In-situ thermal stabilization for stabilizing weak foundation soils has been practiced for over a century by

using conventional heating methods on surface applications like spread footings or boreholes filled with
fossil fuels or mechanical burner units for improving soil properties of subsurface soils. However, the
prohibitively expensive cost of treatment, low burning temperatures, complexity of the process, and
uncertainty of the results due to inadequate monitoring have limited the use of this technique.

However, plasma arc technology offers a more suitable alternative. The much higher temperatures (up to
70000c), greater portability and flexibility, simplicity of operation and the high efficiency of the plasma torch
(around 90%) makes it a much more attractive alternative for the stabilization of weak and unstable
foundation soils like clay, sandy silt or silty sand (causing excessive settlement, liquefaction and excess
seepage) supporting slopes, reinforced soil structures prone to failure due tp bearing capacity, sliding and
global instability.

Small bore holes at designed suitable spacing and depth are dug up. The plasma torch is lowered to the
bottom of a small diameter, cased borehole. By raising and operating the torch at progressively higher
levels the borehole casing is rapidly melted opposite the plasma flame, and a column of soil is heated and
converted into a stabilized vertical mass having strength 5 to 6 times that of unreinforced concrete (M35
grade). Same process is repeated in adjacent boreholes thus stabilizing an entire foundation.

At approximately 200C, soil plasticity for cohesive or cohesive frictional fill begins decreasing until it is
reduced to zero at around 500C. Swelling is reduced to zero at temperatures above 750C and shear
strength rises continuously throughout this range of temperatures. At temperatures above 900C the soil
begins to fuse into brick-like material. Finally, the soil melts and later hardens in a rock-like material
(similar to obsidian) at temperatures above 1,100C.
Plasma torches have the capability to readily create temperatures which produce these irreversible
changes in the soil properties, such as decrease in sensitivity, swelling and compressibility and increase
in shear strength and stiffness. These changes allow achieving different soil stabilization stages and
significantly improving the engineering properties of a soil.
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