eq (9), t prctg sttt btd s 12,5%. o 1,4 m below the soil surace. In these cities the clay will 
But bcus tr pprs t b sttt, t s cssr t
rccut u* b usg K = 0,4 std  t Kp vu  eq (2). usually display no seasonal changes in water content below 
this depth o 1,4 m. A clay which would be regarded as
Ts ds t u* = (0) + 70 (1 + 0,4 + 0,4)/3 = 42 kP
highly expansive i located in an arid region might expand 
wc% = 0, 266 {Pi%/(lg R)}.(lg u* – lg u*  )
only slightly in the upper metre o the soil prole in moist 
= 0,266 {57/2,0126}.(lg 23 – lg 42)
= –1,97% coastal regions (see worked example 2)
T prctg sttt s:
1,97/(1/2,7 + 25/100) = 3,17% sttt.
atrtv t c b rgud tt t vu  u*  s s cs t
u* tt u ctv cdts v t ccurrd, d c t
strpc vu  K = 1,0 sud b usd  eq (2). T vus r
t u* = 70 kP, wc% = –3,64 % d t prctg stt-
t = 5,85%. T s stts.
Tis foundation in the wet climate will settle due to the foun-
dation load. It will not heave. Ts ccpt s crrct, bcus t
stt  t s vs up r dw t  BD  gur 4 s t
dg d sucts r cgd ( t sgt strss ct s
grd). o  t quvt strpc ctv strss u* x-
cds t prcprss stt B  gur 4 ust  w pst
r t  BD  gur 4 b csdrd.
coNclUsioNs
1) Gd grt s sw btw tr d surts
 b 1. T rdr c cpr t surd d pr-
dctd vus  t st tw cus  b 1. T xct
grt r t SU-2 d Sa-2 ss s grtg. b 1
cvrs  wd vrt  cs wt drt attrbrg lts.
2) w sp quts (eqs (8) d (9)) r usd t ccu t
t xps.
3) nt tt t cg  wtr ctt du t t cg 
dg (d wttg) s btd r eq (8), d tt ts
qut s dpdt  t vu  t wtr ctt
prr t wttg.
4) T wtr ctt prr t wttg  pprs  t d-
tr  eq (9).
5) equt (8) t  pps t xps, but s t stt-
ts du t cprss g t  BD  gur (3) r
gur (4) (prvdd tt t quvt ctv prssur t
stt B s t xcdd).
6) T wrkd xp (n 2) cprs t sttt r
xps t tw drt sts,    s-rd rg
d t tr   wttr rg. T s c s bg
csdrd, d t  dg d sk g r dtc 
bt css. it ws sw tt t c  t s-rd rg
wud sw, but  t wttr rg t s s wud
stt. Ts s t du t  cps structur  t s, but s
s du t t rgs  t strsss d t strss-str
rt (.. suct vrsus vu)  t s.
7) S rsrcrs bv tt t swg  c c s
td t  r g  stur ctts, .g. ts wtr
ctts wr dd b D Bruj (1961) s t wr
swg t   d t uppr swg t  b. hwvr,
t wrk  ts  rtc sws tt t t gr wtr
ctct,  s-ckg p ccurs wc  s t 
prprt  t c. as t vu  u* dcrss, t r
 t rzt strsss b cs r prtt (s
eq (2)). s rzt strss s ctrbut t t s-
trpc strss u* wc  tur rstrcts t u rtr crs
 t vd rt  t sp.
T wr swg t   ccurs r t srkg
t  t c. Ts s s t  prprt  t c. it s
b bsrvd b mtjs (1992) d s b xpd b
Sprks (2010,  prss). Ts p ccurs du t t
ct tt  crt suct u* ccurs  t sturtd s t
t t  r tr (t t srkg t); but  rwttg
t suct u* s  wr vu w t s strts t xpd
r t srkg t wtr ctt. Ts ucg stp
w t b s   t rwttg ccurs just br t s
ws r tr.
8) lc tds wc d t d t t quvt
strpc ctv strss u* prr t wttg ct b usd 
tr rgs. atug t V dr mrw td  b
st sutb r t s-rd rgs  Sut arc, t s
t  uvrs td.
9) Dsg gudbks wrtt r s-rd cdts d t
pp t wttr cts. Qutts r suc gudbks
v b susd  wttr rgs  t cutr, d v
d t ucssr substt g csts.
acKNoWlEDGEMENTs
 The author ackno wledges the suppor t and encouragement given by Dr
Frank Netterberg (Pretoria), Dr Marius de Wet (University o Stellenbosch),
Pro John Burland (United Kingdom) and Pro G Blight (University o the
Witwatersrand). Any errors are solely attributed to the author.
aPPENDiX: Fmu  the Vgn itp cndtn cuve
a) The shrinkage limit (i.e. SL% water content) can be estimated as ol-
lows:
Shrinkage limit SL% = LL% – 3 x (linear shrinkage %)
The author uses a linear shrinkage trough which does not have walls
on opposite sides, hence the shrinkage takes place without curling o 
the soil sample.
b) The isotropic consolidation curve ABC in Figure 4 can be described by
Eqs (10) and (11) (Sparks 2010):
Log (1 + LI) = 0,301 {Log (8,9 R/u*)}/{Log (8,9 R/6,3)} (10)
or
Log (u*) = Log (8,9 R) – 3,322 Log (1+LI).Log (8,9 R/6,3) (11)
rEFErENcEs
De Bruijn, C M A 1961. Swelling characteristics o a transported s oil prole
at Leeuho, Vereeniging, Transvaal. Proceedings, 5th International
Conerence on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Paris,
France.
Dixon, H H 1909. Note on the Tensile Strength o Water, Royal Dublin
Society.
Meintjes, H A C 1992. Suction-load-strain relations in expansive soil.
Proceedings, Conerence on Expansive Soils, Dallas, US.
Schreiner, H D & Habte, K B 2008. A universal method or assessing the
intrinsic expansivenes o soils. Proceedings, SAICE Conerence on
Problem Soils in South Arica, Midrand.
Skempton, A W & Bishop, A W 1950. The measurement o the shear
strength o soils. Geotechnique, 2: 90 –108.
Sparks, A D W 1999. A unied theory or clays, or students and practice.
Proceedings, 12th Regional Conerence or Arica on Soil Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineering, Durban.
Sparks, A D W 2010. Modelling o reconstituted clays or city planning.
ICSMGE. International Conerence, Geotechnical Challenges in
Megacities, Moscow, 7–10 June (in press).
 Prof Eben Rust
Dept of Civil Engineering
University of Pretoria
eben.rust@up.ac.za
Prof Gerhard Heymann
Dept of Civil Engineering
University of Pretoria
gerhard.heymann@up.ac.za
Prof Gary Jones
Dept of Civil Engineering
University of Pretoria
Tel: 011 441 1128
Collapse potential in unsaturated
soil was first identified and
quantified by researchers in South
Africa. A landmark paper was
published by Ken Schwartz in 1985
presenting the state of the art at
that time. Since then, international
researchers have expanded on the
understanding of what collapsible
soils might entail. These include
saturated silts and sensitive
clays. This article highlights
some of the new developments
and presents a theoretical
yield model in an attempt to
improve the understanding
of the mechanism involved
iNTroDUcTioN
 subjct  cpsb ss s t
rcvd uc ttt  sutr
arc rct d t  utrs r
wr   tw r t r pubcts
sc t xpst b K Scwrtz 
1985. s s surpr sg sc dvp-
t s b ts  t rs   tdd, rgub, t cud t sub-
cpsb ss  Sut arc, 
t grtc ss  t hgvd d
t Br Rd Sds g t st
cst.  tr r  cpsb ss,
t Kr Sds, s b subjct
t ss dvpt, c t c b
xpctd tt ss wud v b
wrtt but t. s rt c rst su-
rss cpsb ss  r  tr-
t prspctv d t cuss
 t tstg d dg  cps-
b ss r sutr arc.
Collapsible soils
n vevew
collaPsiBlE soils
i s cps s dd s  brupt
dcrs  vu r wtvr rs,
t t dt cpsss  vst
rg  ss.
r xp, t sstv cs    ts ss gvs t gtcc
Scdv d str Cd r b
ts dt cpsb, dspt bg
pstc d u sturtd. o t tr
d, usturtd s suc s t ss
rts  C, Russ d str
eurp cvr rus rs  ts
cutrs d csttut prps t cs-
sc g  cpsb ss, s d t
Kr Sds. Rsdu ss suc s t
hgvd grts d t brck rts   dpst
Kt  t UK r tr w-rcg-
sd grup, s, t  ssr xtt, d t
Br Rd Sds  t sutr arc
st cst.
T dt  b urtr x-
r sd sps  cst hd d
t Burt S, wc v surd
 urs  scrbd t quct; t
 b rgud tt quct s but 
stt  cps.
mtrs tt s t t dt
r cpctd ss (Bt 1977).
Rgrs (1995) suggstd t wg
dt  cpsb s s: “a cpsb
s s   wc t csttut prts
v  p pckg d wc rs 
tstb stt tt c cps t r
 csr pckd, r stb structur  
sgct rducd vu. i st c-
psb ss t structur uts w b
prr r prtcs rtr t c
rs. T cps prcss tt ccurs
sgcc.” hwvr, Rgrs pts ut
tt rtr t v  dt per se,
t s r usu sp t st t tpc
crctrstcs   cpsb s:
N  p structur
N  g vd rt
N  w dr dst
N  g prst
N ggc ug r rct trd
N g sstvt
N w trprtc bd strgt
T st c rcgt tst, tr
t vsu sssst, s t sg d-
tr cps ptt tst wc rsuts 
t ctgrs sw  b 1 (Jgs
& Kgt 1975). T rgtrs  t tst,
d Scwrtz (1985), pssd tt t
tst ws tdd  s  dctr, t
s t bss r  td  prdctg t
ut  cps sttt.
a ubr  wrkrs v ttptd
t prdct cps s  uct  tr
crctrstcs suc s dst, prst,
c ctt stur ctt, sub sts,
tc. i t sutr arc ctxt, Brk
(1985) rprducd tw sts  rtsps
btw cps ptt dx d dr
 dst r  sds d ss  xd T quts p tt  sds
rg, ttrbutd t Scwrtz d Pvks wt dr dsts grtr t 1 672 kg/ 3
rspctv. Ts rtsps r rpr- d xd-rg ss wt dr dsts
std b t wg quts: grtr t 1 590 kg /3 r gr
t cpsb. T cfcts  cr-
1 Swell (positive strain) and collapse (negative a sd: rt 0,73 d 0,77 r t g, but
strain) prediction (rom El-Sohby et al 1995) cud pssb b prvd wt r
1672 – ρd 
2 Typical result rom triaxial collapse potential tests CP = (1) dt. it wud, wvr, b spstc
22
3 Eect o pore fuid suction on eective stress t ssu tt suc  sg-uct
(cfct  crrt = 0,73) d, rg   dst, wud
Table 1 Collapse potential test categories
(Scwrtz) prvd t ptu crrt  
Cp (%) Severity of problem ut-uct cps ptt wt
0–1 No problem mxd-rg ss: bsc s prtrs.
1–5 Moderate trouble gur 1 s tk r e-Sb t 
1590– ρd 
5 – 10 Trouble CP =
18,9
(2) (1995). it rprsts  g  sw
d cps prdcts bsd  u-
14 – 20 Trouble
(cfct  crrt = 0,77) rus prdctv tds rprstg
> 20 Very severe trouble
(Pvks) wrdwd bst prctc. T utrs gv
tw sr d grs:  r st-c d
1  r sd-c, d t s t ttr tt
100 s rprducd r. it cr sws tt
Sand - Clay Soils ss wt  dr dst  1 600 k g/ 3
σ = 100KN/m wud t b xpctd t v cps
Initial moisture content 8% ptts  grtr t 1%.
80
saMPliNG aND TEsTiNG
+ 1 0 
% S 
t ra
  i  n 
oF collaPsiBlE soils
    ) 60
    % hg-qut spg s rqurd r
    (
   t cductg cps-ptt tsts   t
   n
   e
   t
+ 5%
   
S tr  a brtr. hgt t  (1992) swd tt
   in
  
   n
   o bck spg prducs sps  t
   c 40
   y
   a
    l + 1 %  gst qut cprd wt tr s-
    C  i n
 S t r a S t ra
   in pg tcqus. hwvr, h &
 - 1 0 %
  
+  0   
%    Ct (1999) ggtd dsturbcs
20  a  i n
S   t   
 S t r  a  i n r   a  
tt  ccur s  rsut  stur
 5  %   S  t r i   
n  
 -  - 1  % cg durg strg. ev s
cgs  stur ctt c cg
0 t trc suct, d c t ctv
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
strss, b uc r t t dg du
Dry unit weight, d (kN/m) t  grg structu r. T rc-
dd tt sps b cvrd wt
2 urus rs   uu  d
0 purt  (cg ) t prtct
t gst stur cg.
Rust t  (2005) ptd ut s
srtcgs  t dtr tst r
1
surg cps bvur. i prtcur,
    ) ts cud t bddg rrrs tt ccur
    %
    (
   n
    i
du t surc rrgurts t t trc
   a
   r
   t 2 btw t s d t tp d btt
   s
    l prus dscs. T ccurc du t bd-
   a
    i
   x
    A dg rrrs bcs r prucd s
3 t gt vr wc t sp cps s
surd bcs sr, suc s  t
cs   -ds dtr. Ts
rrrs c b sgct d  s css
4 t bddg rrr c xcd t cps
0 200 400 600 800
sttt  t w sp. Sps
Cell Pressure (kPa) ctg sd-szd prtcs r prtcu-
r pr t bddg rrrs.
 h (2000) d Rust t  (2005) ptt tst wr uc r rb rg t v dt, r trws,  t
dscrbd  tst r surg t c- d suggstd tt ts ws du t t ct prpsd d.
ps bvur  s   trx  pp- tt bddg d ct rrrs r it s gr grd tt cpsb
rtus. a tgr prt  t tst s c prst  t dtr tsts d r ss cprs  xtur  crsr s
str str utt wc s ttd vdd  t trx tst. grs d tgtr b r tr
drct t t spc w r t wc prt trcur, ctr-
tp d btt prus dscs. Cductg  YiElD MoDEl For collaPsiNG soil sttc, cpr d cc bds t
 cps tst   trx pprtus - Rust t  (2005) dvpd  ccptu dvp, tug t   ts bds
ws  rgr spc t b usd t  d d  trs  ctv strss  b prst d t rtv strgt
 t dtr but, r prtt, tr. Ts d d r cpsb  t bd tp w  dpd  t s
t us  c str  strutt tr s brd bsd  t crtc d stur ctt.
tr xcuds rrrs du t bddg. stt d d spcc  t d r  sturtd tr, ppg
T spc s pcd  t trx d r structurd ss d wk rcks  tt strss t t s r  suct  
t t  stu stur ctt. T c s prstd b lru & Vug sr gtud t t pr ud s t
prssur s crsd   crts d (1990). at ts stg t d s ccp- dtc ct  t ctv strss  t
t t rqurd c prssur, t btt tu d  ttpt ws d t qut tr. r  s wt  w dgr  st-
drg  s pd d t spc   t prtrs. it s suggstd tt urt,  cg  pr ud suct d
s udtd wt d-rd wtr. T utur rsrc cud b d t c-  cg  tt strss  t cssr
rsps  t c str str ut-
t s trd s cps tks pc. 3
T dg s subsqut ctud
wd b  udg cc. gur 2
sws  tpc rsut   cps tst
cductd  t trx pprtus  s X
r t mz auu Str st
 mzbqu (Rust t  2005).
T rsut  gur 2 dcts s F
u
prtt p tt ccur durg
s cps. T rst s t sudd x
str  2,6% durg wttg s t pr t-
F
cs r rrrgd t  dsr stt. T
scd p s ss bvus, but Y
 prtt dctr r udrstdg
t cs tt gvrs t cps
bvur  usturtd s; ts rts
t t rduct  vutrc stss  
t tr durg wttg. assug
strp, t stsss br d tr
wttg c b ccutd s 114 d Soil grains
11 mP rspctv, dctg  t-d
rduct  stss  wttg. Rust Water
(a)
t  (2005) rgud tt ts ws du t 
rduct  trc suct d trr
 rduct  ctv strss. T ur tr
  l  i n e
vstgtd t cs  suct d q   ‘
 u r ve
swd tt  trsd stur ctt   l d c
  Y  i e
xsts wr t trx suct sudd
cgs. r t mz s t bsrvd
tt t suct rducs b btw 7 d
18 mP w t stur ctt gs
A B
bv t trsd. Ts dcts tt t p’
cg  ctv strss  t s  du t
t suct prssur cgs c b 
ts t strss ppd t t s du t
dg b grg structurs.
T s sttstc cprd tw  ‘  l  
dt sts  rsuts r dtr d i  n e 
trx cps ptt tsts  t- (b)
r r t s st. T ccudd
tt rsuts r t trx cps
v t s ct  t bvur   strgt. Cpr ts wt  cg  t d d t sucts cud b crsd
t s. T ctrbut  t cpr, t tt strss  t sp tt wud, bd pt B wt  dg tkg
r suct cpt  t trgrur s, rsut  xct t s crs   pc. T rs r ts s tt durg
rcs s sw  gur 3(). t trgrur rc. Ts cud  b drg t d surc s crsd 
i t s-wgt  ts s s grd, d  t tr strss wt grs X sz bcus  t crs  t strgt
t trgrur rc () btw grs d y cgs.  t bds btw t grs du t
X d y s  uct  t ud suct o w t dstrt t c- suct. Ts dstrts t drc
(u) d t r vr wc t wrks (s squc  ts drc s sw  btw t cts  ts tw cp-
gur 3()). Cgg t suct btw gur 3(b). a rtv dr sp s t  ts  ctv strss. T suct rcs
t grs X d y cgs t trgr- strpc strss a d s  d surc s ct k bdg, wt t bd strgt
ur rc btw t grs, but ds t sw. T sp s t subjctd t  bg dpdt  t stur ctt r
cg t rsutt tr rc wt crs  strpc strss t pt B wr dgr  sturt. Ts cud b s s
gr X r y, r r tt ttr wr t ds. at ts pt rg vutrc suct-ducd bdg.
s  t s skt. Ts wud pp strs ccur (t sp cpss) d t Cpsb ss c b s s “struc-
btw c pr  grs wt t  s cpsb structur s st. Cpr ts turd”  tr udsturbd stt. Ts
ss s t bcs r usturtd, r- wt t s rtv dr sp t strss structur c b dstrd b xcssv
sutg   crs  ctv strss  d pt a bg drd ut urtr. T suct str r rudg, s sw  gur
prssurs  crs t pt B s br, 4(). Tr prts  t d curv 
4 Yield model but t s skt w v  tdc b dtd: srg d, cprss
 d d swg d. Sr dg
4 ccurs  t vct  t Φ'-s.
Cprss dg ccurs btw t
 ‘  l  i n
 e   l  i n e tw Φ'-s du t crsg  c-
q  ф q  ф ‘
 y ield tv strss (p'). Sw dg  s ccurs
  i
 r  n g
  e  a
   S   h btw t tw Φ'-s but s du t 
rduct   ctv strss (p'). it s
} Swelling yield p’ p’ pssb tt swg d  ccur t
gtv p' (ts)  t bdg s suf-
ct cptt, s sw  gur 4(b),
Shearing yield ф ‘   ф ‘   rtr t durg pstv p' r  wk
li  
  n e  li  
  n e 
bdd tr, s sw  gur 4().
(a) (b)
T  stu strss t dpt s du t
vrburd prssur pus tr prssur,
  l  i n e   l  i n e
q  ф ‘ q  ф ‘ s w s t strpc strss cpt
du t suct. i gur 4(c) t suct
s rprstd b D-B d t vrburd
K 0 A K 0 A prssur b B-a. K cdts r s-
D C p’ p’
B B sud r t vrburd prssur.
D
Csdr t wg strss pt.
Cuttg  sp r  usturtd
ф ‘   ф ‘   pr w rv t vrburd prssur,
li  
  n e  li  
  n e 
(c) (d) vg t sp t pt B  gur 4(c).
Wttg t sp w rduc t suct,
rsutg   dcrs  t strpc strss
  l  i n e d vg t strss twrds pt C. Ts
q  ф ‘ wttg w sutus rduc t sz
 t d surc du t t wkg
 i n e  t suct-ducd bds d t d
 K  o - l
surc w cg t t pst sw
F’ F
 gur 4(c) s t strss pprcs pt
A’ C. at pt C t sp w d  sw.
A G
p’ Ts c b s w  sp s pcd 
G’ B
wtr d t cpt dstgrts. it s
s pssb tt t sw strs w t
b sufct t d t cc bds
udr zr ctv strss cdts d
ф ‘   tt dg w tk pc  udr
li  
  n e 
ts cdts g ts strss pt, s
(e) sw  gur 4(d). i ts cs t sp
w t dstgrt w pcd  wtr.
 a gr strss pt r t  stu
tr s sw  gur 4(). T 
stu sp w b t pt a s dscussd
rr. Durg  wt prd t s-
tur ctt  rs bv t crtc
stur ctt, rducg t suct t
zr d rsutg   strss rprstd
b pt a’. Sc t d surc s  
stb stt,  cps  t pr w
tk pc. T tstb s structur s
w supprtd b t cc bdg
d pssb b s rt suct
prssur d rct r t vrburd
strss. Pt a' s st sd t rducd
 d surc (gur 4()).
T strss pt  t -d-
s cps ptt tst s  s sw
 gur 4(). it strts t t  stu strss
pt a. atr spg t vrburd
s,  curs, rvd d t strss s
t pt B. T sp s pcd  t
dtr d dd t pt . Wtr s
ddd d t suct rducd t  strss
stt rprstd b pst ’. at t
s t, t d sur c ctrcts,
rsutg  dg  t sp 
cprss  t K  sc ’ w
28 Civil Engineering | April 2010
s utsd t ctrctd d surc.
at ts pt cps w ccur, .. rg
drts w tk pc d t s
w b d-structurd. T d surc t
pt ’ w rprsts  d-structurd
cssc stt budr surc.
T strss pt  t trx cps
ptt tst s rprstd b t s-
trpc dg r strss pt B t pt
G. T sp s t udtd, rsutg
  strss t pt G’ d dg  c-
prss s wt t prvus cs, but
udr strpc strss cdts.
coNclUsioNs
T br trtur rvw ustrts tt,
dpdg  t dt  cps, 
 vr wd rg  ss c udr s
cdts b ptt cpsb. Ts
rg c, r xp, xtd r c-
pctd rd pvt trs t stu-
rtd st cs. T gr ccptd
sutr arc ptt cpsb
ss r t nt cst Br Rd Sds,
t hgvd grtc ss d t
Kr Sds. Ts  b csdrd
s bg  t cssc r tpc rg,
vg w dsts, g vd rts d
bg prt s turtd sd sts t
st sds w t  tt c.
T trx cps ptt tst us-
trts tw udt spcts tt r s-
st   prpr udrstdg  cps
d tt s t s bsrvd  dtr
tstg. Ts r, rst, tt suct rcs
dt t bvur, d scd, tt
t cgs  suct prssurs rsut 
jr cgs  t stss  t t-
r br d tr wttg.
T d d dscrbd  trs  
ctv strss d d surcs, wc
tks ccut  suct d tr rcs,
dstrts tt t cps prcss
c dd b xpd b r s
ccs prcps. Bcus ts s s, t
sud b xpctd tt cps bvur
 t d c b prdctd  t s
w tt csdt tstg d tr
ws t prdct  csdt st-
tt wt csdrb rbt .
NoTE
 The list o reerences is available
rom the editor.

