Ground Improvement (2003) 7, No.

4, 165172

165

Soil improvement for a road using the vacuum preloading method

Geotechnical Research Institute, Tianjin University, China; y School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798
A case of using the vacuum preloading method to improve the foundation soil for a road in Tianjin, China, is presented. A vacuum load of 80 kPa was applied for 90 days to consolidate a 20 m thick soft clay layer. The ground settled for about 15 m. The average degree of consolidation estimated using settlement data was 90%. The undrained shear strength of the soil increased and the water content decreased after vacuum preloading. The procedures used for soil improvement, the instrumentation and the eld monitoring data are described. Several issues concerning the practical aspects of the vacuum preloading method are discussed. sentons un cas utilisant une me thode de pre Nous pre liorer le sol de fondation dune charge sous vide pour ame ` Tianjin en Chine. Une charge sous vide de 80 kPa a route a te applique e pendant 90 jours pour consolider une couche e paisse de 20 m. Le sol sest tasse sur dargile tendre e moyen de consolidation estime environ 1,5 m. Le degre ` s les donne es de tassement e tait de 90%. La re sisdapre du sol a augmente et le tance au cisaillement non draine apre ` s la pre charge sous vide. contenu en eau a diminue crivons les proce dures utilise es pour ame liorer le Nous de es de contro le sur le sol, linstrumentation et les donne ` mes concernant terrain. Nous examinons plusieurs proble thode de pre charge sous les aspects pratiques de la me vide.

S. W. YAN and J. CHUy

Keywords : case improvement

history;

consolidation;

ground

Introduction
A section of a road leading to a container terminal at Tianjin Port, China, had to be constructed on a 20 m thick soft clay layer. The top 56 m of the clay layer was reclaimed recently using clay slurry dredged from the seabed. The remaining 1415 m was original seabed clay. The soil in both layers was soft, and was still undergoing consolidation. This soft clay layer needed to be improved before any construction work could be carried out. Preloading using a ll surcharge was not feasible as it was difcult to build a ll embankment several metres high on soft clay. The vacuum preloading method was adopted as it was considered the most cost-effective method for this project. The vacuum preloading method has been widely used in Tianjin for land reclamation and soil improvement work since 1980. The technique has been well developed over the years as a result of intensive research and eld trials (Chen and Bao, 1983; Ye et al., 1983; Yan and Chen, 1986; Choa, 1990; TPEI, 1995; Chu et al., 2000). Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) have often been used to distribute vacuum load and discharge pore water. A vacuum load of 80 kPa or above can be maintained as long as it is required. Compared with the ll surcharge method for the equivalent load, the vacuum preloading method is cheaper and faster. According to a comparison made by TPEI (1995), the cost of soil improvement using vacuum preloading is only two thirds of

that by ll surcharge, based on the local prices of electricity and materials. The principles and mechanism of vacuum preloading have been discussed in the literature (e.g. Kjellman, 1952; Holtz, 1975; Chen and Bao, 1983; Qian et al., 1992. A case study on the use of the vacuum preloading method for the soil improvement for a road project is presented in this paper. The site conditions, the soil improvement procedure, and the eld instrumentation are described. The eld monitoring data are presented. The achieved degree of consolidation and the effect of soil improvement are evaluated. Several issues concerning the practical aspects of the vacuum preloading method are also discussed.

Soil conditions
The section of road to be improved is shown schematically in Fig. 1. It was 3645 m long and 51 m wide. For the convenience of construction, the site was divided into two sections. The idealised soil prole is shown in Fig. 2. The liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), water content (Wo ), void ratio (e), and undrained shear strength (cu ) proles in both sections are shown in Fig. 3. The shear strength, cu , was measured by unconsolidated undrained (UU) tests. It can be seen that the soil properties vary erratically with depth. The water content of the soil was as high as or even higher than the liquid limit at most locations. The undrained shear strength (cu ) of the soil as shown in Fig. 3 was generally smaller than 20 kPa.
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S. W. Yan and J. Chu tions of those instruments are shown schematically in Fig. 1 (plan view) and Fig. 6 (elevation view). Undisturbed soil samples were taken. Laboratory and eld vane shear tests were conducted both before and after the soil improvement.

