Structural stability of subsident loess soil from Praha-Dejvice

✍ Scribed by Jaroslav Feda

• Book ID: 103069494
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1966
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 969 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0013-7952
• DOI: 10.1016/0013-7952(66)90032-9

✦ Synopsis

The physical properties of the loess foundation soil at Praha-Dejvice are described. The rather complex genesis of the Pleistocene soil profile, influenced by local factors (e.g., solifluction), causes different physical properties. The most striking feature is the structural instability, called subsidence, of some soil samples while others are stable.

The analysis of conditions causing subsident loes material is equally applicable to soils of other origins and the problem of the so-called metastable soil structure is formulated in more general terms. The negative dilatant structural systems, formed by domains with a small number of grain contacts, as reflected by the higher sensitivity of the soil, is indicated as a common reason for the metastable structure.

Such a formulation of the problem of subsident soils leads to a criterion of subsidence based upon sensitivity, which, when compared with other criteria, is found to be satisfactory.