Geotechnical analysis on vulnerable characteristic of limestone residual soil to sinkhole hazard

• Published in: AIP Conference Proceedings
• Main Author: Akhbar M.F.M.; Mohamed Z.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics Inc. 2018
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85055587898&doi=10.1063%2f1.5062628&partnerID=40&md5=2e943c72636d05f8cc3560eb481a4916

A strong earthquake with a moment magnitude of 9.0 on year 2004, 8.7 on 2005 and 8.4 on 2007 that hit Sumatra had elicited sinkhole incidences in limestone karst bedrock. A study was carried out in Kampar, Perak where the area had sinkhole hazards due to the tremors. The site location is underlain by limestone formation, suspected to have numerous cavities which is prone to risk of sinkhole occurrences. The objective of this study is to determine the characteristics of the limestone residual soil in the karst terrain. A non-invasive site investigation by using geoelectrical resistivity was conducted. The soil investigation reports on the same site were analyzed to correlate to the physical properties and strength of these residual soils. The physical classification test on soil samples were carried out to determine the bulk and dry density, moisture content, particle size distribution, particle density, liquid and plastic limit for characterization. The approach of indirect data analysis is to study the reliability of the geoelectrical resistivity value to the soil properties and soil strength, hence deduce the most vulnerable sinkhole prone residual soil material. © 2018 Author(s).