Penetration testing:
tet pedue nd degn
ue n suth af
iNTroDUcTioN
Ptrt tstg s usd t g bt
 quttv d qutttv dscrp-
t  t grud t b t dsg
 gtcc structurs.  tw
ptrt tsts c usd 
sutr arc r t stdrd p-
trt tst (SP) d t dc
prb supr-v (DPSh) tst. 
SP s crrd ut t spcc trv s
wt  br, w t DPSh s
drv ctuus r grud v
t rus. Bt tsts pp t s
drv rg t prbs wt sr
dtrs. hwvr, t SP rcvrs
 “udsturbd” s p v  p-
dd spt sp, wrs t DPSh
sp dvcs  cc pt. i
 css t  tw tsts d t prduc
quvt rsuts du t drcs 
grud cdts, tst qupt d
prt tds.
Sut arc ds t v  dd
stdrd r cductg d sg
t tsts. Csqut, vrus tr-
t stdrds r dptd. s
stud sugt t ggt t stdrds
usd d vstgt w w t r
wd b gtcc prcttrs.
s rtc  s sws w ts
prctcs c  uc t rsuts b-
td r t SP  d DPSh tsts.
Scd, t rtc sks t x
w t rsuts r usd  gtcc
dsg. a jr ssu ws t dtr
wtr rsuts r t tsts r tk
s quv t d wt prcuts r
tk w ssug tus.  dscus-
ss  ts r tc r ctrd  t
rsuts r  su rv. hwvr, s t
rspss wr td b t t
vb, t s pd tt ts pubc-
t w ctt urtr dscusss
 t ttr.
Charles MacRobert
Graduate Civil Engineer
Anglo Technical Department
CMacRobert@angloamerican.co.za
Dr Denis Kalumba
Senior Lecturer Geotechnical Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Cape Town
denis.kalumba@uct.ac.za
Patrick Beales
Associate Geotechnical Engineer
Kantey & Templer Consulting Engineers
pbeales@ct.kanteys.co.za
sPT TEsT ProcEDUrE
 SP surv vstgtd tr
tgs: (1) wt tstg stdrd prc-
ttrs wd w crrg ut
SPs; (2) wt br dr g td
ws usd; d (3) t ctu SP tstg
prcdurs wd. b 1 gvs t
SP stdrds usd b t gtcc
prcttrs survd.
Bt t aSm d BS stdrds r
brd sr, but t aSm stdrd
ggts s xtr prctcs. Ts
cud usg gtr, strgr rds
r s tk t  dpt  30 .
T aSm stdrd s rstrcts t 
dtr  t br t btw
57,2 d 162 , d ws t us 
  ctd t pu t rp ttcd
t t r. atug  grt
drc  fcc c b xpctd
r ts drcs, t s b
rprtd tt t us   ctd c
 d t  35% vrt  SP n-vu. ws-brd r rtr-drd, prducd
T BS d aSm stdrds r t csstt rsuts. Ts s t st
 vst d rt, but  dcts r c td usd b Sut arc
dptts r d t t tcqu prcttrs.
d qupt usd wt t  iRP stputs tt w
stdrds. Ts dptts r d ws-brg,  sd-dscrg bt sud
s  rsut  cpt vstt, t b usd t c  ut t br d
spcc drg tcqu usd d t t  btt-dscrg bt. Jttg
grud cdts t t st. i 1988  wtr trug  p-tub spr
itrt Rrc st Prcdur t c t br s strg ds-
(iRP) ws pubsd wc ttptd curgd. Sut arc prctc r
t brg tgtr  t drt cg ut t btt  t  p-
prctcs/cds r vrus cutrs. prs t b csstt wt t iRP 
b 2 sws t brg tst ts rgrd.
tds usd  Sut arc. it s T prctc  dsrgrdg t
gr udrstd b gtcc t 150  bw cut ssctd
prcttrs tt t spcc brg wt t SP tst s spc d b t
tcqu c ct t ptrt iRP. Gr,  survd gtc-
The IRTP stipulates that when wash- rsstc t  rg xtt. T dr- c prcttrs dsrgrd t t
cs rs r t brg dtr 150  bw cut.
boring, a side-discharge bit should be d t dgr  drg dsturbc t  SP tst qu pt d td
used to clean out the borehole and  t bs. Ct (1995) vstgtd t c s  uc t rcrdd SP
ct  t vrus drg tds  n-vu. b 3 s  sur   t
not a bottom-discharge bit. Jetting t SP n-vus prducd, d swd SP td usd  Sut arc 
tt s-dtr brs, tr cprs wt t iRP.
water through an open-tube sampler 
to clean the borehole is strongly  Table 1 SPT standards
Standard Practitioners’ responses
discouraged. South Arican practice
ASTM 1586-67 1
or cleaning out the bottom o the BS1377:1975 Part 9† 4
hole appears to be consistent with IRTP None
†Updated to BS1377:1990 Part 9
the IRTP in this regard 
Table 2 Boring test methods
Procedure Method Number of practitioners
Boring method Wash-boring 5
Rotary drilling 4
Continuous ight auger 1
Percussion drilling 0
 Tri-cone under slurry 1
Borehole diameter 76 mm (ID o NX core barrels) All‡
Supporting the borehole Casing All†
Mud 2†
Bentonite 1†
Maintaining natural ground water level Yes 2
No 3
Cleaning out borehole beore doing SPT Flush out 1
Monitor pump pressure to minimise disturbance 1
Side discharge tool 2
Not done 1
Disregard rst 150 mm blow count Yes 4
Let engineer decide 1
Record penetration under sel-weight Yes 4
No 1
‡ Although not all noted the casing type and diameter values ranged rom 75 – 78 mm, it can be assumed that all practitioners use the NX core bar-
rels. Whether the continuous ight auger and tri-cone under-slurry boring methods produce the same borehole diameter was not specied.
† Most practitioners stated that they would use all methods depending on conditions. However, casing (without mud or bentonite) was used
most oten or where required.
 atr surc  rrr  t SP
tstg td s t r  wc
t r s drppd. T uttc
cc trp rs prduc t
st sprd  SP n-vus, wt rp
d ctd css prducg t
st. T cc trp cs s
gr usd  Sut arc.
Rsrc  Jp d t Utd Stts
swd  surb drc  p-
trt rsstc w usg rds btw
40,5 d 50  d btw a d n sz
rds rspctv (Ct 1995). T d-
trs  rds usd  Sut arc t wt
t rg stputd  t iRP.
o  gtcc prcttr
rprtd usg t sd 60˚ c, wc
rcts t  gr trd twrds t
us  t spt-sp spr  Sut
arc.
DPsH TEsT ProcEDUrE
 DPSh surv xd t prc-
durs wd b gtcc prct-
trs  Sut arc d csstd  
tw prts: (1) t prcdur d td

Table 3 SPT Method – South Arica versus IRTP

Procedure International Reference Test South African Responses
Procedure Practice
Hammer mass 63,5 ± 0,5 kg 63,5 kg All
Drop height 760 mm 760 – 762 mm† All
Driving mechanism The release and guide mechanism Rope and cathead 2
shall ensure minimal resistance. Mechanical trip 3
hammer
Control o drop Must ensure minimal resistance Mechanical All
height Visual –
BW 54,0 mm 2
Rod Section Rod
diameter modulus weight
BWY 54,1 mm 2
(mm) (×10-6m3) (kg/m)
40,5 4,28 4,33
Rod diameter
50 8,59 7,23 B 47,6 mm 2
60 12,95 10,03
Rods heavier than 10,03 kg/m N 60,3 mm 1
shall not be used
NW 66,7 mm 2
Always use a split- A cautionary note is given as using Yes 4
spoon sampler a solid cone can lead to higher
penetration values in both loose
(“No” implies a solid and dense sands. No 1‡
Research in Japan and the United  60˚ cone is some-
States showed no measurable times used.)
 The number o blows to eect
dierence in penetration resistance
Standard increment 150 mm o penetration shall be
when using rods between over which blow recorded, with the penetration 75 mm ͋ All
count recorded resistance the sum o blows over
40,5 and 50 mm and between 300 mm.
 A and N size rods respectively  †Standard drop height is 30 inches; 2 mm dierence is due to conversion rom imperial to
metric.
(Clayton 1995). The diameters o  ‡Solid cone used only when under water in ne sand and not able to retain sample with sand
rods used in South Arica it within trap.
 ͋ This should not introduce error.
the range stipulated in the IRTP.
Only one geotechnical practitioner  Table 4 DPSH standard
Standard Number of practitioners
reported using the solid 60 ˚

ASTM 1
cone, which relects the general  BS ISO EN 22476-2: 2005 2
trend towards the use o the split- IRTP 2

spoon sampler in South Arica Not specied 1

bg wd w cductg t s
tst; d (2) t vrus tst prctcs
tt gtcc prcttrs v
dptd. b 4 sws t DPSh
stdrds dptd b t gtcc
prcttrs survd.
 iRP cpsss t drt
stdrds d ws trr usd s
 bss r xg Sut arc
prctc. b 5 cprs t prc-
durs stputd b t iRP wt t
rspss  t gtcc prct-
trs survd.
it s trstg (d ccrg) t
t t urus tds usd b t
rspdts t drv t r d
t ct tt t jrt  ts r
  vsu cu t  tt t r
drp. eurp prctc s t us tr-
drv qupt, wt t d rp gt
cc ctrd d c r
r prtr uc.
  uc  drv rt 
ptrt rsstc s t b
xtsv  vstgtd. hwvr,
rsrc d xprc v dctd
tt vr sw DPSh prbg c d

Table 5 DPSH Method – South Arica versus IRTP

Procedure International Reference Test Procedure South African Practice Responses
Hammer mass 63,5 ± 0,5 kg 63,5 kg All
Drop height 750 ± 20 mm 760–762 mm All
Driving mechanism The release and guide mechanism shall ensure Mechanical winch, pulley and cable 5
minimal resistance. For continuously driven ham- system with the drop height visually
mers, the hammer must be lited slowly to ensure controlled
the hammer inertia does not carry it higher than the
dened height. Continuous chain-driven with drop
height mechanically controlled 1
Drive rate Between 15 and 30 blows per minute, except in Varied 1†
sands and gravels where it can be increased to 60 45 blows/minute 1
blows per minute 30 blows/minute 2
25 blows/minute 1
Skill-dependent 1
Is probing interrupted? Probing should not be interrupted and any interrup- Yes 1
tions should be recorded No 5‡
Rod diameter 32 ± 0,3 mm E size 33,3 mm 5
A size 41,3 mm 1
Are rods checked or deorma-  The deection at the mid-point o a 1 m rod should Yes 6
tion? not exceed 0,5 mm or the ve lowest push rods and
1 mm or the remainder. No –
Cone size Diameter 50,5 ± 0,5 mm Diameter 50 mm All
60˚ All
Apex angle
Apex angle 90 90˚ –
Disposable cone Fixed or disposable cones can be used Yes All
No –
Standard increment over which Blow counts are recorded over 200 mm, with a 100 mm 1͋
blow count recorded standard range o 5–100 blows per 200 mm 300 mm 5
Rods rotated during probing The rods shall be rotated one-and-a-hal turns every
metre to keep the hole straight and vertical, and to Yes 1#
reduce skin riction. When the depth exceeds 10 m,
the rods shall be rotated more oten, e.g. every 0,2 m
it is recommended to use a mechanised rotating
device or large depths. No 5
Drilling mud used to reduce rod Drilling mud is recommended as a method to re duce Yes –
riction skin riction No All
Always do a re-drive to deter- Not stipulated in IRTP but suggested as good prac- Yes 3
mine rod riction tice in the Franki Blue Book (Braatvedt et al 1995) No 3*
†Between 15 and 30 blows/min, except in sand where increased to 60 blows/min.
‡One respondent stated that probing is sometimes suspended during probes deeper than 15 m; another stated that any interruptions longer
than 5 min are recorded.
 ͋ Although recorded over 100 mm, they are repor ted as blows to penetrate 300 mm by either multiplying individual blow counts per 100 mm by 3,
or adding 3 successive blow counts per 100 mm to obtain the number o blows to pe netrate 300 mm.
#
One respondent stated that rods are rotated 1,5 turns every 1 m; another said that it is recommended in clays and sands.
*One respondent stated that the re-drive is only done i requested, but elt it was a waste o time. He went on to say that the bottom 1 to 2 m o 
a probe experiences high riction. To his knowledge, the best method or doing the re-drive is to do it ever y 5 m rom where the riction starts.
Another respondent stated that re-drives are st andard on all probes deeper than 3 m and that they depend on the soil t ype.
 t  substt bud-up  rct
 csv ss, wc c b
strprtd s  rus  t prb.
T iRP stputs  90˚ px g
r t c. accrdg t t surv
rspss, t 60˚ c s xtsv
usd  Sut arc. Rsrc  t
sp (px g) d s z (dtr)   Sut arc gtcc ctrctrs
t c swd tt t dtr, d
t t px g, s  ct  t
ptrt rsstc (aggrw 1982).
T dstc vr wc t bw
cut s rcrdd b t rspdts
s drs r t iRP stdrd.
T 300  rg dptd  Sut
arc ws r sr crrt wt
t SP (mcRbrt 2009). eurp
rsrc t t crrt btw
t tw tsts s spt btw usg
drct crrts btw DPSh
/200  d SP n/300  (Crs
& mcKz 1988), d cvrtg DPSh
/200  t DPSh /300  b ut-
pg b 3/2 r xp (Crd & Rc
1 2
3 4
1988). Ts drt pprcs c
s d t sudrstdgs r s-
trprtt  t grud cdts
t  spcc st, wc cud v svr
csqucs r  prtcur structur
d/r gtcc prcttr.
r t rspss, t pprs tt
d t rtt rds t rduc rct
bud-up. i  css, rds r rttd
dvrtt w ddt rds r
ddd t t strg, tug ts ds
t csttut ctrd rd rtt.
Rsrc b mcRbrt (2009) swd
tt rd rtt  sd s prs
s tt  ct  t bw cut, v
 t drvg  t rds s dvrtt
dd r  csdrb t.
Rsrc b Butcr t  (1995)
swd tt usg drg ud c
sgc t rduc rd rct 
c trs. n  t survd
rspdts usd drg ud  t
DPSh tst.
Wrr (2007), wrtg but t
crs  t us   t DPSh  t
UK, sttd t t  jr ctrbutr t
ts s t vbt  s, vrst
rgs tt c xtrct sps d d t
prb tsts. Ts rsuts  cst-ctv
d t-fct rcvr  bt
sps d dst dt. Ts r  
st vstgt cud prv t b cst-
ctv  cprs wt t SP
td, cud prvd vsu cr-
t  t grud cdts d cud
cvr r  t st bg vstgtd
  srtr t.
rEPEaTaBiliTY oF THE sPT aND DPsH TEsTs
 scrt w c  t tw tsts s
r prcs r xct, t cg 
stdrd dvt  t bw cuts
wt dpt ws sd r spcc
SP rsuts. it s ssud tt 
scttr du t s prprts t t
spcc st r t  s, trr 
drc sud b dctv  prc-
dur drcs.
gurs 1 d 2 ust rt dt
cctd r  st vstgt t
mt, mzbqu.  st c-
prsd  xtsv st s d du  
1 Matola blow counts
2 Matola standard deviation o 
blow counts with depth
3 Parow blow counts
4 Parow standard deviation o 
blow counts with depth
 t Br rt wc bcs
prgrssv csstt wt dpt. it
s cr tt t DPSh n-vus sw
r r scttr t t SP n-v us.
 stdrd dvt  t SP
n-vus rs r cst t t 
dpt  10 , tr wc t crss
std t 14  d t dcrss
sgct.  crs  stdrd
dvt c b ttrbutd t vrb
gg t t st. o tw SP prbs
wt dpr t 14 ; trr t
sudd dcrs s du t ts td
tst dt. Cvrs, t stdrd d-
 vt s  t DPSh n-vus crs
grdu t  dpt  rug 5 ,
tr wc t dcrs std. s
dcrs s pstutd t b t rsut
 t td tst dt bw 5  du
t t rus bw cut bg tk
s 150, rsutg  wr tst rsuts
dpr t 6 .
at ts mt st, t SPs wr
d   s-dtr, rtr-drd
br wt  uttc trp r
d t DPShs wr udrtk usg 
cc pu wt t drp gt
ctrd vsu. T rgr scttr  
DPSh rsuts c b ttrbutd t tr
pr tstg tcqus r  vr b
bud-up  rct g t DPSh rds.
urtrr, s t DPSh s  ctuus
tst, t c b ctd b grur tr
ctd wt t s pr, wc ds
t  grtr scttr  t tst rsuts.
gurs 3 d 4  ustrt dt b-
td b  drt rspdt t 
st  Prw, Cp w. T gg
dppd crss t st, rsutg  d-
rt tcksss   (rwrks),
trsprtd tr (du-ds t
ds, vrb st  sd) d r-
sdu msbur tr (r, sgt
c st, bcg str wt dpt).
o  SP ws udrtk t 1,5   At this Matola site, the SPTs were
d s  stdrd dvt cud t b done in a small-diameter, rotary-
sd; wvr, bw 3  tr SP
n-vus wr tk. T SP dt sw drilled borehole with an automatic 
 grt d r scttr t t dt trip hammer and the DPSHs were
r t mt st; wvr, t DPSh
n-vus sw  t ss scttr, xcpt undertaken using a mechanical 
btw 0,8 d 1,1 ; 2,9 d 3,0 ;
 pulley with the drop height 
d 3,7 d 4,4 . o t w, t
DPSh rsuts btd prvd  r r controlled visually 
Civil Engineering | April 2010 35
 prcs bw cut pr t t SP
rsuts. T sudd spks  t scttr  
DPSh n-vus r st k du t t
ccs ccurrc  rudd, 
qurtz grv d t vrb trsprtd
d rsdu ss crss t st.
 DPSh rg usd t cct t 
Table 6 Rod riction consideration dt usd  ctuus c-drv
Frequency Responses Soil type r wt t drp gt ctrd
cc. S, tug  rg d-
Never 2 –
gr  scttr c b xpctd du t
Rarely 3  Any material
t vrb gg, t dr v c-
 Cohesive material
s usd r t DPSh prducs r
 Depends on the degree o clay/silt in specic soil
csstt rsuts. it t rr suggsts
Oten – –
tt ctrg t drp gt vsu
s bd prctc d ds t  prcs
Table 7 Rod riction method
tst rsuts.
Method Responses
Do not account or rod riction 2 UsE oF sPT aND DPsH PENETraTioN
Re-drive at reusal 1 ValUEs iN DEsiGN
Correlation between adjacent SPT and DPSH data 3 T surv s vstgtd t us  
ptrt tsts  gtcc dsg.
Empirical relationships –
T dsg spct ws sst d
Other 1 (experience)
up  ur sct s: (1) wtr grs
tk rd rct t ccut w -
Table 8 DPSH and SPT correlations sg DPSh n-vus; (2) wtr t
Correlation Responses Comments DPSh n d SP n-vus r tk s
Equivalent 2  In non-plastic soil only to a maximum o 12 m quv t vus; (3) w DPSh n d
depth SP n-vus r usd tr qut-
Correlate adjacent SPT 1  Use site-specic data tv r qutttv; d (4)  p
and DPSH data qust  w tr tst s prrrd.
T rspss t ts scts r su-
Published correlations 2  BS1377-9:1990 in situ testing (only one respondent
rs d  bs 6 t 10.
stated source)
T  sct  t surv ws 
Rule o thumb 2  Based on previous site investigations and visual
pprtut  r t rspdts t stt
observations o soil type
t rss w t prrrd  tst
 SP N = 1,2 x DPSH n (Source not given, so as- vr t tr. T tw  rss
sumed to be a rule o thumb)
gv r prrrg t SP wr t

