Geotechnical studies using remote sensing and Cone penetration test at New Damietta: a case study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University

2 Structural Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University

Abstract

Egypt has recently witnessed a tremendous population increase, which has been accompanied by an expansion in the establishment of new cities along the coastal area and a rapid increase in urbanization such as New Mansoura, The new Administrative Capital, and New Damietta, which is the city of interest of this work. This city is suffering from saltwater intrusion and salinization problems. Some geotechnical problems appear because of the existence of certain phenomena which are not recognized by traditional geotechnical methods such as clay pockets. So, we introduce an integrative approach using remote sensing and Cone penetration test to evaluate the critical zone of problematic soil in the study area. Firstly, the land use land cover (LU-LC) is monitored from 1984 until now to understand the changes in sediment yield and land degradation over the analysis period. Thus, we could extract some features that disappear due to urban development, such as dunes and waterlogged areas. Then, we apply two Electric Cone Penetration Test (CPTu) with pore pressure measurements at two different major classes of LU-LC outputs. They provide us with a continuous and detailed stratigraphic profile. Furthermore, we can get initial estimates of geotechnical parameters that guide us in selective sampling for the critical zone. This gives us the chance to study seismic design, bearing capacity and settlement for shallow foundation design and other applications. 

Keywords