Soil Parameters Analysis of Al-Najaf City in Iraq: Case Study

Tawfek Sheer Ali

doi:10.3759/joge.v3i1.3749

Abstract

The soil properties are an important parameter for architectural and structural design of structures. Al-Najaf city in Iraq is a famous tourist destination, so in the last one decade a number of multistory buildings, bridges, highways, schools, hospitals, etc. have been constructed. This study investigates the properties of the soil to give a base data, which can be used for the future construction design. The physical and chemical soil properties were investigated and analyzed. The results show that the most of the soil is classified as a sandy soil with little fines having a cohesion varying from 0 to 13.2 kPa and angle of internal friction varying from 26.3 to 41.2 degrees; while liquid and plastic limits (LL and PL) vary from 21 to 29% and from 11 to 15% respectively. The low values of LL and PL for the soil of western locations increase towards the eastern locations. The values of maximum dry density and optimum moisture content vary from 17.5 to 19 kN/m3 and 8.6 to 13.2% respectively. The studies also show that the organic content and sulphate content have a low varies between 1 and 2.9% and 2.2 and 2.7% respectively while the gypsum content varies from 13.6 to 28.3%. The assemblages of gypsum soil concentrated in the west side of the city. Keywords: Soil parameters, soil characteristics, Atterberg limits, physical and chemical properties