Table 9 Main purposes o using data

Responses
Characteristic SPT DPSH
Never Rarely Often Never Rarely Often
Qualitative analysis: Soil characteristic boundaries, investigations o hard spots, sot spots – – 5 – 1 4
and voids
Quantitative analysis: Extrapolation o actual usable parameters – 1 4 – 4 1

Table 10 Quantitative use o SPT and DPSH values

Responses
Characteristic SPT DPSH
Never Rarely Often Never Rarely Often
Cohesionless soils – – 5 – 4 1
Engineering properties o soils
Cohesive soils – 1 4 2 3 –
Cohesionless soils 1 – 4 1 4 –
Shallow oundations
Cohesive soils 1 – 4 1 4 –
Bearing capacity
Cohesionless soils 1 – 4 2 2 1
Piles
Cohesive soils 1 1 3 4 1 –
“udsturbd” sp rcvrd d t
xtsv crrts wt dsg p-
rtrs t t SP n-vu. extsv
rsrc t t SP vr  g prd
gvs dsgrs r cdc  ts
tst. a pt rsd ws tt  rb
drr s sst r btg rs-
b dt r wc t drw p r-
trs. Vub dt, suc s  grdg
curv d udt dctrs, c b
gd r t “udsturbd” sp
cctd  t spt-sp spr. T
sp s ws r  vsu trpr-
tt  t s tp.
Cst d cc wr ctd s
t st ttrctv spcts  t DPSh
tst. a rg r c b cvrd  
srt prd, wg  bttr d-
t  t grud cdts vr  st.
w tds wr rprtd  wc
t tsts c b usd  cjuct:
rst, DPSh tsts c b usd t 
btw SPs d scd, DPSh tsts
c dtct prb rs wc c b
wd up wt  br. Dtrctg
r t DPSh tst ws  ck  xpr-
c wt rgrd t t  uc  rd
rct. a cs ws g gtd b 
rspdt (mc Jrs, Uvrst
 KwZuu-nt)   xpsv
ur  r  t st rsdu cs 
wc t s strgts wr grss
vrsttd b t DPSh. Jrs ps-
tutd tt s  t sk rct s
du t tr vbrt r bwg  t
dr rds, wc cuss t,  s
ss, t j  t  w struck b
t r.
it s cr r bs 9 d 10 tt
t DPSh s usd  r   qut-
tv r t gt   r t grud
cdts, wrs t SP s usd
r w ctu dsg prtrs
r rqurd.  rs r ts s
t  crrts btw g-
tcc dsg prtrs d SP
n-vus. attpts r bg d
b gtcc prcttrs t us
ts crrts wt DPSh n-vus.
hwvr, s b 8 sws, tr ss
t b qusts but t quv c
 t tsts. o c  tr (1) ssu
tt t tsts r quv t, (2) pp
 quv c crrt ctr t rw
DPSh n-vus r (3) pp  rct
crrct (suc s  r-drv) t t
rsuts  rw DPSh n-vus t bt
quvt SP n-vus. r s s
 udrstdg tt t quvc
 t tsts s tr-spcc d tt
csv trs wt sgct c/
st cpts sud b trprtd
wt cut. a qut r mc
Jrs bw ustrts t cudru:
“i d’t bv tt tr s  r-
b td t ccut r rd rct.
 crrt s cpx d -
r. appg  ‘crrct ctr’ t
DPSh vus suggsts tt suct
wc s b d r t rd
rct, wc  t b t c s. it s
t ukw r 6 r 7   rd rct
 st  pstc c (SP ≈ 20) t cus
rus  t DPSh.”
b 7 sws tt ccutg r
rd-rct crrts wt djct
SP n-vus s t st ppur
td. hwvr, trs prr t r
 xprc. otrs just st w
r dg DPSh tsts  trs tt
w rsut  rg rct rcs d
Civil Engineering | April 2010 37
tus d t v t ccut r t.
o  rspdt sttd tt  uss
 r-drv t ccut r rct, but
ts  b  rsut  ck  xprc
g t rspdts wt t r-drv.
Tr s s  ck  pubsd  r-
t  t ctvss  t r-drv.
coNclUsioNs
r t surv  tstg prctcs
d  cprs  t wt t 
iRP (wc cpsss t v rus
trt stdrds), t s p-
prt tt Sut arc prctc s
cpt. rr, sud  Sut
arc st drd b cpd wt t
cprt  t vrus prcttrs,
prctc wud t v t cg
csdrb. a Sut ar c stdrd
wud p t stdrds t prctcs
crss t dustr.
T cprs  stdrd dv-
ts sws tt t SP rsuts btd
 Sut arc xbt  s dgr   rtc w curg suc rsrc.
scttr. Ts s  csquc  dg
SPs  s-dtr ws-brd
brs wt  cc ctrd
drp cs. T DPSh c s
prvd vr csstt rsuts  t s u-
drtk wt  cc ctrd
drv c s t vd prtr
rrrs. T cbt DPSh d
wdw spg rgs cud crs t
 vrstt  t DPSh ts tg td.
T SP s usd r xtsv t
t DPSh r t dsg  gtcc
structurs. Ts s du t t xtsv
rsrc vb  t SP d b-
cus t tst ws r sp rcvr.
Cvrs, t DPSh s vurd wr 
cst-ctv d fct tstg td
s rqurd. Dtrctrs t usg t DPSh
tstg td  dsg r td cr-
rts wt dsg prtrs, ck   continous dynamic probing in ground
sp rcvr d td kwdg s
t t cts  rd  rct.
as tr r  ubr  crrts
btw t SP d dsg pr-
trs, t ks ss t dtr t
quvc btw t tw tsts. T
drv css  bt t DPSh
d SP r t s, but t drc
 cvg t rg t t prbs
rsuts  drt rg sss. Ts
s tt t tst rsuts r t ws
quvt. Tr r tw pssb ws
t ccut r ts rg dscrp-
cs: (1) sur sss durg tstg;
r (2) pp crrt ctrs tr
tstg. T rg sss  t DPSh
 As there are a number o correlations
between the SPT and design
 parameters, it makes sense to
determine the equivalence between
the two tests. The drive mechanisms
in both the DPSH and SPT are
the same, but the dierence in
conveying the energy to the probes
results in dierent energy losses
c b su rd b tr dg  r-
drv r sur g t trqu xrtd 
t rds t dtr t rd rct.
Crrt ctrs c b dtrd
b prc cprg t rsuts
r t tw tsts  vrus s tps.
Bt ts pprcs, wvr, rqur
urtr rsrc d t s pd tt ts
Wt sufct rsrc d qupt
dct, t quck d s DPSh
tst td w bc v r
prctc d rb.
rEFErENcEs
Aggarwal, V SA 1982. Two decades o dy-
namic cone penetration testing in India.
Proceedings, Second European Symposium
on Penetration Testing, Amsterdam:
Balkema, pp 215–222.
Braatvedt, I H, et al 1995.  A Guide to Practical 
Geotechnical Engineering in Southern Arica.
Frankipile South Arica.
Butcher, A P McElmeel, K & Powell J J 1995.
Dynamic probing and its use in clay soils.
In: Advances in Site Investigation Practice.
London: Thomas Telord, pp 383–395.
Card, G B & Roche, D P 1988. The use o 
investigation. In: Penetration Testing in the
UK . Birmingham: T homas Telord, 1988.
119-122.
Cearns, P J, and McKenzie, A. “Application o 
dynamic cone penetrometer testing in
East Anglia.” Penetration testing in the UK .
Birmingham: Thomas Telord, pp 123–127.
Clayton, C R 1995. The Standard Penetration Test 
(SPT): Methods and Use. London: CIRIA.
MacRobert, C J 2009. Correlations between the
Dynamic Probe Super Heavy test and the
Standard Penetration Test and their appli-
cation within Southern Arica. Cape Town:
University o Cape Town.
Warren, G 2007. Heavy weight. Ground Engng,
40(3): 36–39.
 Terence Bergmann
Director: Geotechnical Division
HHO Africa – Cape Town
terence@hho.co.za

Andrew Smith
Managing Director
Reinforced Earth (Pty) Ltd – Johannesburg
andrews@recosa.co.za

The use o soil nails and mechanically stabilised earth

n  d embnkment  tu
A new road between Ugie and Langeni Sawmill, in the Eastern cs = 12 kP d tr  rct
= 35 dgrs. T budrs rd but
Cape Province, has recently been constructed by the Eastern Cape 45%  t tus vu.
Department of Roads and Transport. The final 17 km of the road ar ptgrpc studs d d
rcssc ud  sgs   cp-
crosses the Ncembu Plateau, and descends the 600 m high Langeni t stbt  t tus  t vct
escarpment. This article describes the design and construction of a  t prpsd rut gt.

200 m length of embankment which crosses steeply sloping talus stbty  the tu pe
deposits. Soil nails and mechanically stabilised fill were used to form a Stbt ss  t tur sp
usg t sr strgt  t tus
composite structure to support the road and to stabilise the cut slope trx gv  u ctr  st
 0,84.  s suggstd tt t sp
sud b swg sgs  stbt ,
ProJEcT DEscriPTioN wt-ur cr brs wr wc ws t t cs.  vstgt
Getehn nvetgtn drd  t r (Pt 2). T tus t pct  t 12  g bk-
 drt cs r t rts dpt vrd up t but 12 . T p- t  t stbt  t sp,  
  ssv s tru s t  jtd drt xtdd t dpts   stt d t b d  t strgt
Burt Grup rcks. Drt tus but 20  bw grud v.  t trx d budr  x (Pt 3).
budrs   s trx vr T budr trx s s  c i stu tstg w s t csdrd t b
p-jtd drt bdrck.  st. avrg drd sr strgt  rstc pt.
sz, dstrbut d dpt  t prtrs, bsd  trx tstg  drv t sr strgt  t
tus budrs r vr vrb.  udsturbd bck sps, wr tus,  tur sp ctr  st  
 2

1 Route down the 600 m high

Langeni escarpment
2 Initial excavations into the talus slope 4
3  Typical boulder distribution in talus slope
4 Space constraints during construction

1,2 ws ssud. a bck ss gv

sr strgt prtrs  cs
= 25 kP d tr rct = 38 dgrs.

Degn ntnt
a tprr u rd d b
cstructd crss t tus sp t
prvd ccss t t crusr, ctd 
tp  t scrpt. evrt
ctrs rqurd t u rd t b
ctd wt t r twrks prs.
T xu wdt  xcvt
tt cud b cvd t t t  t
bkt wtut udrg t
u rd ws 3 t 4 . a cvt
cc stbsd rt w
rqurd  u strp gt  6 ,
5 6
wc ws t pssb. Pt 4 ustrts
t cstrd wrkg cdts.
T cstruct  t 12  g -
bkt crss t tus sp wud r-
sut   rduct  t ssud vr
ctr  st  1,20. Stbst s-
urs t prv t stbt  t sp
wr trr rqurd.
Cst cprss d durg t
prr dsg stg dctd tt
t us   xb cc stb-
sd bkt (mSe) ws t st
cst-ctv pt. Bt csdt
d crp sttt  t tus tr
wr prdctd d t ws prtt tt
t cs sut wud v t b b
t ccdt  sgct ut   s . a ut ws usd t d t k
sttt.
DEVEloPMENT oF coMPosiTE sTrUcTUrE
a cpst structur stsd  t
dsg crtr: 15  g s s -
prvd t stbt  t sp d -
crsd t vr ctr  st  t
bkt d t tus sp t r
t 1,40. T s s prvdd stbt
r t stp xcvt c bw t
u rd d t us  pstr strps
s rt rrct, cctd t t
s  ds,  wd t cstruct
 t cc stbsd rt  struc-
tur   cd spc (Pt 5).
inten tbty
a cc stbsd structur
sud bv s  crt grvt ss,
dpdg  t strgt  d rc-
t trct btw t rrcg
strps d t bck. at c v   rud t  ds ws rqurd. a
rrcg strps, t rzt strsss
 t strps r dtrd b ccutg
t vrtc strsss  t strps d
ppg t t  cfct  rt
prssur. T strps sud b strg
ug t rsst t rzt strsss
d sud b g ug t sur tt
t r b t bs ts strsss 
rct d t pu ut  t bck.
T s r dsgd t rsst t ds
psd  t b t rrcg strps
d b vr stbt rqurts.
cnnetn  the enng tp t the n
T strps cctg t cddg
ps t t  ds csst  g-
tct, pstr brs csd  
prtctv pt st. T
r cd btw t pts  t
cddg d ks  t ds  t
t t  d d t t s t
rrcg strps btw t k d
t cddg. T vrtc d rzt
spcgs  t s wr 720  d
1 450  rspctv. T s wr
pstd  grd.
Fundtn  mpte tutue
Tr ws  bdt  t mSe
structur d t ws rrw t ts bs. as
drt sttt btw t d
sp d t mSe bck cud ps
rg ds  t udt,  rrcd
ccrt bs wt   u tckss
 250  ws spcd. T wrst
rw  s ws cst t t udt.
Bkf
r-drg bck tr tt wud
t dg t strps d wud s
 t rrgu rts  t budr sp
grdd 37,5  st bck t ts
rqurts d ws spcd r t
tr sct wr sttc rrcg
strps wr usd.
soME ProBlEMs aND iNNoVaTioNs
cntutn  mn embnkment
T sut dptd ws dvpd 
c t cstruct d strtd. T
stt  t s t prcs sur-
 vd psts   ustb budr d
c tus sp   r  g r
ws  csdrb cg.  st  t
s,  crwr dr rg ws rqurd d
 3  wd tprr ptr d t b
crtd  rt  t t  t xcvt
c. T wr s prtct ws sub-
squt rpcd wt tprr gut
prtct. (S Pt 6.)
T vrg rt  stt  t
s vrd r but 40 t 80  pr
d. a tt gt  12 0 00    s
ws rqurd r t   bkt.
m ds wr st t r. T 
stt prd r t  bk-
t std pprxt 10 ts
usg,  vrg, tw dr rgs.
The  n
hw s-drg, grutd s wr
usd, suppd  3  gts. a 72 
dtr scrc dr bt ws ttcd
t t rst 3  gt. addt 3 
gts wr cctd durg t
drg prt b s  trdd
cuprs. a ctrsr ws pcd t c
cupr. Durg t drg prt,
grut ws pupd dw t ctr
w cr  t . T grut ws
trug t dr bt d bck up t dr .
(S Pt 7.)
cut pe tbtn
Durg cstruct, urus budr
s d sw supg  t xcv-
t sp ccurrd tr prgd r-
. T rg dsg d prvdd r
 gb grvt rtg w r, but t
 7

5 Polyester reinorcing straps

6 Partially completed embankment 8
7 Installation o soil nails into talus slope
8 Completed cut slope stabilisation

ws ud t t b prctc t xcvt

t bs wdt r suc  w wtut
jr stbt ccurrg. Tr ws s
 rp r  ctt udrpss wc d
t b ccdtd wt t cut sp.
w trs  cc stbsd
rt, c wt ur rws  s s
9  g, wr dsgd t stbs t
cuttg  t tus sp (Pt 8). T
sst  kg t pstr strp
rrct t t s  ds ws
dptd r, s r t  bk-
t. T ctt rp ws cc-
dtd btw t tw trs  t w .
apprxt 11 000   s s wr
std  ts cut sp stbst, -
cudg djct gutd scts. Grut
tk  t prb tus ws td b
usg gtxt grut scks rud t sttt  t tus budrs. a tt   wd t wdt  t udt
s s. T dr g tcqu r d- 240   sttt d tk pc up xcvt t b rducd, s tg
rd r tt  t  bkt t t d 2009, wt but 30   ts t tgrt  t u rd. it prvd
wr tp r drg d b ccurrg sc cpt  t rd t vr stbt  t  sd d
usd. r stbst  t cut sp t pvt  nvbr 2008. prvdd  s  stbsg t uppr
us  dw-t- rs grt cut sp.
cttd t stt  t s s. cosTs
T cst  ts t p  bkt PROJECT TEAM
settement cstruct d sp stbst s
cent Eastern Cape Department o Roads
Sttts v b trd sc  vr g. T  cst pr squr tr and Transport
t 2006, w t bkt d  t cpt sst ws pprx- cnutnt HHO Arica – Camdekon JV
rcd but 50%  ts  gt. t 8 t 10 ts tt  cvt cnutng engneeng gegt
apprxt 120   csdt cc stbsd rt. n tr RA Bradshaw and Associates
sttt d tk pc up t t sut ws csdrd prctc, gv Mn ntt LM3 JV
d  2009. Durg t wt ss   t prvg cstrts d ggc Eth enement Reinorced Earth
2007/2008, w t udts  t cdts. Company (Pty) Ltd
w wr sturtd r t rst t Getehn ubntt Fairbrother
udr u d, brupt sttt  up coNclUsioNs Geotechnical Engineering and
t 120  tk pc. ivstgts T sut t t tcc, cc Franki Arica
v ttrbutd ts t  cps t p d vrt rqurts. it
 Des Lange Gaillard Rossouw
Technical Manager Director
Maccaferri SA PD Naidoo and Associates
des.lange@maccaferi.co.za gaillard@pdna.co.za

Sinenkosi Dlamini Mike van Rooyen

Design Technologist & Technical Advisor Director
DTM Systems – Maccaferri SA MVD Consulting Engineers (South Cape)
sinenkosi.dlamini@maccaferri.co.za mvdmossbay@mweb.co.za

a geen utn
or the design and construction o 
steep slopes and embankments
1  t r  rtg ws  d stp bkt sps.
exprc gd wt ss grvt gb rtg structurs
prprd t w r urtr dvpt, crprtg t
prcps  s rrct.

oVeR he yeaRS sc t cp bg  it  t t
19t ctur t sv prbs rgrdg t pct  cv
grg wrks  t surrudg vrt, mccrr
s ws usd vtv ws t trduc w d prvd
tds d ssts. S  t bggst cgs cd wr
BacKGroUND
T rst structur t us t rrs m (m) sst ws 
14,0  g bkt  Sb (ms). Ts structur ws
but  1979   vr cd spc t supprt  rd bk-
t. it csstd   vrtc “sk”  rck-d gb s
uts tt wr crd t t structur    t bk-
t usg rzt st strps.
wg  r ts xprc, t dsg ws prvd d
st wr  t r   dub twst (D) xg s r-
rct sst rpcd t st strps. idpdt m uts
csstd   gb ut d rrct sct (t t rqurd
gts) d r  ctuus p  D s (gurs 1 & 2).
 t t d t rduc vrt pct b cr-
prtg vgtt t t rt c  t structur, t ws
pssb t pt cuttgs  t vrtc c.
T vrst tur  gb cstruct d t pssb
t “bttr” r stp bck t rt c, kg wc r t
crprt  tps t supprt t vgtt.
urtr rsrc d dvpt usg t stppd-bck
r spg w prcps d t t stbst  t Gr
 1 Close-up view o GTM ace showing PVC-coated DT mesh, 2
biodegradable erosion control blanket and the vegetation
2 Vertical ace Terramesh TM System showing
soil reinorcement in cross-section
3 Stepped-back ace to acilitate sloped prole o embankment
4 Gabion ace units replaced by vegetative topsoil
to orm the Green Terramesh TM System
5 A single hexagon on which the DT mesh principle is based
6 BioMac erosion-control blanket
7 Mechanical interlocking properties o the structural ll
8 Standard GTM unit showing the extended mesh “tail”
that is embedded into the soil as reinorcement

rrsm rrcd ut (Gm) s  “Wtr” r “S” tp

(gurs 3 & 4). T Gm S tp s usd r rtg bk- 3
ts d sps, w t Wtr tp, wc utss drt
gsttc cpts, s usd r rvr bk prtct d
t g  wtr curss.

