Determination of Elastic Properties of Soils around a Typical Erosion-Prone Area in Benin City, South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Soil properties play a crucial role in understanding the mechanisms of erosion and consequently developing appropriate mitigation strategies. The aim of this study is to determine the elastic parameters of soil in an erosion-prone area using the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) method of geophysical exploration. The active method MASW was adopted for this study. Data were acquired using a 24-channel ABEM Terralock MATK-6 seismograph with geophones of frequency 14Hz. An 8 Kg hammer was used as a source to generate seismic energy. Data acquired were processed with SeisImager2D refraction software developed by Geometric Earth Science Ltd and 2-D shear wave (Vs) and P-wave (Vp) velocities were generated alongside 2-D profiles of Shear Modulus, Young’s Modulus, Bulk Modulus, and Poison’s Ratio. The result of this study reveals soft to medium-stiff saturated clay/dry sand/wet sand and medium-stiff to stiff saturated clays/dry sand/wet sand with shear wave velocity values ranging from 84 m/s to 504 m/s. The bulk modulus, shear modulus, poison’s ratio, and Young’s modulus range from 3.4 GPa to 5.9 GPa, 20 kPa to 440 kPa, 0.448 to 0.498, and 50 kPa to 1.05 GPa respectively.