GeoTechTools – an Interactive Web-

based Information and Guidance System

for Ground Improvement Technologies

Presented by
James K. Mitchell, Sc.D., P.E.
at the
National Center for Researches in
Earthquake Engineering/Taiwan

September 9, 2013
 Scope of Presentation
1.Brief overview of current state of
practice
2.Description of a new web-based
information and guidance system for
geoconstruction and ground
improvement technologies developed
as part of the SHRP 2 R02 project
 Part 1:
Engineering of Ground Improvement
Schaefer, V.R., Mitchell, J.K., Berg, R.R., Filz, G.M., and Douglas, S.C. (2012).
"Ground Improvement in the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Web-Based
Information System," in Geotechnical Engineering State of the Art and Practice, K.
Rollins and D. Zekkos, eds., ASCE Geotechnical Special Pub. No. 226, pp. 272-
293.
 Ground Improvement:
State of the Practice
The modification of site foundation soils or
project earth structures to provide better
performance under design and/or operational
loading conditions

 Ground Improvement (GI) has developed

markedly in past five decades—recognized
sub-discipline
 GI now in routine use in geotechnical design
and construction
 Impetus for GI increasing
 Ground Improvement
When and where is GI an option?
 When site soils are amenable to
improvement in performance
 When sufficient expertise, time, and
equipment exist to accomplish the
improvement, and
 Most importantly, when the costs of
improving the soils are warranted compared
to other available options.
 Engineering GI Projects
Requires essential knowledge about:
1. Available methods and their unique
characteristics
2. Ground and project conditions
3. How to design for required levels of
improvement
4. Construction and QC/QA methods
5. Environmental constraints
6. Time requirements
7. Costs
Main Functions of G.I.
Increase bearing capacity
Increase density
Increase strength
Transfer loads
Control deformations
Accelerate consolidation
Decrease imposed loads
Increase lateral stability
Form seepage cutoffs or fill voids
Increase liquefaction resistance

These functions can be achieved in

a variety of ways:
Category Function Methods
Increase density, bearing Vibrocompaction
capacity, and frictional Dynamic compaction
strength; increase Blasting compaction
Compaction grouting
Densification liquefaction resistance of
Surface compaction (including rapid
granular soils; decrease impact compaction)
compressibility, increase
strength of cohesive soils
Preloading without drains
Accelerate consolidation,
Preloading with vertical drains
Consolidation reduce settlement,
Vacuum consolidation
increase strength Electro-osmosis
Geofoam
Reduce load on foundation Foamed concrete
Load Lightweight fills, tire chips, etc.
soils, reduce settlement,
Reduction Column supported embankments
increase slope stability with load transfer platforms

Mechanically stabilized earth

Soil nailing/anchoring
Inclusion of reinforcing Micro piles
elements in soil to improve Columns (aggregate piers, stone
Reinforcement
engineering characteristics; columns, jet grouting, etc.)
 Category Function Methods
Chemical Permeation grouting with
Treatment particulate or chemical grouts
Increase density, increase Bulk infilling
compressive and tensile Jet grouting
strength, fill voids, form Compaction grouting
seepage cutoffs Deep soil mixing-wet and dry
Fracture grouting
Lime columns
Thermal Increase shear strength, Ground freezing
stabilization provide cutoffs, reduce Ground heating and vitrification
liquefaction potential
Biotechnical Vegetation in slopes as
Increase strength,
stabilization reinforcing
reinforcement Microbial methods
Miscellaneous Electrokinetic methods,
Remediate contaminated soils chemical and bio-chemical
methods
 Selection Criteria
1. The operational criteria for the facility; e.g. stability requirements,
settlement criteria. These criteria establish the level of improvement
required in terms of soil properties.
2. The area, depth, and total volume of soil to be treated
3. The soil type to be treated and its initial properties
4. Depth to groundwater table
5. Availability of materials, e.g., sand, water, admixtures, reinforcing
elements.
6. Availability of specialized equipment and skilled labor force.
7. Construction and environmental factors; e.g., site accessibility and
constraints, waste disposal, effects on adjacent facilities and
structures.
8. Local experience and preferences; politics and tradition.
9. Time available
10.Cost; generally construction cost, but also life-cycle costs
11. Sustainability considerations; e.g., energy and carbon emissions.
Available GI Methods for Various Soil Types
 Ground Improvement Design
•Dependent upon function of improvement
and method(s) selected to carry out the
function
•Design Procedures vary with technology
and function and may be:
1. Well established
2. Variety of published
3. Proprietary
4. Developing
(Information and Guidance System
Describes many of them)
 Categories of Input and
Output Items for Analysis Example Items
and Design Procedures
Minimum factor of safety values, load and
Performance resistance factor values, allowable settlements,
Criteria/Indicators allowable lateral deformations, reliability,
drainage, time
Stratigraphy, ground water level, particle size
distribution, plasticity, unit weight, relative density,
Subsurface Conditions
water content, strength, compressibility,
chemistry, organic content, variability
Traffic load, embankment pressure, structure
Loading Conditions loads, earthquake acceleration and duration,
water pressures
Unit weight, water content, particle size
distribution, internal friction angle, shear strength,
inclusion dimensions, compressive strength,
Material Characteristics
tensile strength, compressibility, modulus,
stiffness, interface friction angle, permeability,
equivalent opening size
Method of installation and/or densification, e.g.,
Construction Techniques
wick drains, vibrocompaction
Diameter, spacing, depth, thickness, length, area,
 Ground Improvement QC/QA
Dependent upon function of improvement and
method(s) selected to carry out the function
QC/QA Procedures:
1. Construction data records
2. Surface settlement & heave
3. Sampling and testing of treated soils
4. In situ testing (penetration & shear wave)
5. Pore pressure measurements
6. In situ hydraulic conductivity
7. Lateral movements

