Journals Proceedings

Abstract

A total of five soil samples were collected from melange weathered material in order to analysis the engineering properties and mineralogical identification of the soils. The soil samples were collected along the main road in Sandakan, Sabah. The result of analysis shows that the soil moisture content was in the range of 15.26% to 22.10%, the soil organic content range from 1.10% to 2.32%, and the soil specific gravity in the range of 2.57 to 2.61. Sample S3 and S4 shows the acidity of soil whereas, S1, S2 and S5 was alkaline. The average liquid limit of soil samples were from 45.1% to 59.8%, while the plasticity indexes were in the range of 23.25% to 33.91%. The plasticity chart plot of soil found that S1 and S5 samples were classified as low plasticity soil, while S2, S3 and S4 samples were classified as high plasticity. The result shows that the optimum moisture contents range from 13.0% to 28.9%, while the maximum dry density was within a range from 1.43Mg/m3 to 1.82Mg/m3. The unconfined compression strength indicated that S3 is classified as very soft soil, S1 and S4 soft soil, S2 moderate soft soil and s5 strong soil. The permeability of all soil samples is best classified as very low permeability. The mineralogical identification using XRD and SEM proved the appearance of clay minerals and quartz as a main mineral content of all soil samples.