Section I

Section II

51 m

Before vacuum preloading

364.5 m Borehole Water standpipe Multi-level settlement gauge Field vane Inclinometer Pore water pressure transducer

Fig. 1. Project site and plan view of instrumentation

0 Silty clay consolidated from slurry, yellow and grey in colour, high compressibility 6 8 Soft silt to silty clay, grey and brown in colour, high compressibility 11 Silty clay, grey and brown in colour, high compressibility 16 Stiff silty clay, grey and brown in colour, medium compressibility 20 Silt, grey in colour

As excess pore water pressures existed in the soil, some consolidation took place as soon as the vertical drains were installed. An average 058 m of settlement had occurred before the application of vacuum preloading. Other factors that contributed to the settlement included the disturbance to the soil caused by vertical drain installation, and the consolidation that took place under the sand blanket and the self-weight of soil.

During vacuum preloading

Pore water pressures
The pore water pressures in the soil reduced with the application of vacuum preloading. The reductions in the pore water pressure at different depths are plotted against duration in Fig. 7(a) and (b) for sections I and II respectively. Fig. 7(a) indicates that, for section I, there was a vacuum distribution period of about 10 days for the effect of vacuum load to be felt. The vacuum distribution period for section II was smaller owing to the adjacent effect of section I on section II, as shown in Fig. 7(b). After this initial vacuum distribution stage, the pore water pressures reduced quickly with time. The pore water pressure reduction became smaller after about 40 days at most locations.

Fig. 2. Simplied soil prole

Settlements

Soil improvement procedure

The specication for the soil improvement was set to achieve an average degree of consolidation of 85% based on settlement data under a minimum vacuum loading of 80 kPa, and a minimum bearing capacity of 80 kPa. The soil improvement work was carried out as follows. A 03 m sand blanket was rst placed on the ground surface. PVDs were then installed on a square grid at a spacing of 10 m to a depth of 20 m. Corrugated exible pipes (100 mm in diameter) were laid horizontally in the sand blanket to link the PVDs to the main vacuum pressure line. The pipes were perforated and wrapped with a permeable fabric textile to act as a lter layer. Three layers of thin PVC membrane were laid to seal each section. Vacuum pressure was then applied using jet pumps. The schematic arrangement of the vacuum preloading method used is shown in Fig. 4. The vacuum pressure was applied continuously for 90 days until the required degree of consolidation was achieved. Curves of applied vacuum load against time and ground settlement against time are shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that a vacuum pressure of 80 kPa or above was maintained for the whole duration of the vacuum preloading.

The settlements monitored at different depths during vacuum preloading are plotted against duration in Fig. 8. The maximum surface settlements are 0959 m and 1147 m for sections I and II respectively. Although the pore water pressure took some time to reduce (see Fig. 7), the settlement took place as soon as the vacuum preloading was applied. After the vacuum preloading stopped at 90 days, the settlement still increased for a few days before it became constant, as shown in Fig. 8.

Analysis of results
Reduction in pore water pressures
Based on the pore water pressure measurements shown in Fig. 7, the pore water pressure distributions with depth at durations of 30, 60 and 90 days are shown in Fig. 9. The initial pore water pressure prole, uo (h), and the suction line, us , are also plotted in Fig. 9. The initial pore water pressures were obviously greater than the hydrostatic pore water pressure in both sections, indicating that the subsoil was still under consolidation. These were mainly the remaining pore water pressures that were generated by the placement and consolidation of the top 6 m of slurry ll. During vacuum preloading, the pore water pressure reductions were different at different points. As there was a layer of silt or silty clay between 6 and 11 m that was relatively more permeable, the pore water pressure in this layer reduced faster. As shown in Fig. 9, the pore water pressures had reduced to nearly the suction line within the rst 30 days. The pore water pressure reductions were slower in the slurry ll (between 0 and 6 m) and at the bottom of the stiff silty clay layer (from 14 to 20 m), as the

Instrumentation and eld measurements

Instrumentsincluding pore water pressure transducers, surface settlement plates, multi-level settlement gauges, standpipes and inclinometerswere installed in both sections to monitor the consolidation performance. The loca166

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Soil improvement for a road using the vacuum preloading method

LL, PL, and Wo 0 0 20 40 60 80 0 0.5

1.0

Void ratio, e 1.5

c u: kPa 2.0 0 0 10 20 30 40

Depth: m

Depth: m

Depth: m 12 12 16 16 20 20 (a)

12

16 Wo PL LL 20

LL, PL, and Wo 0 0 20 40 60 80 0 0.5

1.0

Void ratio, e 1.5

c u: kPa 2.0 0 0 10 20 30 40

8 Depth: m Depth: m

8 Depth: m 12

12

12

16 Wo PL LL 20

16

16

20 (b)

20

Fig. 3. Basic soil properties: (a) at section I; (b) at section II

soils there were relatively less permeable. This is consistent with the initial pore water pressure prole, where larger initial pore water pressures presented at the same locations.

