Investigation into some of the engineering properties of soil in Damot Gale district

Investigation of the sub-surface condition is used for the effective design of the structural elements. It is also very crucial to obtain information on the type, characteristics, and distributions of soil and rock underlying a site for proposed structures. I investigate some of the engineering properties of soils collecting 20 disturbed and 10 undisturbed soil samples from 10 different test pits at the average depth of 1.5m to 3m and laboratory tests conducted. The natural moisture content of soil ranges from 24% - 44.47% and bulk unit weight range from 16.4 to 19.7 kN/m3. The specific gravity of soil varies from 2.57 to 2.84 and the particle size analysis showed that the dominant proportions of soils in the study area are the clay. Consistency limit test results in the research area showed the liquid limit ranges from 46 to 73%, plastic limit ranging from 13 to 38%, and plasticity index ranging from 13 to 38 %. The unconfined compressive strength of the soils in the study area ranges from 80 -215kN/m2 and undrained shear strength range from 40 – 107.5 kN/m2. Finally, a one-dimensional consolidation test was done.