Stone columns are found to be effective and economical ground improvement technique in soft grounds. Understanding its behaviour when they are installed in stratified soils, in particular when the upper layer consists of weak soil, will be of great practical significance. This paper presents results from a series of laboratory plate load tests carried out in unit cell tanks to investigate the behaviour of stone columns in layered soils, consisting of weak soft clay overlying a relatively stronger silty soil, for various thicknesses of the top layer. Tests were carried out with two types of loading (1) the entire area in the unit cell tank loaded, to estimate the stiffness of improved ground and (2) only the stone column loaded, to estimate the limiting axial capacity. Laboratory tests were carried out on a column of 90 mm diameter surrounded by layered soil, for an area ratio of 15%. It is found that the depth of top weak layer thickness has a significant influence on the stiffness, load bearing capacity and bulging behavior of stone columns.
This paper presents results from a series of laboratory plate load tests carried out in unit cell tanks to investigate the improvement in stiffness, load carrying capacity and resistance to bulging of stone columns installed in soft soils. A new method of reinforcing the stone columns with vertical nails installed along the circumference of the stone column is suggested for improving the performance of these columns. Tests were carried out with two types of loading (1) the entire area in the unit cell tank loaded, to estimate the stiffness of improved ground and (2) only the stone column loaded, to estimate the limiting axial capacity. It is found that stone columns reinforced with vertical nails along the circumference have much higher load carrying capacity and undergo lesser compression and lesser lateral bulging as compared to conventional stone columns. The benefit of vertical circumferential nails increases with increase in the diameter, number and depth of embedment of the nails. The improvement in the performance of stone column was found to be more significant, even with lower area ratio. It is found that reinforcing stone column with vertical circumferential nails at the top portion to a depth equal to three times the diameter of stone columns, will be adequate to prevent the column from excessive bulging and to improve its load carrying capacity substantially.
Stone columns are often used as an effective technique for improving the performance of soft ground. Stone columns derive their load-carrying capacity due to lateral confinement from the surrounding soil. Very soft soils offer very low lateral confinement, leading to large settlements and low load-carrying capacities. In this paper, an alternative method of enhancing the performance of stone columns in soft soils by reinforcing the stone columns with circumferential nails driven vertically is suggested. The method was developed in laboratory-scale model tests and a series of plate load tests were performed in unit cell tanks to investigate the performance of stone columns reinforced with circumferential nails. The investigation was carried out by varying the depth of nails below ground level, the number of nails and the diameter of nails with different diameter stone columns and area ratios (or spacing). It was found that the circumferentially reinforced stone columns have much higher load-carrying capacity with a significant reduction in settlement and less lateral bulging in comparison with plain stone columns.
The soils found abundantly along the Konkan belt in peninsular India are lateritic soils and lithomargic clays. The locally available lithomargic clayey soils are problematic in the sense that their strength reduces drastically under saturation conditions, which is typical behaviour of the dispersive type of soil. Most foundations are placed on this soil layer. This paper presents results from a series of laboratory plate load tests carried out in unit cell tanks to investigate the behaviour of granular columns in these weak (lithomargic clay) grounds. Tests are carried out with two types of loading: with the entire area in the unit cell tank loaded, to estimate the stiffness of the improved ground; and with only the granular column area loaded, to estimate its limiting axial capacity. Investigations were carried out by varying the area ratio (or spacing), diameter of granular columns, end condition and column configuration. The load-settlement behaviour, stiffness and bulging behaviour of granular columns are analysed. It is found that the ground treated with granular columns exhibits a high load-carrying capacity and stiffness, and a significant reduction in settlement, compared with the untreated ground.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.