Some geotechnical properties to characterize Mexico City Clay

Efraín Ovando Shelley

In the proceedings of: GEO2011: 64th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 5th Pan-American Conference on Teaching and Learning of Geotechnical Engineering

Session: Other General

ABSTRACT: This report presents an overview of the results and findings of studies performed on the procedures and methods for defining the Engineering Properties of Mexico City Clay and, hence, to characterize them geotechnically. Research into this topic began formally in the 1950™s and it is still on going. This paper summarizes the main aspects of these investigations. The author has recognized the impossibility of being exhaustive and has, instead, decided to describe mainly some of the results of research relevant to this topic in which he has participated directly and through some of his students, over the last 25 years or so. Index properties, compressibility and shear strength are all discussed from the view point of studies performed into these topics. The report also includes a brief discussion on the origins and effects of regional subsidence which affects the former lake area in the Basin of Mexico.

RESUMEN: En este trabajo se revisan los resultados y hallazgos de los estudios y métodos empleados para definir las propiedades ingenieriles de las Arcillas de la Ciudad de México y, consecuentemente, para caracterizarlas geotécnicamente. Las investigaciones sobre este tema comenzaron formalmente en la década de los años 1950 y continúan hasta nuestros días. Este artículo resume los aspectos más relevantes de estas investigaciones. El autor reconoce la imposibilidad de ser exhaustivo en este aspecto y por ello únicamente se describen los trabajos en los que él ha participado directamente durante los cerca de 25 años, con la participación de algunos de sus estudiantes. Se discuten las propiedades índice de estos materiales así como su interrelación con la resistencia y la compresibilidad. También se discuten brevemente los efectos del hundimiento regional que afecta a la antigua zona lacustre en las propiedades del subsuelo.

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