Prediction of Compression and Swelling Index Parameters of Quaternary Sediments from Index Tests at Mersin District

Abstract

Compression and swelling index parameters, obtained from consolidation test, are used to calculate settlement for normally and over-consolidated soils respectively. When the conditions are not suitable to perform that test, various alternative methods are investigated to get those parameters without carrying out the consolidation test. In this study, a data set including 18 marine and 40 terrestrial undisturbed Quaternary sediments was taken from southern parts of Mersin City, Turkey. Parameters obtained from consolidation test and index tests were correlated by applying simple and multiple regression analyses. The initial void ratio is the main determiner for estimating both the compression and swelling index parameters. Although attempts have been made to correlate parameters with wide distribution of samples, there is no study done with narrow range. The database was divided to subgroups according to the Plasticity chart to obtain more reliable equations. To test the significance of regression analyses, T and F-tests were done. With this study, statistically significant new equations with very high correlation coefficients are proposed.

Keywords

• compression index
• swelling index
• index tests
• quaternary sediments
• plasticity chart
• regression analyses
• significance tests