Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1932
www.elsevier.nlrlocaterjappgeo
Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Uniersidad de Alicante, Ap. Correos 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain
b
Departamento de Fsica
Teorica
y del Cosmos, Uniersidad de Granada, 18003 Granada, Spain
c
Laboratorio de Carreteras, COPUT, Generalidad Valenciana, Ctra. Ocana
s r n, Alicante, Spain
Received 1 November 1999; accepted 4 May 2000
Abstract
This study analyses the spatial distribution of soft soils in a valley with a significant amount of recently accumulated
Late PleistoceneHolocene. sediments, but where the available geotechnical information on the subsurface is inadequate to
study the entire valley. To analyse this distribution, we have used a new geophysical prospecting technique, which consists
of estimating the thickness of soft soils based on their resonance frequency. This frequency has been determined from the
HrV ratios of microtremors measured at 180 sites in the valley. The results indicate the generalised presence of soft soils
along almost the entire valley, with thicknesses of up to 67 m. Based on the interpolation of the results, we have drawn up a
map showing the spatial distribution and thickness of the soft soils in the valley. This map is of great interest both for future
plans regarding the use of the soil in the region as well as for seismic zoning and soil-response studies. q 2000 Elsevier
Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Soft soils; Microtremors; HrV ratios; Frequency of resonance; Soil thickness; Geophysical exploration
1. Introduction
Soft soils are at the root of numerous
geotechnical problems due to their low density,
high compressibility and low strength. These
characteristics make them potentially collapsible, causing huge settlements of foundations,
even under low-magnitude loads. In seismic
areas, these soils amplify the shake effects site
effects., usually resulting in severe damage to
0926-9851r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 6 - 9 8 5 1 0 0 . 0 0 0 1 6 - 1
20
2. Geological framework
The study zone, the Bajo Segura basin, constitutes one of the Neogene-Quaternary depressions developed in the Betic Cordillera
Montenat, 1977. . The basement of the basin is
composed of limestones and marls of Triassic to
Cretaceous age. Present-day outcrops of these
materials occur on slopes to the north and northwest of the Segura valley Fig. 1. .
The sedimentary fill of the basin comprises
materials from the Upper Miocene Upper Tortonian. right up to contemporary materials.
These are mainly composed of conglomerates,
sandstones and marls. The latter exhibit significant quantities of gypsums during the Messinian
Upper Miocene.. The distribution of these ma-
21
22
Fig. 2. Cross-section of the Bajo Segura basin. The vertical dimension of the block has been plotted without vertical scale.
Table 1
Average mechanical properties of soils and soft rocks in the valley of the Segura river
r kgrm3 .
Void ratio
Qu MPa.
N SPT.
cc
0.84
0.77
0.87
0.067
0.075
13
10
8
0.0561
0.0561
2080
0.52
0.313
refusal
23
Soft rocks
Marls Weathered.
Marls Un-weathered.
Sandstone
Conglomerates
2020
2160
2440
0.68
0.47
0.272
0.642
)1
)4
30
refusal
refusal
refusal
0.0541
0.0282
known how deep these poor mechanical properties persist; the few deep drillings carried out
indicate the presence of soft soils down to 40 m.
It should also be noted that the geotechnical
information available on the transition zones
between fluvialpalustrine sediments soft soils.
and alluvial ones stiff soils; Table 1. is scarce.
The dynamic properties of soft soils are also
known. Cano et al. 1994. measured Vs by
techniques of down-hole logging and dispersion
of surface waves. Their results show that Vs is
low at the surface 85 mrs. and increases to an
average value of 200 mrs at a depth of 20 m.
23
Fig. 3. Transfer functions of those sites exhibiting more than one resonance in spectral ratios and where geotechnical
information of the subsoil is also available. The solid line is the transfer function resulting from microtremor HrV spectral
ratios; the dashed line is the 1-D transfer function.
24
Table 2
Sites where geotechnical information is available and microtremors where also measured
Site name
Frequency Hz.
