Caracterización de suelos expansivos de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

The urban development of the city increasingly invades new lands, where there is no record of old buildings or any experience with the type and behavior of the soil of the place. It becomes necessary then to collaborate in the identification of certain areas that may have problems regarding expansive soils. This property of the soil, can cause significant damage to the structures and even a general collapse. However, the expansion of a coil is not a property that is commonly evaluated within the design of a structure, unless there is some indication in this regard. The objective of the proposed research is to identify soils with expansive problems, within the city of Cuenca and its surroundings. It is intended to evaluate the expansive characteristics of these soils and contrast the results obtained with different laboratory methods and empirical correlations for the characterization of expansive soils that will serve as a reference, at the time of construction to make a good design of the building and in the case of no construction in these areas. Five soils located in the Gapal, Valle, Challuabamba, Sidcay and Miraflores sectors in the city of Cuenca are analyzed, as well as one in the city of Azogues. These soils are classified according to the SUCS and degree of expansiveness such as: Low clay plasticity expansive grade Medium, Sand clay expansive grade Low, Clay high plasticity expansive grade Very high, Sand clay expansive grade Low, Clay high expansion grade Very High and Sand clay expansive grade Low respectively. Tests of free expansion, controlled expansion, Lambe test and test of free expansion in test tube are contrasted, in addition to the analysis of properties such as Atterberg limits, specific gravity, particle size. Correlations and recommendations are obtained regarding the use of these tests to determine the degree of expansion of a soil.