W6 Lecture-Peat in Malaysia

Knowledge Sharing
KNOWLEDGE
SHARING
SESSION
28/05/2014: Dr Norazzlina
M.Sa'don
CONTENTS
General
Engineering
Peat Classification
for Peat Classification
Current Construction Practice
PEAT IN
MALAYSIA
Parameters
By: Dr Norazzlina M.Sadon

Date: 28 May 2014
Venue: TMM, FK
M.Sa'don
M.Sa'don
General
Peat - Forms
Definition:
Originates from plant/animal with various stages of decomposition
with an end product known humus.
Preserved under condition of incomplete aeration and high water
content
Soil Classification Systems: Soils having more than 65% organic
matter
Extremely soft, wet, unconsolidated surficial deposits
High compressibility and low shear strength
Deposit thickness 1 m to more than 20 m thick
Malaysia 3 million hectares (about 8%) of the country land area.
Two forms that characterize the

deposition of peat:
Valley peat which are flat and
layered with river deposits;
Basin peat which forms domes
that can be up to 15 m high
In Peninsular Malaysia the peat
appears to be valley peat
whereas both forms of peat are
found in Sarawak.
M.Sa'don
General
Drainage of peat swamp

Encourages decomposition which enhances consolidation and compaction of
the organic matter leading to the subsidence of the ground surface.
Study by Mutalib et al., (1991) Peninsular Malaysia
Profile development:
Sapric (<33%)-Hemic (33%-66%)-Fibric (>66%) of fibre content
Estimated 20 years due to subsidence of 80 cm
Low bearing capacity
Problems:
Excessive settlement due to compaction the expulsion of free pore water
by loading
Increase in bulk density will further increase the overburdened pressure
more consolidation and subsidence
Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don
M.Sa'don
Embankment Stability
Very low Cu < 10kPa will give rise to filling and stability
problems if embankment built too rapidly.
Punch type bearing capacity due to high ratio embankment
to foundation stiffness
High Cu/p of 0.5 to 0.8 and high friction angles during
construction stage.
The higher ratios are for the higher organic content. The
interlocking of fibres give very high drained strength.
Soft clay often found beneath peat. If peat relatively thin,

slip circle extends into soft clay, and stability not governed
by peat but soft clay.
Knowledge Sharing
M.Sa'don
M.Sa'don
Peat Settlement
Estimates of peat settlement made in the same manner as for soft

clay except that:
Cc/(1+eo) = 0.4 to 0.5 (higher than clay: 0.25)
C contributes to long term settlement
Peat Moisture
Content
Bulk Density
(kN/m3)
Cc/(1+eo)
Cv (m2 /year)
< 500%
12
0.4
> 500%
11
0.5
Settlement can be up to between 50% to 65% of the peat thickness.

Long-term settlement influenced more by the thickness and
consolidation of the underlying soft clay.
The average rate of lowering of the peat surface in Sarawak:
100 mm/year fibrous peat

50 mm/year amorphous peat
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Ground subsidence at Oya Road
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11
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Ground subsidence at Lorong Merlin. Fill platforms sinking

back to swamp levels
M.Sa'don
Damage to infrastructure at Taman Sentosa
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Knowledge Sharing
13
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14
M.Sa'don
Peatland in Malaysia
15
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16
Distribution of Peat & Peaty Organic

Soils
Peninsular Malaysia
Near KLIA Airport: about 4m
deep peat
Air Itam Kulai, Johore: 4 to
7m deep peat but can be deep
as 12m isolated areas
Terengganu: as deep as 4 to
5m with soft clay beneath in
pockets inland from the coast
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M.Sa'don
Von Post Classification System

ASTM Classification of Organic Soils
AASHTO Classification of Organic Soils
ISO Classification of Organic Soils
Malaysian Soil Classification System
Sarawak
Sibu Town: known to be as
deep as 17m
Batu Kawa, Kuching: 3 to 6m
over soft clay or limestone
Petra Jaya : up to 7m with soft
clay beneath
Balingian: up to about 6m
with soft clay beneath
Matang: up to about 5m with
soft clay beneath
Limbang
Miri behind Canada Hill
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CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
M.Sa'don
M.Sa'don
Decomposition / decay of the organic plant remains.

