European University of Lefke (EUL) Faculty Member of Civil Engineering Department Geotechnical Engineering Dr. Abdullah Ekinci explained that he continues to work with the equipment in the EUL Soil Mechanics Laboratory for further evaluation of the clay soils in Cyprus.

Ekinci stated that the Cyprus Geological Office has also investigated the clay, which is common in Cyprus, but that the mechanical behavior of this clay is not extensively investigated. He explained how clay will behave under variable load conditions and that it cannot be predicted before field and laboratory studies are carried out. Ekinci stated that the vertical population increase is visible and parallel formation, and deep structures are increasing with each passing day.

Many buildings are built on clay

Ekinci said that there are many constructions in the region of Famagusta Tuzla with many buildings in Bafra region, many high rise buildings in Girne, among these constructions, in the light of geotechnical reports prepared all over the country, Ekinci stated that most of these important buildings are built on clay grounds. Ekinci said that prior to the construction of the mentioned structures, the geological field and laboratory studies on the ground were followed by geochemical investigation such as soil-foundation relation, seismicity and liquefaction risk. Ekinci stated that these works were preliminary studies. After this phase, Ekinci explained that triaxial equipment  in the EUL Soil Mechanics Laboratory are being maintained for rigorous evaluation of the clay soils, and the rigidity studies are continuing with integrated bender elements and local strain mesurment devices in these devices.

Ekinci stated that a large part of the modern Soil Mechanics was developed by examining the properties of laboratory prepared or kneaded soils and evaluating the results of detailed studies. Ekinci stated that the Critical State Soil Mechanics formulated by the Cambridge University Soil Group in the 1960s has gained importance due to its success in explaining some of the key findings previously covered separately in a single frame. Ekinci said that in this understanding, the Critical State Soil Mechanics, which is a simple and reliable theory in modeling the behavior of the soils, has begun to be applied more in the solution of engineering problems. Ekinci emphasized that the evaluation of the clay soils in England in particular was the result of the development of the mentioned work, but nowadays it is questioned because of the difficulties in modeling different heterogeneous soils in different countries of the world using the Critical State Soil Mechanics.

Ekinci said that the study on Cyprus clay is only the minimalized ratio of a larger scope Project conducted in the University College London Soil Mechanics Center- founded by Prof. Dr. Matthew Coop, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Baudet and Prof. Dr. Pedro Ferreira. Ekinci emphasized that in this context the behavior of clay soils will be predictable through preliminary studies which will determine and characterize the mechanical properties of the clays in Cyprus, which are in contact with every day structures we leave on, and thus will not require further experimental work in the future.