MaTErials UsED
T stdrd Gm ut cssts   v gvsd 2 ,2 d
2,7  dtr st wr wc s PVC-ctd br gg
trug t D prcss t r t s ps. a prvd
G ctg rpcs t trdt zc td. G  s
cssd s  zc- sst wt 5% u u d sg-
ct xtds t   t s  dustr, cst d tr
rs vrts. T ctd st wr s surcd r  c
suppr  Gutg d mccrr prrs t xtrus  t
PVC t ts w ctr  KwZuu-nt. a trs cr 4
wt rvt SanS spccts.
T PVC ctg crs wt t rqurts  p-
prc, spcc grvt, rdss, ts strgt, duus  
stct, rsstc t s t spr d t xpsur t u trvt
rs, brs rsstc d brttss tprtur  trs  
ppcb aSm stdrds.
 ctt t prcss  vgtt  bdgrdb
rs-ctr bkt (Bmc), d  100% ccut br,
s ttcd t t sd  t cd rt cg. a wdd
st p d prrd trgur brckts, spd t x  45°,
60° r 70° sp g, r st bd t Bmc t supprt t
cg w dg t bkt  pc durg cstruct.
i t S tp sst t rs-ctr bkt prtcts t
tps g bd t c d prts  vgttv cvr t
stbs ts rpd.
5 7
aDVaNTaGEs oF THE DT MEsH
 us  t s xpts t r ct  t surc  
t wr d, r prtt, t cc trckg
prprts  t structur  .  s p s du t
t rg sz  t pgs  t s (D = 80  wt
h = 100 )  rt t t dtr  t w r (2,7 
r 3,7  d 2, 2  d 3, 2  w ctd wt PVC).
 d-rsut s  crs   t tt strgt  t r-
rct, wc wud b pssb r tr trs 6 8
ws strgt s drvd r surc rct . 
ps  dub-twst s sur tt t r rct s
ctuus g t w gt  t structu r, d t
 just   w t   t d ubr  t p ts.   rt d
rs  “wrp p” dd bck r t c t bd  wt
t uppr r. (S gurs 5 t 8.)

9 Resistance to pull-out o DT steel wire mesh embedded in a 1,0 m
x 1,0 m section o compacted sand at increasing normal stress
10 Vertical slices analysis according to Bishop
11 Forces on a slice computed by Bishop’s method
9 d v  r g g  tr rct. it sud t
sTrUcTUral Fill
T structur  s t cru sctd s tr tt
s usd drct bd t rrs ut d pcd d
cpctd  rs, w t t rrct (s r grd r
 cbt  bt) bddd t t rs t st vrtc 
trvs, s spcd  t dsg. Ts s ust v  w
s ctt d w pstct, b rtv r-drg
ct rg srp-dgd prtcs wc cud dg t
rrct durg cstruct . Cpct ust b d
 rs t grtr t 250   dpt d r  t
95% md. aaSho.

rETaiNED BacKFill
T rtd bck rs t wdg  s bd t str uc-
tur tt t Gm w s b dsgd t supprt  dd-
t t  xtr surcrg ds. Ts s ust  s b w
cpctd, prrb t t s  dgr s t str uctur  .
id, ts sct w b cstructd t t s t  s t
structur   s tt t w wrks w csst  ctuus
rs. Wr cssr,  vrtc subs dr c b u sd t
sprt ts s r t structur  bck.

VEGETaTiVE ToPsoil
 s t b usd drct  bd t cg p sud b
tr  sd c r c-k sd wt 3 t 20%  rgc
tr. s s  sud b rt d rb d b xc-
 vt d r  20 0 t 3 00  d pts  t  d. it s u d b
r r wd d sts rgr t 50   x u
ds. a 500  wdg  t tps s pcd bd
10 t cg d cpctd  200   ts usg   gt d-
d cpctr. s prcss s crrd ut  cjuct
wt t g  d cpct  t djg rs  
structur .

VEGETaTioN ProcEss
Wr pssb, t Gm c sud b vgttd durg c-
struct r rtv s trwrds t s r prvt
rs du t r d ru  t c. Vgtt rqur-
ts vr b ggrpc d ctc rgs d r trr
prjct-spcc. T stpss  t cg ts t ut  
wtr rtd b t s br ru ccurs. oc t vgt-
t s b stbsd  t cg, t sud b prtctd.
a t rrgt p d g-tr tc pr-
gr  b rqurd t sur ts survv. Ts sst -
11 ws xbt  t cc  vgtt, cudg rbcus
 vgtt (grss) ppd b drsdg r sd pugg g, r
wd pts cutvtd   ursr  st. T sct d
cc s  tgr prt  t vr g-tr rs ctr
p d ttrctvss  t sut.

rEiNForcEMENT sTrENGTH
extsv rsrc s b crrd ut  t prprts  t
2,7  dtr D st wr s   s-rrct
sst. Spcs 1  wd wr usd   stud t t
Uvrst  nw Sut Ws  Cbrr, austr, d t
dr hgw adstrt crrd ut u-sc tsts
  st t Ccg, USa. T crg cpct  t s-
rrct trc ws studd, s w s rrct
rsstc. T rsuts wr usd r vrus ss, spc
 t d-xts rtsp. i t dsg, prt ctrs  
st r ppd t sur tt t utt ts strgt
 t s s t xcdd udr t wrkg ds. it s s
surd tt t rzt str udr d ds t d t
xcssv drt.

coNsTrUcTioN oPTiMisaTioN
 pts cst ruct t, t Gm uts  r uc-
turd   rg  szs wt vrg ut gts, t gts
d t wdts.

12  The GTM embankment at King Shaka International Airport at
80% o the nal height, showing the initial growth o vegetation
aDDiTioNal rEiNForcEMENT
i stuts wr  grtr rrct rsstc t t
wb ts  t s s rqurd, t s pssb t us
tr tps  rrct, suc s t mcGrd rg  p-
rc grd rrcts.
Ts prduct c prvd ts strgts  60 t 200 kn/.
otr trs, suc s Prlk  d PrGrd, r s sutb
wt strgts up t 1 00 0 kn/.
i t prcss  sctg   trtv sst,  srt
“t”  t s (2,0 t 3,0  g) cud b usd r t c
t vrp t ddt rrct s tt t rct

12
rsstc t “pu-ut” s ctv, r  sprt r  s
r grd cud b  srtd btw t Gm uts t cv
dqut “bd” t t rt d  t rrct wr t
ccts t t c  t w (gur 9).
T prc r gsttc grd tps csst   ds
rt  g-strgt pstr tds csd  tr
durb PVC r pt stg.

TEcHNical EValUaTioN rEPorTs

mccrr btd crtd rprts vutg t Gm
sst r t Brts Brd  agrét (BBa)  Jur
2000, d t hgw ivtv cg Ctr (hieC)
 t USa  apr 2005.

DEsiGN PriNciPlEs
Stbt ss durg t dsg s crrd ut b s
 t qubru tr usg tr t Bsp r Jbu
tds. i t prcss t rrcd s ss s dd
usg rgd qubru cdts g curvr sp ps
s tt cputts bsd  t t d  dspct
c b usd t  s t cts  t rc sst t t
trsct btw t rrct d t surc dd
b t sp p. a sst   r quts, wc t k t
ccut t rsstg t du t t sr rcs w c
pps sdg,  d t vrturg t du t t dst-
bsg rcs, s dvpd r c sc. T ctrbut  
t s rrct s trducd t t ccut 
wr t trscts t sp p d s ssud t ct r-
zt. T gtud  ts rcs s t wr vu  t
ts strgt  t s d t pu -ut rsstc  t
s bddd  t s. T rst v u s  cstt d s
xd b t s crctrstcs, w t scd vu vrs
r wt t dpt,  trs  t rrct gt
bd t sp surc. ec  ts s rducd usg dqut
prt ctrs  st  ccrdc wt t prtcur std-
rds ppd b t dsgr.
o  t  tts  t qubru ss s
t dfcut  dg t str ct  t grt  
rc  t rrct, spc  rspct  gsttc
rrcg tr. Ts crtr s b crprtd
t t stwr prgr dvpd b mccrr, trug
cudg  up-t-dt dtbs  c t p d grd  
rrct usd. Ts rt cuds  t stc
crctrstcs rqurd t d t str bvur  t
rrct t t pt wr t d spct s grtd,
t dspct bg  vrb wc dpds  t g-
tr  t surc udr ss d  t cck cdts
xd b t dsgr.
etr u ccuts c b usd t ssss c-
putd dsg utputs usg ss bsd  t R k r
Cub ur wdg tr.

aPPlicaTioNs oF GTM iN soUTH aFrica

T Gm sst s b usd r vrus ppcts  Sut
arc t dt, s ustrtd b t wg tw prjcts.

GTM embnkment t the suth Gte:

Kng shk intentn apt KZN
T bkt ws dsgd b mccrr  cjuct
wt PD nd d asscts. Cstruct ws c rrd ut

13 One o the embankments under construction at Le Grand
Gol Estate viewed rom another position on the site
14 Aerial view o the GTM embankment at King Shaka International
Airport with the embankment at approximately 50% o the nal height
13
 
udr t ib Cvs Jt Vtur b t subctrctr
Cv (gurs 12 & 14).
T structur cssts  tw ws t rgt gs t c
tr trsctg t t gst pt, wc s pprxt
12,9  (cudg 1,0  udt bdt). T tt
gt s 210  d t  r  t Gm c s 1 520  2. T
udt ws xcvtd t  rd s rt d t
rst 4,0   t structur  cssts   prtd G4 d-
rt tr vg   tr rct  g  45°. T uppr
8,0   structur  s  t c st sd, Br Rd s,
rct g 29°. T rtd bck s s t Br Rd
c s ud  t st.
T t prps ws t cstruct t tr bkt
usg t prtd drt. hwvr,  rdr t cs,
t trtv cbt usg Br Rd ws cs. T
qutts  s r s ws: drt 1 800  3; Br Rd
(structur) 7 500  3; d rtd bck (Br Rd) 7 00 0  3.
Cstruct ws cptd  octbr 2009.
 bkt s b dsgd t supprt  vd
trrc tt uss  dustr sct t t w rprt.
a rd twrk trvrss ts but-up sct d v
vcs r xpctd t uts t s r. a surc rg  d  
50 kn/ 2 ws ppd  t dsg  r  pst 7,0  bck
r t c. r r rct  t wr drt bck,
 110 kn/ (utt strgt) gsttc g rd ws u sd
 cjuct wt t stdrd s “ts” t  gt  
7,0 .  uppr bck  t  Br Rd s rrcd b t
s  t  gt  6,0  d bsd   wb
ts strgt  38 kn/.

14
 i rdr t tr vt durg c struct
d udr t  dd cdt, sur v bcs wr
ptd t vrus psts g t c  bt sds.
obsrvts t k t t gst sct vr  prd  
ts r Dcbr 20 08 v dctd s vt:
sttt ≈ 12  d tt-bck  c ≈ 25 . Durg t s
prd tr ws gr-t-vrg ss r  t
st d t tt rdgs vr d r + 25 t –25 , d-
ctg tt t s bw t sur c  t c  b cusg
 csd ct  t bcs. ogg bsrvts sud
k ts crr.
 vgtt rcdd r ts ppct ws:
() gr: Cynodin ; d (b) pts:  Apte nia, Bul bine d
Carpobrotis edulis.
a ursr ws stbsd  st t prpr pugs  ts
spcs r srt t t crrct t. hdrsdg   grss
tp ws  s usd t s ct.

le Gnd G Ette, Gege

T rst ps  ts prjct ws dsgd b mVD Csutg
egrs (Sut Cp) (Pt) ltd. mccrr ssstd wt d-
sg rvws d cstruct dts.
Cstruct ws crrd ut b t ctrctr ls-
hr Cstruct. T wrks csstd  t cstruct  
 ubr  Gm bkts rgg  gt r 3,0 t
14,0   stp sd sps d r t wr prts  
dp v tt rus trug t prprt (gur 13). T tt
gt s pprxt 1 300  d t u r  t c s
3 320 2. T pprxt vu  structur d rtd 
s 47 280  3. T structur   cssts   grs G7 sd
s wt  tr g  rct  30°.
a gsttc rrcg grd wt  60 kn/ utt
ts strgt ws usd  cjuct wt t s ts. o
t gst scts  t w t rrct d gts  
8,0  t t bs.
a kkuu grs s tp, wc s vr c  ts rg,
ws usd t vgtt t c. irrgt  t c prstd
 vrus cgs. i ddt t ts, t xtr dr cd-
ts  tt rg t tt t d t dfcut t urtur t
r grwt  t vgtt.

coNclUsioN
T Gr rrsm Sst s  vrst sut r t
dsg  stp sps tt r stb  c d spcs. T -
cus  g-strgt gsttc grd rrct ks
t pssb r t sst t crr rtv g  ds r t
u dsg , t strs wt srvcbt rqurts.
Cru ttt t t tur vgttv prcsss ks t
pssb t bd t structur  wt t surrudg v-
rt. T ctrctr sud b u cptt  r
cv grg wrks suc s tr sct, sttg ut
d cpct ctr, d s b cpb  wrkg r-
us wt tur t tk c r  d prv t vr-
t, wr pssb.

acKNoWlEDGEMENTs
 The authors wish to thank the site sta o the Ilembe Engineering Joint
Venture, especially Mr Dennis Cress, the Chie Engineer’s Representative,
and AIRSERV or the aerial photograph o the GTM embankment at King
Shaka Airport.
 Alan Parrock 
Geotechnical Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
alan@arq.co.za
Michelle van den Berg
Dam Engineer
ARQ Consulting Engineers
michelle@arq.co.za
David Cameron-Ellis
Dam Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
david@arq.co.za
Gutng – t  ene?
Procedures adopted at Changuinola, Panama
iNTroDUcTioN
atug  grutg sst  b t-
rtc dsgd d spcd durg t
t stgs   d prjct, sufct
ttud  t spccts ust b but
 s tt durg cstruct vrts
 b vkd dpdg  t cd-
ts cutrd.
Ts rtc dts t t spcc-
ts r  grutg sst r t ud-
ts   100  g, rr-cpctd
ccrt (RCC) rc grvt d wc
s t prst udr cstruct  t
Cgu Rvr  t jug  P
 Ctr arc (s gur 1).
it s rsd tt -st cdts
d ctrctu d cstruct c-
strts w csstt vrts t ts
spccts.
sPEciFicaTioNs
Gut nteny
m grutg spccts r strc
bsd  t wtr:ct rt b vu,
wt t bss bg t ubr  cubc t
 wtr t b usd wt  94 b, 1 cubc t
sur  ct, ..  1:1 w:c rt (bsd
 vu)  b ccutd s 1 cubc
t  wtr bg quvt t (0,3048) 3 x
1 000 = 28,32 trs  wtr r c 94/2,2
= 42,73 kg  ct, r r cvt
r  stdrd 50 kg bg  ct:
1:1 w:c Ξ 33 trs  wtr:50 kg   r dd prctc r t wg
ct (bsd  vu).
Ts s  bss  t dr Si
pprc d  uc r ccptb
sur s tt bsd  ss.
o ts ctrct tr grut csst-
cs wr t spcd s:
1) 66 trs  wtr t 50 kg ct
1,32:1w:c bsd  ss 2,0:1 bsd 
 vu
2) 33 trs  wtr t 50 kg ct
0,66:1w:c bsd  ss 1,0:1 bsd 
 vu
3) 20 trs  wtr t 50 kg ct
0,40:1w:c bsd  ss 0,6:1 bsd 
 vu
hwvr, t ws ud tt ts dd
t b xtdd t  rg r 2:1 t
0,5:1 wt sst 1,5:1 d 1,0:1 d
0,8:1 bg usd st x tsv t t
r stgs  csdt grutg.
r  strc prspctv (r-
brg tt  t d ds t rts
wr qutd b vu), t bv rts
rss:
) T sts t lttj d Bruc
(1977) cdt  w:c > 0,45, surg
stbt.
b) T r sts  Kutzr (1966) w
ccudd tt “t st vurb
w d sdtt prprts  
susps [ccur] wt wtr:ct
rts btw 1,0 d 1,5.”
c) “Rtd d studs v sw
tt grut curts cstructd wt
5:1 r tr gruts td t c,
wrs ts cstructd wt 3:1
r tckr r succss u.” (Wvr &
Bruc 2007)
1

2
1 100 m high Changuinola RCC dam under
construction in Panama (Februar y 2010)
2 High-shear colloidal mixer

coNsoliDaTioN GroUTiNG
o  ccrt d prjcts tr s
 tdc t rv xcssv uts
 vrburd ut gd qut u-
dt rck s rcd. s t 
ds t pcg  t d w c-
crt but t rsuts  csd pr-
ts  t udt bg vr uc
dpr t t surruds.  s gr-
ts  g udsrb strss-rsr
cdt wr  tg dgg
strss cdt  ccur.
i rdr t bvt ts, t s b
ud t b uc r cc  t
tp pprxt 8   t rck ss
s grutd v  csdt prcdur
t grt  r-gus r
 sufct stss bw t d.
at Cgu csdt
grutg ws spcd  8  dp
 3 Drilling access platorm on steep slope
4 Graphic representation o the envisaged curtain grouting process
5 Developed section on the dam axis indicating envisaged oundation grouting layout
3 vrburd (100 kP) s tt upt  t
4 2d stg, 1,25  r t 3rd stgs d 
cd s t usg  grut
csstc  1 s dtd bv wt
tckg  rg grut tks ccurrd.
Grutg prssur ws td t 4   
udrg rck dd t ccur. a dw-
stg prcss ws spcd t 5  x 5 
spcg wt t pckr t t surc d
  prbt  3 lugs.
hg sr cd xrs r usd
(gur 2) w t tpgrp ds
t prt s ccssb psts
(gur 3).
W  vr-rg rs  t
udt prr s t 5  spcg
wr  tt ws cssr t sur
cpc wt t dsg, crt
g srd r prus zs wr t
cutrd  wc grut tks d
cctt lug vus wr g.
Ts prb rs wr dtd  t
ppg cductd vr t tr d
tprt, usu  20 x 20  bcks.
ovr ts prb rs  spcg
ws prgrssv rducd t 2,5  r t
 
cssr r t 4t, 5t d 6t stgs.
Sttc grutg  rupturd/sr zs
ws prrd d prgrssv tckg
 t x ws udrtk t sur tt
“guprs” dd t dss ccpt grut.

cUrTaiN GroUTiNG
Dwstg grutg vr gts  8, 16,
45 d  65  r tw-trds  t
d gt r spcd wt:
N Prr s t 12  spcg
N Scdr s t 6  ctrs
N hs cd t 5 – 10º r
 vrtc twrds upstr 
N Pckr t surc
N hs cd t 30º twrds
pprprt butt
N Spt spcg prcdur

5
 Na  prbt  tw lugs T ut d prcdurs vsgd
as br wt t csdt r t curt grutg t t dsg
grutg, t curt grutg s stg r dtd  gurs 4 d 5.
w b strtd t csstc 1, d
dpdg  t rsuts ts  coNclUsioN
b tckd t 2 d 3  cssr. atug spcd d dtd 
Grutg w b udrtk r tw t drwgs, t s ccptd tt 
d grs d  t  xu cgs t t bv dsgs w  b
grut tk s prvs b st t d durg t curs  t ctrct
100 trs/  br   stg. t b inter alia spdr prts
Grutg prssurs t t dsg stg d tr csdrts t b stsd.
r td t pprxt dw vr- hwvr, t bsc prs   cs-
burd strss  t stg bg grutd. it dtd udt d  r-prb
s vsgd tt du t t cppg ct subsurc curt w b pursud u-
t csdt grutg w v  cprsg d wt vgur.
t udt, xu prssurs 25%
gr t t bv spcct w  rEFErENcEs
 kd b prttd. Kutzner, C 1966. Grouting o Rock and Soi l.
Rotterdam: Balkema.
Littlejohn, G S & Bruce, D A 1977. Rock Anchors
Grouting pressures at the design stage are limited to approximately  – State o the Art . Essex, UK: Foundation
midway overburden stress o the stage being grouted. It is Publications (Previously published in Ground
Engineering in ve parts, 1975–1976).
envisaged that due to the capping eect the consolidation grouting Weaver, K D & Bru ce, D A 2007. Dam
will have on the oundation, maximum pressures 25% higher  Foundation Grouting, revised and ex-
panded edition. American Society o 
than the speciication will in all likelihood be permitted  Civil Engineers (ASCE), 473 p.

