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AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION AS PEAT SOIL REPLACEMENT IN SARAWAK
Lai Phui Hua
Master of Engineering 2011
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION AS PEAT SOIL REPLACEMENT IN SARAWAK
PKHIDMAT MAKLUMAT AKADEMIK
1IIIIIIIIIIimllllllllll 1000246326
LAIPHUIHUA
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of
Master of Engineering (Civil Engineering)
Faculty of Engineering UNlVERSITI MALAYSIA SARA W AK
2011
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Mohamad Ibrahim Safawi for
providing me the laboratory adequate materials and helpful inputs His invaluable guidance
and assistance from the beginning to the end have helped me a lot to achieve success in the
research study Furthermore f also want to thank him for sacrificing his time especially for
being present in my laboratory experiment on the weekend His many constructive and
beneficial advices have undoubtedly improved the final draft
A great thank to Mr Teo Song Cheok for supporting me in doing my research in the early
stage Besides I want to express my heartiest gratitude to all my coUeagues and friends for
their support and suggestions to make this thesis a reality
Last but not least I am grateful to my family especially my wife Lim Wang Ching for the
spiritual and moral support all the way
- ii shy
I TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT
PAGES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF APPENDIX
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
10 General
1 Problem Statement
12 Objectives of the Study
13 Limitation of Study
14 The Study Area
15 Thesis Layout
16 Research Methodology Flo~ Chart
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
20 Introduction
- iii shy
ii
iii
VUl
ix
xii
xiv
xv
xvi
2
3
4
4
4
5
6
21 General 6
22 Classification of Peat Soil in Sarawak 9
23 Characteristics of Peat Soil in Sarawak 10
24 Construction Suitability in Peat Land II
25 Construction Method on Peat Land 12
251 Material replacement method 14
252 Material placement method (Geotextiles) 14
253 Pile foundation 16
254 Load reduction method 18
26 Cellular Lightweight Foamed Concrete 20
27 Gap Analysis 21
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
30 General 22
301 Characteristics of foamed concrete properties 22
302 Design and experiment of the foamed 22
concrete foundation
31 Materials used in the Experiment 23
32 Experimental Measurement 25
321 Slump flow test 26
322 Compression strength of foamed concrete 27
323 Fresh and hardened density of foamed concrete 27
324 Percentage of the void in foamed concrete 28
- ivshy
I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION AS PEAT SOIL REPLACEMENT IN SARAWAK
PKHIDMAT MAKLUMAT AKADEMIK
1IIIIIIIIIIimllllllllll 1000246326
LAIPHUIHUA
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of
Master of Engineering (Civil Engineering)
Faculty of Engineering UNlVERSITI MALAYSIA SARA W AK
2011
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Mohamad Ibrahim Safawi for
providing me the laboratory adequate materials and helpful inputs His invaluable guidance
and assistance from the beginning to the end have helped me a lot to achieve success in the
research study Furthermore f also want to thank him for sacrificing his time especially for
being present in my laboratory experiment on the weekend His many constructive and
beneficial advices have undoubtedly improved the final draft
A great thank to Mr Teo Song Cheok for supporting me in doing my research in the early
stage Besides I want to express my heartiest gratitude to all my coUeagues and friends for
their support and suggestions to make this thesis a reality
Last but not least I am grateful to my family especially my wife Lim Wang Ching for the
spiritual and moral support all the way
- ii shy
I TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT
PAGES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF APPENDIX
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
10 General
1 Problem Statement
12 Objectives of the Study
13 Limitation of Study
14 The Study Area
15 Thesis Layout
16 Research Methodology Flo~ Chart
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
20 Introduction
- iii shy
ii
iii
VUl
ix
xii
xiv
xv
xvi
2
3
4
4
4
5
6
21 General 6
22 Classification of Peat Soil in Sarawak 9
23 Characteristics of Peat Soil in Sarawak 10
24 Construction Suitability in Peat Land II
25 Construction Method on Peat Land 12
251 Material replacement method 14
252 Material placement method (Geotextiles) 14
253 Pile foundation 16