Measured on a ten-point H1 to H10 Von Post Scale of
Humidification
H1-H3
Young Peat (Very light)
H2-H4
Slight Decomposition (Blond peat), standard
H3-H6
Medium/advanced decomposition (Brown Peat)
H7-H10
Very advanced decomposition (Black Peat)
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Knowledge Sharing
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Descriptor
Symbol
Slightly Organic
2 20
Organic Soil
25 75
Peat
Pt
> 75
Fibric Peat fibrous; least decomposed with more than 66% FC.
Hemic Peat semi fibrous; intermediate decomposed 33%-66%
Sapric Peat amorphous; most decomposed with less than 33%FC
ASTM D1997-91 Standard Test Method for Laboratory

Determination of the Fiber Content of Peat Samples by Dry Mass
M.Sa'don
Highly acidic (pH less than 4.5)

Moderately acidic (pH between 4.5 and 5.5)
Slightly acidic (pH between 5.5 and 7.0)
Basic (pH greater than or equal to 7.0)
ASTM D2974-87 Standard Test Method for Moisture, Ash and

Organic Matter of Peat and Other Organic Soils
M.Sa'don
ISO 14688-1 Classification of

Organic Soils
ISO provides the following designations based on degree of

decomposition
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Low Ash less than 5% ash.

Medium Ash 5% to 15% ash
High Ash ash content greater than 15%
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based on Acidity
Peat can also be classified based on the acidity, as

measured by the pH.
Organic Content
Peat are divided into 3 categories based on the ash

content (i.e., the material remaining after drying in a
furnace):
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Basic Soil Type

Clay or Silt or Sand
Classification of Organic Soils based

on Ash Content (ASTM D2974)
Fiber content (FC) clasiffication:
ASTM classifies peat according to:

Organic content
Fiber Content
Ash Content
Acidity
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Classification of Organic Soils based

on Fiber Content (ASTM D1997)
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Fibrous peat A fibrous structure, with easily recognizable plant remains,

and retains some strength.
Pseudo fibrous peat An easily recognizable plant structure but a
diminution in strength.
Amorphous peat No visible plant structure and mushy consistency.
Gyttja formed by decomposed plant and animal remains and may
contain inorganic constituents
Humic soils contain plant remains and living organisms, as well as a
large content of inorganic constituents
Knowledge Sharing
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26
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M.Sa'don
Unified soil classification system (USCS)
M.Sa'don
Widely used for major construction project;

Soils are classified with sieve analysis and Atterberg limit tests; and
Highly Organic Soils (Pt) peat, muck and other highly organic soils.
Readily identified by colour, odour spongy feel and frequently by
fibrous texture
The AASHTO soil classification system
Developed by the American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials
A-8: Highly organic soil peat and other highly organic soils
Primarily organic matter, dark in colour and organic odour (based
on visual inspection and is not dependent on the results of particle
size analysis or Atterberg limits.
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Classification of Peats and Organic

soils (After Landva et al., 1983)
Classification of Peat Soil Fiber

Content [U.S. Department of
Agriculture, (USDA)]
Soil Type
USDA Classification of Peat soil
Group Symbol
Soil with
Organic
Content
MO or CO
Pt
PtO
20 40
40 95
95
Organic Content (%)
> 80
60 80
5 60
15
Liquid Limit (%)

Fiber Content (%)
Degree of
Decomposition
(von Post)
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Moisture content
Ash content
Bulk density
Von Post Degree of Humidification
pH values
Fiber Content
Organic
Soils
< 20
Moisture Content (%)
Parameters for Peat Classification
Peaty
Organic
Soils
Ash Content (%)

Particle Density (%)
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Peats
< 1.7
1.6 1.9
> 1.7
> 2.4
200 3000
150 800
100 500
< 100
Difficult to perform test
> 50
< 50
> 50
< 50
Insignificant
H1 H8
H8 H10
H10
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M.Sa'don
Moisture Content
Field moisture range from 100 1300% on a dry-weight basis
West Malaysia
200 700%
East Malaysia
150 2207%
High water content
Cause of buoyancy and a high pore volume results in low bulk
density and low bearing capacity (Mutalib et al, 1991).
Ash Content
< 10% - very high content of organic matter
Ash Content (%) = 100 Organic Content (OC)
Loss of Ignition (%)
Skempton and Petley (1970) & ASTM- hydration loss is kept within
the acceptable limits at a temperature of 5500C.
The relationships between ignition loss (N) and organic content (OC)
is:
OC = 1 1.04 (1 N)
Both OC and N are expressed as a ratio. Negligible for organic content
greater than 25%.
Knowledge Sharing
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Bulk Density
Depends:
Amount of compaction, the botanical composition of the materials,
degree of decomposition and the mineral and moisture content at
the time of sampling.
Based on researchers reports:
Mutalib et al., (1991) 0.1 to 0.2 g/cm3 - the top 30 cm
Andriesse (1974) 0.12 g/cm3 for Sarawak peat
Driessen and Rochimah (1976) 0.1 g/cm3 for fibric tropical peat in Indonesia
0.2 g/cm3 for well composed sapric peat
Tie and Kueh (1979) well-decomposed sapric peat with a loss of
ignition of 95%
0.15 g/cm3 for depth 0-15 m
0.13 g/cm3 for depth 15-30 m
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Degree of Humidification (von Post)

