Challenges in Construction Over Soft Soil - Case Studies in Malaysia
Challenges in Construction Over Soft Soil - Case Studies in Malaysia
Challenges in Construction Over Soft Soil - Case Studies in Malaysia
Recent citations
- A. B. Ramli et al
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract. Construction on soft ground area is a great challenge in the field of geotechnical
engineering. Many engineering problems in the form of slope instability, bearing capacity
failure or excessive settlement could occur either during or after the construction phase due to
low shear strength and high compressibility of this soil. As main technical agencies responsible
for implementation of development projects for Government of Malaysia, Public Works
Department has vast experience in dealing with this problematic soil over the years. This paper
discussed and elaborate on the engineering problems encountered in construction projects that
have been carried out by PWD, namely Core Facilities Building of Polytechnic Kota Kinabalu
in Sabah and Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Integration Quarters in Klang, Selangor.
Instability of the ground during construction works had caused delay and cost overrun in
completion of the project in Selangor, whereas occurrence of continuous post construction
settlement had affected the integrity and serviceability of the building in Sabah. The causes of
failure and proposed rehabilitation work for both projects also will be discussed in brief.
1. Introduction
Soft soil typically characterized as a soil with low shear strength, highly compressible and low
permeability [1,2]. The shear strength of the soil is reported to be less than 40 kPa and it can be
physically moulded by light finger pressure. Generally, construction problems in this deposit are
insufficient bearing capacity, excessive post construction settlement and instability on excavation and
embankment forming. Theoretically, settlement problem can be defined as a deformation in the soil
due to the applied stresses. As a result of settlement, the geometry of load carrying system will be
changed, and if the ground water level is high, a part of the fill material will become buoyancy which
will influence the total surcharge loading and the stability of the soil [3,4].
Generally, soft soil in Malaysia is considered as quaternary sediments consist of alluvial deposits
and organic or peat soils [5]. According to Quarternary Geological Map of Malaysia, soft ground
usually found in the coastal plains of the country covers large area of west coast and east coast of
Peninsular and East Malaysia [6]. Due to significant proportion of soft ground to the country total land
area and major economic activities and social developments are concentrating along the coastal area,
construction projects on these problematic deposits are unavoidable. In the past, many failures related
to high settlement and deformation to structure such as embankment which resulted from the high
compressibility and low shear strength of soft soil have been reported either locally or internationally.
Due to the rapid development experienced by the nation in the last few decades, Public Works
Department of Malaysia (PWD) had involved in many highway and building projects on soft soil. As a
main technical agency for Government of Malaysia, involvement of PWD in any development project
can be during construction or forensic investigation. Since 2010, statistics of geotechnical forensic
investigation on problematic projects carried out by JKR is summarized in Table 1. There are 182
cases out of 252 forensic cases (approximately 72%) are related to the issue of ground settlement, the
remaining 28% are caused by other factors such as vibration, erosion, foundation failures and so forth.
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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
Therefore, it is clearly shown that the issue of ground settlement is the main engineering problem
encountered in construction over soft ground area. A common settlement problem occurred in most of
the project is:
Excessive Settlement – Elastic or immediate settlement, Primary Consolidation Settlement,
Secondary Settlement and;
Differential Settlement – Occur where sudden change in the thickness of fill, e.g. at bridge
abutment, or where the compaction of the fill is particularly difficult.
Year
Contributing Factors 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
Vibration 2 1 3 6
Soil erosion 3 2 4 9
Foundation failures 2 1 6 3 12
Slope stability 6 3 12 4 25
Water infiltration 4 4 1 9
Collapsible soil 1 1 2
Total 1 10 19 85 95 42 252
2. Case Study 1: Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Integration Quarters in Klang, Selangor
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
platform. Upon completion of piling work, most of the installed piles were found to be deviated from
original position after some times. Piles were also found to be severely tilted and damaged at the
location of the proposed lift pit and layout of the affected piles is shown in Figure 1.
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
Figure 2. Sheet piles and piles adjacent to the excavation pit tilted.
Probably due to the cost and time constraints, temporary sheet pile wall was installed at only one
side of the excavation area. The excavated earth which was supposed to be transported out of the site
was also temporary placed on the crest of the pit as shown in Figure 3. This improper construction
practices adopted by the contractor had contributed to the failure of sheet pile wall as the placement of
that unsuitable material had induced surcharge load to the ground that caused lateral movement of the
unsupported side of the excavated pit.