254 Load reduction method 18
26 Cellular Lightweight Foamed Concrete 20
27 Gap Analysis 21
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
30 General 22
301 Characteristics of foamed concrete properties 22
302 Design and experiment of the foamed 22
concrete foundation
31 Materials used in the Experiment 23
32 Experimental Measurement 25
321 Slump flow test 26
322 Compression strength of foamed concrete 27
323 Fresh and hardened density of foamed concrete 27
324 Percentage of the void in foamed concrete 28
- ivshy
I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Mohamad Ibrahim Safawi for
providing me the laboratory adequate materials and helpful inputs His invaluable guidance
and assistance from the beginning to the end have helped me a lot to achieve success in the
research study Furthermore f also want to thank him for sacrificing his time especially for
being present in my laboratory experiment on the weekend His many constructive and
beneficial advices have undoubtedly improved the final draft
A great thank to Mr Teo Song Cheok for supporting me in doing my research in the early
stage Besides I want to express my heartiest gratitude to all my coUeagues and friends for
their support and suggestions to make this thesis a reality
Last but not least I am grateful to my family especially my wife Lim Wang Ching for the
spiritual and moral support all the way
- ii shy
I TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT
PAGES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF APPENDIX
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
10 General
1 Problem Statement
12 Objectives of the Study
13 Limitation of Study
14 The Study Area
15 Thesis Layout
16 Research Methodology Flo~ Chart
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
20 Introduction
- iii shy
ii
iii
VUl
ix
xii
xiv
xv
xvi
2
3
4
4
4
5
6
21 General 6
22 Classification of Peat Soil in Sarawak 9
23 Characteristics of Peat Soil in Sarawak 10
24 Construction Suitability in Peat Land II
25 Construction Method on Peat Land 12
251 Material replacement method 14
252 Material placement method (Geotextiles) 14
253 Pile foundation 16
254 Load reduction method 18
26 Cellular Lightweight Foamed Concrete 20
27 Gap Analysis 21
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
30 General 22
301 Characteristics of foamed concrete properties 22
302 Design and experiment of the foamed 22
concrete foundation
31 Materials used in the Experiment 23
32 Experimental Measurement 25
321 Slump flow test 26
322 Compression strength of foamed concrete 27
323 Fresh and hardened density of foamed concrete 27
324 Percentage of the void in foamed concrete 28
- ivshy
I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT
PAGES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF APPENDIX
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
ABSTRACT
ABSTRAK
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
10 General
1 Problem Statement
12 Objectives of the Study
13 Limitation of Study
14 The Study Area
15 Thesis Layout
16 Research Methodology Flo~ Chart
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
20 Introduction
- iii shy
ii
iii
VUl
ix
xii
xiv
xv
xvi
2
3
4
4
4
5
6
21 General 6
22 Classification of Peat Soil in Sarawak 9
23 Characteristics of Peat Soil in Sarawak 10
24 Construction Suitability in Peat Land II
25 Construction Method on Peat Land 12
251 Material replacement method 14
252 Material placement method (Geotextiles) 14
253 Pile foundation 16
254 Load reduction method 18
26 Cellular Lightweight Foamed Concrete 20
27 Gap Analysis 21
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
30 General 22
301 Characteristics of foamed concrete properties 22
302 Design and experiment of the foamed 22
concrete foundation
31 Materials used in the Experiment 23
32 Experimental Measurement 25
321 Slump flow test 26
322 Compression strength of foamed concrete 27
323 Fresh and hardened density of foamed concrete 27
324 Percentage of the void in foamed concrete 28
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I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
21 General 6
22 Classification of Peat Soil in Sarawak 9
23 Characteristics of Peat Soil in Sarawak 10
24 Construction Suitability in Peat Land II
25 Construction Method on Peat Land 12
251 Material replacement method 14
252 Material placement method (Geotextiles) 14
253 Pile foundation 16
254 Load reduction method 18
26 Cellular Lightweight Foamed Concrete 20
27 Gap Analysis 21
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
30 General 22