10 degree of humidification based on the appearance of soil
water that is extruded when the soil is squeezed by hand.
H1 H3: Fibric Peat
H4 H6: Hemic Peat
H7 H10: Sapric Peat
3 classes: Fibric or fibrous (least decomposed), hemic or semifibrous (intermediate) and sapric or amorphous (most
decomposed)
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34
pH values
Acidic and pH values in range of 3.0 4.5 (Mutalib, et al., 1994)
Variations within this range either by admixtures of mineral soil
which generally increase the pH, or by the specific location in the peat
swamp.
Clues for mode of formation, type of peat and possible agricultural
potential.
Measured in the field because the risk oxidation in some peat soils of
sulphur compounds - alter pH
Fibric peat
Fine fibrous particles < 2mm & small amounts of coarse rootlets (2-10 mm
diameter)
Only if they are decomposed enough to be crushed and shredded with the
fingers
Light yellowish brown or reddish brown
Woody hemic peat

Fine particles < 2mm but a small amount of coarse fibres (2-10 mm) can
also present
Fibre content 1/3 to 2/3 of the volume before rubbing
Dark greyish brown to dark reddish brown
Sapric peat
Most decomposed of the peat types constituting of fine-grained materials
< 2mm
Fibre content < 1/3 of the volume before rubbing
Very dark grey to black
M.Sa'don
Soil Deposit
East
Malaysia
Peat
200-2200
Natural water
content, W (%)
Liquid limit, LL (%)
190-360 210-550
Plastic Limit, PL (%)
100-200 125-297
Plasticity Index, PI (%) 90-160
85-297
Specific gravity (Gs )
1.38-1.70 1.07-1.63
Organic content (%)
65-97
50-95
Unit weight (kN/m3)
8.3-11.5
8.0-12.0
Undrained Shear
8-17
8-10
strength (kPa)
Compression Index,Cc 1.0-2.6
0.5-2.5
Refs.
[3][4]
[3][4]
Johore
Hemic
Peat
230-500
Bog
Fen
200-1000
500-600
220-250
1.48-1.8
80-96
7.5-10.2
7-11
800-1500
1.40-1.60
>98
9.5-10.5
-
200-600
1.80
>98
8.5-11.0
-
0.9-1.5
[17]
[14]
[14]
British Peat
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M.Sa'don
Current Construction Practices
Properties of Peat-Comparison
West
Malaysia
Peat
200-700
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Particle Size Analysis: The organic content refer to as the fabric of the
organic (Molenkamp, 1994)
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M.Sa'don
Removal and Replacement typically up to 5m depth

Preloading and Drainage
Vertical Drain with Surcharge and Vacuum Preloading
In-Situ Densification
Shallow and Deep Foundations
Dynamic Consolidation and Vibro-flotation
Soil Stabilization by Admixtures
Physically mixing of additives with surface soils or soils at depth.
Additive include: natural soil, lime, cement or industrial by product
and waste material
Soil Reinforcement
Vertical reinforcement (eg. Piles, stone columns)
Horizontal reinforcement (eg. Soil nailing, geo-synthetic products)
Knowledge Sharing
37
M.Sa'don
Filling Over Peat

Peat swampy and inaccessible except to light
equipment. Often SI equipments has to access on
timber planks.
End tipping will cause mud waves, severe lateral
movements, loss of fill as fill mixed with peat.
Volume of fill loss can be immense.
Excavators known to have sunk into peat.
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Uncontrolled Filling-Air Baloi,

Johore
M.Sa'don
Methods to Ensure Stable Fill

Placement
Drain the peat to lower ground water table by
0.5m to 1.0m. Enable access by light earthworks
equipment and placement of fill in dry conditions
in thin layers.
Geotextile bamboo fascine mattress.
Hydraulic sand fill pumping sand in thin layers
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Machap to Air Hitam 30 km of peat