Figure 3. A large quantity of excavated earth dumped at the crest of excavation pit.
The problem of pile deviation was also expected to be caused by negligent in carry out the setting
out survey for the pile position. Movement of the ground as a result of the moving jacked – in machine
may shift the pre – pegged pile position. Therefore, without confirmatory check on the pile position
prior to installation had caused the piles to be installed at deviated position.
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
Subsequently, these problems had caused a great delay in completion of the project. It is also
incurred huge amount of additional cost to the project because a lot of replacement piles were needed
for the tilted or deviated piles.
3 Case Study 2: Core Facilities Building of Polytechnic Kota Kinabalu (PKK), Sabah
BLOCK A BLOCK
B
Polytechnic Kota Kinabalu is located at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), Jalan Politeknik,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The construction of this project was commenced in 1999 and finally completed
in 2003. Topographically, the project site is located on the low lying area which required extensive
earthwork in order to achieve the proposed platform. Once completed, the first academic session at the
new campus starts its operation on the 1 September 2003. Structural cracks were later detected at one
of the main building in the campus, i.e. Core Facilities Building and the Teaching Restaurant. At the
point of investigation, the drainage system such as perimeter drains had also experienced serious
settlement.
In November 2004, Kumpulan IKRAM (Sabah) Sdn. Bhd. was appointed to conduct a structural
assessment and geotechnical audit on the problematic building. The purpose and scope of work
include the following:
(a) Physical investigation works include visits, visual inspection and necessary material and
structural testing
(b) Monitoring works including defect and crack mapping, monitoring of settlement and
movement of the Teaching Restaurant
(c) Proof checking of the structure of the building
(d) Carry out soil investigation works
(e) Carry out geotechnical analysis and ascertained the integrity of the pile foundation
(f) Recommendation of remedial works
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
The works that was carried out between September to November 2004 are as follows:-
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
Table 2. Magnitude and rate of anticipated settlement due to the 7.2m thick of fill material.
BH Location Thickness of Time Required For 90% Predicted Post
Compressible Layer Consolidation Settlement after 5 years
(m) (year) (mm)
Based on the ground settlement monitoring records carried out from September – December 2005,
a total ground settlement of about 130mm has been recorded, which equivalent to be about 103mm/
year. Therefore, it was concluded that the ground settlement within the building compound is still
active at time of investigation. Depending on the actual thickness of soft compressible layer and height
of fill at the site, a targeted 90% degree of consolidation expected to be achieved within 9 – 13 years
after completion of the earthwork.
A separate settlement monitoring on columns also recorded a maximum reading of about 52mm
settlement within a period of 15 months. The result of column settlement monitoring records had
indicated that columns of Core Facilities Building had settled at different rates. Therefore, the major
cause of the cracks is expected to be trigger by differential settlement that occurred on the foundation
of the building.
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Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 136 (2016) 012002 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/136/1/012002
The finding is in line with the design review carried out on the original design which found that the
negative skin friction was not considered in the design. Theoretically, the effect of negative skin
friction will induced an additional force on the piles thus reducing its effective capacity. Therefore, the
main cause of the problems possibility due to the overloaded piles when subjected to the negative skin
friction develops over time as a result of settling ground. This phenomenon has led the occurrence of
differential settlement of the pile foundations that causing cracks to the building.
Conclusion
Soil contamination especially by hazardous heavy metals is pointed as a main contributor to
environmental problems throughout the world. To ensure that these problems can be reduced and
finally be solved, a systematic prevention and remediation methods should be taken. It is evident from
this review that S/S remediation methods using various types of binders attempted of addressing these
problems. S/S method using OPC are the most frequently studied for the remediation of heavy metals
in soil. However, this review have revealed that S/S method using OPC incorporated with other
potential additive such as fly ash, bottom ash and lime showed satisfactory results as well as help on
reducing the remediation cost. This review also found that the use of recycle material from agricultural
waste such as Rice Hush Ash (RHA) capable to improve the quality of soil treatment as well as
contributed towards a sustainability remediation method.
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