Degree of consolidation
The results presented above show that the ground had settled more than 1 m and substantial pore water pressure had reduced at the end of vacuum preloading. Therefore the consolidation of soil under vacuum preloading was effective

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in both sections I and II. The degree of improvement can be further quantied by the degree of consolidation. The degree of consolidation can be estimated using either settlement or pore water pressure. When calculating the degree of consolidation using settlement, the ultimate settlement has to be predicted. Several methods are available in estimating the ultimate settlement (Asaoka, 1978; Sridharan and Rao, 1981; Zeng and Xie, 1989). Based on previous experiences with similar projects, Zeng and Xies method was specied as the method to be used for this project. In 167

S. W. Yan and J. Chu

0 2 4 6 A A 8 10 12 14 16 18 1 8 7 4 2 10 3 11 4 5 6 7 8 20 22 Silty clay Slurry

0 2.0 5.5 Silt Soft clay Silty clay 7.5 9.5 13.0 15.5

1.0

4.0 6.0 8.5 11.0 14.5 18.0 21.0

Pore water pressure transducer Inclinometer

Multi-level settlement guage Water standpipe

Fig. 6. Elevation view of instrumentation

9 1

AA

Fig. 4. Schematic arrangement of vacuum preloading method: 1, drains; 2, lter piping; 3, revetment; 4, water outlet; 5, valve; 6, vacuum gauge; 7, jet pump; 8, centrifugal gauge; 9, trench; 10, horizontal piping; 11, sealing membrane

this method, the average degree of consolidation, Uavg , is assumed to be of the following form: Uavg 1 e
t

The ultimate settlements calculated with equation (2) were 1078 m for section I and 1278 m for section II. The surface settlements measured at t 90 days were 0959 m for section I and 1147 m for section II. Thus the average degree of consolidation calculated was 89% for section I and 90% for section II, which values were higher than the 85% average degree of consolidation requested in the specication. As the pore water pressures during the consolidation were measured, the average degree of consolidation can also be calculated based on pore water pressure. Referring to Fig. 9(a) or 9(b), the average degree of consolidation can be calculated as Uavg and us w h 80 (3a) [ u t ( h) u s ]d h 1 [ u0 ( h) u s ]d h (3)

(1)

where t is time, and and are two parameters. In applying this method, three time intervalst1 , t2 , and t3 need to be chosen from the curve of settlement (S) against time (t) in the region where the full vacuum load has been applied. t1 , t2 , and t3 have to be chosen in such a way that t3 t2 t2 t1 . If the settlements corresponding to t1 , t2 and t3 are S1 , S2 and S3 , then from equation (1) the ultimate settlement, S1 , can be derived as S1 S3 ( S2 S1 ) S2 ( S3 S2 ) ( S2 S1 ) ( S3 S2 ) (2)

where S1 the ultimate settlement, and S1 , S2 and S3 are the settlements measured at time t1 , t2 and t3 respectively. The average degree of consolidation can then be estimated as the ratio of S t and S1 .

where u0 (h) is the initial pore water pressure at depth h; u t (h) is the pore water pressure at depth h at time t; us is the suction applied; h is depth; and w is the unit weight of water. The integrals in equation (3) can be calculated using the area between the curve u t (h) and the line us in Fig. 9(a) or 9(b). Applying equation (3) to Fig. 9(a) and 9(b), the average degree of consolidation calculated was approximately 75% for both sections. The average degree of consolidation calculated based on the measured pore water pressures is smaller than that based on settlements. Similar problems have been pointed

Vacuum load: kPa

100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Duration: days 70 80 90 100

Fig. 5. Applied vacuum pressure and ground settlement measured with duration Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

Settlement: m

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Soil improvement for a road using the vacuum preloading method