301 Characteristics of foamed concrete properties 22
302 Design and experiment of the foamed 22
concrete foundation
31 Materials used in the Experiment 23
32 Experimental Measurement 25
321 Slump flow test 26
322 Compression strength of foamed concrete 27
323 Fresh and hardened density of foamed concrete 27
324 Percentage of the void in foamed concrete 28
- ivshy
I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I
CHAPTER 4
325 Deformation of foamed concrete 30
33 Design and Experiment the Foamed Concrete 31
Foundation
331 Determine the shape and size 32
STUDY ON FOAMED CONCRETE
40 Objective of Study 36
41 Mix Proportion of Foamed Concrete 37
42 Slump Spread Test 38
43 Compression Strength of Foamed Concrete 40
44 Validation of Fresh and Hardened Density of 43
Foamed Concrete
45 Deformation of Foamed Concrete on Hardening 46
46 Percentage of Void in Foamed Concrete 48
461 Determine void by density reduce method 48
462 Waxed Method 51
463 Comparison the result of Density reduce 52
method and Waxed method
47 Further Investigation on Density Percentage of void 55
and Compressive strength
- vshy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
CHAPTER 5 FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE FLOATING FOUNDATION
50 General
51 Feasibility of Floating the Foamed Concrete in Water
52 Floatability ofTreated Foamed Concrete in Water
521 Foamed concrete treated by wax for
fully impermeable
522 Foamed concrete surface treated by wax
CHAPTER 6 SIMULATlON OF FOAMED CONCRETE FOUNDATION
60 General
61 Floating Concept on Actual Ground
62 Assumptions for Simulating Foamed Concrete
Foundation
63 Experimental Procedure for Measuring Simulation
of Stability and Settlement
64 Effects of Shape Variation in Foamed Concrete Sample
65 Experiment Result for Stability and Settlement Test
651 Stability and settlement simulation for a
cube shape
652 Stability and settlement simulation for
Trapezoid shape
- vishy
58
59
62
62
64
68
69
70
71
~ 74
75
75
77
I
-shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I
CHAPTER 7
66
67
653 Stability and settlement simulation for
cylinder shape
654 Summary of stability and settlement simulation
Foamed Concrete Replacement Test
661 Proposal for sand replacement factor Ksand
Proposed Design Procedure
CONCLUSION
81
84
96
87
91
70
71
Research Conclusion
Further Research Proposal
96
97
REFERENCES 99
- vii shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix A SOIL INVESTIGATION ONPEAT DENSITYAND MOISTURE 102 CONTENT IN KUCHING AREA
Appendix B ESTIMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE MATERIAL 105
Appendix C RESULT OF FOAMED CONCRETE SLUMP FLOW TEST 107
Appendix 0 STRENGTH OF FOAMED CONCRETE ON DAY 28 109
Appendix E MASS FOAMED CONCRETE VS EARLY HARDEN DENSITY 110 OF FOAMED CONCRETE
Appendix F DATA OF DEFORMATION OF FOAMED CONCRETE III
AppendixG DATA OF PERCENTAGE OF VOID VS DENSITY OF FOAMED 14 CONCRETE
Appendix H DATA FOR FOAMED CONCRETE CUBE FLOATING TEST 115
Appendix I COMPARISON OF DENSITY BETWEEN SEA WATER AND 116 PEAT WATER
Appendix J RESULT OF SIEVE TEST OF SAND SAMPLE 117
AppendixK LABORATORY TEST RESULT FOR DRY SATURATED AND 118 OVERSA TURA TED SAND CONDITION
Appendix L PEAT SOIL - SAND (BEARING CAPACITY FACTOR) 142
- viii shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak 2
Figure 31 Slump test for foamed concrete
Figure 32 Deformation measurement point
Figure 33 The various shape (a) Cube Shape (b) Trapezoid Shape and
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak 3
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart 5
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area 7
Figure 22 Cross section of geologic relation in Matang area Kuching 8
Figure 23 Settlement versus Time curves for Kuching and most places in Sarawak 13
Figure 24 Replacement method on peat land road construction 14
Figure 25 Road construction on peat land by using Geotextile 15
Figure 26 Cross section of Geotextile on peat land 16
Figure 27 Principal types of pile 17
Figure 28 Textures of cellular lightweight foamed concrete 19
Figure 29 Overall view of produced foamed concrete 20
(c) Cylinder Shape for foamed concrete for laboratory test
Figure 34 Dimension -Area ratio for cube trapezoid and cylinder shapes
Figure 41 The materials and tools of produce foamed concrete
Figure 42 SP used in the mixing offoamed concrete and flowability (slump) is measured
Figure 43 Result of foamed concrete slump test with SP and without SP
Figure 44 Density Vs Compressive strength of foamed concrete in various stages
- ixshy
~------------------
26
31
32
37
38
39
41
