The most common sources of building uplift and resulting damage are expansive clay soil or rock. These soils and rocks have the ability to lift buildings when the swell pressure exhibited by these clayey materials exceeds the foundation loading. This is why flatwork, like on grade concrete slabs which are lightly loaded, can be more susceptible to uplift. What makes the clay soil or rock have significant swell potential is its water absorption capability. The greater the absorption capability, the greater the amount of potential building uplift. The absorption strength depends on the clay mineralogy content, the density and the amount of moisture in the soil or rock. For example, a relatively dry, densely packed clay soil or rock which contained a significant amount of expansive clay particles, would have a very high swell potential. Therefore, wetter materials such as from a possibly wet climate or surface drainage and higher groundwater tables can limit building uplift. Conversely, under drier conditions uplift can occur in such materials where access to water increased. More common examples are where surface drainage has been rerouted to, and/or landscaping has been removed (removing roots and allowing more ground absorption) from the foundation area. In colder climates, another source of building uplift would be from freezing soils. This results when the building foundation is placed above the frost depth in the soil and subsequently the soil moisture freezes beneath the foundation, resulting in heave during cold weather. Building heave can be mistaken for building settlements or possibly other causes. If an investigation is merited, it is recommended that a qualified geotechnical forensic engineer be consulted. If MEA can assist you with your building uplift problems, please contact us at 314-833-3189.
Karst subsidence is land subsidence that is caused by cavities or voids in the underlying bedrock which collapse or from soil filling them in from above resulting in surface subsidence. Under normal circumstances, the voids or cavities were created by the flow of groundwater in fractures in soluble bedrock over a great deal of time. The most significant land subsidence effects occur over voids which have been solutioned in limestone bedrock but also result in other soluble rocks such as dolomite, gypsum, and halite. The most typical land subsidence results from groundwater draining downward into these solution voids carrying soil particles with it. This results in the ground settlement in the form of a sinkhole to a more gradual depression on the ground surface. Therefore, when downward drainage of groundwater is caused into open bedrock voids, the potential for subsidence results. Some more common triggers are: unlined surfaced drainage trenches, pumping of water wells, quarry pit dewatering and retention/detention ponds.
Figures 1 and 2 are examples of this.
FIGURE 1: SINKHOLE CAUSED BY DOWNWARD DRAINAGE FROM DEWATERING OF NEARBY QUARRY PIT
FIGURE 2: IRREGULAR DEPRESSION WHICH FORMED FROM DOWNWARD SEEPAGE OF WATER STORED IN A RETENTION POND
Mine subsidence is the collapse or settlement of the ground surface from failure of an underlying mine. The most common mine subsidence events are from the extraction of coal. However, it also occurs from underground mining of other ores or natural resources as well. This would include mines in gold, iron, zinc, trona, salt, gypsum, limestone, etc. The nature of the mining and depth play a significant role in how the subsidence expresses itself on the ground surface. Based on essentially these two factors the mine subsidence can express itself on the ground surface as pothole sized to large sinkholes and small to very large trough to bowl-shaped depressions.
The mine subsidence movements can be very gradual to rapid depending on the type of mine failure. Example of larger and smaller sinkholes are shown in Figure 1 and 2. Examples of smaller to larger sag depressions of the ground surface are depicted in Figures 3 and 4.
For more information on mine subsidence see: Establishing Mine Subsidence Risk. In selecting a mine subsidence expert see: What to look for in a Geotechnical Engineering Expert.
FIGURE 1 SINKHOLE FROM MINE SUBSIDENCE
FIGURE 2 LARGE SINKHOLE
FIGURE 3 SMALLER SAG DEPRESSION FROM MINE SUBSIDENCE
FIGURE 4 LARGER SAG DEPRESSION FROM MINE SUBSIDENCE
If you have a project which requires geotechnical engineering how can you determine which company best suits your needs? The most common means used to find the most appropriate company for your work is to ask an associate, colleague, or even a friend who is some how connected to your area of inquiry. If a company is found by some other means, or even such a company(s) is suggested, that company should be further vetted. Some of the more relevant company information to obtain when determining the geotechnical engineering company to select are:
How long has the geotechnical engineering company been in service?
Does the company specifically do the geotechnical engineering work you need done?
Given their expertise, are they reasonably local, especially if there is significant site work involved?
Experience in serving your industry
The last point can be over looked. Companies that have experience servicing your industry generally understand your needs and wants and therefore can more intuitively anticipate critical site conditions which may otherwise not been properly emphasis, or even been ignored.
Geotechnical engineering companies service different entities. This includes contractors, commercial property developers, government agencies, mining companies, homeowners, petroleum related industries, power industry, and co-professional (architects, civil engineers, structural engineers, and environmental engineers). These different entities have different needs and wants.
In addition to having an appreciation for the industry it is more important, however, to have sufficient expertise in the specific areas of need and circumvent industry service.
However, when problematic, unexpected geotechnical conditions has resulted at the site, one is looking to perform a Geoforensics investigation and remediate the unwanted conditions. Examples of this are unexpected earthwork difficulties, excessive structure settlement or heave, earth retaining structure excessive movement, dam failures, pavement damage, and land sliding. If there is potential, this situation may result in some form of dispute resolution. Then this work becomes more individual dependent having the unique abilities of an expert witness. See finding such an expert please refer to What to Look for in a Geotechnical Engineering Expert and Traits to Dig for In An Engineering Expert.
When a site is experiencing landsliding, it is a good idea to have some basic understanding of what might have caused this ground movement in the first place. Landsliding in soil occurs when the slope is weakened or loaded. Weakening typically occurs when the soils weaken over time (i.e. weathering), and the slope’s vegetative root structure, which was anchoring the soil, is removed. Undercutting the slope either naturally (e.g. stream erosion) or by man weakened or reduced the slope’s resistance to sliding. Loading the slope can occur when temporary or permanent loads are added to or placed on the slope (such as storage containers or stock piles of materials at the top of the slope), or when the soil slope gets soaked by excessive precipitation or when previously submerged slope is now exposed. Based on the above, it stands to reason that stripping and steepening the slope during land development causes the greatest damage to the slope and should be carefully evaluated.
Given the various phenomena which can exist as discussed above, the rate of sliding can vary significantly from a slow creep to a rapid failure. When dealing with an abrupt/quick sliding event some actions that can be taken are the following:
Block off area to reduce hazard
Can easily progress upward (rarely expands sideways without some causation component) – consider this as part of the hazard area.
Cover/seal ground cracks from precipitation runoff
With slowly developing slope events, there will be signs of instability. These could include:
Settlement at the top of the slope resulting in downslope tilting and separations in adjacent structures and flatwork.
Cracking in the slope especially if roughly along the slope (e.g. not random network of cracking)
Fence posts, poles, etc. titled downslope, trees leaning down slope, or if very slow trees curving upwards to compensate for very slow slope movement.
The above is illustrated in Figure 1.
It is important to note that any point in time a slow-moving event can turn abrupt.
Of course, there are other phenomena and technical issues involved when there is a sliding event than is given above. To properly assess and understand the sliding conditions and any hazards and to know how to properly remediate the event, a geotechnical investigation should be performed. For information on how to select the appropriate geotechnical engineering companies see: What to look for When Selecting a Geotechnical Engineering Company. It is important to note that is not advertised that contractor be hired to provide the fix without adequate engineering.