58 Civil Engineering | April 2010

 Mark Laughton
Geotechnical Engineer-in-Training
ARQ Consulting Engineers
mark@arq.co.za

Alan Parrock 
Geotechnical Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
alan@arq.co.za

Identifcation o voids on the N1 North

ung gund penettng d
iNTroDUcTioN 1
Prt  t Gutg rw iprvt
Prjct (GiP) wrk pckg D2 cssts
 wdg scts  t n1-21 rw.
Ts rtc ds wt t sct 
t wstr sd  t rtbud cr-
rgw btw t attrbur d
lwd Rd rps  Prtr. i
rdr t ccdt t wdg  t
rw, xcvt  sps brdrg t
wstr sd  t rw ws rqurd.

ForMaTioN oF VoiDs
wg t xcvt  t sps,
 vds pprd vr  200  g sc t
 t xcvtd r. Ts vds wr
pprxt 0,5   dtr d c-
currd s   r tur.
it, tw trs wr prpsd t
xp t ccurrc  ts vds. as
t vds pprd   prct strg t
, t ws pstutd tt t  v
b -d d tt t wr r-
ts   d dsusd swr . T

1 Void that ormed in the excavated area

along the N1 North between the Atterbury
and Lynnwood Road oramps in Pretoria
 scd tr ws tt t vds  v
b brcctd rts cusd b v-
t   rt-sut strkg ut s
1,5 k t t rt wc d b dt-
d   ggc p.

GroUND PENETraTiNG raDar TEsTiNG

i rdr t scrt wtr ts vds
wr  r-surc r s ccu rrd
t dpt, t ws dcdd tt t bst
td  tstg wud b b -d-
structv grud ptrtg rdr (GPR).
Ts td  tstg c b us d t
dt  pssb subsurc -
s d s t dvtg tt t gs
2 Map indicating where voids appeared along the N1 North (green line) prducd r t ctd b t prsc
3 Equipment used or the acquisition o the data on voids along the N1 North  trcs, djct ws r pssg
trfc. Ts jb ws udrtk b eXiGe
2 (eXprts i Gepscs).
GPR s  gpsc prspctg
td wc c b usd t prvd
 g  t subsurc. a t
s usd t tr st  ctrgtc
pus wc prpgts trug t
subsurc. Ts rg s rctd r
budrs d bjcts  t subsurc
wc v ctrstg dctrc prpr-
ts. T rg s rcvd b t t
d rcrdd dgt. T dpt  t
xprt  t GPR dpds  t
rquc  t rdr sg, .. t
wr t rquc t dpr t dpt
 xprt, but s t pc ctv
dw t s 3 .
a 200  g grd ws st up vr t
r wt scs bg d bt pr

3
d prpdcur t t rw. T
pr scs wr d t 2  trvs
wt t crss-scs bg d t 10 
trvs g t 200  grd. S d-
dt scs wr crrd ut bt t
t rt d sut  t rg g rd t
sur tt t xtt  t rt   and has the advantage that the images produced are not affected by
t vds d b prpr dtd. i
rdr t c t g-rsut g
 t subsurc, scs wr cductd
t bt 400 d 900 mhz. T dt wr
cqurd usg dstc d r t
400 mhz t d t d r t
900 mhz t t 5  trvs. a t
wdw (rg)  70 d 30 scds
ws usd r t 400 d 900 mhz -
ts rspctv. i , 78 sc s wr
d wt t GSSi SiR-3000 sst,  d
sd usg Rd 6.5 stwr.
Bsd  t utput,  tt  48 ps-
sb sw vds wr dtd t
dpts t xcdg 1,5 . T dt
rvd s r std us
zs wc wr scttrd wt t
surv r, s w s  cctrtd r
 utp us zs wt t
surv r.
In order to ascertain whether these voids were only near-surface or also
occurred at depth, it was decided that the best method of testing would
be by non-destructive ground penetrating radar (GPR). This method
of testing can be used to identify any possible subsurface anomalies
the presence of trenches, adjacent walls or passing traf fic. This job was
undertaken by EXIGE (EXperties In GEophysics)
Wt ts rt, pprprt udscvrd, wud   kd
rcdts cud b d  v cusd ctstrpc dg t t
rd surs rqurd. it ws t w s  t rw wc wud
pssb t dtr t d  r- v rsutd  cst rprs, s w
t, but rd surs csstd s  csurs t rct  t prb.
 xcvtg  trs t  dpt   urtr tr c ds wud t v
1,5  d t prtg G7 qut - b vtb.  csqucs  
tr  150  rs d cpctg t ts, dur g t upcg 2010 ia
93% md. aaSho dst t 0 t +2%   Wrd Cup, wud v rsd s
ptu stur ctt. brws.
coNclUsioN acKNoWlEDGEMENTs
 rsuts prvdd b t GPR tstg  The permission o SANRAL, the BRCD joint
bd t xtt  t vds t t venture and EXIGE to publish this article is
rd t b dtd. s vds,   acknowledged with thanks.
Civil Engineering | April 2010 61
 Louis du Plessis
Geotechnical Engineer-in-Training
ARQ Consulting Engineers
louisdup@arq.co.za
Alan Parrock 
Geotechnical Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
alan@arq.co.za
Lateral support or
Get Wetefd extenn
iNTroDUcTioN
i 2006, ps r xtss t t xstg
Grt Wstrrd cpx  Rdbsc,
Cp w, wr pprvd b t ct,
attrbur Cp. T xtss t ts
budg cud  tr-v bst r
1
prkg, wc t ts dpst pt w b
s 10 t 12  dp. Prr dsg
dctd tt t  cc w   b cductd:  r t 
cductg ts xcvt ws v  cb-
t  bttrd sps d csd t-
r supprt. Ts rtc dts t prcss.
siTE iNVEsTiGaTioNs
w st  vstgts d prvus
structur  1985 d tr r t
xtss  2006. Bt vstgts
utsd cr drg t dpts rgg
r 17 t 30 .
Ggc, t Grt Wstrrd
cpx s udr b dp wt-
rd t-sdtr strt  t
grbrg rt, msbur 
Grup, wt  vrb cvr  trs-
prtd (uv d/r cuvus) d
rsdu ss. r t rtr-cr
drg vstgts cductd, t -
wg grsd subsurc pr ws
ud t b prtt r t stud r:
N Tnpted mte: Cprss 
du-ds st d c sd
wt s budrs (xu
250   dtr). Ts r ws
cutrd t pprxt 12,5 .
N redu mte: St t vr st c
st. Jtg ws vdt wt t 
rsdu s  ss.
N Bedk: hg wtrd vr st
t drt wtrd st rck,
1 Test pit excavated to -5,5 m on the
western boundary o the Great Westerord
complex in Rondebosch, Cape Town
 msbur s.  bdrck v
ws ud t b g vr b, wt
dpts rgg r 18 t 28 .
T wtr tb v ws ud t stb-
s t but 8 t 9  dp.
 rcdt r t
st vstgts ws t bttr t
sps t 33˚ bv t wtr tb w t
2 Making good progress with the excavations. Notice the large tree on the northern ace trckg st ps (t ctr t
3 View o the north-western slope grudwtr spg) r t dpr
vs.
2

sEcoND oPiNioN
aRQ Csutg egrs ws p-
prcd b Dkkr d Gdrb,
t structur grs,  m 2009
r trtv supprt surs s t
rg rcdt ws prvg
t cst r t vb budgt. aRQ
rqustd t ctrctr t xcvt 
tst pt t –5,5  djct t t wstr
budr  t st, utsg  xc-
 vtr. T pu rps  t s ts t pt ws
t vsu vut t subsurc g-
tr r stb t, s w s t bck-
ccut t k durg-cstruct
sr strgt prtrs r pr-
r dsg.
r t tr bsrvd, t pr-
trs wr sttd s:

c = 31 kP
φ = 26˚
γ = 18 kn/³

T cs prtr ws dwscd

3 t c = 25 kP t grt  dcu  
csrvts.

EValUaTioN
Sp gs (t  oS  1,3) wr d-
trd s 50˚ d 57˚ r t dpts  
xcvt vsgd.
Durg xcvt, tw p-
tt prbtc rs wr
dtd: t rg tr  t
rtr dg  t xcvt d
 grg  t wstr dg.
at t tr, t sp ws stbsd
b st g tr rws  9, 6 d 4 
g s r  r 3  t tr sd  
t tr  t uppr vs d 4,5  
t wr. Trdbr 500 y20 s wr
spcd, but du t t ctrctr vg
 y25s  stck, t ws dcdd t us
t ttr std.
at t grg  t sut-wstr
crr  t st, t 8  g sp
t 50˚ ws ud t v   u
oS  1,47 wt  10 kP surcrg
t sut t grg. atug t udrd cdt) r sw (wc s < 5 , xcpt r  cs  9 .
rst gc t s pprd ccptb, wud sut t g-tr drd it wud tus ppr tt g-
w t ss ws rptd  cdt). i ddt t t s, t wtr rg judgt, supptd wt
prbbstc d, t prbbt   ctt ws td t t  stu xprc, d t  cs t-ctv su-
ur (oS ≤ 1,0) ws ssssd s 8%.  vu  s t w s rsd tt  t  st t wtut udu xps.
wg t rcdts s pr w ts  t r, t Cp ws
b 2  Krst (1983), ts v   gg t t drr ts  sur. acKNoWlEDGEMENTs
rbt wud grt:  rsuts r t trx Permission o Atterbury Cape, and Dekker
N  srt-tr srvcb  tst wr sd r t pr- and Gelderblom to publish this paper is ac-
N prvt  pubc ccss bc strss-str prtrs s pr knowledged with thanks.
N t d r ctuus trg Duc t  (1980). Rprsttv
N t dd ustb prt  sp. sr strgt vus r t t- rEFErENcEs
Trr, tug t sp t ts r  st udr t cdts  k Duncan J M, Byrne P, Wong K S and Mabry
sct ws prdctd t b stb  t t b prvt durg cstruc- P 1980. Strength, stress strain, and bulk 
srt tr, t ws rcdd tt t  bst b rprstd b: modulus parameters or inite element
trg pgs b std t t tp   analyses o stresses and movements in
t sp t 5  trvs. Nc = 30 kP soil masses. Report No UCB/GT/80 01
N φ = 28˚ o the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department o 
laBoraTorY TEsTiNG N γ = 18,6 k n/³ Civil Engineering, Virginia Polythechnic
as t prr dsg ws bsd Institute and State University. 70 pp
  st ts (bt rsd s), r ts t ws pprt tt t pr- plus Appendix detailing FORTRAN
 udsturbd sp ws tk  trs usd  t prr vut computer print-out listing.
st r tstg. i  ttpt t d wr vr cs t ts tstd. Kirsten H A D 1983. Signiicance o the
t ctu cdts tt wud b probability o ailure in slope engi-
prst  st durg t cst ruc- coNclUsioN neering. The Civil Engineer in South
t prcss, t sp ws tstd T bv surs wr ptd  Arica, 25 (1): 17–27 and subsequent
tr st (wc wud sut t d t dt t trg pg vt discussion 25 (6): 317–332

Civil Engineering | April 2010 65

 Marie Basson
Geotechnical Engineer-in-Training
ARQ Consulting Engineers
4
MarieB@arq.co.za

Alan Parrock 
Geotechnical Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
alan@arq.co.za

2 5

3 6
Eden ind
Paradise Engineered
HisTorY  uxur prtts udd  rts,
S 180  rs g, w t
ct supr-ctt  Pg cru-
bd,  grup  gct brk-w
ss bg t drt sw crss t c
  prv c, 1 60 0 k r wt
s, td, t st cst  a rc. it s ts
prt  t g rtc mscr Ptu
wc brk  r t id Pt
but 65  rs g   ckc   s r  vr ug, rsd cr
sprkg sd jws strug wt vs-
b trds  svr sur tt k up t
Scs.
Suc ws tr st tt t
ursd  r , r r
t tur  tr dstt wrds, vs-
td  b r arb vgtrs w
gv t ptc s  ur   id r arc, s w s udrs
tr rt-stppg tur but.
d   t st but u
sd rcpgs  t wrd, d
t  cc sds  grtc
rck, s  br v urs  g t
r Jsburg. Surrudd b
dc dstts  t st cst
 arc, just rt-st  t sds
 mdgscr d Crs, st   t stb. Vrg  b  cup 
Zzbr d rt  murtus, t
tru s t rt  prds.
THE DaWN oF EDEN islaND
 ccpt   “w prds” tk
sp wt t d  dsgg,
spg d udg 450  rd-tt
1 CAT 325B busies itsel with basin
excavation on Eden Island in the Seychelles
2 Private marinas on piled oundations
are typical o the surroundings
3 Structures such as the jetties, and
this bridge connecting Eden Island to
Mahé, are ounded on capped piles
4 Engineering site in paradise
5 Drop weight system employed at Eden Island
6 Gauges installed on CAPWAP test pile
ps d  cbt  t rts d
pd udts.
GEoloGY 
T Scs s prt  t r t rt
ssctd wt Réu d t Dcc
trps  id. T grtc r s ds
r t wrd’s dst, w t utr
sds tt v rgd d subrgd
svr ts durg tr g str,
t st rct subrgc dtg bck
t 125 000 rs g.
i r r trs, t rc-
pg ws crtd s  rs g
b  cbt  t sprt  
 vcs sr t ts r wc
murtus d Réu wr crtd.
Subsqut, t vst jrt  ts
ug d r bc subrgd vr
t.
cliMaTE
T ct  t Scs s csst-
 
dgrs, t wtr s ws grus
trpc, rgg btw 24 t 31°C 
 r rud.
iNVolVEMENT aND GENEral
ENGiNEEriNG coNDiTioNs
i august 2007 id oc Prjct
mgrs hs Djkstr d hrrs
Ct pprcd a Prrck, g-
tcc prcp  Sut arc-
bsd csutg r aRQ, r put
  sp stbt ssu  st  t
Scs.
Cstruct  t s d cudd
drdgg  t cr, cr sds, st
cs d r sdt bv  cr
r, t crt  ptr s 3,5 
bv aCD (adrt Crt Dtu).
7 (aCD = gr –1,05   s v
wt s csd gr rs.) T
cr r vrs  v r –0, 5  aCD
t –3  aCD, wt r gg c-
sstg  vrb cr rts d
r sdts vrg crs d
du-grd grt t  pprx-
t dpt  –30  aCD.
o  t k ssus ws t stbt
d cstructbt  rs wr pstc
sturtd st cs prdtd. r
s wr xcvtd  t bss, d
pr gggs, grdgs, CBRs, ds-
ts d sr strgt prtrs wr
dtrd.
Stdrd ptrt tsts r 13 cr-
s cductd  st rvd  gr
trd   ds uppr r (0–3 ), 
s r r 3 t 15  d grdu
stg wt dpt r 15 t 30 .
ass  t dt crd tt t
tr s st csss d tt
t uv sttgs  wc ed isd
s stutd wud grt t bst 
gt vrcsdtd dpsts.

DYNaMic PilE TEsTiNG

Dc p tstg usg t CaPWaP
td ws prrd  rdr t pr-
dct cpct d vt ccurt.
rr cgu rvr Gr c-
ductd t tstg  s t ps.
Sttstc ss  t rsuts -
dctd tt t 300  dtr ps
std t prdt 10  wud,
t t 97% cdc v, b gd r 
srvcbt cpct 200 kn.
8
Rck-s rts wr usd udr
sr structurs  cjuct wt
g-strgt gsttcs t t bs.
Ktc’s Rckgrd PC 50/50 ws spcd
t sur tt pstc tr cud tr
t rck d dstr trprtc sr.

coNclUsioN
T Scs rs sub tur
but, st d trqu t. n ttr
wt brc  grg   v
cs, wrkg  suc  prjct  suc
 cptvtg vrt s  xpr-
c vr cv gr drs but.

acKNoWlEDGEMENT
Permission to publish this article is acknowl-
edged with thanks to all those involved.

7 Close up o gauges installed

on CAPWAP test pile
8 Graphical ormat o SPT data or
13 coreholes conducted on site
 Eulane Heukelman
ARQ Consulting Engineers
eulane@arq.co.za

Hennie Barnard
Aurecon SA
hennie.barnard@af.aurecongroup.com

Building the uture with the Geotechnical Division o SAICE

– ht ue n pbem 
he GeoeChniCal DiViSion  SaiCe d  srt curs 1
 Prb Ss  august 2 009. Ts curs ws  r-ru  
t 1985 Prb Ss Curs cusg spc  studts,
 ug grs  d ug gr g ggsts. T t-
t ws t k ts curs s rdb s pssb d t ws
dcdd t crg   ut r wrkg grs d
grg ggsts; r studts t ws cpt r  
crg. Ts ws  pssb du t t supprt  urus
spsrs, t w w r vr grtu.
T vrus prb ss wr dscussd d prstd b
s  ur tp gtcc grs d grg g-
gsts w rd tr t d rt r  crg t prst
tr w-vd tpcs: Dr rtz Wgr (dts), mr Ptr
D (vg cs), mr K Scwrtz (cpsb ss), Dr P
Pg-Gr (dsprsv ss) d Dr Gr Js (st cs).
T srt curs ws d  tr cts, .. Durb
(6 august) t t Uvrst  KwZuu-nt, Prtr
(13 august) t t Uvrst  Prtr, d Cp w
(21 august) t t Brkwtr ldg (Uvrst  Cp w’s
Grdut Sc  Busss). T vt cprsd  u d   2
v ssss  t vrus prb ss. T curs ws vr
w ttdd b  tt  but 640 dgts d xct d-
bck ws rcvd r t uvrsts d ttds.
T curs ws rgsd b tw  t ctt’s ugr
brs,  h Brrd (aurc Sa) d eu
huk (aRQ Csutg egrs) wt t p  t
prvus cr (Dr SW Jcbsz), t prvus scrtr
(Dr edurd Vrstr), t trsurr (htr Dvs) d rvr
Gr. T Gtcc Dvs  SaiCe wud k t tk
t wg cps scr r tr spsrsp:

esrrk
mccrr Sa DURa naUe
Gutg Pg GCD Gel
Ktc Rrcd ert Stutt Stcks
aurc Sa aRQ BKS
Gsur Js & Wgr Kgt Psd
V VKe Pqup
1 At the University o Pretoria approximately 300 engineers and
, t Dvs wud k t xprss ts scr grttud t engineering geologists attended the problem soils course
t v spkrs w rd tr xprt xprc t t b- 2 The ve presenters, rom let: Peter Day, Ken Schwartz, Dr
t  ug grs d studts. Phil Paige-Green, Dr Fritz Wagener and Dr Gary Jones

if yu wh t eh the tp,
tt t the bttm
A young engineer’s thoughts on geotechnical engineering
iNTroDUcTioN
evr xprcd, spcst gr c,  g t g,
strtd t t btt  t ddr. r ug grs tr s
 pt tt s t b wd t gt t gr grud. Ts srt
rtc w, wt t cus  gtcc grg, ttpt
t xp k tgs tt d t b prt  t stppg sts
t t bgg   grg crr.
 rc t tp   ut  s t strt t t
btt. Ts  sud vr sp, but t w  bgs
 t d  grg tr cptg  dgr, t tkg
s: “i kw vrtg d i  gg t k ts cp
bttr.”  pts r pstv tkg, but urtut 
dgr just prvds t tckt t brd t gt, t  cc t
 t p!
THE sTEPPiNG sToNEs i coNsiDEr iMPorTaNT
T wg pts r prtt t t strt   crr  g-
tcc grg:
1. Rs tt u r gg t k stks, dt t d
r r t.
2. r t b vvd   t prts   prjct, r tdrg,
budgtg, pg d dsgg trug t xcutg.
3. D ur w gtcc vstgt. it s vr prtt
t gt   r wc ss d rcks udr  st. lk r
sgs – crcks  budgs, sttt  udts, d t
wt gs t surrudg sps ccur tur. aws
b s wr s pssb.
Eulane Heukelman
ARQ Consulting Engineers
eulane@arq.co.za
Alan Parrock 
Geotechnical Principal
ARQ Consulting Engineers
alan@arq.co.za
4. it s vr prtt t ctu ur duct – SaiCe’s
Gtcc Dvs d t  uvrsts v 
curss tt u c ttd. s curss w crt 
wrss  spcsd ds d supp usu r-
t tt c b ppd t ccu ts, dwrk d
dsg suts.
5. B prt  t Gtcc Dvs – t s wdru t
t pp  t dustr   tg tt s t cs-
sr wrk-rtd.
6. hvg  tr s prbb t st prtt stppg
st. hv t tks  crr drct d wt st
ds t b d t rgstr s  prss gr.
7. St xprc s vr prtt. yu sud v t st
10 ts  st xprc. o st t s gd t  r w
drt ctrctrs wrk. T  tg s t cg
tk g prcsss t prduc bttr, r cst-ctv,
s d gr dsgs.
8. r t b xpsd t  t ds  gtcc g-
rg br dcdg wt t spcs , bcus ts
ds r  tr-rtd.
coNclUsioN
i p ts w spr ug grs d prvd s
gudc r t utu r. i pg  tr w c crt 
bttr vrt  wc t r  d t rc gs str.
it s  vr gd tg   prc tc t sts z ut 
tt d k t t bggr pctur.
MARKET CONTRIBUTION

