From the course: Practical Engineering

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Expansive soils

Expansive soils

- When most people think about property damage they think about natural disasters. But what if I told you there is a slow-moving, geologic phenomenon that causes more damage in the United States than earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined. Hey I'm Grady, and this is Practical Engineering, today we're talking about expansive soils. (energetic electronic music) If you've ever been to a place where the ground looks like this, or been in a building that looks like this, or this, there's a good chance you were in a place that had expansive soils. Just like these dinosaur toys, certain types of clay soils change their volume, depending on moisture content. They swell when they get wet, and shrink as they dry. This is a microscopic mechanism where the shape and arrangement of the molecules actually change, according to the amount of water mixed in. In large portions of the US Gulf Coast in great plains, have these kinds of soils. If you're starting a foundation repair, or a…

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