I*
I.
^I 1
Page 6
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, OCT 15, 1975
Over $2.3 billion
Swelling soil costly disaster
U
it
■5^
■v,
?!
rl
1
'11
'ilili
?!li
;5(
j
ii
!V.
; It
fir
¥\
!
(3
:ii;,
J
■it.
iit '
,;:|,
fill
ii
I.
i'll
: ir
I
bprk
onot
©r
"All the earthquakes, hur
ricanes, tornadoes and floods
added together do less than half
the financial damage each year
of the simple swelling of the soil
when it rains or its shrinking
when it doesn’t,” a Texas A&M
geologist said Monday.
“Expansive, or swelling soils,
in which the soil of the earth
expands, perhaps only hun
dreds of an inch, upon being
wetted causes twice the damage
of the other natural disasters,”
Dr. Christopher Mathewson
explained.
“In the U.S. alone, swelling
soils cause over $2.3 billion in
damage per year, he con
tinued. “Over a billion dollars of
this damage was done to streets
and highways, while $300 mill
ion was related to the reported
damage to single family homes.
“Thus, expansive soil is the
single, most costly natural disas
ter, at least in terms of dollars,
Mathewson declared.
Library
formally
named
“To become a problem the
soil must be acted on by changes
in the normal environment; it
must get wetter or drier,” he
went on. “Changes in the mois
ture content of the soil lead to
changes in the volume of the
soil, resulting in swelling.
“For it to become a natural
disaster, man only needs to con
struct a home, street, or other
rigid structure on these expan
sive clays,” Mathewson pointed
out.
“The National Science Foun
dation has funded Dr. Mathew
son and Dr. Robert Lytton (civil
engineering) with $70,100 to
continue the research to deter
mine how the soil moisture
changes and what causes these
changes,” he said.
According to Mathewson,
The university library will be
formally named Saturday, Oct. 25,
in honor of Sterling C. Evans, a
1921 graduate of the institution and
one of its major supporters for more
than a half century.
The 9:30 a.m. ceremonies at the
library will include the unveiling of
plans for the $12 million addition
authorized by the university’s board
of regents. The addition is en
visioned as a six-story structure con
taining 235,088 square feet of floor
space, giving the overall library
complex the capacity to accommo
date two million volumes.
Evans, who has farming and
ranching interests in Texas and
Louisiana and currently resides in
Chopin, La., served as a member of
the Texas A&M University System
Board of Regents from 1959 until
1971 and was board chairman in
1963-64. He is a recipient of the!
“Distinguished Alumni Award, the
highest honor bestowed by the uni
versity and its Association of
Former Students.
He has long been interested in
the UBiversity’s library and served
as the first chairman of Friends of
the Library, an organization formed
in 1971 to help the library ac
complish certain goals which might
otherwise have been unattainable.
Evans is a former president of the
Federal Land Bank of Houston and
the Houston Bank for Cooperatives
and later served as general agent of
the Farm Credit Bank of Houston.
He also is a past president of the
Texas Agricultural Workers Associ
ation and a former board member of
the Houston Fat Stock Show and
Livestock Exposition.
The naming ceremony is part of
Scholarship Weekend activities to
be held in conjunction with the
Texas A&M-Baylor football game.
Bryan grad
leads ROTC
at RVAM
Heading the approximately 700
cadets in the Army ROTC program
at Prairie View A&M University
this year is Cecil Webster, a
graduate of Bryan High School.
Webster, a senior student with
the rank of cadet colonel, is a civil
engineering major at Prairie View.
He earned his diploma from
Bryan High in 1972, as a member of
the first class to graduate from the
new facility.
Webster has also qualified for the
silver wings of a paratrooper.
~/upfn & mb a
Eddie Dominguez
Joe Arciniega '74
Greg Price
S'
rtin I Hi
If you ffant the real
thing, not frozen or
canned . . We call H
“Mexican Food
Supreme "
Dallas location;
1 3071 Northwest Hwy.