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
Figure 45 Density Vs Compressive strength (28th days) for foamed concrete 42
without fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 46 The comparisons of percentage of moisture losses for foamed concrete 44
in early hardened and hardened condition during process harden
Figure 47 Early hardened density vs Hardened density of foamed concrete 45
Figure 48 The relation between hardened density and deformation of 47
foamed concrete
Figure 49 The percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete without 50
fly-ash and with fly-ash
Figure 410 Void vs Density of foamed concrete 52
Figure 411 Comparison percentage of void by waxed and density reduces method 54
Figure 412 Foam is found evenly distributed (homogeneous) inside the 55
foamed concrete sample
Figure 413 Relationship between percentage of void and compressive strength of 57
foamed concrete
Figure 51 Archimedess principle is referred as the basic of the floatability 58
Figure 52 Measuring the submerging of the foamed concrete sample 59
Figure 53 Settlement Vs Time 61
Figure 54 Process of fully impermeable the foamed concrete sample and 63
compressive strength test to the waxed foam~d concrete sample
Figure 55 The semi-waxed foamed concrete cube sample was floated for a 65
few days
Figure 56 The floated cube could support the external load 66
- xshy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
Figure 57 The comparison density of fully waxed and surface waxed foamed 67
concrete after waxing
Figure 61 The concept of Floating Foundation on peat soil 69
Figure 62 Simulation of stability and initial settlement test in a laboratory 71
Figure 63 Stability and Settlement test for various shape foamed concrete in 73
dry sand condition in laboratory
Figure 64 Stability and Settlement test on Saturated and Oversaturated 73
sand condition at laboratory
Figure 65 Rotation vs Moment (Cube shape) 75
Figure 66 Settlement vs Pressure (Cube shape) 77
Figure 67 Rotation vs Moment (Trapezoid shape) 78
Figure 68 Settlement vs Pressure (Trapezoid shape) 80
Figure 69 Rotation vs Moment (Cylinder shape) 81
Figure 610 Settlement vs Pressure (Cylinder shape) 83
Figure 611 Degree of rotation Vs Moment 84
Figure 612 Settlement Vs Pressure 85
Figure 613 Replacement test of foamed concrete step by step 86
Figure 614 Replacement test for various shape foamed concrete in the laboratory 87
Figure 615 Factor of replacement Vs Density of foamed concrete 90
Figure 71 Proposed continue studies on a foamed concrete foundation on 98
peat land in Sarawak
- xi shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
LIST OF TABLES
Table 21 Areas under peat in Sarawak 8
Table 22 Classification of peat soils in Sarawak 9
Table 23 Basic characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak II
Table 24 Suitability of peat soil in construction 12
Table 3la Sample of foamed concrete in cube shape 33
Table 31 b Sample of foamed concrete in trapezoid shape 34
Table 31 c Sample of foamed concrete in cyl inder shape 34
Table 41 Mix proportion used in the study 37
Table 42 Concrete strength at 28 days 40
Table 43 Relationship between density foamed concrete and compressive 41
strength
Table 44 The comparison of the density of foamed concrete in fresh early 43
harden and harden condition
Table 45 Percentage of foam added into the foamed concrete 49
Table 46 Equation to obtain the percentage of void by waxed method 51
Table 47 Comparison percentage of void by waxed method and density 53
reduce method
Table 48 Relation between percentage of void and compressive strength of 56
foamed concrete
Table 51 Result of floatability for untreated foamed concrete 60
Table 52 The comparison of the density of water sea water and peat water 62
Table 53 Result on the floatability fully waxed foamed concrete 64
- xii shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I
65
in25 mm
Table 61 Dimension-Ratio for cube shape 76
Table 54 Result of the floatability of Surface Waxing with a thickness of wax
Table 62 Size-Ratio for trapezoid shape 79
Table 63 Size-Ratio for cylinder shape 82
sand condition
sand condition
Table 64 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in dry sand condition 88
Table 65 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in saturated 88
Table 66 Result of factor of replacement foamed concrete in over saturated 89
Table 67 Conversion KSand- Kpeal 91
Table 68 Load impose to the foamed concrete foundation 92
- xiii shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
UNIMAS M M2 M3
Mm Kg G Fc N Log FA mfe
msand