Innovative soil stabilisation

f d pvement
1
Promising results from one of the latest innovative
cement additives provisionally certified by Agrément
South Africa as fit for purpose

BacKGroUND
Rd cstruct s  but prducg d stbsg 
structur tt w  ctv srvc t rt-bud c-
uct ds  t cut. Srvc dvr d
prjct-dcs ctrg ccpts suc s bt, ccs-
sbt, cc, srvc v,  cc strtg d cst,
2 rd rstructu r sustbt , tc, br wtss t t
prtc  ts . hc grtr cc  tr
rsurc utst d cstructbt s cssr  d -
prtt r ts cpts  t c-trg u-
drpgs   cutr. s r tc ustrts w s  
ts prcps wr ppd t  rd rbtt prjct
 t nrt Wst Prvc  Sut arc.
 rd  qust s Prvc  Rut R52,  jr
prvc rut rug btw t tws  Kstr d
lctburg. a 40 k sct  t 86 k tt rut gt
(ps 1) s udr cstruct s  t wrtg  ts
rtc. atug t rut s b  srvc r  ubr
 dcds, t prst pvt s b  srvc r 1 Location o Route R52 between Koster and Lichtenburg
but 20 rs d ws swg sgs  dstrss . it dd 2 General view o the road prior to rehabilitation
structur d uct rbtt d upgrdg, 3 Typical chert gravel o the area
spc wg t t ubr  v vcs wt ts 4 Map o Route R52 area showing the location o the dierent construction sections
tr c spctru wc dstrbut c prduc d s 5 Example o DCP inormation available
prducts suc s  d ct. Rr t gur 1 r t
r p d gur 2 r  gr v w  t rd prr t 3
rbtt.
 prvc utrt d tr csu tt dcdd t
pt r t vtv d vrt rd s ut
dscrbd bw, rtr t t r trdt pvt
cpst, d  s t ppct   dd ct-
s stbs g prcss. s td ddg RdC t
t ct-stbsg gt,  prduct  t cp
PwrC cgs bsd   t ntrds. it  s 
 t tst vtv ct ddtvs prvs crt-
d b agrét Sut arc s t r purps (pdg t
utc  t tw-r g-tr ppct trg
prd).
 ctrct, wc strtd  nvbr 2008, ws t b
t Dprtt  rsprt, Rds d Cut S t
 t nrt Wst Prvc Gvrt t  t tdr 4
prc  R205   vr  prd  12 ts.

aiMs aND oBJEcTiVEs

Sc Rut R52 s   t  d tr sprt rtrs
Koster
btw t PWV r ( prtcu r t Prtr/sw
r d mpug) d mkg, t  s t  -
2/1
t  g st drd  srvcbt  t s rut. Rct, 3/2
4/3
tug t rd d b prr g w, t utrts
td crsg sgs  pvt dstrss, s w s c- 5/4
Lichtenburg 6/5
crt  t rdw/sudr drp- wr rt du t
t crs  tr c, spc  v vcs (t prst
u vrg d trc (aa D) s  t vct  1 972
wt 15% v vcs). it ws t t prv t srvc
v  t rut d s gv t  pvt  w s   Number of Blows
. 50
0 25 50 75 100 125 150

uct t tr c stut cd r  crs    ) 150

  s
  e 300
  r
   t
 rdw wdt r t xstg 7,8  t 10,4   cr-   e
  m 450
   i
   l
   l
   i
t strtcs  t rut d  structur cpct  eS8    M 600
   (
   h 750
   t
rptts (3–10 m  Stdrd ax s, miSa), wrs   p
  e
   D 900
t rg pvt d b but t  eS6 brg c- 1050

pct stdrd (Colo, 1996).  structur  stut t

Estimated CBR (%)
b rsvd ws w t crs t b rg cpct  t 2 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 40 60 100 1 40 200
0
pvt substt w  utsg t  stu tr p- 150
   )
  s
t   rdr t s t d r ddt tr/   e
  r
   t
300
  e 450
  m
brrw pts.    i
   l
   l
   i600
   M
   (
   h 750
   t
  p
  e 900
ProJEcT DEscriPTioN aND DEsiGN    D
1050
 prjct bsc cssts  wdg d structur 
Actual Required At The Depth For 3 MESA
rbttg t xstg rd, wc trvrss t rtv
Layer Property Summary (For Reference Depth of 0 Millimetres)
t, g t rg trr  t rsv  Suprgrup wc Thickness Avg. Penetration Rate Estimated CBR Estimated Stiffness
(Millimetres) (Millimetres/Blow) (%) (MPa)
cts ggrgts d ss  dtc rg d ecc 150 7,25
7.25 33 59,7- (135) - 311
150 9.1
9,1 67 147- (335) - 765
s t  ttud rgg btw 1 50 0 d 1 600  bv 150
150
4.5
4,5
5.33
5,33
61
40
99,1- (225) - 515
82,7- (189) - 430
 s v. Rr t gur 3 r  xp  t c Total Penetration Summary
Est Pavement Capacity Based on DSN900 General Notes

grv. 2,9 MESA if Dry

1,4 MESA if at Optimum Moisture
Blows to penetrate 800 mm - 154

0,6 MESA if Wet Penetration Rate to CBR conversion is based on the

0,3 MESA if Saturated relationship published by Kleyn (60 Deg. Cone)

l ndtn Road P34/2, DCP Results in Wheelpaths

rtut t qut  t uppr 600   t  stu km 72
crt grv ws rtv gd, vg  vrg brtr
 CBR vu  65% t 100% md. aaSho,  Pi  5,  Gm  
1,8 d  r sr kg vu  but 3%.  pssbt
 r-usg t  stu tr  t rbtt dsg
trr prstd ts v t tt stg. iprtd c
crt grv wud t  b dd t cpst
r v crrcts d wdg  t rdw wr
cssr. s pd t dr t t pssbt  
r vtv d vrt rd pvt
rbtt dsg.
Rrrg t t p  gur 4, t prjct ws dvdd
t vrus scts s  dctd bw, bsd  vsu  c-
dt sssst d D c C Ptrtr (DCP)
ss (K 1975; K  & Svg 1982). gur 5 sws
 xp  t DCP  rt sts vb r t
rd t 1 k trvs.
N Sct 1: Kstr t 10 k – r rcstr uct
N Sct 2: 10 k t 33 k  – xt ps  prjct
N Sct 3: 33 k t 42 k – rcstruct  wt RdC
ddtv  bs
N Sct 4: 42 k t 65 k – su rcg rbtt pus
wdg  pvt
N Sct 5: 65 k t 83 k – rb wt RdC ddtv
 bs
N Sct 6: 83 k  t lctburg – r rcstruct
Sct 5 w b usd s xp r dscuss  ts rtc.
 DCP surts g t rd swd t  stu
pvt strgt t b qu curgg, s dctd 
gur 6. nt tt t vrg bscurs strgt w s bw
tt  t brtr vu d  s rtv w wt r-
spct t t  stu strgt rg – spc  w sr
cprd t t subrs. s ws prbb rg du t 
rtv g stur ctt  t  g bs s  rsut
 t prus d dstrssd surcg. yt,    , t 
stu tr cdts wud dd w r  vtv
cvrs  t xst g pvt t eS8 brg cpct
qut (Colo 1996) b rwrkg d rstbsg  t
tp prt (bs  d subbs)  t pvt.
hwvr, w t s ws tc c pssb, t prp-
st r ct stbsd grv t crck s vr, w wtr
t t pvt d tt t pvt ur c c
(spc wt d rt s tc), s w kw
d  g-stdg ccr  tr/pvt dsg -
grs d tccs.
6 Average pavement strengths or section 5 o Route 52

In situ CBR %
The pvement ehbttn degn
6 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 it ws t ts s tg  t rbtt dsg tt t xst-
0 c  RdC ws brugt t t ttt  t ct,
C3 Design base- As-built
t csutt  d t ctrctr.  prduct s  pwdrd
100 course strength strength r   pttd bd  zts, sctd k s, -
k r t ts, tc, wc w ddd t  ct-s
200
xtur  s qutts (1 kg/ 3  s r 0,05% b
C4 Design subbase
strength DCP measured as-built wgt) ssst  bdg trs t  strg r-
300 strength range at this depth
Depth gc cpud.  prcss rpd prducs  d-
mm
400 k cttus crst  trx wt t  ct-s
Average 100% Mod
AASHTO CBR wc xtds crss t trprtc vds d sssts 
500 cpsutg d trwvg t s prtcs t wt
DCP measrued in situ
strength range of   b trd  “s brc”. it s r ss pr t t t pc
existing pavement
600 crckg  ct stbst, prts rpd strgt g
Average in situ strength d s ss brtt t t trdt, r rgd cc
700 “gug”  s prtcs.
 urtrr, d vr prtt r rd budg
purpss,  t prcss r-rgg stur s ds-
pd r t s trx, tus crsg t c tv
dst d t stur prvusss  t bdd
tr wtut ddt cpct rt. 
prduct s vb s  ptsd prprtr bd
(pwdr) r c b bdd t sut st-spcc cd-
ts d ctt vs (mrjvc t . 20 09).
it sd tt ts ddtv wud rsv st  t c-
crs rgrdg t dg  r-usb t swt vr-
b tr sufct w t d vr t dvtgs -
td bw, d tus wrrt  vstgtr ppct.
it ws ccudd tt t wg bts wud ccru
r t us  ts ddtv:
N it wud b pssb t crs t strgt  d prr-
c  t  stu g rv suct b u sg RdC-
bstd ct stbst t rpc t crusd st
bs trdt rcdd r ts pvt brg
cpct v.
N  vr w vd ctt  t ctd s trx
rsutg r t trwvg crst  ttc wrk
prcss  t ddtv wud crs t ctv dst
wtut dg ddt cpct rg.
N hg stur prbt du t t crs  c-
tv dst  t r wud rsut  dcrsd stur
suscptbt  t bscurs – spc  t c   t C4 stdrds (0,75–1,5 mP UCS) std  t
drt s tc.
N Substt ss ct stbs t crckg wud 
ss stur grss, ss ptt ss  br g cpct
d ss subsqut pvt ur.
N Rpd bud-up  brg cpct c t trtd grv
d b cpctd d t s bdg, pr tc-tr-
wvg prcss  t ddtv d tk ct.
N r wud b  svg  cstruct t bcus  
t vsd  vtv pvt cpst, vdg
rcstruct  t tr pvt, spc wt v-
rt scrrg prtd tr.
W t  b ccudd r t trtur tt ts d-
dtv cgs t prprts  bdd trs t  w
 tu g  t ct dsg rt s w s t us  
rtv “rg” trs wt g rtr cdc, ts
spcts wr t spcc  vstgtd udr ts ctrct.
T cpst  t rg, d r trdt, r-
btt dsg r ts tp  brg cpct ccrdg
t Colo (1996) ws t dd s ws (s rr t
gur 6):
N Bs – 20 0  tck rwrkd ct/RdC stbsd
t stdrds C3 (1,5–3,0 mP UCS) std  t r
trdt 150  G1/G2. (Dpdg  t p d v
crrcts ts cud vr btw u prtd d
u   stu tr.)
N Subbs – 150  tck rwrkd ct stbsd
trdt 250  C3 r. (Dpdg  t pd
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7 Windrowing top 350 mm o existing pavement
8 Early morning RoadCem spreading operation
9 Cement application (on top o the RoadCem) and dosage rate control
10 Completed hal-width cement spread on top o applied RoadCem
11 Stabiliser and additive being mixed into basecourse
material (drum tiller plus coupled water tanker train)
12 A smooth, hard and crack-ree basecourse surace
13 Close-up o basecourse where additive was used
14 Close-up o control basecourse where no
additive was used – note cracking
7 8
11
v crrcts ts r cud vr bt w bg t
rwrkd d stb sd  stu bs curs r subbs.)
N Sctd rs – rt t  stu structur gr
swg G7, G9 d G10 qu ts rspc tv, d  t
rr st c wr t d t, s  cpct
s d br brgg bck t subbs.
N Surcg – ws cgd t 19/9,5 dub s r t sug-
gstd 40  spt, wc w s csdrd t b r sutb
r t prvg rur  cdts, wtut t cst pru.
r gur 6 t c b s tt ts dsg utss t  stu
pvt strgt w,   swt csrvtv  trs
 bs tckss , rsutg   rtv dp d vrd-
trt pvt.
s t t tt t bs wud b stbsd wt 3%
ct (b wgt) pus 1 kg/ 3 (but 0,05% b wgt)  
RdC ddtv, d t subbs wt but 2,5% ct.
 s dsg ws usd wr t pvt d t b wd-
d –  tr ddt crt grv ws prtd r 
c brrw pt t brg t bs r surc t  v.
it ws s dcdd t rbtt scts  pvt
wt  ddtv s  ctr r cprs. s s cts
wud trws rcv t s ct dsg d trt-
t s t scts trtd wt ddtv.
coNsTrUcTioN ProcEss
Sc vr w d s gt grdg crrcts d t b d,
t pvt rbtt cstruct cgs c b
12
dscrbd bsd  Sct 5  t p sw  gur 4 s
 tpc xp.
step 1:   vs wr st ut d  suct tck-
ss, dpdg  t v crrct rqurd t tt pt
t ccdt t bs d subbs (up t 350 ),  t
xstg pvt ws w drwd (s gur 7).
step 2:  xpsd tr ws   cpctd s
cssr t   u  90%  md. aaSho t srv s
t sctd r.
step 3: Subbs tr ws prtd r t wdrw
(d t brrw pt s rqurd) d sprd t v r 
150  tck cpctd r d tpd dw t c tt
sprdg  t ct stbs r.
step 4:  ct stbsr ws dstrbutd t spcc-
t b d (ct pckts), sprd d xd b grdr r
s-prpd t r d cpctd t 150  tckss t 
u dst  95%  md. aaSho. (Dst qut
ctr  ts prjct ws d b ucr rdt str u-
t.) DCP surts d  t subbs t  tr
stg dctd   stu quvt CBR strgt  t st
160%, s sw  gur 6.
step 5: Bscurs tr ws prtd  r t w-
drw (d brrw pt s rqurd), w g r v crrc-
ts s cssr , d tpd dw t ctt cc
dstrbut  t stbs r d ddtv.
step 6:  ct d ddtv wr sprd t spcc-
t.  ddtv ws rst ppd b d (s gur 8) d
9 10
13
t t ct (dsg rt ctrd) s sw  gurs
9 d 10.  sprd rt qut w s ud t b crt-
b wt spc ct  ts prjct.  wsd  t
prpsd td  sprdg t ddtv ws t qus-
td b t ctrctr s rgrds t t k d ccurc.
hwvr, t ws ud tt  t  12 burrs cud cvr
900 t 950  2  1 t 1,5 urs wt su ct ccurc t
rsut  r t dqut qut ctr rsuts – 1,8 mP
t 3,4 mP UCS wt 2, 3 mP vrg rcrdd (s gur 6).
(as sttd b t ucturr,  dscrt r  cts
wr tcd r dg t ddtv.)
step 7:  stbsr wt t ddtv ws xd  b
s-prpd dru tr ccpd b  cupd wtr
bwsr t  dpt quvt t t s r dpt r 
cpctd 200  r tckss, s sw  gur 11.
step 8:  r ws t cpctd t tckss  d
dst spcct ( tw rs  rqurd) d curd
ccrdg t r ct stbst spc ct. it
ust b rbrd tt sgt v crrcts r rg g-
grgt drg rks sud t b ttptd wt  t r
 wdrwd tr, spc   ct-trtd . s
w rsu t   rtv pr drd “bscu t r” wc
w sw tpc bck crckg up dr g. it ws tcd,
v s r s t xt d tr stb st, tt t st-
bsd r pprd d sudd uc rdr t wud
b xpctd t suc  r stg d cud b tr ckd b
cstruct vcs wtut  vsb dg. s s 
14
 I all goes according to current observations
and predictions, this additive might well herald  N  u sprdg  t ddtv dd t d c-
“crack-ree” cement stabilisation and improved  struct prduct.
and more economical utilisation o road building
materials in the uture. Only uture application
and behaviour monitoring with dierent materials
will decide the outcome o this possibility  N  ddtv ss t v drtc dcrsd t c-
dvtg  ts ddtv wc,   rgc, cud b
utsd t ccdt rd trc. ( gr cstruc-
t prgrss ws but 840  3 pr d.)
  vdc  t r vg b ct stb-
sd, sv r s ut r d wd crcks  s
rs wr vrzus rg vrstrssd t st tp
 t r, ws t rd, st, scu d wtr-rsstt
surc  t r wc d  cst ruct ctr strgt
 2 t 4 mP wt  sg  t tpc ct stbs-
t bck crckg (s gurs 12 d 13). s w s  vr
wc bsrvt sc t p  bck crckg
s ws b   t jr drwbcks  ct stb-
st, wc s d t urus tdts bg dvpd,
  t r ctv. o  t r gc xp-
ts r t bsrvd bsc  crcks  t prsc  ts
ddtv ss t b ts cd s trwvg crst 
structur, .. t  rt   ds s brc. it wud
dd csttut  jr brktrug  suc crckg cud
b prvtd r ctrd t  gr dgr  cr tt.
T ctr sct wr  ct stbsr ws usd
dd t v t s k bscurs surc pprc t t
s g. S s tr cud b brd  d tpc
ct stbst crckg ws vdt, s sw  gur 14.
step 9:  bs ws t prd t  rt  but 0,75 / 2
d wd t dvp strgt. icdt, t ws td wt
grt stsct tt t pr drd qut v d 
ptrtd t bs b 2 t 5 ,  sg tt t bs dst
d s wr   csstt d g qut .
step 10: a 19  pus 9,5  prctd cp-d-spr
dub s ws t ppd. (Sc t rg pvt
ws gr t t s v r gr t t surrudg
grud v, rtv tt rbtt wrk d t b
d  t surc drg tr t xtdg d -
sg  pp cuvrts  s cssr.)
ProJEcT sTaTUs
 ctrct s xpctd t b cptd  nvbr 2010.
at t t  wrtg t  ctrct d b rug r 11
ts,  tr wrds t ws 58% cptd, d vrt g
ws ru g ccrdg t p. n ds ttrbutd t t-
r vb t wr rgstrd.  ct, csutt d
ctrctr r  prssd wt t wrkbt d vsu
d structur rsu ts btd wt t ddtv.
coNclUsioNs
 wg ccuss wr d rgrdg t us  t
ct ddtv RdC  ts rd grv stbst
prjct:
N n   cts wr tcd b t wrkrs s  rsut  -
dg t PwrC.
N atug t prjct ws t d t  d rct cprs
 dsg r  stu strgt btw ct  d c-
t pus RdC stbst, t rtv s w t
wc t u dsg d  stu strgts (gu r 6)
wr btd s  vdt  t ucturr’s cs.
currc  stbst crck g cprd t tt  t
ctr sct (ct ), wc s  vrct  t
cd s p rtc trwvg prprts  t ddtv.
N  s-but strgt su rts (gur 6) dct 
v tt  w cpt cst-ctv wt crusd
st t ts trc v, spc   stb st
crckg dvps r rc ts trug r t stbsd
subbs.
N i  gs ccrdg t currt bsrvts d prdc-
ts, t s ddtv gt w rd “crck-r” ct
stbst d prvd d r cc uts t
 rd budg trs  t utur. o utur p-
pct d bvur trg wt drt trs
w dcd t utc  ts pssbt.
rEFErENcEs
COLTO (Committee o Land Transport Oicials) 1996. Structural design
o lexible pavements or interurban and rural roads (Drat TRH 4 ).
Pretoria: Department o Transport.
Kleyn, E G 1975. The use o the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP).
Pretoria: TPA Roads, Report L2/75.
Kleyn, E G & Savage, P F 1982. The application o the Pavement DCP
to determine the bearing properties and perormance o road
pavements. Proceedings, International Symposium on Bearing
Capacity o Roads and Airields, Trondheim, Norway, June.
Marjanovic, P, Egyed, C, de La Roij, P & de La Roij, R 2009. Proceedings,
RoadCem 2009, The Road to the Future, NUR-code 956,
Netherlands.
CONTACT DETAILS
Victor de Freitas
CEO: PowerCem Southern Arica
vic@powercemsa.co.za
Andrew Pauw
MD: PowerCem Southern Arica
andy@powercemsa.co.za
ino@powercemsa.co.za / www.powercem.co.za
011 974 7534/5
PROJECT TEAM
 The Depart ment o Tran spor t, Roads and Co mmuni ty Sae ty
o the North West Provincial Government is thanked or their
permission to publish this article. The project team consisted o 
personnel rom the ollowing organisations:
cent The Department o Transport, Roads and Community
Saety o the North West Province Government
cnutnt Mothibatsela and Associates
cntt Kaulani Civils
addtve uppe PowerCem South Arica