Duration: days 0 Pore water pressure reduction: kPa 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 (a) Duration: days 40 60 Elevation: m 20 40 60 80 100
1.0 m 4.0 m 6.0 m 8 .5 m 11.0 m 14.5 m 18.0 m

0 2 4 6 uo(h) 8 10 12 80 100
1.0 m 4.0 m 6.0 m 8.5 m 11.0 m 14.5 m 18.0 m

Initial 30 days 60 days 90 days

Pore water pressure reduction: kPa

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

20

14 us 16 18 20 100

50

50 (a)

100

150

200

250

Pore water pressure: kPa

0 (b) 2 Initial 30 days 60 days 4 90 days

Fig. 7. Pore water pressures measured at different depths against duration: (a) at section I; (b) at section II

6 uo(h) 8 Depth: m

Duration: days 0 0 0.2 20 40 60 80 100 120

10

12

14 Settlement: m 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

0.0 m 2.0 m 5.5 m 7.5 m 9.5 m 13.0 m 15.5 m

us 16

18

20 100 (a) Duration: days 60 80

50

50 (b)

100

150

200

250

Pore water pressure: kPa

0 0.2 Settlement: m 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

20

40

100

120

Fig. 9. Pore water pressure distribution: (a) at section I; (b) at section II

out by Hansbo (1997). The difference could be attributed to the following factors:
0.0 m 2.0 m 5.5 m 7.5 m 9.5 m 13.0 m 15.5 m

(b)

Fig. 8. Settlement measured at different depths against duration: (a) at section I; (b) at section II Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

(a) Both the settlements and the pore water pressures were measured at specic points only. Thus the data may not be representative of the average values for the whole layer. (b) There are uncertainties involved in the prediction of the ultimate settlement. (c) As the load was applied over a strip, it was not a truly one-dimensional problem. (d ) It was a large strain consolidation problem. 169

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S. W. Yan and J. Chu For performance assessment, there are two advantages in using the pore water pressure to evaluate the degree of consolidation: (a) the calculation is based purely on measuring data; and (b) the pore water pressure dissipation process in soil can be visualised clearly from the pore water pressure distribution curve. which was estimated as 514cu according to the design code JTJ 250-98 (1998), was achieved.

Change in water content

The changes in water content for soil before and after vacuum preloading are plotted in Fig. 11(a) and 11(b) for both sections I and II. Generally the higher the initial water content, the greater the reduction in water content. However, the change in water content is not directly proportional to the increase in the undrained shear strength. For example, although the vane shear strength at 6 m at section I

Increase in undrained shear strength

Field vane shear tests were conducted before and after vacuum preloading in both sections I and II, and the results are presented in Fig. 10. It can be seen that, overall, the vane shear strength has increased by about 2030%. After vacuum preloading a minimum bearing capacity of 80 kPa,

Water content: % 0 0 0 0 Before 2 4 6 8 Depth: m 10 12 14 16 18 20 (a) Undrained shear strength: kPa 10 20 30 40 50 Before 2 4 6 6 8 Depth: m Depth: m 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 (b) 10 12 14 16 18 20 (b) After 4 0 60 0 2 20 Water content: % 40 60 80 Depth: m After 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 (a) Undrained shear strength: kPa 10 20 30 40 50 60 2 20 40 60 80

Before After

0 0

Before After

Fig. 10. Vane shear strength prole: (a) at section I; (b) at section II Fig. 11. Water content prole: (a) at section I; (b) at section II Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

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Soil improvement for a road using the vacuum preloading method increased from 20 kPa to 30 kPa (see Fig. 10(a)), there was very little change in the water content, as shown in Fig. 11(a). Therefore the change in water content is not a good indicator in qualifying the result of soil improvement. displacements were monitored by inclinometer for both sections, and the data are presented in Fig. 12. It can be seen that the lateral displacement was the greatest at ground level and reduced sharply with depth. As shown in Fig. 12(b), the lateral ground movement induced by vacuum preloading was as high as 350 mm. The curves of ground lateral displacement against duration are shown in Fig. 13. It can be seen that the ground lateral displacements approached a plateau towards the end of the vacuum preloading in both sections. This is different from the case presented by Chu et al. (2000), where a convergence in the ground lateral displacement was not observed. The difference in the lateral displacement development was due mainly to the geometry of the site. In the case reported in Chu et al. (2000), the area improved was more than 400 m wide. In this case, the area preloaded was a long strip with a width of only 51 m, and thus the lateral displacement developed faster. Cracks were seen to develop on the ground surface at a few metres away from the edge of the preloaded area. As there were no adjacent buildings or facilities, the lateral displacement and cracks were tolerable. However, for sites where adjacent structures are present, lateral displacements can cause problems.