Arguably the critical limiting factor for some

methods
Performance of Improved Ground
 Experience in use of well-established GI methods
in “conventional” applications such as bearing
capacity improvement, slope stabilization,
precompression and acceleration of consolidation,
liquefaction mitigation and construction of seepage
barriers has shown that the required performance
can be obtained if (1) the appropriate method is
chosen for the problem and (2) the design and
construction are done well.
 A common “trouble spot” is the difficulty in
verifying that the desired level of improvement
has been obtained, emphasizing again the need for
a well-designed and implemented QC/QA program.
 Part 2:
A Comprehensive Web-based Information
and Guidance System for Ground
Improvement

GeoTechTools.org
Accelerating solutions for highway safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity
 Accelerating solutions for highway safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity

R02 Project Elements

1 Construction of new embankments and roadways
over areas of unstable soils
2 Widening and expansion of existing
embankments and roadways
3 Improvement and stabilization of the support
beneath the pavement structure
46 Technologies Addressed
 Aggregate Columns  Column-Supported
 Beneficial Reuse of Embankments
Waste Materials  Combined Soil
 Bio-Treatment for Stabilization with
Subgrade Vertical Columns
Stabilization  Compaction Grouting
 Blast Densification  Continuous Flight
 Bulk-Infill Grouting Auger Piles
 Chemical Grouting/  Deep Dynamic
Injection Systems Compaction
 Chemical Stabilization  Deep Mixing
of Subgrades & Bases Methods
 46 Technologies Addressed (cont. )
 Drilled/Grouted & Hollow  Geosynthetic
Bar Soil Nailing Reinforcement in
 Electro-Osmosis Pavement Systems
 Excavation &  Geosynthetic Separation
Replacement in Pavement Systems
 Fiber Reinforcement in  Geosynthetics in
Pavement Systems Pavement Drainage
 Geocell Confinement in  Geotextile Encased
Pavement Systems Columns
 Geosynthetic Reinforced  High-Energy Impact
Construction Platforms Rollers
 Geosynthetic Reinforced  Hydraulic Fill + Vacuum
Embankments Consolidation + PVDs
 Injected Light-Weight
Foam Fill
 46 Technologies Addressed (cont. )
 Intelligent Compaction  Rapid Impact
 Jet Grouting Compaction
 Light Weight Fills  Reinforced Soil Slopes
 Sand Compaction Piles
 Mechanical Stabilization
Screw-In Soil Nailing
of Subgrades & Bases 
 Shoot-In Soil Nailing
 MSE Walls
 Shored MSE Walls
 Micro-Piles  Traditional Compaction
 Onsite Use of Recycled  Vacuum Preloading w/ &
Pavement Materials w/o PVDs
 Partial Encapsulation  Vibrocompaction
 PVDs & Fill Preloading  Vibro-Concrete Columns
 Objectives of the System
1. Identify potential technologies for design
and construction for the following
transportation applications:
 Construction over UNSTABLE soils
 Construction over STABLE or STABILIZED
soils
 Geotechnical pavement components (base,
subbase, and subgrade)
 Working platforms
Objectives of the System (cont.)
2. Provide guidance to develop a ‘short-list’ of
applicable technologies
3. Provide guidance for detailed project-
specific screening of technologies
4. Provide an interactive, programmed system
5. Provide current, up to-date information
Audience
Public agency personnel at local, state and
federal levels
 Primarily Geotechnical Engineers
 Civil/Structural/Bridge Design & Construction
Engineers, Pavement Design & Construction
Engineers
 Project Managers, Procurement, Research,
Maintenance, District Engineers
