BEHAVIOR STUDIES OF BEARING CAPACITY OF OIL-CONTAMINATED SANDY SOIL

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the effect of contaminant and water level on the bearing capacity of sandy soil layer. The sandy soil layers are simulated in testing tank under conditions of dry, water level, benzene-contaminated soil of 2%, benzene-contaminated soil of 4% and paraffin oil-contaminated soil of 2%. Two type of sandy soil which are poorly-graded soil (SP) and silty sandy soil (SM) are provided in the process of sandy soil preparation. The results from light weight penetration test showed that the bearing capacity of SP with water level increases 14-16 percent comparing to dry soil condition and the bearing capacity of SM with water level decrease 81-85 percent comparing to dry soil condition. Moreover, the bearing capacity of benzene-contaminated SP soil of 2% increases 16-18 percent comparing to dry soil condition and the bearing capacity of benzene-contaminated SM soil of 2% decrease 29-48 percent comparing to dry soil condition. Therefore, the calculation of the soil bearing capacity for the sandy soil layer should be considered the influences of soil types, water level and contamination in risky area of oil leakage. Finally, this research also revealed that the study of bearing capacity of oil-contaminated soil can be used paraffin oil instead of benzene for further study.