LHW 9
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Meter Meter square Cubic meter Millimeters Kilogram Gram Foamed Concrete Newton Percent ( or percentage) Logarithm Fly-Ash Mass of foamed concrete Mass Of Sand Length Height Width Degree Of Rotation
- xivshy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
ABSTRACT
This research is concerned with the prospects of using foamed concrete as fill material (which
will be referred as foamed concrete foundation in subsequent sections) on peat land based on
the density replacement method This study adopted the concept of floating foundation
where the density of foamed concrete foundation shall be less than or equal to the density of
excavated peat soil Two (2) mix proportions offoamed concrete were compared in this study
Although the strength of foamed concrete is not the main focus in this study the target
strength value should not be less than 8 MP~Assumptions made in the experiments are - (a)
The peat land is fully saturated (b) Depth of the peat soil layer is 5 - 10m (c) The depth of
groundwater table is 0 - 40 cm Two major findings of this study are - (i) the physical
properties and characteristics of foamed concrete make it suitable for peat replacement The
density of the foamed concrete ranged from 600 1m3 to 1200 kgm3bull The relationship between
fresh and harden densities the deformation of foamed concrete and the percentage of the
void of foamed concrete was investigated (ii) The feasibility study of foamed concrete
foundation - shape settlement and stability it was expected that the foamed concrete shape
would alter the stability and the initial settlement of the foamed concrete foundation This
study confirmed the suitability of foamed concrete foundation as peat soil replacement with
load carrying capacity by controlling the density and the shape of the foamed concrete
foundation
- xvshy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I
ABSTRAK
Kaj ian ini adalah berkaitan dengan kemungkinan kegunaan konkrit berliang sebagai bahan
gantian tanah gambut (dimana selepas ini akan disebut asas konkrit berliang) dengan
mengunakan eara tukar-gantian Kajian ini adalah dipindah daripada idea asas apung dimana
ketumpatan asas konkrit berliang ini hendaklah sama atau kurang daripada ketumpatan
tanagh gambut yang dipindahkan Dalam kajian ini terdapat dua (2) jenis nisbah kandungan
konkrit yang digunakan untuk perbandingan Kekuatan mampatan konkrit berliang bukan
merupakan matlamat utama dalam kajian ini tetapi kekuatan yang ditagetkan hendaklah tidak
kurang daripada 8 MPa Beberapa andaian adalah perJu untuk dimantapkan sebelum kajian di
makmal dijalankan sepenuhnya iaitu - (a) Kawasan tanah gambut adalah dalam keadaan tepu
dengan paras air tanah adalah 0 - 40 em atas perrnukaan tanah (b) Kedalaman tanah gambut
adalah dalam Iingkungan 5 - 10m Kajian ini mempunyai dua (2) penearian - (i) Kesesuaian
konkrit berliang sebagai bahan tukar-ganti tanah gambut dari kajian kepada nisbah kandungan
dan eiri-ciri konkrit berliang terse but Antara eiri-ciri yang dikaji adalah hubugan ketumpatan
Segar dan ketumpatan keras konkrit berliang keruntuhan and peratusan liang udara konkrit
berliang Kajian ini adalah dilakukan dengan ketumpatan konkrit berliang antara 600 kgm3 shy
1200 kgm3bull (ii) Kajian kemungkinan asas konkrit berliang dari segi- bentuk pemendapan
dan kestabilan adalah dipereayai bentuk konkrit berliang akan memberikan kesan terhadap
kestabilan dan pemendapan permulaan asas konkrit berliang Penghasilan kajian ini bagi (i)
dan (ii) akan menentukan kebolehgunaan konkrit berliang bertukar ganti dengan tanah gambut
supaya dapat membawa beban dengan pengawalan ketumpatan dan bentuk asas konkrit
berliang
- xvishy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
10 General
Construction works on soft soil especially peat soil is complicated due to its low bearing
capacity excessive settlement and differential settlement Sarawak a state with about 13 of the
landscape covered by peat land is facing the same problem in construction on peat soil especially
for road construction
Generally most of peat lands in Sarawak are located in low-lying coastal depressing areas
usually 2-4 km from coastal especially in and around the deltas of Lupar Rajang and Baram
rivers as shown in Figure 11 (Melling et at 2002)
- 1 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
-_shy
i bull -_shyFigure 11 Distribution of peat soils in Sarawak (Melling et aI 2002)
11 Problem Statement
There are a lot of industrial activities concentrated at peat swamp forests like timber
