Avaliação da sensibilidade de uma argila mole do Amapá por meio da correlação entre ensaios de CPTU e de laboratório

Abstract

The identification and mapping of sensitive soft clayey soils are of great interest for planning, design and protection purposes, as these materials can exhibit fragility, loss of strength and softening by deformation, in addition to being more prone to landslides. The occurrence of sensitive clays in the port region of the municipality of Santana, state of Amapá, region of the mouth of the Amazon River, motivated the study about the geological and geotechnical characteristics of the local soil. In this context, this research aims to evaluate the sensitivity of clays from a fluviomarine sedimentary deposit. The geotechnical investigation was divided into three areas, called investigation islands. On each island, piezocone tests (CPTU) were performed and undisturbed samples of high quality soil were collected for laboratory tests. Soil behavioral type abacuses (SBT), which use CPTU data, indirectly identified layers (lenses) of sensitive soft clays. Through the relationship between the undrained soil shear strengths (𝑆𝑢 and 𝑆𝑢𝑟), obtained by the unconfined simple compression test, the sensitivity values were directly obtained. The Atterberg limit tests, total granulometric analysis and moisture content, served to characterize the region's soil. The results showed that the sedimentary deposit is constituted mainly by silt and clay, of low resistance and high plasticity and compressibility, with moisture content close to 50%. The methods of Robertson (1990) and (2016) and Schneider et al. (2008) identified sensitive thin material. The clay showed 𝐵𝑞 values lower than 1.0. The results for 𝑆𝑢 were between 33.67 and 103.53 kPa, while for 𝑆𝑢𝑟 between 4.44 and 16.29 kPa. According to Skempton and Nortey's (1952) classification, 83.33% of the samples were classified as medium to extrasensitive clays, with a sensitivity range of 3.3 to 12.7 and an average of 7.06. Thus, the results were consistent with similar ones in the literature, evidencing the applicability of the geological geotechnical investigation for identifying and mapping sensitive soils in the Amazon region.