Ground Improvement Techniques

The design and construction of structures under weak soil layers has always
been vulnerable to damages associated with settlements. The soil
compresses after application of the loads; loose cohesionless soils are forced
to densify while clayey, silty soils consolidate. The compression of the soil
reduces its bearing capacity and settlements can damage the structure over
time.

The proposed steel rebar mill is underlain by soil layers that are mostly stiff
cohesive soils. Due to the absence of dense cohesionless soils, consolidation
settlement will most likely take place. Consolidation of soil occurs due to the
expulsion of water from the soil caused by additional loads. The danger
comes when settlements take place after the construction. This is because of
the permeability property of cohesive soils wherein water seepage occurs in a
slow rate. Several ground improvement techniques which are commonly used
to preempt potentially damaging settlements are discussed.

1. Acceleration of Consolidation Settlement by Preloading

Preloading is the process of compressing the soil by subjecting it to

vertical loads prior to the construction of the structure. Normally, an
embankment consisted of earth fill is used as a preload. When the load is
placed on soft cohesive soil, it is initially carried by the pore water within
the soil. As water begins to flow through the voids, the soil will compress
and the layers will experience settlement. For soft cohesive soils, because
of its low permeability, water pressure decreases gradually as water flows
very slowly in the vertical direction (Figure 1). The temporary load is
usually equal to or more than the final construction load, the excess of
which is referred to as the surcharge load. In order to prevent possible
stability problems, loads are placed in stages.

Figure 1. Preloading of soil1

 When the consolidation of the bearing layer is practically complete (about
90% of the predicted settlement), the preload and surcharge is removed
and the new structure is constructed. Although it can be applied to all
kinds of soil, it has been most advantageous for modifying soft cohesive
soils. The process can be speeded up by the use of vertical drains, which
will be discussed in the next item.

2. Preloading with Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD)

Surcharging alone can induce bearing failures and the settlement of clays
may extend over a long period of time because of its low permeability.
Vertical drains are installed together with preloading in order to shorten
the drainage path of the pore water and accelerate settlement. Vertical
drains are artificial drainage paths inserted into the cohesive soil layer
allowing the water to flow faster in the horizontal direction towards the
vertical drains. Since most clayey soils have higher horizontal
permeability, water can flow faster into the drain and out of the soil rather
than the conventional preloading where water can only flow vertically.

Figure 2. Preloading of soil with vertical drains1

Prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) were developed as alternative to sand

drains. A prefabricated vertical drain is consisted of a plastic core with a
longitudinal channel wick functioning as a drain, and a sleeve of paper of
fibrous material as a filter protecting the core. The core serves as the
longitudinal flow path along the drain and the filter jacket allows water to
pass into the core while restricting intrusion of soil particles.

Typical installation method and sizes of a prefabricated vertical drain is

summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Typical type of PVD

Drain Typical Maximum
Installation
Drain type diameter, spacing, length,
method
m m m
 Driven or
vibratory closed- 0.05 - 0.1
Prefabricated
end mandrel (equivalen
band-shaped 1.2 - 3.5 60
(displacement or t
drains
low diameter)
displacament)

Figure 3. Installation of prefabricated vertical drains

3. Cement Treated Base

Cement-treated base (CTB) consists of native soils, gravels, or

manufactured aggregates blended with prescribed quantities of cement
and water. CTB can be mixed in-place with on-site soils or mixed in a
central plant or pugmill depending on the project requirements. Typical
cement contents range from 3 to 10 percent, resulting in 7-day unconfined
compressive strengths from 300 to 800 psi.

Subsoils with CTB will be much stronger and more rigid than an
unstabilized, granular base. It can distribute loads over a wider area,
reducing the stresses on the subgrade and acting as the load-carrying
element of a sub-base for concrete.

Its slab-like characteristics and beam strength are unmatched by granular

bases that can fail when aggregate interlock is lost. It resists cyclic
freezing, rain, and spring-weather damage and continues to gain strength
with age even under loads. This reserve strength accounts in part for
CTBs excellent performance.

The rigidity of CTB reduces deflection, rutting in the base and other
asphalt strains.

The mixed-in-place construction process consists of the following steps:

Initial shaping and grading

 Compacting and fine grading
Application of cement
Curing
Mixing water and cement with soil

Cement-stabilized base
Unstabilized granular base

Figure 4. Comparison between untreated and treated base

(Portland Cement Association).

4. Geosynthetics

Geosynthetics are woven and/or coated materials (i.e., geotextiles,

geogrids (polymers)) with high tensile strengths which provide
stabilization and reinforcement of embankments constructed on soft
foundation soils with low shear strengths and excessive consolidation
settlements.

