Dune Soils of Mesopotamian Plain as Geotechnical Construction Material

Depletion of mineral aggregates is a matter of great concern in most areas of the world. New sources of aggregates for different geotechnical construction industry like embankment and roads construction, pavement material, concrete mixes, and foundations material, need to be investigated. Dune sand, which is available in abundant quantities in desert areas and occupies large areas all over the world, requires an examination to its efficiency as construction material. In this book, the engineering properties and behaviour of two different kinds of dune soil of the Mesopotamian Plain namely "Quartz Sand" and "Pseudo Sand" were studied. An extensive laboratory testing program carried out to characterize and assess the suitability of these soils as a construction material. It was found that Quartz Sand which has high strength and low compressibility is considered suitable for use in civil engineering construction. On the other hand, Pseudo Sand exhibits extremely different behaviour under different compaction states. The main distinguishing feature of this soil lies in the present of substantial amounts of clay, which exerts a controlling influence on its engineering behaviour.