Lateral displacement
One special feature of the vacuum loading method is that it causes an inward lateral movement in soil. The lateral

Lateral displacement: mm 0 2 4 6 8 Depth: m 10 12 14 16 18 20 (a) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

0 day 4 days 7 days 11 days 17 days 24 days 42 days 80 days 92 days

Conclusions
A case study on the application of the vacuum preloading method to the improvement of a 20 m thick soft clay layer for a road project was reported. Based on the study, the following conclusions can be drawn: (a) The vacuum preloading method can be used effectively for the improvement of a 20 m thick soft clay layer, which would be difcult to be treated using ll surcharge. (b) The vacuum distribution system comprising PVDs at a square grid of 10 m together with horizontal 100 mm diameter corrugated exible collector pipes was effective in distributing the vacuum pressure and collecting drained water. A vacuum pressure of 80 kPa was maintained throughout the whole project. (c) After the application of an 80 kPa vacuum pressure for 90 days, the average degree of consolidation achieved was 90% based on the settlement data. The total ground settlement was more than 15 m. The undrained shear strength as measured by eld vane shear tests increased by 2030% as a result of vacuum preloading.

Lateral displacement: mm 0 2 4 6 8 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

400 Ground lateral displacements: mm 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Duration: days (b) Section I Section II

Depth: m

10 12 14 16 18 20 0 day 4 days 7 days 11 days 17 days 24 days 42 days 80 days 92 days

Fig. 13. Ground lateral displacement plotted against duration of vacuum Fig. 12. Lateral displacement: (a) at section I; (b) at section II loading Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

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S. W. Yan and J. Chu (d ) The application of the vacuum caused an inward lateral movement. The maximum lateral displacement measured was 350 mm. Cracks on the ground surface were observed.

References
Asaoka A. (1978) Observational procedure of settlement prediction. Soils and Foundations, 18, No. 4, 87101. Chen H. (1987) Analysis of the mechanism of vacuum preloading method. In The Soft Soil Foundations of Tianjin (eds Z. Hou et al.), Tianjin Science and Tech. Publishing House, Tianjin, pp. 7383. Chen H. and Bao X. C. (1983) Analysis of soil consolidation stress under the action of negative pressure. Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Helsinki, 2, 591596. Choa V. (1990) Soil improvement works at Tianjin East Pier project. Proceedings of the 10th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference, Taipei, 1, 4752. Chu J., Yan S. W. and Yang H. (2000) Soil improvement by the otechnivacuum preloading method for an oil storage station. Ge que, 50, No. 6, 625632. Hansbo S. (1997) Practical aspects of vertical drain design. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Hamburg, 3, 17491752. Holtz R. D. (1975) Preloading by vacuum: current prospects. Transportation Research Record, No. 548, 2679.

JTJ 250-98 (1998) Chinese Code for Soil Foundation of Port Engineering. Ministry of Construction, China. Kjellman W. (1952) Consolidation of clayey soils by atmospheric pressure. Proceedings of a Conference on Soil Stabilization, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, pp. 258263. Qian J. H., Zhao W. B., Cheung Y. K. and Lee P. K. K. (1992) The theory and practice of vacuum preloading. Computers and Geotechnics, 13, 103118. Sridharan A. and Rao S. (1981) Rectangular hyperbola tting method for one-dimensional consolidation. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 4, No. 4, 161168. TPEI (1995) Vacuum Preloading Method to Improve Soft Soils and Case Studies. Tianjin Port Engineering Institute. Yan S. W. and Chen H. (1986) Mechanism of vacuum preloading method and the numerical method. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 8, No. 2, 3544. Ye B. Y. et al. (1983) Soft clay improvement by packed sand drainvacuum-preloading method. In The Soft Soil Foundations of Tianjin (eds Z. Hou et al.), Tianjin Science and Technology Publishing House, Tianjin, pp. 126131. Zeng G. X. and Xie K. H. (1989) New development of the vertical drain theories. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, 2, 14351438.

Discussion contributions on this paper should reach the editor by 1 April 2004

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