logging oil palm plantation and others In such cases floating timber bridge is commonly used
for access into the peat forest as shown in Figure 12
Floating timber bridge is constructed for temporary used which it was not stable not lasting and
also not environmental friendly because trees may need to be cut down In this case the use of
permanent floating foundation is being investigated to resolve this problem Lightweight foamed
concrete material could be a solution to address this problem
-2shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
(a) Peat Swamp Forest (b) Floating Timber Bridge
Figure 12 Natural peat swamp forest activities in Sarawak
(Pboto taken at logging area Beladin Betong)
12 Objectives of tbe Study
There are three (3) objectives in this research study in order to determine the applicability
ofusing foamed concrete as a fill material They areshy
(8) To determine the optimum foamed concrete mix proportion to meet the targeted density
and compressive strength
(b) To identify the most appropriate shape and size offoamed concrete foundation
(c) To produce a design model of peat replacement by usi~g foamed concrete
- 3 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
13 Limitation of Study
The following two (2) limitations are adopted in this study with respect to the general peat
soil condition in Sarawak~
a The peat land is assumed to be fully saturated or over fully saturated with groundwater
table 0 - 40 cm from the level of ground
b The depth of peat soil layer is limited to the range of5 - 10 m
14 The Study Area
The area of this research study consists of two (2) major partsshy
a The foamed concrete properties and characteristic
b The physical study of foamed concrete foundation - shape settlement and stability
15 Thesis Layout
The thesis layout consists of Seven (7) chapters Chapter 1 presents the background and
objectives of the study Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature of the subject matter A
special section on the introduction of foamed concrete is written at the end of this chapter
Chapter 3 described about two (2) research methodologies particularly on the experimental
method and details of experiments Chapter 4 covers the study of the consistency of the foamed
- 4 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
usat IJNJVE
concrete characteristics and behaviour to obtain the optimum mix proportion for the continuing
research Chapter 5 described the concept of floating foamed concrete foundation and the peat
soil replacement Chapter 6 explained the simulation the foamed concrete foundation to find the
relation between the foundations against the actual soil condition Chapter 7 summarizes the
findings of the research study
16 Research Methodology Flow Chart
This research study basically can be device into 3 stages as flow chart belowshy
Stage 1
bull Can foamed concrete float 001 gt bull Can foamed concrete re place peat soil
Stage 2 ~ 001 gt bull Lighter density foamed concrete
bull Sand replace peat soil
StageJ ~ bull Laboratory001 gt bull Field
Figure 13 Research Methodology Flow Chart
- 5 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
10 Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and characteristics of peat soil in Sarawak and the
method currently used in peat land construction At the end of the chapter a brief introduction to
the foamed concrete will be presented
11 General
Dent (1986) mentioned that Malaysia has a total peat land area of 27300 km2 of which
covers almost 834 of total area (328550 km2) of the country Tie and Lim 1991 stated that
peat land area in Peninsular Malaysia is about 9800 km2 or 36 of the peat land area of the
country Sarawak contributes about 61 or 16600km2 ofthe total peat land area in Malaysia and
whereas Sabah contributes only 900 km2 or 33 of peat land in the country
About 90 of the Sarawak peat is classified as deep peat with depth greater than 15 m and some
CII1 be as deep as 20 m (Melling et ai 2002)
- 6shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
I Figure 21 shows that the thickness of peat in Samarahan area is on average 40 cm which is
considered as shallow peat
bull I 7 I _bullamp_~a ____bull1- ___ ~
Figure 21 Peat soil profile in Samarahan Area (Yonebayashi 2003)
Basically the depth of peat in Sarawak is spatially uneven A sudden change from shallow peat
to deep peat within a very short distance is common Figure 22 shows that Matang area is
covered by peat land with the depth of peat layer in range of I-10m This area is the combination
of the shallow peat and deep peat
-7 shy
