COLLAPSE OF BASE SOIL AND ITS CONSEQUENCES DURING A CEMENT PLANT CONSTRUCTION

Collapsible soils are subjected to rapid changes in their volume when inundated with water. Collapse of such a soil deposit during construction of a cement plant in north Azerbaijan resulted in significant settlement and tilting of structures causing a 2 years delay in the construction. The investor had to bear the huge costs of delay and remediation works. The collapse susceptibility of the soil could not be identified during initial site investigations. After first indications of the collapse problem (tilting, cracking of structures) the settlements were measured at different locations for a long time and a new site investigation was executed. The results of these studies were utilized to determine the collapse potential of the soil. Interestingly, some of the indirect methods were not capable of determining the collapse potential. It was seen that, indirect methods may mislead the engineers in such soils and it is more reliable to perform direct tests to determine collapse potential in similar soil deposits. In this study, it is aimed to discuss the experience gained in this project about determining the collapse potential and apprise the professionals as well as academicians about possible problems which may be faced during such studies in similar soils.