Consultants, General Contractors, A/E groups,
Academics/Students
 Product Use
Web site
 Learn about technologies, both technical and
nontechnical users
 Investigate candidate solutions, by category
classification or using selection system
 Locate design methods, quality methods
 Develop cost estimates
 Develop specifications
 Technical summaries
Locate additional information in references
 System Mandates
The information and guidance system is set up to be:
 Simple
 Functional
 Completely populated
 Able to guide user to a short-list of
potential, unranked technologies.
 Easily updatable
Getting Started…
• What is the application?
• What is the soil condition that
needs to be improved?
• To what depth do to the unstable
soils extend?
Value Added
Main product: Web based information and
guidance system
The primary value of the system is that it
collects, synthesizes, integrates, and organizes
a vast amount of critically important information
about geotechnical solutions in a system that
makes the information readily accessible to the
transportation agency personnel who need it
most.
NOTE: The screen shot slides that follow do not duplicate those in the live
demonstration.
 Conclusions
 Selection of suitable ground improvement
methods and optimization of their design
and construction needs requires extensive
background knowledge of available ground
treatment technologies and careful
evaluation of several factors.
 Factors include understanding the functions
of the method, utilization of several
selection criteria, the use of appropriate
design procedures, implementation of the
right methods for quality control and quality
assurance, and consideration of all relevant
cost components and environmental factors.
 Conclusions
 Knowledge base for 46 ground improvement
and geoconstruction technologies and a web-
based information and guidance system have
been developed to facilitate and organize
this knowledge so that informed decisions can
be made.
 The value of the system is that it collects,
synthesizes, integrates, and organizes a vast
amount of critically important information
about ground improvement solutions in a
system that makes the information readily
accessible to the user.
 Project Team
Project Principals
Ryan Berg, Consultant
Donald Bruce, Consultant
Barry Christopher, Consultant
Jim Collin, Consultant
Gary Fick, Consultant
George Filz, VT
Jie Han, KU
Jim Mitchell, VT
Vern Schaefer, ISU
Dennis Turner, Consultant
Linbing Wang, VT
David White, ISU
Students/Researchers
Sari Sbusharar, KU Deep Khatri, KU
Bhagaban Acharya, KU Kyle Lawson, VT
Steve Adamchak, VT Wenjuan Li, ISU
Amanda Barngrover, VT Shengting Li, ISU
Andrew Beatty, ISU Danny Maine, VT
Peter Becker, ISU George Malouf, VT
Anil Bhandari, KU Caitlin McCarthy, ISU
Jamie Brickman, VT James Meyer, ISU
Kolleen Carlson, VT Alex Reeb, VT
Conrad Cho, VT Gary Riggins, VT
Ryan Corey, KU Kurt Schimpke, VT
Ashley Disburg, ISU Mina Shin, ISU
Caleb Douglas, ISU Joel Sloan, VT
Cristian Druta, VT Jitendra Thakur, KU
Heath Gieselman, ISU Pavana Vennapusa, ISU
Micah Hatch, VT Lee Vanzler, VT
Peter Hunsinger, ISU Chadd Yeatts, VT
Advisory Board Members
State DOT Representatives
James Brennan Kansas DOT
David Horhota Florida DOT
Mark Morvant Louisiana TRC
Hooshmand Nikoui Caltrans
David Shiells Virginia DOT
John Siekmeier Minnesota DOT
Design/Build Contractor
Representatives
Allen Cadden Schnabel Engineering
Mike Cowell GeoConstructors, Inc.
Seth Pearlman DGI-Menards, Inc.
Steve Saye Kiewit Engineering
Al Sehn Hayward Baker Inc.