MARKET PERSPECTIVE
Innovation takes place at the
bunde f dpne
While on a recent trip to Mali, r ts. T d dg tt t ‘w s
bggr t t prts’ s crt  trus
SRK’s Dr Graham Howell was rtr t  r pt  spc.
again struck by the importance of  hrssg t utpct  dsc-
ps  td’s grg ds s vt
engineering disciplines working t sustb dvpt  sttuts
together, and agreed to share d csutcs k. Wt SRK
w v  wt  dvrs tts tt
his thoughts with our readers r bg bc dvpd t sv
prvus surutb prbs d
t dvp w “prducts” r dustr
hRoUGhoU SCieniiC d - purpss    g d rsurc
grg str, jr brktrugs bct.
v tk pc w  dscps lt us stp r  t d csdr
v c tgtr r c bt w ts cs but trug t r
d srg. Tk  t  d- d r trg d xprc
gs r xp - wt  bt  rct, cc. i   cv gr b r
i’ sur u cud cut  “pur” uvrst trg d spcs 
dscps tt wr rqurd t k gtcc grg  st d rd
tt pssb. Wt s r prtt, grud. m uvrst tr g cvrd
tug, ws t sss trct b-  t psc sccs (pscs
tw t dscps. d ppd ccs wt pur d
o  ts ws cputr tc- ppd ttcs) wt  sttrg
g wc  1969 ws sst   cstr d cu td  subjcts
ts c. T cputg pwr  ts k structur, gtcc, druc
ds s b kd t wt s  ur d trsprtt grg wc
uzz gc wsg c td. But drv tr udts r t ‘bs’
dd tt stp t dvur? Crt subjcts. at pst grdut v, i ws
t! T ss  c purps drv vvd wt ctuu ccs d
t prjct t  succssu ccus. T dvcd structur ssts wc r
trct btw t dscps d strss-d-bsd, d c gtcc
t  pssb –  css t r t t, grg s  d rct csquc.
d t st s td. it w srv s  d T rtsp btw structur 
r prjcts w d t t utur. W d gtcc ssts s trr
c r  trdus ut but bvus t , but urk d bscur
srgs  busss d grg t  trs. S d rck ccs
Dr Graham Howell
Principal Engineer and Partner
SRK Consulting
ghowell@srk.co.za
r prt  t s ctuu  tur
trs tt r rqurd t b g-
rd t fct supprt dustr
d crc dvpt. Gg s
 cssr ds cp t udrstd d
wd t tur prcsss  cc
supprt, rs d dpst prc-
sss d cut ccs t-
gtr. Sr, t ucs  surc
d grudwtr  t structurs tt
w bud r  utst prtc. But
i  t  ggst, r  grudwtr
spcst – i v t r  xprts 
ts ds t bct prjcts – i
d ggsts, grg ggsts
d grudwtr xprts t ssst  t
udt trprtt. hc, t
t tt ‘vt tks pc t t
budrs  dscps’ –  trus tt
s tk g pc ctu.
m cgu, Grg mr o’rr,
w s wt   ts trp, s  g
gr. lk , s trg ws s
 t psc sccs t, but 
s cctrtd  g prcsss
d gt d spcss   rd
rck ccs, d prsss t kw
tg but s ccs. i v ws
r  – trsc  kws r
t  s wg t dt! Tt’s wr
i c p. T tw  us tgtr c
cvr  wd t dtd d d c
up wt suts tt wud ud c  
us dvdu. Grg ss tt “wrkg
tgtr s  vr bc cbrtv
dvur d s  wd us t tk
 uc r tr but t prjct s
 w rtr t b pg-d t
 rrw dscp. Prt  t rs
w t Sut arc rd rck g
dustr,  prtcur, s t vvd
uc vr t pst 110 rs, s tt t
g grs td t t csut wt
tr dscps w dsgg  g
ut r td,  prctc tt s b
brd vr  grts  g
grs  t rg g uss.
Trr, vtv tkg  g
grs td t v t prduc-
t vrt t spcs  tr
g-rtd dscps. Ts prss
vtu dvp t strtgc dvp-
t t brs, b t   g
us r csutc, s tr vtv
tugt prcsss r stutd b t
trct wt  kws dd d-
 vdus r tr dscps.”
atr cs  pt ccrs 
rct trp t Zb wr w dd t
csdr  ccptu dsg r  str
dvrs t prtct  xstg d w
 r grudwtr d surc
udt. our t csstd  D,
80 Civil Engineering | April 2010
 drggst; adr,  gtcc
gr, d s. i  vr curtd
trp w wr b t ssss t rsk t t
xstg udrgrud, ct  t
rsks t t w udrgrud d p
cst   rs, csdr t xpctd
ws  t str d t qurs d
prduc ur ccptu dsgs t ctr
r t vtuts  st. Ts ws
pssb bcus  t trct  t
tr  us d t s rgs tt ts
brugt but. idvdu , w wud t
v d  p  cvrg t rqur-
ts  t ct  suc  srt t
r, but cctv w wr   ps-
t t rspd t t cgs.
ivt t t budrs   “t w s bggr t t prts”. ec
dscps ws  xtdd dgr
 tr tkg tt s t pssb
dvdu. T cctv prsc
cusd   prb brgs sgts tt
 t surc trws. Sg t
prb rst d s just s prtt r
t cctv s w, sc t  s 
zg bt  prcpt tt ct
b dqut dscrbd t cgus
trug dscuss  t fc r b w
 ptgrps d prstts. 
s s t udrstd, wc sud b 
dg r  grs rrspctv  g
r xprc.  srgs s t vt
d dvp r t dvdu, t c-
p, t prjct d t ct.
m r wt SRK Csutg,
wtr pct r xpct, s t str
ts ts. Wtut vt d
dvpt, grwt   prs d
busss v s t pssb, s w w
ctu t ctvt ts psps
  t prjcts w d r t bt  
ur cts d ursvs. it s prtt
t v sgs suc s “ivt c-
curs t t budrs  dscps” d
s drt tgs t drt pp
trug tr prs xprcs, but
utt t cctv put drvs 
sustb utur.
aDDiTioNal coNTacTs
Greg More O’Ferrall: gmoreoerrall@srk.co.za
Adriaan Meintjes: ameintjes@srk.co.za
Diane Duthe: dduthe@srk.co.za
 Tel: 011 441-1111

