New post-construction site characterisation models for low-rise buildings founded on highly expansive clays

In the past three decades many thousand houses built in the Western and Northern suburbs of Melbourne have experienced extensive damage due to chaotic climate and inadequate design and construction. The clayey soils upon which these houses were built are derived from the decomposition of volcanic soils which have high shrink and swelling properties. These soils are common throughout the world and are a particular problem as the climate becomes more active. The research for this thesis includes investigation data from-2005 to 2015 which recorded some of these problems and also led to the development of a more accurate calculation method of foundation movement.