DERRAM
CORRO
A2
S2
S1
P1
S3
A3
P2
P7
S4
A4
SCDN
S5
S6
AG1
AG2
P4
AG4
AG6
SF2
SF1
AG7
ISI2
IES-PA
ED-CAL
ED-SF
40.6
38.7
13.7
42
40
41.9
43.5
35
44.7
4.1
44
35.6
35.3
27
33
29.8
40.5
35
41
16.3
4.2
8.2
11.6
11.1
29
40.5
6.2
1.16
1.4
3.6
1.16
1.34
1.46
1.28
1.59
1.34
7.57
1.34
1.53
1.53
1.83
1.46
1.46
1.34
1.34
1.16
2.01
8.3
4.27
2.69
3.66
1.46
1.34
5.92
45.7
36.1
11.0
45.7
38.2
34.3
40.4
30.8
38.2
4.3
38.2
32.3
32.3
25.8
34.3
34.3
38.2
38.2
45.7
22.9
3.9
8.9
15.9
10.8
34.3
38.2
5.9
Standard T value
error
Intercept
4.00938 0.04194
Slope
y1.25566 0.04766
Probability
level
95.5978 0.0000
y26.3444 0.0000
Standard error of estimation is 0.145; coefficient of correlation r 2 . is 0.965; intercept is equal to log a..
.
Garca
1993
applied
this
method
in
Mexico
and found that the frequency of resonance determined from the HrV ratios is comparable to
that resulting from considering the one-dimen-
25
26
( S
2
2
NS q S EW
. r 2 SZ2 .
1.
5. Relationship between the frequency of resonance of soft soils and their thickness
The calculation of the thickness of a soil
based on its frequency of resonance requires
initially a series of control points where both the
thickness Z . and the frequency of resonance
f . of the materials to be studied are known.
Based on these parameters, we establish a law
of correspondence of the type Ibs-von Seht and
Wohlenberg, 1999. :
Z s Af yB
2.
3.
By introducing this expression into the relationship f s Vsr4Z, it is easy to reach Eq. 2. or
the relationship fZ. The above equations
assume that the mechanical characteristics of
Fig. 6. Profiles showing thickness of soft soils and the spectral ratios obtained at sites on soft rocks Pliocene conglomerates
site 25., stiff soils gravels and sand with calcareous crusts at sites 27, 31, 33, 75 and 76; sand and silts with calcareous
crust at sites 37 and 78., and soft soils Holocene palustrine clays sites 81 and 83 and fluvial silty sediments site
52.. See Fig. 1 to locate points in the profiles.
27
28
4.
6. Results
There exists a notable contrast in the mechanical properties of the soft soils and hard rock.
The method of the HrV spectral ratios of microtremors is based on the existence of a soil or
rock. layer of low rigidity overlying other more
rigid. In the case of sites located on rock, this
condition is not met since no contrast exists
between the material at the surface and those at
depth. Consequently, on outcropping hard rocks,
the HrV spectral ratios are flat, without meaningful peaks. Fig. 5 presents the spectral ratios
29
30
Fig. 8. Overall distribution of soft soils in the Segura river valley contour level in meters.. The thickness of soft soils at
those points where this depth is known from boreholes is also indicated.
7. Conclusions
The Segura river valley contains a significant
fill of sediments of recent accumulation. From
the available geotechnical information, it was
known that some of these sediments were soft
soils, but their exact distribution and thickness
in most of the valley were unknown. The HrV
ratios of microtremors were used to determine
the distribution of these soils as well as their
thickness. With this aim, we measured microtremors at 153 sites in the valley. These data
were added to those of other 27 points that had
been previously used for establishing a quantitative relationship between the frequency of resonance of the soil and its thickness fZ relationship. .
The results obtained have demonstrated the
generalised presence of soft soils throughout the
valley, although their thickness varies irregularly. The substantial thicknesses estimated for
these soils in the zones of fluvial, palustrine and
littoral sedimentation imply poor geotechnical
characteristics for the whole recent-sediment fill
31
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by research
project PB96-0327. We wish to thank C.
ITC SA. and A. Corral SOSAIMA
Domenech
32
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