A Study of the Engineering Properties of Bhubaneswar Laterite Soils

Laterite soils are one of the predominant soils found in the eastern and southern region of Odisha. These soils are known to display a wide range in their engineering characteristics like plasticity, permeability, shear strength, etc. Bhubaneswar is one of the fastest developing cities in eastern India, and large parts of the city are underlain by a lateritic soil. In this study, laterite soils samples were collected from four different parts of the city, and their index properties and engineering properties like plasticity, percentage of fines, shear strength parameters (under dry and wet conditions), compaction characteristics and permeability were studied. These were accomplished using methods like the standard Proctor test, direct shear testing and falling head permeability testing. From the study, it was found that the soils had high values of maximum dry density, moderate permeability and low-to-medium shear strength characteristics. It was observed that while the engineering parameters varied in a fairly narrow range, they were mainly affected by the fines content of the soil. Investigations like this can be used for a general understanding of soil properties in the Bhubaneswar region for future infrastructural projects.