Geotechnical characteristics of Belfast's estuarine clayey silt (sleech)

What is it about?

In this paper, a detailed geotechnical characterisation of the lightly-overconsolidated estuarine clay/silt (sleech) at the Kinnegar, Belfast is provided. While the characterisation was performed to help interpret a programme of foundation load tests at Kinnegar, commencing in the 1990s, the data will be of wider interest to geotechnical engineers grappling with this and similar challenging materials.

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Why is it important?

Research on the Belfast sleech began at Queen's University Belfast in the 1970s. This more recent research study at the Kinnegar site adds significantly to our understanding of the sleech, and places it in context of other well-reported low OCR materials. The paper also provides a list of references for a unique programme of shallow and deep foundation tests conducted at the site.