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Mapping of quick clay using geoelectrical imaging and CPTU-resistivity

Dahlin, Torleif LU ; Löfroth, Hjördis ; Schälin, David and Suer, Pascal (2013) In Near Surface Geophysics 11(6). p.659-670
Abstract
Quick clay has a major impact on landslide risk and it is therefore of considerable interest to map its presence and extent. In Sweden, quick clay has been involved in most landslides in soft clay with serious consequences. The predominant method for detection of quick clay in Sweden has been to take undisturbed samples and to perform fall-cone tests on the clay in its undisturbed and remoulded state. Originally deposited in saltwater in a marine environment, the salt maintains the stability of the clay. When the salt is leached out, the clay can become quick. When salt is leached from clay of marine origin the resistivity increases. In this study the intention was to calibrate electrical imaging with cone penetration tests with... (More)
Quick clay has a major impact on landslide risk and it is therefore of considerable interest to map its presence and extent. In Sweden, quick clay has been involved in most landslides in soft clay with serious consequences. The predominant method for detection of quick clay in Sweden has been to take undisturbed samples and to perform fall-cone tests on the clay in its undisturbed and remoulded state. Originally deposited in saltwater in a marine environment, the salt maintains the stability of the clay. When the salt is leached out, the clay can become quick. When salt is leached from clay of marine origin the resistivity increases. In this study the intention was to calibrate electrical imaging with cone penetration tests with resistivity measurements (CPTU-R) and measurement of the total penetration resistance, i.e. the total rod friction, together with both geotechnical and chemical analyses on specimens in the laboratory. The results show that electrical imaging can be used for separation of leached soil volumes in marine clays that may form quick clay, from those where the salt content remains too high for this. In the dry crust and thin weathered zone at the top, the resistivity is high but the clay is non-quick. Also soils with less clay content will have higher resistivity without being quick. The technique may thus be used as a screening tool in order to delimit areas where further investigations are needed from areas that do not require more attention. This has a potential of saving significant resources if used in a relatively early stage of the survey process. It can also increase the overall quality and reliability of the survey results. The induced polarization (IP) results are consistent and seem to be geologically realistic, and appear to contain additional information to the resistivity that is related to material or electrochemical properties, although it is not clear how due to lack of sufficiently detailed reference data. The electrical imaging gives a general picture of the variation in resistivity along soil sections. The CPTU-R gives variations at depth with very high vertical resolution in one specific location. There is generally good agreement between the models based on electrical imaging and the CPTU-R. The CPTU-R results may be used to calibrate the electrical imaging results with quick clay estimations based on rod friction. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Near Surface Geophysics
volume
11
issue
6
pages
659 - 670
publisher
EAGE
external identifiers
  • wos:000327427400008
  • scopus:84892776605
ISSN
1873-0604
DOI
10.3997/1873-0604.2013044
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ce76d1da-65b4-4789-8665-722870f7193a (old id 4143958)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:56:41
date last changed
2022-04-20 07:38:01
@article{ce76d1da-65b4-4789-8665-722870f7193a,
  abstract     = {{Quick clay has a major impact on landslide risk and it is therefore of considerable interest to map its presence and extent. In Sweden, quick clay has been involved in most landslides in soft clay with serious consequences. The predominant method for detection of quick clay in Sweden has been to take undisturbed samples and to perform fall-cone tests on the clay in its undisturbed and remoulded state. Originally deposited in saltwater in a marine environment, the salt maintains the stability of the clay. When the salt is leached out, the clay can become quick. When salt is leached from clay of marine origin the resistivity increases. In this study the intention was to calibrate electrical imaging with cone penetration tests with resistivity measurements (CPTU-R) and measurement of the total penetration resistance, i.e. the total rod friction, together with both geotechnical and chemical analyses on specimens in the laboratory. The results show that electrical imaging can be used for separation of leached soil volumes in marine clays that may form quick clay, from those where the salt content remains too high for this. In the dry crust and thin weathered zone at the top, the resistivity is high but the clay is non-quick. Also soils with less clay content will have higher resistivity without being quick. The technique may thus be used as a screening tool in order to delimit areas where further investigations are needed from areas that do not require more attention. This has a potential of saving significant resources if used in a relatively early stage of the survey process. It can also increase the overall quality and reliability of the survey results. The induced polarization (IP) results are consistent and seem to be geologically realistic, and appear to contain additional information to the resistivity that is related to material or electrochemical properties, although it is not clear how due to lack of sufficiently detailed reference data. The electrical imaging gives a general picture of the variation in resistivity along soil sections. The CPTU-R gives variations at depth with very high vertical resolution in one specific location. There is generally good agreement between the models based on electrical imaging and the CPTU-R. The CPTU-R results may be used to calibrate the electrical imaging results with quick clay estimations based on rod friction.}},
  author       = {{Dahlin, Torleif and Löfroth, Hjördis and Schälin, David and Suer, Pascal}},
  issn         = {{1873-0604}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{659--670}},
  publisher    = {{EAGE}},
  series       = {{Near Surface Geophysics}},
  title        = {{Mapping of quick clay using geoelectrical imaging and CPTU-resistivity}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/2259636/4985897.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.3997/1873-0604.2013044}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}