Engineering in Mercia mudstone

The Mercia Mudstone Group, part of the Triassic Series formerly known as the Keuper Marl, is a sequence dominated by mudstones that underlies much of central and southern England and parts of Northern Ireland, on which many urban areas and their attendant infrastructure are built. These strata affect the construction industry mainly in operations such as foundations, excavations and earthworks. When designing earthworks or structural foundations in, on or using Mercia mudstone, the designer needs to understand how the engineering properties are linked to the geological history. This guide provides information about the engineering properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group to improve the investigation, design and construction of ground engineering works in these materials. It will be useful for geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, civil and structural engineers, tunnelling engineers, highway engineers and construction professionals.