352-857f
building on expansive soils,
found all through the United
States (including Houston, Dal
las, El Paso, and the rural
homeowner in between) can be
very much like building in an
area subject to hurricanes,
floods, or other natural
phenomenon. It’s this way be
cause of the uncertainty in
volved in predicting the sever
ity of movement and con
sequent damage to overlying
structures.
“If an engineer has the proper
knowledge he can predict the
response of the expansive clay
and figure how to combat the
expected distortion of the struc
ture,” he said.
The several factors that have
to be taken into consideration in
this prediction include: vegeta
tion, climate, soil moisture ac
tive zone, topography, drain
age, time and site control
exerted by the occupant, and
the quality of construction. It is
these factors that will be studied
in the NSF supported research
project.
“Climate is the single most
important environmental fac
tor, Mathewson noted. “Reg
ions which receive a large per
centage of their annual rainfall
within a short time and experi
ence dry conditions the rest of
the year (like the Southwestern
U. S.) have the worst expansive
soil problem. Regions receiving
the same amount of rain but
spaced at more regular intervals
have fewer problems.
Research by Dr. Mathewson,
supported by the Texas Real Es
tate Research Center, produced
several recommendations to
decrease the danger of damage
to a home in Central Texas in
cluding:
• Install gutters and
downspouts for all roof
eaves
• Drainpipes should carry
runoff at least five feet from
the slab
Lot finishing should place
the home on a mound to
carry water away from the
foundation
The house should be
placed as far from trees as
practical.
Large trees shouldn’t be
planted near the founda
tion.
Soil moisture should be
kept constant around the
slab
Wing walls off the founda
tion should be avoided
Frame sections at doors
and windows will residt in
a more flexible wall and
decrease losses from cracks
through bricks or along
mortar joints.
Frameconstruction, which
is becoming popular again,
will also help to decrease
the esthetic damages
caused by expansive soils
because it is more flexible.
photography
October Portrait
Sale 3 for 2
405 University Dr (NORTHGATE) College Station 713/846 2828 J|
luy a pin
lanywhi
c
/A\
dE.
The
SILVER FAWN
Gift
TURQUOISE & STERLING SILVER
DO-IT-YOURSELF:
Sterling Silver Beads
Turquoise Nuggets
Cones
Hooks & Eyes
Shell Heshei
Liquid Silves
Tiger Tail Cord
FED MART SHOPPING CENTER - SUITE 404
COCLEGE STATION 846-7877
•lambui
lausag
peppen
®SKAGGS
ALBERTSONS
^ DRUGS & FOODS
COMPLETE DRUG CENTER
UNIVERSITY SQ.
AT
COLLEGE AVE.
EFFECTIVE DATES: WED.. THURS.. FRI.. SAT
OCT. 15.16,17,18
FROZEN FOODS
IN A DRUG
STORE...YES!
SKAGGS ALBERTSONS
PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER
FOOD AND DRUG!
CONVENIENT STORE HOURS TO SERVE YOU
OPEN DAILY - 8 A.M. TILL MIDNIGHT
OPEN SUNDAY — 9 A.M. TILL 10 P.M
VALUABLE COUPON
JUMBO
PRINTS
PRINTED &
DEVELOPED
FROM YOUR
K0DAC0L0R
FILM
12 EXPOSURE
ROLL
WITH COUPON
20EXRROLL $ 2.99
™ ■
^ PRAK TKAl
HUMIDIFIER
lyiiii
2 KAR CUARAKTIE 5 ^
■"IT
RECALL
VITAMIN C
>; |(|®
IIIIn *><«2lllll
' ANTISEPTIC
SEA BREEZE
eWI
16 OZ.
" TEGRli ^ ^'
SHAMPOO
me*
^ ' GILLETTE LADV
INJECTOR RAZORS
¥ MS
ROMMS 101 ■ 1
11^
SKAGGS
MALDROXAL LIQUID
WMCMSTIPATmG ■ 1 II H
iQjgp
SUHCIICOUPW
PERFECT FOR THE WW* H
ORHHTTOIT. H -- M
rinnV mW,y
jjm
IravStD CHERRIES
I DELICIOUS mu CHOCOLATE
1CORDIALLEDIH CREME T2 01..
'IF