Laboratory study of Lebanese clay

Abstract

Clay is one of the most critical soils in civil engineering. Many building and roadways are founded on clay-rich soils which may cause damage to constructions, due to their ability to change in volume. Our role is to study the Lebanese Clay and its physical parameters. We started by identifying different clay soils collected from different locations covering all Lebanese territories. This identification is based on the determination of different soil parameters like Sieve analysis, Specific gravity, Atterberg limits and Hydrometer. Then some experiments related to the swelling capacity of soils are performed on the soils like Expansive index (EI) and California Bearing Capacity (CBR). We will try to find any correlation relating the physical properties of clay.