Advantages:

Facilitates construction of a working platform.

Allows construction of higher embankments and steeper embankment
side slopes.
Promotes uniform settlement
Minimizes construction time, required space and select fill costs.
Eliminates excavation and replacement costs.
Provides short and long term global stability to the embankment

Geolon

Geosynthetics (i.e. woven geotextiles) can be placed directly on soft

foundation soils to facilitate embankment construction and provide long
term stability to the embankment. These high strength, high modulus
geosynthetics offset the low shear strength of the foundation soils and
maintain separation of the subgrade and select fill.
 www.tencate.com

Figure 5. Types of Geosynthetics.

www.tencate.com

Figure 6. Geolons in embankments (www.tencate.com).

Geogrid

Geosynthetic materials such as Geogrids are used to reduce differential

settlements under structures over compressible soils. Geogrids are
commonly made of polymer materials, such as polyester, polyethylene, or
polypropylene. They may be woven or knitted from yarns, heat-welded
from strips of materials, or produced by punching regular pattern holes in
sheets of materials. Geogrids reduce differential settlement of soft
subgrades by confining fill materials and distributing load forces.
 Figure 7. Geogrids in subsoils.

Figure 8. Geogrids for subsoils.

5. Rammed Aggregate Piers

Jet grouting is currently one of the commonly used ground improvement

technique in the country. This method provides a containment of the
underlying soil by controlling the lateral spread and thus settlement.
Ideally, this is most applicable in predominantly cohesionless soils.

Alternatively, for cohesive, this confinement may be provided by Rammed

Aggregate Piers (RAP). This solution will require construction of rammed
aggregate piers around the water tank.

Rammed aggregate piers (RAPs) are a type of stone column as presented

in previously. Aggregate columns installed by compacting successive lifts
of aggregate material in a compacted in lifts with a beveled tamper to
create passive soil pressure conditions both at the bottom and the sides of
the piers. RAPs are generally restricted to cohesive soils in which a predrill
hole will stay open. Although constructed differently than stone columns or
vibro piers, all provide similar improvement to cohesive soils. The vertical
tamping used to construct RAPs results in minimal densification in
adjacent granular soils compared to vibratory probe construction.
 Water tank

Rammed aggregate pier

www.farrellinc.com

Figure 9. (L-R) Construction illustration of rammed aggregate

piers; conceptual layout.

Figure 10. Rammed aggregate piers concepual design2

RAP is constructed by drilling a shaft into the ground and then crushed
rock is poured into the bottom of the shaft and then rammed typically by
hydraulic hammer. Successive layers of crushed rock of around 300m lift
are rammed along the depth of the shaft, forming a very dense crushed
rock pier/column.

6. Vibro Replacement / Vibroflotation

Vibro Replacement is an effective technique for improvement of soft clays,

mixed deposits of clay, silt and sand with fines of more than 10%, and fine
sands. It reduces the liquefaction potential of fine sands where the ground
water table is at a shallow level.
Originally used for improving loose, granular soils, these techniques have
been improved by NSCC to extend their range of application from loose
granular soils to poor cohesive soils in which stone columns are built by
the wet or dry method.

Stone columns refer to columns of compacted, gravel size stone particles

constructed vertically in the ground to improve the performance of soft or
loose soils. The stone can be compacted with impact methods, such as
with a falling weight or an impact compactor or with a vibroflot, the more
common method. The method is used to increase bearing capacity (up to
5 to 10 ksf or 240 to 480 kPa), reduce foundation settlements, improve
slope stability, reduce seismic subsidence, reduce lateral spreading and
liquefaction potential, permit construction on loose/soft fills, and
precollapse sinkholes prior to construction in karst regions.

A specific application is referred to as vibro piers. The process refers to

short, closely spaced stone columns designed to create a stiff block to
increase bearing capacity and reduce settlement to acceptable values.
Vibro piers are typically constructed in cohesive soils in which a full depth
predrill hole will stay open. The stone is compacted in 1 to 2 ft (0.4 to 0.8
m) lifts, each of which is rammed and compacted with the vibroflot.

Table 2. Expected Densification and Reinforcement Achieved with Stone

Columns2

Figure 11. Vibroflotation

 Figure 12. Wet top feed method

Figure 13. Dry bottom feed method

References
1
Stapelfeldt, T. Preloading and Vertical Drains.
2
Hussin, J.D. Methods of Soft Ground Improvement.
3
Hausmann, M. R. Engineering Principles of Ground Modification.