(North-South Expressway)
Peat thickness 6m
Construction Stages:
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Peat Excavation - Machap
M.Sa'don
Peat Excavation - Machap
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M.Sa'don
Dewatering
Complete removal
Replace with compacted fill
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M.Sa'don
Peat Replacement - Machap
Knowledge Sharing
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46
M.Sa'don
Hydraulic Sand Fill Matang

Highway
Good way of filling over peat because the sand can be

placed by pumping in thin lifts and spread over wide area.
No need to drain the peat, timber matting or geotextile
bamboo fascine.
Matang Highway:
Peat thickness 6m
Soft clay beneath
Settlement gauge installed only after at least 1.0m fill in
place
Measured settlement up to 1.8m
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M.Sa'don
Hydraulic Sand Fill Matang Highway
Surface Reinforcement + Preloading + Vertical Drain

Geotextile, geogrids, timber or bamboo mattresses
being placed to increase the overall stability
Accelerated by use of vertical drains
Loading achieved by placement of load on the
surface or vacuum consolidation
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M.Sa'don
Geotextile Bamboo Fascine

800mm grid
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M.Sa'don

800mm grid
Local innovation: Bamboo frame tied by wire to provide stiffness and access
Knowledge Sharing
49
M.Sa'don
50
M.Sa'don
Deep/Chemical Stabilization
Heave
Forced mixing of lime content or cement deposits

to form stabilized soil column
Curing takes times
1st layer of fill about 500mm must be sand to enable pore

pressures to be dissipated.
Use when not possible to drain low lying peat areas.
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M.Sa'don
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M.Sa'don
Pile Support
Proposed by Burland et al (1977).

For the idealized condition of
uniform loading, the settlement
Uniformly loaded raft foundation
profile of the raft foundation is of

bowl shaped where settlement is
the largest in the central and

smallest at the edge.
Settlement reducing piles are
introduced in the centre of the
raft to reduce raft settlement at

the centre and thus reduce
differential settlement.
Raft plus settlement reducing piles

Central piles to reduce differential settlement
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M.Sa'don
Thank you.

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W6 Lecture-Peat in Malaysia

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Knowledge Sharing

By: Dr Norazzlina M.Sadon

Two forms that characterize the

Drainage of peat swamp

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

Soft clay often found beneath peat. If peat relatively thin,

Estimates of peat settlement made in the same manner as for soft

Settlement can be up to between 50% to 65% of the peat thickness.

100 mm/year fibrous peat

Ground subsidence at Oya Road

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

Ground subsidence at Lorong Merlin. Fill platforms sinking

Damage to infrastructure at Taman Sentosa

Distribution of Peat & Peaty Organic

Von Post Classification System

Von Post Classification System

Decomposition / decay of the organic plant remains.

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

ASTM Classification of Organic Soils

Von Post Classification System

Hemic Peat semi fibrous; intermediate decomposed 33%-66%

Sapric Peat amorphous; most decomposed with less than 33%FC

ASTM D1997-91 Standard Test Method for Laboratory

Highly acidic (pH less than 4.5)

ASTM D2974-87 Standard Test Method for Moisture, Ash and

ISO 14688-1 Classification of

ISO provides the following designations based on degree of

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

Low Ash less than 5% ash.

ASTM Classification of Organic Soils

Peat can also be classified based on the acidity, as

Peat are divided into 3 categories based on the ash

Basic Soil Type

Classification of Organic Soils based

Fiber content (FC) clasiffication:

ASTM classifies peat according to:

Classification of Organic Soils based

Fibrous peat A fibrous structure, with easily recognizable plant remains,

Unified soil classification system (USCS)

Widely used for major construction project;

The AASHTO soil classification system

Developed by the American Association of State Highway and

Classification of Peats and Organic

Classification of Peat Soil Fiber

USDA Classification of Peat soil

Organic Content (%)

Liquid Limit (%)

Moisture Content (%)

Parameters for Peat Classification

Ash Content (%)

Difficult to perform test

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

Degree of Humidification (von Post)

Woody hemic peat

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don

Current Construction Practices

Removal and Replacement typically up to 5m depth

Filling Over Peat

Uncontrolled Filling-Air Baloi,

Methods to Ensure Stable Fill

Machap to Air Hitam 30 km of peat

Peat Excavation - Machap

Prepared by: Dr Norazzlina M. Sa'don