STUDY OF SOME GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF SELECTED AREAS IN AL- NASSIRIYA CITY(SOUTH OF IRAQ)

The purpose of this work is to study the physical properties of Nassiriya city soil (South of Iraq). Geotechnical studies of physical properties show that soils consist mainly of fine grains (silt and clay) with different percentages of sand and the content of the fine – grained fraction decreases with depth in all sites. The soil in the studied area is sandy clayey silt 70%, sandy silty clay 27.5% and rarely of clayey sandy silt 2.5%.The classification of soil according to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) showed that soils consist mainly of CH type with less amount of MH, CL and ML types respectively.The liquid limit values ranges between 32-70%, plasticity index values ranges between 12-38%. Liquid limit and plastic limit fluctuate with depth corresponding to the variation of fine and coarse material of soil. The soil in the area is mainly non active 72.5%, normally active 25% and 2.5% is active. Moreover, Swelling potential (Low – Medium – High) and the consistence of the soil is plastic – semisolid