Volume 6 – Geotechnical Manual, Site Investigation and Engineering ...

Chapter 8 GROUND IMPROVEMENT
8 GROUND IMPROVEMENT
8.1
INTRODUCTION
As land
becomes scarcer, it is
often becomes necessary to erect
structures or buildings on sites
underlain by poor soils. These sites are potentially troublesome. The most common of these
problematic soils are the soft saturated clays and silts often found near the mouths of rivers, along
the perimeter of bays, coast lines and beneath wetlands.
These soils are very weak and compressible and thus are subjected to bearing capacity and
settlement problems. They frequently include organic material which further aggravates these
problems. Areas underlain by these soft soils frequently
are subject
to flooding,
so it often becomes
necessary to raise
the ground surface by placing fill. Unfortunately, the weight of these fills
frequently causes large settlements.
In Malaysia, deposits of alluvium
could be found along the coastal line as should in Figure 8.1 which
illustrated the distribution of alluvial deposits in Peninsular Malaysia. In fact, soft to very soft marine
clay and silt from a few meters
to 25 meter depth can be found in
many areas
along the coast line
stretching from Perlis in the north to Johor
in the south, and also along the coast lines in Sarawak
and Sabah.
Figure 8.1 Distribution of Alluvium Deposits In Peninsular Malaysia
March 2009
8-1