Prediction of Potential Heave of Swelling Soil

Methods of characterizing swell behavior and predicting total potential heave of foundation soils were compared with field measurements for three test sections. The methods used included nine empirical procedures, three types of consolidometer tests, and a thermocouple psychrometric soil suction method. It was found that simple classification tests can provide reasonable estimates of field heaves. Predictions of potential heave using the consolidometer were sometimes low and may often represent minimal heaves when compared to field observations. Predictions based on the soil suction method provided reasonable upper limits for all test sites.