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Soil Facts

UNCOVERING THE DIFFERENCES IN OUR SOILS

It’s rare to find a site that is exactly the same as another. With each geotechnical or environmental investigation there is always something unique we find or specific for that location and the history that’s played apart on or in that soil. We’ve captured some of our field investigations on video and the photos to show some of the differences in the soils that our customers build on. Compare the soils on the videos with the list of soils in the site classification table below that relate to AS 2870-2011.

SITE CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SOIL REACTIVITY

Australian Standard AS 2870-2011 highlights the different site classifications based on the level of soil reactivity and the procedure to identify them. Below are the classifications and their soil make up and potential for movement.

 

Site Class Foundation Characteristic surface movement (ys) mm
A Most sand and rock sites with little or no ground movement from moisture changes
S Slightly reactive clay sites, which may experience only slight ground movement from moisture changes 0 – 20mm
M Moderately reactive clay or silt sites, which may experience moderate ground movement from moisture changes 20 – 40mm
H1 Highly reactive clay sites, which may experience high ground movement from moisture changes 40 – 60mm
H2 Highly reactive clay sites, which may experience very high ground movement from moisture changes 60 – 75mm
E Extremely reactive sites, which may experience extreme ground movement from moisture changes > 75mm
P Sites which include filled sites (refer to AS 2870-2011), soft soils, such as soft clay, silt or loose sands; landslip; mine subsidence; collapsing soils; soils subject to erosion; reactive sites subject to abnormal moisture conditions; tree affected; fill containing deleterious materials (wood, metal, plastic) or in a marine environment.

SITE INVESTIGATION VIDEOS

Explore our videos showcasing soil tests and field investigations, including Atterberg tests, salinity testing, and shrink-swell tests.

Stay tuned as we continue to update our video collection with new findings.

IDEAL GEOTECH LABORATORY

ATTERBERG TESTS

SALINITY TESTING

SHRINK SWELL TEST

FIELD TESTS

CORE SAMPLE

BEHIND THE SCENES

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