BIGEN AFRICA ASKS:
ae Gvenment’ “Bekng New Gund”
mxedmde ettement ddeng the hung bkg?
he aim o Gvrt’s w u
sttts pc s t cv  -
rc, tgrtd sct trug t
dvpt  sustb sttts
d qut usg tt w:
N ccrt usg dvr d vt
pvrt
N us t prvs  usg r jb
crt d spt rstructur g
N k prprt ccssb t crt
wt, crs cc grwt d
supprt t rsdt prprt rkt.
T dvr  usg  Sut arc
s b  uc-dbtd ssu vr sc
t prugt  t husg act, act
n 107,  1997. Dspt Gvrt’s
rts d t 2,5  uss but
durg t pst dcd, dvr s t
t dd d t bckg st stds
t pprxt 1,8  uss.
it s vdt tt  t xt dcd,
dvpt prgrs ust k
sgct rds t bt t usg
d srvc dvr bckgs t cv
Gvrt’s vs r vr ctz t
j t st   us wt ccss t
ucp srvcs.
i 2004, Gvrt’s prgrssv
Brkg nw Grud dvpt  
strtg crtd  trstg tur-
rud  Sut arc’s usg pc.
agd wt t cvt  Sut
arc’s mu Dvpt Gs
r vds, c, wtr d st-
t, t cus std r prvdg
str t prvdg tgrtd, xd-
c sttts wt w-cst usg
gsd dd-c rsdcs,
wr  bcrs v t s c-
css t srvcs.
T cg cg Gvrt
 t ptt  ts pc,
wvr, s t v t pg d
crss  vs  Gvrt t drv
cprt d cbrt, s tt
td rsurcs r pt utsd.
mucpts   ctgrs d t
sks t dvp, t d dstr
usg prjcts d srvc dvr, sp-
cc  t pg d pt-
t  t xd-us dvpts.
BiGen aRiCa prjcts drctr,
St v Brk, currt prjct -
gr r t C mg itgrtd
Dvpt  Gutg, ss tt “w
Gvrt s rspsb r usg
pc dvpt t t t v,
ucpts sud drv cg t
t c v b su rg tt t v
t sks t t pc bjctvs 
 r tt ctv supprts t
ds   t bcrs  t -
ctd cuts.”
T C mg itgrtd
Dvpt  t mg Ct
(Krugrsdrp) ucp r s  g-
sp xd-us usg prjct r t
prvc  rsps t Gvrt’s
Brkg nw Grud strtg. “BiGen
aRiCa’s vvt  ts prjct s
cvcd us tt ts dvpts
c p ucpts t vt tr
usg d ucp srvcs bckgs.
our srt busss pprc  pr-
vdg ‘ bst  brd’ grg sks
tgrtd wt prjct c xprts,
prgr gt, rs tructur
sst gt d sttut -
grg, sss ts t tgrtd
pprc  t Brkg nw Grud
strtg,” ss V Brk.
T prjct s  jt dvp-
t btw aBSa, t mg Ct
lc mucpt  d t Gutg
Dprtt  hu Sttts. it
s rs prt  aBSa’s usg d-
vr prgr, wc supprts t
mrdu  Udrstdg sgd
btw Gvrt d t ur jr
bks  Sut a rc  rsps t t
drctv  t c Sctr Crtr
t vst  w-cst, rdb usg.  
Rineshree Naidoo
Associate Director
BIGEN AFRICA Services (Pty) Ltd
rineshree.naidoo@bigenafrica.com
Cstruct  t rst ps  t 
cv rstructur s cpt d tt  
t rst ps  t ctrc rstruc-
tur s udr w. Cstruct  t rst
ps  t tp structurs  t  dv-
pt w strt  apr t s r. nt
 s t prjct ddrssg t usg
bckg, but t s s prvdg pprtu-
ts r pt d sks trg r
pprxt 2 000 pp,  w tw-
trds w  b rsdt wt t mg
Ct grtr ucp r.
T dvpt w csst  9 315
rsdt uts, w t 4 244 subsdsd
uts, 2 539 sttut usg uts
d 2 532 rdb r-rkt (bdd)
uss. “T xd-us ccd-
t crts vrt, xbt d vsu
xctt,” ss Rs nd, pr-
t gr r t prjct. “it s s
cgc sud d w crt  sus-
tb vrt r t tr c-
ut d crss  vs  c.”
Spc cr ws tk t tgrt t
xstg twsps  azdv, Kgs
d Rtv t p brdg t c-
c, srvc d sc rgtt.
“W cbd vs wt prctct
d xprc, usg bst prctc r
u sttts d custsg
suts r ts dvpt. W b-
v tt t rsut s  uqu ccpt
tt cpts t surrudg r
d crss t ctr vu  t
usg stck.”
 tt prjct dvpt vu
s sttd t r t  b rd,
wc w b udd trug vrus
surcs  pubc d prvt cg.
nt  w ts  gsp dvpt
rduc mg Ct’s usg bckg
b r t  trd, but t w s 
prvd rsdts wt  wd cc  
usg d tur pts tt g w
bd t trdt ccpt  pr-
vd g str.
IN BRIEF
sMallEr, WirElEss
PilE iNTEGriTY TEsTEr
UNVEilED: PiT-X
PULSE ECHO INTEGRITY testing has or many
years been the method o choice or quickly
veriying the integrity and length o deep
oundations. Pile Dynamics rst developed an
instrument to per orm this test in 1991 – the
Pile Integrity Tester (PIT). The device became
so popular that “PIT test” is oten used in lieu
o “pulse echo test”. The method is also known
as “low-strain dynamic oundation testing”, a
term used in the ASTM document that stand-
ardises it (ASTM D5882). The PIT test involves
placing an accelerometer on the oundation
and hitting it with a handheld hammer. The
accelerometer sends data to the PIT; records
are visually evaluated immediately and later
analysed in urther detail.
Pile Dynamics has recently launched the
PIT-X, a Pile Integrity Tester that ts in the palm
o one’s hand and works with a wireless accel-
1 PIT-X wireless pile integrity tester  undertaken by Trenchless Technologies cc.
1
erometer (no cable connecting it to the PIT). All
unctions available on the latest edition o the
PIT-V model have been preserved, including a
built-in Fast Fourier Transorm (FFT) eature that
is particularly helpul or detecting the length o  water and chilled water.
short oundation elements in the eld.
 The company has also updated the PIT post-
processing/data analysis sotware, PIT-W, having
recently launched PIT-W 2009 in both Standard
and Proessional versions.
Pile Dynamics, who has been manuac-
turing testing instruments or deep ounda-
tions or more than 35 years, is located in
Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and has commercial
representatives on all continents.
INFO
www.pile.com
TrENcHlEss TEcHNoloGiEs cc
scooPs sasTT aWarD
 THE JOOP VAN WAMELEN South Arican
Society o Trenchless Technology (SASTT)
Award o Excellence or 2009 was won by the
ABSA energy centre sleeves reticulation project
 The works involved connecting ten o 
ABSA Bank’s buildings in the Johannesburg
CBD with 100 underground sleeves or elec-
tricity, gas, bre optics, low-temperature hot
 The ten-month contract had a value o 
R13 million. The contract document used was
the NEC3. The project managers were Mokala
Collins/JM Henrey & Associates Joint Venture, and
the consultants were Taemane/SDE and Asak /LC.
Horizontal directional drilling was done
rom building basement to building base-
ment beneath the busy CBD roadways at
depths o up to 16 m. Sleeve diameters
ranged in size rom 160, 225, 450, 500, 560
to 710 mm using PE 100 PN 8 HDPE pipe. The
160 and 225 mm sleeves were installed in
bundles o 3, 4 or 6 pipes.
 The award was presented to Sam Erat
(managing member) and Marco Camarda
(general manager) o Trenchless Technologies
cc at the SASTT Annual General Meeting by
the outgoing SASTT president, Mr Johann
Wessels. The award ceremony was held at
the regional ofces o Johannesburg Water in
Midrand on 2 February 2010.
 The ABSA b uilding’s base ment lo ors
were originally designed to support the
weight o a typical sedan car. Consequently
the Terra-Jet 7520’s automatic rod loading
system was removed to decrease the ma-
chine weight which was propped rom the
loor below to support all areas over which
the drill needed to travel into the required
positions in the basements.
A loor-to-sprinkler height restriction
required the height o all equipment to be
less than 2,1 m. Consequently the Terra-Jet
7520 was urther modiied by removing the
operator’s cabin, rebuilding the hydraulic
oil tank at a lower position and lowering
the encapsulating bodywork such that the
1 Modiied Terra-Jet 7520 drilling
in conined basement  instances. Drilling tools were pulled, pushed
2 Terra-Rock air percussion head  and rotated until they came ree or broke
1 was one o the greatest challenges the
2 and night shits seven days a week.
remodelled drill resembled a tank with a
height o only 1,8 m.
 The majorit y o the installations were done
in clay, and 20 were in rock. The presence o  inserted in the bore to cut the cable and ree
the rock necessitated the use o percussive
hammer and rock reamers to expand the holes
to the required diameters.
Lateral support ground anchors were en-
countered during drilling on 26 o the cross-
ings. The presence and position o these
were unoreseen, and resulted in the en-
tanglement o drilling equipment in several
the ground anchor cables. In two instances
the entangled cable would not break and
an oxy-acetylene cutter was modiied and
the drilling tools.
 To gain access to the drill ace, coring to
remove concrete lateral walls rom 300 to
500 mm thick was required.
Containment o the large volumes o 
bentonite and spoil was necessary as the
basements are maintained in a pristine con-
dition and are in daily use. This was made
possible using specially constructed tanks
and brick burms.
 The removal o b entoni te to the surace
project aced. Initially pumping, which is
by ar the preerred method o spoil re-
moval, did not look easible. This was due
to the extremely long pipe lengths (up to
600 m) that would have been needed to
remove the bentonite rom basement to
basement up the vehicle ramps. However,
at the planning stage the idea was put
orward to core holes through the slabs
and to enable vertical pumping along
the shortest route which would reduce
pumping lengths to less than 200 m.
For the rst six months o the contract no
drilling was allowed during the “reeze pe-
riod” rom the 26th o the preceding month
to the 5th o the ollowing month. This was to
prevent any potential damage to cables and
inrastructure during the busy end-o-month
banking period. This resulted in a very tight
work schedule requiring crews to work day
 The drilling equi pment had to
be located on either side o the walls
through concrete and rock at depths o 
up to 16 m. Trenchless Technologies used
Radiodetection’s itrack system to track the
equipment horizontally rom the basements
on either side o each crossing.
 The conned access to the basements
via vehicle ramps required short 6 m lengths
o HDPE pipe to be individually transported
down into the basements where they were
butt-welded into long continuous lengths or
installation. In the Museum the only access
was by means o a lit and pipe lengths were
limited to 3 m. Here, and in other conned
storage areas and plant rooms, the bentonite
was collected in tanks and wheeled out in
“wheelie” bins.
In two instances the HDPE pipe was ham-
mered into the completed bore rom the drill
machine side in a pipe ramming operation, as
there was no access to pull the piping in rom
the opposite side o the bore.
  The installations were exceptionally deep,
which precluded conventional excavation
methods. There was no damage to roadways
and existing buried inrastructure, nor was
there any disruption to pedestrian and vehic-
ular trafc in the busy CBD area. Cost savings
were also signicant when compared to other
possible methods.
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) al-
lowed the insertion o the preerred HDPE
sleeves without the installation o a tempo-
rary pipe or permanent rigid pipe, ollowed
by the HDPE pipe installation. HDD required
no thrust abutment wall and also allowed
adequate steering accuracy. The equipment
is sel-propelled and capable o drilling in
a wide range o soil t ypes including clay
and rock. It is also suiciently compact and
manoeuverable to be able to operate in the
conined basement spaces.
INFO
Sam Erat
 Trenchless Technologies cc
083 212 4888
sam@trenchless.co.za
MiNiNG aliVE aND WEll saYs
NEW WiTs scHool HEaD
WITS UNIVERSITY HAS a new head o its School
o Mines, and he gives short shrit to any sug-
gestions that mining may be a dying industry.
Pro Fred Cawood, new head o the School o  interest in mining’s uture. Last year, some 468
Mining Engineering, University o the Witwatersrand  undergraduate students and 285 postgradu-
Proessor Fred Cawood, who has taken over the
reins this year, says that mining has actually not
seen better days.
He says that negative perceptions about
the state o the industry are not hard to under-
stand: “Mining is not called a boom-and-bust
industry or nothing. Reserves run out at a
specic geographic location under specic
economic and technical conditions.” But this
only underlines the vital role o universities in
the supply o skilled graduates – in geology,
or instance, to nd new ore bodies, and in the
case o mining engineers, to enable them to
work smarter so that we can sustain mining as
a business.
Pro Cawood leads the discipline o  classes are allowed to grow without concomi-
mine surveying at the school and is currently
President o the Institute o Mine Surveyors
o South Arica. His work on mining royalties
has had a signicant impact in South Arica:
the National Treasury based the country’s new
royalty system on the ormula he developed in
his doctoral thesis.
As well as publishing widely on mineral
resources management, mine surveying and
mining policy matters, he co-authored the 2006
World Bank Mining Royalties book – a compre-
hensive guide to the collection and manage-
ment o royalties internationally.
His contribution is also elt throughout
Arica. As a member o the United Nations
International Study Group, he has helped de-
velop strategies or the improved use o mineral
resources in Arica. And within the Southern
Arican Development Community (SADC), he
assists several governments in mining policy
and taxation matters.
Judging by the school’s student numbers, it
is hard to disagree with Pro Cawood about the
ates were enrolled; this year, over 200 students
registered to do rst-year studies (straining the
department’s ofcial capacity o about 150).
While the school develops strategies to
deal with the demand or training, the industry
expects a constant ow o exper tise to ull the
demands o a mo dern and constantly changing
work environment.
His main challenge is to nd and retain
the best sta possible, in line with the rising
number o students – no mean eat, as industry
will lure away experts whenever the economic
cycle avours mining expansion. “We have to try
to attract sta when industry is retrenching, and
then have a retention strategy to prevent high
sta turnover when the industry is experiencing
boom times,” he says.
 This year the school will benet rom
having six proessors provide academic
strength to the lecturing sta. Proessors
Phillips and Minnitt are still in the school, while
Proessor Nielen van der Merwe, ormer head
o the Mining Department at the University o 
Pretoria, joined the s chool as the Centennial
Chair o Rock Engineering at the end o 
January. Proessor Dick Stacey is still lecturing
students in a part-time capacity. The services
o Proessor May Hermanus and Dirk Bakker,
both ormer Chie Inspectors o Mines, have
also been secured through the Centre or
Sustainability in Mining and Industry (CSMI),
which is an important part o the school’s u-
ture research plans.
 The dan ger, says Pro Cawo od, is that i 
tant sta resources, the result will inevitably
be a higher drop-out rate. The school is
already working on ways to keep more stu-
dents moving successully rom one year to
the next, and has enlisted the sponsorship
o the SA Institute o Mining and M etallurgy
among others or tutors, extra copies o cru-
cial books and vital equipment.
Nowhere is the commitment to growing
the school’s capacity more evident at the
moment than in the building works that char-
acterise the Wits campus – a ourth quadrant is
being added to the Chamber o Mines Building
and existing space is being renovated.
Despite the difculty in attracting sta 
in the current environment, Pro Cawood is
positive about the school’s ongoing contribu-
tion to transormation at the university, in the
industry and in society. “Our student body
has changed rom nearly all white to nearly
all black, and rom almost e xclusively male to
more than 30% emale,” he s ays. “Judging by
the interest rom school leavers in mining as
a career choice, I am convinced that we will
have a signicant mining industry or a very
long time to come.”
INFO
Sally Braham
sally@sbpr.co.za
asH rEsoUrcEs laUNcHEs
“NEW GENEraTioN”
cEMENT EXTENDEr
ASH RESOURCES HAS introduced a new im-
proved perormance-classied y ash, DuraPozz
Pro, to the local market.
  The company’s products, which or more
than 30 years have been successully used as
cement extenders, are by-products rom the
generation o electricity at Eskom coal-red
power stations.
John Sheath, Strategy and Marketing
Manager or Ash Resources, says the new cement
extender, DuraPozz Pro, which is produced at the
Ash Resources plant at Matla in Mpumalanga,
“takes the unrivalled perormance and track  N
record o Ash Resources’ classied y ash,
DuraPozz, to new heights – at no extra cost to
the end-user.”
Sheath explains: “DuraPozz Pro is a ‘new gen-
eration’ classied y ash or high-perormance,
high-durability concrete. It has been designed
and developed or the proessional end-user
who requires concrete with added strength and
durability.”
Some o the many benets o DuraPozz Pro
include:
N Improved concrete workability and water
reduction as a result o its neness, spherically
shaped particles and unique particle size
distribution
N DuraPozz Pro concrete, with its lower water-
cement ratio, has decreased permeability
which results in reduced chloride and sulphate
attacks and reduced alkali-silica reactivity
N The lubrication action o the new product
reduces water content and drying shrinkage
in concrete
N Higher strength evolution over time
 The product is suitable or use by concrete
proessionals across the whole o the concrete
industry.
DuraPozz Pro particle size is a ner grade
than required by SANS 1491:Part 2 Portland
Cement Extenders: Fly Ash specication. “The
concentration o the extremely ne – and
1  Ash Resources’ new DuraPozz Pro classied fy  turer and Terraorce licence holder, was
ash is produced at the company’s Matla plant  approached by Requad Construction to
1
spherical – particles results in more dense and
durable concrete,” says Sheath.
He says that DuraPozz Pro provides the ol-
lowing advantages in resh or plastic concrete:
N Reduced water content
N Improved workability
N Increased pumpability
N Better concrete compaction
For hardened concrete, the benets include:
Increased strength gain over time
N Lower heat o hydration
N Reduced shrinkage
N Reduced permeability leading to improved
durability
N Smoother, more attractive nishes and aes-
thetics
“By taking the y ash rom Eskom’s bituminous
coal-red power stations, and engineering this
by-product’s benecial use, Ash Resources prod-
ucts – such as carbon-lean DuraPozz Pro – rank  380 amilies who need to be relocated so
high in the quest or sustainable construction
and the reduction o greenhouse gas emissions,”
Sheath adds.
INFO
John Sheath
011 886 6200
www.ashresources.co.za
local rETaiNiNG BlocK
assisTs WiTH UPGraDiNG
oF iNForMal sETTlEMENTs
IN MARCH 2009, Cape Retaining Systems,
the Cape-based retaining block manuac-
reclaim more habitable surace area or
building low-cost homes near Kayamandi,
an inormal settlement in the vicinity o 
Stellenbosch. Ater some consideration,
 Terra orce retaining blocks were deci ded
on, as they provide a cost-eective, yet
durable method or creating platorms and
road/sidewalk support on the old armland
earmarked to provide 380 emergency homes
to amilies who are currently living on what
will eventually become the parking area or
the upgraded Kayamandi sports ield and
 Touris m Cent re.
Says Henk van Renssen, project engineer
with Arcus Gibb, the engineering and science
consulting company involved in the project:
“The site, called TRA2 (Temporary Relocation
Area 2), orms part o the bigger Watergang
Housing Project and will soon be home to
that urban upgrading can take place in the
area. The homes, or now consisting o basic
wooden structures, will eventually give way
to 100 permanent homes. The goal is to
provide more ormal housing in the long run,
while improving the general environs.”
 The retaining blocks used at th e
Kayamandi site were pioneered by Terraorce
– a Cape Town-based precast concrete
licensor – 30 years ago and represent one
o the most energy-eicient segmental
retaining wall systems. Says Jeremy Leighton
o Cape Retaining Systems: “What makes this
product so popular in the industry is that
the blocks require low hardware input or
manuacture, and have low transport costs
and low inventory requirements at sales
outlets. They are hollow, yet strong enough,
and require less concrete to do the job when
compared with solid block systems, which o 
course saves money.”
He adds that: “Concrete retaining walls
constructed using the Terraorce system are
easily ormed into complex curved shapes or
into walls in which the upper and lower pro-
iles are continuously changing. The system
also allows you a choice between round ace
(plant supportive) or lush ace (smooth or
split version) to suit speciic requirements.
Above all, they present a closed vertical sur-
ace structure that provides the maximum
amount o soil mass within the wall, which
prevents backill spillage, while at the same
time oering uninhibited permeability.”
 The r st concre te ound ations at
Kayamandi were laid in November 2009. Each
o the three walls is tted with a 110 mm sub-
soil drainage pipe that runs along the entire
length o the wall and exits through weep
holes cut into individual blocks at regular
intervals. As the walls were built up, a sand
drainage layer o 500 mm was lled to the top
to prevent possible damming up o water.
A similar project using Terraorce blocks
was initiated by the Swaziland Ministry
o Urban Development to provide urban
upgrading in the suburbs around Mbabane,
where steeply sloping and easily erodible
topography in a high-rainall area posed
some unique challenges to the local town
planners. To prevent urther serious damage
to the environment, remedial measures were
carried out, using manual labour as much as
possible. Terraorce L11 blocks and Terracrete
hard lawn blocks, supplied by Milito Precast
o Manzini, were ound to be ideal or pro-
viding the ollowing:
N Stormwater drainage channels (Terracrete
blocks), illed with soil or soilcrete, de-
pending on the anticipated velocity or
volume o water low
N Cascades, stilling basins and small diver-
sion weirs, illed with soil or concrete as
required
1 INFO
 A Terraorce
Terraorce wall
wall creating
creating a level  Hospital Bend.
 platrom or emergency
emergency housing and
and roads
in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch. Here the wall  Marketing Manager – Terraorce
runs around a stormwater drain
1
N Gravity retaining walls as and when
required or road widening or improved
stormwater drainage
N Drit crossings and weirs across small
streams
N Hard suraces (Terracrete blocks) at various
strategic locations or parking reuse col-
lection bins.
According to Michael Toeper, owner o  by Empowerdex, South Arica’s leading
Milito Precast, Terraorce products provided
cost-eective, environmentally
environmentally sound solu-
tions, as well as job opportunities: “The
blocks are manageable enough to allow
manual labour to be used to install them
and many unemployed locals managed to
ind work during the construction period.
Because lots o smaller walls were built,
no heavy machinery was required and the
locals, armed with a shovel and pick, were
able to lay the blocks themselves. The
workorce came directly out o the inormal
settlements, and they were monitored and
trained by recommended contractors and
supervisors.”
Karin Johns
karin@terraorce.com
ciTY oF caPE ToWN lEaDs
THE WaY iN sErVicE DEliVErY 
 THE CIT Y OF CAPE TOWN has o nce a gain
been rated as the top metropolitan munici-
pality in South Arica or service delivery
economic empowerment rating and re-
search agency. This annual survey measures
delivery in the areas o housing, water,
electricity, waste removal and sanitation and
covers 231 local, 46 district and 6 metro-
politan municipalities.
municipalities.
In keeping with its policy to continu-
ously maintain and escalate its high levels
o perormance, the City has acquired ully
integrated
integrated inrastructure design sotware
platorms to the value o R1,74 million.
 The so twa re, d evel ope d an d sup plie d
by Knowledge Base, has been used in the
design o signiicant inrastructure projects
in the city such as the Green Point Stadium,
M5/Koeberg Interchange, IRT System and
Ater an extensive evaluation o the
Knowledge Base sotware and its com-
petitor products, Civil Designer & AllyCAD
 1 PermPave Version 2.1 and LockPave
1 Cape Town – rated by Empowerdex  UPDaTED PErMEaBlE
as the top metropolitan municipality 
municipality  sultant or asphalt paving, block paving and r igid
in South Arica or service delivery  PaViNG
were selected to help develop the capacity
and perormance o the City’s in-house de-
sign team in an eort to reduce outsourcing
costs, and to optimise time and project
management.
Civil Designer is a sotware platorm that
consists o a suite o ully interactive design
modules that combine to orm an integrated
data gathering, drawing, surace modelling
and design system or civil engineering
inrastructure. AllyCAD is an intuitive, user-
riendly 3D draughting package with special-
ised toolkits or the architectural,
architectural, surveying
and engineering ields.
With 2010 inrastructure development
on track, the City will use the sotware ap-
plications in the rollout o similar exciting
projects in the uture.
Says CEO o K nowledge Base, Vincent
Bester, “This is an exciting partnership and
we are very happy to have the City o Cape
 Town com e on boa rd. We lo ok  orward
or ward to a
long and prosperous relationship and urther
congratulate the City o Cape Town on their
excellent perormance in terms o service
delivery.”
INFO
Knowledge Base Sotware
www.knowbase.co.za
PaViNG DEsiGN soFTWarE
aVailaBlE FroM THE cMa
UPDATED
UPDATED VERSIONS o PermPave, sotware
used or designing permeable concrete
block paving (PCBP) suraces, and LockPave,
sotware used or designing conventional
concrete block paving (CBP) suraces, are now
available rom the Concrete Manuacturers
Association (CMA).
1 INFO
The eectiveness o a PCBP system can be
seen in this example at the Grand Parade in
Cape Town – PCBP surace in the oreground  011 805 6742
contrasting with conventionally paved surace
1
Version 18.1 are available on a single disc at
no charge to existing users and at a nominal
R500,00 or new users.
First launched in 2008, PermPave is a sot-
ware package aimed at assisting civil engineers
and landscape architects in the design o 
PCBP systems. LockPave was rst launched in
the 1990s or the design o CBP systems. Both
packages were authored by Dr Brian Shackel,
but PermPave was developed in collabora-
tion with Proessor Simon Beecham o the
University o South Australia.
Both systems can be used or various
paving products and locations, and this pro-
vides considerable design scope. PermPave is
programmed with South Arican rainall data
and allows or the urther downloading o local
climate and rainall inormation.
“It acilitates the selection o paving
blocks best suited to a particular application.
Moreover, it allows water requirements and
volumes to be specied, either or storage and
re-use or or replenishing underground water
tables,” advises Shackel.
Based in Sydney, Australia, Dr Shackel has
worked on many projects worldwide as a con-
concrete pavements. He is a recognised authority
on CBP and is the author o numerous research
papers and three books on this topic. His work on
CBP suraces won him an Award or Excellence
rom the Concrete Institute o Australia.
Proessor Beecham is currently Proessor
o Sustainable Water Resources Engineering in
the School o Natural and Built Environments
(NBE) at the University o South Australia and
has been work ing with UNISA’s Water Science
and Systems Centre.
.
Pam (at CMA)
main.cma@gmail.com
SAICE AND PROFESSIONAL NEWS
More courses rom the
cnddte ademy
 The newly launched Candidate
Academy will roll out its next
two new courses in May and
June to support graduates with
the transition from theory to
application in the workplace
he Wo CoURSeS cus  t -  -
gt  ctrcts, d  prssur
pp dsg. T acd’s curss
r prctc, ds- d rvt t
t wrkpc ctxt. mvg w r
t d  ‘pssv rcpt’, cddts
r vvd  ‘ctv rg’,
rg ’, wc
cutvts wsd d prprs t t
b dscrg, rspsb d gtv
prcttrs. T r t pp tr b
gudd prctc, wc ks
 ks t rd t
tck r jbs bck 
  t wrkpc.
T curss r rd b w-xpr-
cd grs d xprts  tr d,
w brg t  grt tcc dpt
but s  k udrstdg  t r
wrd  grg  Sut arc –
brgg t  t rg  cgs
d suts cd  t wrkpc d
cut.
Basics oF MaNaGiNG coNTracTs
‘Bsc Ctrct mgt d Qut
Ctr’, prstd b xprcd gr
d ctrctr Tus e “w p
cddts t udrstd t cpxt
 ctrct dstrt d t pr-
tc  qut ctr,” ss Tus. “T
 ds- xrcss  ts curs w
w cddts t rtur t t wrkpc
cpb  drwg up tdr dcuts,
pt crtcts d t ctr
dcuts vt r surg tt t c-
p's r ct's trsts r tk cr
c r .”
Ts tr-d curs cuds 
ss  t r prs  cv prjcts
(cts, ctrctr, csutts, prjct
grs, tc), supp c, d t pr-
curt d tdrg prcss. Tus
tks cddts trug ctvts suc
s drtg  tdr dcut d c-
pg  pt crtct.
crtct.
oter activities include flling in a
site diary ater an incident, and cmpiling
te tests required r puring  cncrete.
he examines te range  prcurement
dcuments in detail, and takes candidates
trug te mntly activities invlved in
administering a cntract – including ccu-
patinal saety, payments, supervisin issues,
plant management and time extensins.
h s ks t qut ssurc,
gttg cddts r wt
qut ctr d g
gtt
ssus, spccts d wrk tcs.
Udrstdg t cpt crtct
d t dcts bt prd ps t rud
 ts curs, gvg cddts  trug
ut  ts cpx r  kwdg
(s bw r curs dts d vus).
Basic PrEssUrE PiPEliNE DEsiGN
i Ju, t acd bgs wt ts
curs  bsc prssur pp dsg,
prstd b xprcd gr Ptr
d W. Ts tw-d curs cvrs bsc
prssur pp dsg, tkg cd-
dts trug rst prcps, sct   v dtd wrkpc trg ps,
pprprt trs d ttgs, w t
rd d trprt pup dut curvs, d
t cstruct prcss. m ds-
xrcss d prstts b supprs
w sur tt cddts udrstd
t prtrs wc ust b csdrd
w dsgg  pp (s bw r
curs dts d vus).
ValUaBlE aDDiTioNal sUPPorT
i ddt t t curs ts, prs
Ts pts r prtcur vub
wr suprvs r trg cpct s
t dt vb  t wrkpc.
WHEN To aTTEND?
W csdrg sdg  cddt 
  t acd curss, prs
sud rst b sur tt t cddt s
du t strt  prjct r ps   prjct
rtg t t curs ctt.
“it wud b d r cddts t
s tt tr ttdc t ts curss
ccds wt rtd wrkpc ctvt,”
ss as lwss, w s b -
strut  sttg up t acd.
“Br cddts ttd curss, supr-
 vsrs d t br t  tr xt
ssgt s tt t c sk -
gu qusts d sur tt t
udrstd  prcsss br rturg
t t wrkpc.”
Br t curs, t acd s

c s cs   tw dd- srv-
cs (t  xtr crg) tt w urtr
rrc t tgrt  rg t
t wrkpc vrt:
New SAICE
supps ts  t curs t wrkpc
suprvsrs, s tt cddts r w
prprd d s cps c sur
tt t rrc t rg prcss

N cue nd gnment ptn: T cd-
dt  ct t cpt  dtd
ssgt st b t acd tr
t curs. Ts w b ssssd b t
prstr, w w r ddt put
d drct bsd  t subss,
tus rrcg d cg t
rg xprc  t curs.
N cue nd wkpe uppt ptn: istd
 ssstg d dvsg cddts
wt  pttc ssgt, t
prstr c  s b d vb
t ssst t cddt wt  r, v
prjct t sur tt wt s b
rt s crrct ppd  prctc.
(Ts pt rs  ddt v
urs  supprt, cudg trv, d
s  vb  Gutg t prst.)
Course: Basic Contract Management and Quality Control
Date
3 – 5 May 2010
17 – 19 May 2010
26 – 28 July 2010
23 – 25 August 2010
Course: Basic Pressure Pipeline Design
Date
1 – 2 June 2010
20 – 21 Sept 2010
11 – 12 October 2010
trug pprprt xprc. Ts
tgrt  trg wt ctu wrk-
pc rspsbts s k t t c-
tvss  t trg.
MORE INFORMATION
For details o courses, activities and dates,
please click on the Candidate Academy icon on
the ollowing websites:
www.civils.org.za
www.cesa.co.za
Or contact the ollowing people:
Dawn Hermanus (SAICE)
011 805 5947
dhermanus@saice.org.za
Brenda Lacey-Smith (CESA)
011 463 2022
brenda@cesa.co.za
Venue
SAICE National Ofce, Midrand
Cape Town (venue to be advised)
Durban (venue to be advised)
SAICE National Ofce, Midrand
Venue
SAICE National Ofce, Midrand
Durban (venue to be advised)
SAICE National Ofce, Midrand
Few
Bruce Raath attended the Durban
High School and graduated rom
the University o KZN. His career
embraced several dierent disciplines
and culminated in a partnership
at Contest Concrete Technology
Services. He recently retired rom the
C&CI (Concrete and Cement Institute)
where he ran the education division.
He was closely involved with the
Durban Branch o SAICE and served
many years as secretary. He is still ac-
tive in the SAICE and sits on the JSD
committee. He holds qualiications
rom the Association o Arbitrators,
as well as the Advanced Concrete
 Techno log y Di ploma a ward ed
by Imperial College, University o 
London. He is currently consulting in
all aspects o concrete technology
and usage, and is also training young
engineers. He is married to Judy and
the couple have two children.