Assessment of the Distribution of Soils Sensitive to Dynamic Loads: a Case Study of a Site in Moscow

Abstract

This article presents a methodology for assessing the portion of soils sensitive to dynamic loads within the nearsurface (to a depth of 50 meters). According to regulatory requirements these soils necessitate costly dynamic testing. The methodology was tested on an 11.56 km² site in Moscow, within which the zones of dynamic impact from transportation (with a total area of 4.09 km²) were identified. The approach is based on a comprehensive analysis of archival data from engineering-geological boreholes, followed by geostatistic and raster algebra processing. For each stratigraphic-genetic complex (SGC), presented by a group of deposits of similar age and origin, the proportion of soils sensitive to dynamic loads (loose and water-saturated sands, weak clayey soils) was calculated. Subsequently, a weighted average proportion of content was determined for the intervals of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 meters. The results showed that the proportion of the target soils does not exceed 0.5. It was established that as the investigation depth increases (from 20 to 50 meters), the area of dynamic impact zones with a low proportion of content (<0.2) increases from 74% to 94.6%. This is attributed to the inclusion of more stable pre-Quaternary deposits in the analysis. The developed methodology allows for minimizing the risks of costly errors during the planning stage of site characterization. It can be used to create maps of soil dynamic instability across the entire territory of Moscow and can be integrated into systems such as a "Digital Twin."