ABSTRACT
Foundations implanted in collapsible soil can suffer one additional settlement of considerable magnitude due to the flooding process of the soil. This paper presents results of geotechnical investigation in a Regional Prison construction that presented damages during the execution of the deep foundation. The presence of collapsible soil was considered to be one of the causes of the problem. The objective of this work was to identify, characterize the soil and investigate the possible of influence on the pile foundation. The soil profile basically is sandy clay presenting NSPT values lower than 10 until the depth of 7 m and after that increasing with depth. The soil behavior is presented as moderate to high compressibility and the collapsible soil is classified as being problematic. Two load pile tests were performed with the soil in natural condition and after a flooding process. The curves showed a similar behavior until the work load presenting some difference in the lateral and total failure load.
