No abstract

No abstract

The main objective of the paper is to create geotechnical maps for three soil chemical properties in An-Najaf and Kufa cities' soil by utilizing of GIS tools. This properties are the chloride concentration, calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) and total soluble salts where they affect the durability of reinforced structural elements. This paper provides an easy accurate way to represent soil properties levels for different depths of soil and create reliable database that will help engineers and decision makers. The data included in this paper were collected for (464) boreholes with depths up to 35 m distributed on residential areas in all of An-Najaf and Kufa cities. Arc-Map of GIS 10.2.1 was used to produce the maps. It has been concluded that chloride content in the soil of the study area range from-0.01 to 0.99% and with an average of 0.5. The maximum value found in at depth 4-6 m while the minimum value found in location at depth 4-6, 8-10 and 14-16 m. The chloride content in most of An-Najaf province has exceeded the permissible limit and

An-Najaf province is situated in southwestern part of Iraq. It is 70 meters above the sea level in the dry desert environment. The city is considered as one of the most important cities in Iraq, facing a fast population growth and continuous development in constructions such as residential complexes, hotels, bridges and shopping malls. Soil investigation data for An-Najaf Province (An-Najaf and Kufa cities) from 464 boreholes drilled by the National Centre for Construction Laboratories & Researches (NCCLR)/Babylon laboratory were used in this research. The data were analysed and possessed using Excel program then represented on the Geographical Information System (GIS) program by Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) tool to create an allowable bearing capacity map for the soil at depths 0-2 meters. The allowable bearing capacity is one of the most important soil characteristics to be considered when making a database for An-Najaf city soil. Geographical Information System GIS program enables to create reliable database for any characteristic and it is one of the best programs to produce an accurate map and allow ease in dealing with it. Those maps cover all the studied areas and by using contour lines, approximate values for no-data areas can be obtained. The results show that the allowable bearing capacity range is 5-20 Ton/m 2 for both An-Najaf and Kufa cities. Kufa city has the range 5-9 Ton/m 2. An-Najaf city has the range 7-18 at the center, 8-10 Ton/m 2 at the north eastern part, 7-14 Ton/m 2 for the north western part, 6-12 Ton/m 2 at the south eastern and 12-19 Ton/m 2 at the south western.

AN-Najaf city is located 61 meters above the sea level in the dry desert of Iraq. It is one of the most important cities in Iraq due to religious tourism and continuously developing urban areas by constructing multi-storey buildings, bridges and shopping malls. This study aims to create a mapping database for sulfate in An-Najaf soil (Najaf centred and Al-Kufa cities' soil). To evaluate the spatial variability of data, 464 boreholes and in situ tests were selected and analysed using Geographic Information System ArcGIS 10.2.1. The adopted method consisted of four steps: (1) data collection; (2) geotechnical data georeferencing; (3) interpolation methods and (4) establishment of maps. Nine maps were produced for depths 0-35 m for sulfate content in soil. In addition to two maps for sulfate content in groundwater and organic matter content for depths 0-2. Results showed that all the study area and for depths 0-2 meter has very high sulfate content in the soil. Sulfate values varies between 0.36%-14% where all the results were higher than the permissible limit which is 0.2%. The sulfate content decreases with the depth yet still effective in some areas. Therefore, precautions have to be adopt to avoid risks. One of the precautions is to use sulfate resistance Portland cement (SRPC) for all concrete works that have contact with soil. Groundwater sulfate content in the study area was ranging between 84-239 %. These values were ineffective because they are lower than the permissible limit, which is 1460%. The organic matter content values vary between 0.05-2.34, the greatest part of the study area was lower than the permissible limit 1% and therefore ineffective. The PH values indicate that all the study area was alkaline so it is uninfluential.